Foxcroft Magazine (Spring 2019)

FOXCROFT SCHOOL

SPRING / SUMMER 2019

And Now for Something g

Wintermission “Glass Ceilings” class trip visits Mars, Inc.

www.foxcroft.org

COMPLETELY Different www.foxcroft.org w ww.foxcroft.org

Spring is truly a special time here at Foxcroft with the daffodils and cherry blossoms along the drive welcoming everyone to our campus in bloom. This shared feeling of belonging and renewal is a reminder that as a school, we must constantly look to the future even as we cherish our past.

The logo for the Foxcroft Circle was inspired by the early tradition of planting an ivy stem for each graduating class at the base of Brick House. As the ivy grew up the building, it would entwine with the stems planted years before, making the whole much stronger than each individual vine.

We hope that you will join with the generations that came before you in making a gift to The Foxcroft Circle. Your gift, like that single stem of ivy, gains strength when joined with others to provide ďŹ nancial support to our teachers, our operations, and our students. Join the Foxcroft Circle today, for together we make so many things possible!

You can direct your support to one of four funds within The Foxcroft Circle by choosing the area that is most meaningful to you.

MENS SANA Our Healthy Mind Fund

CORPORE SANO Our Healthy Body Fund

Thank you for supporting the next generation of Foxcroft women by making a gift to The Foxcroft Circle.

GROUNDS & GARDEN Our Campus Maintenance Fund

WHERE IT'S NEEDED MOST Our Unrestricted Fund

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 2019

& Now for Something

t n e r e f f i D y l e t e l p Com 8 Wintermission is Something Different 10 Glass Ceilings & Factory Floors 12 Hearts, Hands & Hope

Exploring mixed reality at Microsoft

8

14 Who You Gonna Call?

17

Special Features 16 Student Standout

Catherine S. McGehee Head of School Marion L. Couzens Director of Institutional Advancement Karla Vargas Director of Enrollment Management

Published twice a year

by Foxcroft School Please address queries to: Cathrine Wolf Director of Communications cathrine.wolf@foxcroft.org, 540.687.4511, or P.O. Box 5555, Middleburg, VA 20118 Bethany Stotler Multimedia Communications Associate Design by Raison

18 Alumnae Profiles

Driven to Compete 2019 Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Sloane Coles

22 More Than Bricks & Mortar

In Every Issue 2 From the Head of School 3 Notebook 20 Out & About 33 Gone Away 28 Milestones

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.

ON THE COVER: A trip to Mars — or rather, one of its confectionery plants — was a special stop on the extraordinary Wintermission journey exploring careers and leadership.

Cover photo by Marion Couzens The M&M’s character is subject to trademark and copyright protection owned by Mars Incorporated, McLean, Virginia and is being used under a limited license granted to Foxcroft.

Additional photos: Grace Chen ’19, Julie Fisher, Rachel Morehouse, Ginny Riley, Marett Rose, Josie Ross, Bethany Stotler, Bob Updegrove 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.

Spring/Summer 2019 1

“Your students will remember the experiences they have, not the lectures they hear.”

From the Head of School Catherine S. McGehee

That wisdom was imparted to me early in my teaching career by one of my mentors, and when I reflect, it is indeed true for me as a teacher and as a student. I truly understood investments, not by doing problems in my Econ workbook, but by playing the Stock Market Game with a small cash investment every Friday in my government class senior year. I honed my writing when I interned as a journalist for The Richmond News Leader in the Young Virginians section.

Almost a century ago, John Dewey wrote, “Give pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.” When students are engaged in active learning, in solving a problem, or creating an original product, they connect their “book learning” to “real world experience” and vice versa, making their studies more relevant.

This issue of the Foxcroft Magazine is devoted in part to Wintermission, one of Foxcroft’s unique learning experiences. Since 1974, Wintermission (and its various iterations, Mini-term and Interim) has gotten students out of the classroom for trips, community service, and hands-on learning, exposing them to topics they don’t usually cover in the curriculum, from vegetarianism to podcast creation. Today, it also provides our older students with internships, as Senior Projects once did.

I, myself, took a group of students on a career exploration and women’s leadership trip to New York City, New Jersey, and Washington, DC, this year. I introduced eight of our amazing young women to a variety of professions and helped them practice networking with the alumnae we met at their workplaces, including the Mars M&M plant, as featured on the cover of this issue.

When we expand our students’ learning beyond the physical walls of the classroom, we spark curiosity and deepen understanding for life-long learning, success, and happiness. As Claire Healy ’21 wrote in our travel blog, the women we met “really advocated for taking advantage of all opportunities and trying new things, even if we are not sure if we want to do that thing. Experience is everything and can be instrumental in our future.”

I hope you will enjoy reading in this issue about opportunities our students experience and feel a sense of pride in the unique learning that occurs at Foxcroft.

Warmly,

2 Foxcroft Magazine

Foxcroft Notebook

Foxcroft Notebook

POP Goes “The Shoppe” Pop-ups are quite the rage these days, be they markets or magazines, events or exhibits, restaurants or retail — and now Foxcroft has its very own. Designed and built by the Introduction to Engineering class, “The Shoppe” made its debut in November with a cider-and-donuts celebration in Schoolhouse. Since then, the versatile cart has popped up here and there, bringing unexpected joy with it. The International Ambassadors used it to share sweet treats and hóngbāo (red envelopes) for Lunar New Year. Students and faculty emerging from Morning Meeting one snowy day found a hot chocolate stand in the Library Courtyard.

On February 14th, a mini art studio stocked full of supplies for making Valentine’s Day notes was stationed in the Student Lounge.

1

2

And that’s just the beginning, according to the Office of Student Life, which commissioned The Shoppe.

Assistant Head of School for Student Life Emily Johns hopes that student clubs and organizations will imagine all kinds of fun ways to use it to spread some “Trail Magic” (unexpected acts of kindness) around the community.

The members of Julie Fisher’s engineering class created an inspirational vehicle to do so. Working through the classic engineering design cycle, they brainstormed and debated ideas; made models to present in formal design reviews with Johns and other faculty; used their

feedback regarding the functionality, feasibility, and aesthetics of their proposal to fine-tune the design, cost out the materials, and built The Shoppe, using newly acquired carpentry skills and, yes!, power tools.

Ultimately, “The Shoppe” became two separate carts that could function independently or together. They were named “Charlie” after Foxcroft’s founder Charlotte Haxall Noland, a Fox, and “Millie” after the original Hound backer, Mildred Greble Davis. Made of reclaimed wood from Brick House, the rolling carts feature

chalkboard-inlaid doors, pegboard shelving interiors, and laser-cut signage.

In the end, The Shoppe’s creators were proud of their work, and for good reason.

“Together, the girls brought to fruition a fun, transportable, and interactive station that will enliven events both on and off-campus for years to come,” said Fisher.

1. Johns (wearing glasses) was excited when Fisher (left) and her class presented “The Shoppe.”

2. Georgia Gonzalez-Sudberry ’20 presented one of the preliminary models at the formal design review.

Spring/Summer 2019 3

By The Numbers A Batch of Honors

Great Pass!

