Eagle Hill School HARDWICK MASSACHUSETTS
the
Compendium
2012–2013
Below the Surface From the Desk of the Headmaster 2 Dr. PJ McDonald
Who is “Ludwig Mies van der Rohe?” A Desk Built by Alumnus Brooks Hausser ’09 4 Ian Callahan
Costa Rica Photos from the 2013 Spring Trip 6 Photography by Nick Fram ’14
Ronald M. Baglio A Tribute 8
Showing His True Mettle The Story of Lucas Dellaporta 10 Tony Westcott
Ronald M. Baglio Sports and Fitness Center Grand Opening 18
Spark Boost Brain Power with Regular Excercise 22 Teri Breguet
The Faculty Fund Thank You for Your Contribution 30
One Frost Does Not Make a Winter 2013 Baccalaureate Speech 40 Dr. Rebecca Foley Miller
The Compendium An abridged look at the 2012–2013 school year.
The Elephant in the Room Class of 2013 Student Speech 43 Alessandra Howard ’13 Commencement Awards
46
Class of 2013
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Eagle Hill School / PO Box 116 / 242 Old Petersham Road / Hardwick, MA 01037 / www.ehs1.org
Below the Surface Dr. PJ McDonald, Headmaster of Eagle Hill School
On Thursday, July 1, 1993, a leap second was added to the Coordinated Universal Time to compensate for the slowing of the earth’s rotation. Fittingly, on that very same day I began my EHS career and was already feeling pressed for time! What has happened over the intervening two decades at EHS has been nothing short of transformational. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) suggests a number of metrics for assessing the strength of schools. By all of those measures, Eagle Hill School is thriving. Our enrollment demand is extraordinarily strong, our teacher retention rate is near-perfect, our student-to-teacher ratio remains exceedingly low, our 96% college placement rate is remarkable, our alumni/ae college graduation rate far exceeds the national average for all students, our fundraising results have been impressive, and our campus and facilities rival those of boarding schools 200 years our senior. By all accounts, that sleepy little boarding school founded in 1967 in the quaint town of Hardwick, Massachusetts, has emerged as an international leader in education. And yet, the NAIS metrics do not seem to me to tell the whole story of Eagle Hill School. They provide a surface-level portrait of the school, but they do not reveal the true and enduring strengths of this community. Over time I have come to understand and appreciate that it is what happens below the surface at a school that truly defines its strength and character. More than they are buildings and admission stats, schools are the sum total of countless relationships and shared moments among students, faculty, staff, and parents. I have had the opportunity and responsibility to experience thousands of these moments—some seemingly ordinary and others simply life-changing—during my time at EHS. Here are just a few that come readily to mind: congratulating the student who just learned she was accepted to the college of her choice; informing a student that his father passed away unexpectedly; congratulating a student on his winning goal; witnessing the wide smile of an alumna as she recites her wedding vows; consoling a faculty member after a medical exam; sharing in the joy of the arrival of a faculty member’s first child; riding in the back seat as a student passes his driving test on the second attempt; saying “nice job” at the very moment it was needed; and hundreds more each year. EHS is a family first, and I feel fortunate to join my colleagues in creating a student-centric climate and culture. I was reminded of this in a powerful way last fall as members of the visiting committee of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) sat in my office to offer their impressions of Eagle Hill School after their four-day accredi2 Eagle Hill School 2012–2013
tation visit. Among the many accolades that the committee members heaped on Eagle Hill, this one—from their official accreditation report—stands out in particular: Our highest commendation and congratulations are directed to the members of the Eagle Hill student body who are resilient, brave, and determined to reclaim their rights to succeed in school and in life. It is they who inspire a devoted faculty to work with dedication and purpose to help these students improve their trajectories, often against the odds and with disregard to judgments asserted by many students’ previous school experiences. It is impossible to know just what the committee members witnessed during their short visit that led them to this profound understanding of our school community, but it is clear that they have it just right. Below the surface of classroom discussions and residence hall meetings and athletic contests—and everything that makes up typical boarding school life—there is at EHS a complex, organic, and evolving network of relationships that is the genius of Eagle Hill School. A simple insight, the fundamental insight on which Eagle Hill School was built, makes those relationships possible: we are not types but individuals, each imbued with dignity not despite but because of our differences from one another. In a way that is seldom possible in any institution beyond the family, we deeply understand and appreciate individuals. When our beloved Assistant Headmaster of Student Life, Ron Baglio passed away last fall—just a week before that NEASC team visited us—it was precisely the centrality of our connections to him that left us all devastated. And it was that same web of relationships that gave us the strength to put our community back together. He left an indelible mark on this great school that is memorialized in the naming of the Ronald M. Baglio Sports & Fitness Center. More importantly, however, his personal motto, DO WHAT IS RIGHT. ALWAYS., will continue to guide us for generations to come. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with one of the school’s early teachers, Terry Quinn, and with Terry’s son Todd. Terry taught his last science class at EHS in June of 1973, and as we walked the campus this September, he stared in amazement with every door we opened as he witnessed all of the changes the campus had undergone in the intervening forty years. But as much as he was moved by revisiting his home at EHS, he was filled with emotion as he was reminded of Todd’s personal journey over those same four decades. Todd had attended EHS and, in fact, won the Headmaster’s Cup in 1973. Todd— now 57, married, a father, and a commercial airline pilot—said
that his days as a student at EHS were his happiest ever. Father and son, teacher and student, forty years of history and memories: both repeated the refrain that it was “nice to be home again.” I realize now that that network of relationships extends beneath the surface not just here on campus for four years of high school or thirty years as a faculty member; it reaches out across time and space, connecting us to all those who have experienced what it is to be at home here. It’s been a great two decades. And what I wouldn’t do for just one more second…. - Dr. PJ McDonald
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WHO IS “LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE?” Written by Ian Callahan
In the summer of 2013, EHS alum and Syracuse University graduate Brooks Hausser’09 arrived on campus with a box truck. The contents? A desk he custom built for Assistant Headmaster for Academic Affairs Michael Riendeau. The desk, which weighs hundreds of pounds, is forged from polished concrete slabs and beautifully designed wood shaped into what Brooks called "Miesian lines." I admit that I had to ask what the heck he was talking about! Brooks kindly replied that "Miesian" simply referred to the work of famed German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Known for structures such as the Barcelona Pavilion, the Farnsworth House, and the Seagram Building, Mies (as he was commonly called) lived from 1886 to 1969. Mies pursued a lifelong mission to create an architecture expressive of and in harmony with his age, much as Gothic Architecture was for an era of spiritualism. Using a highly disciplined design process, Mies favored rational thought over inherited traditions in his efforts at creating an architectural language that could capture his philosophical ideas. More than any other pioneer of modernism, Mies sifted carefully through the works of thinkers and philosophers for concepts that he could incorporate into his architectural mission. The fact that Brooks found inspiration in the work of such an open-minded thinker is, we hope, characteristic of Eagle Hill's commitment to learning diversity. By encouraging our students to consider the many ways of thinking and learning and to discover their own passions, we equip students such as Brooks to go out into the world and find their own niche. Nice work, Brooks!
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Brooks Hausser poses with the desk he designed and built Assistant Headmaster for Academic Affairs Michael Riendeau.
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COSTA RICA
2013 EHS Spring Trip Photography by Nick Fram ’14 2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 7
Dr. Ronald Michael Baglio July 13, 1970 - October 4, 2012 Ron Baglio served as Eagle Hill School’s Assistant Headmaster for Student Life for eighteen years. He was respected and admired by his colleagues, and he helped a generation of students find meaning and success in their lives. Ron was the most fundamentally decent human being our community has ever known. It was impossible to meet Ron without encountering that decency immediately. Ron’s selflessness defined him. He cared first and always for the rest of us, thinking of himself later and perhaps not often enough. He was a man for others—for his students, his colleagues, his friends, his Villanova brothers, his family, his children, his beloved wife Erin Wynne—for people he met at the General Store on his way to collect the mail. Ron was the hero of his children’s fairy tales, and nothing gave him more satisfaction than playing with, reading to, and laughing with his children, Keeley, Rowan, Mairead, and Nolan Baglio. Ron was an avid reader, a gifted writer, an accomplished speaker, and an able artist. He had an extraordinary gift for humor and found humor in almost every situation. Ron was also a sports enthusiast and an ardent basketball player, and his love for the New York Yankees was well known and absolute. One of Ron’s many legacies is that he lived by a personal creed: Do what is right. Always. In doing so, he set an extraordinary example for all of us who had the pleasure and privilege of working with and learning from him. Ron’s life and legacy will grace this campus and community forever.
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Do what is right. Always. -RMB
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FEATURE
Showing His True Mettle The Story of Lucas Dellaporta Written by Tony Westcott Photography by Jennifer Rettig
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If you don’t happen to know what it’s like to be an only child, try to imagine how it must feel to be the only individual who ever brings report cards home to your parents. If that doesn’t sound like much of a big deal, now imagine how much importance the household might place upon your academics if your father was a college professor, say, at an Ivy League school such as Yale University. Can you feel the pressure now? I thought so. And yet for current Eagle Hill School sophomore Lucas Dellaporta ’16, it doesn’t stop there. You see, not only is Dad a Yale University professor, it turns out Mom is one, too.
When I first met Lucas in the fall of 2012, it was an inauspicious encounter. I was stationed at a table during registration answering questions and signing up students who were interested in taking individual music lessons after school. Lucas’s father, Stephen, approached the table, with his son a step and a half behind him, partially obscured from sight from
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my vantage point. As his father asked about the school’s music program, Lucas looked off to the side, appearing somewhat distracted, if not annoyed. He was dressed all in black, looking not unlike teenagers I remember from my own high school days in the late 1980s who expressed their belonging to the heavy metal music culture in ebony garb, ripped jeans, and Tshirts advertising their favorite bands, with names like Slayer and Megadeth. One could also extrapolate a stance of disdain for authority figures, especially teachers and one’s own parents. Nonetheless, I began to be intrigued by what his father was telling me. Over that summer, Lucas had attended a camp where he was a key member of a music group until he was sidelined by a fracture on the arm he used for guitar strumming. But rather than quit, Lucas taught himself to play rudimentary keyboards with his other hand and gamely continued, contributing to the band in whatever way he could. My admittedly judgmental attitude towards the figure skulking behind his father began to soften somewhat. One of the hallmarks of EHS that I have always appreciated is the institution of regular written comments composed by teachers and resident counselors that communicate specifically how students are doing. These comments are published on the school website to the appropriate concerned parties, according to their purpose. All website comments can be viewed by the student’s advisor and parent(s) but some comments, due to their personal nature, may be limited. A note from a student’s doctor may need to be seen only by parents, advisor, and the health services staff, or a note of concern written by a teacher that we might not want a student to dwell upon may not be able to be reviewed by him oe her directly. Ideally, these website comments are mainly positive, tracking students’ progress in detail; even if a student might not admit it openly, it’s easy to notice a bounce in a kid’s step the next day after you’ve had the pleasure of writing him or her a well-deserved positive note. So it was with pleasure that I read what music teacher Nym Cooke penned about Lucas in late September in regard to the Jam Band class: “Lucas…I'm sure your band-mates would agree with me that you bring not only solid musical talent and ability to the group, but a kind of stability and solidity that emanate from your relaxed, supportive personality. Here I want to focus on just one aspect of your positive contribution, and it's this: your patience. You seem to be entirely willing to stick with the same simple riff for the same simple song—a song that may be quite challenging for some of your classmates, but which was instantly learned by you—and just to play the riff, and the song, over and over and over while the others learn their parts.” Yet another positive note from my colleague Laurie Nahorniak praising Lucas’s improvement on the cross country team
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based on the students’ individual strengths and weaknesses, followed by their interests (and mine, to an extent). It’s true that we did read some of the stories I’d listed above but when I introduced the name of J. D. Salinger, a request was made by one student to read the deathless but deserving classic The Catcher in the Rye. Another student in the class seconded it, stating that he’d heard from a friend that it was worth reading. A third student mentioned that he’d started it but got only a few chapters in and would be keen to resume it. I pointed out that it might be odd to read a 214-page novel in a course called “Short Story Masterpieces” but that I wouldn’t mind working on it if there was a class consensus. Within minutes, I’d returned from the curriculum center with a handful of copies and we soon found ourselves immersed in the world of Holden Caulfield, who, incidentally, is an adolescent living away from home at a private boarding school.
