Bulletin Board Winter 2012-2013

bulletinboard WINTER 2012/2013

AMAZING

DISCOVERIES A VISIT TO KALEIDA HEALTH’S GATES VASCULAR INSTITUTE

GOAL POST: C AT C H U P W I T H LUCAS WALSH ’08

EXPLORING

CREATIVITY AT ELMWOOD FRANKLIN Fo r Alumni , Famili es, and Fr i ends o f Elmwo o d Franklin S chool

www.elmwo o df rankli n.o rg

Elmwood Franklin School is Western New York’s oldest pre-primary through eighth grade independent school, emphasizing high academic achievement, good study skills, and positive character development.

Elmwood Franklin accepts qualified students without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin. www.elmwoodfranklin.org

The Bulletin Board is published by the Development Office for alumni, families, and friends of Elmwood Franklin School.

D I R E C TO R O F D E V E L O P M E N T

Monique Watts E D I TO R / W R I T E R

Sally Jarzab, Communications Specialist D E S I G N A N D L AYO U T

Rebecca Murak, Manager of Communications and Alumni Relations

FOR CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Please mail any address updates to: Elmwood Franklin School Development Department 104 New Amsterdam Avenue Buffalo, NY 14216 Call 716-877-5035 or e-mail development@elmwoodfranklin.org

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Water, Water Everywhere Come along and learn with the fourth graders on a fascinating, inter-disciplinary field trip exploring Buffalo’s waterways, as part of Buffalo Urban Outdoor Education’s “Science Afloat” program.

TO S U B M I T C L A S S N E W S

Visit www.elmwoodfranklin.org or e-mail news and photos to alumni@elmwoodfranklin.org T E L L U S W H AT YO U T H I N K

Please e-mail comments to development@elmwoodfranklin.org.

Please include your name and contact information for verification.

This magazine is printed on Garda silk cover and text which is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The FSC works to improve forest management worldwide by upholding principles and criteria which bring the highest social and environmental benefits.

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Exploring Creativity at Elmwood Franklin Discover more about creativity, its importance, and how EFS is encouraging creative thinking in children.

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A guided tour of just a few of the wonders in history teacher Dee Drew’s classroom “museum.”

Charlie Stube ’13 took a closer look at the medical illustration profession.

The Drew Museum

The Art of Science

bulletinboard W I NTER 2012/2013

2012/2013 BOARD OF TRUSTEES President Matthew Enstice Co-Vice President Michele Trolli Co-Vice President Robin Sadler Treasurer Ludvik Karl Secretary Kenneth Drake

Alice Strachan Barr ’70 George Bellows Paula Ciprich Cutler Greene ’88 Anthony Habib ’87 Barry Heneghan Leslie Kellogg William Mathias II Donna Muscarella William Rupp ’68 Scott Saperston ’86 Adnan Siddiqui

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Shana Siegel ’90

2012/2013 ALUMNI COUNCIL

Amazing Discoveries

President Shana Siegel ’90

Kaleida Health’s Gates Vascular Institute, along with the adjoining UB Clinical Research Center, is all about discovery—for the professionals who work there, and for our eighth graders, too, who made breakthroughs of their own as they toured the facility in January.

Kristin Schoellkopf Borowiak ’82

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Building on Learning Cannon Design professionals discuss innovations in educational design.

Gitti Barrell ’71 Tricia Barrett ’92

Departments

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Amy Decillis Bard ’86

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Goal Post Lucas Walsh ’08 discusses what it takes to be successful in sports.

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36 38 44 46

From the Head of School Dr. Meg Keller-Cogan

Jennifer Prince Bronstein ’74 Rob Drake ’96 Jessica Jacobs Enstice ’89 Daniel Heims ’91 Elizabeth Jacobs ’96 Jordan Jayson ’90

Faculty Profile History teachers Dee Drew and Jonathan Garra

Just for Fun Who’s Who in History

Susan Penney Kimball ’69 Susie Lenahan Kimberly ’64 Madeline Ambrus Lillie ’64 Elizabeth Duryea Maloney ’70 Matt Mariconda ’92 Samantha Friedman Olsen ’00

Who Was There A look a recent alumni events

Spotted on Campus Day to Day News of Note Class Notes

Eric Saldanha ’85 Mary Franklin Saperston ’60 Ben Sorgi ’04

HEAD FROM THE

DR. MEG KELLER-COGAN

When asked to define creativity, people commonly think that there are those who are creative (artists,

musicians, inventors) and then there is the rest of

us. That in fact, creative skills are something one is

born with and others are not. Sir Ken Robinson, one of the world’s lead thinkers on creativity research, defines creativity as “the process of having original

ideas that have value.” He asserts that measures of

creative abilities indicate that all children are born

with significant creative gifts and schools gradually reduce those talents through curriculum and cultures that demand conformity in thinking and behavior.

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

[

]

“As the work world changes and evolves to keep pace with evolving economies, so too must the schools where children are equipped with these habits of mind.

Elmwood Franklin is making a strategic commitment to supporting a culture of innovation within our school to assure that we are successful with this expectation.”

In recent months, the Elmwood Franklin School faculty has

trustees speak about the changes each sees in their

been exploring the research on creativity. We have devoted

respective professional fields and the experiences we need to

full faculty meetings to Ken Robinson’s work, read research

provide to our students so they are equipped to thrive in

on this topic, and participated in professional development

their academic and professional work. In that session, four

sessions led by Buffalo State assistant professor Dr. Cyndi

panelists (Matthew Enstice, President and CEO of the Buffalo

Burnett (also parent of a Prep I student). Dr. Burnett began

Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.; Michele Trolli, Executive Vice

her work with the EFS Trustees in October. She subsequently

President/Chief Information Officer for M&T Bank; Paula

worked with the full faculty and returned to EFS in early

Ciprich, General Counsel and Secretary at National Fuel Gas

January and February for professional development sessions

Company; and Adnan H. Siddiqui, MD, PhD, Associate

with small groups of teachers to help them design lessons

Professor of Neurosurgery, Associate Professor of Radiology

that utilize creative approaches to learning.

with UB and Director of Neuro and Vascular Research & Stroke Service at the Gates Vascular Institute) engaged our

Our interest in the topic of creativity has been fueled by the

faculty in an insightful, hope-filled and relevant discussion

growing recognition in the educational research and in the

regarding the future of their fields and its implications for

workplace regarding the importance of the creative processes

student learning. While their professional expertise differed,

as an element of problem solving, entrepreneurship and

the themes of their messages were similar. They suggested

success. Given that our youngest learners will retire in 2072,

that workers are moving out of a culture in which knowledge

we realize we are educating children for jobs that have not

for work is separated into “silos” and where employees work

been created, using rapidly changing technologies, for a

in job similar groups, toward a culture in which work has

future that remains relatively unimagined. Educational

taken on an interdisciplinary role, promoting the need for

researchers therefore challenge practitioners to develop as

employees to collaborate with individuals that possess

early on as possible the ability of children to solve multi-

radically different knowledge bases.

dimensional problems that have no clear solution path.

Schools need to cultivate “out of the box” thinking, to work

As the work world changes and evolves, so too must the

with diverse thinkers and learners to create novel solutions,

schools where children are equipped with these habits of

and to develop the perseverance to persist through failure, as

mind. Elmwood Franklin is committed to supporting a culture

failure can often be a better teacher than success.

of innovation within our school to assure that we are successful with this expectation.

