Foxcroft Magazine (Fall 2013)

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Fall 2013

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

We look forward to welcoming you back to campus for the

Centennial Celebration Weekend, April 25-27, 2014 Register at www.foxcroft.org/centennial/registration Questions? centennial@foxcroft.org or 687.540.4510

Celebrating 100 Years

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Forever Foxcroft

PHOTOGRAPHER?

Forever Foxcroft was established in 1999 by the Board of Trustees to recognize individuals who have included Foxcroft 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 augmented as needed. They ensure that the School will continue to soar.

Our girls are jumping for joy!

Thanks to your generosity, Foxcroft’s 2012-13 Annual Fund surpassed the $1 million mark!

Such support is a reflection of the strong belief you have in your school.

This belief is what will sustain Foxcroft for the future.

As we celebrate Foxcroft’s Centennial year, we challenge you to help us reach more constituents and to broaden our foundation of support so that Foxcroft moves into the next century from a place of financial strength.

Help sustain the legacy of Foxcroft!

Make your gift online at www.foxcroft.org/give

22407 Foxhound Lane P.O. Box 5555 Middleburg, Virginia 20118 540.687.4510 development@foxcroft.org

Anonymous – 10 Mimi Mills Abel-Smith ’54 Stacey Morse Ahner ’73 Peggy Wickes Alexander ’64 +Elizabeth Stewart Baldwin ’23 +Elizabeth Kemp Beach ’20 Ruth Bedford ’32 Pamela Biddle ’81 +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 Hope Kane Childs ’55 Susan Knott Childs ’58 Candida Streeter Clark ’73 +Mariana Gowen Coleman ’15 +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 +Lucy Sprague Foster ’46 +Anna Lauder Garner ’39 Edmee E. Geis ’82 +Betsy N. Getz Sandra Norris Ghosh ’75 Brooke Meyer Gray ’59 Joy Sheaffer Hall ’57 Elizabeth Millard Hanes ’46 Katherine Cooper Hastings ’78 Sarah Stokes Hatch ’63 Trevania Dudley Henderson ’76 Theodora Winthrop Hooton ’47 Richard and Kimberly Hurst +May Field Jackson ’29 Hope Jones ’82 Hope Haskell Jones ’52 +Amanda Bryan Kane ’22 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 Barbara Hartley Lord ’41 +Elizabeth Mackubin Lyman ’22 +Jane Lawrence Mali ’55 +Nancy R. Manierre ’41 +Nancy Iselin Marburg ’37 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 Melissa Slingluff Morley ’81 Valerie Michel Nelson ’77 +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 +Seymour St. John +Anne Kinsolving Talbott ’60 Alix Tower Thorne ’67 +Eleanor Schley Todd ’29 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-Dillon ’82 +Mary Hotchkiss Williams ’30 +Alice Perkins Winn ’19 +Lunsford and Curgie Winchester Yandell ’24 + Deceased We have published the names of individuals who gave us permission to do so. If you have included Foxcroft in your long-term fiscal planning and would like your name listed, please write the Development Office at development@foxcroft.org or call 540.687.4510.

Contents Fall 2013

www.foxcroft.org Foxcroft Magazine is ­published annually

by Foxcroft School.

Please address queries to ­Cathrine Wolf, Director of Communications 22407 Foxhound Lane, P.O. Box 5555 Middleburg, Virginia 20118 540.687.4511 cwolf@foxcroft.org Mary Louise Leipheimer Head of School Sheila C. McKibbin Associate Head of School Marion L. Couzens Director of Institutional Advancement

2 Centennial Whoops and Hallows 11 Into the Second Century

12 Stuart Hall Comes to Foxcroft

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Awe and delight as the School’s newest building opens New Girls Memories of Foxcroft’s First African-American Students by Members of the Centennial Engaging Constituencies and Diversity Committee

23 The International Scene

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Gina B. Finn Director of Admission and Financial Aid

Patrick M. Finn Director of Enrollment

Development Office Deborah K. Hogan (Associate Director) Jennie Wills (Assistant Director) Laura Booze (Gifts Administrator) Terry Meyer (Development Coordinator) Bethany Lowe (Advancement Associate) Frances Armour (Campaign Coordinator)

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More Girls, More Stories 23 Support for All 24 Friendship Bracelets Students accomplish big things with many little bracelets A Fine State of Play Foxcroft’s sports teams are winning by Fred McMane Flying Change Sometimes a horse causes a rider to switch directions by Marit Hughes ’84

34 Commencement 2013 40 Reunion 2013 45 Gone Away

52 Hail and Farewell

Design: Studio B, Purcellville, VA Photography: David Bell, Ian Bradshaw, Callie Broaddus/Flash Photography, Gary Cox, Jim Kirby, Bethany Lowe, Terry Meyer, Jennie Wills, Cathrine Wolf. Also: Many helpful and generous students, faculty, and friends. Special thanks to Brenda Cunningham and Steve Matthews, Currier Library Archives.

Meet the Next Head of Foxcroft

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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, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational, ­admission or ­financial aid policies, or in any school-sponsored ­programs.

We make every effort to include all ­photos and “Gone Away” class notes ­submitted via email, U.S. mail, or the Foxcroft website.

This ­edition includes ­submissions received through August 15, 2013.

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

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Mission Statement: Foxcroft provides a residential learning experience for girls in which academic e­ xcellence, leadership, responsibility, and integrity are our highest values.

And . . .We’re Off!

Whoops

Hallos

On a glorious day, filled with sunshine and smiles, Foxcroft’s Centennial Celebration kicked off officially September 29th with a great, big “giving back” party.

Upwards of 350 people, all wearing pink, and dozens of dogs similarly attired walked, ran, and pranced around the campus to benefit the Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Foundation. Other Foxcroft women, family, and friends gathered in 20 locations on four continents to get in on the action with community service activities – and the modern marvel of social media linked them all together!

From early morning, when Centennial volunteers began to arrive, through Mr. B’s “When Pigs Fly” BBQ, which had students and administrators “flying” into the pool, a festive, joyful air prevailed on campus. Students painted children’s (and each other’s) faces. WINC-92.5, broadcasting live on location, doled out goodies with its wheel of fortune. Music blasted, children played in the shadow of Stuart Hall, and cross country coach Matt Mohler staged a timed 5K race, complete with medals for various age group/gender classes and a gift certificate to the Goodstone Inn to the overall winner, Amy Edgemond ’14.

Let the celebration begin! Fox Nancy Gerry Bedford ’54 and Hound Sheldon Gerry Withers ’61 gave out special Centennial Day of Service bandanas.

Pia Serrano ’14 and other students painted children’s faces.

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But it was the delight of seeing so many alumnae and parents who had traveled from far and wide, along with scores of area residents (some visiting campus for the first time) joining together to help put on the most successful Cherry Blossom Walk ever that charged the air. Nearly 300 of the participants were part of the Centennial Day of Service, honoring the School by doing what has always been an integral part of a Foxcroft education: demonstrating an Understanding Heart by doing good.

That same impulse propelled Foxcroft women across the country and around the world to action. In New York, Amanda Hartmann ’92 organized “Cherry Blossom North,” a 5K walk through Central Park that included alumnae from the Class of 1979 to 2013. Jennifer Slingluff Robinson ’80 conducted hands-only CPR training in Darien, CT. Courtney Maier Burbela ’85 completed a 300-mile AIDS bike ride from Boston to New York City.

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

On campus, Amy Edgemond ’14 (no. 2), led the 5K Run from start to finish and a pair of Pooch Prance participants were “fetching” in their Centennial bandanas – which also were seen at “Cherry Blossom North” in New York and a school clean-up in San Francisco.

Women cleaned up a park in Arrington, England, a river in Blacksburg, VA, and a children’s home in San Francisco. They prepared and served lunch at a soup kitchen in Augusta, GA, and spent the day with abandoned dogs in Buenos Aires.

Perhaps the most offbeat activity took place in Atlantic City, where Jennifer Sgro Orfield ’91 battled Jerry “the Shadow” Yang and other top pro and amateur card sharks in a charity poker tournament benefitting the Lupus Foundation.

Whatever they did, they did because of a shared experience.

“The most important lesson Foxcroft taught me is giving back,” said Yu Zhang ’08, a Columbia University student who joined Cherry Blossom North. “In China, some say this generation is more selfish than ever. Foxcroft taught me to share goods, appreciate help from others, and give back to the community whenever I can. ” Or as another Central Park walker, Leah Haggerty ’81, put it: “Brilliant idea. Great fun!”

A complete list of activities – including some taking place later in the year – is at www.foxcroft.org/centennial. To view the Twitter and Instagram feed use #FXC100DayofService.

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Hallos Whoops

IT’S TIME!

August 30, 2011 is the date that I started taking notes in the early planning stages of Foxcroft’s Centennial Celebration. Co-Chairs Beatty Cramer, Mia Martin Glickman, and I had a blank canvas on which to paint the ideas and colors that would represent 100 years of Foxcroft. What to us told the story and resonated the values and fabric of Foxcroft? There was so much to tell and showcase that, at first, the very harnessing of ideas seemed daunting. We settled down to creating committees that would manage the many aspects of the very large concept, and all the committees have brought a wide palette of colors that we have mixed, stirred, and painted onto the canvas. We engaged the services of an event planner to manage the design. We’ve come such a long way – we used to talk about having plenty of time . . . . a long runway before we had to “lift off”.

I’m well into my third notebook and we have only just reached our kick-off event – the inspiring Centennial Day of Service – and headed into a series of “happenings” that will culminate in the glorious rainbow of Centennial Weekend events at the end of April 2014.

See you there!

Axie Diana ’60

Centennial Celebration Weekend April 25-27, 2014 Friday, April 25 12 pm Alumnae Luncheon, welcoming the 100th graduating class into the Alumnae Association 1:30, 2:00, “Women and the Sporting Life,” art exhibit tours, National 2:30 pm Sporting Library and Museum 6 pm Mr. B’s “When Pigs Fly” Barbeque at McConnell Stables Saturday, April 26 9 am-3 pm Centennial Program Events on campus throughout the day (see “Action-Packed Day,” opposite) 6:30 pm Centennial Evening Celebrations

“On the Red Carpet” Dinner Buffet (for those under 21)

Cocktails and Dinner Buffet (for those 21 and older) 9 pm Dessert, Celebratory Remarks, and Music for Everyone Sunday, April 27 9:30 am Hunt Breakfast and Farewell

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Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

AN ACTION-PACKED DAY

Saturday afternoon’s activities will harken back to the days of Drill and many March-Ins gone by.