caught my attention as well so I told myself that the impression I’d received of Lucas on registration day was inaccurate, no doubt the result of the awkwardness a fifteen-year-old boy at a new school would feel while walking around the campus with his parents. My best opportunity to get to know Lucas well began in our literature class, starting in December and continuing to the end of the academic year. The course was called “Short Story Masterpieces,” a class I had never taught before but was looking forward to. The short story form allowed me to introduce students to many different authors and genres and to try all kinds of activities in class. For instance, I read aloud Edgar Allan Poe’s “Black Cat,” a brilliantly dark (note the oxymoron) tale which can be fit into one class period while students practice visualization by selecting and moving around a collection of printed images as the story unfolds. John Updike’s “A&P” is a gem of a narrative but is told from the perspective of a cynical, somewhat sexist young man, so I assign the students a three-page paper in which they retell the events of the story but from the assumed point of view of one of the female characters, which is an exercise in several objectives, from paying attention to details (following the plot strictly) to empathizing with another person. (And let’s be honest— attention to detail and empathy are certainly two areas that can be challenging for the average adolescent!) And finally, the course would not be complete without a spin through one of my favorites: J. D. Salinger’s affecting “For Esmé with Love and Squalor.” Things don’t always work out as planned, however. Yet sometimes this is a good thing. You see, I’ve come to the conclusion over my nine years at this school that the class is not simply about the content being covered, or the skills being practiced, and it certainly is not about one test that needs to be passed at the end of the year. In every course, I design the curriculum
Based on work Lucas had done in class so far, my assessment was that his inferential reasoning in particular could use more development. Spending a few months concentrating on one novel looked like it could be more useful to this end than the constant shifting from one short story to another. Indeed, the answer Lucas provided to the very first comprehension question showed that he was starting basically at ground zero. With Lucas’s permission, I’ve included it here: Chapter 1, Page 2: What does Holden mean when he says that his brother D.B. is out in Hollywood “being a prostitute”? He pays woman for sex. A more accurate response to the question might indicate that Holden feels that his brother, who previously published short stories that Holden admires, now writes inconsequential screenplays for Hollywood that pay him well, essentially selling his talent as a writer for the biggest payoff. Not only did Lucas miss the idea that Holden is speaking metaphorically about prostitution, but his answer shows that he did not clearly see that the brother himself is being called a prostitute, not hiring them. In other words, I could see that the venture of reading this novel would be both an opportunity and a challenge for Lucas. At the beginning of Chapter 9, I gave the class an assignment that most students find quite difficult but that allows me to push them further with inferential thinking. The entirety of page 59 concerns itself with a brief episode in which Holden, freshly arrived in New York at around midnight, considers calling a handful of people he knows. By this point, we’ve discussed how Holden could be said to be searching for someone to connect with, someone whom he can talk to on a deeper level about himself and his problems without his usual armor of cynicism or prevarication. Holden thinks of four individuals, provides cursory reasons for why he shouldn’t bother, then leaves the phone booth without making a single call. I love this
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page since it adds zero to the plot and yet I’d argue is suffused with meaning. I have the students list the four characters and then write down the reasons Holden supplies for not wanting to call. For example, his brother D.B. lives in California and so this would be an expensive long-distance call. Then I ask students to consider what Holden has said about these characters up to this point in the novel and to generate reasons why Holden might not call them that he does not state directly on this page. Lucas hated this assignment! He had no problem finding the concrete reasons Holden states but became flustered and even annoyed with the notion that the secondary answers were nowhere to be found on the page. That part of the assignment didn’t seem to make any sense to him.
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This meant that I could take Lucas all the way back to page 2 and address that question about Holden insulting his brother. Through a one-on-one discussion of the sequence of statements Holden makes about D.B., Lucas was able to glean that Holden’s respect for his brother had diminished when he became a Hollywood screenwriter. This then allowed Lucas to come to the conclusion that this may be a reason Holden might not consider D.B. as the person he’d entrust with a serious conversation about his current problems. And while he jumped the gun with the next character, initially suggesting that Holden would label his younger sister Phoebe a “phony,” Lucas eventually came up with the idea that a ten-year- old girl would not likely possess the maturity to understand the problems of a sixteen-year-old boy. It was slow, but he was making progress.
How much? Consider Lucas’s answer to the very first question on page 2. Now read what he wrote in response to the final question assigned for page 213. In what ways does Holden seem to have grown by the end of the novel and in what ways does he seem to be essentially the same person as he was when he first left Pencey? There are some ways that Holden has grown as a person. Towards the end of the book, he states that he misses all of the people that he has met in his journey in his escape from boarding school. He says that he even misses people from school that he knew well such as Ackley and Stradlater, as well as people such as Maurice. “It’s funny,” he says, because if you start to tell anybody about people, “you start missing everybody.” This means he needs help from people. Now these are some ways that Holden is still the same person as he was when he left Pencey. In the beginning of the last chapter, we find Holden at therapy, talking to this one psychoanalyst about when he goes back to another school this fall, and also about how Holden is going to apply himself at this next school. However, his response is that he doesn’t feel like it. He thinks that it is a very stupid question because he thinks that he is, but at the same time, he doesn’t know if he is going to. Apart from the obvious, such as the difference in length in contrast to his answer to the question from page 2, there is evidence of a deeper thought process in Lucas’s response. He successfully gathers appropriate ideas from the text, even quoting it correctly, rather than missing details as he had before. He didn’t rush to come up with an answer and best of all, Lucas demonstrated that he could read a section of a text and select pertinent information to express a thoughtful, reasoned answer to a two-part comprehension question. Of course, his answer also shows there are still areas for improvement and the process will continue for Lucas in his sophomore year but this is an example of significant progress. When I e-mailed Lucas’s work to his parents (with his permission, as always), they were thrilled. According to the Frostig Center, a pioneer in the field of research on learning disabilities since 1951, a support system is one of the six key factors “shown to lead to successful life outcomes for children with LD [learning disabilities].” Author, motivational speaker and respected expert on learning disabilities Rick Lavoie concurs, stating in a speech given in June 2013 that “the number one thing that contribute[s] to the success of an adult with learning troubles is they [have] a support system.” Despite the potentially intimidating environment of a home in which his parents are Yale University professors, Lucas has had a support system since he was very young. Once he began experiencing difficulties in school, his parents were proactive
about addressing his needs and remain so, in order that Lucas can continue growing, drawing upon his strengths in areas such as music and his reliable work ethic, while addressing his weaker areas such as inferential reasoning and pragmatics. During a lengthy conversation I had with Stephen Dellaporta at an EHS reception kicking off Spring Family Weekend 2013, Lucas's dad admitted that he and his wife “love the kid to death” and “he’s the center of our world.” In fact, Stephen insists that since Lucas enjoys playing music, is good at it, and is committed to developing his talents, his father couldn’t ask for anything more. “I just want him to be happy… He loves it here at this school…and it’s working for him.” This crucial support system for Lucas includes his devoted parents, of course, but extends to many individuals at EHS and at the risk of leaving anyone out, I should take a moment here to name a few deserving of particular mention, such as the aforementioned Dr. Nym Cooke, Lucas’s beloved music teacher. There’s also his academic advisor and biggest advocate, Josh Kanozek, and two of my colleagues whose work with Lucas has contributed directly to the success he’s had in my classes: his reading specialist, Mary Ann Welsch (with whom I had several encouraging conversations about Lucas’s gains in reading sprinkled throughout this year) and his writing teacher, Jessica Geary, who provided opportunities for Lucas to sharpen his writing skills by infusing his assignments with chances to write about music, including one wonderful piece in which he generated a metaphor for himself, explaining how his quiet but consistently supportive personality towards others was akin to the role of a bass guitar in the sound of a rock band. Meanwhile, Lucas earned a spot on the academic honor roll for the last three months of the school year, took the award for Most Improved Player on the school golf team, and was even entrusted with the school’s P.A. equipment to broadcast music for the school’s outdoor field day event in May. Finally, Lucas had become so comfortable in my class by May that he volunteered to act out the part of Walter in our dramatic reading of Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun. (I know, I know— that’s not a short story either— the students wanted to read aloud a play in class— since Catcher went so well, why wouldn’t I go with the flow on this request as well?) In order to perform the scene in which Walter, under the influence of one too many drinks, hops up on top of his kitchen table, and starts shouting to his wife and sister, Lucas clambered atop a desk in our classroom, pounded his chest, and bellowed the lines. It was quite the performance, and a memorable way to cap a solid first year at EHS for Lucas. I can still see the beaming smile on his father’s face when he came to pick his only child up in June.
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Grand Opening of the Ronald M. Baglio Sports and Fitness Center On Monday, September 9, 2013 Eagle Hill School held the grand opening of the Ronald M. Baglio Sports & Fitness Center. More than 500 guests including students, parents, and alumni/ae witnessed the opening of this magnificent facility dedicated to a beloved educator. 2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 19
Dr. John Ratey, author of Spark and professor at Harvard Medical School, spoke at the opening as well
as accepted recognition for his partnership and guidance in the design of the Sports and Fitness Center and for educating Eagle Hill about the profound benefits of regular exercise—for the brain and for learning. Eagle Hill has spent the last two years designing and building a Sports and Fitness Center that enables — inspires even— every EHS student, faculty, and community member to explore and embrace a fitness for life model. The Baglio Center, a 62,000 square foot facility that is equal parts functional and spectacular, would not have been possible without the vision and dedication of Eagle Hill’s Board of Trustees. Board President Marilyn Waller thanked the Board for their efforts and led a round of applause for the extraordinary leadership of Headmaster PJ McDonald in carrying out their vision. Steve Chapman, chairman of the building committee, also spoke and acknowledged the work of Facilities Director Bob Begin in leading the project to completion on record pace. The Baglio Center features such amenities as a competition basketball court; two courts with abutting synthetic floors to allow for indoor tennis, golf and batting cages, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, etc. in the winter months; a running track; a wrestling room; a dance studio; a cardiovascular center; a squash pavilion; a competition swimming pool; a rock-climbing wall; four team rooms; and five locker rooms. Headmaster PJ McDonald explained to the crowd that the naming of the Baglio Center was made possible through the generosity of several anonymous donors. Dr. McDonald also shared these emotional words: “I wanted Ron and Erin’s four children, when they walk into this facility with their friends and family and even their own children someday, to point up at his name and say, ‘My dad was great!’ Because he was great, is great, and will always be great in the eyes of this community.” Ron Baglio served as Eagle Hill School’s Assistant Headmaster for Student Life for eighteen years. He was respected and admired by his colleagues, and he helped a generation of students find meaning and success in their lives. Sadly, Ron passed away suddenly on October 4, 2013, at the age of 42. Ron’s wife, Director of Development Erin Wynne, stunned the crowd with her courage, poise, and grace as she stood at the podium to thank the Eagle Hill community. “The children and I feel your love and compassion. The lines between friendship and family have been blurred. And I know Ron will be eternally grateful to you all for looking after his family in this most incredible way.” Ms. Wynne went on to encourage students to honor Mr. Baglio by taking full advantage of the tremendous opportunity opened to them that day.