In early January, the Elmwood Franklin faculty and staff visited the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to listen to four of our

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W I N T E R 2012/ 2013

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THE CREATIVE CLASS

CREATIVITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN VALUED WITHIN THE ARTS, BUT LATELY IT’S BEING RECOGNIZED AS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IN SCIENCE, IN BUSINESS, IN EDUCATION, AND IN JUST ABOUT EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE. NOW THE QUESTION IS: HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE CREATIVE THINKING IN CHILDREN?

Why is creativity important? Just ask the EFS fourth graders, and they’ll tell you why. “It gets your brain pumped up.” “It helps make the world a better place.” “Without it, everything would be boring.”

These students are on their way to becoming experts in creativity, due in large part to a new weekly class they’re taking part in. Created by teacher Alyssa Charles, who holds a master’s degree in creative studies, the class focuses on creativity as a subject, as a process, and as a way of life.

“This class is like a kid-friendly version of my master’s curriculum,” says Alyssa, which is to say it’s not just about teaching creatively, it’s about teaching creativity. While both are good approaches—because teaching creatively can enhance its impact—directly [teaching creativity allows children to internalize the very concepts and tools of creative thinking. That means that the students work to define exactly what creativity is (hint: it’s more than just coming up with a crazy idea) and they learn how to apply it in real-life situations. “I want them to understand that creativity,

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especially in terms of problem-solving, is not just a nice thing to do or a fun thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do.”

For example, in math class (which Alyssa also teaches), students asked if they could choose their own seats. Instead of just dictating yes or no, Alyssa led the kids through the creative problem-solving process to determine for themselves if they should do it. She encouraged them to think about what she calls “the plusses, the potentials, and the concerns”—what’s good about an idea, the possible benefits of the idea, and any related issues that will need more thought—before making a decision. And if the decision doesn’t work out the way they anticipated, they can just start the process over again. “Creative problem-solving puts the kids in charge and allows them to be more responsible in their decision-making,” says Alyssa. “It also allows them to make mistakes, which is an important part of learning.

Mistakes, or ideas that need tweaking, help us get closer to things that will work. If you aren’t willing to make mistakes, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Fourth grader Kiki Greeley tests out a slinky during a class exercise which uses objects and images to help generate ideas to solve a problem—in this case, what to do if you accidentally order 1,000 ping pong balls instead of 10.

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People sometimes equate creativity with great ideas or great accomplishments, which is not a full and accurate depiction.

Alyssa’s definition of creativity as the “inner advancing and enhancing agent people access to change and add value to themselves and the world” casts creativity as an innate quality in all of us, one that can be honed through practice.

The “Big C” notion of creativity—Einstein’s theories, Galileo’s discoveries, DaVinci’s inventions—shouldn’t intimidate people or discourage them from following their own creative pursuits. Just as important is “small c” creativity, the kind we use (or neglect to use) to solve life’s little problems and enhance our day-to-day experiences. The process behind it is a simple one of combining divergent thinking (generating ideas without judgment) and convergent thinking (evaluating and arranging ideas), and all it takes to master it is practice.

Research suggests that children tend to lose their natural creative ability as they grow. While 98 percent of children qualify as “highly creative” at age five, the study found, the rate drops to 30 percent for ten-year-olds and 12 percent for 15-year-olds. Creativity is like a muscle in the brain, and if you don’t use it, you lose it. What causes the drop-off? It’s

easy to point to any number of possible factors: schooling driven by standardized testing, a glut of television and video games, social pressures to follow and fit in. The good news is that the decline can be combatted with instruction and practice and support, and that’s exactly the idea behind creativity class.

Once a week the students report to the new class, where they don’t have quizzes or tests, or even right or wrong answers. Instead, they discuss the terms and definitions of creativity, as well as develop their own. They problem-solve how to become better problem-solvers. They list their daily dilemmas and then generate ideas for possible fixes together.

They ask and try to answer questions such as “How do you get a hippopotamus out of a bath tub?" or "What are all the ways we can use 1,000,000 ping pongs balls?" Alyssa uses exercises like this as a warm-up for inclusive, open-ended thinking. “It can be so hard for people to suspend judgment, to ask ‘what if’ and then really think through how to make an idea workable,” says Alyssa. “Hypercritical thinking is a learned habit, and it gets harder to break as we get older.

Getting students to restate their problems in constructive terms such as ‘in what ways might’ or ‘what are all the ways’

THE CREATIVITY PROFESSOR Dr. Cyndi Burnett is the Director of Distance Education Programs at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State and the co-author of the book My Sandwich Is a Spaceship: Creative Thinking for Parents and Young Children.

She’s also an EFS parent, as well as a great resource to Elmwood Franklin administration and faculty, having led various presentations and workshops with them throughout the year.

What’s behind the current emergence of creativity as an important area of study?

In the mid-20th century, psychologist J. P. Guilford published a call for research into creativity, a topic which previously had been all but neglected in the scientific community. Since then, says Dr. Burnett, numerous academic programs in creative studies have taken off (Buffalo State’s is the oldest), and there are now seven scholarly journals dedicated to the field. Beyond academia, it’s now widely recognized that creative thinking is a critical asset for leaders in all professions.

The old stereotype that creativity is merely “being artsy” is losing hold.

“It’s not about arts and crafts,” says Dr. Burnett. “It’s about thinking in new and appropriate ways, and public perception of that is finally coming around.”

Are creative people born that way, or must creativity be developed?

The answer is yes to both questions—everyone has an innate capacity for creative thinking, but it’s a skill set that must be nurtured and exercised to fully take root. “Creativity won’t develop unless there are teachers or others that help to enhance it,” says Dr. Burnett. “Creativity can be hard work!” Much of the creative process can be made easier,

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however, by helping children acquire certain habits of mind, such as exploring alternatives, embracing challenges, following their curiosities, indulging their imaginations, taking multiple perspectives, and asking questions. “Young kids ask something like 200 questions a day, but as they get older, that number declines dramatically,” she says. By actively encouraging inquisitiveness, we can help to prevent a child’s natural sense of wonder from diminishing.

What kinds of practices can classrooms adopt to foster creativity?

“The current public education system was not developed with the enhancement of creative thinking as a priority,” says Dr. Burnett. A high-stakes test-driven environment is not exactly conducive to fostering conditions such as experimentation, exchange, risk-taking, reflection, diversion, and play, which are the wellsprings of creative thought. By including these things as a regular part of classroom activities, teachers can directly support the creative habits of their students. And there’s something else: “The most important thing in a classroom for setting a creative environment is to have trust and openness. Students need to know they can ask questions and share ideas and opinions without being told they’re wrong.”

helps frame the problem as a solvable issue.” For example, instead of stating the problem as a complaint or something out of their own control—as in, My homework is taking forever!—Alyssa teaches them how to recast it in a more approachable way: How might I make homework take less time?

After they form an initial problem statement, they might then think of ways to hone it to get to the real underlying issue.

They might ask, How can I understand material better at school? or How might I find a better place to do my homework?

It’s an important step, because, as Alyssa points out, “Solving the wrong problem perfectly doesn’t do much good.”

