Works in Progress, Issue IV, June 2021 by City and Country School

THE CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL MAGAZINE

ISSUE FOUR

I SPRING 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter from the Principal

Parents’ Corner

Add-Ins Go Virtual

Prospective Perspective: A New Approach to Admissions

Everyone’s Work: Anti-racism Comes Into Focus at C&C

Reimagining Lower School Trips

Around C&C: Photo Gallery

Tech, the C&C Way

Remembering: Steve Antonakos and Gino Crocetti ’59

23 Returning to the Classroom 26 Signs (of) Change: The Evolution of the Xs’ Job as Sign Makers

30 Don’t Stop the Presses!:

XIIIs’ Newspaper Moves Online

34 Portfolio Project #2: Vs’ Art Show 35 Social Media

Block work in the VIs

ON THE COVER: The Xs, City and Country School’s Sign Makers, created posters for the hallways and stairwells with messages to inspire students, faculty, and staff this year. Read more on page 26.

EDITOR’S NOTE This issue of Works in Progress is dedicated to the incredible lives and memories of two beloved C&C community members taken from us too soon: Steve Antonakos and Gino Crocetti ’59. Although they no longer walk these halls, we feel their presence all around us, and we see them live on in the spirits of all whom they inspired with their kindness and curiosity. They truly embodied C&C, and we will all work hard to build upon the legacy they helped create for our school. Thank you, Steve and Gino. We miss you.

36 Alumni Events 38 Alumni News 41

Supporting C&C

C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

City and Country School 146 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011-7802 212-242-7802 | cityandcountry.org | communications@cityandcountry.org

LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL THE CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL MAGAZINE

ISSUE FOUR, SPRING 2021 Editor Christina Hultholm, Director of Communications Editorial Team Penny L. Arnold, Director of Development Kelly Washburn, Director of Annual Giving and Special Events Katoiya Bell, Development and Communications Coordinator Designer Kerstin Michaelsen Contributing Writers Elise Bauer, Katoiya Bell, Karen Brandt, Millie Cartagena, Jane Clarke, Mona De Victoria, Megan Holland, Christina Hultholm, Daniela Jimenez Gabb, Saber Khan, Lauren Larsson, Amy Lieberman, Ayesha Long, Scott Moran, Matthew D. Payne, Ann Roberts, Kelly Washburn Photography Richard Bluestein, City and Country School faculty and staff, the families of Steve Antonakos and Gino Crocetti ’59, Barry Munger, Buddy Squires

Principal Scott Moran Director of Admissions Elise Bauer Director of Communications Christina Hultholm Director of Community Life, Equity, and Inclusion Millie Cartagena Director of Development Penny L. Arnold Director of Finance and Operations Mindy N. Schefen Director of Lower School Jane Clarke Director of Middle School Ayesha Long Director of Upper School Karen Brandt

DEAR CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL COMMUNITY, Last March, as we left a day early for Spring Break, we knew that we would be spending some time in remote learning—although most were predicting that it would be for no longer than a few weeks. The spring found us navigating immense uncertainty in the world, grief in the loss of dear community members, and upending changes to our daily lives. At the same time, families, teachers, staff, and students alike confronted a steep learning curve in transitioning our innovative but largely analog school to remote learning. The months that followed would challenge us in many ways and push us to rethink our program from the ground up. Summer was not a time for rest, but rather an opportunity to ask ourselves, “How can we take what is essential to the C&C experience and pedagogy, adapt it to our present circumstances, and build on that foundation to create a stronger, more resilient School and community?” This was our guiding question as we reimagined Jobs in our hybrid program, selected technology to support remote and in-person learning, and reconfigured spaces throughout our buildings. Yards became lunchrooms and outdoor classrooms. Offices— including mine—became student spaces to make social distancing possible in our constrained buildings. This year was one of great change in other ways. As teachers pushed into students’ homes and many parents and caregivers became de facto teaching assistants, the home–school partnership meaningfully deepened. Families had much more experience interacting with their children’s education than usual, even as they witnessed a year that was anything but normal. What is clear is that nothing would have been possible without the tremendous efforts of our teachers, staff, parents, and caregivers, who all came together in support of our students. There were some unexpected benefits to our transition online. Alumni, many of whom would not usually be able to attend in-person events, joined us for two Zoom-based reunions. These were wonderful opportunities for them to reconnect with the School and with each other, and we look forward to offering new ways for them to continue engaging. Finally, against the backdrop of a national movement for social justice, C&C took further steps to examine itself critically and to identify and unpack the ways structural racism persists in our School and in our practices. As you will read on page six, our steps toward becoming an anti-racist institution began long ago and must continue for many years to come. It is clear that there is greater momentum, renewed energy, and more urgency behind these efforts than ever before. This is—as Director of Community Life, Equity, and Inclusion Millie Cartagena often says— everyone’s work, and I hope you will engage, participate, and hold us accountable in our efforts. In a year like this one, I have immense gratitude for all of you, the members of C&C’s incredible community. Through our collective work, we have been there to support the children in our care, and each other. Together we have, and will, get through this. Thank you.

Scott Moran, Principal C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

PARENTS’ CORNER

PANDEMIC PARENTING:

The Ultimate Work in Progress BY LAUREN LARSSON AND AMY LIEBERMAN, PA CO-PRESIDENTS

Lauren, Kasper, Teddy, and Tomas

Amy, Raymond, and Edie

Parents’ Corner is a place where current parents write about their experiences at C&C. We’ve asked Parents Association Co-Presidents Lauren Larsson (Teddy, VIs, and Kasper, IVs) and Amy Lieberman (Edie, XIIs, and Raymond, VIIIs) to share their thoughts on parenting and building community during the pandemic.

C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

If ever there were a year when we felt we were “works in progress,” it was 2020. Whether in our roles as parents, friends, community members, partners to our spouses, or first-time home educators, we—like many of you—spent most of spring 2020 in “sink-or-swim” survival mode. We grieved alongside our school community as we learned of lives lost—two members of the C&C faculty and staff, as well as co-workers, family members, and friends. As spring turned into summer, we also faced the painful reality of racial and social injustices in the larger community of our nation. All of these experiences led us to reflect upon what we truly missed most. And the answer was that we missed the support of our “home” community—the friends who were walking through these painful and challenging moments alongside us, no matter how far apart we were. We knew we were not alone in longing for this feeling of community, and it was in this moment that we considered taking on the role of Parents Association Co-Presidents. We decided to lean into the cherished friendship we developed when we co-chaired the 2019 Benefit, and we resolved to do our best to provide opportunities for the community to come together in real, meaningful, and supportive ways.

The past year was a long one for all of us, and when we consider that 12 months accounts for such a large percentage of our young children’s lives, the impact of a global pandemic on them was at the forefront of our minds. Like all parents, we worried about the social-emotional ramifications of isolation, struggled with how to manage ongoing fatigue as we continued supporting remote learning, and navigated accepting and embracing our children’s blooming independence when we were all at home together. Of course, our kids missed seeing their friends and family in person, and we made do by giving everyone (ourselves included) a little extra grace and loosening some reins. Our kids definitely got more screen time, but this allowed them to see some of their best pals and retain feelings of connection. One of the more important lessons we learned this year was to embrace a new—if slightly imperfect—way to connect with our friends through Zoom playdates, to enjoy distanced outdoor play (rain or shine), and to lean on our community for support. When everything is stripped away, as it was this past year, this is where we returned to feel connected and supported. What made us feel most connected was seeing the ways our community members kept showing up for one another. We were heartened by the

VIRTUAL ADD-INS Students worked on making paper lanterns during our Studio Art Add-In class with Katie

honesty and transparency of the responses to the family questionnaire we sent earlier this school year. Similarly, the call for Group Reps inspired a cohort of committed and motivated volunteers, all of whom care deeply about C&C and building community in their Groups. The Anti-racist Forums are probably the place where we felt most hopeful for, and connected to, our community. They have been a place of painful acknowledgement—of truths about where our school is and has been— but they have also been a place of commitment to change, and that makes us hopeful for our community’s future. C&C is a collective of talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Creating moments to allow one another to be truly seen, heard, valued, and celebrated—for the benefit of all of our children and our entire community—is quite powerful. We are all “works in progress.” We still miss coffee dates after drop-offs and the quick hugs of support when a friend is going through a tough time with their kids (or aging parents). There are many lessons from this virtual time, and we look forward to implementing what we’ve learned about using technology in ways that ensure everyone feels welcome, involved, and valued, with equal access to participate. We are also looking forward to being fully in person in the coming year. There is no substitute for a few moments of shared connection in the presence of another, and we know we are all excited to spend time with the new families who have joined our community, as well as those who have always been here with us.

ADD-INS GO VIRTUAL City and Country School has been committed to providing enrichment to our students during what has proven to be an incredibly difficult year. From the start, we looked for ways to maintain community and offer a robust program, no matter the format. As part of this, C&C has The XIIIs Debate Team is always hard at work! offered a full Add-In class line-up free of charge for our community since the beginning of the pandemic. Auxiliary Programs Director Natalie Joseph moved Add-In classes online starting with the 2020 spring term, and they have far exceeded expectations for what extracurricular activities could look like virtually. Add-In instructors have been able to innovate and approach learning in a completely new way, homing in on students’ interests and passions, while providing a space for children to socialize and be together. Our Add-Ins became a gathering place for students to enjoy their favorite activities and come together over shared interests. We were able to continue C&C offers three distance learning into the summer last year levels of chess; learn with a six-week program, where we stayed more about it from one of connected through extracurricular and our instructors by academic activities. This summer, we are watching the video! excited to be offering a free six-week cityandcountry. line-up of Add-In classes again, in addition org/videos. to restarting our traditional two-week, in-person program.

Here are some simple and fun craft projects from our beloved art instructor, Atsushi Ohashi: bit.ly/3hNkpYK C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

ADMISSIONS OVERVIEW

THE PROSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE: Redefining C&C Admissions in a Virtual Setting

The vibrancy of City and Country School is best understood by visiting and observing the program and community in action. But during the pandemic, the Admissions team faced a new challenge: How could prospective families grasp the qualities of our school at a distance—without witnessing the Block Builds, Rhythms classes, School Store and Post Office operations, and other aspects of the community in person? The Admissions team—Director of Admissions Elise Bauer, Associate Director of Admissions Nick Smart, and Admissions and Enrollment Coordinator Erika Greenberg—realized that a unique set of circumstances required a unique response. They listened to the questions and interests of prospective families and got creative. Their hard work—along with the dedication of 74 current parents and Board members, who volunteered to participate in these efforts—transformed the 2021 admissions cycle into a dynamic, interactive experience that allowed prospective families to immerse themselves in the community and truly understand the work (and play) that happens behind the doors of C&C. Here’s a peek inside these efforts. The Admissions Team shared glimpses of school life during the pandemic.