How many activities can we pack into one Saturday during Foxcroft’s Centennial Celebration Weekend? A lot. Here are a few of the exhibits and activities planned for the day.

• Th e Alumnae Art Show, featuring virtual displays and actual exhibits, will be presented, beginning at 10 am, in the art room in Schoolhouse. Dozens of our talented artists will be featured.

• “ The Foxcroft Classroom through the Decades” will be open in the Currier Library. This exhibit will provide a glimpse into the progression of the academic life of a Foxcroft student through the years and snapshots of some of the amazing faculty members who have guided girls over the decades.

• “ Foxcroft Today” presentations, activities, and exhibits by the academic departments offered in the Currier Library at various times during the day will inform and inspire one and all. This will be a wonderful way to hear about the exciting educational environment that our Foxcroft girls enjoy today.

• Th e Performing Arts will shine in FoxHound Auditorium at the Lunchtime Cabaret. There will be screenings of a student-created film that looks at the differences and similarities of Foxcroft girls in 1914 and 2014. Enjoy the vocal talents of Octet, Afternoon Delights, and Chorale.

• Th e Riding Department will showcase our equestrian and equine athletes on Big Track and in the McConnell Stable indoor arena. Students and staff will be available to answer questions, and horses happily available for pats.

•A thletics and Drill will wrap up the day’s events at 2 pm.

A shining re-enactment of Drill by alumnae will precede the Fox/Hound March-In and a spirited Alumnae Field Hockey Game.

If you have works for the art show, want to play in the field hockey game, participate in Drill, or volunteer to guide attendees and help with seating and information at the individual venues – please email centennial@foxcroft.org – Mercedes Rudkin Gotwald ’72, Program Chair, Celebration Weekend 5

Hallos Whoops

National Sporting Library joins the Celebration with a Very Special Exhibit In honor of Foxcroft’s Centennial and Women’s History Month, the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg is developing an exhibition celebrating women and the sporting life. The exhibit will open on March 18, 2014 and remain on view until August 28, 2014, with special tours for Foxcroft folks during the Centennial Celebration Weekend.

In hopes of highlighting connections to Foxcroft and its alumnae, the curators are seeking loans of original paintings and sculpture with the following criteria: • S porting Scene – Foxcroft alumna participating in or observing traditional equestrian, angling, or field sport (not including tennis, golf, baseball, lacrosse, and soccer)

• A nimal Portrait – Animal owned by Foxcroft alumna (e.g. race horse, gun dog, foxhound, or champion livestock) • F igurative Portrait – Portrait of a Foxcroft sporting enthusiast (e.g. the portrait of Miss Charlotte by Emma Ellen Rand that hangs in Schoolhouse and is pictured above) • S porting Art by Female Artist – Owned by a Foxcroft alumna If you are interested in lending a piece to this exciting exhibit, please email Marion Couzens at centennial@foxcroft.org or call her at 540.687.4510. The NSLM will cover the cost of packing, shipping, and insurance on the loan of any works of art it chooses for its exhibition.

Calling All Volunteers!

The Volunteer Committee will help to facilitate the activities of the Celebration Weekend.You can get involved by donating some of your time while interacting with the Foxcroft community.

Volunteers are needed for short periods of time over the whole weekend to help with check-in, set up/take down, directing people, and providing support for the various weekend activities.There are opportunities to help on Friday with the BBQ, on Saturday with the day activities, on Saturday night with the “On The Red Carpet” gala, and on Sunday with the Hunt Breakfast. We need you to help make the Centennial a success! Please contact Lee Clark Breeden ’00 at leliabreeden@gmail.com or 303.827.5438 to volunteer today!

– Lee Clark Breeden ’00, Volunteer Coordinator 6

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Sharing the Centennial Beyond the Front Gate

In the coming months, chances are very good that anyone visiting Middleburg – plus our many friends and neighbors who live in the area – will discover that Foxcroft is celebrating its Centennial. The Community Relations Committee has been working diligently and creatively to make sure this happens! Some of our activities include: • c reating flags which will hang in Middleburg village during the Centennial Celebration Weekend.

• v isiting with the Middleburg business community monthly to promote the Centennial and to raise awareness about the specific events.

• fi nding ways to take Foxcroft talent to the community.

The Foxcroft Chorale has made several appearances in area churches and will make more through the year.

• s ecuring blocks of rooms, many with special rates, at area inns, hotels, and resorts. More than 400 rooms have been secured but they are filling up fast, so please make your reservations soon! Find details at www.foxcroft.org/visitor_center.

• d iscussing sponsorship opportunities with community businesses. Opportunities are still available; contact the Development Office.

• c reating a calendar of local events, ranging from the local point-to-point races to Christmas in Middleburg, to increase awareness of the Centennial by having a presence at the event, advertising in the program, displaying banners, and the like.

– Co-Chairs Penny Denègre, and Marcy Harris; Barbara Conner, Faculty Representative

Reaching out: Being part of Middleburg’s Christmas parade is a tradition; singing at area churches is a recent initiative.

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Hallos Whoops

RECONNECTING & RECOLLECTING The Engaging Constituencies and Diversity Committee’s mission is to engage a broad and diverse group of alumnae in the Centennial Celebration, and to collect and honor their personal stories so that we may all experience that rich experience again.

Our work is well underway. For months, Committee members have been reaching out to alumnae who are traditionally underrepresented in School-related events.

These include international alumnae, alumnae of color, and those who only attended Foxcroft for short periods of time.

We began collecting stories in earnest this summer. The story “New Girls” that begins on page 16 of this magazine reflects some of our first efforts. The original interviews

and more from other alumnae are posted on www.foxcroft.org/centennial/diversity.

The Committee is interested in your story.

Contact us to tell us about your experience at Foxcroft or to tell us about someone you know whose story should be shared. Come to the Centennial Celebration Weekend and tell your story. We will be offering an audio or video booth to capture these experiences, as well as favorite adventures and fondest memories. If you want to get involved, either as an interviewer or interviewee, please email the Committee at centennial@foxcroft.org.

– Liz Hanbidge ’00, Sarah Moise Young ’94, and Adriane Williams ’92, Co-Chairs; Jane Lockhart, Faculty Representative

It Only Took 100 Years . . .

Inspired by the growing success of Foxcroft athletics, one coach proposed the formation of a Sports Hall of Fame to be launched during the School’s Centennial year – which is exactly what is happening.

This fall, three winners of the Teresa E. Shook Award, Foxcroft’s top athletic award, were named to our Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee

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Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Do You Remember That?

The Memory Committee is in the process of producing the Foxcroft Centennial Book, a history/memory piece to commemorate and celebrate the School’s 100th Anniversary.

The booklet will include pictures, commentary, and other features such as timelines, lists, facts and alumnae firsts, and achievements.

This publication will be available to alumnae and other community members in book and e-book form for less than $50. “BookSmart” will be the publisher.

Now we need your help! We have launched our “Share Your Memories Blog,” which can be found through the Foxcroft website or at foxcroftcentennialmemories.wordpress.com. Please visit the blog and add your thoughts and comments. If online activity is not your thing, contact one of us directly and we will work something out.

that will elect the inaugural class of 2014. They are Victoria “Vicky” Howard ’71, Cricket Bedford ’85, and Jennifer Sgro Orfield ’91 They join former faculty members Joan Eliot and Stewart Chapman Herbert ’77, Dean of Students Jessi Coil ’06, and ex officio representatives Michelle Woodruff and Kate Worsham, directors of athletics and riding, respectively.

The committee plans to vote on nominees in November with the induction tentatively scheduled to coincide with Fox/Hound Basketball in early March.The categories for

In addition, we are recruiting a few additional writers; if you are interested in helping, let us know and we will match you with content and support materials. Please contact either Steve Matthews (smatthews@foxcroft.org) or Pickett Randolph (Pickettrandolph@comcast.net).

Thanks to Heidi Nitze ’51 we are going ahead with the idea of “Miss Charlotte's Guard,” which would be short (1-2 pages) remembrances by alumnae who have vivid memories of Miss Charlotte and the School during her time. We are working on creating a list of alumnae from the late 1920’s through the early ’60’s who we know would have something to share. We welcome your help in identifying them. We will contact them and invite them to participate. Again, please reach out to us with your memories and interest.

– Pickett Randolph ’56 and Nancy Gerry Bedford ’54, Co-Chairs; Steve Matthews, Faculty Representative

election to the Hall of Fame are: Pioneer (outstanding contributors to the Foxcroft athletic program before 1972), individual player, and coach or team. Guidelines and nomination forms may be found at www.foxcroft.org or by contacting the Development Offic .

One person who needs no nomination is Charlotte Haxall Noland. The Selection Committee agreed at its firs meeting to induct Miss Charlotte as a Pioneer for – surprise! – her many contributions to Foxcroft’s athletic program.

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2013-14 Reggie Groves ’76 Chair Dellwood, MN Sally Bartholomay Downey ’78 Vice Chair Lake Forest, IL Victoria Mars ’74 Secretary Newtown Square, PA Carla Rodil Ciperski ’88 Treasurer Miami, FL Ellen MacNeille Charles ’55 Washington, DC Maria Saffer Cobb ’87 Richmond, VA

Thanks 10

Priscilla Rogers Denègre Middleburg, VA

Ronald N. Lindquist Kemah, TX

Mia Martin Glickman ’78 Marshall, VA

David D. MacDonald Bluemont, VA

Mercedes Rudkin Gotwald ’72 West Palm Beach, FL Cooperstown, NY

Karla H. Evans MacMahon Middleburg, VA

Clifton R. Gruver, Jr. Leesburg, VA Elizabeth Hazard ’82 Jamestown, RI Earlysville, VA Trevania Dudley Henderson ’76 Boston, MA

Nan M. Stuart ’71 Longmont, CO Melissa Tochterman ’88 Oak Hill, VA Michele M. Velchik Oakton, VA Roberta Couch Woeltz ’74 Boston, MA

Anne Michele Lyons Kuhns ’87 Rehoboth Beach, DE

Heartfelt thanks to departing board members Mick Hellman (Chair, 2012-13), John Durrett, Genny Duncan ’74, Marcy Harris, and Bill Weeks, for their passion, wisdom, and support, and to newcomer Elizabeth Hazard ’82 for her willingness to serve.

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Into the Second Century Catherine Smylie McGehee is named Foxcroft’s next head The yearlong search for Foxcroft’s next head of school concluded October 14 when Board of Trustees Chair Reggie Groves ’76 announced that Catherine Smylie McGehee would succeed Mary Louise Leipheimer, effective July 1, 2014.

