Foxcroft Magazine (Spring/Summer 2018)

FOXCROFT FOXCRO FT SCHOOL SCHO O OL L

SPRING / SUMMER 2018

Teams work

Together, Foxcroft students launch rockets, conquer walls, and rebuild homes www.foxcroft.org

We are grateful to the wonderful donors of The Foxcroft Circle whose gifts continue to bring us closer to our $875,000 goal. The support of our alumnae, parents, faculty, and friends directly impacts all aspects of life at Foxcroft. A special thank you to our parent and alumnae class representatives for their outstanding efforts this fall, which resulted in:

45% PARENT PARTICIPATION growing from 32% last year to 45% by May 15 of this year.

THE CLASS OF 2001 reaching an incredible 43% participation and winning the #GivingTuesday Young Alumnae Photo Challenge!

With just a few weeks remaining before the end of our fiscal year on June 30, we encourage our alumnae to increase their participation numbers within their class and overall by 10%!

THE CLASS OF 2004 finishing 2017 with a strong showing of participation to win the December Young Alumnae Photo Challenge.

Gifts can be made online at www.foxcroft.org/give or by contacting the Office of Institutional Advancement at 540.687.4510 or advancement@foxcroft.org.

Table of Contents

MAGAZINE | SPRING/SUMMER 2018

s m a TWe ork

8

Teams Work!

8 Better Together 10 College Spirit 12 Climbing: A Team of Individuals 14 Out to Launch 16 Hands on Houston

Special Features

A Long, Long Trail

By Shelly Betz

18 A Special Focus 22 Making a Splash 24 Foxcroft Women: Hall of Famers Distinguished & Decorated 28 A Dedicated Duo 30 Reunion 2018

In Every Issue

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2 From the Head of School 3 Notebook 36 Out & About 38 Gone Away 44 Milestones 45 Forever Foxcroft

Foxcroft School is accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools.

Foxcroft School admits students of any race, color, religion, national, and ethnic origin. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational, admission, or financial aid policies, or in any school-sponsored programs.

Catherine S. McGehee Head of School

Produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications:

Marion L. Couzens Director of Institutional Advancement

Shelly Betz Director of Strategic Initiatives & Marketing

Courtney M. Ulmer Academic Dean

Cathrine Wolf Director of Communications

Emily F. Johns Dean of Student Life Karla Vargas Director of Enrollment Management

Bethany Stotler Multimedia Communications Associate Design by Raison

Address inquiries to Editor, Cathrine Wolf at cathrine.wolf@foxcroft.org, 540.687.4511, or P.O. Box 5555, Middleburg, VA 20118 On the cover (L–R): Houston service trip participants Ella Blazek, Ellie Smith & Candace Kalitsi; climbers Megan Pumphrey, Carsyn Betz & Teagan Skinner; and rocketeers Calissa McNeilly, Nicole Chandra & Sylvia Yuan worked together in their different endeavors — and to get this photograph!

Cover photo by Kristen Franklin | Additional photos: Lauren Ackil, Julie Fisher, Kristen Franklin, Alex Northrup, Abby Pheiffer, Bethany Stotler, Bob Updegrove, and friends.

Mission Statement: Foxcroft’s mission is to help every girl explore her unique voice and develop the skills, confidence, and courage to share it with the world.

This magazine is printed on FSC-certified 10% post-consumer waste recycled paper.

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The importance of teamwork in the classroom has taken center stage in recent educational reform, as technology and globalization change the way businesses run.

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From the Head of School Catherine S. McGehee

A former colleague of mine used to hand out little yellow laminated cards to all her athletes that read, “There is no I in Team.” That card hangs on my bulletin board as a reminder of what makes for a successful team. For generations, coaches have known that the value of playing on a team sport goes beyond healthy bodies.

Students learn cooperation and leadership, social interaction skills, appreciation for different abilities, and sportsmanship. Plus, teams create friendships and camaraderie, and players gain a sense of belonging.

The importance of teamwork in the classroom has taken center stage in recent educational reform, as technology and globalization change the way businesses run. According to a National Education Association Guide, “Preparing 21st Century Students for a Global Society,” collaboration is an essential skill for students because “it is inherent in the nature of how work is accomplished in our civic and workforce lives. Fifty years ago, much work was accomplished by individuals working alone, but not today. Much of all significant work is accomplished in teams, and in many cases, global teams.”

At Foxcroft, we know that working collaboratively not only teaches cooperation, empathy, and cultural awareness, “soft skills” that are essential for future career success; we also know that collaboration is best practice for teaching girls. A research review shows that effective pedagogy for teaching girls is characterized by “a high level of involvement and interactivity, a focus on talk, and a willingness of the teacher to create a collaborative learning environment.”

Expert on girls and learning and author of How Girls Thrive, Dr. Joanne Deak writes, “Simply put, girls report that working with others often reduces their fear. . . , makes them feel more comfortable and willing to take risks and attempt challenging tasks, increases their interest in a task, prolongs attention, and often leads to higher levels of learning.”

This issue of our magazine highlights some of the many opportunities Foxcroft students have to collaborate in and out of the classroom. I hope you enjoy reading about our new teams, such as the climbing team and the rocket challenge team, and about how our girls learn, grow, and thrive, not only as individuals, but also together, as team Foxcroft.

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Foxcroft Notebook

Foxcroft Notebook

CENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN

A Capital Success

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As if the Friday evening reception at Covert that kicks off Reunion Weekend isn’t exciting enough with exhilarated classmates bubbling over with joy at seeing one another after so many years and significant others gushing over their first glimpses of the campus, the Board of Trustees this year added an electrifying announcement to the festivities.

“I have the most amazing news to tell everybody,” began MERCEDES RUDKIN GOTWALD ’72, trustee and Chair of the Advancement Committee, “and I am asking for audience participation; cheering is definitely allowed.”

The standing-room-only crowd needed little encouragement, especially as Mercedes made a series of breathtaking announcements.

“Sometimes, we are fortunate enough to be part of a truly transformational moment — to witness a shift in an organization from what it might be,

to what it will be,” she said. “Tonight, I am proud to announce the successful close of our $75 million Centennial Campaign! [cheers] “Tonight, I share with you that we have not only met our $75 million campaign goal, but we have surpassed it by $3.6 million [cheers] and finished the campaign two years early! [cheers] We have surpassed every goal with the help of a community of dedicated and enthusiastic alumnae, parents, and friends. Our Centennial Campaign is one of the largest completed by a girls’ school to date, [cheers] and it has increased our endowment by well over 200 percent. [cheers]” Mercedes went on to recognize the late RUTH BEDFORD '32 for the extraordinary $40 million bequest she made in 2014 and to thank the more than 500 individuals who contributed gifts, large and small, to help Foxcroft reach its campaign goals. “You have all invested in the future of Foxcroft,” she noted, adding, “Our

2 Centennial Campaign has made a lasting impact . . . This campaign ensures that we can confidently continue to do what we do best: nurture girls who dare and do. This Centennial Campaign has put Foxcroft in a position to be the standard bearer for girls’ schools around the globe. [cheers].”

After thanking former Head of Foxcroft Mary Louise Leipheimer, current Head Cathy McGehee, and Director of Institutional Advancement Marion Couzens P ’12, Mercedes recognized Centennial Campaign Co-Chairs Ellen MacNeille Charles ’55 and William (Bill) H. Weeks P ’02, ’06, ’08 and husband of Olivia Fry Weeks ’76. Bill, in turn, thanked the members of the Campaign Steering Committee, “who worked tirelessly in support of the effort and all of you, our donors, for their commitment to the School.” He also read a message from Ellen, who could not attend the event: “Foxcroft women know how to get it done!” Indeed.

Additional gifts since the announcement have lifted the total to $4.7 million over goal through May 15.

1. AMAZING NEWS: Mercedes Rudkin Gotwald ’72, Chair of the Board’s Advancement Committee Chair, announced that the Centennial Campaign had been completed ahead of schedule.

2. GOAL! Campaign Co-Chair Bill Weeks toasted the Steering Committee and many donors for surpassing the $75 million goal.

Spring/Summer 2018 3

A Thousand Words Miss Charlotte Would Approve Wellness Education reminds us to take time for fun and games, and that’s exactly what girls — including HEAD OF SCHOOL CATHY McGEHEE — did at the “Recess,” held during Class Retreats. Cathy clearly was a champion rope jumper once upon a time. The retreat day also featured fun skillbuilding sessions and keynote speaker JADA MONICA DREW (see “Speak to Me,” below).

Those who don’t jump will never fly.

– Leena Ahmad Almashat, Harmony Letters

NOVEMBER:

Mojdeh Rezaeipour

Speak to Me SEPTEMBER: An interesting place becomes even more so with visiting speakers. Here’s a look at those who came calling this year. Read more on the Visiting Speaker page of our website www.foxcroft.org/page/programs/visiting-speakers.

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Jada Monica Drew Author & educator on leadership, teamwork, and cultural competence

Artist & storyteller Helen C. Niblack ’42 Arts Lecture Series

EARLY JANUARY:

Jennifer Pharr Davis Long-distance Hiker, Author, Alison Harrison Goodyear ’29 Fellow

For the first time in the seven-year history of Expedition K2M: The STEM Summit, the popular, girls-only, hands-on competition that Foxcroft holds annually — Foxcroft teams swept the top three places in the high school division. Take a look at the trophy (below) that was up for grabs and you might see why they competed so hard.

Like the animal medals awarded and the team name plates on every table, the trophy reflected this year’s K2M theme of animal conservation and was produced in The Innovation Lab at Foxcroft (TIL@FXC). SYLVIA YUAN ’19 and KENZIE GREEN ’20 created the tree and general trophy design, incorporating the animal medals (created by Chemistry teacher LINDSEY BOWSER), and using the laser cutter for other parts. All told, making the trophy took about 30 hours. And then the girls made one for the middle school division.

LATE JANUARY:

MARCH:

Ambassador Makila James

Jessica Kantor

Career diplomat, former ambassador to Swaziland

FEBRUARY:

Teri Ellen Cross Davis Poet-in-residence Paul K. Bergan Poetry Festival

Director, producer, interactive storyteller Helen C. Niblack ’42 Arts Lecture Series

AWESOME ART MADELINE JENKINS ’19 received the highest honor awarded — the Gold Key — by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Southeast Region-At-Large Division for her photograph “Mother and Daughter in Peru” (below). She led a group of nine Foxcroft students whose works were recognized. Four of them earned Silver Keys: CHLOE ’19 and KENZIE ’20 GREEN — and TAM LE ’20 for their writing, and GRACE CHEN ’19 for two photographs.

Foxcroft Notebook

S-T-E-A-MING ALONG

Do you know a potential Foxcroft Girl?

Send her to us!

Alumnae, parents, and friends are a valuable part of our admissions process, telling prospective students about Foxcroft and telling us about them. If you know a prospective student, please contact the Admission Office at: Foxcroft School, P.O. Box 5555, Middleburg, VA 20118; admission@foxcroft.org; or 540.687.4340.

Spring/Summer 2018 5

Fabulous Faculty Feats Excellent Educator STEM Department Chair MARIA EVANS, PH.D. (1), will receive the second annual H. William Christ Educator Prize from the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools on June 19 at the organization’s Global Forum on Girls' Education in Washington, D.C. Established in 2016, the Christ Educator Prize is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated commitment to extraordinary teaching, program design, and/or curricular innovation in an NCGS school. Since joining the faculty in 2010, Maria has facilitated the transformation of an already strong Math and Science curriculum into a signature STEM program. She has introduced new courses, such as engineering, and AP computer science; advanced the integration of technology across the curriculum; and fostered student participation in extracurricular opportunities ranging from Odyssey of the Mind to the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

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Presenting . . .