The class comes at a critical point in the students’ development, says Alyssa, when scholastic matters often take backseat to social acceptance, a phenomenon known in education circles as the “fourth grade slump.” At this age, children are trying to define their own identities outside of the guidance and protection of adults. In this way, the components of creative problem solving are really life skills, empowering them to make their own mark. Additionally,

fourth grade is a turning point in terms of the cognitive aspects of creativity. Research shows that while young children are adept at engaging their imaginations just for the sheer fun of it, by age 10, their creative thinking tends to be more contextual, focused on problems and solutions. If they aren’t given the chance to exercise that aptitude, their creativity suffers, and so do they.

Alyssa hopes that the class—combined with all the many creative opportunities that students have in their experiences at Elmwood Franklin—will help the students become better citizens and advocates for themselves. They’ll be more apt to “do the right thing” when faced with choices both in school and outside of school, because good problem-solvers are good decision-makers. Multiple choice, after all, is more than just a kind of test you take in school—it’s life itself, and no one but you can determine what the answer is.

Watch a video of our students’ creativity in action at www.youtube.com/elmwoodfranklin.

Head of School Dr. Meg Keller-Cogan places a lot of emphasis on the importance of creativity for teachers, for students, and for institutions overall. Here she reflects on Elmwood Franklin’s creative strengths and opportunities.

What creative strengths do you see in place at Elmwood Franklin School?

“I

see an abundance of evidence of the creative talents of our students and staff.

Teachers approach instruction with an emphasis on applied learning where students are presented with a context or problem and given parameters to solve them. Teachers afford students opportunities to involve themselves in service learning in our school and larger Buffalo community. Students create projects, debate problems, define positions and write and read at very high levels. All of our students are challenged mathematically to not just develop skills, but dissect the problem solving process so students understand why certain strategies are used and how to approach problem-solving when the solution path is unclear.”

How can EFS become a more creative institution?

“S

chools reflect the culture of learning available to adults. In a culture that is rich in professional development opportunities, teachers are continually exposed to

new learning, ideas and possibilities. Creative teachers continually seek out their own learning based on needs identified by students or by the curriculum being taught. Creative teachers have an insatiable desire to learn more, apply new strategies and think about one's practice in an objective, analytical manner. We are working to maximize the number of opportunities our teachers have for new learning, or knowledge that acts as a reinforcement for the excellent work that is ongoing in our classrooms. Our goal is to maximize the richness of our adult culture of learning so in turn our students experience ongoing challenges and involvement in their educational process.”

What do you see as the connection between leadership and creativity?

“E

ffective leadership is based on a number of interdependent variables.

Personally, principled leaders must have the courage of their convictions, the tenacity to sustain challenges in the change process, the ability to work with diverse personalities, complex challenges and diminishing resources. They must also be able to demonstrate resiliency in facing failure and challenges. In terms of change, leaders must be able to respond to the changing cultural conditions, family priorities, economic challenges and student learning needs. It may be possible to manage a situation without a high degree of applied creativity but inherent in the notion of successful leadership is the ability to apply creative strategies to small and large challenges.”

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HISTORY

Faculty Profile

then&now

ONE HAS BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST THREE DECADES, AND ONE FOR FIVE YEARS. ONE REVELS IN STORIES, OBJECTS, FACTS, AND FIGURES; AND ONE WRESTLES WITH CONCEPTS LIKE TRUTH AND JUSTICE. ONE TEACHES STUDENTS ABOUT ANCIENT CULTURES AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY; AND THE OTHER ABOUT THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE AND CURRENT GLOBAL ISSUES. BUT DEE DREW (right) AND JONATHAN GARRA (left) ALSO HAVE PLENTY IN COMMON—THEY BOTH LOVE THEIR SUBJECT, LOVE THEIR STUDENTS, AND LOVE THEIR PLACE HERE AT ELMWOOD FRANKLIN.

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Faculty Profile

Jonathan Garra, Upper School history teacher

Dee Drew, Upper School history teacher

Birthplace: Buffalo Years at EFS: 5 Why he became a teacher: When he was young, Jonathan says he wanted to be Frank Lloyd Wright. When he was 17, he spent a day with an architect on the job and by lunch had decided it wasn’t the life for him. “With my dream of being America’s greatest architect shattered, I didn’t know what to do,” says Jonathan. “My mother mentioned that she thought I would make a great teacher. I took that and ran with it and I haven’t looked back.”

On his attraction to history as a subject area: “Gandhi said it better than I can. He said, ‘When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it—always.’ The human spirit is amazingly resilient, and it is so inspirational to learn about.”

Why EFS: “I heard about the job opening from Alyssa Charles. To be perfectly frank, I had never heard of EFS. By the end of the interview process I already knew that it was where I wanted to spend my entire career. Douglass Adams may have said it best when he said, ‘I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I ended up where I needed to be.’”

Most enjoyable aspect of his job: “I have to say it’s the people. My colleagues are brilliant, funny, hard-working, motivated, professional, and they have been there for me through thick and thin. And the kids are just awesome. They look out for each other, they have fun, and they work hard. What more could you ask for from 12 to 14 year olds?”

Most challenging aspect of his job: “The most challenging part of my job also happens to be something that I truly value about my job, and that is the ability to develop my own curriculum. My eighth grade world cultures class is essentially a year-long current events class. Imagine planning for and teaching that. It’s fun, it keeps me current, but it’s a major challenge.”

If he wasn’t a teacher: “I’ve always wanted to race Formula One cars, but I don’t know how or where to apply for that job, and I doubt I’m qualified, so I’ll go with stay-at-home dad.”

A history-related book or film he recommends: Kosher Chinese by Michael Levy. “It’s fascinating, funny, and very well-written.”

In a past life, he may have been: Abraham Lincoln’s speech writer. “I have such an affinity for Lincoln’s speeches. They were simple, brilliant, and inspiring. I get chills every time I read the Gettysburg Address with my students.”

Time and place in history he’d most like to travel back to: “I have always wanted to be the first European to discover Niagara Falls. Can you imagine how majestic it would be? No guardrails, no commercial development, just this incredible piece of nature surrounded by an unscathed landscape of centuries-old forest.”

A few things you may not know about Jon: He got to see “His Airness” Michael Jordan play in his final NBA season. He once, unknowingly, stood on the tomb of Anne Boleyn in the Tower of London. And, closer to home, he loves to cook. “I love making simple things from scratch. I make my own butter, yogurt, salad dressings, and apple cider, among other things.”

Birthplace: Syracuse Years at EFS: 27 Why she became a history teacher: “I have a love of history and an interest in archaeology. I also love to tell stories, and history is basically telling stories about the past. My beloved grandmother Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Williams would read stories to me about real heroes throughout history.

She passed that love of history and archaeology on to my mother, Georgia Kells, who would take us on trips to faraway places like China, Japan, Africa, and Europe, and in each location our first visits would be to museums and historical sites. I was very fortunate to have such wonderful opportunities!”

Why EFS: “I didn't grow up in Buffalo, but my mother's family (and my mother herself) went to Elmwood Franklin, so when the opportunity came to start teaching here, it was the chance of a lifetime to teach in one of the best schools in the country. I feel the connection to my own family every day when I walk past those class pictures in the hallway!”

Most enjoyable aspect of her job: “The friends I've made at this school continue to be my support when I need it! I also love to see former students come back to visit, particularly now that I have a few students whose parents I taught long ago. I just missed teaching Margot Vincent, but I did have Mark Saldanha and Sarah Mitchell Duddy as students. They were just as delightful back then as they are now!”