“What a pleasure and honor it is to announce Cathy as our next head of school,” said Groves. “As an individual and as an educator, Cathy holds the qualities and skills that the Board, the Search Committee, and the Foxcroft community feel are essential to successfully lead the School at this critical juncture.”

McGehee, who will be just the tenth Head of Foxcroft in its 100 years, currently serves as the director of the Upper School at St. Catherine’s School, a girls’ day school in Richmond, VA. A lifelong educator, she is married to ophthalmologist Dr. Read McGehee III, and has two daughters, Eliza, a recent Vanderbilt graduate, and Jane, a freshman at Davidson College.

“I am honored to serve as Foxcroft’s head of school as the School embarks on this exciting chapter in its history,” said McGehee. “I look forward to working with the community to create a vision for the second century and to helping young women from around the world realize their educational, professional, and vocational goals.”

A native Virginian, McGehee served as chair of St. Catherine’s English Department (K-12) and taught English in the Upper School before becoming director of the Upper School in 2006. She previously taught English in Eden Prairie, Wayzata, and Burnsville, MN, and at Fluvanna County High School in Palmyra, VA. McGehee holds a Bachelor of Science in English from Vanderbilt University and master’s degrees in English and Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the College of William and Mary and the University of Richmond, respectively.

after 25 years of exceptional leadership by Mary Louise Leipheimer.” McGehee is experienced in dealing with the changes and opportunities that follow the departure of a beloved head of school as St. Catherine’s longtime head Auguste “Gussie” Johns Bannard retired in 2012. In a note to the Foxcroft community that was read at the all-school meeting announcing her appointment, McGehee acknowledged,“I have some big shoes to fill as Mary Lou has served as an incredible role model of wisdom and leadership. I will rely on all of you to guide me!” she wrote. “Read, Eliza, Jane, and our two dogs are excited for our move to Middleburg this summer, and I look forward to an opportunity to get to know each one of you and to call Foxcroft home. Foxcroft is an amazing place, and its magic is already at work in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

Thanks are due to the Head of School Search Committee, chaired by Groves and Sally Bartholomay Downey ’78, for their extraordinary work over the past 12 months. Members of the committee, which will continue to work with McGehee and consultants Carney Sandoe to ensure a smooth transition, are Ellen MacNeille Charles ’55, Anne Michele Lyons Kuhns ’87, David MacDonald P ’12 & ’14, DD Alexander Matz ’81 & P ’16 and Steve Matthews P ’02 & faculty member. The committee’s task at hand is to prepare Cathy and the community for the transition ahead, and, in the true spirit of Foxcroft, to ensure that she feels welcome and informed as she picks up the reins from Mary Lou.

In making the announcement, Groves noted that Foxcroft’s Board of Trustees “understands the importance of this decision

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mes to Foxcroft

ool’s newest building opens

new infirmary appeared as if by magic over one summer. “If any of those girls decide to study engineering, architecture or architectural engineering because of what they did, I will provide the funds.”

Stuart then officially dedicated the dormitory. “I hereby dedicate this building, Stuart Hall,” she said, “and I commend the Board and school leaders for having the guts to build now.”

A collective gasp of stunned delight went through the crowd before the students, alumnae, family, faculty, and friends present erupted with applause and cheers.

Head of School Mary Louise Leipheimer then shared a surprise of her own, presenting Stuart with a portrait of her and her dogs – or family, as Nan calls them. The

M O V I N G D AY !

M O V I N G D AY !

M O V I N G D AY !

M O V I N G D AY !

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D E D I C AT I O N !

D E D I C AT I O N !

D E D I C AT I O N !

D E D I C AT I O N !

Nan Stuart ’71 (above, in blue) and friends have a permanent presence in the dorm, which visitors toured after the dedication. Trustee Chip Gruver, teacher Maria Eagen, and student Vivian Tsai ’14 spoke before Nan’s stunning announcement.

large painting was created by the parent of a recent Foxcroft graduate, Deb Cadenas of Middleburg, and hangs in the entrance lobby of the dormitory. Stuart received a “study” to take home to Longmont, CO. Earlier in the program, held on a pleasant afternoon before several hundred people, Dr. Maria Eagen, Chair of Foxcroft’s Science Department, and Vivian Tsai, a senior from Taipei, spoke about the educational opportunities to which Stuart referred. (See student report below and opposite) “The construction of Stuart Hall afforded us a unique opportunity to educate and inspire our students,” said Eagen of Project GreenBuild. “Our students learned about topics

from footers to finishing touches and everything in between.

The inspiring part is that they learned by doing .... Project GreenBuild was outstanding.”

Clifton “Chip” R. Gruver, Jr., chair of Foxcroft Board’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, thanked architects Hord Coplan Macht of Baltimore, contractors Forrester Construction Company of Rockville, MD, and Business Manager Deborah Anderson for their hard work and dedication, and added, “I am proud to report that this building was completed on schedule, on budget, and with no debt – which is phenomenal.”

And that is also a very good adjective to describe the dedication day and the dorm. n

The Dashboard

by Tessa Paget-Brown ’14 During the spring semester of Explorations in Engineering last year, a group of us worked with Business Manager Deborah Anderson and Lucid Technology to design a touchscreen dashboard to show the green features of Stuart Hall, as well as energy and water consumption in the new dorm. The dashboard hangs in the lobby of Stuart and is also accessible via our website by clicking on the Foxcroft Goes Green logo.

It gave me a chance to get real insight into the engineering world and how the design process works. I am excited that students, faculty, and prospective families can all see the final product that we spent so many months perfecting. I know the dashboard will be at Foxcroft long after I’ve graduated and I am looking forward to returning for Reunions to see how other students have improved it. n

While compiling information for the dashboard, I learned about all of the green initiatives around campus, many of which I was not familiar with. Designing the dashboard, I experienced what it is like to work with companies and to collaborate. We received feedback on how to make a better design and learned to combine many ideas into one final piece. At times, designing the dashboard was difficult, but the process taught me more than I expected.

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Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Project GreenBuild

by Kate Eagen ’14 Project GreenBuild was a really enriching experience. As the kid of two engineers I signed up for the seminar with hopes of learning just how an entire building is made, and especially how to do that in an environmentally-friendly way.

I learned so much about the detailed process that is construction; it’s much more than just using a hammer and nails. In any part of the process – choosing a location, drilling for geo-thermal wells, laying foundation, creating the skeleton of the building, the building envelope, the final finishes – so many people and ideas have to converge. If nothing else, I learned that teamwork is overwhelmingly present.

To be able to say that not only did I see the dorm grow from below the ground up, but I learned how to/helped build it along the way is amazing.

I know that the fact that I can come back anytime and see my signature in the basement or use my environmentally-clean construction knowledge is truly valuable. I was very fortunate to be involved in this wonderful educational experience about a progressive and necessary lifestyle trend. n

Big Time Building Foxcroft’s biggest wave of construction started about 75 years ago. When Court House (Dormitory) was built in 1938, it was the keystone for a busy building phase. Dillon and Applegate dormitories and the Music House all were built in the late 1940s, and Schoolhouse opened in 1952.

When Stuart Hall opened this fall, Court went on sabbatical, so to speak, while plans are made and funds raised for the next phase of the Campus Master Plan’s residential initiative.

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EMEMBER THE DAY you arrived at Foxcroft? Car packed to the ceiling, you’d picked up your orientation packet at Brick House and your Old Girl walked you to your room. It was thrilling, yes, but how fast did your excitement turn to panic when the family car turned around to make the trip home?

Veda Howell ’73, arriving for her first year as a sophomore in the fall of 1970, remembers watching her parents climb back in the car outside Applegate Dormitory, and thinking to herself, “What am I doing here?”

If you think you can relate, know that Howell was one of the very first African-American students to integrate Foxcroft. That fall, the School opened its doors to its first African American students: sophomores Veda Howell, Debbie Atkins Cross, and Brenda “Kitty” Washington and freshmen Karen Kelly and Donna Payne Wilson.

Howell, a Greensboro, NC, native, was one of several Foxcroft girls recruited by the Anne C. Stouffer Foundation, which sponsored minority students in Southern schools to promote integration.

“I went from a student body of 350 students to Foxcroft with a student body of 160,” recalls Howell. “It was a drastic change – to go from a majority black school, co-ed, public, at home, and to suddenly transition to an all-girl, white, boarding school in rural Virginia.”

After watching her parents drive away, Howell leapt into the first rite of Foxcroft – the drums and noise, and jubilation of Fox/Hound Choosings. “I thought it was all very strange,” says Howell. “You have traditions in a public school, but the culture is different. When they said Fox/Hound Choosings, I was like, ‘Big Deal!’ but then it was!”

Enrolling African-American students, too, was a big deal. Foxcroft’s headmaster, Alexander Uhle, and the Board of Trustees put a great deal of thought into developing a successful strategy for integration. The detailed correspondence

The Class of 1973 Sophomore Year (1970-71)

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New Girls . . . Getting Involved!

Like their classmates, the girls followed their interests and talents into the full breadth of activities, including Library Club, Clinic, and – of course – Fox/Hound.

After being named to their respective Big Teams, Debbie Rivers and Nita did funny skits. and research on successes and failures that are preserved in Foxcroft’s archives confirm this. Enrolling a number of girls with a variety of backgrounds was one part of the strategy.

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eborah Rivers Meadows ’74, another Stouffer recruit from Greensboro, arrived in 1972 as a junior. Unlike Howell, she previously had been enrolled in traditionally all-white public schools, an option of the federal government’s School Choice program.

“Coming to Foxcroft wasn’t a huge change as far as the racial makeup of schools,” says Meadows. “My mother was trying to put us in schools where she thought

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the education was better. During my fourth grade in elementary school, I was one of four black students out of 400 or 500 students. At Foxcroft, I was one of four or five out of 120.”

Theonita “Nita” Coles ’75 entered Foxcroft as a sophomore from Washington, D.C. the same year Meadows arrived, along with classmate Dorothy Terry Hayes ’75. Coles says the African-American students formed an immediate connection. “My best friends were Veda, Debbie, Terry, and Linda Andrews [’77],” she says.

“It was like, that was survival for me. I’m glad we got along and bonded and needed each other pretty much

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

equally, because I definitely needed them. Nobody treated me badly, I have no bad stories, but the culture shock, it was like we were dropped off on the moon somewhere.”

Cross, a Stouffer Foundation student from Houston, agrees.

“It was easier knowing I had Veda there. She and I went on different paths,” she says, “But at the end of the day, we always knew we would come back together.”

