The story behind the photo
do in the evening. As a result, we introduced a trimester class schedule this summer. This change is completely transparent for our six-week classes, but former three-week classes will now become two weeks long, while a handful have stretched to four weeks. We have discovered some additional benefits to the trimester schedule, not the least of which is that Woodcraft Camp and Upper School now share the same class calendar, which makes sharing instructors across both camps a possibility.
Leadership Class It seemed fair, that if students were suddenly offered five or six more elective opportunities with the trimester schedule, that we replace one of those electives with a mandatory leadership class. We are very excited to be partnering with the CMA and CGA faculty to design a new leadership curriculum comprised of three two-week classes customized for each of the three-year groups. First- and second-classmen will take their leadership class during the first trimester, and the new third-classmen will take their class during the second trimester.
Awards Culver summer students love to earn medals, patches, and pins that they can proudly wear on their uniforms. Over time, the number of awards have multiplied and the ability for someone to visibly share their summer success story has become more difficult. There is also the problem of limited real estate — medals are now overlapped and heading north over the shoulder! Before the end of last summer, Upper School students were briefed on the concept of trading in their medals for ribbons, similar to the way the military wears its awards. The Upper School has created 36 awards, each with a specific ribbon. Midshipmen and cadets can now once again tell their story through the diverse and professional-looking ribbon ecosystem.
Tuxis The Tuxis program has been a part of the Upper School for more than 100 years. For decades, the Tuxis medal was the only award students could wear on their uniforms. In general terms, the Tuxis program was designed to incentivize summer students to try various classes and activities. For summer 2015, Tuxis remained an important part of the Upper School experience, however the focus shifted to emphasize leadership. The bulk of the points necessary to earn the Tuxis medals are now tied to the student’s performance in the new leadership class. Additional performance and experiential Tuxis points will be earned throughout the summer in a system that will be easier to understand, easier to administer, and more in line with Culver core values.
The photo on page 7 of the Spring 2015 issue generated some interesting information regarding its origin. As it turns out, the photo was staged to promote the Summer School for Girls. All four girls pictured are faculty daughters and, while they all took special Culver summer courses, none of them graduated from the summer program. The Academies’ Fine Arts chair and Dancevision director, Cathy (Mitzell) Duke ’70, who is seated at left, said the photo session was her first encounter with Mai Fan England. Behind Cathy are, left to right, Cindy Marshall ’71, Mayra Perez ’71 (seated), and Nancy Reichley. (Each faculty daughter graduated from Culver Military Academy prior to Culver Academy for Girls opening in 1971-72.) Cathy is the daughter of Channing and Dorry Mitzell of Culver. Channing was a history instructor, counselor, and assistant to the president. Dorry worked in the library. Cathy has been a faculty member since 1990, with a previous stint from 1977-87. Cindy Marshall’s dad is the late Chet Marshall Sr., the former athletic director. Cindy is married and living in New Orleans. Her brother, Chet III ’73, was the Academies’ Annual Fund director from 2003-12. Mayra (Perez) Arriete’s father is Armando Perez, Ph.D., who taught Spanish at Culver from 1963-72. Mayra married R. Clayton Woodard ’70 in September 2012 and they live in San Jose, Calif. Nancy Reichley is the daughter of Robert Reichley, the Academy’s public relations director from 1960-68. She completed her freshman year in 1967-68 before her dad took a job at Brown University. Nancy Reichley and her husband live in Seattle. The photo was taken no later than 1967-68. The location was West Lodge, which began as Linden Hall, and was razed in the late ’90s to make room for the Roberts Hall of Science and Dicke Hall of Mathematics. So, now you know the rest of the story … — Doug Haberland, Editor CULVER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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