Foxcroft faculty share their expertise. Here are some recent examples.

World Languages Department Chair ESTHER SÁNCHEZ (2) served as an international affinity group facilitator at the 30th People of Color Conference sponsored by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) in December.

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Business Manager DEBORAH ANDERSON (3) taught a one-day VAIS Business Officers Boot Camp for new business officers in April. In March, she made two presentations at the National Business Officers Association Annual Meeting, one on engaging students based on our Project Green Build and Project Re-Build experiences; the other on “Preparing for the New Emphasis on Liquidity.”

REBECCA WISE (4), Director of International Student Services, led a session at the TABS/NAIS Global Symposium in April entitled, “Fostering a Global Community by Empowering Student Leaders,” featuring our International Ambassadors program.

Still to Come At the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools’ Global Forum on Girls Education II in June, Dean of Student Life EMILY JOHNS and Director of Wellness Education MEGHEN TUTTLE, PH.D., will share their research-based, integrative approach to wellness, leadership, residential life and advising (see “Better Together,” page 9), and, World Languages teacher ANNE MUELLER, PH.D., (5) will talk about integrating STEAM and project-based learning into the Humanities.

In July, Director of Enrollment Management KARLA VARGAS-KENNEDY, Associate Director of Enrollment Management BRILEIGH PINKNEY, and Director of Strategic Initiatives and Marketing SHELLY BETZ will present on taking a team approach to Enrollment Management at the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals (AISAP) Conference.

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JOHN SCHARFENBERG will be a Master Teacher this summer for the National History Academy developed by Journey Through Hallowed Ground — and held at Foxcroft.

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Sports Shorts We Are the Champions!

Varsity Field Hockey (6) won its second straight Delaney Athletic Conference title this fall in a thrilling overtime victory over Fredericksburg Academy. With darkness setting, SEABROOK BROWN ’19 scored with 1∶38 remaining in overtime to lift Foxcroft. Junior HALEY BUFFENBARGER, who was named DAC Co-Player of the Year after the game, scored the earlier goal. In the state tournament, Foxcroft fell 4-2 to St. Stephen’s-St. Agnes in the quarterfinals. Haley earned VISAA Division I All-State honors

College-Bound This year two seniors have committed to playing collegiate sports, and a junior has already made a verbal commitment. ̿ MIA MOSELEY ’18 committed to play lacrosse at NCAA Division I Delaware State University on National Signing

Day in November. Mia also earned AllDelaney Athletic Conference (DAC) honors in basketball this winter. Together with previous conference honors in lacrosse and volleyball, that made her just the sixth Foxcroft athlete to receive All-DAC honors in three or more sports. ̿ In January, L’NYA CALDWELL ’18 (7) signed a celebratory letter to continue her education and play lacrosse next year at DIII Roanoke College. A Bronx, NY, native, L’Nya learned the sport at Harlem Lacrosse, a school-based nonprofit that provides academic intervention, leadership training, and lacrosse to at-risk youth. Last year, she set a school record for most saves in a season (94 in 15 games) and was named Second-Team All-DAC. ̿ Junior HALEY BUFFENBARGER joined the parade this spring when she was offered and accepted a verbal commitment to play field hockey at the University of Vermont, also DI. Go Foxcroft!

8 Trot, Trot to Nationals KAYLA LEE (8), a junior from Austin, TX, became just the fifth Foxcroft rider to qualify as an individual for the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) Hunt Seat National Finals since Foxcroft joined the IEA in 2010. (The School qualified as a team in 2014.) Competing in the Varsity Open on the Flat class at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY, Kayla rode well but did not advance. For the year, Foxcroft was champion at three shows, and qualified seven individuals in 11 classes and the team as a whole for regional finals.

You

Kn

Did

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ow?

Foxcroft offers summer memberships to the pool and tennis courts, as well as lessons in both tennis and swimming. There’s also a year-round, women-only “Friends of Foxcroft Fitness” program that offers access to the fitness center’s cardio and weight-training equipment, the indoor track, and the stationary bikes and rowing machines located around the track. If you live in the area, or know someone who does, check out these programs! Contact Michelle Woodruff, Director of Athletics and Auxiliary Programs, at michelle.woodruff@foxcroft.org.

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Foxcroft Notebook

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Teams Work

At Foxcroft, teams aren’t just for athletic endeavors

Team:

Merriam-Webster defines it as “a number of persons associated together in work or activity.” Most often, especially in schools, that activity is athletics and the persons associated with it are trying to win a game of some sort. Rah! Rah! Go Foxes, Go Hounds!

There’s more to Team, though. According to BusinessDictionary.com, a team is “a group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project. . . A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members.”

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To Laura Moan, our new assistant director of College Counseling and varsity lacrosse coach, the meaning is “right there, in the word: Together Everyone Achieves More.” That applies to both of her realms — and to each of the different teams we feature here. Find their definitions of Team. Learn about the amazing things they are accomplishing. Be inspired. Go team!

An Integrative Approach to Developing Strong Women and Healthy Communities

Along the way, we are all exposed to a range of perspectives, life experiences, skills, strategies, and ideas. The repetition of a given topic in different iterations gives girls an

By Emily Johns, Dean of Student Life

opportunity to build authentic relationships and helps them internalize these concepts.

When we kicked off the Opening of School

to develop the skills, courage, and confidence

As we continue to move with intention towards

Leadership Retreat last August with the

to share it. They also share the conviction

a research-based, integrative approach

theme “Teamwork,” our hope was to inspire our

that we must tune into the entire ecosystem

to wellness, leadership, residential life, and

student leaders to collaborate, empower one

in which our students live (academic, social,

advising, we are beginning to see common

another, and foster an inclusive, connected

physical, emotional, spiritual) to equip them

language and similar strategies arise among

student body. Little did we know that faculty

with the skills and resources necessary to

the girls. We are excited to see that they

members involved in Student Life programming

make good decisions.

are becoming more confident and assertive,

also would be inspired by the theme and take their collaborative work in support of girls’ leadership and wellness to the next level.

Taking a team, or community-wide, approach to student development, therefore, is imperative.

It minimizes the risk of sending mixed

learning to approach difficult conversations, and recognizing when a friend needs help (and then providing it in the appropriate way).

It began with a conversation. While discussing

messages to students, a challenge that many

Our integrated approach to wellness and

our individual efforts in our respective domains

schools battle because mission, life balance,

leadership is also inspiring faculty to recognize

early in the school year, Director of Wellness

and practice so easily slip out of alignment.

and pool their resources — from expertise in

and biology teacher Meghen Tuttle, Ph.D., and I realized that our developing wellness and leadership programs, despite having different foundations, shared a common vision. The Wellness Program is informed by data from the Independent School Health Check (ISHC), a periodic survey of students at Foxcroft and across the country on topics ranging from motivation, stress, academic pressure and community service to nutrition, sleep, social life, and drug, alcohol, and internet use. Under Meghen’s leadership, we gather regularly and use ISHC data to develop a wellness curriculum that meets our girls where they are.

Our leadership philosophy and program are informed by Foxcroft’s core values (respect, integrity, kindness, and service), strong traditions, and student leader experience, along with a belief that leadership is not just an honor and responsibility, but also a skill to be developed — and that every girl should be stretched to acquire these skills.

Both programs, however, share the same mission: to empower each girl to have an active role in exploring her unique voice and

By deliberately merging wellness with leadership education, and incorporating other aspects of student life through broad-based conversations and skills-building, we have more and better opportunities to help girls learn essential life skills such as self-care, advocacy, and healthy relationship-building. Research shows that in the classroom, interdisciplinary learning leads to deeper learning and better

adolescent brain functioning and mindfulness practices to outdoor leadership, intercultural communication, and ethical reasoning skills — to collectively and effectively teach our students. We are excited to discover a treasure trove of resources and talents in our midst.

Knowing that we can readily enlist, engage, and celebrate these strengths is a validating expression of true team spirit!

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retention by students. It also offers a stronger context for learning through collaboration and application of skills and content, which are best practices for teaching girls.

Our program takes interdisciplinary learning into the dorms, advisory, Student Council, and more.

Each month we introduce a theme — topics range from conflict resolution and stress management to cultivating joy and ethical use of technology. We engage the entire community in that topic with a varied activities in a number of venues. For instance, a month devoted to conflict resolution included: ̿ Student leaders training session on peer mediation using case studies and role playing; ̿ Student-led dorm meetings spent watching a video on empathy, discussing strategies for navigating gating

C ur ri cu lu m Fo r Li fe Skills we focus on: Conflict Resolution Healthy Boundary-Setting Cultural Literacy Upstander/Bystander Intervention (bullying; being an ally) Resilience & Coping Skills imism/Cultivating Joy Optim l-Setting/Personal Reflection Goal-

Spring/Summer 2018 9

Teams Work

Better Together

peer conflict with an understanding heart, or acting out scenarios that offer girls practice having difficult conversations; ̿ Advisory meetings to discuss case studies of conflict relevant to students’ life experience so that they can consider how to approach conflict with compassion and clear communication.

e g e l l Co pi r i t S College Counseling teams up to support students on their admission quest

By Barbara Conner, Director of College Counseling

A

s you wander into the College Counseling Office’s conference room, you may be struck by the bright, colorful college pennants adorning the four walls. You may notice the broad variety of college-related

books on the library shelves. You may see dozens of college mugs, pens, frisbees, and magnets. What you won’t be able to miss, however, is the spirit of camaraderie and team. The Foxcroft College Counseling team works together with one mission: to keep each girl at the heart of her college process.

We work as a team, within our growing office and with those down the hall and across campus as appropriate, to support our students. Recently, Laura Moan joined us as Assistant Director of College Counseling. Together, she and I are ushering the Class of 2019 — a large cohort of 49 girls from 11 states, the District of Columbia, and six countries — into its college process by way of Junior College Seminar classes. Each week, we encourage the girls to step into the college exploration and application journey by focusing on topics such as "Know Thyself," "Understanding College Characteristics," and "Making the Most of Your College Campus Visit," among others. Through discussions, reflections, and intentional activities, students are discovering more about how they learn, what matters to them, and what they hope to achieve during their college years.

TERRIFIC TRIO: The College Counseling team of (L–R) Laura Moan, Barbara Conner, and Katie Turner coaches girls through a challenging journey.

As with everything at Foxcroft, the student is at the center of the conversation. Each girl owns her process; our college counseling team is here to teach, assist, encourage, and advocate on her behalf. While Laura and I meet with classes and individuals, Administrative Assistant Katie Turner keeps the trains running on time. She processes transcript requests and makes sure that special events such as the Junior Parent College Program and College Admission Essay Panel go off without a hitch. She schedules 100 college admission representative visits to campus each year and tracks admission decisions and scholarships awarded as seniors receive them.

Each member of our team has a critical role to play as we work together toward our shared goals of helping each girl identify Five First-Choice Colleges (see right page) and assisting her in putting forth her strongest candidacy in an increasingly competitive college admission environment. Each of us is also committed to making the most of each opportunity with students. Laura and I meet individually with girls, and conference with their families, to learn about their goals, answer questions, and help identify next steps in the process. By sharing meals in the dining hall, coaching games (as Laura does), and

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We can’t, of course, do it alone. Our success also draws on what one might call our Special Teams. Academic Dean Courtney Ulmer and I often work in tandem to make sure each student’s academic profile is sound and to help students strike a balance between our demanding curriculum and other activities and commitments with their college goals in mind.