32

With funds from the 10th annual Think Pink Basketball Tournament in January, the grand total of money raised over the years at the event to benefit the Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Foundation passed the $20,000 mark. The three-division, roundrobin tournament, which is organized by the student-run Athletic Association in coordination with the Athletic Department, is one of the keystone events of Foxcroft’s partnership with CBBCF.

2018 AP Scholars (most ever)

National AP Scholars

28

Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

N National Scholastic Art & W Writing Award Medalists

9 12 5

(Fall 2018)

VISAA DII All-State VISA Athletes

FEBRUARY 14

Amber Schroader

Laurie Bain

Founder/CEO, Paraben Corporation

Program Coordinator, Humane Farm Animal Care (Certified Humane®) Improving the lives of farm animals in food production

OCTOBER 4

JANUARY 17

Nigel Mould

Paul Haefner

CEO, StackCare

Sports Psychologist/ Principal, Riding Far LLC

4 Foxcroft Magazine

2

NOVEMBER 29

Digital forensics with smartphones

Motion detection, data science & machine learning for senior care

2

All-Conference Athletes

All-Conference Players of the Year

A new “STEM Presents” lectures series, organized by Director of STEM Education Kristine Varney this year, has introduced students to far-flung career possibilities in science and technology.

3

Students Elected to Cum Laude Society

National Merit Scholarship Commended Students

Speak to Me

3

Mental and emotional skill development for equestrians

Foxcroft Notebook

3 A Thousand Words Sometimes a picture (or three) says it all.

For instance: No matter what it does in terms of building spirit, teaching values and responsibility, carrying on tradition, and playing your absolute hardest, when you come right down to it, Fox/Hound is about having fun.

3. FRIENDS TO THE END: After battling fiercely against each other for the entire game, Big Team Basketball captains Bella Smith ’20 and Brianna Ma ’20 embrace the true meaning of Fox/Hound.

4. AND A ONE, AND A TWO . . . Halftime dance performances are always a Big Game highlight — especially when special guests star! This year, a furry friend joined the Hound crew, while the Foxes invited faculty members to be part of their troupe.

4 Very Fine Artists For the first time in recent history — perhaps ever — three Foxcroft students were named National Medalists in the prestigious Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards! In March, senior ROXY CHEN’s mixed media piece entitled “Afghan Girl” (6), sophomore EMMA NORTHRUP’s photo, “Boys on the Swing” (5), and sophomore SHEA HOGAN’s poem “Autumn Loaf” all received Silver Medals.

The three winners were among nine Foxcroft works that advanced to the national level after receiving Gold Keys from the South-At Large Regional judges, who honored an unprecedented 28 submissions from 16 Foxcroft students. Only about 2,700 of the more than 340,000 works submitted annually earn national awards.

5

6

Spring/Summer 2019 5

Sports Shorts VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY may have lost the final battle last fall (2-0 to Cape Henry Collegiate in the VISAA Division II Championships) but in many ways, the team won the war. Despite playing virtually all its games on the road or at Evergreen Sportsplex in Leesburg while the new turf fields were completed, the team was ranked among the top three VISAA DII teams all season, collected a 11-5 record, and shared the regular-season Delaney Athletic Conference Championship.

Best of all, the team defeated Fredericksburg Academy decisively (3-1) in the state semifinal — a super-sweet victory over a longtime rival. Not only had FA dealt Foxcroft two overtime losses to end this year’s DAC competition, but the Falcons also had dashed Foxcroft’s hopes for a state title in the 2012, 2013, and 2015 DII finals.

COLLEGE-BOUND: Four seniors have officially committed to playing collegiate sports next year — twice as many as last year.

They are: HALEY BUFFENBARGER (7, on left), field hockey, University of Vermont (NCAA Division I): A two-time Delaney Athletic Conference (DAC) Player of the Year and three-time AllState selection, Haley scored a School-record 85 goals in four years. She also captained her Metro HC club team to the U19 NIT and JPOL championships in 2018.

TEDDY SEGMULLER (7, on right), swimming, Manhattan College (NCAA DI): An Exceptional Proficiency program participant, Teddy competes for Occoquan Swimming Inc. in Manassas. In March, she made her first junior national cut, in the 50-meter freestyle.

7

SEABROOK BROWN (8, on left), field hockey, Sewanee: The University of the South (DIII): Twice named First Team AllDAC, Seabrook scored 39 goals in three years of varsity play, including 24 in 2017.

GRACE MACDONALD (8, on right), field hockey, Washington & Lee University (DIII): A stalwart on defense, Grace was selected First Team All-DAC twice and provided strong leadership on the field. Her sisters, CHARLOTTE ’12 and LILLY ’14, also played at W&L.

6 Foxcroft Magazine

8

Hoofprints Senior captain KAYLA LEE won one class and took second in another in early March to lead the Riding Team to its FIRST INTERSCHOLASTIC EQUESTRIAN ASSOCIATION (IEA) regional title ever. No Foxcroft rider placed lower than fourth as the squad edged Madeira School by two points to claim the Zone 3, Regional 3 championship ribbon, and qualify for the Zone Finals for the first time in five years. Junior ELENA BARRICK and freshmen GIGI GENOVESE and CECILIA MOULD also advanced as individual riders.

Foxcroft Notebook

9 10

The Zone 3 Finals, scheduled for March 29-31 in Lynchburg, VA, include riders from Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Top finishers advance to the National Finals, in Harrisburg, PA, on April 26-28.

EXCEPTIONAL PROFICIENCY PROGRAM riders also had some notable successes recently: MATTY HARRELL ’19 (10) was named champion among juniors at the training level at the Great American Insurance Group/ U.S. Dressage Federation Region 1 finals last fall. Qualifying scores at the Global Dressage Festival and White Fences in February propelled her halfway to her bronze medal.

RILEY KING ’20 (11) earned the overall WIHS Equitation champion title at October’s Duke Jump for the Children Show with a first in the Hunter Phase and a second in the Jumper Phase. In September, she was 7th overall and sportsmanship award winner in Maryland Horse Show Association Medal Finals, and also Low Children’s Jumpers champion at the same show.

In October, EMMA PELL ’21 (12) and her jumper, Ari 55, were accepted to compete at all three major indoor horse shows, two of which only invite the top 25 juniors in the country. Ari was named Children’s Jumper Champion for 2018 by the Virginia Horse Show Association and the Virginia HSA.

11

9. Captain Kayla Lee (with ribbon) led the Foxcroft Riding Team to its first IEA Regional Championship.

12 Get Social with Foxcroft!

Foxcroft has a vigorous presence on a variety of social media, and we hope that you follow and like us wherever you spend your social media minutes. If you want a quick look at what we are doing across the social media universe, visit the mashup page on our website at www.foxcroft.org/social-media (or click on “Social Media” in the top right of any page of the site.)

You will find a comprehensive view of official Foxcroft social media channels — including the “It’s Academic” faculty blog, Chimera, and YouTube videos of all sorts, in addition to Instagram, Facebook, and other major outlets. You will find Foxcroft on WeChat soon, too. So poke around, find the areas that interest you, and join in the conversation!

Spring/Summer 2019 7

After studying the subject and gaining some knife skills, the Vegetarianism class helped Chef Bray create a meatless meal for the entire school.