Most challenging aspect of her job: Staying on top of new technologies requires a lot of effort. “I foresee a time when books may go the way of the Dodo bird. I hope not; there is something very satisfying about holding a book in your hand! I think there is room for technology as well as things worth keeping from the past.”

If Dee wasn’t a teacher, she’d probably be: a veterinarian. That’s no surprise to those who know that Dee owns six cats, a dog, a parrot, and a horse. She also volunteers at the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter and fosters orphan kittens in her home.

A history-related book or film she recommends: Dee’s movies picks include Master and Commander, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and The King’s Speech. In books, she likes the Horatio Hornblower series and Wolf Hall and Bringing Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel.

In a past life, Dee may have been: a lady-in-waiting for Queen Elizabeth, or perhaps her personal Master of the Horse Time and place in history she’d most like to travel back to: The court of Queen Elizabeth I. “I also would love to visit ancient Greece during the Age of Pericles, or Rome during the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.”

A few things you may not know about Dee: Get ready; there’s a lot!

Dee has a private pilot's license for land and sea. She plays the Highland bagpipes (at one point, competitively), as well as the banjo and guitar.

She’s done carriage driving competitions with her now 30-year old horse. She’s scaled the Great Wall of China, climbed the Great Pyramid of Egypt, and once had dinner with the President of Liberia before he was executed in a coup. “The only thing domestic about me is that I was born in the United States; I got a ‘D’ on my home economics apron project in seventh grade.”

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

THE DREW

museum Stepping into history teacher Dee Drew’s room, you are immediately confronted by two very formidable figures, standing at the doorway like security guards: a knight’s armor and a mummy case. You wouldn’t expect to find these things in most fifth or sixth grade classrooms, nor would you expect to find, say, a sword collection, but that’s emblematic of Dee’s approach to teaching. History can be talked about in books—but history lives in objects. Dee has a room full of treasures and artifacts, some dating back to 2000 B.C., which she uses to enhance discussions with students. Here is your guided tour of just a few of the wonders in the “Drew Museum.”

The knight’s suit of armor was a Christmas gift from Dee’s husband four years ago, delivered right to her classroom. Representative of suits worn by knights in the late 1400’s, Dee’s model is actually wearable, with articulated feet and a removable helmet that students can lift off to try on.

Dee’s sword collection contains replicas from different places and time periods, including a gladius (the choice of Roman soldiers), a katana (used by the samurai class of feudal Japan), and a Viking sword, designed from one found in a Viking grave.

The swords are all unsharpened, so the students can safely touch and hold them.

The mummy case, donated by a former parent, is not an accurate replica (it’s actually made to store bar glasses), but at nearly six feet tall, it’s an impressive piece nonetheless. It ties into the fifth graders’ studies of ancient Egypt.

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Dee spent one month in Kenya in

Dee picked up

1992 and brought back a

these reproduction Greek play tickets, small

variety of authentic

clay discs with the comedy and

objects, including this Masai arrow, the same kind

tragedy emblems on either side, while traveling in Athens.

still actually made and used by This genuine

hunters of the Masai

Mesopotamian stamp,

tribespeople. The metal blade of this handmade knife was

once used to mark a

constructed of materials

“signature” onto wet clay, is

obtained by trading cattle. This

well more than 4000 years old.

hollow gourd has a curious purpose:

The real papyrus scroll (pictured on facing

This model

page) depicts the story of the Hall of Osivis

ship depicts

in ancient Egyptian beliefs. To qualify for

the Golden Hind,

the afterlife, the deceased’s heart would be

the flagship of Sir

blood.

weighed by the god Anubis. If it was as light

Francis Drake, the first

Cow’s milk

as a feather, the spirit would

It’s used to collect

and cow’s

enter the afterlife, but if

blood make

the heart was heavy

up a large part of the Masai daily

with misdeeds, it would be eaten by a monster.

years, said Dee, the odor of its former life.

This scale dates back to 1870 and was used to weigh gold chips during the Klondike

This replica

Dee’s great-grandfather,

Spartan helmet

who traversed the

was purchased in

Chilkoot Pass through the

a marketplace in

Boundary Ranges of the

These Innuit snow goggles are made of

Athens. Greek

caribou bone. They’re used to combat snow

helmets were

blindness by restricting the amount of light

distinctive for their

hitting the eyes.

long stripe of spiky “hair” on top.

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around the world.

Gold Rush. It belonged to

diet. For many gourd retained the smoky

Englishman to sail

Coast Mountains in Alaska and British Columbia as a prospector.

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Just for Fun

HISTORY

WHO’S WHO IN

HISTORY CLASSES AT ELMWOOD FRANKLIN INTRODUCE ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING CHARACTERS, FROM SOCRATES TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN TO GANDHI. PUT YOUR OWN HISTORICAL NETWORKING ABILITIES TO THE TEST WITH THIS QUIZ, FEATURING JUST A FEW OF THE FIGURES THAT OUR STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT. MATCH THE NAME WITH THE PROFILE: 1 King Henry VIII

A ruler who played a critical role in the English Reformation

2 Thomas Nast

B reformist leader of the Communist Party of China who led China toward a market economy

3 Mao Zedong

C political activist, political theorist, author and revolutionary

4 Julius Caesar

D notorious pirate better known as Blackbeard

5 Edward Teach

E caricaturist and editorial cartoonist considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon"

6 Queen Elizabeth I

F general, statesman, orator, mathematician, and “perpetual dictator”

7 Tsar Nicholas II

G military and political leader who led his nation's Communist revolution H fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty I emperor executed in 1918 after abdicating the throne

10 Thomas Paine

J prince who ascended to his kingdom’s throne at the age of nine

5D 10C

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4F 9J

9 King Tutankhamen

answer key: 1A 2E 3G 6H 7I 8B

8 Deng Xiaoping

E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

YOU. The Annual Fund is at the heart of everything Elmwood Franklin students do—and as a donor, so are you! Pease consider making a gift to our school and our students. The kind-hearted support of our donors—parents, alumni, grandparents, and others—is what allows Elmwood Franklin students to succeed.

www.elmwoodfranklin.org/giving

Learning Along

water, water

everywhere

Science meets history meets ‌ boating!

Come along and learn with the fourth graders on a fascinating, interdisciplinary field trip exploring Buffalo’s waterways.

Learning Along

Two different boats, two different bodies of water, one group of fourth graders ready to learn all kinds of interesting facts.

As part of Buffalo Urban Outdoor Education’s “Science Afloat” program, students spent a day aboard the Spirit of Buffalo, a 73-foot topsail schooner that serves as a floating science classroom on Lake Erie, and the Queen City Ferry, which takes passengers on a tour of the historic Buffalo River.

Here, in no particular order, are a few of the discoveries that really floated their boats.

droplet of water included different types of animal-based zooplankton and plantbased phytoplankton.

Zebra mussels A type of freshwater mollusk native to Eastern Europe, zebra mussels are just one of the many invasive species that plague the Great Lakes. Others range from the tiny spiny water flea to the mighty sea lamprey, which can grow up to 80 pounds!

Plants can pose a problem, too, including fast-growing purple loosestrife and types of non-native cattails.