When a student is interested in playing sports in college, we team up with the Athletic Department, beginning the conversation early so she knows that she has options, whether she has her eye on NCAA Division I, II, or III, or club teams, and we advocate for her by working with admission offices and coaching staffs. This year two seniors, both lacrosse players, have celebrated their college

Teams Work

serving as Junior Class advisor (as I do), we learn who the girls are as individuals within the community and develop relationships that enhance the work of admission.

plans with the community: Mia Moseley, who signed a national letter of intent for Division I Delaware State University and L’Nya Caldwell, who will play at Division III Roanoke College. Athletic Director Michelle Woodruff and her coaches are an integral part of this process and we are excited for the perspective and insight that Laura brings to the table after 20 years of experience coaching college lacrosse.

Teachers are a key part of the college counseling team as well, not only because they prepare our students through their outstanding teaching on a daily basis, but also with their recommendation writing, essay coaching, and understanding of our girls. Shared commitment, shared goals, and shared drive among the members of the College Counseling and Special Teams keeps us all headed into the future with a clear vision and outstanding game plan that keeps Foxcroft girls at the heart of the college process.

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Get to Know Laura Moan Assistant Director of College Counseling Hometown: Baltimore, MD Education: BA (Elementary Education), Boston College; M. Ed., (Athletic Administration and Leadership), Goucher College Family: Stewart Moan (husband); George (son, age 14), Lucy (daughter, 13), Mitch (dog, 7) Experience: Has taught and coached lacrosse in schools and colleges for 20+ years, most recently at Susquehanna University, where she also served as NCAA Compliance Coordinator and Assistant Athletic Director.

She was a four-year starter at goaltender for Boston College.

THE FIVE

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first-choice colleges approach

This innovative system for creating a short list of schools to apply to, developed by Director of College Counseling Barbara Conner, has met with professional acclaim and student success. Less stress and better admission outcomes are likely when a student applies to five colleges that: ̿ Typically admit students with academic profiles that align with hers; ̿ Match her academic/social/cultural setting goals; ̿ Have been considered from a financial perspective; ̿ And, most important of all, she is excited about attending!

She Did It! In nine years at Susquehanna, Laura won 92 games, including back-toback bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and 2014.

Fun Facts: She spent the first three years of her life in Belgium and a semester abroad during college in Bali, Indonesia, where she learned how to speak the language and to carve wooden masks.

Secret Talent: She can juggle, “but so can most goalies/former goalies.”

The Definition of Team: “It’s right there in the letters of the word: Together Everyone Achieves More. While we all have specific strengths we bring to a group, the group is stronger when the strengths are used together.”

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Climbing A team of individuals

By Josie Ross, Assistant to the Office of Student Life & Climbing Coach

C

limbing seems a solitary sport. When the din of voices offering advice from below blur together and it’s just the climber and the wall, there is a sense of complete independence and solitude. Yet, a Foxcroft climber

is never truly on her own. Connected to a harness, to a rope, to a classmate below, the Foxcroft climber has a safety net. The Foxcroft climber has a team.

Indeed, the 2017-2018 season will go down in history as the first year that Foxcroft School ever had a competitive climbing team. It’s probably the first time Foxcroft girls have competed against coed sports teams, too. We joined the Washington Area Interscholastic Climbing League (WAICL) alongside other girls' schools, including Madeira and National Cathedral.

Many of the WAICL schools are coed, though, so we teamed up with Woodberry Forest for meets against Episcopal, Flint Hill, Sandy Spring Friends, Bullis, and Georgetown Day. The Foxcroft climbing program starts with former Fine Arts teacher and avid climber Gary Cox. In 2001, he started taking girls to a local climbing gym three times a week as an alternative winter physical education (PE) activity. “We would load up in a busette and go to Sport Rock III

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in Sterling, VA,” recalls Gary, who did the commuting thing for about five years. “All the girls were beginners.”

2 jump at the opportunity to test their skills against other schools.

When the Athletic/Student Center opened in 2010, Foxcroft got its own climbing wall. Gary worked closely with the wall architects. The height of the wall was limited by the gym’s design, but Gary made sure that it had an area for bouldering, which was just becoming popular, along with varying levels of difficulty and an overhang so it would challenge every climber.

Practices on campus consisted of learning “hard skills” like rope care and how to belay safely, as well as technique drills. Once a week, we worked on harder problems (the path that a climber takes to complete a climb) at an off-campus gym. Ten climbers participated in competitive climbing, with three additional students joining us for our on-campus training.

Winter climbing became a PE perennial, but never as a competitive, team sport.

Until now. At the Annual Outdoor and Experiential Education Workshop last spring, I learned about WAICL and was asked if Foxcroft had any interest in competitive climbing. After talking with the girls, it was clear that they would

Our team of climbers came with a wide variety of skill levels. A few had been introduced to climbing at a young age, while others climbed for the first time in our gym. It didn’t matter. “The team bonded together so quickly to create this awesome and supportive environment that inspired each girl — including me! — to really push

Teams Work

3

How it

beyond her limits,” says junior Megan Pumphrey, one of the team captains.

them were proud to have been part of Foxcroft’s first climbing team.

Team members grew tremendously during the season. They challenged themselves and each other physically. They learned the complexities of the sport and familiarized themselves with scoring systems unique to climbing. And they celebrated one another, cheering when a teammate made it to the scoring leaderboard or conquered her first 5.10 climb.

As a coach, I am committed to helping each girl maximize her athletic potential.

As a mentor and guide, climbing allows me to expand our students’ capacity for social-emotional understanding. The Foxcroft climber’s safety net is made of equipment, yes, but more importantly it is made with agreements — promises to keep each other safe, to hold expectations high, to push each other one step further. Every kept promise helps grow a trusting relationship, and these relationships don’t end when the climber has both feet on the ground.

“When I get to the top, it’s just so cool to look down and give my partner that ‘I did it’ thumbs up,” — Carsyn Betz ’19.

In the WAICL, scores are not based on technique or speed (see “How It Works” sidebar) because the league organizers strive to create an environment in which climbers are self-motivated to do their personal best. At the WAICL Championship in February, our team went head-to-head against eight teams from six schools, and had its best competition of the season. We may not have won any trophies but several girls scored personal records, and all of

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1. THIS TEAM ROCKS!: Six of Foxcroft’s competitive climbers, along with coaches Josie Ross (left) and Ellie Meyer ’11 (right), represented the School at the WAICL Championships.

Works

Climbing meets vary in format from top rope (see photo 3) or bouldering (see photo 2) to mixed format competitions that include both. Using the Yosemite Decimal System, each route is rated based on its most difficult move and each rating is then given a point value.

A climber scores points by completing a climb “successfully” — which means she stayed within the designated route and did not put any weight on her rope. Her score for the meet is calculated by adding together ogether the points from her three most difficult routes. Six climbers compete rou mpete for each five best ea ac ch team; the fiv st scores are combined co om mbined for the team score. Most competitions co om mpetitions have both h individual and team te ea am winners.

2. BOULDER BEATER: Co-captain Alex Greenberger ’19 takes on a bouldering challenge.

3. TOP ROPE TOPPER: Mia Barber ’18 scales a wall secure in the knowledge that a teammate has her rope.

Spring/Summer 2018 13 Spring/

Launch Out to

Determination and teamwork overcame a steep learning curve and unexpected hurdles as Foxcroft’s first TARC rockets blasted off!

The 10 students who signed up for Foxcroft’s first-ever Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) effort didn’t know exactly what they were getting into. Only two of them had previous experience with rocketry, and in junior Annie Zimmerman’s case that consisted of launching a cardboard-tube rocket with a slingshot in fifth grade. Junior Nicole Makwahi Chandra was taking an Aerodynamics science elective, but rockets were only part of the course.

Most of the girls were just curious about rockets and wanted to do something different. “I joined the team because I thought building a rocket would be interesting, and because science is neat,” said freshman Jennifer Cramer. “I wanted to meet new people and learn material that you wouldn’t learn in everyday life,” said junior Ella Blazek.

Both became part a diverse group that ranges in age (14-18), grade (9th-11th), and experience (little-to-none), and features an array of personalities as varied as their hometowns — which reach from

14 Foxcroft Magazine

Jakarta to Middleburg. Seven of the 10 girls were new to Foxcroft, and it’s safe to say none of them had spent a lot of time together. Once they began to understand the challenge ahead, though, the group became as one. They had to.

TARC is the world’s largest student rocket contest with some 800 teams vying to become one of 100 national finalists who gather in May to compete for $100,000 in scholarships, cash awards, and a trip to an air show in England. This year’s Challenge was to “design, build, and fly a safe and stable model rocket to an altitude of exactly 800 feet while also achieving a total flight duration of between 41 and 43 seconds and returning a payload of two raw hen’s eggs undamaged.” Everything — the rocket’s length, weight, diameter, even the weight and diameter of the eggs allowed — is prescribed down to the millimeter and gram. “The Challenge is not intended to be easy,” starts the 73-page TARC handbook. Really.

“I did not realize how big of an undertaking this was until I saw all the rules and

regulations,” said freshman Betsy Altenberger. “It is such a long list that I was shocked,” added Sylvia Yuan. “For some time, I did not believe that we can fulfill all the requirements.”

“This is a huge undertaking and I'm not sure how successful we will be,” STEM Department Chair Maria Evans, Ph.D., the team’s advisor, said in March.

The students, though, were determined.

“When we first read through the rule book,” said sophomore Kenzie Green. “We all knew we were committing to a lot of work, but we have tackled each challenge piece by piece.”

One of the first pieces they tackled was deciding what material to use. They made a novel choice: to compete with a rocket completely made on a 3D printer. No team had ever done that. “We thought, why not,” recounts Betsy. “We have a big enough printer and the Aerodynamics class had already made their rockets with the 3D printer, so we knew it could be done.”

They also knew that 3D-printed materials are strong, precise, and could produce complicated designs.

The unknown factor was how the rocket would perform. The flight simulator

Teams Work

software they used, OpenRocket, doesn’t have a material like the 3D-printed plastic to model, and the Aerodynamics class hadn't yet launched a rocket. On February 9, “Hermes,” the rocket Nicole had helped build in Aerodynamics, was launched. “He rose majestically into the setting sun on Big Track,” Dr. Evans reported, “and settled back to Earth with no damage.” Hermes didn’t meet TARC specifications, but fears that a 3D rocket would melt or shatter were alleviated.

Thus reassured, the TARC girls went to work, spending hours varying parameters in OpenRocket to determine which ones affect altitude, time of flight, etc., and then to develop a design that met the TARC flight specifications. “We did hundreds of trials to find the perfect match,” Sylvia said.

Teamwork and communication became key. “The girls with experience in 3D modeling software focused on modeling and printing the rockets, while everyone else ordered parts, conducted research, and solved the various logistics issues we found ourselves facing,” explained Kenzie.

She, Sylvia, and Nicole had to master SolidWorks, CAD software to create the digital design of their rockets and render them for printing, not an easy task.

The other girls were working hard too. “If we are doing research while Sylvia, Kenzie, or Nicole is working on Solid Works and we find something new, we have to tell them before they print a rocket we cannot use,” said Betsy.

Dr. Evans was impressed. “The group works really well together. They are all excited to learn new things, and readily volunteer for different tasks each week,” she said. “They are eager to fly once the weather becomes more agreeable.”

Ah yes, the weather; it never did agree to behave. The winter was rough and then, for eight days straight after Spring Break, the average temperature was in the 30s with snow, rain, or fog on four of those days.

The 3D printer had been busy over the break printing out pieces for the two rockets that Sylvia and Nicole were making. “My rocket took 19 hours to print,” said Nicole, “and then we had to assemble it and add the motors, parachute, and altimeter.” The deadline for qualifying was fast approaching. The plan to see how the rockets performed and make adjustments disappeared as daily plans to were scrapped.