And Now for Something

COMPLETELY Different

Wintermission offers alternative opportunities to experience education

O

ut in the snowy woods on a cold February morning, students are foraging for tree limbs and other materials to

build themselves shelters. In Schoolhouse, girls view historic

1

newscasts with former radio/TV news professional Brooke Shealy

Myatt to compare TV news then and now as they prepare to shoot their own broadcasts. Down at Spur & Spoon, Meriwether Godsey chef Denise Bray teaches knife skills and food facts to another group.

These classes — Survive in the Wild, The Newsroom, and Vegetarianism, respectively — are just a few of the unconventional course offerings and learning opportunities that were available this year during Wintermission, Foxcroft’s annual experiential learning week. In the afternoon, there were classes in songwriting; on food waste and composting (in preparation for planting the School’s community garden); on spreadsheets for fun and nonprofits; and in classic games.

8 Foxcroft Magazine

1. Larisa Bierman ’20 observed exams, scrubbed in for surgeries, and helped identify bone loss in canine jaws during her internship at a pet hospital in her hometown, Overland Park, KS.

“Wintermission is my favorite time of the year. It allows the girls to explore new topics and develop new skills they are curious about in a more relaxed way that they don’t have time for during the regular academic schedule,” says Experiential Learning Coordinator Beth O’Quinn, who oversees the term. “I always look forward to seeing the inventive classes that faculty members devise for fun ways to learn new things.”

2

In the late 1980s, Interim Term was created. It was thematic, drawing the entire school together to focus on a single topic, such as China or “Today’s Woman,” and included courses, special speakers and events, an all-school field trip, and a major trip, sometimes quite exotic. (One year the destination was Antarctica.)

Everything revolved around the annual topic, which rotated among international, U.S., environmental, and personal/social issues.

Collaborative in nature and discovery-oriented in method, Interim had the framework and the flexibility to give life to a broad array of creative, participatory learning experiences whether the subject was 21st century teens, Mother Earth, or Eastern Europe, and it served as the model for more than 20 years. In 2012, the term was shortened to one week with longer, in-depth courses and increased opportunities for internships, and renamed Wintermission.

Something Different

Off-campus, Old Stories Told New Ways students explored local historic sites, and Self Defense students sparred with one another at a studio in Purcellville. Two special trips — one for service learning; the other to explore careers and women’s leadership development (see stories, pp. 10-14) — took girls farther afield, as did some of the 32 internships that students participated in. Through Foxcroft or individual arrangements, students spent the week shadowing veterinary surgeons, first-responders, and political lobbyists; designing marketing pieces for the Goodstone Inn and the Sitronu line of handmade bath products; and working with children at Reid Temple Christian Academy and A Place To Be, to name just a few of the diverse internship opportunities provided by the School.

No matter what form the annual term of learning differently took, alumnae often cite its effect. Molly Mosher ’77 took a class in child development during Mini-term, became fascinated with the subject, and found a vocation teaching. Artist Whitney Knapp Bowditch ’99 interned at an art gallery during Interim and says, “From that time forward, I had complete confidence in my career direction.” Cat Reynolds ’13 was so fired up about the power of computer programming by a 2012 Wintermission course that she changed her career aims and became an engineer.

“Alumnae often remember Interim as a time when they frequently learned to understand and love new topics, music, foods, art, and ideas,” wrote Steve Matthews, former librarian, English teacher, and Interim/Wintermission chief. “And [they] began to develop a concept of learning that is defined by the simple construct of a curious mind engaged by the world, collaborating with others, to alter assumptions and embrace galaxies of new possibilities.”

Wintermission veteran Emma Lewis ’20 puts it more simply: “Foxcroft always encourages girls to try new things, and Wintermission is a vital part of that.”

•

There are educational principles behind the fun. “Wintermission’s purpose is to have us stretch beyond our comfort zones,” says Assistant Head of School for Academics Courtney Ulmer. “It is a place to move away from the comfort and expectations of core classes and to build skills in different ways.”

The fact that a great deal of learning happens outside the classroom — especially at Foxcroft, where “everything we do is curriculum” — is not new. Nor is having a special term dedicated to it. Mini-term, a “three-week experiment,” was first held 45 years ago and offered 70 courses ranging from a seven-day backpacking expedition to Introduction to Needlepoint, offered by Science teacher Keith McBride. According to the April 25, 1974 Fauquier Democrat, Mini-term sought to give girls more “experience with defining learning for themselves.” It also made space for special programs and trips, such as senior projects, which had increasingly taken students away during regular class time.

2. The Old Stories Told New Ways class visited the Goodstone Inn greenhouse, where much of the winter produce is grown for the Inn’s "farm to table" menu.

3

3. Building shelter from materials found in the woods was a survival skills challenge for senior Maria Corona Perera.

Spring/Summer 2019 9

s g n i l i e C s s a l G

The final stop of the remarkable tour was Capitol Hill, where the students met with Rep. Wexman.

& Factory Floors

Wintermission trip explores careers, leadership, and growth mindsets

By Cathrine Wolf

A

lthough the multi-destination Wintermission trip exploring diverse careers and women’s leadership had “ceilings” in its title, the girls who went spent a lot more time on the floor —

the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, the floor of a Mars M&M confectionery plant, the floor of Congress . . .

Okay, they didn’t actually get onto the floor of the House of Representatives, but they observed from the gallery and spoke with Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA 10th District) as she emerged from the room. “I love seeing young women so excited about civic engagement and learning more about how our federal government works,” tweeted Wexton.

That was the final excellent event of an exceptional five-day adventure for eight lucky girls. Entitled “Glass Ceilings, Leaning In, and Mentors: Women’s Leadership and Career Exploration,” the jam-packed trip led by Head of School Cathy McGehee and Director of Institutional Advancement Marion Couzens included visits — mostly with Foxcroft alumnae and their colleagues in high places — at Microsoft, Fidelity, Acquavella Galleries, Mars, and Northrop Grumman, as well as Wall Street and Capitol Hill. The itinerary included New York City; Hackettstown, NJ; Falls Church, VA; and Washington, DC. It was pretty much non-stop — and so was the learning.

“The experience I gained from this trip will impact the way I act and think for the rest of my life,” says sophomore Moni Corona Perera. “The women were inspirational and gave great advice about women in business.

10 Foxcroft Magazine

The theme of growth mindset kept recurring and clearly got girls thinking. At Northrop Grumman, where Traci Collins ’89 serves as Director of Strategic Communications, they had a tour and met with women who work at the global aerospace and defense technology company. Writing for the group blog, Elikem Kalitsi ’21 reported, “They explained how having a growth mindset can help you succeed in anything . . . curiosity is key; don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s hard to wrap my head around questions. I like to solve problems myself instead. But this really changed my mindset and gave me the inspiration to start asking more questions.”

McGehee observed major changes among the students in the five days they were together. “I loved watching each of the girls grow in confidence and begin to speak with adults that they didn’t know. This is not always easy for teenagers to do,” she says. “I loved watching them go from relying on the list of questions we had put in the syllabus to really holding their own in discussions with women.