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espite the school’s efforts towards a streamlined integration process, there were a few bumps in the road. New students were surprised to learn a call for volunteers to room with black students had gone out in the school newsletter. Donna Payne Wilson, who lived in Washington, D.C., puts it this way, “[The headmaster] had asked [my roommate’s] mom if it was okay for her to room with a black girl. I said, ‘No one asked my parents if it was okay with them if I roomed with a white girl.’”

For a school that prides itself on teachers’ close relationships with students, these first students had a hard time finding adult mentors. “There were no black faculty members.

Foxcroft tended to our academic needs. There was nobody to go to for our social, psychological needs, someone we could talk to, we could relate to,” recalls Coles. Coming from a cultural tradition where elders were referred to by “Miss” or “Mr.,” Coles was dismayed by the lack of respect students displayed for the campus’ black employees by addressing kitchen and housekeeping staff by first names alone.

Feelings of social and cultural isolation were compounded

by Foxcroft’s non-fraternization policy between students and staff. This was particularly hard for students who left all-black schools and neighborhoods for this new, overwhelmingly white community. “When we got there and saw the black staff, we were ready to embrace them, but there was kind of a wall,” recounts Meadows. “They had been taught and trained not to have interactions with the girls. It hurt. Finally we see people who look like us . . .”

Wilson was called into Mr. Uhle’s office and threatened with expulsion for fraternizing with staff. She told him, “You have to understand, that everybody else has you to talk to or the

Uhle worked hard to integrate Foxcroft smoothly.

other teachers. I don’t have anyone who looks like me.’ He said, ‘Okay, but don’t do it much.’ ” Eventually, staff and students were allowed to associate enough so that staff could take the girls to town to get their hair done and for occasional forays to church – two social and cultural necessities lacking on the all-white campus.

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he white student body had been eager for the School to integrate, which might account for the somewhat surprising and very hopeful lack of intentional racism on campus during this early meshing of black and white cultures.

“This was the late ’60s, early ’70s; everybody was breaking away from family tradition, everyone wanted to do something different” Cross explains. “There were a couple of people who were resistant, but by the time they graduated and we graduated, everyone was on the same page. It took living together to realize we were pretty much the same on the inside.”

“There were a few issues with our Afro hairstyles,” says Meadows. “They were curious and wanted to touch, and we had to say, ‘No, you’re invading my space.’ ” Howell remembers not being able to tell the blonde girls apart.

People joked that the white girls were tanning to be as dark as their black friends.

Wilson describes this as “. . . teenage curiosity, nothing to get upset about. They didn’t have any more experience with folks 19

Old Girls/New Girls Almost 40 years after she spoke at her graduation, Debbie Meadows (top) is sharing the Foxcroft Experience with her daughter Maleia ’15. In August, Nita (second from left) joined other family and friends as niece Acacia (second from right) became a Foxcroft legacy. who looked like me than I did with folks that looked like them. At that age, people haven’t always developed those bad feelings unless it comes from home. And a lot of them had had black folks working in their homes, so I wasn’t a threat. I wasn’t that unusual, I was just out of context.”

Almost every woman who graduated in the first group of black alumnae agrees that the biggest difference was not in race but in resources. “The differences that were the most jarring for me were how wealth is distributed,” says Coles. “I was astounded by the amount of money some girls had . . .

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I had no idea people had so much money. Even TV couldn’t compare to the wealth these girls grew up with . . .”

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ilson realized the chasm before even stepping foot on campus, when the school called her home to inquire as to whether she would be bringing her horse. “My father said, ‘This is going to be trouble.’ But my mother called up and said, ‘That’s okay, Donna will not be bringing her horse, because we would like her to concentrate on her studies this year.’ ” Not all of the first black students at Foxcroft stayed

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

through graduation. Kitty Washington left after one year; and Karen Kelly and Donna Payne Wilson left after two. “I left Foxcroft, because I wanted a boyfriend, a prom, and a car,” says Wilson “I did not appreciate Foxcroft until many years after I left and I realized the value of having six people in my largest class, or having teachers who’d say, ‘Come to my apartment after dinner, and we’ll go over this until you get it.’ ” For the most part, the memories of the first black alumnae are the shared tales every student has for Foxcroft. Cross remembers the pleasures of drama and singing in Octet, canoeing in Goose Creek, and pulling all-nighters for English class. Meadows reminisces about mixers and school trips to meet new people. “In wintertime, we’d go in the dining hall and sneak out trays and go sledding,” she says.

“And we’d walk down to the front gate, step over into the street and jump back in, to say we left campus.”

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ach recalls fondly taking over the Applegate lounge on Saturday mornings to watch Soul Train. “I think everybody knew when Soul Train came on, because we’re like, ‘This is our cultural experience. Don’t mess with it!

We’ve got to do this or go insane,’” recollects Coles. “We’d roll up our hair while we were watching it, dancing, listening to music and keeping up with the times.

“I think the overall memories were the bonds I made with those women that I haven’t seen in years and years,” Coles says, “but they still feel like they’re my sisters after that shared experience.”

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n the spring of 1973, in Miss Charlotte’s Garden, Foxcroft graduated its first black alumnae, Veda Howell and Debbie Atkins Cross. “That was a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony,” says Cross. “It was picture perfect.”

Howell, now a retired Internal Revenue Service manager living in Greensboro, is pleased with the steps the School is taking to recognize its black and international students’ contributions to the community and roles in breaking barriers as it heads into the Centennial.

“The history of Foxcroft is made richer by its diversity,” she says. “The students: Where did they come from? How did they get here? What did they do when they were here? What did they do when they left? You don’t hear about that.” She feels that the creation of Centennial committees that are reaching out is a good step.

In fall 2012, Foxcroft welcomed the first IT (direct descendent of an alumna) from the School’s earliest black graduates, Maleia Meadows ’15, the daughter of Deborah

ITs & Legacies The very firs “First” was Betty Brown, whose name appears right after “Class of 1915” on the oldest board in Schoolhouse as Foxcroft's firs graduate. Betty, who became Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin, perpetuated more firsts her daughter Nancy Iselin Marburg ’37 was the firs IT to come to Foxcroft; her granddaughter Anne Morgan Wiedenmeyer ’61 was the firs thirdgeneration attendee, and Anne’s daughter, Amanda Wiedenmeyer Wood ’87, was almost surely the firs fourth-generation Foxcroft girl.

Another fourth-generation IT, though, arrived just in time to celebrate the Centennial: Freshman Leland Burke (right) has a mother (Martha Spencer Burke ’80), grandmother (Mary deButts Spencer ’50), and great-grandmother (Mary Custis Lee deButts ’18) who all attended Foxcroft.

This year, there are 14 ITs – including Leland and Maleia (top, left) – and Acacia (opposite) is one of 25 Legacies (sisters, aunts, cousins, etc) among our 165 students.

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Share Your Stories A great deal of learning at Foxcroft happens outside of classrooms. We learn to live together, play together, and serve together. Over time, we learn to do this across all sorts of differences. As the School has diversified so have its lessons.

The Centennial Engaging Constituencies and Diversity Committee celebrates those lessons, and the many individuals over the past 100 years who have helped to teach them and who have been enriched by them. Complete interviews with Foxcroft’s firs African-American alumnae and stories from other barrier breakers – the firs Persian, or Latina, or Asian – and those who followed are available at www.foxcroft.org/centennial/diversity.

Help us add to the collection! Do you know of a “first who needs to be heard? Did a roommate teach you something about her culture . . . or about your own? Talk with us, tell us your stories.

Contact us at centennial@foxcroft.org or 540.687.4511; or use the links on the website.

And by all means, come to the Centennial Celebration Weekend next April and tell your story!

Bring your scrapbooks and memorabilia. We will be offering an audio or video booth during the weekend for roommates, mentors, legacies, and friends to ask each other questions and share their favorite tales. So, bring your friends, your partners in crime. Bring your yearbooks and your photo albums, and your Fox/Hound songbooks and pins. Bring it all.

–The Centennial Engaging Constituencies and Diversity Committee Rivers Meadows, who works for the U.S. Postal Service in Greensboro. Veda Howell’s cousin, Candice Nelson, who graduated in 2010, was likely the first Legacy.

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ita Coles, an attorney in Washington, D.C., returned to Foxcroft with Meadows for Maleia’s first Parents Weekend in October 2012 – Coles’ first visit to campus since graduating in 1975. She found that the feelings of ambivalence she previously had towards Foxcroft fell away during that trip, and that warm memories resurfaced.

This fall, she accompanied her niece, Acacia Newsome, to Opening Days as she became a new member of the Class of 2016.

Coles eloquently reminds us of the contribution Foxcroft’s first black students made. “I feel like, in some respects…this is the whole point of us being there: so that it can become a full circle experience, so that somebody else in our family can also benefit from this experience.”

Coles has found significance in the fact that a few generations of names on the Schoolhouse walls don’t belong only to wealthy white students. The years of hard work 22

and cultural isolation were worth it to her family, and the benefits derived from students like her who were “firsts” are being passed down.

“I went to law school, and I didn’t have the support system,” says Nita. “No one else in my family had even gone to college – none of my siblings, my parents. This continuation, where more and more people in my family will have an education, higher education . . . It’s one thing when you go to law school or medical school. It’s another when your parents have done the same thing and know how to guide you . . . It’s the start of something huge.”

These brave “firsts” did start something huge. They did their part to help make sure that every girl who comes to Foxcroft – regardless of the color of her skin, the politics of her home country, or the cultural mores of her family – is valued for her own gifts and personality and voice. Hearing their stories and reflecting on their experiences again reaffirms the privilege it is to be a part of this unparalleled group, to be a Foxcroft woman. n

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

More Girls, More Stories It takes a village – a global village – to create the rich tapestry that is the Foxcroft community. With between nine and 12 nationalities represented each year, not to mention the varied socio-economic, ethnic, and family traditions, the School offers dynamic opportunities for sharing, learning, and understanding each other. The Diversity Committee is collecting these stories as well.

Escape to Foxcroft On January 17, 1991, Dalia El-Ramly Mattison ’94 was in ninth grade and living in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Born in Connecticut to Egyptian parents, Dalia had moved to Saudi as a toddler, when her father went to work for Aramco Oil Company. She attended an American school in the “camp.”

“You’d have everything in that camp,” she says. “schools, dining halls, our parents’ jobs, our home.” Then, the Gulf War broke out. “We evacuated because we were getting bombed. We’d hear missiles or the house would shake, and we’d go sit in the safe room and put on our gas masks.”