An open TARC testing session at the nearby Great Meadow, in The Plains, VA, was scheduled for Saturday, March 30. The team had only that one chance to qualify, and they went to it.

Nicole, Sylvia, Ella, Jennifer, and junior Calissa McNeely arrived at the Great Meadow Saturday morning full of questions: Would either of their rockets meet the specifications? Would they fly the required 800 feet? Would the eggs break? And where were the eggs? The group was loaded down with all the tools

and supplies imaginable, but neglected to bring their cargo. “We thought they would be selling them,” said Calissa. Motors, parachutes, and other supplies were available on site. But no eggs. A nearby general store also seemed not to have them — until Calissa thought to ask at the café counter.

Four hours later, it was all over. Sylvia’s rocket, dubbed Eggcracker 2.0, had reached 814 feet, very near the target height and within the prescribed time, but both eggs broke. Nicole’s Nicalissa had a parachute malfunction and crashed to Earth nose first. “We didn’t qualify for the national competition, but we still had fun,” said Jennifer. “We didn’t even know if our rockets would fly,” said Calissa. “We were so happy that they did.”

When the team met a few days later to share the launch experience with those who missed it, there were no long faces.

There was laughter. Calissa recounted the saga of finding eggs. Nicole reported how incredulous folks were at seeing an all 3D-printed rocket. Jennifer talked about how much duct tape they used making adjustments on site.

Thoughts about what they learned and what they will do differently next year (they can’t wait to try again!) were punctuated with jokes about their future careers with NASA. “We can’t even protect eggs,” laughed Nicole. “How would we protect humans?”

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Spring/Summer 2018 15

Houston

Hands on

Repairing hurricane-ravaged homes: A mission of service and learning In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey pummeled the Texas coast, pouring 50 inches of rain in and around Houston and leaving more than 30,000 people displaced. In February, 11 Foxcroft students and two chaperones, aka “Team Houston,” spent Wintermission working with Recovery Houston helping to rebuild homes. The group stayed with Ellie Smith ’18 and her family, and worked on three houses. Here’s their story, told in their own words, drawn from students’ reflections and reports by chaperones John Scharfenberg and Ellie Meyer ’11.

DAY 1 ELLIE MEYER ’11: One of the first service trips I went on was with Foxcroft. We taught at a school in Nicaragua. It was great to come back and be a chaperone on a service trip, especially one to help people in our country.

JOHN SCHARFENBERG: The first house we worked on had over a foot and a half of water in it after the hurricane. The homeowner had to be rescued by boat. . .

Although the hurricane was six months earlier, the house’s walls still needed to be ripped out.

Team Houston cheerfully and unhesitatingly rolled up their sleeves, pitched in, and with pry bars and hammers, finished gutting the house.

ELLA BLAZEK ’19: On the first day of our trip we started with mucking the walls and breaking them down to get mold out from the walls and stop it from spreading. It was hard because it required a lot of arm strength, which I do not have, but it was fun because I got to bond with the group and I had an opportunity to learn new things.

MEGAN PUMPHREY ’19: I was walking through the rooms and noticed some old stickers at the bottom of a window. I could tell they were from a small child. It was in that moment that it clicked for me, that we were connecting with real people and touching their life. The service, and the impact, was no longer an idea, but a real physical thing that I could see and feel.

AMANDA CLEMENTE ’19: Ripping out the walls and dumping out all the debris was “empowering,” and at the end of the day it was amazing to see all of the progress that our crew had made.

ELLIE: One group of three students that worked as a team worked so quickly and efficiently. They heard what their job was and they did it with urgency. It was incredible. Their teamwork, skill, and leadership set the tone for the rest of the students and seemed to make everyone want to work harder.

16 Foxcroft Magazine

DAY 2 JOHN: The second house had been flooded with five inches of water. This was enough to require all the flooring and the bottom half of all the walls to be pulled out. We installed tar paper and insulation, and hung sheetrock. The highlight of this day was meeting the owners of the house, Mr. Felix and Ms. Evelyn.

BAILEY RENFROW ’19: Ms. Evelyn was wheelchair-bound and was one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. She was so grateful for the work we were doing, not only to her house, but to Houston. It made me realize that my actions, like helping to rebuild houses, not only affect the people I'm helping but everyone around them.”

PIA SCHARFENBERG ’18: Ms. Evelyn said that you never think a disaster will happen to you until it does, and then we realize how much we are thankful for others’ kindness and willingness to help.

JENNA TORRANCE ’19: It is devastating how someone's life can change so much so fast . . . and it's amazing how easily you can change someone's life for the better.

Teams Work

DAYS LATER BAILEY: I am so grateful for this opportunity because the feeling you get when you help with things like this, knowing that you are making a difference, is truly the best feeling in the world.

LIZZIE SCHMIDT ’19: I value the technical skills that I learned from Mr. Blaise [a Recovery Houston board member and Team Houston’s project coordinator], but even more so, I value that I had the opportunity to really touch the lives of people like Evelyn and Felix and Ms. Gloria, and to know that I was making a difference, no matter how small.

DAY 3 JOHN: The final house we worked on had a foot of standing water after the storm. From the outside, all the houses in this neighborhood looked fine. The only telltale signs were trailers and storage P.O.D.S. in the driveways, and piles of rubbish by the curb. Once inside, though, it became apparent that no one was living there. The bottom half of all the walls and all the flooring had been removed. We spent the day measuring, cutting, and hanging sheetrock.

CARSYN BETZ ’19: The experience taught me that giving back is about donating my time—not just items and foodstuff. During my time volunteering, I was not worried about what time it was, who was texting me, or what I needed to do later. I was focused on cutting a 49x13-inch piece of sheetrock to drill into the house frame.

CARSYN: I think I speak for us all when I say that by the end, we truly felt like a construction crew. We were a team and we still are. I connected with girls I don't usually talk to at school; I helped repair houses for victims of Hurricane Harvey. I was touched by the people who we helped and by those who helped us.

PIA: Hurricane Harvey’s repercussions are still massive. It is our job to let that be known to those at home and those who have forgotten, and to help fix all that was damaged and show love to all those who are in need.

JOHN: I am filled with an immense pride in Team Houston. These 11 young ladies continually exceeded all expectations. Who would have thought that girls who had barely swung a hammer would be hanging sheetrock by the end of the week? They discovered that even small acts of kindness can have a tremendous impact. They embodied Foxcroft’s community values of kindness and service, and they broadened their perspective immensely.

MEGAN: The people whose homes we helped to rebuild did not have words for the thanks they wanted to express to us, but I left each site feeling as though they had given more to me than I could ever give to them.”

BAILEY: Ms. Gloria, who was the owner of the house we worked on the last day, sat down and talked with us about how happy she was seeing young women working like this. She said that she had never seen girls our age doing things like this.

ELLIE: Meeting the homeowners was so great, especially seeing the students interact with them. The students showed true kindness. They also learned how easily lives can change, and I think that made their work much more meaningful.

AMANDA CLEMENTE '19

Spring/Summer 2018 17

A Special Focus Introducing the Academic Concentrations Program

By Courtney Ulmer, Academic Dean

The idea of creating an Academic Concentrations program at Foxcroft was born out of our original goal of supporting the natural affinity that many girls have for animals by adding an Animal Science class to our curriculum. As with most things at Foxcroft, ideas for other subject areas of focus were brought forth, providing even more unique opportunities for girls to explore specific interests in the same specialized way. Last fall, we were excited to announce four offerings for academic concentrations that include Fine Arts, Global Studies, and STEM, in addition to Animal Science.

The primary objective of the Academic Concentrations program is to allow students to delve deeper into subjects that they are passionate about and be able to explore those subjects in a variety of ways — both in and out of the classroom.

Students’ creativity and their passion for certain areas of study is evidenced by the number of students who have taken the initiative to meet with me and discuss the possibility of participating in this new program. Indeed, launching this new initiative made for an even busier school year, as we put the finishing touches on the rollout of each concentration and finalized the application process.

To be considered for the highly selective program, students must meet a number of academic and extra-curricular requirements in addition to credits needed for graduation. Specifics vary among the concentrations, but all four subject areas include academic (course) requirements, service learning projects or participation, on-campus and/or off-campus internships, and a culminating capstone or

18 Foxcroft Magazine

independent study project. Each student is also matched with a supportive faculty mentor who will help her customize the combination of the required elements that will make up her Concentration.

Most applicants for the program already have a strong vision for the elements of their Concentration over the next two or three years. The first year will be filled with internships and service learning experiences that help to formulate ideas for independent capstone or research projects to be undertaken as an upperclassman. For example, one freshman who is interested in doing a STEM Concentration in computer programming has mapped out a plan for returning to her middle school during spring break in 2019 to implement a course in writing code.

Another applicant, a sophomore, is interested in using her work as a volunteer EMT as the foundation for a STEM Concentration with a focus on medical science. We had a productive

1 brainstorming session about what a senior year capstone or independent study might entail for her.

While the Academic Concentrations program is designed primarily for students who have several years remaining at Foxcroft to fulfill their requirements, upperclassmen are eligible to apply this year. In that case, the rising senior needs to be intently focused on ways in which her chosen Concentration requirements can be fulfilled within a short time. This might include drawing upon previous activities and experiences, such as an internship at Virginia Tech’s MARE Center (see "No Horsing Around," opposite).

To support the Concentrations program and enhance our curriculum, several new courses will be taught in the fall. Katie Hergenreder, who has a background in Equine Sciences, has been awarded a William R. Kenan, Jr. Fund Faculty Enrichment Grant to develop the Animal Science course curriculum. An “Artist’s Portfolio” class has been added to our

Fine Arts curriculum to give students an opportunity for in-depth preparation and review of their creative works. These classes will be required for students pursuing certificates in the related Concentration areas, but will be open to all students.

As our inaugural class of Academic Concentrations students takes shape, we look towards next steps: continuing to grow internship and service learning opportunities for students, refining the program as we enroll new girls next year, evaluating the first year of the program, supporting faculty in their new roles as Concentration mentors, and of course celebrating our first Academic Concentrations Class in 2019!

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1. CONCENTRATION CONSULTANT: Academic Dean Courtney Ulmer works with students to develop individual programs.

2. CHOICES: Students may focus on one of four areas: Arts, STEM, Animal Science, or Global Studies.

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For more information on the Academic Concentrations program, please visit www.foxcroft.org/ academic_concentrations.

NO HORSING AROUND:

Equine Research Up Close Three students are participating this year in an internship program at Virginia Tech’s Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension (MARE) Center. Kayla Lee, a junior from Austin, TX, reports on the experience.

AS THE CAR TIRES rumble along the gravel driveway leading to the Virginia Tech MARE Center just 15 minutes from Foxcroft every week, I never know exactly what to expect during the next few hours. Each day, I do something different, ranging from simpler tasks such as entering data from equine research projects and caring for the horses to collecting data in a fast-paced format.

Last fall, for example, one of the graduate students was conducting a study on different types of feed to determine which was the best option for the horses. I helped draw blood samples from the horses every 15 minutes and collected them for data analysis. I also assisted in analyzing fecal samples by measuring masses and pH, and preparing them for further testing in the lab by drying, labeling, and packaging the samples.

Each of the three Foxcroft interns work closely alongside several Ph.D. students, many of them women, who offer a range of knowledge as they routinely conduct studies on different equine

research topics simultaneously. Depending on what projects are going on and our task for the day, we might work more closely with one student or in a group. Although not everything that we do is particularly glamorous, the variety allows us to view all sides of research, including those that might not seem obvious — such as the amount of time that goes into preparing materials for data collection and the critical thinking that goes into proposing a study. This has taught me a lot about the research process and all that goes into a study before and after it is actually conducted.