Dr. John Ratey (left) and PJ McDonald pose near the plaque honoring Dr. Ratey for his contribution.
Erin Wynne speaks during the opening ceremony.
Ron and Erin's four children assisted by members of the Student Council cut the ribbon at the end of the dedication ceremony. 20 Eagle Hill School 2012–2013
Blueprints for the new 62,000 square foot facility at Eagle Hill School. 2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 21
SPARK
Exercise Sparking Revolution in Brain Power written by Teri Breguet
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It's 4 p.m. While most students across the country are winding down for the day, those at Eagle Hill School are just getting started. One hundred pairs of athletic shoes trek across the quintessential New England campus, all toes pointed towards a fresh $15 million facility. Will it be fencing? A game of vollyball? Scaling a rock wall or swimming laps in the six-lane pool? So many choices — 4:00 to 5:15 p.m. Four days a week. “This is intense,” says Dan Feinblatt, “This new level of activity right after school each day. It sure clears everyone's head's.” This new level of activity is called SPARK — a program fashioned after the latest book by John Ratey, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a clinical psychiatrist from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The premise? That exercise is the single most powerful tool one has to optimize brain function. “Two summers ago my wife and I were hosting a new parent reception at our home,” explains Eagle Hill Headmaster PJ McDonald. “A veteran parent approached me about the book. She asked if I had read it and I said no. Just the way she looked at me, I was absolutely convinced it was something I had to do.” That very evening McDonald ordered SPARK and read it within a week. He immediately contacted Dr. Ratey and within a few days the two were dining in Boston discussing a strategy for Eagle Hill School. “He guided us in how to build a culture of exercise, both the facility as well as the programming. We understood that we
needed to build this for all students, not just student athletes,” notes McDonald. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain presents neurology-based worldwide research to inspire the reader to embrace exercise as a means to achieve optimal brain performance. According to Dr. Ratey, in today's technologydriven plasma-screened-in world, it is easy to forget that we are born movers because we have engineered movement right out of our lives. Sedentary character of modern life is a disruption of our very nature, he says, and it poses one of the biggest threats to our continued survival. Bodies need to work hard to maintain peak performance. Exercise affects mood, anxiety, and attention and guards against stress, even reversing the effects of aging and hormonal changes. With a population of students identified with learning (dis) abilities such as language-based learning disabilities, including dyslexia, and Attention Deficit Disorder, implementing SPARK made perfect sense. In the two years that followed, the staff at Eagle Hill and Dr. Ratey interviewed and tested the student body. The administration visited more than ten athletic facilities and discussed a variety of recreational opportunities. While Dr. Ratey has traveled throughout the world spreading his message, Eagle Hill is the only school with which he has directly collaborated to incorporate all three components of SPARK — the programming, culture, and facility. It is impossible to miss the 62,000 square foot complex that sits high atop the campus hill. Named after a beloved former educator, the Ronald M. Baglio Sports and Fitness Center, officially opened on September 9, 2013, boasts a 225,000 gallon, 25-yard, 6-lane pool; a fitness and weight center; a wood competition floor gymnasium court; two synthetic gymnasium courts; one batting/golf net system; one rock wall; an indoor ropes course; two squash courts; a personal trainer's room; five locker rooms; four team rooms; a coach's room; an athletic trainer's room, and a one-eighth of a mile raised walking track among numerous office spaces. As if the facade alone was not impressive, the energy inside that contagious. A stroll throughout the gleaming halls reveals an average Wednesday line-up: Horse tournament in Gym 1; dodge ball in Gym 2; volleyball in Gym 3; weight training in the fitness room; drills in the pool; and yoga in full stretch in front of the setting sun. Shane Francoeur, director of the Baglio Center, is responsible for organizing the array of activities. “It is mandatory if you are not playing a team sport for the season. If you are not on the cross country or soccer teams, then you are here for an hour and 15 minutes Monday through Thursday,” he says, taking attendance. “We have a SPARK fair at the beginning of
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“One thing I notice is I am more attentive. Sometimes my body aches but that's from the workout the day before. It's the most exercise I've ever gotten. It was very challenging to start. I was so out of shape that getting halfway through the pool I'd be tired. Now that's not really an issue.” - Joshua Miller
every season, where the students have the opportunity to sign up for a different activity every day. They have one week to decide if they like it or they can switch. There is no excuse not to participate. If a child is not athletically inclined, then he or she can go to the track and just walk for that hour and 15 minutes with breaks, but it definitely helps.” As the weather changes, Francoeur tries to utilize both the indoors and outdoors. “I don't want this to become a stale thing for the students. I want it to be new and fresh every season,” he says. One area that is always popular is the pool. “Aquatic exercise offers students an environment in which they will use different muscles without added stress or strain on their body,” remarks Aquatic Director Liz Weeks, citing her experience so far with the program. “I see a difference, immediately after. I've never been able to hold an activity where the kids were self-motivated. Yes, I'm telling them what to do, but there is no resistance. They just dive right in, no pun intended.” Joshua Miller, 18, a senior from New York City, has detected a change in his mind and body after only four weeks in the pro 2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 25
gram. “One thing I notice is I am more attentive. Sometimes my body aches but that's from the workout the day before. It's the most exercise I've ever gotten. It was very challenging to start. I was so out of shape that getting halfway through the pool I'd be tired. Now that's not really an issue.” Benches outside the squash courts are always warmed with an-
here, but once they exercise, they are glad they did. It (exercise) wasn't the first thing on my to do list, but this sets me on a track for the rest of my life.” Seventeen-year-old Casey Yans smiles when she talks about the modified version of boot camp. “I look forward to it every day, and being with my friends boosts my confidence.” Among the many who know the social repercussions of a program at Eagle Hill is Chris Hancock, Assistant Headmaster for Student Life. Hancock, who is no stranger to the world of boarding schools, says the latest innovative move did not take him by surprise. SPARK is “Completely unlike any program and that's true to form for Eagle Hill. We have long been pioneers. This school was founded in the late 60s around the advent of learning disabilities— our location, the building of the Cultural Center, and now SPARK is just the next generation of what we do here. “There is a rapidly increasing sense of school pride. Yesterday when I went down to a soccer game, there were fifty kids down there; twenty were playing, but the others were rooting them on. I don't know if this is directly related to SPARK or campus growth, but it's pretty noticeable. The facility and program is incredible. It has transformed not only how we think about exercise, but the community spirit here. It's become a centerpiece for what we do.”
ticipating partakers. “I would say in general the students are a lot happier. This time of the day gives them a sense of independence and they help each other,” says Blake Mallet, one of the many roaming advisors at the school who encourage students each day. “3, 2, 1! Here we go! Come on! Keep going! Only 20 seconds left! Burn all that energy! You can do it!” The coaxing voice of Exercise Physiologist Hannah May rings through the air in the fitness training center, which incorporates high impact cardio with weight training. The personal trainer, with degrees in nutrition, psychology, and learning disabilities, has already witnessed changes in students. “From the moment they walk in I can see that they are not focused. But by the end they are listening better,” she says, her eyes perusing her stop watch and the perspiring students simultaneously. Her motto adorning the wall displays an important reminder: “Eat Well, Move Daily, Hydrate Often, Sleep Lots, Love Yourself, Repeat for Life.” “It's a love/hate relationship,” confesses Dan Feinblatt, a native of Long Island. “Students may grunt and groan about getting
26 Eagle Hill School 2012–2013
“Students may grunt and groan about getting here, but once they exercise, they are glad they did. It (exercise) wasn't the first thing on my to do list, but this sets me on a track for the rest of my life.” - Dan Feinblatt Merely underway, and SPARK is getting rave reviews from parents. For Richard St. Jean, an invitation to an afternoon game of squash from his son, Matt, proved an eye opener. “The most impressive observation was the energy and smiles I could see on all the kids' faces. They did not want to leave to go to dinner. They were all engaged in sports with faculty and advisors who were just as excited about being active,” he reports.
2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 27
Jane Cronin, an English teacher at Eagle Hill, is just one of many instructors exemplifying a positive role model. “I am definitely an advocate for SPARK,” she affirms. “I try to get up there every day myself.” As the SPARK spirit catches fire, those who may have questioned the need for such a vast facility have experienced that “aha moment.” “Everyone who walks through there now understands completely why it needed to be this big and this specialized. When you have 130 students doing SPARK and another 80 doing athletics, the place is full and buzzing at all hours,” elaborates McDonald. “We raised half the funds, $7.5 million of the $15 million, and the board decided that this initiative was too important to wait. Given the market conditions, we were able to take advantage of historically low interest rates. We took out a non-profit bond of 3.5% fixed while we continue to fundraise. While we are still fundraising, we are enjoying the benefits two years ahead of schedule. So many people stepped up in such amazing ways,” emphasized the headmaster. In addition, a skate park is currently under construction. And Eagle Hill continues to forge ahead, examining sleep patterns for students and adding nutritious options to the school menu. “I think one of the hallmarks of Eagle Hill and our success is that we are not competing against other schools,” asserts McDonald. “We are competing against ourselves. It (the SPARK initiative) was a learning process. We learned together. In terms of community, it has far surpassed all of my expectations about what it would be in terms of the heartbeat of the campus. It is a place where faculty and students come together in ways they never could in a classroom, collaboratively, pushing one another. It really is a sight to see.”