General Mills plant Grain elevators What should be done with them? It’s a question that a lot of people in Buffalo are debating. The kids had their own ideas of what they might be used for: a fish tank or aquarium, a hotel, a boathouse, an amusement park, a pet shop, a vertical playground, and—just imagine this—a giant candy store.

Plankton The kids lowered nets into the lake water to catch plankton and then observed their tiny captives under microscopes. The creatures they saw moving around in a

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The rich smell of Cheerios filled the air as the boat drifted past the General Mills plant, which has been in operation by the company since the 1920s. “No, it smells like Lucky Charms,” one student corrected.

Another observed: “It’s like shoving your face into a cereal box!”

Great blue herons The students kept a count of the number of these large blue-gray birds they spotted along the banks of the river—six in total on one trip. The tour guide explained that these sightings are a good sign, indicating an improving ecosystem.

Port vs. starboard Students quickly got to know their way around the ship with this easy mnemonic: Portside is the left side of the vessel, and the words “port” and “left” both have four letters. That’s helpful to remember when your captain needs you to hoist the mainsail and tack to starboard.

Pollution clean-up The Buffalo River is part of an official “area of concern” by the Environmental Protection Agency. One major source of pollution is hazardous waste chemicals generated from former industrial sites. A project to dredge these bottom sediments and restore natural habitat is currently underway.

Ocean-bound Though the students didn’t travel quite that far on their field trip, they were impressed to learn that you could sail all the way from Buffalo to the Atlantic Ocean. As they cruised the restored commercial slip, they learned that the Erie Canal could take them, as it has for boats since the 1820s, to the Hudson River to the Atlantic—and then to just about anywhere in the world!

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Learning Along

AMAZING

discoveries

KALEIDA HEALTH’S GATES VASCULAR INSTITUTE, ALONG WITH THE ADJOINING UB CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTER, IS ALL ABOUT DISCOVERY—FOR THE PROFESSIONALS WHO WORK THERE DOING CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH AND CARE, AND FOR OUR EIGHTH GRADERS, TOO, WHO MADE BREAKTHROUGHS OF THEIR OWN AS THEY TOURED THE FACILITY IN JANUARY.

Dr. Adnan Siddiqui, an internationally known neurosurgeon (and EFS dad), spent a morning leading the students though the labs and operating rooms of this center of innovation, along with Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus president Matt Enstice (also an EFS dad!).

Here we share just a few of their amazing discoveries.

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You don’t have to be a doctor or nurse to work in the medical field.

Students got a chance to talk to a host of different people on the job, from the engineers who design digital simulations to test new procedures and devices and those that design and build those devices to the illustrator who creates detailed depictions of the inner recesses of the brain and other body parts. The skill sets that these professionals utilize range from mathematical to technological to artistic to verbal and beyond.

attempts. Another engineer estimated that up to 95 percent of his efforts result in failure, but it’s that other five percent that keeps him—and the progress of the world—going.

Surroundings matter.

The students appreciated the building’s decidedly modern appearance, with its large, light-filled spaces, creative lighting, slick materials, and bright colors. The cool style isn’t just for looks, however: the award-winning structure was designed specifically to foster the exchange of ideas by attracting people to core areas.

Collisions aren’t always bad things.

The innovative facility was designed specifically to foster collaboration among the professionals working there. For too long, doctors have worked in what Dr. Siddiqui calls “silos,” isolated within their own specialties. The space encourages “collisions” that enable physicians and researchers from a range of disciplines to interact and work together.

Video games just may be educational after all.

Vascular surgery involves doctors utilizing blood vessels to perform surgical procedures on just about any part of the body. Tubes conveying the necessary instruments are guided through the vessels and controlled by tiny cameras, which project their images onto a screen. “All that time on the Wii—it helps,” said Dr. Siddiqui. “This technology is taking cues directly from video games.”

Failure is a part of growth.

When asked why she chose her profession, an engineer in the Toshiba Stroke Center, responded, “I like to solve problems.”

But that doesn’t mean that’s all she ever does: some problems are harder to solve than others and require multiple

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Buffalo is where it’s at.

The Gates Vascular Institute is part of a larger effort to transform Buffalo into a world-class health care destination.

“This exact structure does not exist anywhere else on the planet,” said Dr. Siddiqui of the unique model that delivers state-of-the-art clinical care as well as major research breakthroughs on the causes and treatment of diseases.

As one staff member told the students: “People around the world are benefitting from what’s happening here.”

Wrinkles are good (at least on your brain).

The highlight of the trip had to be when the students were able to see and even touch actual brains—two human brains, three dog brains, and, for comparison, a rat brain. Besides differences in size, the brain types also showed huge variances in texture. The human brain’s wrinkled channels and clefts allow it to maximize its surface area within the limited space of the skull. And you know that claim about people using only a small portion of their brains? Not true. “We use all of our brains,” said Dr. Siddiqui, “but it’s how we use them that makes the difference.”

E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Learning Along

“We use all of our brains,” said Dr. Siddiqui, “but it’s how we use them that makes the

difference.”

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SCIENCE

Student Perspective

THE

art

OF

In addition to the physicians, scientists, and engineers that fill the halls, labs, and operating rooms of Kaleida Health’s Gates Vascular Institute, there is another kind of professional with an important role: artist. Paul Dressel, director of medical illustration and media for UB Neurosurgery, spoke to our visiting eighth graders about the integration of art and medicine, showing examples of how the latest animation technologies are being used for educational and investigative purposes as well as to showcase new medical devices.

When he found out that one of our students, Charlie Stube ’13, was an aspiring artist, he invited him to come back for a closer look at the medical illustration profession. Charlie spent an afternoon with Mr. Dressel learning some of the fundamentals of the field.

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Charlie Stube ’13:

“It was an amazing afternoon!

Mr. Dressel introduced me to a whole new side of art I didn’t realize existed.

I will never forget this experience.”

E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

PLANNED GIVING AT

ELMWOOD FRANKLIN a purpose | a plan | a gift | a result | a legacy

a person |

There’s a well-known quotation of the playwright George Bernard Shaw that argues the true joy of life is being used for a greater purpose—a purpose directly tied to helping others. “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community,” he wrote, “and it is my privilege to do for it what I can.”

When you think of your life in terms of purpose, it gives greater meaning to everything you do, from the big things to the little, everyday things. Planned giving in support of something you value is one way of fulfilling your purposes.

Planned gifts to Elmwood Franklin School can be made with a specific purpose in mind— such as supporting the arts, technology, tuition assistance, capital improvements, or any other objective—or they can simply provide unrestricted funding to the school’s endowment or operations. Either way, planned giving supports and serves Elmwood Franklin and its community. Planned gifts allow Elmwood Franklin School to carry out its own purpose: to prepare children for success in life. What better purpose could there be?

WE ASKED SOME OF OUR CONSTITUENTS WHAT PURPOSE GUIDES THEM IN THEIR LIVES. WE HOPE THEIR ANSWERS INSPIRE YOU TO THINK ABOUT YOUR OWN PURPOSE, AND PERHAPS ABOUT HOW A PLANNED GIFT TO ELMWOOD FRANKLIN COULD BE A MEANINGFUL PART OF IT. WHAT IS YOUR

purpose…

as a parent?

“To raise children who will be better than me.