PROSPECTIVE FAMILY MICROSITE The Admissions team wanted to give prospective families a place that was just for them—a place to learn more about C&C and receive updates. This microsite contains information from the Admissions pages of the website plus other elements, such as a regularly updated blog, a photo gallery, and a “bookshelf” with articles, videos, and read-alouds by members of the community. It also contains a very special video from the Class of 2020 about what being a student meant to them and how their C&C education prepared them for the future. cityandcountry.org/prospectivefamily

C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

The Admissions team kept in close touch with prospective families through a dedicated microsite featuring blog posts, videos, and program information.

VIRTUAL EVENTS AT C&C Elise, Nick, and Erika realized during the early information sessions that many of the questions prospective families had were about the school community. Attendees were interested in the culture, history, diversity, and people that make up our School, as well as the stories community members have from their time here. In response, the team designed a series of events that would help families get to know our school on a deeper level. Even after C&C is back to an in-person admissions year, the team will incorporate many of these events into the programming for prospective families, carrying these innovations far beyond the pandemic. Online Open House

C&C’s Famous Block Program Explained

Wide Awake: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at C&C

Elise shared the story of C&C founder Caroline Pratt’s creation, Unit Blocks, and their incredible power as a learning tool in Lower School classrooms.

Director of Community Life, Equity, and Inclusion Millie Cartagena, Principal Scott Moran, and several C&C teachers discussed the important diversity, equity, and inclusion work underway at C&C and the impact of this work on our community. Read more in “Everybody’s Work” on page six.

Community Panel: Members of the Parent Body and Current XIIIs Often C&C’s best spokespeople are the parents and caregivers of our students and the students themselves. Attendees let us know they were “blown away” by the parents and students at the Online Open House, so the Admissions team created a new panel for prospective families to hear from these community members and ask them questions about their C&C experiences.

Each admissions season, prospective families line up around the block to visit C&C’s in-person Open House. Like all events this year, the Open House was held online via Zoom. The highlight of the night each year—including this one—is our XIIIs, who share their experiences with the touring families. In breakout rooms, they were joined this time by current parents and teachers, all of whom shared their perspectives and insights into life at C&C.

Inside C&C: Stories from the Community

C&C’s Admissions team: Erika, Elise, and Nick

This event brought together a broad range of members of the community, who shared personal stories from their time at C&C.

A LOOK INSIDE C&C Although the Admissions team could not bring visitors into the buildings, they wanted to give them a glimpse into the physical spaces and vibrant atmosphere of the School. We filmed a day at C&C—while the children were at work—to capture shots of the action. The final product showcases children at school, working in classrooms, using the blocks and other manipulatives, and playing in the Yards. It also included views of the beautiful, light-filled Library and other spaces. Another opportunity for prospective families to see inside our program was through a video documenting the 2018 Miner’s Diner, filmed by C&C parent Buddy Squires. This video follows the VIs as they create a working restaurant for the C&C community. It illustrates how powerful the C&C approach can be as students use research, ingenuity, and initiative and incorporate Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Art—and even Woodworking—to create something incredible together. From the 2018 Miner’s Diner video

Watch the video on cityandcountry.org/videos. C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

COMMUNITY LIFE, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

EVERYONE’S

WORK Anti-racism Comes into Focus at C&C

C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

AN UPDATE FROM MILLIE CARTAGENA, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY LIFE, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION My first vivid encounter with racism was when I was looking for an apartment at the age of 21. After spending hours on the phone negotiating and landing on a rental price with the owner, I arrived at the location and was told it was no longer available. Before that, as an Afro-Latina living in a tight-knit Latinx community, I was mostly spared. Systemic racism and white privilege, though I didn’t powerfully experience either until later in my life, have always been there. In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the structural racism that America was built on, visible in everything from racially motivated violence to the disproportionate economic impacts and limited access to healthcare seen in communities of color. At the same time that the pandemic has been going on, a reckoning of racial justice has taken place in our country. None of us can any longer say that inequities and racial injustice do not exist. City and Country School has been engaged in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work for the last three decades, through affinity groups; guest speakers for faculty, staff, and parents; Diversity Group events and book groups; and many other platforms and discussions. Despite the additional burden our community took on as it learned to function virtually in 2020, it was important for us not only to move forward with anti-racism work, but to dig in even deeper. So, in addition to ongoing events, Board-level equity work, and teacher-led social justice strands in the curriculum (see the article “Social Justice Integration” from Works in Progress issue one), C&C was committed to examining its own history of racism and the harm brought upon Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community members. Last summer, we held a series of online forums for different groups in our community—BIPOC students (XIs–XIIIs), alumni, current and former parents, and current and former faculty and staff. We asked these community members to reflect upon and share how race shaped their experiences at C&C, eliciting responses that depicted the ways the School has perpetuated racism within our community. Although it was a painful process for our community members to relive these experiences, their openess was a gift to the school. The stories they shared helped frame our anti-racism work and led to the guiding question, “What would disrupting racism at C&C look like?” Following those

summer meetings, we hosted monthly Anti-racist Forums throughout this year as courageous spaces to continue the work of cultivating racial equality and justice at our school. This is not easy work. I find that people struggle, especially with understanding that self-reflection is part of anti-racism work. When you have a forum that is inclusive of folks from different constituencies, races, and ages, you will find that people are at different places in their individual journeys. We have to remind ourselves constantly that anti-racism work gets messy, and people will make mistakes. Being uncomfortable is part of the process, but I have seen a great growth within the community and deep appreciation from the participants. Creating a school-wide learning environment where everyone is seen, validated, and affirmed is essential. Building community and helping students develop empathy and appreciation of differences is imperative to creating a world where everyone can live and share their truth. Our anti-racism work can be found within the classroom, in strands integrated into curriculum. C&C is a Social Studies-based institution, and connecting past social justice issues and movements to the present is a way to show students that they can interrupt systemic racism and be part of creating the social change that is needed. Teachers allow students to develop their own identities and perspectives, and they expose them to different points of view. They support students in developing a love for learning, becoming critical thinkers, and forming their own opinions. The following pages contain glimpses into three classrooms— the VsM, XIsJ, and IXsM. In each, the Group Teacher highlights some of the many ways that children undertake this work at school. Anti-racism work isn’t easy, but as we face challenging moments together as a school, I remember the words of my grandmother: “Para adelante con fuerza y fe,” (Onward with strength and faith).

C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

COMMUNITY LIFE, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Books are most powerful when used within the context of a Study or an experience. We read a book called Why Am I Me? which led the Vs to create self-portraits. Vs can answer the questions, “What can you learn about me by looking at me? What can’t you know about me from looking at me?” Allowing a child to own the process of determining what is different about themselves and another child—and what is the same—is so important. There are some branches of social justice work that always come up at C&C because of our extensive community outreach. This allows us to explore questions such as, “Why do you think everyone is bringing food into school for a food drive?” However, as C&C’s curriculum is formed by what children are experiencing and questioning, it’s important for me, as their teacher, to be mindful of and prepared for any opportunities that come up organically. For example, in 2019, many Vs attended the People’s Climate March and were familiar with the Women’s March. The Vs decided to create a march in the block area of our Room, even painting a sidewalk where the march would take place. We had discussions and read books about those who fought for change, and then we asked Vs what they would march for, which turned into a Group book, What the VsM March for. Page from the VsM Group book, What the VsM March for

Social Justice Through Curriculum and Community in the Vs BY MONA DE VICTORIA, VsM GROUP TEACHER The Vs is a really exciting age developmentally for children to be able to engage in identity work and to think critically about the community and the world around them. If given ownership over their work, Vs are able to build true empathy and make connections (both personal and otherwise) that are very powerful. Books provide windows and mirrors, create a context for identity work, and explore topics of social justice. I am mindful about providing a bookshelf that is diverse in many ways, and I work hard to seek out #OwnVoices texts, in which the author of the story shares an identity of one or more main characters. I also avoid reductionist or surface diversity texts. 8

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Similarly, their interest in the World Cup led to a flag Study, during which they researched and learned about flags and their symbolism. I read them a book about how the rainbow flag came to be, and the Vs were introduced to Harvey Milk—a civil and human rights leader and one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. Naturally, the Vs began to make their own flags and explain the meanings, many of which had themes of inclusion and equality. In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, we asked, “What can you do to make the world a better place?” We talked about women’s education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, and the ability that children have to make change. Ultimately, social justice strands are always running through our curriculum, our community, and the lives of the children in our Groups. I am glad to be part of a school that emphasizes the importance of having conversations about social justice, freedom, racism, and equity—and one which supports me as I guide the Vs.

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COMMUNITY LIFE, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION Questioning Hierarchy and Developing Systemic Awareness in the XIs BY DANIELA JIMENEZ GABB, XIsD GROUP TEACHER As with everything at C&C, we start by meeting our students where they are. Developmentally, XIs begin to turn inward as budding adolescents just as they are gaining the ability to turn outward and look critically at the world, leading them to question authority and speak up when something's unfair or unjust. Explorations of social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion are a natural extension of that questioning. As an educator, I am always looking for ways to enter into such topics through curriculum, and also for how to make room for conversations outside of curriculum.

We use the content of the fall (Medieval Islamic World) to dispel the Eurocentric view of the Renaissance. The roots of the Renaissance can be found in Asia, and I place an emphasis on the cross-cultural, crosscontinental exchanges that were taking place. Finally, we use the Study to interrogate relationships of power present in 1,001 Arabian Nights (and note how they echo similar dynamics we see today regarding wealth and gender). Once we get to Venice during the late Middle Ages and early modern era (known as the Renaissance in European history), we talk about religious diversity through the lens of the Jewish community in Venice and the persecution of those who were different and who challenged the status quo authority during the Inquisition. We unpack dynamics of power with a continued focus on gender and, more pointedly, class. We dissect the three tiers of social class that existed in Venice during that time, using a primary source: a list of jobs and wages from the 15th century. I give each XI a job from that list in order to bring class disparities to life, and I ask them to reflect on where these inequities still exist today. As last year's XIs began to connect history with current day, they even ended up asking “What’s the hierarchy at C&C?” Current events also enter the classroom. I follow the children’s lead as they react to the world around them in real time. Community Meetings—open-ended discussions on topics brought forth by the XIs—have led to selfselected conversations about race, racial violence, and policing. A number of students who attended protests raised questions about police shootings. As often happens with XIs, they were so eager to understand that they were often 10 steps ahead. As their teacher, I had them step back and look at what “race” even is and when the concept began to take shape historically. This started with the fundamental question of, “What is a social construct?” Once properly focused, more questions were raised: “If race is a construct, then can it be done away with? What are the connections between slavery and the history of policing in this country?”