Foxcroft’s history of enrolling girls in similar situations dates back at least to World War II, when English girls came to Foxcroft to escape the Blitz. When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, several students came to Foxcroft, and Farah Almasri ’14 spent last year at Foxcroft to get away from the strife that plagues her home country, Syria.

Far, Far Away Students from the People’s Republic of China flock to American schools these days, but as recently as a decade ago, this was not the case. In the fall of 2005, Yu “Grace” Zhang arrived from Shanghai, the first student from the PRC in many years and, for a year, anyway, the only.

By early February, Dalia was at Foxcroft, a school she had considered for the following year but the sudden change was not what she had in mind. “It stunk, it really did,” says Dalia. “I remember as my parents were driving away thinking, ‘That’s it, I’m never going to see them again.’”

“I did feel more responsibility to show other students what is today’s China,” says Yu. “I wanted to make a good and fresh impression rather than the cheap and polluted stereotypical China we see in old movies.”

Horses doing dressage and Fox/Hound officers wearing odd hats, along with the smaller classes and higher academic expectations, took an adjustment but Dalia managed. She went onto the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and now works in private banking in southern New Jersey.

“I was probably the first Middle Eastern Head Prefect,” says Dalia. “I loved that job.”

Making adjustments of her own was front and center for Yu as well. “There is a dramatic difference between class sizes,” says Yu, who has an architecture degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology and is working on a master’s at Columbia. “A big benefit to having 15 instead of 50 students in each class is that each individual gets more attention from teachers.

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“Also, in the United States, there are more discussions happening in the classroom. It is a talking-learning process where the student is more engaged. In China, class materials are fed to students through dry lectures,” adds Yu. “The big problem caused by such teaching method is that students turn out to be lacking creativity and critical thinking.

“Everybody from the Foxcroft community is great, but I want to say special thanks to Mr. Bergan. He was more to me than my first English teacher in the states. . . . Five years after I graduated from Foxcroft, and six years after he retired, Mr. Bergan and I still keep in touch. I cannot imagine building such a personal relationship with a teacher elsewhere.” n

Support for All

By Lisa Boulestreau, ESL coordinator and International advisor, and Arnaud Boulestreau, Director of International Programs and French Teacher.

International students and students interested in international experiences both find substantial support from Foxcroft’s enhanced International Program. Comprised of two branches, the program seeks to, first, bridge the gap between international students and American students, and, second, provide international travel and exchange opportunities to all.

“American” student by asking questions, advocating for themselves, and participating often in class. Students receive added support through an international orientation, extra support for test preparation (ACT, SAT, and TOEFL), and an international advisor who is available to help with specific questions and concerns at any time.

Bridging the Gap Helping our international girls

Trips that Change Lives

integrate into their new American surroundings and supporting them in their academics and daily life is of prime importance. We try to help the entire Foxcroft community be more culturally aware, tolerant, and appreciative of differences with frequent presentations, International Club, weekly Global Lunches, and the International Gala.

The Advanced Academic English program allows non-native speakers of English to hone their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Students also learn how to become an 24

Our trips – which currently include exchange programs to France, Spain, and England along with ad hoc trips – are designed to allow girls to explore, study, and stretch while being compassionate and open-minded. Rather than using the services of external companies, we build every trip from scratch in order to provide unique opportunities that would be difficult for students to reproduce on their own.

The French and Spanish trips are true exchange programs with girls from abroad spending two weeks at Foxcroft and

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

our girls going to Paris and Madrid to join their host families for another two weeks. Our goal is to encourage our girls to peek into a different reality. The exchange with the Stonar School, near Bath, England, is especially for equestrians and is overseen by the Riding Department.

Creating New Opportunities

The Senegal trip is a new addition to our international travels. During Wintermission in February, a group of 10 girls and two chaperones will travel to the village of Koussanar in Senegal, a French-speaking country in west Africa. This is not a “oneand-done” kind of trip; Foxcroft has committed to help the development of this village for the next few years.

The group has several goals: 1) to collect 500 pairs of used eyeglasses and the cash needed – $1 per exam – to give vision exams to people who need glasses; 2) to assist the children of Koussanar as needed by painting classrooms, teaching classes, or cooking for them; and 3) to assess the needs of the village, identifying projects that might improve the lives of the people of Koussanar, and making them happen!

Lisa Boulestreau (above with Alicia Ahn ’14 and Isabella Zhai ’16) helps international students adjust and she promotes cultural awareness.

Arnaud (above right, at the Cherry Blossom Walk) focuses on travel: He led the French Exchange (opposite) last summer and will take a service trip to Senegal next February.

Students share their cultures via the International Gala, which last year featured a fashion show and dancing “Gangnam-style.”

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FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS

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Students accomplish big things with little bracelets.

OXCROFT IS A PLACE where girls feel safe taking a risk. It’s a place where girls find a voice and gain confidence and do things they never thought they were capable of doing – like raising $10,000 to help other girls attend the school they love.

Just ask Campbell Hartley and Emily Longley (above, left to right). The two members of the Class of 2014 have turned friendship, gratitude, and passion into a business, a life-changing gift, and a legacy that will teach Foxcroft girls – and perhaps students at other schools as well – that they too can do amazing things.

“Campbell and I are still so surprised that we were able to reach our goal,” says Emily, “I think the School was surprised, too.”

Who wouldn’t be surprised? In the spring of 2011 – halfway through their time at Foxcroft and well aware of what it had meant for them – Emily and Campbell decided they wanted to help other girls have the experience they so appreciated.

Financial aid had enabled them both to attend Foxcroft, so they decided to raise money for that. Artistic souls with an interest in fashion, they chose to do it by creating special bracelets that they call Hopelets.

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By the spring of 2012, the girls – who live a stone’s throw from each other in The Plains, VA – had made and sold about 1,000 bracelets. They had met their “almost unreachable” goal and paid back $1,000 in seed money from their parents. They also had learned just about everything there is to know about running a small business – buying supplies wholesale, calculating reasonable mark-ups and price points, setting up spread sheets, developing marketing strategies, and other things most 16-year-old girls have never thought of.

“We had to figure out the cost of materials and find a price point that would work,” explains Emily. “At first, the bracelets were expensive, but then we started buying materials wholesale and in bulk, and the price went way down.” Made of leather, linen thread, and little metal balls, their Hopelets came in Fox, Hound, and Foxcroft colors and ranged in price from $12 (for students) to $35.

“I can’t imagine anything more incredible,” said Head of School Mary Louise Leipheimer in September when the girls presented their $10,000 check to Foxcroft at Morning Meeting. “You have learned business and given the School a great gift through your Understanding Hearts and hard work. I am so proud.”

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Emily and Campbell, too, are proud of what they have done but they are not about to rest on their laurels. They are already deep into the process of perpetuating the enterprise at Foxcroft and hope to create a model for other schools as well. “We feel really accomplished to have reached our goal and to be able to make a difference in other girls’ lives,” Campbell says, immediately launching into an enthusiastic discussion of the future.

After interviewing 13 groups of girls last spring, Campbell and Emily selected two rising juniors from Middleburg, Molly Murphy and Isabel Martin, to mentor and guide this year so that the project will continue after they graduate.

“We are so glad to have Molly and Isabel,” Campbell says.

“They are very reliable and passionate about Hopelets, just like we are.”

The magnitude of Emily and Campbell’s accomplishment, however, became even clearer as these two enthusiastic and dedicated successors got to work. Over the summer, the four girls met for hours. The older girls shared and explained the binders full of information they had assembled. The younger girls began to create their Hopelet collection. All four emailed ideas, suggestions, and practical information back and forth.

“It’s been a challenge,” says Molly. “Coming up with new products was tricky because we wanted to keep the classic look of the first collection so that girls can wear the new Hopelets with their old ones. But we also wanted to make them different enough that people would want to buy them even if they had the originals.

“We looked at different things in stores and online to see what would appeal to people,” she adds. “We had to get materials and try different things, and then figure out how much the bracelets would cost. Then you have to practice before you can make them well and quickly enough.”

By the opening of school, Molly and Isabel had made about 150 bracelets; a year earlier Campbell and Emily had nearly 800. “They got a later start,” explained Emily, “We only selected them in May. Last year, we were making Hopelets by then.”

The older girls are learning another important life lesson: the art of advising without micromanaging. “We are not handing it over totally yet,” says Emily. “We are still the leaders but we are trying to let them slowly take control.”

Adds Campbell, “The transition was a little hard at first.

Then we realized that Isabel and Molly are so responsible, they can do it.” Even so, several underclassmen have begun to help with production and to learn the business, so the Hopelets’ future seems to be in good hands.

Isabel and Molly opened up shop in late September, and by mid-October, they had raised over $1,000, a solid start.

“It’s exciting to do something that will have a real impact on other girls,” says Molly.

Which brings us full circle, to the impact that started Hopelets. We wouldn’t have come up with this idea if we hadn’t been given the confidence to become ourselves,” said Campbell. Added Emily. “At Foxcroft, we both found a voice. It sounds cliché, but it is absolutely true.” n Isabel (left) and Molly have created their own Hopelet collection.

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A FINE STATE OF PLAY Foxcroft’s sports teams are winning

By Fred McMane

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ISS CHARLOTTE WOULD BE PROUD. One hundred years after she founded Foxcroft, gave it the motto “mens sana in corpore sano” (“a healthy mind in a healthy body”), and made athletic endeavors a central part of her students’ well-rounded development, Charlotte Haxall Noland would be delighted with the state of play – and play at States – of Foxcroft’s athletic teams.

Yes, Miss Charlotte would be proud – but no more so than Athletic Director Michelle Woodruff, who flashes a broad, bright smile when asked about the program she took over in July 2010.

In 2012-13, Foxcroft was the only independent school in Virginia to appear in two state championship games as both field hockey and lacrosse reached the finals of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament. In addition, the tennis team reached the state semifinals and a rider, Amy Edgemond ’14, wandered out of the barn long enough to run competitively for the first time in her life – and earned all-state honors in cross country! The lacrosse team also won the Delaney Athletic Conference for the first time and produced the Player of the Year in Emma Rogers ’15.

What she has heard, and seen, is a lot of drive and talent. In 2012-13, 10 girls received all-state mention in four sports; two of them, Caroline Fout ’13 and Olivia Jane Johnson ’13, made First Team in two sports. Even better: Seven of those honored are back this year – Kelly Buckland ’14 (tennis); Amy Edgemond ’14 (cross country); Alex Grace ’16 (lacrosse); Alicia Holz ’14 (field hockey); Lilly MacDonald ’14 (field hockey); Annie Mickum ’16 (tennis); and Emma Rogers ’15 (lacrosse) – and several new students are having immediate impact on their teams.