“It wasn’t just about exposing them to jobs and hearing from these impressive women,” she adds. “Given the opportunity, these girls really practiced and polished their networking and interviewing skills. This is a great life skill.”

And the opportunities they had to do this!

Thanks to Laurinda Clemente, mother of Amanda ’19, the group visited the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and happened into an unscheduled encounter and chat with Stacey Cunningham, the first female president of the NYSE in its 226 years of existence. “It was amazing to see a woman serving in such a powerful role in the male-dominated financial district,” wrote Amanda and McKenna Overfield ’21 in the blog.

Meeting Rep. Wexton, who is part of the wave of women elected to office this fall, was another high-profile experience but everywhere the students went, they met accomplished women who were generous with their time and advice. At Microsoft, Effie Kilmer ’11 put together a panel that included Amanda Hartmann Healy ’98 from PIMCO and representatives from Barclays, and Away Travel. Kate Hastings ’78, a vice president at Fidelity Family Office Services, assembled a diverse group that included one of the most senior private bankers in the region, Anne Fitzpatrick Donahue. In Hackettstown, after joining the group for a tour of the 460,000-square foot factory where M&Ms are made, Victoria Mars ’74 introduced high-ranking women from Mars’ human resources, legal, marketing, and other departments.

“Ms. Mars spoke to us about her life at the company and the experiences that inspired her leadership,” reported Claire Healy ’21.

“She was incredibly humble and down to earth, despite her success, something that seemed to be a common trait among the wonderful alumnae we met on our trip.”

Victoria enjoyed the girls as well. “What fun to be able to share the M&M’s magic with these Foxcroft girls and then have them engage with some of our successful women leaders to learn that there are multiple paths to success and options available for them to explore their dreams,” she said.

McGehee appreciated the unusual access the girls had to accomplished women. “They weren’t just sitting around the 1. Rise & shine! The girls were at the NY Stock Exchange in time for the opening bell and later met its first female president, Stacy Cunningham.

2. Lab coats, hair nets, and helmets were de rigueur when Victoria Mars (second from left) and company toured the M&M’s factory.

2

table and asking questions,” she says. “I didn’t realize how transformative this trip would be for these young women. They are so much better equipped right now to go on job interviews, to speak out, and to get internships. It was powerful to see that evolve.”

And, they are better prepared for the detours and surprises they may encounter going forward. “An important message that was conveyed to us many times throughout this trip was that the path is not always straight. Every woman that I spoke to said that they faced many unforeseen challenges and twists in the road, most ended up in a career they did not expect,” say Claire. “They really focused on telling us that we need to take the bumps as they come and keep working towards our goals, but at the same time, we should try new things to discover what we do and don’t like.”

One thing they definitely liked: the trip.

“Every woman we met was worthwhile and we now have their wisdom with us,” says Moni. “Overall this was a great trip and I learned a lot from it.”

•

1 Spring/Summer 2019 11

Something Different

“One thing that really stuck with me was the ‘Growth Mindset’ that we were introduced to at Microsoft on the first day. It was about growing everyday as a person and to never stop learning. I thought this was important because with this mindset, we can try to learn from every opportunity that life gives us.”

Hearts, Hands, Hope

&

Several days of service in the city gives girls a glimpse of another life

By John Scharfenberg, History Teacher

S

ometimes a short trip goes a long way. Over Wintermission, nine students and two chaperones traveled the hour or so to

Washington, DC, for four days of community service with the

“I used to be afraid of people suffering homelessness. Now I no longer feel fear or pity. I feel hope because I know that there are people who care, and I know they have places to get help.

I want to volunteer again and again.”

Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP). They returned with a much greater view of the world, their ability to make it better, and a desire to do just that.

YSOP, which helps schools engage in meaningful service work relating to hunger and poverty, had arranged for our students to work at eight not-for-profits in the DC metropolitan area.

Because some of the organizations are small or had other volunteers scheduled, we were divided into two teams led by co-chaperone Josie Ross, Assistant to the Office of Student Life, and me, and went to different locations each day.

Our home base was the Church of the Epiphany, located near the White House. There, we slept on sleeping bags and air mattresses in the gymnasium and prepared meals, including a community dinner for area residents, in the kitchen. Each morning we woke up and took public transportation to get to our destination, which Hayden Eskew ’21 noted in the group blog, “helped us understand the daily lives of the people that we were helping even more.”

Monday: On day one, we went to So Others Might Eat (SOME), in Northwest Washington, DC and a Wider Circle, in Silver Spring, MD. At SOME, we helped serve lunch to approximately 240 people in three consecutive seatings, setting up and cleaning tables and serving pot after pot of hot coffee. After sorting through donations of linens and children’s clothes, the Wider Circle girls helped clients select furniture and other household items and load the items into their cars. A Wider Circle helps furnish homes for 4,000 families a year as part of its quest to end poverty by helping individuals move to economic self-sufficiency.

“The passion that the volunteers and staff at Wider Circle had for their cause was breathtaking,” said freshman Maddie Johns. “I’ve never felt so useful or proud of folding sheets.”

12 Foxcroft Magazine

— Maddie Johns ’22 reflecting on the Wintermission Service Trip

1

2. On Tuesday, Maddie mixed up a major batch of turkey stew at Martha’s Table.

2

3. Stylish hair nets were part of the process at DC Central Kitchen, which prepares 5,000 meals a day. Talk about cooking for a crowd!

Tuesday: One group worked with a familiar organization on our second day: Martha’s Table, which offers educational programs, food, and family support to the Southeast DC community and is the beneficiary of this year’s Junior Class Walk. The girls’ job was to prepare turkey stew for 250 meals to be served from the Father McKenna Wagon, a mobile soup kitchen.

The other group, meanwhile, learned about cooking on a much larger scale at DC Central Kitchen (DCCK), which prepares more than 5,000 meals a day for homeless shelters, schools, and others.

In addition to feeding the hungry, DCCK prepares workers for jobs in the food service industry through its Culinary Job Training Program.

The girls sliced and diced huge amounts of produce alongside trainees, helping to prepare more than 75 pounds of chili and apple sauce for 200. “I had never cooked food for many, so I could not mix and mash the apples well at first,” said Hako Iino ’21, “but we just kept mixing and made wonderful applesauce.”

Northwest DC and the Capital Area Food Bank in Northeast. At the Father McKenna Center, which serves “men struggling with homelessness and families dealing with food insecurity,” the girls stocked the food pantry and helped guests select items. At the Capital Area Food Bank, which distributes donated food to more than 450 area charities, girls sorted and packed hundreds (literally!) of boxes of canned fruits and vegetables. “While we were working, a big group of people with special needs came in and started working in areas similar to ours,” Victoria Vivar ’20 wrote in the blog. “That was really inspiring because we could see that there is no excuse not to help those in need — even if you are a person in need.”

Thursday: Our final day saw one group preparing over 500 special meals for delivery to people living at home with serious illnesses such as diabetes and AIDS at Food and Friends in Northeast DC, while the other group helped Interfaith Works in Rockville, MD “provide lowincome families with clothing and home goods free of charge” by sorting through almost a ton of donated clothing.