Folio inspired by the Medieval Islamic world and based on the XIs’ research topics

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Carving out time and space for these conversations remains a goal as we follow the children's lead and make choices around how and when to support them in a critical examination of their world.

Adding More Diverse Perspectives to the IXs Study of Westward Migrations BY MEGAN HOLLAND, IXsM GROUP TEACHER Each year, the IXs' Study of American migration stories, with a focus on the Oregon Trail and Lewis and Clark, was a thrilling look at life on the frontier and the movement of people. Katie Mastriano (IXsK Group Teacher) and I enjoyed teaching about these migrations and journeys, and the ways that people worked with resources available to them as they started a new life and built a new society. However, we thought the curriculum could be richer and more accurate if we were able to focus on more diverse perspectives. In many ways, we felt limited by the Oregon Trail curriculum. We spent time in C&C’s Archives to learn how previous C&C teachers had changed their Studies. Inspired, we worked with Joan Brodsky Schur (Social Studies Consultant) to explore other moments in American History for the IXs’ Study. After meeting with Ayesha Long (Director of Middle School) and Millie Cartagena (Director of Community Life, Equity, and Inclusion), we settled on an earlier migration: the movement into the Ohio Territory after the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783. Slavery was banned in the Ohio Territory, meaning not only can we examine the institution of slavery, but we can also learn how African Americans built new lives for themselves—and we found fantastic primary sources about African American settlement of the territory. We study the Indian Confederacy of tribes who resisted westward expansion as well, and this has allowed us to include literature by Indigenous writers in the Study, such as Louise Erdrich’s Birchbark series. The previous Study’s sense of industry and hard work— developmentally appropriate for nine-year-olds—is still present. We found primary sources from this time period

Students created a map to reflect their family origins.

The IXsM interviewed Director of Middle School Ayesha Long about her family history in 2019.

from Hudson Bay Company—records of trades that actually happened at fur trading outposts—that have been inspiring for the School Store. The Play depicting westward expansion also remains, though now we can grow from more complicated conversations about how to embody diverse characters with accuracy, sensitivity, and respect. Developmentally, IXs are just coming into being able to show the kind of empathy needed to take on different perspectives. In the 2019–2020 school year, the Play featured one African American family and one white family going to Ohio Territory and a mixed family—Native American/ French—who was already there. It was fascinating to witness the children talk and come to a decision about what they should do when the settlers arrived. Many of them wanted to coexist, others wanted to move farther west, and one member of the mixed family wanted to take a stance against the families moving in—sneaking out in the night and joining the resistance effort. One student, who played a white character, felt uncomfortable. She wrote in her journal, “If I were a person in this time period, I’d be racist and ignorant of these people on this journey,” so we had a conversation about it. We decided that we did not want to act out racism on our peers, since it would be hurtful. We knew we could simultaneously understand that this was the reality and choose not to subject each other to that kind of treatment during the role-play we were doing. This sort of reflection in the present time is exactly why Katie and I wanted to change the IXs’ Study of the past. It has also allowed us to look at the contemporary environmental movement and the relationship between the US Government and Indigenous people, and to enrich our Geography Study while contemplating shifting borders—among many other things. It has been an energizing experience, and one that will continue to evolve in the coming years. C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

LOWER SCHOOL

REIMAGINING

LOWER SCHOOL

TRIPS

IN THE PANDEMIC ERA By Jane Clarke, Director of Lower School

Venturing out into the world has always been a foundation of City and Country School’s Social Studies curriculum—broadening children’s experience of how the world is connected and how they fit into that environment. Our teachers provoke children to ask questions and seek answers, and taking Trips outside the classroom allows children to see and hear new things—and gain new understandings about what they 12

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experience together. And so, as students began returning to C&C in September, our teachers asked: How can we take Trips while staying at school?

REDEFINING “OUTSIDE”

The health and safety protocols in place early this year meant there would be a number of changes from our usual ways of doing things, especially when it came to Trips. For one, Groups could no longer use

public transportation to visit locations around the city; even locations within walking distance were initially off limits as a precaution, unless they were outside and very nearby. And yet, despite these restrictions, our creative teachers crafted experiences that would allow students to venture beyond the classroom and explore more of the world around them. In some ways, the measures in place made certain areas of the school

different enough to merit exploration even by our returning students. Social distancing requirements meant that movement in the hallways was limited and highly choreographed—with the help of newly hired hall monitors. The organic flow of passageway and stairwell interactions with others became virtually non-existent, and therefore novel. Instead, our students had new experiences, like communicating via walkie-talkie with our hall monitors and learning how this new job is supporting our community in important ways. While changes always bring opportunities for learning, these alterations also brought challenges. How would teachers be able to maintain this important tool for helping young children find answers, spark new ideas, and make connections in a virtual setting? How could they help even our youngest students better understand other places and people in the school? The School Store, the Library, and the Shop were not open to them; the IXs who help them at the Store, the Librarians who help them find good books, and the teacher who introduces them to the power of different tools were similarly out of view. I’m proud to say that through the tireless commitment and creativity of

our teachers—and in collaboration with parents and caregivers—we achieved what we always seek: to create authentic, meaningful experiences that relate abstract knowledge to what is important and tangible in our lives. In the absence of being able to take physical research Trips, teachers have guided children to have those important experiences in other ways. Through these opportunities to dive deeper, Trips have fed each child’s excitement in beginning to understand, in new ways, what makes the world work. Our children have continued to build confidence in who they are and how they can connect with important understandings and imaginings. The world they are now a part of has changed, but the fundamentals of learning through our experiences together have not wavered. I reached out to teachers of various Lower School age groups to see what stands out for them when they consider what they have done to achieve this goal. Their revelations are inspiring, and I have full confidence that all of our extraordinary teachers will continue to provide meaningful, thought-provoking, connectionbuilding experiences for our students, no matter where their Trips may take them.

VIVIAN YANG, IVs Remote Learning Coordinating Teacher For our fully remote IVs this year, Vivian invited her small group to venture outside the confines of the screen and into the world of jobs and responsibilities that are important to the smooth running of the Group’s day together. In addition to materials and space, many of the in-person jobs for the IVs involve maintaining their classroom environment and traveling in and out of the classroom. Since the remote IVs do not share physical space or travel, we revamped the jobs program to include: ‘attendance taker,’ ‘schedule card reader,’ ‘calendar announcer’ (tells the days of the week), ‘visitor coordinator’ (introduces IVs to visitors), ‘hello song singer,’ ‘goodbye song singer,’ etc. The jobs program not only helps teachers run the remote group, but also invites the IVs to be active participants on these Zoom calls. Every morning, IVs get to choose their jobs, and they get very excited to make a choice that they want.

ROBIN SAGE, IIIsR Teacher In these unusual times, our ability to explore the School and interact with numerous children and grown-ups has changed, yet we remain committed to finding opportunities to explore our place as part of a larger community. For example, the XIIIs still visit the IIIs (via Zoom) to conduct interviews for the Newspaper. We still write letters to members of the Buildings and Grounds crew to thank them for helping us fix a shelf on the Roof. We communicate with our delightful hall monitors over our walkie-talkies—and the IIIs are replicating this experience in their work with our indoor blocks. Our day contains more transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces than in a typical year, so the IIIs actually spend more time traveling through the halls than they would normally; this is a learning experience for them. They stop to look at the artwork (a leaf collage outside the IVs Room!) or read the Xs’ signage (‘Walk, don’t run!’) on the stairs. We have singalongs outside on the Roof with the other IIIs Groups and participate in a variety of movement activities. We cherish our morning arrival time with Security Guard Eddy Vargas, Receptionist Libby Clark, the Nurses, and whomever else is in the lobby that day. The grown-ups make everyone feel welcome and excited to start another day of our in-person program. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have the distinct privilege of being able to go to the Library with one or two children to borrow books. For the IIIs, the School is still a place to wander and wonder, and we look forward to our journeys.

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LOWER SCHOOL TARA DI GERLANDO, VIsT Teacher “Trip taking” became a different experience for the VIsT in the spring of 2020, during C&C’s time in remote instruction. Tara collaborated (virtually, this time) with NYC poet and teacher mentor Richard Lewis, who took the VIs on a virtual Trip down the river: The VIs had worked with Richard before, in the fall of 2019, when we were contemplating the universe. This time, we transitioned from sky to river by building simple boats, creating them for ourselves and a travel companion who would take a journey down the Hudson River with us. VIs engaged in this visual and imaginary experience by taking with them all that they had learned about the sights, sounds, stories, and surroundings of the Hudson River. With their experiences and Richard’s guidance, the students could truly begin to imagine what a trip on the Hudson River might feel like and what they might discover. In this collaboration, the VIs easily drew on the knowledge about the Hudson River that they had gained as a Group, while also building in the qualities of play. The VIs were captivated by one another as they had the time and space to share their vessels and their journeys, and to imagine each others’ experiences.

COUA VANG, VIIsC Teacher As they journey through their final year in the Lower School, our VIIs’ research Trips are essential. The students have become masters in the art of asking good and thoughtful questions—seeking information has become a reflex for them! The VIIs curriculum evolves from that inquiring thirst. VIIsC teacher Coua reflected on how they managed to retain the essence of this profound learning opportunity for children of this age in a virtual setting: Despite the limitations, one element that is still accessible and important about Trips is the planning process. Trip planning encourages children to inquire, wonder, organize their Study, and build upon their research skills. Once the childrens’ interests are sparked and a Study is selected, we assist by thinking creatively about different modes of experiences that are available and possible virtually. Virtual Trip experiences rely on children’s prior knowledge and wonderings, which ignite their imaginations. As teachers, we use a variety of tools to achieve multisensory VIIs’ Zoom Trip experiences. Two very important tools we use are drama and the imagination. We also use Google Maps, soundscapes and music, photographs and items, videos and studio visits, interviews, special guest visitors, and children’s observations and journaling. Our VIIs created their Permanent City this year using blocks and other materials to form all of the components of a modern urban environment. It is a city like no other in the long history of our School. As city planners, they needed to investigate what precautions must be in place for essential businesses to continue to operate in the event of a pandemic. It has been great hearing the ideas our VIIs generated and which all of us can learn from.

VIRTUAL CENTRAL PARK TRIP Stepping “outside” of Virtual C&C, VIIs donned coats and masks and “traveled” to Central Park online, via an imaginary 1 train. Upon arrival, the VIIs explored the park, starting at the Zoo and ending with a visit from a special guest—a member of the Mounted Auxiliary who keeps the park safe...on horseback! Along the way, they used “binoculars” to spot items from a scavenger hunt, heard “Stand by Me” sung by local musicians at Bethesda Terrace, contemplated bridge structures, and (perhaps most importantly) had snacks at the Visitor Center. A video of the Central Park Trip can be found on cityandcountry.org/videos.