I am so grateful for this experience and the support that everyone at the MARE Center offers. From the beginning, they welcomed me and allowed me to do as much hands-on work as possible — much more than I ever expected. I look forward to returning each week, and I hope to continue this internship throughout my time at Foxcroft, so that I can continue to experience and learn new things. — by Kayla Lee ’19

Spring/Summer 2018 19

A Long, Long Trail Goodyear Fellow Jennifer Pharr Davis inspires students to take a hike

By Shelly Betz, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Marketing

1

“How many of you all have spent a night in the woods?” That was the question that Jennifer Pharr Davis posed to the large audience of Foxcroft students, faculty, and townspeople gathered in Currier Library.

Slowly, hand after hand was raised across the room, prompting an unexpected confession from the celebrated hiker, author, and National Geographic Adventurer of the Year (2012).

Not only had she never spent a night in the woods when she was in high school, but she had not grown up hiking, camping, or backpacking. “Hiking was the hardest thing I’d ever done,” said Davis, noting that “there was no reason I should be a professional hiker.” But that’s precisely who she is.

Davis is Foxcroft’s 2018 Allison Harrison Goodyear Fellow, the wonderful program that brings individuals who have achieved renown in the arts, humanities, science, or public affairs to campus to participate in discussions and seminars with students. Her visit in early January also highlighted our inaugural Wellness Weekend (see “Getting Started,” right).

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Growing up in North Carolina, Davis participated in sports most of her life and was in great physical shape. But athletic competitions had a certainty that hiking did not: an end time. No surprise then that when Davis decided to take on the major challenge of hiking the Appalachian Trail after college, she gave herself a time limit: five months. Davis convinced herself that it would be “technically just walking,” and wondered, “How hard can it be?” She imagined incredible scenic views and wildflowers greeting her along the way as she set out with her brother’s Boy Scout backpack.

Davis soon learned that hiking the Appalachian Trail was no walk in the park. As she made her way through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles North Carolina and Tennessee, she endured blizzard conditions, frozen eyelids, blistered feet, and limited food. It took a total of five days for Davis to make it out of the Smoky Mountains.

These early hiking experiences left an indelible mark on her and helped to shape her outlook on life. “I’m pretty optimistic and choose to see the best in people,” she said. “I’ll never forget the sense of pride I had when I started in Georgia and walked 77 miles. It took about a week and a half, and when I got into North Carolina, it was like, Wow! I made it to a new state.”

That sense of achievement served as motivation for Davis to continue her quest to hike all the way to Maine — and so much more. Since then, she has been to all 50 states and six continents exploring her passion for the lifestyle sport. She has hiked the 2,185-mile Appalachian Trail three times, setting the speed record (for men and women!) in 2011 by completing the entire distance in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes.

Davis believes the best definition of an adventure lies within each one of us. “It’s stepping outside your comfort zone,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be outside. It can be as simple as taking a challenging subject in school or trying a new food. It’s how we feel alive.”

20 Foxcroft Magazine

These days, one of Davis’s challenges is balancing family time with running her business (Blue Ridge Hiking Company), writing books, and traveling — to hike or to talk about it. She has written six books, the latest of which, is coming out this spring. It’s title: The Pursuit of Endurance: Harnessing the Record-Breaking Power of Strength and Resilience.

“Resilient, Adaptable, and Hopeful” are the three words Davis says best describe her. As she shared her story and presented a “Backpacking 101” workshop in the afternoon, Davis spoke of perseverance, the value of simplicity, her love for silence, and becoming one with nature.

Her brief time spent exploring the beautiful Foxcroft campus and interacting

with students gave her more reason to be hopeful. “I was blown away by the campus, and I think the spirit of it is probably absorbed by students,” she said.“These young women came across as being very confident, which you don’t always see in high school girls. They seemed very comfortable in their own skin.”

The girls were impressed by Davis, too. “What I took away from her speech is that you should be willing to try a new experience in life and, more importantly, stick with the decision, because it might change your life,” said freshman Bianca McNeely.

The presentation was sophomore Louise Whitner’s favorite part of the weekend.

“Her struggle finding a balance and self

love is easy for students to relate to,” she said, “and the way her love for hiking taught her how to love herself and find balance from within is truly inspiring.”

Without a doubt, Jennifer Pharr Davis inspired us all to be better versions of ourselves — and maybe even to consider how a hike might lead to finding joy and peace within. To prospective first-time hikers and, indeed all of us, Davis offers this perspective: “We can all do more than what we think is possible.”

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1. GOOD MORNING GOODYEAR: Jennifer Pharr Davis brightened a Saturday morning with her inspiring story.

2. ON TOP OF THE WORLD: Davis had hiked in all 50 United States and six continents, including the complete Appalachian Trail three times!

GETTING STARTED

First Wellness Weekend When students and faculty returned to campus in January, they plunged into Foxcroft’s inaugural Wellness Weekend — two days dedicated to maintaining a healthy mind and body scheduled, fittingly, near the start of the new year.

Organized by Dr. Meghen Tuttle, biology teacher and Director of the Wellness Program at Foxcroft, the multi-day event was filled with workshops, fun and physical activities, discussion, and “chill time.” Many of the endeavors focused on aspects of internal and external struggle, and teamwork — which made Goodyear Fellow Jennifer Pharr Davis a perfect Keynote speaker, with her fascinating story of overcoming physical and mental challenges on the trail (see main story, left).

After Davis’s presentation, students attended informational and empowering workshops offered by faculty, staff, and guest experts.

Among the many topics were mindful eating, taming the “Negative Nelly” within, developing a personal mission, and building

trust through improv. Davis offered a seminar on Backpacking 101.

Head of School Cathy McGehee led a session that challenged girls to observe, unplug, and understand their digital habits better so they might find ways to be mindful of their device usage to encourage reflection, and creativity.

A special alumnae panel of recent graduates shared their experiences transitioning from high school to college with the Senior Class.

COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL: At one Wellness Weekend Workshop, recent alumnae — including (L–R) Allison Buffenbarger ’17, Campbell Hartley ’14. Raquel Morris ’13, Charlotte Simmons ’15, and Lilly Potter ’15 — shared post-Foxcroft experiences with seniors.

On Friday evening, the School community enjoyed a documentary movie and discussion about what makes people happy in different parts of the world. In addition to the workshops, Saturday featured “recess,” Pilates, and a special candlelight restorative yoga class, just to name a few activities.

joys of journaling. Sophomore Marina Vanoff was among them. “My favorite part of the weekend was the journaling session,” she said.

“It's something I've been wanting to get into for a while now, but I just didn't know where to begin.”

Among the most popular workshops was Journaling 101, presented by French teacher Dr. Anne Mueller. Nearly every chair in Court’s large conference room was occupied by an enthusiastic student eager to discover the

That’s a common obstacle when it comes to caring for mind, body, and soul. With this special weekend and other events, Foxcroft’s Wellness Program is doing its best to lead girls to the starting gates.

Spring/Summer 2018 21

1

Teddy Segmuller ’19 trains hard and swims fast, thanks to Foxcroft’s Exceptional Proficiency program

Making a Splash

By Fred McMane

If you think you’ve had a long, hard day, listen to junior Teddy Segmuller’s daily routine and then think again. Teddy, a talented swimmer who participates in Foxcroft’s Exceptional Proficiency (EP) program, often leaves her house in Gainesville, VA, at 3∶50 a.m. and doesn’t get home until 7 p.m. In between, she has four hours of swim practice, a full day of classes, and sometimes, a voice lesson. And forget sleeping in on Saturday; Teddy is out of the house before sunrise.

“I have nine practices a week,” says Teddy, who swims for Occoquan Swim Club’s National Training Group, which trains in Manassas. “On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, I have practice from 4∶30 a.m. until 6∶15 a.m., and then again from 3∶30 p.m. until 5∶45 p.m. On Wednesday and Friday, I have practice from 3∶30 p.m. until 5∶45 p.m., and on Saturday I have practice from 5∶30 a.m. until 8 a.m. Without the support of the EP program, my academic and swim accomplishments would not be possible.”

Teddy has been swimming year-round since she was nine years old. Her parents, Kathy and Hermann Segmuller, drove her morning and night, until Teddy got her driver’s license recently. “Teddy has always been very goal-oriented,” says Kathy. “She has great time management skills and is very disciplined.”

One of Teddy’s recent goals was to earn the grades and swimming times for the Potomac Valley Swimming Scholar Athlete Award. “You must attain a GPA of 3.5 or higher and maintain a 3.5 or higher event standard average,” explains Teddy, who met that demanding achievement for the 2016-17 school year.

How does she do it? “My schedule is very tight, but I have learned how to be very organized and manage my time efficiently,” says Teddy. “I utilize the Learning Center at Foxcroft to organize my week for homework and for tests and quizzes. Also, my teachers, Ms. Courtney Ulmer (Academic Dean), and my advisor, Ms. Stephanie Young, have all supported me in my swim career.”

1. IN THE POOL: Teddy, a sprinter, swims about 30 hours a week at practices.

22 Foxcroft Magazine

One very special resource on campus is Athletic Trainer Ruth Ann Allen, a member of USA Swimming’s medical staff at many events. “If I am ever in pain or need a massage to loosen my muscles, Ms. Ruth is always there for me,” says Teddy. “Not many schools have a professional trainer, especially one experienced with swimmers. I am very fortunate. I would not be where I am today if it were not for the faculty at Foxcroft.”

Teddy’s mother agrees. “The faculty and administration have been priceless in helping Teddy,” she says. But Learning Center Director Erin Abbott is quick to credit Teddy: “She demonstrates a level of maturity and responsibility usually seen in college-level student-athletes.”

The Segmullers work to keep a balance in Teddy’s life. Kathy says that the EP program was a strong factor in their choice of high school but, “we also looked at everything Foxcroft had to offer in the event Teddy decided to stop swimming.”

Teddy hasn’t stopped swimming but she has immersed herself in school life, despite her busy schedule. She is a member of the Athletic Association, Assistant Head of Astronomy Club, a CAP [tour guide], and a frequent attendee at dances and other special events. She is also a gifted singer who has performed solos in two Parents’ Weekend musical revues. “Teddy brightens every classroom and is a positive presence for the entire Foxcroft community,” says Abbott.

Teddy loves to sing. “Foxcroft has allowed me to pursue this passion as well, and voice lessons have opened my eyes to new music that I would have never thought of singing.”

But it is swimming that drives Teddy. A sprinter who specializes in the freestyle, Teddy plans to swim in college, perhaps at a Division 1 school. She has already heard from several looking to recruit her. “I’m very excited for what the future will bring me,” she says.

In the meantime, she enjoys the present.

“Swimming gives me a feeling like no other.

All the practices, while very grueling and at times challenging, are so rewarding,” says Teddy. “I know that all my time spent training leads to the moments when I can test the skills I have learned. After a race, I want to struggle to get out of the pool! If I can barely lift myself out, it is a sign that I have no fuel left and that I have given every ounce of energy into that one race.

It means that I did my best.”

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Many Talents Teddy is one of 21 students participating in the Exceptional Proficiency program this year. Here’s a quick look at the others:

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recording a Beethoven sonata last fall (www.foxcroft.org/exceptional_proficiency)

Downhill skier MAY SCHULTE ’19 (2) competes at the expert level in slalom and giant slalom for the Wintergreen Race Team in the Southern Alpine Racing Association (SARA). In a season shortened by lack of snow, she finished in a tie for 8th place among SARA’s Women’s U19 racers.