Through hard work and good luck, I can offer my children a better environment to learn and grow in than I had. My challenge is to help them appreciate their good fortune and want to work hard to make the very most of it.”

as a teacher?

“To facilitate each student's growth and to prepare students for what lies ahead of them in a way that is both nurturing and rigorous.”

Margot Vincent ’85 faculty member, and parent of Jack ’16 and Charlie ’19

as a grandparent?

as a student?

“To serve as a role model of honesty, respect, responsibility, kindness, and generosity; to impart the value of having an excellent Elmwood Franklin education; to share my lifelong experiences and knowledge; to celebrate the history and traditions of our family; to spend quality time forming a positive, lasting relationship with each of my grandchildren; and to be their biggest fan.”

“To learn, try, and do the best I can.

Sybil McGennis

Joseph Victor ’16

former EFS teacher, parent of Tracy McGennis Buni ’79 and Peter McGennis, Jr. ’85, and grandparent of Peter ’11, William ’14, and Claire ’16 McGennis and Grace and Maeve Buni.

Wayne Robinson parent of William ’14

as a planned gift donor?

"To help the school that has played, and continues to play, an important role in the life of our family."

George Bellows trustee and parent of Alison ’05

All images Š Steinkamp Photography / Cannon Design and The Third Teacher+

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

BUILDING ON

“We know the world is changing, and we think that education needs to be redesigned.”

—Trung Le, Cannon Design

LEARNING CANON DESIGN PROFESSIONALS DISCUSS INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATIONAL DESIGN

Internationally acclaimed architect Trung Le and educator Christian Long gave a talk at Elmwood Franklin in January, sharing with an audience of parents, trustees, faculty, colleagues, and community members the directions educational design is taking in the 21st century.

As partners in The Third Teacher+, an educational design consultancy within the global architecture firm Cannon Design, Mr. Le and Mr. Long seek to transform teaching and learning through innovative, research-based design principles. “The third teacher” is a concept taken from education pioneer Loris Malaguzzi, who declared, “There are three teachers of children: adults, other children, and their physical environment.” It also served as the title of an award-winning design sourcebook which Mr. Le co-authored.

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In their presentation, they provided food for thought about our changing, collective future and what schools can and should look like to best fit that evolving world.

“In times of change, learners inherit the earth,” said Mr. Le, quoting the social philosopher Eric Hoffer, “while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

The presentation followed a meeting with Mr. Le in December, who visited Elmwood Franklin as the Board, administration, and faculty explore how the physical environment impacts learning and the development of 21st century skills—and the ways we can ensure that our own spaces maximize this function for our students.

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GOAL

Alumni Profile

post lucas walsh ’08

Lucas Walsh is proof that success in sports takes more than muscle. It also requires other, more intangible qualities, such as sensitivity, cooperation, discipline, and a positive attitude.

As a student at EFS, Lucas played soccer, basketball, and lacrosse in an athletics program that emphasized those very qualities. As a high school student at Nichols, he played soccer, hockey, and lacrosse, getting much well-deserved recognition for his sportsmanship.

As a senior, Lucas was a three-sport varsity captain. In soccer, he was voted Team Offensive MVP and received the National Senior Excellence Award (recognizing leadership and academics). In hockey, he was part of the 2011 CISAA (Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association) championship team as a junior and also won the Coaches' Award as a senior. In lacrosse, he was voted the 2011 AllMetro Most Improved Player of the Year Award as a junior and Team MVP and 1st Team All-Metro as a senior. His lacrosse career point total is 209 (121 goals, 88 assists), which is in the top-three point totals in school history. This past June, Lucas, along with fellow EFS alum Catherine Williams, received the 2012 Alumni Cup, the most prestigious sports award that Nichols offers.

Lucas is now enrolled at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts for his post-graduate year, where he continues to play soccer, hockey, and lacrosse. “Currently I'm starting on the varsity soccer squad and it's been a great experience being the new guy on campus. I really enjoy my teachers and classes here.

I've made a ton of friends, so the transition has been easy.”

Next year, he’ll likely be off to Denison University. “Toward the end of the summer, I verbally committed to play lacrosse at Denison University. I love the atmosphere at Denison and

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I thought I would have more of an opportunity to thrive at a small liberal arts college rather than a major university.

Denison is also consistently a top eight Division 3 lacrosse program, so I'm extremely thrilled at the idea of competing for a national championship. I plan to major in economics with a minor or double major in Spanish.”

“Participating on the various sports teams has taught me to be a good leader,” says Lucas. “I have played on teams with a wide array of talent, and on these teams I have learned that you must carry a positive attitude towards every type of situation. Even when losing by a large margin, it’s important to offer encouragement to fellow teammates rather than get down on them. I really tried hard to reach out to everyone on my teams, and by doing so I have made everlasting friendships. … I believe that through sports, I have become a better overall person.”

Remembering EFS “At EFS, I have to say that Tom Ryan had the biggest influence on me. He served as my advisor in 6th grade and was the coach for all of my soccer and basketball teams. I really appreciate all the support and guidance I received from Mr. Ryan. I will always cherish the memory of when he played pickup basketball with my classmates and I. He was on the opposing team coming towards me on a fast break and as I went to block his shot, he threw a behind-the-back pass to his teammate. I had no idea where the ball was and before I knew it, it was in the hoop. He looked back at me and smiled.

That is the classic Tom Ryan that I will always remember.”

E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Image courtesy of Michele Goldfarb, www.michelegoldfarb.com

Alumni Profile

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THERE WHO WAS Alumni

Post-Thanksgiving Happy Hour, Buffalo, NY • November 2012

Standing from left to right: Head of Lower School Sarah Mitchell Duddy ’90, Josh Heims ’90, Shana Siegel ’90, Anthony Duddy, and Jordan Jayson ’90

Top: Susie Lenahan Kimberly ’64 with Head of School Meg Keller-Cogan Bottom: Eric Saldanha ’85, Meg Keller-Cogan, Ted Clark ’89, and Kary Fronk Clark ’91

Kevin Kaminski ’98 and Marisa Kaminski ’00

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Dorian Rolston, Karen Lillie Rolsten ’01, Sarah Lillie ’96, and George Matthews ’97

Jordan Jayson ’90, Amy Decillis Bard ’86, and David Bard

E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Alumni

Buffalo Independent Schools Alumni Happy Hour, New York City, NY • February 2012

Kayla Zemsky ’01 and EFS event hostess Sarah Marlette ’99

Dayle Hodge ’97 with Sem alumna Kathryn Steffan

Kayle Zemsky ’01 and Anna Ellis ’01 with Nichols alum Kenton Muscato

Sam Walsh ’01 with Nardin alumna Lindsey Hess

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Alumni

1

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Karen Lillie Rolston ’01 stopped in with her mom, Alumni Council member Madeline Ambrus Lillie ’64.

Gary Occhino ’90 has partnered with athletic director Tom Ryan to launch a new golf program here at EFS.

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4

5

6

Admissions Director Elaine Acker visited with Scott Zachau ’07 and his dad John.

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Jamie Humiston ’10 caught up with teachers while picking up his sister Logan ’13.

Josh Bruzgul ’88 visited with Head of Lower School Sarah Duddy ’90.

Spotted O N C AM P US

EFS classmates Ryan Tick ’08, Sarah Miller ’08, and Hannah Elsinghorst ’08.