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THE HIGH LINE, VIs In the Spring of 2021, students were able to go on Trips within walking distance of C&C again. The VIs began their research into the High Line by studying neighborhoods— and the buildings and places that are important to those neighborhoods. They learned about the High Line’s history as an abandoned rail line that had fallen into disrepair, and about the members of the neighborhood who worked together to devise a plan to turn it into a public park. Finally, they read the book The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, which was inspired by the story of the High Line. They then took a walking trip to observe, experience, and sketch before they began their Block Builds.

MONA DE VICTORIA, VsM Teacher

LOWER SCHOOL

The partnership between families and teachers has been essential for the Vs as well. Teachers reached out to families to support them as they encouraged their children to seek out information. Mona’s weekly letter was one vehicle for that collaboration:

A NEW KIND OF CHAPERONE

LS Trips and Parents ERIN TEESDALE, VIsE Teacher

The teacher–family partnership grew across the School, including in the VIs. Erin used Seesaw—the new online platform in the Lower School for sharing information with families—to facilitate and frame the reason VIs were each being asked to seek out and investigate a store in their neighborhood. The assignment was simple and straightforward, and the platform helped parents understand what they would need to do to support the process for their children.

This week, we will continue to study and explore shops in Blocks. If you visit any shops this week with your V, you can spend some time looking around and considering some of the components of the shop: Is there an open/closed sign? Are their hours posted? Is there a cash register? What kind of items are on sale?

As we mentioned in our letter last week, we are looking to grown-ups to assist VIs in taking a closer look at their neighborhoods through observations and discussions. We will post a new activity on Seesaw, which the VIs should complete sometime during the next three weeks. Each VI will choose one important place in their neighborhood to focus on and then complete the steps of the assignment. –Email excerpt from Erin to VIsE families

MADONNA LEE, VIsE Parent Parents eagerly assisted their children, and in doing so, gained a deeper understanding of how teachers empower children to contribute to their own learning and nurture a sense of wonder. Madonna wrote of her experience: Aria had to decide on a place/building in our neighborhood that she wanted to research. She selected a supermarket, Harris Teeter. Erin included some guiding questions and directives—to begin with, Aria was asked to study the outside. I couldn't believe how much she noticed! First, she pointed out the FIRE lane and pondered its purpose; next she moved on to the reserved parking signs; and then the space dedicated to customers picking up groceries from online orders. I think most poignantly she took note of an elderly employee who was collecting shopping carts left by patrons around the parking lot. It led us to a discussion about how our choices affect others and the importance of helping people in our community.

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Our next trip was to the post office, where we had an equally informative visit. We go there on a regular basis, but it wasn’t until Aria was given this task of drawing and taking notes of her observations that we started having conversations about the WHY—such as why reserved parking for persons with disabilities is intentionally located in proximity to the entrance/exit or why mail trucks have steering wheels on the right side of the vehicle. In being asked to draw the façade of the supermarket, Aria recognized it was symmetric (a concept the VIs had been studying in Math). Later, she constructed the supermarket with her blocks, created signs, and eventually used her build as a prop for her stop-motion video. It was all so interdisciplinary!

ONLINE GALLERY

AROUND C&C

Some things look different at C&C, but the heart of our program is still the same. Visit cityandcountry.org/aroundcandc to view an online gallery of photos from around school. C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

TECHNOLOGY AT C&C

TECH, THE C&C WAY

In March of 2020, the burgeoning pandemic pushed City and Country School to move its 105-year-old program entirely online. As the summer approached and faculty and staff could look beyond the immediacy of the day-to-day, they thought carefully about how the School could offer a program in the fall that would be true to C&C’s pedagogy while adapting to the realities of the continuing pandemic. It was clear that technology would play an integral role in any hybrid

Usman Ahmed, Technology Associate

Saber Khan, Coordinator of Instructional Technology

C&C’s 1:1 program provides a device to each student in the IIIs–Xs

or remote program; the key was to find the right tools and build the in-house capacity to be able to create an authentic C&C learning experience, even when instruction was happening online. To assist in this, the School expanded its Technology team by two in July, welcoming Saber Khan as Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Usman Ahmed as Technology Associate. Since joining the community, they have partnered with Director of Technology Reem Abu Amara, Technology Integrator and Support Ian Klapper, and external technology consultant Rob Taylor to identify and implement technological solutions to help C&C teachers translate their curricula to this new environment. At the center of this work has always been a simple guiding principle: Technology should support

C&C INNOVATION AMBASSADORS Throughout the 2020–2021 school year, teachers have been finding creative ways to maintain and build the progressive C&C learning experience across screens and distance. Led by Saber Khan, the Innovation Ambassadors program helps identify these pedagogical inventions so they can be spread beyond a single classroom to the community at large, gleaning lessons for post-pandemic times as well. Ambassadors join cohort meetings to discuss strategies for maintaining a strong progressive education in a disrupted environment. They also visit each other’s classrooms—both real and virtual—to learn tips and share feedback on practices. Read more about the Innovations Ambassadors program and their projects at cityandcountry.org/news.

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innovations in C&C’s program and the needs of our students and teachers, not be the driving force behind these changes. We invite all members of the C&C community to think out loud about the future of technology at the School, especially in ways that reaffirm our progressive values and pedagogical mission.

NEW TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS C&C is using multiple technology platforms to create a user-friendly learning experience for students, families, and teachers during hybrid and remote learning. This includes Zoom for video conferencing, Google Classroom and Seesaw for managing assignments, and Sora for the Library. Finally, C&C’s Remote Learning Hub houses important information from the School, including links to remote learning tools, divisional and school-wide communications, and support resources: cityandcountry. org/remote-learning.

Remembering Steve Antonakos and Gino Crocetti ’59 City and Country School lost two of its long-time community members in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Steve Antonakos and Gino Crocetti ’59. Their passings were shocking and heartbreaking; the emptiness they left behind is now, unfortunately, all too familiar. So many of our families—and those in our extended community—have endured staggering losses this past year. And though we have been physically apart, collectively, we grieved. For all who knew Steve and Gino, their absences remain deeply felt, but the memory of their inner light, their kindness, and their humor will stay with us, always. May they continue to inspire the best in all of us. —Scott Moran, Principal C&C is planning in-person remembrances for Steve and Gino, likely to be held in spring 2022.

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STEVE BASIL ANTONAKOS AUGUST 16, 1957–MARCH 26, 2020

Every child who has played with the blocks in the Yard, painted on an easel, or hung their coat in a cubby in the last 15 years has been affected by Steve’s work as C&C’s Carpenter. Steve called himself a guitarpenter, blending two of his greatest talents—guitar playing and carpentry—but that doesn’t capture the strength of his presence or the constant look of amusement in his eyes. He was the son of Irene Marie (Billias) Antonakos, a nurse, and Stephen Antonakos, an artist. Steve is survived by his wife, Susie Rankine; daughter, Christine Marchetti Antonakos; and sister, Evangelia Antonakos. A child of Manhattan, Steve attended Boys Harbor, then Stuyvesant High School, where he first found his love of woodworking. Steve went on to SUNY Purchase, where he received a BFA with Honors in Music. Below are some of the thoughts shared at C&C at the time of Steve’s passing. Steve was kind and generous when he didn’t need to be, when nobody was looking. He was an inspiring craftsman and a great co-worker. We miss him every day. —Winston Janho, Anil Mathura, Jonathan Negron, Chris Ramos, Alex Sanchez, Jose Tejada-Lora, Tenpa Tsering, and Jigme Woser, Buildings and Grounds Staff The memories of so many kind, quiet, intelligent conversations. So many big and little plans and projects. But always the music. —Gino Crocetti ’59, Specials Teacher

Steve repairing a box in the Roof Yard with the VIIsR

Just before Spring Break, Steve came up to the Roof when the IIIs were outside. He was there to look at an issue with the climber. He explained his whole process to the IIIs—how he would fix the hole with wood and then paint it green to match. They were captivated. Before Steve left the Roof that day, we asked if we could take his picture for our Grown-Ups We Know book. He was thrilled to be included, in his words, “in such an important book.” This picture reminds me of the joyfulness he exuded during his independent and collaborative work at C&C. —Robin Sage, IIIsR Teacher

I met Steve during my residency at the Downtown Little School, where I taught from 2006 to 2015. In fact, he helped install shelves in my old classroom, not to mention all his other work that my students and I benefited from, both at DLS and at C&C. When I look back at my teaching career, the majority of it has, in a way, rested upon his craft. Even today, I sketched a picture of an easel, and realized that my mental image is, of course, one of Steve’s. —Mona de Victoria, VsM Teacher

basement, assembling the large boxes for the Yard, carefully sanding the edges. It was always such a beautiful sight to see all of those new blocks ready for the children in the fall. —Scott Moran, Principal

Steve was a quiet person, but he was a compelling presence. In addition to his work for C&C, he had other jobs as a carpenter, some of which involved building outdoor blocks for other institutions, helping to spread C&C’s unique materials far and wide. When I picture Steve, I see his warm, genuine smile and his knowing eyes as he chuckled at someone’s joke—even though you didn’t realize he had been listening. I remember him in the

Steve’s presence is felt everywhere at C&C, especially in the Block Yard. My personal debt of gratitude to Steve is for building and outfitting our many Shop classrooms with tool cabinets, shelving, and perfectly made workbenches. Steve was so good at doing what he creatively did. We will miss him and remember his kindness, humor, and great big heart. —Maggie Ens, Shop Teacher

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I always walked away from my conversations with Steve feeling appreciative of his kindness, his willingness to help, and his craftsmanship. He was a gentle soul who had a great sense of humor. —Gee Roldan, XsG Teacher

GINO CROCETTI ’59

OCTOBER 18, 1945–APRIL 6, 2020

During his 40 years teaching at C&C, Gino held numerous roles, including Science Teacher, Math Teacher, Shop Teacher, Afterschool Instructor, Facilities Director, Country Trip leader, and unofficial school historian. His long-time colleague and friend, XIIIs Teacher Ann Roberts, shared a personal look back on his life and legacy at C&C. We have had many months to get used to a City and Country School without Gino, but we are still grieving. We are disoriented and disembodied without him. It is comforting to remember Gino, to bring him back by recalling all the moments we shared. Like his yearly trips to Union Square with a small band of XIIIs to get a new hamster for the Science Room. The hamsters would often get lost or die, and then he would have to get another one. Or the time he let all the fruit flies loose by mistake, or the time they all died from an overdose of fly nap. We remember his blowing up a large piece of coal that the XIIIs had brought back from a trip to the Lackawanna coal mine in Pennsylvania. Gino’s experiments in Afterschool Science were the stuff of legends. And then there were the experiments that went along with the Jobs. He loved all the old Group projects, like taking the hair off of deer hides to make the vellum for the illuminated letters in the Xs. The hide would stink horribly. Then he would burn large tree stumps for the VIIIs. We always thought the building was on fire. There were the Country Trips that Gino loved, with their tales of capsized canoes and snoring. He lived for the handson parts of C&C, the making of outdoor ovens to bake bread or salmon, the pulling of the covered wagon over a muddy creek, the construction of pulleys in the Science Room, and the lighting up of the VIIs Brooklyn Bridge. “God is in the details,” he would say, and go off to tinker with another project. He enjoyed teaching Math in the XIIIs, always happy to help students one-on-one or in larger groups as they tried to complete the square or juggle exponents. He was meticulous about grading Math homework because he wanted to understand what a student was thinking. He traced their thoughts until he found where something had gone awry. He was there to help everyone, but he was especially good at helping the kids who needed comfort, the kids who were troubled by something, or the kids who didn’t quite fit in.