“I remember my first year what I heard from the girls was, ‘Oh, it’s Foxcroft athletics; we always lose,’ ” she says. “I haven’t heard that in the past two years.”

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Perhaps those New Girls have been reading about our alumnae athletes. In the past decade, Foxcroft alumnae have gone on to interscholastic sports in a dozen college conferences across the U.S., including Division I NCAA leagues such as the Big 10, Atlantic 10, and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. This year alone, at least nine recent graduates are playing varsity athletics – and that’s not even counting riders.

Plus, several current students are being recruited.

“Gina and Patrick have a global awareness of how important sports are these days,” says Woodruff, who works closely with the Admission Office to direct good athletes to Foxcroft.

So, what’s going on at the small, quiet, pastoral campus situated among the horse farms of Middleburg, VA? “I have seen a greater commitment from most of the athletes to their sports, a higher level of dedication,” says Woodruff.

“Statistics show that most girls look at girls’ schools because their parents want them to,” says Patrick. “They don’t often consider sports a major criteria when choosing a school.

Riders are a little different. I do think that a quality sports program can tip the balance for girls who do play sports.”

The 2010 opening of its $14 million Athletic/Student Center and the arrival of new leadership in the Admission Office in 2011 echo that commitment.

“The goal in Admissions is to improve every program we offer and that includes athletics,” says Director of Enrollment Patrick Finn. “We want to keep the quality of all teams improving with the addition each year of good studentathletes. We need all our coaches involved in the process to make a real difference, though.”

Finn is one of those coaches himself, currently guiding both the lacrosse and basketball varsities. He played and coached high school sports. A high school All-American pick, Patrick played lacrosse at the University of Virginia.

Getting good athletes to attend a girls’ boarding school can be a challenge. Although studies demonstrate that girls thrive in a single-sex environment, fewer than five percent of high school-aged American females attend a girls’ boarding school.

Woodruff credits the building. “I think the new facility has been a huge benefit when girls are comparing schools,” she notes. “It can tip their decision in our favor.”

Woodruff has some lofty goals for the future of Foxcroft athletics. “I would like to see all of the teams have the success that tennis, field hockey, and lacrosse experienced last year,” she says.

With two teams ranked in the Top 5 in the state rankings this fall, it just might happen. n

In the Beginning Athletics at Foxcroft began with riding – taught by Miss Charlotte herself – but basketball was not far behind. The firs Fox/Hound game was played in the school’s firs year and until 1970 was held on Thanksgiving Day.

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Flying Change Sometimes a horse can cause a rider to switch directions

By Marit Hughes ’94

Marit Hughes ’94 & Uniqu

e Battle

Ali Eskridge H

oce ’96 & Otis

olly

ond ’10 & M

Hailey Edgem

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HERE ARE MANY HORSES that have taken care of Foxcroft girls in the last 100 years. One might be tempted to simply copy the Foxcroft School Horse Honor Roll that hangs in McConnell Stables – because there is a great story or 10 for each of them.

Thankfully, we all have an opportunity to share those stories through the Centennial Memory project (see footnote).

How many of those horses, though, changed girls’ lives?

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A few years ago Kate Hartshorn Domanski ’96 made a point of finding me at Reunion to tell me a story about one horse that changed her life: Unique Battle, whom I had ridden and adored myself while at Foxcroft. A large bay horse who looked as if he was taken straight out of an English foxhunting print, Unique was not everyone’s cup of tea. He was difficult to ride within the confines of a ring, but a joy on the trails and in the hunt field.

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Like many Foxcroft girls, Kate had ridden only in the ring before she was invited to venture out with the Middleburg Hunt. “When Unique first took me foxhunting, I could not stop thinking about how well he took care of me!” said Kate.

“As a ‘ring hunter’ rider, I had never had any experience like that in my life and I had no idea what I had gotten myself into when we took off. But with Unique, all I had to do was worry about me and hang on. That horse took care of the rest – going when we were supposed to go and stopping when and where we were supposed to stop!”

Riding Unique, Kate found so much confidence and joy in foxhunting that she made it her career! She became a professional Whipper-In for the Essex Fox Hounds in Gladstone, NJ, and says she owes it all to Unique: “I would never have even considered it without the experience Unique gave me out in the hunt field.” Career day didn’t show Kate the option; a Foxcroft School horse did.

Hailey Edgemond ’10 is still in college, but a Foxcroft ride changed her career path too. Hailey came to Foxcroft as just another rider – not particularly dedicated or ambitious.

Then she got a ride on Molly, a large draft cross horse who looks better equipped for a life pulling a milk cart than as a school horse. Molly was honest as the day is long but would periodically kick at another horse, so her rider couldn’t just be a passenger along for the ride. Molly got Hailey to pay attention – to her, to riding, to horses in a new way. “She ignited a passion for horses that I never knew I had,” says Hailey. “She gave me confidence, the ability to ride and travel.”

Callie Broaddus/Flash Photography

Alden Denègre Moylan ’05 rides Pimpernel at Twilight Jumpers 2013 in The Plains,VA.

A senior at the University of Mary Washington, Hailey pays her college bills by galloping racehorses and is studying to get her trainer’s license with the Jockey Club. Because of a Foxcroft school horse, one might say, Hailey is off to the races!

Alden Denègre Moylan ’05 had her amateur career changed by a school horse. Amigo was an International Grand Prix Jumper who, despite his impressive resume, was found teaching beginners to trot nearly as often as he was found in an advanced lesson. Alden’s first trip over the hedges on Big Track was on Amigo and, 10 years later, the experience is still vivid in her memory.

“That horse showed me so much in that single ride,” says Alden. “I learned what scope was, what real power and talent a horse can possess . . . You literally could look at your watch going over the fences, there was so much hang time. I came to appreciate how much a horse can give his or her rider, how much they selflessly try for us, and even enjoy their job.

It’s a partnership.

“And I learned how much pure joy can be felt on the back of 31

a horse,” she adds. “Come to think of it, that day on Amigo is probably one of the big reasons why I am showing in the Amateur Owner Jumpers today. I can’t get enough of that rush, that joy! Horses really are amazing creatures!”

Many of the life-changing lessons that Foxcroft school horses have taught – and continue to teach – don’t lead a rider to become a professional horse person or to switch disciplines.

They are lessons of compassion, hard work, and friendship.

Ali Eskridge Hoce ’96 says two school horses changed her world. Ali arrived at Foxcroft having had her confidence in her riding and herself destroyed by an inappropriate mount.

Her first ride on Sadie started the healing. “It was like stepping into your favorite pair of slippers,” she says. “That pony and I could read each other’s minds.” A successful year of competing with Sadie and bringing home a nice collection of ribbons transformed Ali’s world. “She gave me so much confidence I will always be in her debt,” Ali says.

That confidence was severely tested the next year by Otis, who earned Ali the award for the most falls in a year. Instead of yearning for the safety of Sadie, though, Ali turned to Otis in times of trouble. “When bad news hit all I had to do was pack a peppermint and head out to the pasture at Spur & Spoon,” she recalls. “Otis was my comforter.” After a year of great effort, they became partners in the rings too,

putting together a respectable round of fences to prove that sometimes the tears and falls are worth the struggle.

As a junior, I, too, won the award for the most falls – thanks to Unique Battle, the horse that changed Kate’s career.

He was not an easy ride. He didn’t bend, he had no flying change, and in the ring he would be just as likely to stop on a dime as he was to jump the fence in front of us. Out cross country or foxhunting, he was great and that made up for the many times he left me on the ground of the indoor arena. Despite the humiliation he rained down upon me regularly, I ADORED Unique. I insisted on tacking him up myself, I took him to competitions that we had no chance of winning, and when I got my own horse senior year I was heartbroken that I couldn’t continue to ride Unique.

As I think back to what I learned from Unique, I realize that he taught me to laugh in the face of failure (or another fall); that there is a fine line between being firm and being mean; and much more than can be confined in these pages. Most importantly, he taught me – as so many school horses have taught riders – that there is no joy in life like that from a great ride on a good horse and that, often, we have Foxcroft to thank for it. n

Kate Hartshorn Domanski ’96 (above) became a professional Whipper-In. At the 1916 horse show (left) challenging rides were already plen tiful.

The Centennial School History Committee is collecting stories and photographs for a history/memory book to commemorate the 100th.

For details, see page 7 or contact Steve Matthews (smatthews@foxcroft.org) or Pickett Randolph ’56 (Pickettrandolph@comcast.net) 32

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

A Report from the Barn David Bell Photography

By Kate Worsham, Director of Riding

Miranda Gali ’14 and Ebb Tide (Ollie) were Children's Jumper Reserve Champions at the Lexington Spring Premiere and Upperville.

I have been riding for over three decades now and I struggle to pinpoint exactly when I learned specifi skills, but I can recall moments of feeling like my heart might burst with admiration, appreciation, and love for the horses in my life. Helping riders of all levels discover the joy of riding and cultivate a lifelong love for horses, and sharing my knowledge of these amazing animals has been my great honor since arriving at Foxcroft in July 2011.

From the beginners who are wide-eyed with anticipation the firs time they throw a leg over the saddle, to the advanced riders striving to master the fin art of communicating with a 1,200-pound partner who has a mind of its own, it has been incredibly rewarding to witness the hardworking, earnest, and compassionate girls in our riding program develop into thoughtful, capable, and empathetic horsewomen.They have put forth a wonderful effort to embrace the concepts of horsemanship, both on the ground and mounted, that are imperative to being a good rider and a valued ambassador of such a special sport.

While the riders all share a love of the horses, each girl chooses to pursue her equine education in a different way.

The instructors and staff have been able to embrace their own personal horse-related passions to tap into a knowledge base which helps bring each of their student’s dreams to fruition.

While the School’s history of riding with the Middleburg Hunt is thriving as a number of girls are enthralled with this grand tradition, there are a vast number of riders who have focused on honing their skills to compete on a National level.

Whether catch-riding an unfamiliar horse in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) team shows or travelling to rated

competitions around the region, riders have found success under the Foxcroft banner. I have been overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and dedication that these riders have shown toward mastering the skills needed to compete successfully at increasingly difficul levels.

As is evidenced by their impressive list of accomplishments, our riders are a talented and devoted group. It has been such a pleasure to assist them in their quest to achieve excellence in horsemanship, technical skills, and mastery of the mental aspect of the sport which allows them to forge profound relationships with their equine partners. It has been an enchanting two years and I feel lucky to have found a home in a place which recognizes the added value that equestrian pursuits can bring to a young woman’s life.