Foxcroft’s core values of respect, integrity, kindness, and service were fully embraced and embodied by the girls during their days of service. They were kind and compassionate; they treated all they encountered with dignity and respect; and by listening to the stories and seeing the needs, they grew in their understanding of hunger and homelessness.

“This trip made me realize how privileged I have been as a child,” said Hayden, “and how hard it is to raise children in general and that it is almost impossible to raise children when you are homeless.” Added Lauren, “Homelessness is not so simple as I thought before. It is not just about people who messed up; it touches people who need help.”

Throughout the trip, the girls readily rolled up their sleeves and tackled each assignment, no matter how big or small. And they were proud of what they had done to battle hunger and poverty in DC. As Georgia Regas ’22 put it, “With just the little amount of work we did, we served and helped so many people. I have to do that again!”

•

At the Church of the Epiphany that evening, we prepared and hosted a YSOP Community Dinner. After serving the shepherd’s pie, stir-fry, salad, and biscuits to our 23 guests, the girls joined them at the tables. Our students were wonderful, attentive hostesses, and the evening impacted girls and guests alike.

“It was just amazing being able to interact so personally with the people — playing games and learning their stories,” said Lauren Shafer ’20. Added Paige Cohen ’22, “I was beyond inspired by their strength and community.”

“At the end when our guests were leaving, one of them told me that this was the most fun she’d ever had, and her father agreed,” said Camilla Hyde ’22. “I felt so lucky to be able to connect with them and have them leave with a full stomach and heart.”

3 Spring/Summer 2019 13

Something Different

Wednesday: Teams traveled to the Father McKenna Center in 1. Each day, our two groups helped different organizations.

Mrs. Ross & company went to the Father McKenna Center in Northwest on Wednesday.

Who You

Gonna Call?

Kenzie is on call her local rescue squad Loudoun County on Friday nights.

By Terry Meyer

E

very Friday night since July, while most teenagers were going out for pizza with their friends or binge-watching Netflix at home, you could find Kenzie Green ’20 working a 13-hour overnight shift,

from 5pm to 6am, as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) at the Loudoun County Volunteer

Rescue Squad in her hometown of Leesburg, VA.

Kenzie dedicated months last summer to study, train, and test for EMT certification and she quickly learned what a fast-paced and varied experience she was in for. In an essay about her first shift of training at Lansdowne Emergency Department, she wrote, “Overall, I’ve interacted with 18 patients, 12 nurses, four techs, and three doctors. I’ve communicated with patients over language barriers, worked in a team to subdue a patient in a psychiatric crisis, and led the charge on many positive patient contacts.” That was a busy day, and she loved it.

Kenzie became a Certified EMT in Virginia after taking the National Registry Exam last August. In Loudoun County, she is considered a recognized EMT. She is not yet 18 but is qualified to do almost everything that other EMTs can do, except be alone with the patient. Kenzie can train to be an

14 Foxcroft Magazine

Attendant in Charge when she turns 18 and in time become a paramedic. Ultimately, she hopes to have a career in medicine or bioengineering.

Kenzie is gaining invaluable hands-on and real-life training on Friday nights. When a call is dispatched to her squad, the crew loads into the ambulance and heads to the scene. Whether it’s a seizure or stroke, injury or illness, car accident or cardiac arrest, they work with the patient, provide critical life-saving care, and transport the patient to a local emergency room or trauma center. A typical night might have only one call or as many as eight.

Kenzie recalls what she considers one of her most important calls so far. “A fellow crew member had been running calls all day and had been exposed to an allergen during one call. That night, at the station, she began to

have a severe allergic reaction that was fast approaching anaphylaxis. From my training, I knew what to do to treat the allergic reaction, but there is no training to prepare you to care for one of your fellow providers, your friend. We transported her twice that night, first to the emergency department, then to the intensive care unit in a separate facility,” she says. “Usually, when we have a call, we only see the patient at their worst, but I watched my friend get to that state. It was awful. I was scared for her, and the experience reminded me of the fear that all of my patients face and the way we have to work with them to quell that fear.”

Kenzie volunteers 60 hours a month at the Squad and has accumulated more than 500 hours of experience, thanks in part to the flexibility afforded by Foxcroft’s Exceptional Proficiency program. “As an EP student, I have learned to manage the

With her EMT work, Kenzie exemplifies the singular focus, talent, and drive it takes to excel in the EP program, and she brings those qualities to every pursuit. She has been involved in Foxcroft’s makerspace, The Innovation Lab (TIL@FXC), since before it existed, helping research and plan the space’s construction and then volunteering to instruct others on how to use the equipment and becoming an intern.

Career Training

“Working in The Innovation Lab is another aspect of my love for all things STEM,” she says, “and serves as a different output for solving difficult challenges in creative ways.”

An outstanding student who was elected to the Cum Laude Society as a junior, Kenzie participates in Foxcroft’s Academic Concentration program focusing on STEM. She is the Prose Editor for the literary magazine Chimera, and recently received a prestigious Scholastic Writing Award for an essay on voter suppression in the U.S. She also serves on the School’s Judicial Council.

Among the rolls of tape and gauze, the ice and heat treatments, and massage and stretches that fill the athletic trainer’s room In the Athletic/Student Center, a starting point for career paths can be found.

Senior Candace Kalitsi wants to be an occupational therapist. Her classmate Savannah Avendasora has applied to colleges with pre-physical therapy programs and hopes to major in kinesiology.

•

Kenzie knows her way around the inside of the ambulance.

So, whether you need help with the laser cutter in The Innovation Lab, you have a story you want published, or you’re

Both girls discovered these fields and were inspired to pursue them by what they learned at Foxcroft — but not in a classroom or science lab. Their lessons took place on the School’s playing fields and courts, and in the athletic training room.

For at least one season in each of the past few years, Savannah and Candace have spent their afternoons as Athletic Training student interns, learning how to help people deal with injuries, feel better, and stay healthy. Megan Pumphrey ’19, an aspiring physician, and several other students have also participated in the unusual, hands-on program instituted by Athletic Trainer Ruth Ann Allen about five years ago.

Megan practices wrapping Savannah’s calf as Candace watches and Miss Ruth supervises.

experiencing chest pain, who you gonna call? Kenzie! (Seriously, if you’re having chest pain, call 911 and hope Kenzie is in the back of the ambulance!)

Candace and Savannah became AT interns after they saw other students doing it. “I was interested in the health field and thought I might enjoy doing something hands-on,” says Savannah. “This really opened my eyes to new fields like physical therapy.”

“Interning here triggered me figuring out what I might want to do as a career,” says Candace. “I learned so many things — which types of injuries require heat and which need cold, how to tape a finger, or stretch people out to get them warmed up.

But what I like best is being able to help

people, knowing what to do to make them feel better.”

So Candace looked at related fields and became fascinated with occupational therapy. “I love the idea of helping people do everyday things,” she says.

Ruth Ann started her first student intern program at St. Mark’s School (in Massachusetts) in the mid-80s. The extra hands were helpful with tasks like filling water coolers, but she saw how much interns liked working with other students. So she created a rough syllabus of tasks, starting with basic first aid, that interns could learn to do with supervision. “The students don’t do anything without me telling them it is the right thing to do,” she notes.

The program introduces students to a branch of health care they are not familiar with and serves as an opportunity for service.