He also felt duty-bound to show up for Ed Committee meetings year after year. He took his role of citizen seriously, both in our tiny community and in the community of his neighborhood uptown. He was a poll watcher, and he contributed perhaps too much money to the campaigns of candidates he approved of. He felt that as a School, we needed to create future citizens who would be well-informed and willing to act for the benefit of all. As a citizen of C&C, he had filled many roles, including that of Facilities Director, so he knew all about our boilers, our pipes, our basements, and our past. Gino had such wonderful books. He was always willing to donate a book to our classroom library if it had some relevance to our curriculum, like the work of John Snow (who discovered the cause of cholera epidemics), or the original description of Samual Slater’s mill in Pawtucket, Rhode island, available from Project Gutenberg. He also loved to read Harlequin romances, which he would devour like his sandwiches from Subway and his gallon-sized Diet Cokes. He was so generous, sharing bits and pieces of himself with unfailing trust in our good will and in our deep affection and caring for him—all the bits and pieces of a life lived with intense engagement and enjoyment. C&C was Gino’s home, his life. It allowed him to pursue his interests all day long with kids who loved to go on those journeys with him. Gino embodied what is best about our School: his intense love of learning, his high intellectual standards, his refusal to settle for shoddy work or to cut corners, his warmth, his acceptance of all kids—getting down to their level and working alongside them to learn together, to delight in discoveries, to comfort them by simply being there when they needed comfort. We miss him. We miss his living in the moment, his sharing of everything, his devotion to the community, his belief in the goodness of children and in our obligation to meet them where they are, to go much more than halfway if necessary. We miss his kindness and his patience. He was the heart of our School. —Ann Roberts, February 2021

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A slideshow honoring Steve and Gino is available at cityandcountry.org/videos. 22

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RETURNING TO THE CLASSROOM During the summer of 2020, City and Country School completed extensive work on its facilities and revamped its protocols to prepare the buildings for the returning students, faculty, and staff. With new measures in place, the IIs–IVs began the year in person five days per week, while the Vs–XIIIs followed a twoday per week in-person hybrid model that rolled out in phases between September and November. After a smaller expansion in February, all Groups have been in person four to five days a week since Spring Break, with some families choosing to remain fully remote.

BACK TO SCHOOL

New protocols include daily health screenings and temperature checks.

Among the investments C&C made to ensure a safe reopening are: • 23 new teachers and educational support staff to offer smaller classes and dedicated help for students on remote days; expanded Technology Team • New ventilation and air purification systems for classrooms and offices throughout the school • Consulting services from an expert team at Mount Sinai Health System to help develop protocols for maintaining our community’s health and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 • Creation of the Community Bridge Fund to provide emergency aid to families, faculty, and staff in need • New 1:1 device program to ensure that children have all the tools they need to learn in any location, provided at no charge: iPads for IIIs, Chromebooks for IVs–IXs, Macbooks for Xs–XIIIs • Lease of an adjoining brownstone for additional classroom and outdoor space to support social distancing • Weekly COVID-19 testing for all in-person students, faculty, and staff New ventilation and air purification system in the Library

• Additional Buildings and Grounds and cleaning staff to implement mitigation measures, and added security staff to operate a second entrance on 12th Street for social distancing purposes C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

The Rhythms Room, reconfigured this year as the XsG Room

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MIDDLE SCHOOL

SIGNS

n e g a ch (of)

THE EVOLUTION OF THE Xs’ JOB AS SIGN MAKERS

n a typical first day of school in September, the hallways are filled with the rush of students greeting their friends after a long summer break, teachers leading their new Groups to their Rooms, and more than one confused parent or staff member trying to navigate the seven brownstones of City and Country School in search of the correct office or meeting room. Unlike most schools, C&C does not have permanent signs on classroom doors or in hallways to help orient visitors in the space. This charming chaos is by design: The Xs, the Sign Makers of the School, have not yet put up any wayfinding signage in the buildings, and the difficulty navigating in these early days of the year serves to demonstrate how critical the Xs’ Job is to the overall functioning of the School. The pandemic protocols that accompanied the return to in-person instruction made some changes necessary. With the Xs not beginning in-person school until late September, and with a strong need to limit unnecessary movement within the buildings for safety reasons, the Xs team faced the first of many questions about how to maintain the essence of the Job as Sign Makers while adapting to the realities and opportunities presented by the pandemic. The Xs teaching team—Molly Lippman (XsM Group Teacher), Gee Roldan (XsG Group Teacher), and Chloe Cole (Xs Associate Teacher)—began thinking about these changes during the summer, well before

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any children arrived at school or logged on to their first remote class. Coming out of their IXs Job of running the School Store, the Xs were primed to approach their Job as Sign Makers as a business. Usually this process would kick off with a number of Super Group meetings (that is, with both Xs Groups) to organize, make to-do lists, and break into committees focused on key tasks such as branding, sticky stuff, sign materials, and pricing. Every year, the 12th and 13th Street buildings are divided up, and each is assigned to one of the Xs Groups. There is normally a great deal of back and forth among students to coordinate their work on these two spaces, especially on the big questions of branding and visual identity. This year, however, there were a number of logistical challenges—among these, that the XsG and XsM were not in-person on the same days of the week, and that some students were participating in a fully remote program.

FULL-COLOR SIGNS OR KEEP THEM ALL BLACK AND WHITE? “XsM” OR “XsM ROOM” ON THE CLASSROOM DOOR?

The Xs team knew that numerous decisions like these, which are usually made by students quite literally running back and forth between rooms, would take on many levels of complexity if they had to be scheduled and conducted via Zoom or email. The teachers reflected: If students and staff are not moving between buildings in the same ways that they usually do, does the Sign Makers’ process need to be “business as usual”? The important elements of the

What type of lettering is best? The Xs discussed the importance of modeling the handwriting system the students use in the Lower School, Handwriting Without Tears—if used consistently on all signage, most of C&C’s reading community would be able to read the signs.

Job—collaborative work, creativity, research, and problem-solving—would remain intact even if the Groups recentered some decision-making in the individual Xs Groups, rather than in the larger Super Group. While the process of determining key tasks and responsibilities would remain a shared Xs experience, each Group was given more autonomy over the decisions for their individual buildings.

signs and going deeper into their work as Sign Makers. The creative element of producing personalized handmade signage is made more meaningful each year by the Xs’ fall exploration of the history of writing, the evolution of various scripts, and the impact of writing as a technology that spurs growth and change. Like the people they studied from long ago and far away, our students’ innovations this year reflected their own lived experiences.

A sense of excitement grew. With fewer Super Group decisions before them, students were able to move more quickly into creating the room and wayfinding

In the fall, the remote Xs’ Job responsibilities mirrored those of their in-person peers: They were assigned

SIGN MAKING IN THE DIGITAL AGE

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MIDDLE SCHOOL

rooms, they created handmade signs on paper, and they scanned and emailed in their signs to be printed and hung up at school. Following Winter Break, Molly, Gee, and Chloe were thinking about ways to keep their fully remote students engaged, and the conversations with students turned to: What can we do in this digital space? “We’re on email all the time,” said Chloe, “so we wanted to explore how we can use signs in this context. Email has long been the primary way faculty and staff communicate, but this year, the same holds true for many students.” Their foray into digital signage started slowly. The students drew signs offline (as they had done with room signs), scanned or took a photos of the signs, and then added the images as email signatures. At the same time, they were learning to use Photoshop in Art/Shop/ Computer class, including exploring how to make GIFs— animated images commonplace across the internet and widely used on social media. They began asking if they could start using these new skills to make digital email signatures rather than hand-drawn ones. “C&C has a tradition of making all signs by hand—is this something we could depart from? This was the big question,” said Chloe. And yet, the core of C&C’s approach is to be responsive to students—what they’re enthusiastic about and what

Some of the other signs that were needed this year were pandemic-related: For example, the Xs spent time thinking about ways to mark socially distanced intervals around the school and creating signs reminding people to wear masks and practice good hand hygiene.

MIDDLE SCHOOL JOBS DURING PANDEMIC Ayesha Long, Director of Middle School The Jobs Program has been part of the Middle School since its founding. Traditionally, the VIIIs' Job is to run the Post Office, a responsibility that includes taking daily attendance, collecting and distributing postcards and letters, and making and selling stamps and other Post Office items. They also do Round Robins, visiting classrooms to share important school-wide announcements. The IXs are in charge of the School Store, selling needed materials to classrooms, offices, and visitors. The Xs make signs, both to label the spaces in the buildings and in response to needs expressed by faculty and staff. This year, the Jobs Program is still alive and well in the Middle School—with slight adaptations, of course. For the VIIIs and their Post Office, these changes are visible 28

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in exciting ways. Round Robins are now conducted virtually, by going into Zoom rooms to give announcements and by sharing Middle School-specific reminders at the Assemblies. The IXs’ School Store—the Store of the Ox—still sells many normal school staples: small whiteboards, clay, paint, pencils, and highlighters. This year, they also sell an assortment of health and safety items needed in response to COVID-19, including hand sanitizer and customized masks— all through a website they created. And though the 12th Street Store space can only be used for storage, rather than as a place customers can visit to make purchases, the IXs are able to provide contactless delivery to classrooms and offices on 12th Street, partnering with the VIIIs to deliver to 13th Street customers.

The Xs, our Sign Makers, always play a critical role in the School by labeling spaces with words and pictures. This year, they have also been instrumental in reminding us of the safety measures we need to follow, from maintaining social distancing and masking to following proper hand-washing techniques. They are also offering new products, from personalized GIFs for our email signatures to the motivational posters now hanging in our hallways. Although the precise responsibilities and logistics of the Middle School Jobs have changed during the pandemic, the core of the program has remained: to engage children in hands-on experiences that have a meaningful role in the functioning of the School and to allow them to gain understanding of a complex system by immersing themselves in the full, visible process of designing and implementing it.

they want to pursue. “My Xs were spending their time outside of class working on creating digital images, experimenting with techniques, and teaching each other the skills and tricks they had picked up. Clearly they were excited about this!” said Chloe. The students soon began offering a new product, this one fully digital: personalized GIF email signatures.

opportunity to have the Xs create message signs—ones that would inspire people in our community to stay positive and motivated, in addition to the message signs that express a call for change. This gave students more creative freedom: Xs could play around with color, fonts, and images in an entirely different way from the informational print signs and safety signs.”