The EP program helps May balance her rigorous academics (four AP courses!) with skiing. “I have more time to do homework,” she says.

MIA MANGIN ’21 followed her passion for lacrosse from her home in Sewickley, PA, last year so that she could train year-round with the Mid-Atlantic division of 3D Lacrosse, a top national lacrosse organization. She also plays for Foxcroft: Last spring, Mia scored 41 goals and 18 assists in 15 games and earned First Team All-DAC honors.

Senior RACHEL BROWN became an internationally certified doula (nonmedical birth assistant) last fall after more than a year of classes and workshops, studying, and assisting in/documenting births.

EP enabled her to leave class when her mentor’s clients went into labor, among other things.

ZOEY XU ’18 can be found in FoxHound Auditorium most afternoons, practicing scales and complicated classical works on the Steinway piano. Becoming an EP participant last year has given this exceptional pianist time to practice many more hours to prepare for competitions and special projects such as professionally

New juniors CHLOE GREEN and ANNE K. are also using the EP program to pursue musical interests. Chloe, a talented pianist, is working on her Associate Diploma with the Royal Conservatory of Music, teaches at the Catoctin School of Music and the MusicLink Foundation, performs locally, and serves on the Kennedy Center Youth Council. Anne was one of nine flutists nationwide selected to the 2018 Honor Band of America, which performed at a national festival in March. She also uses the program to work on The Sunshine Brigade, a nonprofit that she founded.

Junior SYLVIA YUAN may be the first visual artist to participate in the EP program. A gifted studio artist focused on drawing and illustration, Sylvia has won several noteworthy art awards. She’s spending her EP time learning new techniques, such as oil painting, and completing a concentration of four pieces on "transparency and distortion."

Not surprisingly, given the origin of the program, most EP students are riders.

Seven girls — ELENA BARRICK ’20, GRACE CHEN ’19; EMMA DOWDLE ’20, MACKENZIE HARMON ’19, ANNA NOTTAGE ’18, MARINA VANOFF ’20 and SIENA WEBB ’21 — spent all or part of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, training with Foxcroft Director of Riding Kate Worsham.

Another six riders worked with other trainers. Some refined their hunterjumper technique competing at WEF (JANIE WARE ’20, EMMA PELL ’21) or the Gulf Coast (MS) Winter Classic (RILEY KING ’20); others honed their eventing skills (OLIVIA DUTTON ’20, ANNABELLE COPPERSMITH ’18) or dressage specialty (MATTY HARRELL ’19) in Aiken, SC, or elsewhere.

For more on our Exceptional Proficiency program, please visit www.foxcroft.org/exceptional_proficiency Spring/Summer 2018 23

Foxcroft Women:

Sports Hall of Famers

By Fred McMane, Chairman, Hall of Fame Selection Committee

Established during Foxcroft’s Centennial in 2014, the Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, teams, and “pioneers” who have demonstrated exceptional athletic prowess and/or had a meaningful impact on the world of sports, and who exemplify the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct, and character. This year, the eight-member Hall of Fame Committee elected lacrosse star CLAIRE MANCINI ’05, and equestrian standout ELIZA SHUFORD HUCKS ’96.

2018 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE:

Claire Mancini ’05

I

t would be quite easy to pick out CLAIRE MANCINI ’05 in a crowd of people. No, she wouldn’t be the woman at the center of conversation. She’s much too shy for that. She’d be the one with a big smile on her face, or the one laughing out loud at a friend’s joke or anecdote.

“I am a total introvert,” said Claire, one of the 2018 inductees into Foxcroft’s Sports Hall of Fame. “I think most people would describe me as quiet and private. But I love to laugh and I usually have a smile on my face. I really appreciate a good sense of humor.”

There’s nothing funny about Claire’s athletic career, which can be measured in “firsts.”

In 2005, she became the first lacrosse player in Foxcroft history to score 50 goals in a season, the first to be named the Washington Post’s Loudoun County Player of the Year, and, when she entered the

24 Foxcroft Magazine

University of Massachusetts-Amherst that fall, she became the first Foxcroft lacrosse athlete recruited to play for an NCAA Division I school.

Oh yes — and after college, the lifelong Californian helped organize the first lacrosse program at all-girls’ Castilleja School in Palo Alto, CA. She was carrying on a family tradition of sorts; her father, who had played lacrosse at boarding school and college in the Midwest, taught Claire and her brothers the game and helped introduce it to California. Claire became Castilleja’s head coach in 2010, earned her MA at the University of San Francisco, and also teaches at Castilleja.

In 2014, her dedication to developing her players to be better people, as well as top athletes, earned her finalist status for the 2014 Bay Area Positive Coaching Alliance Double-Goal Coach Award.

1 “I think that Foxcroft really nurtured me as an athlete,” says Claire. “As a teenager I struggled with confidence, but my teammates and coaches at Foxcroft made me feel like I could do anything. They made me feel confident enough to take risks, try new things, and really push myself.”

1. These days, Claire competes — and excels — at triathlons.

2. She set a scoring record in lacrosse at Foxcroft.

2

Claire was a multisport athlete at Foxcroft, as well. She played field hockey, ran cross country, and was captain of the Riding Team her senior year, when she received the prestigious Teresa E. Shook Award.

“Looking back, it was so special to be in an environment where I was not only encouraged to be an athlete, but was also validated,” Claire says of her Foxcroft experience. “My coaches really shaped me as a person and I think about them all the time. Words cannot even begin to describe how important they were to me.

I think Foxcroft gave me the courage to dream big and to just be me.”

Foxcroft Women

These days, Claire pushes herself at cycling, swimming, and running, training for triathlon competitions. She finished third in the 2016 USA Triathlon Long Course National Championship and qualified for the ITU Long Course World Championship in 2017.

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2018 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE:

3

Eliza Shuford Hucks ’96

P

assionate, compassionate, competitive, determined, and organized: those are the five words that ELIZA SHUFORD HUCKS ’96, a new Foxcroft Sports Hall of Famer, says best describe her.

As a former member of the U.S. Equestrian Team with four Nations Cup victories and a number of major accomplishments to her credit, Eliza needn’t explain “competitive.” The word “determination,” too, seems pretty obvious; the kind of riding success Eliza has had requires plenty of perseverance. But she also points to something much less obvious.

The best story to describe my determination would be about having my children,” Eliza says. “After seven rounds of IVF, we decided to find a surrogate to carry one egg and then I would try again as well. Our prayers were answered: Not only did I get pregnant, but so did the surrogate. Our two miracles were born six days apart! My husband and I never gave up; we just kept trying something else and tried to stay positive.”

Staying positive requires support, and Eliza said she got plenty of that after transferring to Foxcroft from a public school in Hickory, NC, for her junior year. “I got encouragement from the School and staff

to pursue my dreams,” she says, “and from my friends, who to this day, encourage me to be better.”

One of the first students to participate in the Exceptional Proficiency program, Eliza credits the flexibility to leave campus to compete on weekends and in Florida all winter as a key factor in her success.

“Without this freedom, I would have fallen behind my fellow riders,” she notes.

She also credits Foxcroft with her ability to request that flexibility when she got to Davidson College. “Foxcroft gave me the confidence to ask to miss classes and get other accommodations so that I could continue to pursue my riding dreams. I wrote a letter to each of my professors telling them what I did and how it would affect my academics. There was only one professor in four years who refused me.”

At Davidson, Eliza completed all her pre-med requirements. She also won the American Grand Prix Association Rookie of the Year Award and continued to improve as a rider. When it came time for medical school, she had to make a choice. She opted to ride and the rest, as they say, is history.

Recently, Eliza made another choice: She gave up the training, breeding, and riding she had been doing since retiring from the

Grand Prix ring in 2012 and has decided to focus on her family. “I loved every minute of my riding journey and now a new journey begins, raising my 'twins’,” she says. I have my amazing family and my lifelong Foxcroft friends to help guide, support, and love me along the way! I can never repay Foxcroft for the friendships and the confidence it instilled in me to pursue my dreams in and out of the ring.”

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4

3. FAMILY: Perseverance paid off for Eliza and her husband, Brandon, who now have "twins” Nancy and Brantley.

4. In 2007, Eliza scored a big victory at the South Hampton Grand Prix, defeating several Olympians

Spring/Summer 2018 25

Foxcroft Women:

Distinguished & Decorated The Distinguished Alumna Award is given by the Alumnae Council to honor an alumna who embodies the core values of the School: respect, integrity, kindness, and service; has honed a passion that she discovered while at Foxcroft and is sharing it with the world. An alumna can be nominated for her expertise and accomplishments in her profession, or for her contribution of positive, long-lasting change within her community. Our nominees are women who are leading and inspiring others outside of the Foxcroft community. It’s been a pleasure to celebrate two Distinguished Alumna Award winners in the past year, and an honor to introduce you to these illustrious Foxcroft women.

2018 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNA:

Nan Madeira Stuart ’71 NAN MADEIRA STUART ’71, whose love of animals has driven both her vocation and avocation, was named the 2018 Distinguished Alumna at the Senior Dinner in April.

“A lengthy nomination was submitted for Nan,” said Alumnae Council member Annie Bishop ’98 in making the announcement, “but one line clearly resonated with me: ‘Countless times, Nan has climbed trees, mounted roofs, squirmed under houses, even gone down chimneys — all to save an animal's life.’ This selfless commitment and determination are qualities that Foxcroft fosters in all of its girls, and they are but a few of the qualities our alumnae take into their communities and the world.”

Nan’s commitment to our four-legged friends is remarkable. After Foxcroft and Sweet Briar College, she returned to her home state of California. She had studied sociology and criminology, but she always

26 Foxcroft Magazine

knew she wanted to work with animals (“Horse was the second word out of my mouth as a baby,” she says.) So she became a state humane officer. Nan worked with the Humane Society and Project HEART. She became an instructor for the AHA Horse Abuse Investigators School and the National Animal Cruelty Investigations School, lecturing across the United States on recognizing and dealing with horse abuse.

In 1985, Nan founded Code 3 Associates, a nonprofit “dedicated to providing professional animal disaster response and resources to communities, as well as professional training to individuals and agencies involved in animal-related law enforcement and emergency response.”

Code 3 provides technical animal rescue and recovery to communities hit by disaster, assisting and supporting as needed. With its mobile command center BART (Big Animal Rescue Truck) and “Riders on the Storm” animal rescue team, Code 3 has

1

1. DOGGONE: Nan and her constant companion Kelsey, made some new friends at the 2013 dedication of Stuart Hall.

2. FAB FOUR: Axie (second from left) was celebrated by Head of School Cathy McGehee, her predecessor, Mary Louise Leipheimer, and Alumnae Council President Amanda Hartmann Healy ’98, among others, in October.

Nan is a woman of quiet action, who sees a need and addresses it, as evidenced by her work with the Flint Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University. Having lost members of her four-legged family to the devastating disease, Nan is dedicated to finding a cure and hopeful that the CSU’s comparative oncology approach — collaboration between scientists and doctors working with people and animals — will bring therapies that save humans as well as animals.

Whether working with NASCAR drivers to promote One Cure, teaching investigators how to recognize animal abuse, or holding down the fort at the Code 3 headquarters in Colorado, Nan finds that Foxcroft is never far from her mind.

As a member of the Board of Trustees for eight years, she helped the School realize many goals, including a new Strategic Plan and the construction of a new dormitory (which bears her name), Stuart Hall. She has been an integral member of the Centennial Campaign Steering Committee, has served as a class representative, and has brought speakers, such as NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, to campus to meet with students.