Devin Friedlander ’06 (left) stopped in to visit sister Zoe ’04 while Zoe was substitute teaching in fourth grade.

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3

5

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Alumni

8

9

10

Derek Brim ’05, a defensive back for the UB Bulls, lent a hand during an afterschool basketball practice.

Jon Celik ’98 paid a visit to French teacher Madame Papagni.

Jack Vance ’10 stopped in to say hello to Elaine Acker and Annette Kellogg

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13

14

Brothers Mike ’05 and Dave ’04 Szymkowiak can be seen most days at EFS working in the afterschool program or subbing in a classroom.

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James Blackwell ’08 met Head of School Meg Keller-Cogan while on a break from Ball State John Loree ’08 dropped in while home from Vassar.

Stacie Stone Greenfield ’90, who recently moved back to the area, caught up with Head of School Meg Keller-Cogan.

Frankie Jones ’12, Xavier Kyle ’12, and Will Smith ’12 stopped by to catch up with teachers and posed in the lobby with their cover photo from last year’s gradauation.

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DAY DAY TO

TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN UP TO AROUND THE SCHOOL, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND BEYOND.

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The man behind the mask Prep students enjoyed a visit from Buffalo firefighters in October, who gave them an up-close look at all their specialized gear, from the masks to the hoses to the big red truck.

I believe I can fly An eighth grader takes a daring leap into the lake from a 20-foot dive tower during the annual outdoor education trip in September to Camp Pathfinder in Ontario, Canada.

E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Sock it to ‘em Fifth and sixth grade girls played a spirited soccer match against Nichols during the annual just-for-fun play date in October.

Warm hands, warm hearts A volunteer from St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy visited Prep students in December to thank them for the mitten drive they ran, collecting 221 pairs of warm mittens to be distributed to needy children.

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Dig this Archeologist, UB professor, and EFS dad Peter Biehl took time out from his fieldwork and teaching to share some of his discoveries with the EFS fifth graders in October as they pursue their own studies of ancient cultures this year.

Tiny dancers Prep II students performed a narrated, abridged version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker in December. This is the 22nd annual performance led by teacher Molly Sanders Clauss ’74.

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

All booked up Third graders wrote and illustrated their own storybooks, which they shared with an eager audience of Prep students in December.

A sticky issue Eighth graders used corn starch to make models of the Earth’s mantle, which combines the properties of solids and liquids.

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Alumni Profile

A worldy appetite Fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students prepared and shared more than one hundred different ethnic dishes for the annual Multi-cultural Food Festival in February.

Eighth grade students helped organize the event and also set up booths selling crepes and nachos with proceeds donated to the Roswell Park Alliance.

String theory The newest instrument added to the Lower School music department is the ukulele. Here, teacher Clare Archer helps two second graders find the right fingering.

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Close encounters Second graders visited the Butterfly Conservatory in October. Here, two students get an up-close look at one of the 2,000 free-flying creatures.

Artist’s perspective Dads and other special guests visited the Prep classroom in February for a morning of fun activities and delicious donuts.

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NOTE NEWS of

In March, we inducted 20 students into the National Junior Honor Society: eighth graders Intisara Brittan-Karshud, Hannah Garis, Amanda Hausmann, and Antonio Lim; seventh graders Anna Ange, Zachary Berzon, Spencer Frome, Sally Gibson, Kareem Haq, James Johnson, Jack Kellogg, Roy Lahood, Mackenzie Lenahan, Andrew Morris, Marie Nercessian, William Robinson, Tibor Setteducati, Maya Simmons, Jack Stephen, and Emily Yarbrough.

Ten EFS students participanted in the Erie County Music Educators Association’s Solo Festival: Eric Bridges ’15, Emma Catipovic ’13, Kyra Fogg ’13, Joe Frank ’13, Amanda Hausmann ’13, Roy Lahood ’14, Antonio Lim ’13, Sam Miserendino ’15, William Robinson ’14, and Gianni Siddiqui ’13. The festival serves as the audition for the AllCounty Music Festival band and orchestra. As a result, Amanda Hausmann and Antonio Lim were selected to participate in allcounty ensembles, and Joe Frank was selected as an alternate.

Anne Najdzionek ’15 was named Canine Sports Complex’s Junior Handler of the Year in recognition of the agility training she has done with her dogs Bella and Bullseye.

Maris Conrad ’19 was recognized as a “Great Kid” by WGRZ Channel 2 for requesting donations to the Niagara County SPCA in lieu of birthday gifts.

Carlo Muscarella ’16 took first place in his division of the giant slolam race during the Kandahar Festival at Holiday Valley this March. Carlo will move on to the state championship at Song Mountain in Tully, New York.

Pushing Up the Sky awards were presented in November to fifth graders Jack Kinsman and Isabella Warner; sixth graders Julian Cunningham and Tatiana Ciprich-Migdal; seventh graders Peter Said and Grace Obletz; and eighth graders Morgan Awner and Elise Alexander.

Anna Ilecki ’17 (standing far right) and Hannah Rich ’18 (standing center) were winners in the National Federation for Just Communities’ poster contest. The girls were honored at the organization’s Community Leader Awards luncheon in January.

Heads for a Day: Emma Stephen ’17 (top) and Eric Rich ’17 (bottom) each served as Head for a Day this year, assisting Dr. Keller-Cogan with her busy schedule by handling such pressing matters as deciding the dress code, choosing the lunch menu, and assisting with morning handshakes.

Spencer Frome ’14 played on the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 12U hockey team competing at the 53rd Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec in February.

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Corporation Life Members joined Head of School Meg Keller-Cogan at their annual luncheon this fall. Pictured (standing from left to right): Frank Spitzmiller II, Holly Donaldson, David Strachan ’47, Cathy Wettlaufer ’62, Barbara Hourihan Downing, Chuck Kreiner, Annette Wilton ’48, Bill Mathias, Anne Saldanha, Amy Habib, Jane Banta ’61, Betsy Mitchell ’65, Madeline Lillie ’64, Leslie Zemsky, Stephen Kellogg ’51, Jack Hahn, Steven Biltekoff, and Susie Green ’62; seated, Head of School Meg Keller-Cogan.

Annual Fund Cabinet Members put pen to paper to express their support of EFS during our Annual Fund note-writing day.

Pictured here (clockwise): former faculty members Sue White and Sybil McGennis, grandparent Carol Kellogg, corporation member and grandparent Stephen Kellogg ’51, and Alumni Council member and grandparent Mary Franklin Saperston ’60.

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NOTES

Alumni

CLASS 1962

Susie Barrett Green and fellow retired Elmwood Franklin School teachers (REFS) volunteered at the King Center Charter School to do one-on-one reading assessments of all the students. They attended a special training session with KCCS staff in January reuniting former EFS faculty Cricket Gordon, Susie Green, MJ Waltz, Christine Curtis, and Rose Gardon with the KCCS founding middle school headmaster and former EFS headmaster Keith Frome.

paintings by Reed exploring art’s relationship to objecthood and context.

Paintings are sent to people around the world who live with it for thirty days. During this period, the host photographs the art within its surroundings. The painting is then returned for exhibition and the photograph catalogued as research for future work. To view images of this project, visit papaobject.com.