What does this addition mean to the Xs’ Job? “We’re always trying to make connections between what the students are learning and the outside world. It’s easy for them to see signs and symbols in digital spaces like websites and online ads,” Chloe shared. One feature of the Jobs Program is the way it helps students build skills that are useful beyond the classroom. As the students work with Photoshop, they are not only acquiring an important technical skill, but they are also learning about graphic design, which is so fundamental to the physical and digital signs they see all around them.

The Xs’ Job this year has adapted and grown in response to the changing demands of the pandemic, but it continues to serve its essential purposes: to build Groupness and collaboration skills; to serve the larger school community; to give students transparency into and ownership over a complete process; and to allow the Xs to connect their own experiences here and now with the daily lives of the people they study from long ago and far away.

GOING DEEPER

The Xs’ Job is about more than just orienting and communicating inside the physical and digital spaces of the School. It is also closely tied to the Xs’ curriculum, and in particular, their Studies of writing systems across time. As they delved more deeply into the role that writing had in communications, power, and religion in the Ancient World, the Xs connected strongly with the ways that signage is related to action around social and political issues today. “Throughout the year, the Xs have been talking about current events—organically and sometimes in more directed ways when things have bubbled up in the news. Community Discussions about women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, Black Lives Matter, climate change, and the presidential election have been the topics the Xs have consistently circled back to,” said Gee. “They have also been creating signs with messages that they hope will inspire change.” In addition to appearing in the news, many of these topics came up organically as Xs read short stories in Writer's Workshop or creation myths in Book Group; for example, the concepts of power, socioeconomic class, religion, and gender roles emerged when reading ancient Egyptian myths and in their historical fiction book, Eye of the Moon, by Dianne Hofmeyr. The Xs have also been looking for ways they can have a positive impact on the community. In the winter, they did this by making signs encouraging students, faculty, and staff to stay positive and keep going, an especially powerful message to see in the hallways as we passed the one-year anniversary of when the pandemic began to affect our lives. “In January, our Community Discussions and metacognition conversations (facilitated by Xs and XIs Learning Specialist Michele Bloom) focused on how to check-in with ourselves—the importance of being our best selves, navigating distractions, putting a positive spin on negative situations,” Gee shared. “I saw an

NEW PRODUCT ALERT: GIF SIGNATURES This year’s unique format, with C&C students, teachers, and staff in different combinations of in-person and remote time, put more emphasis than ever on C&C’s digital spaces. Xs picture signs, which are usually commissioned for offices and classrooms, are a highlight of the year—a source of pride among the students who make them and excitement for those who order them. With many staff members working remotely this year and onsite faculty and staff using spaces around the school much differently, how could the Xs recapture and spread the creativity and joy that these signs bring? The remote students in the XsMC came up with a brilliant idea: If people aren’t ordering office signs, how about digital signs for their email signatures? Chloe worked with the XsMC—the Xs’ fully remote students—to help them create personalized GIFs that could be ordered by community members for use in their email signatures.

“DEAR MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS,

We are the XsMC. We are Milo, Paolo, Leo, and Mateus. We decided to change part of the Xs' Job to be virtual since we are all remote. We wanted to let you know about something new we are trying out: GIF signatures that you can put at the end of your email. We’ve included examples in this email. We used Photoshop to make these. If you want one, please fill out this Google form and we will try to make it for you. We hope to do business with you. —Leo, Mateus, Milo, and Paolo”

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DON’T STOP XIIIs Continue to Tell Stories and Advance Social Justice Causes Through the Newspaper

eadlines in every press shop spark a flurry of activity—a last minute scramble to get stories and photos submitted, edited, and published. Despite the pandemic, the XIIIs—the journalists of C&C and the curators of the School Newspaper— and their Group Teachers were determined to keep the gears of the presses running smoothly and to further their understanding of social justice and action. This inspired a similar flurry: of creativity, innovation, and excitement for the possibilities.

C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

When the pandemic hit New York City last year, the School’s immediate goals were supporting the C&C community, keeping community members safe, and creating a remote program to keep students learning in a way that captured as much of the C&C experience as possible. For the XIIIs, this included continuing to tell the stories of C&C, even before they were physically in the building to take photos and interview people in the community, and even though they were unable to print their Newspaper and sell it in the front lobby. But these

limitations didn’t stop the presses. The XIIIs and their teachers—Ann Roberts, Trayshia Rogers, and Tyler Tarnowicz—put their heads together to reimagine the C&C Newspaper, Generation Zoom, for the 2020–2021 school year. The XIIIs turned their newly acquired Zoom skills toward interviewing students, faculty, and staff, and even taking photos of Groups at work. They used Google Classroom to begin the collaborative process of building their digital newspaper.

UPPER SCHOOL

THE

S E S S E PR The platform was a great space to

brainstorm story ideas, write articles, and edit pieces, but they knew this was not the right tool for sharing Generation Zoom with the community. Seeking a better option, the XIIIs reached out to Saber Khan, C&C’s new Coordinator of Instructional Technology, who suggested using the Glideapp platform to build a custom Newspaper app. Using these resources, the Group digitized the entire process of creating and distributing the Newspaper. In addition to expediting production and simplifying the editing process, going all-digital allowed them to incorporate multimedia and interactive elements in each issue,

including videos, audio clips, playlists, and podcasts. It also had

the added benefits of being more sustainable, saving paper and ink, while also bringing the Newspaper to a wider audience of community members than ever before. The XIIIs Teachers also tout the real-world benefits of the digital format. “The kids are learning to

become more organized. They can’t pop into a classroom for interviews. They have to plan ahead, coordinate with teachers, schedule appointments, and show up on time,” said Trayshia. The ever-expanding possibilities have inspired both creativity and a heightened sense of commitment to the Newspaper Job for the students.

ZOOM IN: Read the XIIIs Newspaper, Generation Zoom, online at https://xiiisnewspaper.glideapp.io/ Check your email for the monthly C&C community newsletter, which contains the password, or email communications@cityandcountry.org.

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UPPER SCHOOL

“The process has become more engaging because it’s more relevant, and that makes it much easier for the XIIIs to buy into it. Each issue has gotten more and more robust. We started with no podcasts and a few games. Now we have games, crosswords, videos, audio features, and multiple podcasts.” –Tyler Tarnowicz Having a larger audience has also been encouraging for the students. “With its digital platform, Generation Zoom reaches a much wider audience than earlier editions of the XIIIs Newspaper. Now our alumni and the parents of alumni are reading the paper,” said Ann. Like anyone working in the digital space, the students are also learning how to read Google Analytics data and are finding ways to use those metrics to improve the Newspaper by responding to the needs and preferences of their audience.

THE NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS/BEYONCE’S HOMECOMING Beyonce’s Homecoming (2019) and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative (1845) center the XIIIs’ discourse around Blackness in America and the experiences that stem from it. Just as Douglass exposed his predominantly white readers to the conditions of slavery, Beyonce seeks to expose her predominantly white audience at Coachella to Black culture (including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, stepping, hair, and song). Just as Douglass invited his audience to understand more deeply the corrupting nature of slavery so that they might abolish it, Beyonce invites her audience to understand Black culture and history more deeply. Rather than performing it on a stage like Beyonce, Douglass scripted his story on the page. In this way, students regularly toggle between centuries in order to dissect issues surrounding race, power, and resistance. —From the XIIIs Curriculum Overview, written by the XIIIs Group Teachers 32

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There are some things that simply cannot translate to the digital platform. “We miss the Friday morning Newspaper sale in the front lobby and the theater around that,” said Trayshia. “And for the XIIIs, seeing other students in the Library with their newspapers was such a special part of the experience and a point of pride that we’re missing right now.” In addition to playing a vital role in keeping the school community informed, the Newspaper is also an outlet through which the XIIIs reflect on and draw parallels to what they are learning in the classroom, especially as it relates to social justice in current events. The crimes and injustices committed against Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals across the country, and the protests and unrest that followed throughout the summer of 2020, provided a unique lens

through which the students approached both their classroom learning and their work with the Newspaper this year. “The XIIIs curriculum over the past few years has been centered around the experience of African Americans,” said Trayshia. “Current events have created a live, interactive view of how things that happened before are impacting us right now, and how the African American experience of the past is being brought forth again in last summer’s social justice movement.” XIIIs began the new school year by watching Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story” TED Talk, which explores the perils of only getting one side of a story. This provided a foundation upon which teachers could build a discussion about how to consider all the angles of a story and look for other perspectives—and why it is important to give a fuller picture of every experience. “As we know, there are a variety of stories and perspectives depending on what you look at, so we’re almost hunters for all the different angles to consider,” said Tyler. It is no coincidence that this is how the XIIIs approach learning: Questioning and critical study are crucial skills students use both in examining social justice issues and in their work on the Newspaper. Teachers across C&C encourage students to delve deeply into subjects and to gather information constantly to inform their own views, a skill that the XIIIs practice again and again to make their articles more thoughtful and balanced. “We want our students to be critical thinkers, who go out into society understanding that it’s more complex than their own lived experiences,” said Tyler. “Your experience is valid, although you’re not alone. It’s up to them to interrogate those other perspectives and find out why it is that others see it the way they see it.”

UPPER SCHOOL DURING THE PANDEMIC: COMMUNICATION IN ACTION Karen Brandt, Director of Upper School The Upper School has been busy communicating this past year! Through letter writing, the Newspaper, Zoom, and face-to-face interactions (with masks, of course), the students have committed to keeping communication at the fore and continuing to engage in a rich dialogue with each other, sharing all that they have learned over the course of the year. XIsJ and XIsD engaged in an exchange across their global cities of study: Baghdad and Cordoba. They shared information about their cities and individual research topics, even creating travel guides and other objects related to their respective cities’ greats. The XIs have also been working together on their Job, notably adapting Printing to Bookmaking, in addition to using the printing press. In the XIIs, students have been immersed in their Studies around the Ancient Greek world’s eternal ideals and values, exploring where these have persisted in the modern world and how they have changed. The XIIs explore a number of philosophical questions such as, “What does it mean to be good? What are honesty, loyalty, friendship, freedom, courage? What ideas and structures from the Ancient World still remain relevant?” At this developmental age, XIIs are beginning to have a deeper understanding of self, and the examination of abstract ideas found in texts from Ancient Greece and the modern era resonates for many adolescents and allows for meaningful exchanges. The XIIIs build on their previous understanding of the issues of race, class, and power in American history. This year, XIIIs found themselves preparing for their capstone history essays while simultaneously planning documentaries on personal issues that they are passionate about. Using their curriculum and current events as a springboard, they continue to use Generation Zoom as a tool to share their learning with the greater C&C community.