2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 29
The
Faculty Fund
Formerly the Annual Giving Fund
Thank you for your 2012–2013 contribution. 30 Eagle Hill School 2012–2013
Headmaster’s Circle – Gold Leader ($25,000 and up) Mr. Nathan Bernstein and Ms. Katharina Otto-Bernstein Mr. and Mrs. Tully M. Friedman Mr. Roger D. Mack and Ms. Jenny B. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Merriam Mr. James Richardson and Mr. Esmond Harmsworth
Headmaster’s Circle – Silver Leader ($15,000 - $24,999) Sarah L. Boles Stephen and Suzanne Chapman Mr. and Mrs. David A. Hoyt Mr. Christopher R. Larson and Ms. Julia A. Calhoun Mr. Joseph R. Zimmel
Headmaster’s Circle – Bronze Leader ($10,000 - $14,999) 2002 Philanthropic Fund EK of The Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Bamford Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cummings Mr. and Mrs. Daniel P. Cummings Ms. Maura FitzGerald and Mr. Allen Carney Mr. Ephraim Heller Mr. and Mrs. Tim Holiner Mr. and Mrs. Kent A. Jordan Mr. and Mrs. Peter S. Joseph Mr. Alan Katz and Ms. Jerry Simmons Mr. Jonathan Logan Mr. and Mrs. William F. Mellin Ms. Janie C. Whitney and Mr. A. B. Whitfield
1967 Society ($7,500 - $9,999) Mr. Arthur N. Langhaus and Ms. Kathy L. Marlin-Langhaus Mr. and Mrs. David W. Segal Mr. and Mrs. Anthony G. Wilson
Founder’s Circle ($5,000 - $7,499) Mr. and Mrs. Milton Altenberg Mr. Kenneth L. Arthur and Mr. Peter J. Hagan Mr. and Mrs. John M. Cobb Mr. Kent S. Couillard Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J. Domino Mr. and Mrs. John J. Doran Ms. Donna L. Dubinsky and Dr. Leonard J. Shustek Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Fortin
Hafer Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Stuart M. Hebb Mr. William Hoover and Dr. Ingrid Thranov Mr. and Mrs. J. Steven Judge Ms. Gwen R. Libstag Ms. Martha J. Nelson and Ms. Kristine K. Peterson Mr. and Mrs. Peter A. Picknelly Mr. Virgil Roberson and Mrs. Elizabeth A. Campbell Ms. Cara M. Rose Ms. Jill Schlesinger Miller Mrs. Allison M. Shure Mr. and Mrs. Roger J. Sippl Ms. Wendy Svarre The Vera Cash Foundation, Inc. Ms. Marilyn A. Waller and Mr. Doron Weinberg Mr. and Mrs. Steven T. Wittmer
Benefactor’s Society ($2,500 - $4,999) Mr. William A. Best and Ms. Lorraine M. Acosta Mr. and Mrs. Howard A. Brecher Mr. Eduardo J. Cesarman Chalfont Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Michael K. Clare Mr. Richard P. Flaster and Ms. Alice P. Mead Mr. Mark W. Friedman and Ms. Stacey A. Kinnamon Mr. Jonathan L. Greenblatt and Ms. Linda E. Adams The Howard Bayne Fund Mr. and Mrs. Matthew B. Lehr Bill and Holly Marklyn Dr. and Mrs. PJ McDonald Mr. and Mrs. David Merjan Mr. and Mrs. David M. Murphy Mr. Alfred Nardini Mr. and Mrs. Daniel P. O'Day Dr. and Mrs. Michael P. Riendeau Rollstone Charitable Foundation, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Edward G. Rothstein Mr. and Mrs. Stephen C. Ryan Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Smith Mr. Nicholas C. Sproul '02 Mr. and Mrs. Richard St. Jean Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Svarre Mr. Robert Vieth and Ms. Amy Wrenn Vieth Dr. and Mrs. Michael R. Zindrick
Hardwick Society ($1,000 - $2,499) Mr. and Mrs. Peter A. Allen Ms. Candace Alsop Mr. Joseph W. Alsop and Dr. Christiane Alsop Mr. Alan Altman * Mr. John P. Amershadian and Ms. Denise Hanlon
2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 31
Mr. Alan Altman * Mr. John P. Amershadian and Ms. Denise Hanlon Anonymous Mr. Bruce W. Baber Ms. Meredith A. Baber '08 Dr. Ronald Baglio and Ms. Erin Wynne Mr. Federico J. Belak and Ms. Kristina L. Andrews Mr. Alden J. Bianchi and Ms. Mary Kett Mr. and Mrs. Edward R. Binder Dr. Harlan F. Bittner and Dr. Rebecca Brittain Bittner Dr. Earl F. Bloch and Dr. Angela Y. Love Mr. Conor J. Boyland '12 Brown Electric Co. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Callahan Camerata New England, Inc. Ms. Denise Chestnut Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Chornyei Jr. Ms. Eileen P. Curran Davidowitz Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey L. Davidowitz Mr. and Mrs. Michael Dayton Mr. Stephen Dellaporta and Ms. Maria Moreno-Dellaporta Mr. and Mrs. David Feinblatt Mr. and Mrs. George M. Fenton Mr. Erik Fleming and Ms. Torrance Watkins Mr. Bruce M. Fram and Ms. Ann Marie Jasse Dr. and Mrs. Clifford M. Gall Mr. and Mrs. John S. Gee Mr. and Mrs. Leonard F. Gengel Mr. Marcelo O. Gennari and Ms. Yasmeli del Carmen Villasmil Mr. Steven I. Greene and Ms. Melanie B. Genkin Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Halpern Mr. and Mrs. W. Guy Harley Dr. Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos and Dr. Catherine L. Ojakangas Ms. Mary T. Healey Mrs. Kimberly D. Hennigar Ms. Philissa L. Higgins Mr. and Mrs. Guy Howard Mr. Phil T. Johnson and Ms. Donna S. Gordon Mr. and Mrs. Wade W. Judge Mr. Scott T. Kelley Mr. and Mrs. Scott H. Kenig Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Kennedy Mr. Eugene LaBonte Jr. Mr. Robert Levin and Ms. Hildy Wynn Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Mazurczak Mr. and Mrs. Bruce J. McKeegan Mr. and Mrs. Alan C. McNabb ** Dr. and Mrs. Matthew Mintzis Montauk Foundation Dr. Pavel Niderman and Dr. Flora Niderman Mr. and Mrs. Dennis O'Leary Mr. and Mrs. David F. Oury Mr. and Mrs. Raymond K. Polk Dr. Howard D. Ro and Ms. Susan J. Mals
32 Eagle Hill School 2012–2013
Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Rogers Dr. Keith M. Sabin and Dr. Miriam E. Sabin Mr. and Mrs. Richard Silberberg Mr. and Mrs. Abbye M. Silver Ms. Cheryl R. Souza Mr. and Mrs. David Spath Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sproul Mr. and Mrs. Dominic P. Triola Mr. and Mrs. Dan Tudor Mr. Max J. Walkingshaw and Ms. Patrice J. Koeneke Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Westcott Mr. and Mrs. Robert Witt Mr. Richard L. Wood and Ms. Mary T. Bourguignon Mr. and Mrs. Frank M. Yans Mr. and Mrs. Robert K. Yard Mr. and Mrs. Jason M. Zorfas
Green and White Club ($500 - $999) Dr. Carol L. Alter Mr. and Mrs. Paul W. Arthur Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bachtold Mr. and Mrs. Mark H. Berman Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Brant Mr. Harold Burnett Evan ’99 and Nikki Carignan Carol and Neil M. Coplan, M.D. Ms. Stephanie B. Coplan '00 Dr. E. J. Cronin Mrs. Jeanne M. Cutrona * Mr. and Mrs. Peter Dawson Ms. Janet L. Frink Mr. Jed and Mrs. Jessica Geary Gloria Levine & Harvey Levine Charitable Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jim Goese Dr. Beth I. Greenberg and Ms. Beth F. Simon Dr. and Mrs. Lonnie Hanauer Mr. Dana M. Harbert Mr. Samuel Hill and Ms. Elizabeth Upsall Dr. and Mrs. Sheldon Itzkowitz Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Jacobsmeyer * Mr. Colburn A. Jones and Ms. Patrice Larkins-Jones Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Kane Mr. Michael D. Lang and Ms. Fendell D. Pillsbury Mr. Scott M. Lincoln and Ms. Amy Auman-Lincoln Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Louie Mrs. Kathleen Mathesen Mr. and Mrs. William M. McClements Dr. and Mrs. Michael A. Mellenthin Jr. ** Mr. John Miller and Dr. Rebecca Foley Miller Mr. and Mrs. Francesco Misericordia Mr. and Mrs. Brett Nardini Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Nastasi Mr. and Mrs. Elvis V. Norville
Mr. David A. Passafaro Mr. William J. Pastuszek and Ms. Ellen J. Smith Mr. Harold Quinn and Ms. Laurie Izzo-Quinn Mr. Michael J. Richard and Ms. Kathleen St. John-Richard Mr. and Mrs. Alan S. Roseberry Ms. Valerie Ruggles Mr. and Mrs. William Segal Mr. Joel Slupnicki Mr. and Mrs. Eric Stone Mr. and Mrs. Arthur B. Wolpert Yankee Engineering and Testing Ms. Jacqueline Zambrano Ms. Sally R. Zeller
Friendship Club ($1 - $499) Mr. and Mrs. William Aldrich Ms. Elizabeth W. Alsop '00 Mrs. Jane Alwis Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Armstrong Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J. Aronica * Mr. and Mrs. Alexander S. Audette Mr. and Mrs. Gil Bamford Mr. James M. Barkus Mr. and Mrs. David E. Bartolini ** Mr. Robert Begin Ms. Carol M. Belliveau Dr. Michael Ben-Chaim Mr. Andre Bergeron Mr. Tyler Blais Ms. Pat Bock Mr. John Boelke Mrs. Kimberlee Bonica Mr. Matthew M. Botler '02 Ms. Cira L. Brown '04 Ms. Shelley N. Brown Mrs. Sharyn Buelow Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Burke Mr. and Mrs. Ian Callahan Ms. Keely E. Campbell '07 Ms. Elyse S. Caplan ** Mr. Kevin M. Caplan '08 Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Cappucci Mr. Robert R. Carey and Ms. Claire Cowart Ms. Susan Casey Mr. and Mrs. David S. Christie Mr. Jonathan H. Christie '07 Mr. Burrell L. Clark III and Dr. Denise C. Dabney Mr. and Mrs. Leslie J. Coffey Ms. Marcella Comerford Mr. and Mrs. Peter Condakes Dr. Nym Cooke Mr. and Mrs. Brian Coombs Mr. and Mrs. Shawn Coughlin
Ms. Jill Cox-Watford Mr. Roy R. Crevier Mr. and Mrs. John J. Curtis Mr. Adam R. Davidowitz '03 Ms. Samantha DelSignore Mr. Augustine J. Demeo Mr. and Mrs. Joseph B. DeNicola Ms. Elizabeth J. Dichiara Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. Dichiara Mr. and Mrs. Frank Diliddo Mr. and Mrs. Robert Donovan Ms. Louise P. Doud and Mr. Keith Ross Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Dubzinski Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Steven J. Dykstra Ms. Marie Eddison Ms. Patricia S. Ehman Ms. Brittany Farraj Mr. Michael Foley Mr. and Mrs. Edward G. Fort Ms. Rosalie Frauenhofer Mr. and Mrs. Paul Frias Mr. Andrew R. Gallant '99 Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Gansler Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Gaskill Jr. Ms. Rosemary Gaughan Mr. William Gelinas Mr. and Mrs. John M. Geraghty Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Goldman Dr. Irene F. Goodman and Dr. Andrew A. O'Mahony Dr. and Mrs. Brent R. Grafe Dr. John M. Grammer and Dr. Elizabeth E. Grammer Ms. Karen H. Graves Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Greene Mr. and Mrs. Dennis R. Grimes ** Ms. Susan Grodman Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Groman Mrs. Colleen E. Groner Mr. and Mrs. Brinley Hall Mr. and Mrs. Dean M. Hall Mr. Christopher J. Hancock Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Haseltine Mr. William D. Hathaway Mr. and Mrs. George Hatsopoulos Mr. David Haynes II and Ms. Heather A. Hyatt-Haynes Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Hershman * Mr. and Mrs. Douglas E. Holbrook Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Holden Mrs. Donna Holden Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Holt Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Howard Mrs. Jenna Hubacz Dr. Chiu Hwang Industrial Cleaning Products Inc. Mr. and Mrs. William Isaacs Mr. Robert Isabella
2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 33
Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. Jackson Mr. Michael G. Jacobs and Ms. Judith R. Cohen Ms. Linda D. Jarmolowicz Jenkins Inn and Restaurant Mr. and Mrs. Alan Joubert Mrs. Casey Kane Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery D. Kane Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Kanozek Ms. Sara Kaplan '02 Mr. Richard Kearns and Ms. Sandra Ford-Kearns Mr. Edward Kelly Mr. and Mrs. Ian M. Kelly Mr. Matthew A. Kim '97 and Mr. Jong Hun Kim Mr. Richard V. Kmiec Mr. and Mrs. Douglas R. Koczur Mrs. Diann Kosla Dr. and Mrs. Martin J. Lachman Mr. Zachary H. Lachman '11 Lamoureux Ford, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Francis F. Leaf III Ms. Ashley LeBlanc Mr. and Mrs. Van D. Lessig Mr. and Mrs. Christoph Leu Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Leyva Mrs. Donna Linnehan and Mrs. Joyce Ward Ms. Molly E. Lonergan '08 Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Lorion Mr. and Mrs. David Lougee Mr. Raymond S. Lovejoy Mrs. Diana T. Mackiewicz Ms. Robin Majcher Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Mallery Jr. Ms. Denise Maloof Ms. Tatyana Malyk Mr. Vinay Manjunath Mr. James F. Marrs Mrs. Nancy Martin Todd C. and Julie L. McDonald Mr. and Mrs. William McFaul Mr. and Mrs. Robert McGrory Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Mendelsohn '03 Mr. Scott C. Metcalf Mr. and Mrs. Matyas Mezei Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Miller Mr. Julian Mintzis '05 Mr. and Mrs. C. MacNeil Mitchell Mr. Ian M. Mitchell '05 Mr. and Mrs. Andrew C. Moreland Ms. Nancy M. Munro Mr. and Mrs. George P. Munsey IV Mr. and Mrs. Patrick E. Murphy Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Myra Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Myra Ms. Laurel Nahorniak Nal's Paint Center Inc.