And, of course, Nan has brought her canine friends with her to campus, as well. Kelsey is never far from her side, whether she is in the boardroom, at a Covert reception, or outside admiring the cherry trees, one of which is dedicated to Kelsey’s predecessor, Kinsey. In fact, when Kelsey appears in a doorway, you know that Nan is not far behind — and you know that her immeasurable energy and heartfelt passion for animals, and people, will soon fill the room.

2017 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNA:

Axie Clark Diana ’60 ALIX “AXIE” CLARK DIANA ’60, a compassionate woman who has devoted herself to helping others — and sometimes battled barriers in order to do so — received the 2017 Distinguished Alumna Award in absentia at last year’s Senior Dinner and was honored at a luncheon in October.

“Axie has spent her life in the service of others, continually proving herself as an agent of change to any organization or community she aligns with,” said Alumnae Council President AMANDA HARTMANN HEALY ’98 at the presentation, “I believe the ability to be a successful agent of change should be held in the highest regard.”

In addition to years of service to Foxcroft in roles ranging from class representative to Chair of the Board of Trustees, Axie has been a prolific volunteer in a variety of venues — some of which weren’t always so welcoming at first. When she ran into barriers, however, she just broke them. In the 1960s, Axie persuaded the board of governors of a small skating club in New Jersey to which she belonged that women should have a place on the board — and became one of the first two women elected to it.

Several years later, Axie sued, through the ACLU, a local first aid squad after being told that she could not be a volunteer EMT because she wasn’t a fireman. “They meant because I am a woman,” Axie said. “I got a lot of nasty letters and threats over that, but in the end, they accepted women.”

Axie became a mobile intensive care paramedic, an instructor for cardiac and trauma life support and 12 Lead EKG equipment, a member of the stroke patient transport team, and one of the first ER volunteers at the Morristown (NJ) Medical Center. She also worked as Director of Development at Far Hills Country Day School (FHCDS), running a one-woman office that handled everything from the annual fund and magazine production to events — even as she was raising four children.

“I can’t really describe what it is about me that disposes me to leadership and service,” said Axie, “but I do know that Foxcroft had a lot to do with it. Service is an expectation here. Girls are taught to be leaders here . . . Even in the dark ages when I was at Foxcroft — the ’50s — I somehow absorbed the notion that women had power and could make their own way in the world.”

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Spring/Summer 2018 27

Foxcroft Women

responded to some of the country’s most notable disasters. Its academies, held across the U.S., have trained countless first-responders, law enforcement, and animal control officers to handle trapped, frightened, and injured animals in difficult conditions, including fires, floods, and HAZMAT situations.

A Dedicated Duo

2018

The Distinguished Service Award was created by the Foxcroft Board of Trustees in 1984 to honor Anne Kane McGuire ’52, who served as a trustee for 13 years, including six as Chair of the Board during a period of extraordinary difficulties for the School. Through tireless leadership and dedication, Anne demonstrated to her colleagues, the students, and the external world, the finest qualities of a Foxcroft woman. In appreciation for a job well and faithfully done, the Board made the Award, Foxcroft’s highest commendation and Anne its first recipient. The Trustees’ resolution specified that the award be granted only to persons who, in the opinion of the Board, have shown equal dedication and brought the same high standards of service and integrity to the task of furthering the ideas and ideals of Foxcroft, as did Anne.

ANNE KANE McGUIRE ’52 AWARD WINNER:

Virginia C. Mars

For nine years, Virginia Cretella Mars sat in Foxcroft Board meetings, quietly doing her needlepoint with her dog, Dolce, on her lap—and never missing a beat. A mother, a grandmother, trustee, philanthropist, and loyal Fox, she and Foxcroft ‘met’ in the spring of 1970 as her family was preparing to move back to the United States from France, and Virginia was looking for schools for her daughters. Having only attended Dutch and French school, Ginnie’s eldest daughter, Victoria, had limited English skills — something few schools in the Washington area were prepared to support.

Enter Foxcroft. Our relationship with Ginnie and her family has spanned more than 45 years and has seen the graduation of daughters Victoria, in 1974, and Pamela, in 1978; niece Christa in 1992; and granddaughters Bernadette and Charlotte, in 2003 and 2012, respectively.

An active parent for many years, Ginnie stepped up her work with Foxcroft in the late 1990s when she served on the Advisory Board of the largest endowment campaign ever undertaken by an independent girls’ school (at the time), the $30 million Gateways to Excellence Campaign. A graduate of Vassar College as well as

28 Foxcroft Magazine

mother of Foxcroft graduates, Ginnie understood and appreciated the value of an all girls’ education. Having served on Vassar’s Board for 12 years and as Chair of the Campaign for Vassar in the mid-90s, her knowledge of fundraising was invaluable.

The Gateways to Excellence Campaign proved to be Foxcroft’s first successfully completed capital endeavor and provided the financial foundation for the future of the School. During this fundraising effort, her family honored Ginnie by creating the Virginia Cretella Mars Scholarship for Literary, Visual and Performing Arts, a merit award that is focused specifically on attracting girls who excelled in these areas. s.

Ginnie served on Foxcroft’s Board of Trustees, from 2003 to 2012. As co-chair of the Advancement Committee, she was instrumental in the planning and building of Stuart Hall and the use of geothermal wells. Fueled by her passion for the environment, Ginnie always asked the challenging questions that ensured we were environmentally responsible in all we did on our campus. As plans began to take shape for our Centennial Celebration, the launch of our Centennial Campaign, and the retirement of a long-standing Head of

1

2 1. GOLDEN SHOVELS: Ginnie (right) and several family members were among those who broke ground for the Athletic/Student Center in 2008.

2. SUGAR AND SPICE: Dolce (the dog) and Ginnie (the trustee) were both faithful attendees at Board meetings and other events during Ginnie’s tenure.

2017

From the students we support each year in her name and the geothermal wells that heat and cool our buildings to the outstanding faculty she has supported,

Distinguished Service

School, Ginnie thoughtfully and purposefully worked to make this time of change a positive one, leading by example in word and in deed.

and more, Foxcroft is forever changed by Ginnie’s leadership and outstanding service to the School. It is with great pleasure that the Board of Trustees and Cathy McGehee, Head of School, honor Virginia Cretella Mars by presenting her Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

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ANNE K. McGUIRE AWARD WINNER: R:

Marco “Mick” W. Hellman

Marco W. Hellman, or Mick, as we know him, began his Foxcroft journey nervously waiting in the Head of School’s office. As we say in Morning Meeting, “No, he was not in trouble.”

He was there for his parent interview for his daughter Olivia’s potential admission to Foxcroft as a member of the Class of 2005.

Olivia joined the Foxcroft community in the fall of 2001, and thus began a shared history between the School and the Hellman family that has spanned more than a decade. During that time, two more daughters graduated from Foxcroft: Sarah in 2008, and Eleanor in 2010.

In Olivia’s senior year, Mick, who received a BA in Economics from the University of California and an MBA from Harvard, joined the Foxcroft Board of Trustees.

Having served on numerous boards, he understood governance and organizations.

He also brought much-needed expertise in investments and finance gleaned from his work at Salomon Brothers as a Financial Analyst and at Hellman & Friedman, LLC, as a Managing Director, member of the Investment Committee, and Senior Advisor.

Later, Mick served as Managing Partner at HMI, the private investment management company he founded in 2008, which also informed his Board experience.

3

nvestment Committee, As Chair of Foxcroft’s Investment Mick led the Board to three strategic decisions that continue to have a positive impact on the financial foundation of the School. His goals for the School were to reduce the spending rate of the endowment from eight percent to five percent, to achieve better returns with lower volatility than the strategy that was in place at that time, and to introduce better reporting to the Board with respect to performance and investment of the endowment. Given what happened to the financial markets in 2008, the timing and implementation of these goals was fortuitous. Today, we continue to be guided by these principles and this disciplined investment approach. Wetherby Asset Management, whom he brought on board to manage the endowment, is an integral part of the Investment Committee; our draw remains at five percent; and our endowment continues to grow. These measures have helped to position Foxcroft with the third largest endowment of all girls’ boarding schools.

expertise, insight, a and steady guidance provided the leadership that set the stage for a successful transition process.

In his last year on the Board, Mick took on the role of Board Chair at a time of historical significance for Foxcroft, as it searched for a new Head of School and prepared to enter its second century. His

3. FEELING THE BEAT: Music, which Mick performs often with family and friends, is one of his passions.

For his leadership and outstanding service to Foxcroft, the Board of Trustees and Head of School Catherine S. McGehee honor Mick Hellman by presenting him with Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

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4 4. SURROUNDED: Starting with Olivia ’05, three of Mick and Sabrina’s five daughters attended Foxcroft.

Spring/Summer 2018 29

Reunion 2018 It was a gorgeous weekend to be at Foxcroft — the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and spring had finally, truly arrived. More than 120 women from a dozen classes gathered on campus April 19–21 for Reunion Weekend 2018 and found an array of opportunities to reconnect with each other and with the School. From the Alumnae Association Dinner Thursday evening through Saturday’s Middleburg Races tailgate and class dinners, we enjoyed every moment of our weekend with you and hope you all will stay in touch!

At the Alumnae Association Dinner Thursday, seniors and alumnae broke bread together at Covert as Alumnae Council President AMANDA HARTMANN HEALY ’98 announced the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Alumna Award, NAN STUART ’71 (see page 36), and, together with Head of School CATHY McGEHEE, welcomed the new Class of 2018 representatives, TRINITY PATTERSON and RACHEL BROWN.

A remarkable group of women representing a diverse range of careers returned to campus to share knowledge and insights with students at the third annual Alumnae Career Day. After JANE FORBES CLARK ’73 (far right, with seven of our 13 panelists) delivered a wise and winning keynote, students attended small sessions to learn from an art therapist, construction consultant, clinical prosthetic maker, social marketer, chiropractor, and EPA regulation enforcement agent, to name just a few of these truly incredible Foxcroft women.

30 Foxcroft Magazine

Reception Reunion 2018 was our first official “cluster” reunion. At Friday’s Reception at Covert, it was wonderful to see alumnae from 1943 to 2013 gathered under the same roof, enjoying visits with women from neighboring classes as well as their own classmates — and celebrating together when MERCEDES RUDKIN GOTWALD ’72 announced, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, that the Centennial Campaign had been completed (see page 3).

Reunion 2018

Opening

Friday afternoon, the Alumnae Council Diversity Committee was proud to host its inaugural Reunion event, Courageous Conversations with Foxcroft Women: Working Toward Equality. A lively, meaningful conversation among alumnae and students — mostly women of color, international origin, and/or LGBTQ+ — reminded us of past milestones to celebrate, continuing challenges to acknowledge, and efforts that we, as a community, should focus on in the future. Many thanks to event organizers KATE HARTSHORN DOMANSKI ‘96 and CAROL DER GARRY '79, and to our panelists.

The highlight of Saturday’s Alumnae Brunch (aside from the yummy make-your-own crepes) was the induction of our two newest Foxcroft School Sports Hall of Fame members, ELIZA SHUFORD HUCKS ’96 (2nd from left) and CLAIRE MANCINI ’05 (4th from left).

Read more about these accomplished women on pages 34–35.

It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon at the Middleburg Races, where many came to enjoy the horses, the hats, and each other, before everyone headed to their class dinners and then scattered once again, refreshed from a weekend of reminiscing and reconnecting with their “friends ’til the end.”

32 Foxcroft Magazine

Reunion 2018

Class Photos

34 Foxcroft Magazine

Foxcroft School is proud to announce the successful completion of its $75 million Centennial Campaign!