This careful examination and questioning of viewpoints has led to interesting and meaningful discourse within the Group. Teachers give students the space and the encouragement to have conversations and ask questions they weren’t able to ask previously— usually out of fear of offending someone—or uncover information they’ve never been exposed to. “Like anything else, it takes practice, and students become more comfortable with it as we go along. There are moments when we debate,

but that’s exactly what we want to have happen,” said Tyler. “We often say that the work we’re doing in the classroom is meant to translate outside of the classroom.” “I’m so proud of our XIIIs’ ability not just to grasp the subject matter, but to process and extend it so that their readers have an understanding and hopefully a broader and more balanced view of the issues facing the world,” said Trayshia. “It’s a complicated moment in many ways, but our XIIIs are showing us they’re able to rise and meet it.” C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

PORTFOLIO Vs ART SHOW

PLEASE COME TO THE BEAUTIFUL, FUN ART SHOW

The second edition of C&C’s Portfolio series explores how the 2018–2019 VsM Group planned The Art Show to share their painting work with the greater community. Published in fall of 2020, City and Country School's second Portfolio features 18 works of art, one from each student in the 2018–2019 VsM. Though they are beautiful representations of each child’s world, the aesthetic value of the art pieces is not the focus. As Jane Clarke, Director of Lower School, said, “The preparation for the show, and how the children learned with and from each other during that process, are what

made The Art Show so important.” In addition to the artwork, children’s tickets and invitations are featured, as are statements by Jane and VsM Group Teacher Mona De Victoria, with quotes from C&C educators to frame the importance of the work that went into the show. As IVsL Group Teacher Liana Stampur wrote, “The Vs’ Art Show involved developmentally appropriate math explorations, literacy, arts, and

Vs prepared to welcome visitors to The Art Show in the 2018–2019 school year.

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social-emotional work. The Vs had a physical experience that led them to both a deeper understanding of what they know and a deeper curiosity about what they don’t know.” That curiosity is revealed through some of the questions the VsM asked during their preparations for The Art Show:

VSM PLANNING QUESTIONS

• How will people know about The Art Show? Should we put an ad in the School Newspaper? • What should everyone wear to the show? • What if visitors break the rules? What are our rules? • Can we play music at The Art Show—as a band? • Could we make a ticket booth at the woodworking bench? • Could there be doughnuts? What about sparkling water?

Vs shared their art and inspiration with fellow students.

SOCIAL MEDIA

SEE MORE FROM C&C FACEBOOK: facebook.com/CandCSchool INSTAGRAM: @cityandcountry VIMEO: vimeo.com/ cityandcountryschool

“I so enjoyed seeing the Vs’ work displayed with imaginative titles for each beautiful painting, together with their self-portrait collages that we made during our Art time together. Each self-portrait has such an individual character and expresses so much about each child’s personality—as well as showing a bit about how the Vs see themselves within the Group.”

—Molly Herman, Lower School & VIIIs Art Teacher

The C&C Portfolio series kicked off in spring of 2016, with a Council for Advancement and Support of Education Award-winning entry on a VIsE Study of neighborhoods, garbage, and recycling. The students’ Study led to the entire Group drawing a picture of Chinese artist Xu Bing’s Phoenix installation, which was created from recycled materials. Each C&C Portfolio is a limitedrun publication that describes C&C’s program in a more visual manner than our other publications. One hundred copies of “The Art Show” were created; some were

cityandcountry Our VIIs are getting creative while social distancing. The outdoor blocks now double as work spaces— first they build it, then they use it as a desk to do class work! #openendedmaterials

given to 2018–2019 VsM families and others will be used to promote and explain our innovative program beyond C&C. Outside educators will be sent the Portfolio, and copies will be kept in the Admissions Office to share with prospective families.

Watch the VsM sharpen their math skills while counting tickets, and see them prepare for their celebration with the C&C community. A video from The Art Show can be viewed online: cityandcountry.org/videos.

cityandcountry A reminder from our students: Balance and steadiness are important skills for navigating any obstacles—and definitely all obstacle courses! #steady

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ALUMNI EVENTS

A Challenge and an Opportunity:

ALUMNI GATHER VIRTUALLY Each year, alumni return to City and Country School for the cherished tradition of the Alumni Reunion. The event is always a packed house, marked with hugs, not a few kisses, and old Groups coming together to celebrate in the physical space that they took such pride and ownership in: C&C. However—and to employ a phrase that has been grossly overused these days—life is different now. Reunions, like so many events, must be held virtually. So, on two evenings in 2020, our alumni came together via Zoom for a Virtual Alumni Reunion. On both occasions, alumni enjoyed engaging presentations in the first hour, spending the second hour

catching up with old friends and classmates in smaller Zoom rooms. These smaller rooms, based on graduation year, led to more intimate conversations, and alumni were able to float between rooms—and many did! The Virtual Alumni Reunions were fun and enjoyable, and there was one big bonus: Those who otherwise would not have been able to attend Reunions in person because of distance were able to attend virtually. Over 100 alumni reconnected at each event, and they left with new insights into two very interesting subjects thanks to our presenters (see below and opposite page), who engaged their audiences from afar.

C&C COMES TOGETHER: A Historical Look at the Community Joining Together in Challenging Times On May 20, 2020, C&C Archivist, Research Librarian, and parent Jordis Rosberg gave a presentation on how the community has come together in earlier times of crises, comparing past events with how we have dealt with COVID-19. One focus was the reaction to World War II. Jordis brought the period of 1941–1945 to life and explored how administrators, teachers, and students at C&C all dealt with the crisis of a world at war. Even the youngest students were affected, and they tried to make sense of the war (as they do everything else) by using blocks. Older students opened a

shop where appliances could be repaired, since new ones couldn’t be found because of rationing. For teachers, “Extra meetings, extra thinking, and extra work” brought on by the “emergency situation” meant “a new outburst of initiative and vitality throughout the school,” according to one entry from the Archives written by Leila V. Stott (IIIs, IVs, VIs, VIIIs, Xs–XIIs Group Teacher; Assistant

to Caroline Pratt; author of many books and articles; 1915–1945). Two themes arose in how C&C has responded to difficult times, and also how it operates in good times: in a spirit of community and with great invention as a way of meeting problems. As Jordis said, the C&C community is constantly asking, “How can we think outside the box and find ways to respond to struggles?”

PRESENTATION VIDEOS Videos of both presentations can be found at cityandcountry.org/videos. 36

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C&C COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER C&C sends out a monthly email to the community beyond current C&C families, with events and updates from around school. Not receiving it yet? Sign up by emailing Kelly Washburn (kellyw@cityandcountry.org).

Page by Dahlov Ipcar, ’31

THE APPLES AND THE TREE: How C&C Alumni, Staff, and Parents Surprised Caroline Pratt with an Extraordinary, One-of-a-kind Book On December 3, 2020, Jordis returned for a second presentation, along with C&C alumni parent and Board member Barry Munger and Communications Special Projects Matt Payne, to talk about a spectacular find. As part of research Barry undertook during the republication of I Learn From Children, he connected with Caroline Pratt’s great-niece, Fran Needham, who has a book of roughly 70 pages that had been gathered by members of the C&C community to honor Pratt.

As Barry said, alumni were, “the first members of the C&C community— at least in many decades—to see a book that is really a long-lost family album of the School; the kind of heirloom you’d want to grab if your house were burning down.” Beyond learning more about the book, alumni were treated to conversation with a direct descendant of Caroline Pratt, as Fran joined us to show the book and talk about her aunt and family— giving alumni a new perspective on the School’s founder.

“For most of you,” said Fran, “the humorous, friendly side of Caroline was not something you saw a lot of.” For Caroline Pratt, From Her Friends is a bound book that was created by the C&C community, featuring letters, art, poetry, music, and more from C&C parents, alumni, and teachers, as well as from progressive educational leaders. It was compiled in honor of the 25th anniversary of the School’s founding, and it was presented to Pratt on the occasion of her 74th birthday on May 13, 1941. Not only is the book a celebration of Caroline Pratt’s revolutionary program, but it reveals aspects of her personality and life never before seen. C&C parent and ACLU co-founder Morris Ernst was both personal (“I was with her when she experienced her first excitement at a hockey game.”) and praising (noting, among other things, that “C.P.” fostered “fearless educators speaking as the poets of the future.”) Artist Thomas Hart Benton wrote, “I can’t paint the good fortune of having known Pratt. Just let’s say that Tom and Rita [Benton’s wife] like Pratt better than anybody they know.” C&C Physician (and parent) Dr. Milton Levine even provided a whimsical prescription: Caroline Pratt’s philosophy should be taken anywhere, at any time, by children of any age. C&C will continue to find ways to explore For Caroline Pratt and share it with our community. C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

ALUMNI NEWS

Linda Harlow with her greatgranddaughter

1940s John Sonneborn ’44 My new essay “The Most Important Principles” was published. (Available on johnnysonneborn. blogspot.com.) Shorter versions are available upon request. Peter Goldman ’46 At age 87, I’ve just published The LadyKillers War, my 15th book and the fifth in the series From the Case Files of Max Christian, PI.