At the core of everything we do, however, remains a pure and genuine love of the horses. It always warms my heart to see the girls riding and connecting with horses in much the same way that I have throughout my life.Whether they choose someday to ride for a living or pursue it as a hobby, Foxcroft riders guarantee a promising future as stewards of an exceptional sport. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote,“Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of Solitaire. It is a grand passion. It seizes a person whole, and once it has done so, he will have to accept that his life will be radically changed.” As we move into the future, it is the endeavor of everyone affiliate with the Foxcroft riding program to help young women have the opportunity to experience and embrace this life-changing pursuit. n 33

Commencement 2013 34

Cold Hands, Warm Hearts A spirited class graduates in the Garden, undaunted by the elements

I

T WAS COLD. IT WAS WINDY. It really wasn’t a very nice day for an outdoor ceremony. But the Class of 2013, gritty and determined as ever, would have none of it. Let the underclassmen put on sweaters and family members wrap themselves up in blankets to fend off temperatures in the 50s and wind gusts in the 30s. These 36 girls refused to give in to the elements – or to give up their first official and much anticipated walk through Miss Charlotte’s Garden.

And so, even though the previous evening’s Awards Assembly and dinner had been moved inside and there was discussion of doing the same now, Foxcroft’s 99th Commencement proceeded as planned on Friday, May 24th: al fresco.

The featured speaker, Stewart Chapman Herbert ’77, on the other hand, was very familiar with the walk, having trekked through the Garden four times as a student, 19 times as a teacher, and once to get married. Being the headliner, however, was a first and Herbert made the most of it, drawing on her passions – family, teaching and learning, gardening, and sports – as well as iconic characters and authors from her vaunted American Literature class in a terrific speech.

“The message is simple,” said Herbert. “Cherish family and friends. Work hard and with passion. Always compete at your highest level, and nurture and grow your garden.”

What she asked of the soon-to-be-graduates, like the quality of work she demanded of them in the classroom, was not so simple. Be a friend. Dig in and get your hands dirty. Seek to do your individual best in all that you do. If necessary, be the thorn on the rose and stand up for what you believe.

“Dare to live a life of meaning and fulfillment on any scale, large or small,” Herbert added. “Reject the mediocre. Celebrate purpose and worth. Be a teacher and a learner. Live a life of personal value. Live, as Thoreau challenged us to: ‘deliberately.’”

Senior Class Speaker Carter Ware summarized the class’s journey from silly, sometimes raucous youngsters to outstanding community leaders.

“We weren’t looked up to and praised from the start,” she said. “We had to earn our spot at the top of the heap and prove to the School that we deserved to be

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Soon-to-be graduates Carter Ware, Caroline Fout, and Abigail Bauer (far left) shivered and guests wrapped themselves in blankets, but Sheila McKibbin’s hugs were as warm as ever – as Avery Finkel and Clementina Arubi learned – and Herbert and Ware both spoke eloquently.

the seniors who set an example for everyone else. . . .We’ve proved that leadership doesn’t have to be straight-laced and somber all the time, and I think our Class has really defined that sort of fun way to lead.”

They also proved that you don’t have to have 70-degree weather to be warm, for by the time the speeches were over, the awards had all been given out, and the diplomas received,

the Class of 2013’s energy, spirit, and unabashed delight, along with the pride and joy shared by families, faculty, and friends, had hearts glowing and faces beaming. So what if some toes and fingers were still cold, the mood was as warm and cozy as could be. n To watch the Commencement speeches: www.foxcroft.org/commencement2013/speeches

It Never Rains on Commencement Each time weather threatens the seniors’ chance to walk through the Garden, this refrain is heard, and yet, as Tally-Ho! yearbooks reveal, it does indeed.

In 1929, the Commencement report begins, “For once the Foxcroft weather rule was broken. The rain came drizzling down. The exercises were in the gym.”

Three years later: “Considering the fact that it rained hard for Commencement, a thing which up until then had never been allowed to happen. . .”

And in 1934: “Last commencement, the sun shone encouragingly on the damp leaves and tearful fl wers of Miss Charlotte’s garden. The atmosphere helped the leaving girls to restrain their tears through [most of the ceremony]. But when one sob was heard, they all bawled like teething babies and so did the sky. It poured . . .”

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Commencement 2013

Students were not the only ones honored in May. Kudos to four special people!

36

“Miss Penny” The Jane Lockhart Service Award was created in 2012 to honor a member of the Foxcroft staff or faculty who demonstrates the endless support and concern for students that Jane has demonstrated since she arrived in 1966 – and it could not have gone to a more appropriate individual than it did at May’s Awards Assembly. Over the past 24-plus years, Northcross Health Center Director Penny Alderman, RN, has ministered to thousands of girls with, as Head of School Mary Louise Leipheimer put it, an “open heart, ready ear, and warm smile.” Penny is the first recipient besides Jane to receive the service award and students, faculty, and families all jumped to their feet to give her a standing ovation in enthusiastic assent.

“Whether she is educating the community about bloodborne pathogens and defibrillators, making ‘house calls’ to check on a ‘patient’ or hand deliver a flu shot, or creating a safe harbor in the Health Center,” said Mary Lou, “Miss Penny is ‘our guardian angel’ – a direct quote from a member of the Class of 2012.”

“Miss Penny” takes good care of the girls, inside and out.

Words can hardly describe the role Penny plays in the Foxcroft community. She may be the best listener on campus and she has an uncanny ability to impart endless compassion and understanding while upholding order and setting expectations. Students love her and keep in touch with her for years after they leave. Faculty and staff members turn to her, knowing she will offer wise counsel and good will. She has made “the Infirm” a bright and cheery place with her hard work – she painted the whole place the summer she became director – and her big heart. We are lucky to have her. n

Emily Who? Emily Northcross, the infirma y’s namesake, was one of Foxcroft’s firs nurses, serving from 1935 to 1968! Miss Emily, however, was not the first In the early 1930s, when Loudoun County ceased funding a public health nurse for the area, Miss Charlotte hired one to care for her girls and for the public. The nurse took students along on visits to minister to local residents, thus beginning Foxcroft Social Service – which ultimately included a public clinic across from Pink House and was an important community service opportunity for girls well into the 1970s.

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

A Trio of Chairs Head of School Mary Louise Leipheimer also presented Foxcroft chairs to three special people.

Dr. Maria Eagen, chair of the Science Department since 2011, was named to the Eleanor B. Stevens Chair for Science, one of just three endowed faculty chairs. Reserved to honor outstanding teaching and scholarship, the Stevens Chair was established in 1998 through the generosity of the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation and has been held by only two previous faculty members – Celeste Bergan and Julie Ervin.

Stewart Chapman Herbert ’77 and Lee Lockhart, who have both been part of the Foxcroft community for decades, were honored for their dedication and commitment to the School. A driver and security guard, Lee received his chair for his 25 years of service. Stewart received hers to mark her

Eagen (on right) was named to the Eleanor B. Stevens Chair for Science, while Lockhart and Herbert each received one for their years of service.

retirement after 19 years as a teacher and coach. “In a world where loyalty and service seem more and more rare, Foxcroft is blessed with a cadre of faithful stewards who make a real difference,” said Mary Lou. n

Great Expectations “There was something in her attitude. . . which suggested the regal woman, the one who rules, who looks on, who stands alone.”

– The Awakening by Kate Chopin Stewart Chapman Herbert ’77 served her alma mater for 19 years as a teacher, mentor, coach, Admissions Committee member, Department Chair, Judicial Committee representative, and friend. In 2009, she was named to the H. Laurence Achilles Chair for English, a rare honor.

First and foremost, though, Stewart cherished the spirit of the school, and understood its purpose. She cultivated personal relationships with students and helped facilitate the intimacy crucial to an institution like Foxcroft. As an Admissions Committee member, she demonstrated a commitment to inviting students who would not only add the most value to campus, but those who would benefit most from the matchless gifts of the rural setting, single-sex environment, small classrooms, and tight-knit community.

Stewart also embraced a healthy student life as an important backdrop to classroom learning and appreciated the importance of engaging with students outside of the classroom. She led hiking expeditions on Old Rag, facilitated historical adventures at Gettysburg, and created running teams for Cherry Blossom races in Washington DC. She organized the annual poetry festivals and tennis tournaments. Stewart welcomed students into her home for fireside chats, barbeques, and meals before competitions.

Miss Charlotte's Sound Mind, Sound Body, and Miss Becky’s Loyal to the Royal in Thyself were important dictums for Stewart, who treasured the tradition of Fox/Hound and the competition of team sports. She was captain of both varsity tennis and field hockey as a student and coached tennis and soccer. She saw athletics as an avenue to foster skills in leadership, collaboration, and hard work.

Stewart brought out the best in her students, and expected the best of herself in return – a habit that has a history, as Head of School Mary Louise Leipheimer, erstwhile teacher and advisor, noted at May’s Awards Assembly.

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Commencement 2013 38

“Then, as now, this scholar, athlete, and Hound juggled the Foxcroft juggle with excellence and determination,” said Mary Lou. “As her ninth grade English teacher I appreciated her gifts for language, literature, and poetry. As her Head of School, I appreciate her legendary reputation for rigor and intellectual challenge.”

Within that context, Stewart encouraged every student to define and pursue her own version of success and was equally likely to celebrate a hardearned C with a student as she was to demand more from a top performer. She fostered perseverance by modeling perseverance. Former colleague John Suitor III reflects, “I never saw Stewart give up on any student no matter how much that student struggled.”

Most of all, Stewart loved her job. She would reread books each summer, discovering with joy something new to share with students. She relished tackling the toughest subjects, mixing in history, philosophy, and ethics. When teaching Thoreau, she challenged students to craft a civil disobedience plan. With Huckleberry Finn, she encouraged them to speak openly about race and prejudice.

students through the college application process, writing scores of recommendations. She was a believer and cheerleader for her formal and informal advisees. She provided support, ran interference, and simply listened.

Stewart will be missed, but she won’t be far. A resident of Middleburg, she will continue to provide an important link between Foxcroft and the broader community, even as she enjoys her passions— gardening, playing tennis and golf, reading, running, cooking, and spending time with her family. Thank you, Stewart Herbert, for your 23 years at Foxcroft!

Many thanks to the students, parents, faculty, and alumnae who contributed to Stewart Herbert’s Retirement Quotebook. Your words, reflections, and well-wishes are a source of joy to her.