“At Foxcroft more than at other schools, I have found that it’s the service aspect that the girls like — they really enjoy working with their peers,” she says. “And I have seen many, many athletes come in and say where is so-and-so — they become dependent on specific interns helping them.”

Spring/Summer 2019 15

Something Different

demands of a professional career as an EMT with my schoolwork,” says Kenzie, who also interned at the Rescue Squad station house over Wintermission. “The EP program also functions to focus and streamline my educational pursuits into productive outcomes.”

1 1. Since establishing herself on the volleyball court as a freshman, Leah (number 7) has soared.

LEAH SCHUSTER

Growth Spurt

2. As Fox Captain and Reynolds Dorm prefect, Leah (left) uses her strong leadership skills every day.

By Fred McMane

According to the map, Big Horn, WY, is 1,842 miles from Middleburg, VA. When she arrived at Foxcroft School for her freshman year in August of 2015, though, Leah Schuster felt more like she had traveled to a distant planet.

Having spent her life out west where the deer and the antelope play, and students take survival courses as part of the school curriculum, Leah was suddenly immersed in a very different place with girls from many countries, with many different backgrounds and experiences, and many interests that were unfamiliar to her.

“So many things about the East Coast — the clothing, activities, and even the popular sports — are different from where I live, ” says Leah, who was unacquainted with field hockey or lacrosse, for example. “These differences, however, just allowed me to learn more about the world and everything that it has to offer.”

One of Foxcroft’s promises is offering girls the opportunity to “learn, grow, and thrive” and Leah has certainly done that. She arrived as a shy girl, not quite sure of herself, and will graduate this spring as a confident, young woman — one of the School’s leaders.

She has captained sports teams; served as an exemplary dorm leader, especially for the freshmen in Reynolds; and was elected the Fox Team Captain, a great honor in Foxcroft’s oldest and most beloved tradition.

“I came from a school community that was not nearly as supportive as Foxcroft. I now realize that it put a limit on my confidence

16 Foxcroft Magazine

in my ability to succeed,” says Leah, “In my first month at Foxcroft, as I began to join in the traditions and build friendships, I became much more comfortable with myself and began to see that I could accomplish a lot if I put my mind to it.

“A lot of my growth came from getting involved in Fox/Hound and volleyball, which were both environments where I could be my authentic self from the start. The seniors in the sports I participated in my freshman year were very supportive of my abilities and encouraged me to push myself. Their leadership has left a major impact on me.”

Leah’s athletic success is significant. She has played varsity volleyball, basketball, and soccer for four years each, a rare achievement. She has earned All-Delaney Athletic Conference honors in volleyball and soccer, and this year her coaches named her the Most Valuable Player in both volleyball and basketball.

But sports hasn’t been her sole focus at Foxcroft. Leah has found her voice, literally, as a member of Chorale and a regular in drama productions. She has excelled in

a variety of acting roles, even though the thought of performing on stage terrified her in the beginning.

“The most important thing I have learned from my participation in theater is how to overcome my fear of performing and speaking in front of an audience,” Leah says. “The skill, composure, and voice projection that theater has taught me translates into my everyday life, from giving campus tours and class presentations to Morning Meeting announcements.”

2

In May, Leah will graduate and move on. Where will she be in five years?

“I see myself getting my master’s degree in English, having studied education and English or Arts as an undergraduate,” she says. “I am so grateful for what the teachers at Foxcroft have done to encourage me to find my unique voice and gain the confidence to use it. I would like to continue to influence the lives of high school students across America, and maybe someday even the world.”

•

Profiles

SLOANE COLES

Driven to Compete

By Fred McMane Sloane Coles has a certain quality about her that can’t be taught. It’s a competitive fire that burns like a flaming torch and has fueled her journey to being a Grand Prix champion rider and collegiate lacrosse star — and the newest member of the Foxcroft Sports Hall of Fame.

It was evident from the moment Sloane stepped on campus as a junior transfer from Highland School in 2005. Her carriage said athlete, and her demeanor reflected a certain focus. Then came New Girl Runnings, during the big Fox/Hound field hockey weekend in November.

When the horn sounded to start the race, Sloane burst from the pack like a filly from the starting gate in a big stakes event. In a matter of seconds, she was 50 feet ahead of the field, and when she reached the gazebo, there was no hesitation. With her powerful upper body strength and desire to win, she was on top of the roof touching the weather vane in a flash. Then she played on Big Team and helped the Hounds win even though she hadn’t competed in field hockey all fall because of riding.

“Riding helped me stay in condition throughout the year,” says Sloane, who was one of the best junior riders in the country when she was at Foxcroft. “I wasn’t the best about off-season training, but when I was in season for another sport, I always pushed myself in practice and sprinting. I always forced myself to be faster.”

That, together with her competitive fire and strong skills, made Sloane a standout lacrosse player at Foxcroft and at Drew

University in Madison, NJ, where she earned all-conference honors.

Sloane credits Matt Macdonald, her first Foxcroft coach, for opening her eyes to the possibilities. “He helped me develop as an athlete at Foxcroft,” she says. “He pushed me to work on my stick skills and not just rely on my speed. He is the one who told me to play in college. I’m glad he did.

“Foxcroft also helped me to develop my balance of time management,” she says. “I remember getting to college and continuing to go through the motions of study hall like I was still at boarding school. That saved me.”

Time management was a challenge in college. “It was definitely a balancing act to budget my time so that I could play lacrosse, ride competitively, make it to class, finish my assignments, and still have a social life,” Sloane says. “During the season we had three lacrosse games a week, plus I rode five or six days a week and had a full class load each semester. I would type up one big schedule of everything. I had a lot of different bags in my car with a lot of different outfits.”

compete when I was flying back and forth to Florida,” Sloane says. “I had a lot of success those four years thanks to Mark and the team at Ri-Arm Farm.”

Now, Sloane is a trainer herself with her own horse business, Spring Ledge LLC, located in The Plains, VA. She works with horses and riders that possess a wide range of ability and ambition. She also continues to compete herself on the professional show jumping circuit, where she has scored some notable Grand Prix victories. “Having my own business is a step in the direction of achieving my goals of riding at a higher level and representing the U.S. team in international competition,” says Sloane.

That competitive fire of Sloane’s burns on — brightly.

•

Sloane also benefited from the fact that her riding trainer at the time, Mark Leone, loved the idea that she played lacrosse. “He had my horses in top form so they were ready to

Spring/Summer 2019 17

TONYA BUTLER-TRUESDALE

Doing the Right Thing

By Rachel Morehouse How does one put into words the value of the Foxcroft experience? Tonya Butler-Truesdale ’82 articulates her own transformative experience keenly: “Foxcroft allows a young woman to come in not knowing who she wants to be, experiment with who she is, and come out confident and passionate. No one has to be perfect to be the perfect Foxcroft girl.”

Growing up as an only child, Tonya relished the idea of an all-girls boarding school, not only because there was a built-in community of sisters, but also for the rigorous academic environment. A sixth-generation native of Washington, DC, she ultimately chose Foxcroft through A Better Chance, a nonprofit that helps academically talented young people of color gain access to the nation’s top independent schools. Tonya was determined to broaden her horizons — in addition to those of her classmates — as an African American student in a predominantly white, affluent environment.