Two years early and $4.7 million* over goal! *Updated as of May 15

̿ ʼn÷ċń ńʼn·ķń ?·ċċ

YOUR CAMPAIGN GIFTS:

ADDITIONAL GIFTS TOTALING $11.1 MILLION FUNDED:

̿ ~ÛĒĚŜ·ńÛ× Ěʼnķń

̿ ĒÛŝ ĻÑôĚĚċ Ŝ·Ē

̿ ~ÛíʼnķÐ÷ĻôÛ× ĴĴċÛî·ńÛ́ "÷ċċĚḖ aķÑô·ķ×́ and Reynolds dormitories

̿ ĻĈţċ÷îôń́ ķĚĚí́ ·Ē× Ñ·ķĴÛń÷Ēî íĚķ ńôÛ ʼn×ķÛţ ķʼnÑÛ Currier Library

̿ &Ē×ĚŝÛ× Û·Ñô ×Ěķđ÷ńĚķţ

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̿ ʼn÷ċń ńŝĚ ·××÷ń÷ĚĒ·ċ í·Ñʼnċńţ ôĚʼnĻÛĻ

̿ Y·ąĚķ í÷ÐÛķͯĚĴń÷Ñ Ñ·Ðċ÷Ēî ʼnĴîķ·×Û ·Ē× ÷ĒĻń·ċċ·ń÷ĚĒ

̿ ××Û× ńĚ ˉˉ ÛŢ÷Ļń÷Ēî ÛĒ×ĚŝđÛĒń íʼnĒ×Ļ

̿ ZÛŝ ×ĚĚķĻ ·Ē× · ĒÛŝ ķĚĚí íĚķ ńôÛ OÛ·Ē ×ʼn{ĚĒń McConnell Stables

̿ ķÛ·ńÛ× ˉˎ ĒÛŝ ÛĒ×ĚŝđÛĒń íʼnĒ×Ļ ŝô÷Ñô ĻʼnĴĴĚķń ·ċċ aspects of the School, including scholarships, faculty development, and plant maintenance

̿ Ĵ×·ń÷Ēî í·Ñʼnċńţ ôĚʼnĻ÷Ēî ̿ Ē× ĻĚ đʼnÑô đĚķÛ̓ These gifts were budget-relieving and supported identified needs of the School.

Meanwhile, gifts to The Foxcroft Circle, totaling approximately $900,000 annually, continued to support Foxcroft’s operating budget.

We are GRATEFUL to all those who supported Foxcroft with their time, talent, and treasure during this historic effort!

Together We Are Stepping Boldly Into the Future Spring/Summer 2018 35

Out & About Over the past few months, alumnae have gathered around the country to reconnect with one another and the School.

Whether official Foxcroft events accompanied by Head of School Cathy McGehee or informal alumnae gatherings, these occasions remind us of the circle of friendship and the shared experience of Foxcroft.

3

Maine: Many thanks to Axie Clark Diana ’60 and Kathe Gates McCoy ’60 for hosting at Kathe’s house in Maine.

1

2

1. Standing: Julie Bissell Leisenring ’48, Axie Clark Diana ’60, and Ellie Smith Grassi ’70.

Seated: Cathy McGehee, Sydney Roberts Rockefeller ’61, Augusta Lorber ’99, Nancy Pyne P ’69, ’71, and Kathe Gates McCoy ’60.

2. Axie Clark Diana ’60, Kathe Gates McCoy ’60, and Cathy McGehee.

3. Augusta Lorber ’99 and Axie Clark Diana ’60.

5

Colorado: It was great to be in Boulder with our Foxcroft friends.

4. Former Foxcroft Academic Dean and current Head of School at Boulder Country Day School, John Suitor, with wife, Gail, and daughter, Catherine.

5. Director of Institutional Advancement Marion Couzens and Lee Clark Breeden ’00 at BoCo High School Fair at Boulder Country Day School.

36 Foxcroft Magazine

4

Los Angeles & San Francisco:

Cushman McMullan ’87 for opening her home for a Foxcroft gathering in Atlanta.

Alumnae gatherings in Los Angeles and San Francisco were a lot of fun.

6 6. Cricket Browne Collins ’91, Cathy McGehee, Bill Gray, Richard de Mayo P ’07, ‘09, Catherine Cushman McMullan ’87, Kiah Edwards Williams ’95, Claudia de Mayo P ’07, ’09 and Sarah Reckford Gray ’86.

7. Sarah Reckford Gray ’86, Cricket Browne Collins ’91, Ted McMullan, and Kiah Edwards Williams ’95.

8. Catherine Cushman McMullan ’87, Kenny Darling Garbee ’53, and Cathy McGehee.

8

9. Hadley Creighton ’08, Kim Kluwe ’12, Tristan Silverman ’00, Missy Southwood ’98, Hannah Wood ’04, and Catherine Cason ’03 at Fog Harbor Fish House Pier 39 in San Francisco, CA. 10. L–R: Courtney Kane ’08, Maniecsha Holmes ’09, Deborah Baker, Jr. ’01, Hutchi Hancock ’98, Charlotte Rabbe ’05, Jenna Hill Nelson ’05, and Isabel Donaldson ’04 at Officine Brera in Los Angeles, CA.

Washington, DC: In December, alumnae gathered in Washington, DC for a Jingle & Mingle cocktail hour at the Willard Hotel.

11

9

10

7

Out & About

Atlanta: We are grateful to Catherine

12

11. L–R: Ginny Robbins '91, Carol Der Garry '79, Karen Lilly '84, Whitney Hansen '02, Erikka Knuti '00, Xandra Bernardo '00, Elisabeth Thayer Pendergrass '00, Allie Mackey '14, Jennifer Jackson '02, and Tess Mackey '11 at the Willard Hotel.

12. L–R: Erikka Knuti '00, Xandra Bernardo '00, Elisabeth Thayer Pendergrass '00, and Allie Mackey '14 enjoy cocktails and conversation at the Jingle & Mingle event in Washington, DC.

Spring/Summer 2018 37

Forever Foxcroft Forever Foxcroft was established in 1999 by the Board of Trustees to recognize individuals who have included Foxcroft School in their estate plans. Planned gifts take various forms — bequests, trusts, annuities, pooled income, property interests — and provide for the future needs of the School. They ensure that Foxcroft will retain and attract inspiring teachers, that the faculty will continue to design and implement rigorous and creative educational programs, that financial aid will be available to prospective students, and that the buildings and grounds will be carefully maintained and upgraded as needed. They ensure that the School will continue to soar.

Anonymous – 11 Mimi Mills Abel-Smith ’54 Stacey Morse Ahner ’73 Peggy Wickes Alexander ’64 †Elizabeth Stewart Baldwin ’23 †Elizabeth Kemp Beach ’20 †Ruth Bedford ’32 †Harriet Aldrich Bering ’40 Pamela Biddle ’81 Dorothy Pickering Bossidy ’71 Elizabeth Boyd ’92 †J. Bruce Bredin Dorothy Reynolds Brotherton ’70 †Mr. and Mrs. Leland Brown †Amanda Cadwalader Burton ’44 Caroline Rinehart Cardais ’01 Moira M. Carroll ’83 †Cecile Parker Carver ’42 †Ann Gambrill Casey ’39 Susan Knott Childs ’58 Candida Streeter Clark ’73 †Mariana Gowen Coleman ’15 Barbara Tragakis Conner †Eleanor Chalfant Cooper ’20 Dolph and Beatty Cramer ’66 Ailsa Moseley Crawford ’53 Joy Crompton ’78 Victoria Bartlett Donaldson ’70 Sally Bartholomay Downey ’78 Molly West Ellsworth ’50 Nancy Jones Emrich Lisa McGrath Evans ’67 †Katherine Crowninshield Ferguson ’53 Elizabeth Cheston Forster '52 †Lucy Sprague Foster ’46 †Anna Lauder Garner ’39 Edmee E. Geis ’82 †Betsy N. Getz Sandra Norris Ghosh ’75 Brooke Meyer Gray ’59 Chip and Jill Gruver †Dorrance Hill Hamilton '46 Joy Sheaffer Hall ’57 Waddell Hancock ‘71 †Deceased

Elizabeth Millard Hanes ’46 Pamela Hartley ’79 Katherine Cooper Hastings ’78 Sarah Stokes Hatch ’63 †Rosalind Everdell Havemeyer '35 Trevania Dudley Henderson ’76 Melanie Lozier Henke ’89 Theodora Winthrop Hooton ’47 Richard and Kimberly Hurst †May Field Jackson ’29 Patricia Toy Bryant Johnson ’78 Hope Jones ’82 Hope Haskell Jones ’52 †Amanda Bryan Kane ’22 Mr. and Mrs. Martin Kaplan Nancy Krewson ’73 Suzanne Kuser ’49 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Lane †James F. Lawrence Louisa Whitridge Leavitt ’60 Mary Louise Leipheimer †Mary Ann Lippitt ’36 †Elizabeth Livingston †Elizabeth Mackubin Lyman ’22 †Jane Lawrence Mali ’55 †Nancy R. Manierre ’41 †Nancy Iselin Marburg ’37 †Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Dorothy Alexander Matz ’81 Mr. and Mrs. C. Thomas May, Jr. Mary Cheston McAdoo ’46 Susan McConnell ’68 Amanda McGuire ’84 †Anne Kane McGuire ’52 Susan Schoelkopf Mele ’80 Melissa Slingluff Morley ’81 Valerie Michel Nelson ’77 Wendy Nelson '83 †Florence B. Newman Joan Lyman Niles ’51 †Abby M. O’Neill ’46 †Linda Moore Post ’46 †Heidi Schmid Powers ’59 †Jean Rainey, mother of Ruth Rainey ’82

Pickett D. Randolph ’56 †Charles H. G. Rees †Nancy Thomas Rees ’45 †Hope Montgomery Scott ’21 Alexandra Flickinger Secor ’80 †Katherine Snyder Shands ’22 †Helen Putnam Sokopp ’49 Jordan Moore Sraeel ’01 †Seymour St. John †Anne Kinsolving Talbott ’60 Alix Tower Thorne ’67 †Eleanor Schley Todd ’29 Frances Cheston Train ’44 Carol Exnicios Tucker ’49 Linda Reading Uihlein ’72 †Grace Sloane Vance ’36 †Julia Armour Walker ’59 †Polly Ordway Wallace ’34 †Wilma Warburg Constance V. R. White ’42 Kendra A. Wilcox ’82 †Mary Hotchkiss Williams ’30 Eva Louise Willim †Alice Perkins Winn ’19 †Lunsford and Curgie Winchester Yandell ’24

We have published the names of individuals who have given us permission to do so, as of March 1, 2018. If you have included Foxcroft in your long-term financial planning, please share that information with us by contacting the Office of Institutional Advancement at advancement@foxcroft.org or calling 540.687.4510.

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ˉˉˋˇˎ 8ĚŢôĚʼnĒ× S·ĒÛ P.O. Box 5555 Middleburg, VA 20118

Upcoming Events

Summer Fun

MAY 24 Awards Assembly and Baccalaureate

JUNE 24–JULY27 National History Academy

MAY 25 Commencement

JULY 29–AUGUST 3 Camp Jam

Pool and tennis memberships, as well as lessons in either swimming or tennis, are available this summer.

Year-round memberships for tennis and the Athletic/Student Center’s fitness center also are offered.

JUNE 17–22 The Thomas D. Horne Leadership in the Law Program

AUGUST 26 Opening Convocation, 2018-19

For details, visit www.foxcroft.org/ auxiliary_programs

JUNE 24–29 Foxcroft Equestrian Camp

Do You Know a Foxcroft Girl? Admission Open Houses October 8 | November 30 | January 11 www.foxcroft.org/admission/openhouse

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