1985 Peter McGennis, Jr. premiered his third fulllength film this past November in Buffalo.

"Queen City," which stars McGennis, Vivica A. Fox, Peter Jason, and Susan Tedeschi, is set in rustbelt Buffalo circa 1980 and follows two detectives and a jazz singer trapped in a world of political corruption, urban decay and social dystopia.

1965 Betsy Swift Mitchell is the proud grandmother of Grace Duddy (right) and Jude Geisler (left). Grace’s mom Sarah Mitchell Duddy ’90 is currently the Head of Lower School for EFS, and Jude’s mom Evans Mitchell Geisler ’95, an interior designer, recently relocated to New York City.

1977 David Strachan, Jr. was promoted to senior vice president and trust officer of Cambridge Trust Company in Massachusetts. David is a member of the Boston Estate Planning Council and Treasurer of the Essex County Estate Planning Council. He is also President of the Wellmet Project, Inc. and Chairman of the Topsfield (MA) Commissioners of Trust Funds. David currently lives in Topsfield with his wife Susan and their three children.

1984 Reed Anderson launched the Papa Object website chronicling his recent art project.

Papa Object is an ongoing series of

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1986

Meg Swift Estoff ’93 with bridesmaids (from left to right) Evans Mitchell Geisler ’95, Sarah Swift, Sarah Mitchell Duddy ’90, Stephanie Swift Kroth ’90, and Liz Church.

Adam Lippes, who is launching a new clothing line, was dubbed "the comeback kid" in an interview for the Standard's culture blog and was also featured on the DYI Fashion blog. Adam was recently in Buffalo to preview his fall/winter 2013 collection. Follow Adam online at www.adamlippes.com.

1988 Knight Kieffer writes, “I am so grateful for my experience at EFS. It has had, more than any other experience, the most lasting influence on me."

1989 Adrian Benjamin Burke, Esq. is a staff attorney and translator at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP, a large international law firm headquartered in New York City. He writes in of his favorite memory at EFS, “Fifth grade history class with Mrs. Drew—her beautiful coffee table books with glossy pictures of antiquities and sights from around the ancient world all tabbed with yellow post-its (which were new back then I believe)—stimulated my love of travel and history.”

Carolyn Sufrin is an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, as well as a women's health specialist at the San Francisco County Jail and a PhD candidate in the joint medical anthropology program at UCSF/UC Berkeley.

Mona Fetouh has been living in Bangkok, Thailand for about two years working with International Rescue Committee. She works with local partners to provide health and education services (pictured above) to approximately 1 million refugees and migrants from Burma/Myanmar, who live along the Thailand-Burma border. She writes, “I love my work and the people we work with and for.”

Professional golf coach and speaker Gary Occhino has linked up with Elmwood Franklin once again to develop a life-skillsthrough-sports program that will teach golf skills and more to EFS students. Gary is the owner of INDARE Golf and a PGA of America member since 2002. Visit his website at www.garyocchniogolf.com.

1987

1992

Lewis Hudnell III and wife Melissa welcomed daughter Leyla on December 10.

Lewis is a founder and partner of Colvin Hudnell, a modern intellectual property law firm in New York City.

Christine Lillie received over a quarter million dollar grant to continue her research in neuroscience and law. Christine currently resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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E L M WO O D F R A N K L I N S C H O O L

Alumni

Dayle Hodge ’97 as Apollo Creed at the Boston Man of Movember.

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2012

Jewelry designer Heidi Gardner is getting attention for her line of rings, earrings, bracelets, and pendants, and had pieces featured in New York Fashion Week. Check out Heidi’s creations online at heidigardnernyc.com.

Ballerina Adelaide Clauss had the role of Clara in the American Ballet Theater’s performance of Alexei Ratmansky’s Nutcracker at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City. The New York Times review described Adelaide, who is a freshman at Dominican Academy in Manhattan, as “especially lovely." Adelaide is also one of the recipients of the American Ballet Theater's 2012-2013 National Training Program Scholarship.

Andrew Simmons is completing his final year of his JD degree at Boston College.

1993 Meg Swift Estoff (pictured above left) was married to CW Estoff in August 2012. They currently reside in Hingham, Massachussets.

Linsey Snyder Wachaltar is the founder of Face Time Beauty Concierge. She is now blogging for The Huffington Post sharing her expertise on make-up and beauty: www.huffingtonpost.com/linsey-snyderwachalter.

1996 Emily Santilli Putas was married to Max Putas in April 2011. She is now a licensed architect in Pennsylvania and working on the design of a Nano-Bio-Energy Technologies building at Carnegie Mellon University.

1997 Dayle Hodge as Apollo Creed (pictured above) earned the national title Man of Movember after winning titles in Boston and New York this past November. Dayle is currently enrolled in an MD/PhD program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York where he started a Movember team that has raised close to $20,000 since 2010. During Movember, men sprout moustaches throughout the month of November to raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues.

1998 Sara Huckabone and Julia Drury, graduates of Cornell University, recently passed the board of veterinary medicine and are now licensed Doctors of Veterinary Medicine.

Kerry Hannan Milton writes, “Dear EFS, as Act #5 of my 26 acts of kindness in memory of Sandy Hook victims, I would like to personally thank you for providing me with such an amazing education and allowing me to grow up in a safe environment. I have always looked back at my time at EFS fondly and appreciate everything that you have done and continue to do for the kids in Buffalo, NY.”

W I N T E R 2012/ 2013

2001 Matt Connors, project manager with Sinatra & Company Real Estate, was named to Business First’s inaugural “30 Under 30” list of young professionals. Matt is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and played professional hockey in Sweden. After working as Director of Operations for the hospitality group Chosen Hospitality in Los Angeles, he recently moved back to Buffalo.

Matt told Business First, “My passion is seeing my hometown develop into a place we are proud to call home.”

In Memoriam

2004 Julia Friedman graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York in June 2012. At Union, she earned a B.A. in English and minored in dance. Julia is currently living in Manhattan, interning at Lucky Magazine and attending the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, where she is a candidate for a master’s degree in magazine journalism. Follow Julia’s blog at juliafriedman.org.

In June, Emily Simmons graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in English literature. Emily is now working in New York City as an associate consultant for Bain and Company.

2008 Catherine Williams, a freshman at Colgate where she plays soccer, was named Rookie of the Year by the Patriot League.

Karin Bausenbach ’66 passed away in November 2012 after an eight-year battle with cancer. She embraced life with a positive energy and a spirited drive that forged caring and supportive connections with her patients, students, family, and colleagues. A developmental behavioral pediatrician affiliated with Kaiser Permanente Northwest and Portland’s Northwest Early Childhood Institute (now the Children’s Developmental Health Institute of the Arts Center), "Dr. Karin" fused her scientific knowledge with the art of healing—medicine, for her, meant treating for the whole person with competence and compassion. Throughout her battle with cancer, her enthusiasm, positivity, and love never faded.

2009 Deception, a new drama on NBC, featured EFS alumna Lizzy Cappuccino in a supporting role. Lizzy is signed with Abrams Artists Agency out of New York City and regularly flies there to audition for commercials, television programs, and films.

She spent a summer in Paris training as an actress with the Tisch summer high school program and spent seven weeks this past summer studying the Meisner technique at The William Esper Studio in New York. Lizzy, currently a senior at Nichols, says she plans to attend NYU next year to study theatre at the university’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Max Cohen ’02 passed away in January 2013. His great smile will be missed by everyone who loved him.

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