Tonya found that the beauty of Foxcroft facilitated harmony among students from diverse backgrounds, even those who were initially less receptive. Her relationships enhanced her educational experience, and she recalls feeling valued, in part because of her willingness to be vulnerable and compassionate. “There were girls that I never would have had any interaction with outside of Foxcroft, but it didn’t matter because of our shared experience,” says Tonya. “They became my sisters, and I continued to defend their right to be individuals — as they have done for me — even when I didn’t necessarily agree with their choices.”

18 Foxcroft Magazine

While at Foxcroft, Tonya had the opportunity to join the Woodberry Forest School program for study in England, expanding her world yet again. She credits experiences like this for her ability to work with people and feel compassion in her personal and professional lives. “One of the beautiful things about the Foxcroft community is that people are allowed to have their deficits and still celebrate what they do well,” she says.

Tonya attended the University of Virginia, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Affairs and African Studies, and joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She went on to work for the sorority after graduation and eventually earned a Juris Doctorate from the Howard University School of Law. After a brief period in private industry, she decided to focus her career on public service.

Reflecting on a pivotal moment in her career that occurred while she was serving as an Administrative Law Adjudicator, Tonya demonstrates that her resolve for staying true to herself — honed at Foxcroft — is clear: “I refused to compromise my integrity.

Many of my rulings were bold, brave, and impartial.” That independence was not always appreciated by her superiors but,

says Tonya, “I am proud that I am known for doing the right thing.”

Tonya currently serves as the District of Columbia Housing Provider Ombudsman, where she helps housing providers, landlords, and government agencies better understand DC’s housing laws. She is also active in the Foxcroft Alumnae Association, in part because she remains grateful to Foxcroft for helping develop her into a better version of herself.

“Foxcroft did not require me to conform for acceptance or to be valued,” says Tonya.

“I was permitted to exercise independent thought. I learned to think critically and to be accountable for my thoughts and subsequent actions. That is rare and priceless.”

•

In January, Tonya joined students and other alumnae for a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day event.

Alumna Profiles

TINA BARR

Drawn to the Woods

By Cathrine Wolf Poet Tina Barr ’73 lives on the side of mountain. Born, raised, and educated (for the most part) in and around a metropolis of 8,000,000 people, aka New York City, she now lives in a town of about 8,000.

True, Black Mountain, NC, is not far from bustling, artsy Asheville, but the home that Tina shares with her husband, jazz composer and pianist Michael Jefrey Stevens, is — as she once wrote in her blog — “a log cabin in the woods where black bears are as ordinary as golden retrievers.”

Moving to the cabin was a drastic life change and not just because Tina was a city girl, but also because, she left a position as the Glover Chair of English Studies and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Rhodes College to do it.

“It was the first irrational thing I ever did in my life,” Tina says.

The overt impetus for the move was her mother’s death, in 2008. “I just thought, life is too short,” says Tina, “There was no compelling reason for me to stay at Rhodes, and I like change. So I kind of picked Asheville off of a map and just went.”

Tina was also, though, responding to a yearning that dated back to her Foxcroft days. “It was about interiority,” she puts it.

Tina was busy and engaged at Foxcroft — editor of Chimera, head of her dorm, field hockey, Fox/Hound — but it was the quiet

times, alone on a walk to Goose Creek, or sitting in an empty practice room in the Music Building, notebook in hand, that fed her soul. That’s when she started writing seriously, and often.

Encouraged by her teachers and noted poet Archibald MacLeish, who visited Foxcroft and critiqued some of her poems, Tina decided to pursue her love of poetry, following the academic path to do so. She earned a BA at Sarah Lawrence, an MFA at Columbia, and her PhD at Temple, before going to Rhodes, in Memphis in 1997.

Four decades later, Tina was drawn to the woods again. “That part of me that loved being alone in nature and likes solitude,” she says, “was needing to go inward after all these years of being a college professor.

Really, I was moving into my inner self.

“For me, it was fate to live on the side of a mountain,” she says. “It’s been nine years of living with bears and copperheads and wonderful views, and I am totally happy.”

She’s been totally prolific, too. “It’s amazing to me. My first book of poetry was published in 2003 and it took me until 2015 to publish my next one,” she notes.

The Visiting Poet at the 2019 Paul K. Bergan Poetry Festival, Tina visited Miss Charlotte’s Garden often as a student.

“Since I’ve been in the cabin, I have published two books and I’m halfway through another.”

The latest, Green Target, won the Barrow Street Press Book Prize and reflects her Black Mountain life. “Barr makes words soulful, and her dreams happen using every element of nature touched with human endeavor — every grass, every butterfly is named to showcase the wild theater of her imagination,” wrote noted poet and playwright Grace Cavalieri in the Washington Independent Review of Books.

Tina is teaching again, through the University of North Carolina at Asheville’s Great Smokies Program, and together with longtime Temple professor Daniel T. O’Hara, she founded Shining Rock Poetry Anthology and Book Review. But her life, like her soul, is in the woods.

“For me nature is like a cathedral,” says Tina, “so for me to go outside and see a cub, it’s like seeing God. It’s a transporting experience.”

Just like her poetry.

•

Spring/Summer 2019 19

Out & About

Charlottesville, VA

Gatherings around the country— be they official Foxcroft events attended by Head of School Cathy McGehee, or informal outings organized locally — celebrate the shared experience of Foxcroft. Here are some recent events.

A November luncheon at Hamiltons’ Restaurant drew alumnae from five decades.

1. Nicolette Merle-Smith ’05, Anita Vere Nicoll ’81, Susan Rathbun Rinehart ’78, Marcia Flinn Wilkes ’93, Sharon Deal, Madeline McNamara (not visible: Carrie McNamara), Hanna Rinehart ’14, Sophie Massie ’05, Linda Uihlein ’72, Janis Leslie Conlon ’74 (standing), Candida Streeter Clark ’73, Head of School Cathy McGehee, Liza Todd Edgerton ’71, Janet Carter Posner ’71, and Sally Weldon ’77

Philadelphia, PA Massiano’s was the setting for a fun dinner with Institutional Advancement team members in January.

The Colony Club provided a special venue for a reception on February 4.

20 Foxcroft Magazine

2. (l-r) Marett Rose, Marion Couzens, Markesha Burnett ’11, and Katherine Murphy

3. Kitty Brown Stanton ’82, Hope Jones ’82, and Courtney Maier Burbela ’85 4. Morgan Manley ’07, Marianne Elrick ’72, and Kendall Blythe ’83 5. Cathy McGehee and Heidi Nitze ’51 6. Tori Smith ’13 and Ainsley Treptow Hobson ’08 7. From the Class of 2007 (l-r): Laura Block, Allie Fitter Hoffman, Jess Mirshak, Sarah Hope de Mayo, Madeline Rafferty, and Townsend Lloyd Katz

5 4

2 3

New York, NY

1

6 7

Out & About

Palm Beach, FL Many thanks to Dede Pickering ’71 and Mercedes Rudkin Gotwald ’72 for hosting a wonderful cocktail reception on January 30.