34 Eagle Hill School 2012–2013
Ms. Denise Nash Mr. and Mrs. Robert Nash Mr. and Mrs. Gary A. Nickerson Ms. Carol Novick Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Oppenheim Mr. Paul Overton and Ms. Sharon Ashe Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Paltsios Mr. and Mrs. Robert Pangia Ms. Elaine Parmenter Mr. Gregory F. Passineau Mr. and Mrs. Daniel F. Pawling Sr. * Ms. Esran P. Phillips '16 Mr. Ric M. Plaisance and Ms. Carolyn E. McGrory Mr. Simon M. Polakoff '10 Ms. Lorna Pollard Ms. Katherine Poulson Mr. Jason Przypek Dr. and Mrs. Evan S. Rashkoff Ms. Shelley Redstone Mr. Jason R. Rennie Dr. and Mrs. Steven Resnick Ms. Denise J. Restauri and Mr. Lewis Dvorkin Mr. Wesley A. Richardson Mr. Marshall Robinson '03 Ms. Margret Rolla Mr. and Mrs. David Sabini Mrs. Robin L. Samuelson Mr. Martin G. Schaefer Mr. Andrew J. Schneider '11 Mr. Daniel Schneider and Ms. Julie Kniznik Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Schneider Mr. and Mrs. David P. Schultz Mr. James A. Seay and Ms. Eileen P. Collins Ms. Courtney Seed Mr. and Mrs. Richard Shanks The Shields Family Dr. and Mrs. Hoke H. Shirley Mr. and Mrs. Roger L. Silva Mr. Max A. Silver '06 Ms. Kim R. Simmons Ms. Nancy J. Skamarycz Mr. and Mrs. D. V. Smith Jr. Ms. Sarah H. Smith '05 Mr. and Mrs. Alan D. Sporn Mr. Gary R. Sporn '96 Mr. and Mrs. Tom E. Stine Mr. Carl W. Stockwell '00 Mr. and Mrs. William F. Stockwell Mr. and Mrs. Travis Stolgitis Mr. and Mrs. David Sylvestro Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Tetreault Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thomas Mrs. Katherine G. Thompson Mr. Dirk van Luling Ms. Nan Waller
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew D. Ward Ms. Elizabeth Weeks Mr. Bradley J. Weinstein '09 ** Mr. and Mrs. Barrett Weiss Mr. and Mrs. Jochen Welsch Mr. Anthony Westcott and Ms. Shelly Ricci Mr. Mark R. Westcott '12 Mr. and Mrs. Alan Westermann Mr. Alan Wheeler Mrs. Stephanie Whitaker Mr. and Rev. E. John White Mr. Teeomm Williams Mr. Ed Wollman and Ms. Jane A. Herrick Mr. and Mrs. Martin G. Wynne Mrs. Gale Young Ms. Alexandra M. Zappala '11 Ms. Amanda Ziemba Mr. Benjamin E. Zorfas '12
Current Trustees Ms. Candace Alsop Mr. Alden J. Bianchi and Ms. Mary Kett Stephen and Suzanne Chapman Ms. Maura FitzGerald and Mr. Allen Carney Mr. Erik Fleming and Ms. Torrance Watkins Mr. and Mrs. John Gee Mr. and Mrs. David A. Hoyt Mr. and Mrs. Peter S. Joseph Mr. Arthur N. Langhaus and Ms. Kathy L. Marlin-Langhaus Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Mendelsohn ‘03 Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Merriam Mr. James Richardson and Mr. Esmond Harmsworth Ms. Marilyn A. Waller and Mr. Doron Weinberg Ms. Janie C. Whitney and Mr. A. B. Whitfield
Alumni/ae Families Mr. and Mrs. William Aldrich Ms. Candace Alsop Ms. Elizabeth W. Alsop '00 Mr. Joseph W. Alsop and Dr. Christiane Alsop Mr. Alan Altman * Mr. John P. Amershadian and Ms. Denise Hanlon Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J. Aronica * Mr. Bruce W. Baber Ms. Meredith A. Baber '08 Mr. and Mrs. David E. Bartolini ** Dr. Harlan F. Bittner and Dr. Rebecca Brittain Bittner Mr. Matthew M. Botler '02 Mr. Conor J. Boyland '12 Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Brant Ms. Cira L. Brown '04 Ms. Keely E. Campbell '07 Ms. Elyse S. Caplan **
Mr. Kevin M. Caplan '08 Mr. Robert R. Carey and Ms. Claire Cowart Evan ’99 and Nikki Carignan Ms. Susan Casey Stephen and Suzanne Chapman Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Chornyei Jr. Mr. and Mrs. David S. Christie Mr. Jonathan H. Christie '07 Carol and Neil M. Coplan, M.D. Ms. Stephanie B. Coplan '00 Mrs. Jeanne M. Cutrona * Mr. Adam R. Davidowitz '03 Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey L. Davidowitz Mr. and Mrs. Joseph B. DeNicola Ms. Donna L. Dubinsky and Dr. Leonard J. Shustek Ms. Maura FitzGerald and Mr. Allen Carney Mr. Richard P. Flaster and Ms. Alice P. Mead Mr. and Mrs. Tully M. Friedman Ms. Janet L. Frink Mr. Andrew R. Gallant '99 Mr. and Mrs. John S. Gee Mr. and Mrs. John M. Geraghty Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Goldman Dr. and Mrs. Brent R. Grafe Mr. and Mrs. Dennis R. Grimes ** Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Groman Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Halpern Dr. and Mrs. Lonnie Hanauer Mr. and Mrs. W. Guy Harley Mr. David Haynes II and Ms. Heather A. Hyatt-Haynes Ms. Mary T. Healey Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Hershman * Mr. Samuel Hill and Ms. Elizabeth Upsall Mr. William Hoover and Dr. Ingrid Thranov Mr. and Mrs. Guy Howard Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Jacobsmeyer * Mr. Colburn A. Jones and Ms. Patrice Larkins-Jones Mr. and Mrs. J. Steven Judge Mr. and Mrs. Wade W. Judge Ms. Sara Kaplan '02 Mr. Matthew A. Kim '97 and Mr. Jong Hun Kim Dr. and Mrs. Martin J. Lachman Mr. Zachary H. Lachman '11 Mr. and Mrs. Matthew B. Lehr Mr. and Mrs. Van D. Lessig Mr. and Mrs. Christoph Leu Ms. Molly E. Lonergan '08 Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Louie Mr. James F. Marrs Mr. and Mrs. William M. McClements Dr. and Mrs. Michael A. Mellenthin Jr. ** Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Mendelsohn '03 Mr. Julian Mintzis '05 Dr. and Mrs. Matthew Mintzis Mr. and Mrs. C. MacNeil Mitchell
2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 35
Mr. Ian M. Mitchell '05 Mr. and Mrs. George P. Munsey IV Mr. and Mrs. Gary A. Nickerson Ms. Carol Novick Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Oppenheim Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Paltsios Mr. and Mrs. Robert Pangia Mr. and Mrs. Daniel F. Pawling Sr. * Mr. Simon M. Polakoff '10 Dr. and Mrs. Evan S. Rashkoff Ms. Shelley Redstone Ms. Denise J. Restauri and Mr. Lewis Dvorkin Mr. Marshall Robinson '03 Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Rogers Mr. and Mrs. David Sabini Mr. Martin G. Schaefer Mr. Andrew J. Schneider '11 Mr. Daniel Schneider and Ms. Julie Kniznik Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Schneider Mr. and Mrs. Roger L. Silva Mr. and Mrs. Abbye M. Silver Mr. Max A. Silver '06 Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Smith Ms. Sarah H. Smith '05 Mr. and Mrs. David Spath Mr. and Mrs. Alan D. Sporn Mr. Gary R. Sporn '96 Mr. Nicholas C. Sproul '02 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sproul Mr. and Mrs. Tom E. Stine Mr. Carl W. Stockwell '00 Mr. and Mrs. William F. Stockwell Mr. Dirk van Luling Ms. Nan Waller Ms. Marilyn A. Waller and Mr. Doron Weinberg Mr. Bradley J. Weinstein '09 ** Mr. and Mrs. Barrett Weiss Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Westcott Mr. Mark R. Westcott '12 Mr. Ed Wollman and Ms. Jane A. Herrick Mr. and Mrs. Arthur B. Wolpert Ms. Alexandra M. Zappala '11 Mr. Benjamin E. Zorfas '12 Mr. and Mrs. Jason M. Zorfas
Corporations and Foundations 2002 Philanthropic Fund EK of The Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay American International Group, Inc. Anonymous Bank of America Charitable Foundation Matching Gifts Program Brown Electric Co. Camerata New England, Inc.