1950s Linda Harlow ’50 A little over a year ago my life dramatically simplified: My daughter finished her training as a paralegal, got a job and an apartment, and my granddaughter went to live with her sister while she attended San Francisco State University. So there I was, by myself with a house and a small dog. I realized I never wanted to think of a shingle or hot water heater again, so I sold my house and moved to a wonderful residential community called Friends House here in Santa Rosa. It’s not at all fancy, and the people are liberal, active, and fun. There are lots of interesting things going on, generated by the residents, and the property is beautiful. If one has to shelter-in-place because of COVID-19, it’s a lovely and lively place to be. My other news is that my great-granddaughter was born in August, and they named her Harlow after me. I practically burst into tears when my granddaughter told me! 38

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Carol Levine Paasche ’51 Carol writes, “My father was Dr. Milton I. Levine, the School Doctor, and both my sister and I attended C&C from the VIs through the XIIIs.” She writes that she remembers the “pod” of families who lived at 302 West 12th Street in the mid-1940s, whose children all attended C&C. “The ‘E’ apartments at 302 West 12th St., Abingdon Square, were comfortable two-bedroom/twobathroom apartments. A bit ‘tighter’ for families who had children of the opposite sex, as these children became really ready for bedrooms of their own! Our parents were all friendly with each other. My parents remained in their apartment at 302 from the mid-1940s until my mother’s death at the age of 96 in 2011. Our family was the last of this group to leave 302 West 12th St. There was, as far as I know, only one other C&C child in this 18-story building during that time. He lived somewhere else in the building and was considerably younger than I, so I did not know him as well. C&C fostered creative thinking in all of us, and to this day, it is the most important legacy that I carry with me from my years at City and Country School.” Stefan Semple ’51 After receiving a BS from Lehigh University in 1960, I received a MA from NYU in 1963 following a stint in the Army. Retired from IBM after 25 years as a Business Planner and Sales Forecasting Manager. Have lived on Cape Cod since

retirement in 1993 and continued my part-time work to become a full-time stained glass artist. P.S. My cousin, Peter Goldman, graduated from C&C in 1946. Peter Weisman ’51 Thanks to C&C for allowing me to build my own workbench in Shop! It allowed me to become an architect and gave me the ability to also build the buildings that I design: Check out the corporatecenteri85.com—a 200acre business park in Spartanburg, SC. Thanks, Jean Murray!! James Bernstein ’52 Seventy-five years ago, I began my C&C experience in the Vs. High point of my first year was being sent home for a day for declaring I was a rattlesnake and threatening to bite my dear teacher, Miss Kappel (A. Kappel, Vs Group Teacher). And then there was securing a hand crank cash register from an antique store for the Store and building footlights for Our Town in the XIIs. And now, I am building yet another company, Eniware (eniwaresterile. com), living in Chevy Chase, MD, and daily using the basic skills I got from C&C: thinking, problemsolving, participating, and learning every day from experience! (Alumni News continues)

ALUMNI UPDATES We love hearing from City and Country alumni! A form requesting updates will be sent out electronically in the fall, so please make sure we have your current email address. You can also send us an update via our website: cityandcountry. org/alumnicontact. Please email communications@ cityandcountry.org if you would like to reach out to anyone who expressed interest here in connecting with classmates and other alumni.

IN MEMORIAM ROGER BALDWIN ’43 Roger Baldwin ’43, age 91, died on January 10, 2021 at his home in Riverhead, New York. His father, Stephen Raushenbush, was an economist; his mother, Evelyn Roger Baldwin ’43 (Preston) Raushenbush, was a social reformer and union activist. When they divorced, she married Roger N. Baldwin, a founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, who adopted Roger and his brother, Carl. Roger grew up in a townhouse in Greenwich Village, graduated from Cornell University with a BA in 1951, and received his MA from Columbia before entering the Army. Roger is survived by four daughters; Deborah, Lauren, and Geraldine Baldwin and Carole Ann Geronimo; 12 grandchildren; and two greatgrandchildren. His wife, Patricia (Devine) Baldwin, died in 1986; his daughter Susan died in 1998, and his son, Roger Jr., died in 2017. Roger was a groundbreaker in blackjack strategy. He and three math-minded Army buddies—the “Four Horsemen of Aberdeen”—used calculators to figure out how to give players an edge against the casino. Using probability theory, they focused on essential aspects of blackjack, all in pursuit of a practical, statistically sound strategy that would help players figure out what to do when they saw the dealer’s upcard, his exposed card. The Baldwin group unveiled their research in the Journal of the American Statistical Association in September 1956. A year later, they expanded the article into a book, Playing Blackjack to Win: A New Strategy for the Game of 21. Roger worked as a systems administrator for Union Carbide, Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, and the City of New York, but his group’s contribution to gambling did not go unnoticed. In 2008, he was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. JEAN TAYLOR KROEBER ’43 Jean Taylor Kroeber ’43, sculptor, died on September 7, 2020 at the age of 91, while residing at her summer home in Hampton, New York. Jean was born in New York City on January 7, 1929, to Graham R. Taylor and Florence I. Taylor. She grew up in Greenwich Village. While she attended C&C, she was introduced to the Ancient Greek art that inspired her to become a sculptor. She later went to Friends Seminary, and in 1951, she graduated from Radcliffe College with a BA in History. She also studied at the Art Students League in New York under Jose de Creeft. In 1953, she married Karl Kroeber. They had three children, and during their long marriage, they created a deep emotional and intellectual partnership. After Karl’s death in 2009, she continued a vigorous and active life Jean Taylor Kroeber ’43

divided between her winter home in Brooklyn, New York, and her summer home in Hampton, sustained by her art and by warm relationships with family and friends near and far. Jean worked in stone (mainly marble) and wood, and her figurative style was influenced by Greek and Romanesque carvings and the strong figures of Aristide Maillol and William Zorach. She was a longtime artist member of the Southern Vermont Arts Center and the Chaffee Center for the Arts, of the Lower Adirondack Council of the Arts, of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, of the Salmagundi Club, and of the Allied Artists of America. Jean’s survivors include her brother, Graham Taylor; children Paul Kroeber, Arthur Kroeber, and Katharine Kroeber Wiley; grandchildren Susannah Kroeber, Sylva Kroeber, Erika Wiley, and Keith Wiley; and nieces and nephews Douglas Smith, Ken Taylor, Rebecca Taylor, Patrick Taylor, and Karen Taylor. CARL WALLMAN ’58 Carl Michael Wallman ’58, age 75, of Pittsfield, New Hampshire, died on February 14, 2020 after a long struggle with cancer. Wallman was an environmentalist, ecologist, farmer, breeder of championship cattle, apostle of naturalist philosopher Aldo Leopold, lifelong fan of the New York Yankees, good neighbor, and dear friend. He was proprietor of Graylag Cabins on Wild Goose Pond and co-founder of the Northwood Area Land Management Collaborative (ALMC), which began in 2004 as a means by which neighbors working together could be good stewards of the land. Wallman was born in New York City on September 20, 1944, the second of two sons. He attended C&C and was part of the Class of 1958. After graduating from University of Wisconsin and studying mathematics at Northeastern University, Carl bought 180 acres in Northwood, NH, and he eventually learned the basics of farming and raising Angus cattle. In 1994, he sold his award-winning herd and purchased the main house and lakeside cabin of Graylag in Pittsfield, NH. Gradually, Graylag grew and evolved as a place of healing and beauty. His Harmony Hill Farm is being Carl Wallman donated to Southeast Land ’58 Trust under an innovative easement so that it will remain a farm forever. And his beloved Graylag has been reborn as Graylag Nature Preserve, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting people with nature and one another. Carl is survived by sons Evan Wallman and Gabriel Wallman, granddaughter Matalyn Wallman, partner Fran Berman, cousins, and many friends and neighbors. GINO CROCETTI ’59 Please see pages 19–22. C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

1960s

Ellen Tovatt Leary ’55 I have recently had a first novel published: The Understudy. It is about the Broadway Theatre in the 1970’s and has gotten excellent reviews. My first book, a memoir, Mother Once Removed, contains a description of my years at City and Country and how much the School contributed to my life. Both are available on Amazon, or can be requested at bookstores. Annie and Ted Parker, Fall 2018

Ann “Annie” Levine Parker ’55 My main claim to fame, in reference to C&C, is that my husband, Theodore “Ted” Parker ’58 also went to C&C. (We have been married for 53 years, indicating what a good foundation for marriage a shared C&C background is!) Unfortunately, his family moved to Larchmont after he was in the VIIIs. His sister, Sarah Elizabeth “Sally” Parker ’56 was just one year behind me. She, very unfortunately, died of lung cancer on April 14, 2018. I taught multiply handicapped blind children until I had our own three children to take care of. After they all were in school, I took a low-stress job proofreading, which enabled me to leave any time one of our children needed me. Ted had many theater-related positions, including: Concert Manager with Washington Performing Arts Society, Co-Founder of the Actors’ Center of Washington, DC, and teaching theater at Georgetown University. 40

C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

Eric Darton ’64 In October 2020, my political-historicalfantasy novel, Free City, originally published in 1996, was re-released in paperback by Dalkey Archive Press. It is available at Bookshop.org, Amazon, and literary bookstores. A series of brief, visually and aurally exhilarating FilmTrips incorporating texts from the novel were created by awardwinning filmmaker Bill Hayward. They can be seen at billhayward.com. Vanina Goodman Pinney ’65 The COVID-19 pandemic has given me an incredible gift. Sarah Whittier, Class of 1967, has been virtually living up in Cambridge, New York with my husband and me since March 2020. She was teaching her XIIs Group from our kitchen and dining room. It has been a joy to listen to her teach, hear the kids, and remember all the wonderful aspects of being a XII. Who knew that I would have this peek into the life of City and Country School, so fun. Thanks, COVID. Glynnis Golden Ortiz ’67 The current XIIs Group Teacher, Sarah Whittier, is one of us “littermates”—see photo!

1980s Sheelah Feinberg ’85 I’m now Deputy Commissioner at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs working to support NYC’s vibrant cultural community. Eric Forster ’88 I didn’t graduate from C&C. I would have liked to, but the school was on the verge of shutting down in early 1982, and I had to transfer into the public school system. I graduated from Clark University in 1996 with a BA in political science, and earned a Masters in Social Work from Fordham University in 2002. I am currently married and raising my two daughters in suburban Chicago. It’s a long way from bohemian Greenwich Village, but I talk about my early years at C&C all the time.

2010s Andrew Jansen ’10 The Jansen family would like to give a shout out to all the Math classes Scott Moran taught Andrew G. Jansen, Class of 2010. Andrew just completed his Masters of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington and is now pursuing his doctoral degree there.

Photo of one of our recent “littermates” Zoom calls. We keep in touch and are each so grateful for our C&C education and community. We call each other our “littermates,” as that is the closest definition of our relationship. Grew up together in those formative years; closer than some families, less so than others; but connected for life—sharing our childhood, schooling, and now, our later lives again. It’s wonderful! —Glynnis Golden Ortiz ’67

Photos: Richard Bluestein, 1965–66 (left); Liana Stampur, 2020–21 (right)

YOUR SUPPORT

City and Country School may look different in many ways this year, but the spirit of the students and the community hasn’t changed.

WE HOPE YOU’LL HELP SUSTAIN THAT SPIRIT.

Please make a donation to the Annual Fund by June 30. Every gift is a show of support for the School and is greatly appreciated! Donate online at cityandcountry.org/support Or mail a check to City and Country School, 146 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011-7802 Or email development@cityandcountry.org for other options C&C WORKS IN PROGRESS

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID

146 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011–7802 212-242-7802 cityandcountry.org

NEW EMAIL? MOVING?

Please send us your updated contact information at communications@cityandcountry.org!

PASS A CLEMENTINE

It’s a C&C tradition for the Principal to hand out clementines at the door on the last day of school before Winter Break.

Because of the pandemic, we weren’t able to do it the same way this year, but we found a fun way to keep the tradition going. Our faculty and staff members pitched in to “Pass a Clementine” to the students to celebrate the start of Winter Break! Watch the video at cityandcountry.org/videos.