10

8

9

11

8. Lucy Brown Armstrong ’72 and Scilla Haack Smith ’75

11. Pandy Strawbridge McDonough ’59 and Hope Haskell Jones ’52

9. Andrea Fry Blake ’78, Sloane Coles ’07, Olivia Fry Weeks ’76, and husband Bill Weeks

12. Beatty Page Cramer ’66, with Marion and Cathy

10. Palm Beach Hosts (l-r): Dede Pickering ’71, Cathy McGehee, Mercedes Rudkin Gotwald ’72, and Marion Couzens

12

13. Karen Genovese (parent of Gigi ’22), Veronica Whitlock ’79, and Cathy

13

Boston, MA

Washington, DC

Alumnae and friends gathered for a lovely luncheon at La Voile Restaurant in early December.

The Social Committee was glad to see so many alumnae at the Jingle and Mingle in December.

14

14. (l-r, top row) Brett Babson Jones ’88, Cathy McGehee, Holly Miller Pulsifer ’55, Trevania Dudley Henderson ’76, Leslie Goodwin Stonestreet ’86, Hellie Swartwood ’81, Elizabeth Lester Piotraschke ’88; (l-r, bottom row) Axie Clark Diana ’60, Michael Halperson, Jeannette McClintock Atkinson ’57, Felicity Forbes Hoyt ’67, Pilar Piedra Colleran ’91, and Bertie Couch Woeltz ’74

15

15. (l-r, standing) Mackenzie Spriggs ’10, Ginny Robbins ’91, Kim MorganCraft ’88, Karen Lilly ’84, Miranda Raschid ’13, Elizabeth Belt Hamman ’96, Virginia Barnett ’96, Lesley Craver Riggione ’96, Elisabeth Thayer Pendergrass ’00, Xandra Brandon Bernardo ’00, Erikka Knuti ’00, Carol Der Garry ’79; (front) Amber Compton Samol ’00, Meaghan Hogan ’10

Spring/Summer 2019 21

More than Bricks and Mortar Gifts to constr uction offer educational and sustainabilit y benefits, too

By Marion L. Couzens, Director of Institutional Advancement Have you ever considered the School’s carbon footprint? Do you know how many geothermal wells Foxcroft has or how much water the ‘A’ wing of Stuart Hall consumes? Were you aware that you can check out Foxcroft’s green initiatives in real time on our website? How about this: Did you know that a gift to construction not only supports that building project but also enhances student learning and campus sustainability?

It’s true. Using standards set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Foxcroft continues to emphasize the benefits of a sustainable campus and reducing the community’s carbon footprint. Creating an environment that promotes learning and healthy living was the impetus behind the “green” measures undertaken during two recent building projects, Stuart Hall and Court.

Ann Leibrick, Academic Dean from 1990 to 2000, brought the phrase “Everything we do is curriculum“ to Foxcroft and encouraged faculty to look at learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom, taking advantage of our 500 acres in the process. The student seminar that accompanied the construction of Stuart Hall, Foxcroft’s first LEED Goldcertified building, provided a unique learning experience that fully embraced Ann’s adage.

Project Greenbuild, as it was known, and its sister program, Project Rebuild, which followed the renovation of Court, provided students with innovative, hands-on seminars, led by architects and engineers, that focused on all aspects of construction. In addition to learning about footers, framing, and bricklaying, girls studied the use of environmentally-friendly materials and energy-saving fixtures, and witnessed the drilling of geothermal wells. These buildings became living laboratories for our students to learn about architecture, engineering, sustainable building practices, and the environmental impact of construction.

STUART HALL • One Gold LEED certification • Two Wintergreen Awards for excellence in green building • 33 geothermal wells for heating and cooling • 25,731 square feet of space in the building

COURT • 15 geothermal wells for heating and cooling • 14,892 sq/ft of carpet made from recyclable materials • 175 LED lights throughout the building • 12 low flow toilets & aerators installed to conserve water

22 Foxcroft Magazine

A new series, tied to the future Schoolhouse project, is already underway.

During a recent meeting of the “Schoolhouse Renovation Design Series,” students learned about their carbon footprint and measures that can be taken, both in daily living and in construction, to reduce it. These seminar series are the collaborative work of Chief Operating Officer Deborah Anderson; Hord Coplan and Macht, architects of Stuart Hall, Court, and the planned Schoolhouse renovation; and Forrester Construction, who worked on the first two projects. Anderson is passionate about offering students these special opportunities. “I want the girls to see how each building design, location, and choice of materials complements our beautiful landscape and contributes to a sustainable campus and community,” she says.

Students are realizing just that. “Each stair, space, and window had thought put into it when being designed,” observed Elikem Kalitsi, a sophomore in the Schoolhouse seminar series. “It is fascinating, wherever you stand around Stuart or Court it’s a clear view of the beautiful landscape.”

Foxcroft’s efforts at creating a sustainable environment is not limited to bricks and mortar. The new turf fields, for example, have an alternative infill — geofill — made of coconut husks and fibers. Not only are these coconut husks 100% organic, they also have excellent water retention properties, which keep the synthetic fields up to 40 degrees cooler than their rubber counterparts. This reduces their “heat footprint” and benefits our athletes.

We are grateful for the wonderful gifts that support Campus Plan construction, not only for the beautiful spaces and clear views, but also because they empower us to advance the application of and education about green building initiatives. “Foxcroft has always instilled in us the idea of giving back,” said Millie McArthur ’17, “and we think it is important to do that with our environment.”

By the way, you can calculate your own carbon footprint at www.footprintcalculator.org and find the answers to the other opening questions by visiting www.foxcroft.org/green to learn more about our green initiatives and to access the Green Dashboard which shows the impact in real time on electrical, geothermal, water consumption and costs across campus.

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 – 12 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. Virginia Cretella Mars 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, 2019.

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.

Spring/Summer 2019 29

1RQSURÂżW 2UJ 8 6 3RVWDJH PAID 'XOOHV 9$ 3HUPLW 1R

22407 Foxhound Lane P.O. Box 5555 Middleburg, VA 20118

Upcoming Events APRIL 11–13 Alumnae Reunion Weekend

MAY 23 Awards Assembly & Baccalaureate

APRIL 13 Dedication of Turf Athletic Fields and Sports Hall of Fame Induction

MAY 24 Commencement

APRIL 26–27 Arts Weekend, featuring Student production: Legally Blonde Niblack visiting artist: Mo Regulinski

JUNE 16–21 Horne Leadership in the Law Program JUNE 23–27 National History Academy JUNE 23–28 Foxcroft Equestrian Camp

Do You Know a Foxcroft Girl? Send Her to Us! Encourage prospective students to visit campus or to contact us at 540.687.4340 or admission@foxcroft.org

Upcoming Admission Open Houses April 26 | October 14 | December 6 | January 17, 2020 | April 24, 2020 www.foxcroft.org/admission/openhouse

Tennis, or Swimming, Anyone?

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 ďŹ tness center also are offered.

Details about memberships and lessons, as well as sports camps (basketball, tennis, soccer) hosted at Foxcroft may be found at www.foxcroft.org/auxiliary_programs

FOLLOW FOXCROFT