36 Eagle Hill School 2012–2013
Chalfont Foundation Chevron Humankind Program Citizens Charitable Foundation Davidowitz Foundation GE Foundation Gloria Levine & Harvey Levine Charitable Foundation Goldman, Sachs & Co. Hafer Family Foundation The Howard Bayne Fund Industrial Cleaning Products Inc. Jenkins Inn and Restaurant Lamoureux Ford, Inc. Montauk Foundation Nal's Paint Center Inc. New York Life Foundation Pearson Education Pfizer Fondation Matching Gifts Program Quest Diagnostics RBS Citizens Financial Group Rollstone Charitable Foundation, Inc. The Vera Cash Foundation, Inc. Wells Fargo Foundation Yankee Engineering and Testing
Current Faculty and Staff Mr. and Mrs. William Aldrich Mrs. Jane Alwis Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bachtold Dr. Ronald Baglio and Ms. Erin Wynne Mr. James M. Barkus Mr. Robert Begin Ms. Carol M. Belliveau Mr. Andre Bergeron Mr. Tyler Blais Ms. Pat Bock Mr. John Boelke Mrs. Kimberlee Bonica Mr. Matthew M. Botler '02 Mrs. Sharyn Buelow Mr. Harold Burnett Mr. and Mrs. Ian Callahan Ms. Keely E. Campbell '07 Ms. Marcella Comerford Dr. Nym Cooke Mr. and Mrs. Shawn Coughlin Mr. Roy R. Crevier Dr. E. J. Cronin Mr. Adam R. Davidowitz '03 Ms. Samantha DelSignore Mr. and Mrs. Robert Donovan Ms. Louise P. Doud and Mr. Keith Ross Mr. and Mrs. Steven J. Dykstra Ms. Marie Eddison Ms. Patricia S. Ehman
Ms. Brittany Farraj Mr. Michael Foley Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Gaskill Jr. Mr. Jed and Mrs. Jessica Geary Mr. William Gelinas Mrs. Colleen E. Groner Mr. Dana M. Harbert Mr. David Haynes II and Ms. Heather A. Hyatt-Haynes Mr. and Mrs. Douglas E. Holbrook Mrs. Donna Holden Mrs. Jenna Hubacz Dr. Chiu Hwang Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. Jackson Ms. Tabitha Johnson Mrs. Casey Kane Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Kanozek Ms. Sara Kaplan '02 Mr. Scott T. Kelley Mr. Edward Kelly Mr. and Mrs. Ian M. Kelly Mr. Matthew A. Kim '97 and Mr. Jong Hun Kim Mr. Richard V. Kmiec Mr. and Mrs. Douglas R. Koczur Mrs. Diann Kosla Mr. Eugene LaBonte Jr. Ms. Ashley LeBlanc Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Leyva Mrs. Donna Linnehan and Mrs. Joyce Ward Ms. Molly E. Lonergan '08 Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Lorion Mr. Raymond S. Lovejoy Mrs. Diana T. Mackiewicz Ms. Robin Majcher Ms. Denise Maloof Ms. Tatyana Malyk Mr. Vinay Manjunath Mrs. Nancy Martin Dr. and Mrs. PJ McDonald Mr. and Mrs. William McFaul Mr. Scott C. Metcalf Mr. and Mrs. Matyas Mezei Mr. John Miller and Dr. Rebecca Foley Miller Mr. and Mrs. Andrew C. Moreland Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Myra Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Myra Ms. Laurel Nahorniak Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Nastasi Mr. Paul Overton and Ms. Sharon Ashe Ms. Elaine Parmenter Mr. Gregory F. Passineau Ms. Lorna Pollard Ms. Katherine Poulson Mr. Jason Przypek Mr. Jason R. Rennie Mr. Michael J. Richard and Ms. Kathleen St. John-Richard
Dr. and Mrs. Michael P. Riendeau Mr. Marshall Robinson '03 Ms. Margret Rolla Ms. Valerie Ruggles Mrs. Robin L. Samuelson Ms. Courtney Seed Mr. and Mrs. Richard Shanks Mr. Joel Slupnicki Mr. Nicholas C. Sproul '02 Mr. and Mrs. Travis Stolgitis Mr. and Mrs. Eric Stone Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Tetreault Mrs. Katherine G. Thompson Mr. and Mrs. Andrew D. Ward Ms. Elizabeth Weeks Mr. and Mrs. Jochen Welsch Mr. Anthony Westcott and Ms. Shelly Ricci Mr. and Mrs. Alan Westermann Mr. Alan Wheeler Mrs. Stephanie Whitaker Mr. Teeomm Williams Mrs. Gale Young Ms. Amanda Ziemba
Current Families Mr. and Mrs. Peter A. Allen Mr. and Mrs. Milton Altenberg Dr. Carol L. Alter Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Armstrong Mr. Kenneth L. Arthur and Mr. Peter J. Hagan Mr. and Mrs. Paul W. Arthur Mr. and Mrs. Gil Bamford Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Bamford Mr. Federico J. Belak and Ms. Kristina L. Andrews Mr. and Mrs. Mark H. Berman Mr. Nathan Bernstein and Ms. Katharina Otto-Bernstein Mr. William A. Best and Ms. Lorraine M. Acosta Mr. and Mrs. Edward R. Binder Dr. Earl F. Bloch and Dr. Angela Y. Love Sarah L. Boles Mr. and Mrs. Howard A. Brecher Ms. Shelley N. Brown Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Burke Mr. and Mrs. Peter Callahan Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Cappucci Mr. Eduardo J. Cesarman Ms. Denise Chestnut Mr. and Mrs. Michael K. Clare Mr. Burrell L. Clark III and Dr. Denise C. Dabney Mr. and Mrs. John M. Cobb Mr. and Mrs. Leslie J. Coffey Mr. and Mrs. Peter Condakes Mr. and Mrs. Brian Coombs
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Mr. Kent S. Couillard Ms. Jill Cox-Watford Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cummings Mr. and Mrs. Daniel P. Cummings Ms. Eileen P. Curran Mr. and Mrs. John J. Curtis Mr. and Mrs. Michael Dayton Mr. Stephen Dellaporta and Ms. Maria Moreno-Dellaporta Mr. Augustine J. Demeo Ms. Elizabeth J. Dichiara Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. Dichiara Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J. Domino Mr. and Mrs. John J. Doran Mr. and Mrs. David Feinblatt Mr. and Mrs. George M. Fenton Mr. and Mrs. Edward G. Fort Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Fortin Mr. Bruce M. Fram and Ms. Ann Marie Jasse Ms. Rosalie Frauenhofer Mr. and Mrs. Paul Frias Mr. Mark W. Friedman and Ms. Stacey A. Kinnamon Dr. and Mrs. Clifford M. Gall Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Gansler Ms. Rosemary Gaughan Mr. and Mrs. Leonard F. Gengel Mr. Marcelo O. Gennari and Ms. Yasmeli del Carmen Villasmil Mr. and Mrs. Jim Goese Dr. Irene F. Goodman and Dr. Andrew A. O'Mahony Dr. John M. Grammer and Dr. Elizabeth E. Grammer Ms. Karen H. Graves Dr. Beth I. Greenberg and Ms. Beth F. Simon Mr. Jonathan L. Greenblatt and Ms. Linda E. Adams Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Greene Mr. Steven I. Greene and Ms. Melanie B. Genkin Ms. Susan Grodman Mr. Kevin J. Hafer Mr. and Mrs. Dean M. Hall Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Haseltine Mr. and Mrs. George Hatsopoulos Dr. Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos and Dr. Catherine L. Ojakangas Mr. and Mrs. Stuart M. Hebb Mr. Ephraim Heller Mrs. Kimberly D. Hennigar Ms. Philissa L. Higgins Mr. and Mrs. Tim Holiner Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Holt Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Howard Mr. and Mrs. David A. Hoyt Mr. and Mrs. William Isaacs Dr. and Mrs. Sheldon Itzkowitz Mr. Michael G. Jacobs and Ms. Judith R. Cohen Ms. Linda D. Jarmolowicz Mr. Phil T. Johnson and Ms. Donna S. Gordon Mr. and Mrs. Kent A. Jordan Mr. and Mrs. Peter S. Joseph
38 Eagle Hill School 2012–2013
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery D. Kane Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Kane Mr. Alan Katz and Ms. Jerry Simmons Mr. Richard Kearns and Ms. Sandra Ford-Kearns Mr. and Mrs. Scott H. Kenig Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Kennedy Mr. Michael D. Lang and Ms. Fendell D. Pillsbury Mr. Arthur N. Langhaus and Ms. Kathy L. Marlin-Langhaus Mr. Christopher R. Larson and Ms. Julia A. Calhoun Mr. and Mrs. Francis F. Leaf III Mr. Robert Levin and Ms. Hildy Wynn Ms. Gwen R. Libstag Mr. Scott M. Lincoln and Ms. Amy Auman-Lincoln Mr. Jonathan Logan Mr. Roger D. Mack and Ms. Jenny B. Jones Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Mallery Jr. Bill and Holly Marklyn Mrs. Kathleen Mathesen Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Mazurczak Dr. and Mrs. PJ McDonald Mr. and Mrs. Robert McGrory Mr. and Mrs. Bruce J. McKeegan Mr. and Mrs. Alan C. McNabb ** Mr. and Mrs. William F. Mellin Mr. and Mrs. David Merjan Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Merriam Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Miller Mr. and Mrs. Francesco Misericordia Ms. Nancy M. Munro Mr. and Mrs. David M. Murphy Mr. and Mrs. Patrick E. Murphy Ms. Denise Nash Mr. and Mrs. Robert Nash Ms. Martha J. Nelson and Ms. Kristine K. Peterson Dr. Pavel Niderman and Dr. Flora Niderman Mr. and Mrs. Elvis V. Norville Mr. and Mrs. Daniel P. O'Day Mr. and Mrs. Dennis O'Leary Mr. and Mrs. David F. Oury Mr. David A. Passafaro Ms. Esran P. Phillips '16 Mr. and Mrs. Peter A. Picknelly Mr. Ric M. Plaisance and Ms. Carolyn E. McGrory Mr. and Mrs. Raymond K. Polk Mr. Harold Quinn and Ms. Laurie Izzo-Quinn Dr. and Mrs. Steven Resnick Dr. Howard D. Ro and Ms. Susan J. Mals Mr. Virgil Roberson and Mrs. Elizabeth A. Campbell Ms. Cara M. Rose Mr. and Mrs. Alan S. Roseberry Mr. and Mrs. Edward G. Rothstein Mr. and Mrs. Stephen C. Ryan Dr. Keith M. Sabin and Dr. Miriam E. Sabin Ms. Jill Schlesinger Miller Mr. and Mrs. David P. Schultz
Mr. James A. Seay and Ms. Eileen P. Collins Mr. and Mrs. David W. Segal Mr. and Mrs. William Segal Dr. and Mrs. Hoke H. Shirley Mrs. Allison M. Shure Mr. and Mrs. Richard Silberberg Ms. Kim R. Simmons Mr. and Mrs. Roger J. Sippl Mr. and Mrs. D. V. Smith Jr. Ms. Cheryl R. Souza Mr. and Mrs. Richard St. Jean Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Svarre Ms. Wendy Svarre Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thomas Mr. and Mrs. Dan Tudor Mr. Robert Vieth and Ms. Amy Wrenn Vieth Mr. Max J. Walkingshaw and Ms. Patrice J. Koeneke Mr. and Mrs. Anthony G. Wilson Mr. and Mrs. Steven T. Wittmer Mr. Richard L. Wood and Ms. Mary T. Bourguignon Mr. and Mrs. Frank M. Yans Mr. and Mrs. Robert K. Yard Ms. Jacqueline Zambrano Ms. Sally R. Zeller Mr. Joseph R. Zimmel Dr. and Mrs. Michael R. Zindrick
Friends of Eagle Hill School Mr. and Mrs. Alexander S. Audette Dr. Michael Ben-Chaim Mr. and Mrs. Peter Dawson Mr. and Mrs. Frank Diliddo Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Dubzinski Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Brinley Hall Mr. Christopher J. Hancock Mr. William D. Hathaway Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Holden Mr. Robert Isabella Mr. and Mrs. Alan Joubert Mr. and Mrs. David Lougee Todd C. and Julie L. McDonald Mr. Alfred Nardini Mr. and Mrs. Brett Nardini Mr. William J. Pastuszek and Ms. Ellen J. Smith Mr. Wesley A. Richardson The Shields Family Ms. Nancy J. Skamarycz Mr. and Mrs. David Sylvestro Ms. Barbara C. Timken Mr. and Mrs. Dominic P. Triola Mr. and Rev. E. John White Mr. and Mrs. Robert Witt Mr. and Mrs. Martin G. Wynne * Donor contributed to the Financial Aid Fund
** Donor contributed to the Financial Aid Fund and the Faculty Fund 2012–2013 Eagle Hill School 39
One Frost Does Not Make a Winter A Transcript of the 2013 Baccalaureate Speech by Dr. Rebecca Foley Miller
Parents and families, faculty and administration, friends, and most importantly the graduating class of 2013. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to this Baccalaureate evening and to congratulate everyone who has had a hand in helping these fine young men and women become the people they are today. To the seniors: Wow. You have a whole theatre of people that are over-themoon proud of you. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you and humbled that you all chose me to speak to you today. This whole weekend signifies that you are done with high school. This chapter is over. I know you feel either like you know what’s coming next, or if you don’t, that you should, but trust me: you have no idea what is in store for you. This is normal and it is okay. I’m not going to stand up here and tell you that I understand each of your individual journeys. You are the only one who can truly appreciate what it took for you to get here....But I do have a bit of an idea. We have a lot more similarities than you
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may have known. In fact, my eighteen-year-old self had no idea that I would be standing here, in front of you all, some fifteen years later. You know how you get a few personalized paragraphs from each of your teachers summarizing all of your work for each term? Well, my high school wasn’t like that. The teachers all shared a list of pre-written comments that were coded by letters. I would get my grade for the course with a dash and another letter. There was a legend on the back of the report card to translate what the second letter was meant to indicate. Similar to lettered course grades, the comments that had a notation of a letter from the beginning of the alphabet were better than the end of the alphabet. I never had to flip the report card over to translate the comment letter because I always got “W” and “Z”—no good. My parents were told every term of every year that I was in high school that I was “W—chronically tardy” and the worst: “Z—a habitual time waster.” I have no idea what an A or B was…I never saw them! A teacher sophomore year (probably the one who gave me W and Z every term) told me that I shouldn’t be in her class because my PSAT scores were too low and I would flunk out of college. That same teacher used to snap her fingers in my face (probably when she thought I was habitually wasting time) and she turned me off to reading for years. She wasn’t totally accurate, but she wasn’t completely wrong either. I
didn’t get into my first or second choice schools....But I got into my third and I worked really hard to get through that degree, and the next degree, and the next degree, and the next. Now that is resilience. I would define resilience as the art of following through on a commitment, no matter how much you would like to quit. I would venture to say that resilience is the most important character trait that someone could have. I sat at friends’ dinner tables so many times wanting to quit grad school. They inevitably always said one word to me every time: “Don’t.” Sometimes you have to be reminded that you are resilient and that you can stick with things that are hard. I think that humans are inherently resilient, or at least have the inherent potential to be resilient. During the tough times, it is very easy to spend all of our time wishing the obstacles away that distract us from living a full life. I’m not saying that having resilience means to just take disappointments and pain because they are just “part of life.” I would never trivialize it like that. However, we have to focus on how you’ve already persevered. Tonight we are celebrating that you’ve made it through high school. It took a lot of resilience and perseverance for you to make it here and I hope that you recognize that. One of the most significant findings in psychology in the last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think and ultimately are in control of their choices. This is not to say that our environment doesn’t affect us. Sure it does. Big time. And it’s okay when we hit setbacks. Setbacks are inevitable. I believe that choosing to interpret setbacks as a bump in the road and not the end of the road is possible. That belief is easier to take when you think that everybody fails at a goal at some point. Even J. K. Rowling struggled to find a publisher for the Harry Potter series. She was a struggling single mother who poured her heart and soul into The Philosopher’s Stone just to have it denied by every publisher she sent it to. She almost gave up but she didn’t. She’s said that, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all— in which case, you fail by default.”
Martin Seligman, whom I know that you all recognize as the father of positive psychology, said, “Success requires persistence, the ability to not give up in the face of failure. I believe that optimistic explanatory style is the key to persistence.” I know that sometimes you have to work harder than other people do. And I know that you already know that. But what you may not know is that it is okay. It’s fine. It’s good even. You have an advantage over people who have things that come easy to them. It took me awhile to figure that out for myself. I’ll leave you with these three things that I want you to remember. Think of this as Dr. Miller’s prescription for graduating college. Listen up: this’ll be good because it’s the only thing that I can actually prescribe. It’s quite simple…Go, Play, Live. 1. GO. Go to class and go to office hours. I don’t care if you run into class a minute before it is set to start in jammie pants and a hoodie. Throw a cap over that mess of a hair-do. JUST GET THERE. Being late is better than not going. Apologize to the professor after class. While you’re there get to know
“ Success requires persistence, the ability to not give up in the face of failure. I believe that optimistic explanatory style is the key to persistence. ” - Martin Seligman
Okay, so people fail at some things and succeed at others. You cannot judge yourself or form your identity by what has happened TO you and you can’t always control what happens to you. You’re going to walk in on a troll in the bathroom at some point in your life. Expect it. That being said, you form your identity by focusing on how you beat that troll, how you came through hard times. Even though it doesn’t always feel like it, you can always control how you react to setbacks and how you prepare yourself to move on. And you need to remember when you’ve done this so that you have confidence when you’re faced with this in the future.
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your professors, ask them about their research. People with doctorates love talking about their research. Also, get to know your teaching assistants. Before my time on the Hill, I was a TA for a class of 500 students. Out of the 500 I knew about 5 really well. Those 5 were the ones that would yell “Hello” across the quad or in Whole Foods, or at the midnight release of The Order of the Phoenix. They were the ones that I knew would be waiting for me when I sprinted down Main Street in Amherst to get to my building for office hours (remember that chronically tardy thing? Yeah,…it’s still a problem sometimes). When it came time to write up grades, or give an extension on a paper I was more likely to go the extra mile for the students that I knew took my class seriously because they had great attendance, and the ones whom I recognized in the Dining Commons because they were nice to me. 2. Play. Play the game. Go on the registrar’s webpage and learn the rules about dropping, withdrawing, adding, and taking a class pass/fail. It’s okay to drop classes, take summer classes, or elect to take classes pass/fail. That’s why those things exist. USE THEM. I always signed up for an extra class, went to the first day, got the syllabi, and then compared all of them in order to pick the ones that I knew I could handle and drop the one that I wasn’t ready for. It never showed up on my transcripts and it’s fine to do. I think the biggest avoidable failure, other than giving up, is not asking for help when you need it. Self-advocating is standing up for yourself by asking for help and guidance. A great headmaster once said that “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times…if only one remembers to turn on the light.” Think of the light that is referenced as the good people that you will be surrounding yourself with— people that will be there to help you when you need it. 3. Live. Live in the here-and-now and enjoy yourself —but keep your eyes on the big picture. I know that sounds like a contradiction so let me explain. Don’t live in the past and don’t live wishing for the future to come sooner. Have a general idea of where you are going but remember that one frost does not make a winter. You will have disappointments but you will recover from them and emerge stronger, wiser, and better. Listen—you are about to leave Hardwick and you all have some goals and aspirations for what you would like the coming years to look like. Some of you have it all mapped out. Some of you have it barely mapped out. Some of you will reach those exact goals and others will change them once, twice, fourteen times. That is okay. You are okay. Remember, when things seem too hard try to look at the situation in another way. Throw on a pair of Luna Lovegood’s spectrespecs if you need to. There is always a way. You've just got to try different things out until you find it. That’s our advantage. We know that there are other ways to do things and, more importantly, we are able to think of them.
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Some of you will come back to Hardwick to visit us and some of you will probably come back to work here. Whatever you do, whether it be near here or far from here, you will be excellent because you choose to work hard to reach your goals and your goals are far more meaningful when you reach them. And finally, to quote that great headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” You are all gifted with specific innate abilities. It is how you choose to use them that makes the difference. Choice consists of a mental process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one of them. Select wisely— but select— take action. Too often people wait for the choice to be made for them—or let things happen to them. Yes, every choice has a consequence — some are good and some are not so good— but by committing, by making a choice, YOU define who you are, whether you are a Gryffindor, a Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, or even a Slytherin. But, let’s be honest. You are none of those because you all are Pioneers. Pioneers are brave like Gryffindors, witty like Ravenclaws, caring like Hufflepuffs, and crafty like Slytherins. It has been a pleasure working with this class. They are passionate, caring, and extremely bright. They are also creative thinkers, social advocates, and agents of change. They’ve triumphed over that troll in the bathroom and possess the confidence to go forth and meet another troll head on. They have enriched our school and will no doubt make a difference in the world. So, I will close with a slightly modified Dumbledore quote to the graduates, “Graduation opens the door to the next great adventure.” Congratulations, Class of 2013! I hope that whatever your next great adventure is that it leads you down the path of happy fulfillment!
The Elephant in the Room 2013 Senior Class Speaker Alessandra Howard
First and foremost, I would like to sincerely thank the Eagle Hill teachers, administration, and staff for an amazing three years. Myself, and the graduating class of 2013, have been fortunate to be a part of this community and forever will be. Standing up here on graduation day, it seems appropriate to share a quick story about one of the first times I was on this campus. My mother, father, and I were heading from New Hampshire to the Berkshires for a few days in mid-August three years ago. Having been accepted to Eagle Hill, my parents decided that “we” should make a quick stop and explore the campus. At the time I was extremely unhappy and was not looking forward to coming here in the fall. The campus was, of course, deserted. Shortly after we arrived, we were walking down to Pioneer Field, and on the little hill before you cross the street we literally found ourselves surrounded by thousands of dragonflies. I'm not exaggerating. There were hundreds and hundreds. My mother and I both share a love for dragonflies and for a moment, I thought she had somehow conjured up the whole event. She had been working desperately hard, to no avail, to convince me that this school would be good for me...and I wouldn’t put anything past her. We all just stood there, amazed. Looking back, I guess that was a sign of great things to come.
I don’t think anything I say today could adequately convey my gratitude, but in the hope of doing so, I wish to share with you a bit about my personal experience and the enormous impact this community has had on my life. As I searched for a way to share my story, I came across a phrase that gave me some clarity: “The elephant in the room.” At the time the phrase was only vaguely familiar to me, so for an explanation I quickly went to the vault of truth in this world, Wikipedia. Here’s what it says: "The elephant in the room is an English metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is either being ignored or going unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss. It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there have chosen to avoid dealing with the looming and sizable issue.” For many years, when I was in school, there was always an elephant in the classroom with me. I couldn’t read. I would pretend I could so no one else noticed the elephant, and for a while it seemed to work. In the beginning he was only there when I was at school, but eventually he started following me home. He even started coming on vacation with me.
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I remember a particular time I was at my grandparents' house for the summer, playing a board game with my grandfather. It was my turn and I had to read what was on the card. Usually my sister and I would be partners and since she was my “big sister” she would do most of the work for the both of us. This time was different: she wasn’t there to read for me and this is when the truth came out. When my grandmother came home my grandfather ran out to her in a panic, telling her that I couldn’t read. I think he was in more shock than I was, probably questioning how my elephant remained hidden for so long. I did eventually get some help and learn to read, but the elephant only seemed to get bigger. I struggled to do school work in and out of class. The elephant went from being “I can’t read” to “I have a learning disability / I’m not smart / I’m a SPED.” This became so overwhelming I would try to get out of school everyday. I begged my parents to let me drop out. By this time it did not just feel like the elephant was in the room with me, but was sitting on me...I could barely breathe!
Then came the Eagle Hill Community. I choose the word COMMUNITY intentionally, as I believe Eagle Hill is much more than a school. Just a few short months after being here, things changed. I still had trouble reading, but it didn’t seem to matter to anyone. The fact that most of the students here have some kind of learning difference made it easier for me to shed some light on my elephant. Eagle Hill taught us how to embrace and even celebrate our learning styles, and perhaps of equal or greater importance, the expectations were high. We were treated like students who could and would excel in life. Now I didn’t always believe they were telling the truth. I remember going to the school website shortly after my parents told me they thought this school might be a good place for me. One line in particular struck me. “At Eagle Hill School, we understand that our students are blessed with multiple learning ABILITIES and that it is our responsibility as educators to identify, celebrate, and support each student in capitalizing on his or her individual genius.” And through the eyes of a struggling sixteen-year-old girl, I thought to myself: “What a load of crap. I can’t believe my parents are thinking of sending me here....They must really think I’m a lost cause...” So yes, the process did take time. But here I was just a few months into my first year and while the elephant was still in
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the room with me, now I was sitting tall on his back, blowing a trumpet! Now many of the teachers are aware: I did fall off several times. It was a gradual process with plenty of ups and downs, but sure enough I did over time come to believe I was smart and I could be successful! What an amazing lesson. To be able to embrace my learning disability, to expose my elephant in the room for others to see: turning a disability into a learning ability was powerful and unexpected. And while it is my intention, and my hope for all the students here, to take that lesson to college and beyond ...as it turns out, it was not the only truly amazing thing that had happened here. Yes, embracing your learning style was and is important. But what was truly amazing, and the real lesson here, is the Eagle Hill COMMUNITY — its teachers, administration, and staff, created an environment where we felt safe to expose and celebrate our elephants in the room. Even as I stand here, I'm not completely sure how they do it every day. And I could attempt to explain what little I do understand, in the hopes that we all can take this lesson and create our own extended Eagle Hill communities, communities where people feel safe to take risks and think big. But I thought, what a better way to do that than attempt, if just for a few moments, to lead by example right here and now. Take the risk, however flawed by the immaturity of a ninteenyear-old girl, to try to make this day, and the days to follow, a safe place for all of us to talk about the collective elephants in the room. To “identify, celebrate, and support each other's needs.” So, Class of 2013, its time for us to embrace what it means to be part of the Eagle Hill Community; time for us to acknowledge and thank the teachers and staff, and to give back. Dr. McDonald — Ms. Wynne — Teachers — The entire Eagle Hill staff — Really for all of us here today. Surely there is an elephant in the room, the thing that is on many of our minds but not easy to talk about. It is the absence of a great man, who should be sitting right here by my side, supporting me and us with his honored smile, Ron Baglio. I want all faculty and staff to know that we are here for you today, tomorrow, and whenever you need us. Please don’t pretend, perhaps out of a sense of obligation to us on our graduation day, that it’s okay that he’s not here. It’s not okay. Sure we will go on, and we will be strong, as he would want that for us. But it’s okay to miss his presence, to miss him not being here today, and for the days to come. I for one wouldn’t be standing
here if not for his truly unique brand of love and support. One of Mr. Baglio’s legacies will be this amazing community he helped establish.
I know I could list many achievements for each member of this wonderful class. We, as students, have hidden talents and Eagle Hill makes it possible for us to unfold them.
In the land of misfit toys, at an age where kids in the best of circumstances are moody and unpredictable, Eagle Hill created this COMMUNITY where we felt safe to grow, make mistakes, take risks, and think big! We have had the opportunity to do community service, create our own honors projects, take the stage, throw a Frisbee, and learn from our mistakes... if you know what I mean.
My parting message to the Class of 2013 is as follows: As alumni of Eagle Hill School, or soon-to-be alumni, it is now our turn to support the school in its mission. To paraphrase a line from Dr. PJ McDonald’s “Letter from the Headmaster” on the school’s website (the line I had read to myself three long years ago)
As it turns out, they really meant what they said on the website! Everyone here really believes that it is their “responsibility as educators to identify, celebrate, and support each student in capitalizing on his or her individual genius.” There are many of us here today that have an individual genius; for example, Adrian Plaisance went above and beyond in the act of managing Eagle Hill’s first “Center’s Got Talent” show. Ian Mellin not only is a peer tutor, but also has outstanding academic skills. This year Kathryn Brower made a runway-worthy dress out of old books and sheets of music. Richard Gengel is one of the hardest workers when it comes to being behind the scenes in Tech Theater. Mrs. Donovan even trusts him to teach her class on occasion. If I had the time
“It is our responsibility (as alumni) to celebrate, and support however we can (the members of the Eagle Hill community) in capitalizing on their individual genius.” So be proud of your accomplishments today; ask yourself if there is something you can do to give back to this wonderful community as you move on to great things. Be sure to acknowledge and give your teachers a big hug and thank you before you leave, and sit tall on the back of your elephant and remember to “Do what is right. Always.”
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Commencement Awards Headmaster’s Cup Hamilton Harris ’13
Ronald M. Baglio Student Life Leadership Award Matthew Joseph ’13 Chloe Segal ’13
Citizenship Award Henry Danielson ’15 Adrian Plaisance ’13
Be Like Brit Award Richard Gengel ’13
Egenberg Character Award Matthew Joseph ’13
Thomas A. Schneider Entrepreneurial Award Spencer Levin ’13
Faculty & Staff
Milestones of Service
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5 Years
Ian Callahan Joshua Kanozek Andrew Moreland Jason Rennie Mary Ann Welsch Matthew Botler Marcella Comerford Samantha DelSignore Paula Mascroft Ashley LeBlanc Michelle Westermann
10 Years
Tatyana Malyk Donna Holden Andre Bergeron
15 Years
Robin Majcher Laura Aldrich Donna Linnehan Kathleen St. JohnRichard
20 Years
PJ McDonald Thomas Gaskill Jeanette Tetreault
30 Years
Sharyn Buelow
NBS Award Erin Wynne The Norma B. Shields Award is named for one of the founding members of the Eagle Hill School community. Since the school’s founding, Mrs. Shields played many significant roles including, teacher, director of education, and director of admission. Mrs. Shields’s commitment to the students was limitless and inspiring. “My door is always open” became her motto, and she stayed true to it. The NBS Award is given each year to the faculty member who, upon a vote of his or her peers, is thought to best exemplify Mrs. Shields’s unyielding, heartfelt dedication to the students of Eagle Hill School.
Thom Kneeland Award Maryann Jackson
The recipient of this leadership award is a member of the faculty or staff who consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty and who continually strengthens the EHS community in a quiet, dignified, and unassuming way. The recipient of this prestigious award honors the life and work of a great man and a good friend.
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Class of 2013
Alexander Stai Arnesen
Guston Miles Gall
Kyleigh Elizabeth Krawczyk
Hannah Noella Roseberry
Elverum Folk School
Oklahoma State University
Lasell College
Gordon College
Zachary Bamford
Richard John Gengel
Spencer Grey Levin
Kevin Collins Seay
University of Chicago
High Point University
Lasell College
St. Thomas Aquinas College
Aaron Cobrin Binder
Zoita Elizabeth Grammer
Elizabeth Ann McKeegan
Chloe Rebecca Segal
Undecided
Catawba College
Dean College
Mount Ida College
Laurel Yvonne Bloch
Hamilton John Harris
Ian William Mellin
Charles James Shure
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Santa Fe University of Art and Design
Cornell College
Sacred Heart University
Emma M. Brecher
Laura Elizabeth Hebb
James Brooks Munro
Frank Warner Brumley Smith
Lynn University
Iona College
Hofstra University
High Point University
Erik Geoffrey Brewer
Alessandra Elizabeth Howard
Ridge Kaleb Newcomb
James Robert Stark
New England Institute of Technology
The College of Wooster
Oklahoma State University
Berkshire Community College
Kathryn Rose Brower
Justin Lee Itzkowitz
Joseph Andrew Nittoli
Jenna Elizabeth Sweeny
Northern Arizona University
Elon University
Eastern Connecticut State University
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Antoine Joseph Capitani
Jesse Harrison Jacobs
Kaitlin Helen Parthum
Kristen Leigh Van Buren
(Posthumously)
Georgian College
Lesley University
High Point University
Gonzalo Chavez
Matthew Hull Joseph
Amanda Lee Perotti
Max Robert Walkingshaw
Connecticut College
Dean College
Northwestern Community College
Dickinson College
Lauren Brianne Cobb
Travis Ty Kadish
Ellena Celeste Pfeffer
Caleb Andrew Wnorowski
Linfield College
Drexel University
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Columbia College Chicago
Korey Hamilton Coffey
Jared Dalton Kane
Adrian Robert Plaisance
Brendan Nicholas Wood
Curry College
Berklee College of Music
McDaniel College
Cuesta College
Paul Frias, Jr. Curry College
Not pictured: Tyler Brown
Nora Kathryn Zindrick College of DuPage
Eagle Hill School P.O. Box 116 242 Old Petersham Road Hardwick, MA 01037 413-477-6000 admission@ehs1.org www.ehs1.org
EAGLE HILL SCHOOL 2012–2013
HARDWICK MASSACHUSETTS