In an era where youth are frequently coddled, Stewart pledged honesty to her students, and helped girls mature into young women. She treasured guiding

– Tommie Herbert ’05

Who is H. Laurence Achilles?

H. Laurence “Larry” Achilles was an English teacher at Foxcroft from 1953 to 1977 and the department chair for 22 years. Educated at Union College, Harvard, and Yale, he was, according to Stacey Morse Ahner ’73, “rigorous and demanding, humorously chiding and irascible, and ultimately very patient. Most of us attribute our mastery of at least one English-related skill to Mr. Achilles, and certainly his classes prepared us exceptionally well for college.” Sound familiar?

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Charlotte Haxall Noland Award.......... Miranda Raschid ’13 Miss Ida Applegate Award................ Catherine Reynolds ’13 Dudley Prize.......................................... Jeanete Piña Baez ’13 Mildred Greble Davis Award......................... Vivian Tsai ’14

Hilary Somers Deely Drama Award.........................................Melanie Monroe ’13 Chorale Member of the Year ....................Brianna Eagen ’14 Music Award..................................................Avery Finkel ’13

Becky Award................................................. Lillian Potter ’15

CAP Award (Campus Tour Guides) ......Madeline Travell ’14

Elebash Award..............................Charlotte Scharfenberg ’16

Community Service Award.......................Brianna Eagen ’14 Campbell Hartley ’14 Emily Longley ’14 Olivia Saez ’13

Josie Betner Mallace Award................. Clementina Arubi ’13 Avery Finkel ’13 Valedictorian/Pillsbury Prize............... Miranda Raschid ’13 Salutatorian................................................Rebecca Mann ’13 English Prize.......................................... Miranda Raschid ’13 Eustis Prize ...................................................... Olivia Saez ’13 Eleanor Schley Todd Prize for Government and Foreign Affairs...............Emma All ’13 L. Richard Weinbach History Prize ..................................................Carter Ware ’13 Mathematics Award ......................... Xiaoying (Lexy) Lu ’13

Parents’ Association Awards (elected by their classmates) 9th Grade ......................................Charlotte Scharfenberg ’16 10th Grade................................................. Meredith Dietz ’15 11th Grade.................................................... Miranda Gali ’14 12th Grade....................................................Caroline Fout ’13 Athletic Awards Best Older Girl ...............................................Carter Ware ’13 Best Younger Girl ................................... Alexandra Grace ’16 Peabody Tennis Trophy............................Kelly Buckland ’14 Ann Mickum ’16 Teresa E. Shook Award.............................Rebecca Mann ’13

Haythe Science Award...................... Xiaoke (Chloe) Liu ’13 Riding Awards Catherine Reynolds ’13 Miss Charlotte’s Trophy for Best Rider .......................................Christina Firestone ’13 French Award......................................... Miranda Raschid ’13 Best Younger Girl.......................................... Miranda Gali ’14 Latin Award........................................ Lillian MacDonald ’14 Most Improved (Ms. Kate)................... Tessa Paget-Brown ’14 Most Improved (Ms. Laurie) ...................... Alicia Gordon ’14 Spanish Prize.................................................Avery Finkel ’13 Most Improved (Ms. Katy) ..................... Amy Edgemond ’14 Good Hands .......................................Caroline Huckabay ’14 Library Prize..................................................Avery Finkel ’13 Director’s Award ................................. Caroline Quanbeck ’13 Smith Book Award............................. Lillian MacDonald ’14 Wellesley Book Award................................ Miranda Gali ’14

Cum Laude Society

Junior Science Award..................................Katelin Eagen ’14

Class of 2013 Emma All Xiaoying (Lexy) Lu Rebecca Mann Miranda Raschid Jeanete Piña Baez Caroline Quanbeck Miranda Raschid Catherine Reynolds Olivia Saez

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Medal .................................. Lillian MacDonald ’14 William & Mary Leadership Award........................................Katelin Eagen ’14 Junior Award for Scholarship........... Lillian MacDonald ’14 Starr Prize................................................ Erika Horchover ’13 Studio Art Award ...............................Olivia Jane Johnson ’13 Xiaoying (Lexy) Lu ’13

Class 2014 Lydia Bubniak Katelin Eagen Lillian MacDonald

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Reunion 2013 40

True Friends . . .

Through to the End The campus was in full bloom when more than 100 women from eleven classes spanning six decades gathered to enjoy a sensational Reunion Weekend last April. The schedule was full of fun, with a reception at Covert, informative panels and alumnae classes, the Senior Luncheon, a lively Fox/Hound field hockey game, trail rides, class dinners and – an added treat this year – a tour of the “new dorm,” complete with hard hats!

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

PARTY, PARTY The School's firs big anniversary celebration was held in May 1933 to celebrate 20 years of Foxcroft. After a large dinner on the lawn of Spur and Spoon Friday, everyone repaired to Covert to watch a pageant called “Twenty Years A-growing,” performed by faculty and staff. Saturday included a luncheon at which the Alumnae Association was founded, exhibitions of drill on horseback and “Italian riding,” and a gala dinner for 300.

And yes, tents were pressed into service during several reunions to accommodate alumnae – or students who gave their beds up to their elders.

We do not, however, expect to see any this April!

41

Reunion 2013

Class of

1978

Class of

1988

42

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Class of

1998

Class of

2003

Calling all classes ending in 4 and 9 CELEBRATE YOUR REUNION at the biggest party of all – Centennial Celebration Weekend April 25-27, 2014 Come to reconnect and enjoy the events of this very special weekend together! There are lots of opportunities to gather as a class during the weekend’s Centennial activities (see page 4) and you are welcome to schedule a class dinner around those events.

Please contact Deb Hogan at 540.687.4515 or email dhogan@foxcroft.org for a current class list, assistance with contacting classmates, and information about reunion class giving. Online registration is now open at: www.foxcroft.org/centennial/registration. See you in April!

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Distinguished Alumna

A Call for Nominations Distinguished Alumna Award The Distinguished Alumna Award is p ­ resented by the Alumnae Association Council to an alumna who ­exemplifies one or more of the following­ ­criteria: • she has been a pioneer in her field; • she has made an outstanding ­contribution to her field of interest; • she has received local and/or national recognition of achievement; • she has demonstrated dedication through length of service; • she has demonstrated interest and ­concern in civic-minded affairs; and • she has served as a role model to others.

The following outstanding women are among the previous ­recipients of the Distinguished Alumna Award: 1985 Nancy Perkins Lancaster ’15 1986 Millicent Hammond Fenwick ’25 1987 Rachel Lambert Mellon ’29 1988 Anne Legendre Armstrong ’45 1989 Nancy Carnegie Rockefeller ’19 1990 Elizabeth Nitze Paepcke ’21 1991 Gertrude Sanford Legendre ’20 1992 Anna Roosevelt ’64 1993 Frances Stevens Reese ’35 1994 Ruth du Pont Lord ’39 1995 Mary Frances Penney Wagley ’44 1996 Elsie Vanderbilt Aidinoff ’48 1997 Mary Starr Carstensen ’67 1998 Dorrance Hill Hamilton ’46 1999 Elizabeth Fly Rohatyn ’48 2000 Helen Kleberg Groves ’45 2001 Frances FitzGerald ’58 2002/03 Diana Hardin Walker ’59 2011 Dr. Suzanne Townsend Purrington ’56

NOMINATION FORM Please mail form to: Alumnae Association Development Office, Foxcroft School, 22407 Foxhound Lane, P.O. Box 5555, Middleburg, VA 20118 Phone: 540.687.4515 Fax: 540.687.8836 dhogan@foxcroft.org I would like to nominate the following Foxcroft Alumna: Nominee’s Name: _____________________________________________ Class:____________

(First, Maiden and Last) For these achievements and/or contributions: ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Nominated by: ________________________________________________Class:____________

(First, Maiden and Last) Your Address: _________________________________________________________________ (Street) ___________________________________________________________________________

(City, Town, State, Zip) Daytime Phone: _____________________________ Fax: ______________________________

m Home

m Business

m Home

m Business

Email: ______________________________________________________________________

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m Home

m Business

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Hail and Farewell The Foxcroft community recently lost a former Head of School.

F. Coit Johnson II Coit Johnson, Foxcroft’s fifth Head of School and a lifelong educator, passed away July 26 in Lawrenceville, NJ. He was 83. He was a graduate of Groton School and Princeton and Columbia universities. Johnson succeeded Alexander Uhle as Head in 1975 and served for four years when he resigned due to a major illness. Prior to his arrival at Foxcroft, Johnson had served as Headmaster of the Little Red School House and Elizabeth Irwin High School in New York

City. His diverse life experience included having served as a Congressional Fellow, an Assistant to the Director of the Goddard Institute, a member of the NAIS Committee on Counseling and Guidance, a founding member of the Winant Clayton Volunteers, a member of the choir and trustee of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, and a trustee of several foundations. Despite his short tenure at Foxcroft, then Board President Anne Kane McGuire noted that Johnson had “won the affection and admiration of the school community.” Family, friends, and former students remember Johnson for his infectious smile and gracious spirit.

Do you know a potential Foxcroft Girl?

Send her to us!

Alumnae and friends are a wonderful and important part of our recruiting process, telling prospective students about Foxcroft and telling the Admission Office about prospective students each year. If you know someone who might love to attend Foxcroft, please fill out this form and send it to: Admission Office, Foxcroft School, P.O. Box 5555, Middleburg, VA 20118; or contact Director of Admission and Financial Aid Gina Finn (540.687.4340; gina.finn@foxcroft.org) Prospective Student’s Name ____________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________ City_____________________________ State________ Zip__________ Phone _____________________ Email _________________________ Parent/Guardian ____________________________________________ Phone _____________________ Email _________________________ Interested in enrolling at Foxcroft for ________ grade in year of 20_______ Your Name _________________________________________________ Phone _____________________ Email _________________________ 52

Foxcroft School – Fall 2013

Foxcroft2013_FallCovers_1-4_Layout 1 11/6/13 11:30 AM Page 4

Forever Foxcroft

PHOTOGRAPHER?

Forever Foxcroft was established in 1999 by the Board of Trustees to recognize individuals who have included Foxcroft 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 augmented as needed. They ensure that the School will continue to soar.

Our girls are jumping for joy!

Thanks to your generosity, Foxcroft’s 2012-13 Annual Fund surpassed the $1 million mark!

Such support is a reflection of the strong belief you have in your school.

This belief is what will sustain Foxcroft for the future.

As we celebrate Foxcroft’s Centennial year, we challenge you to help us reach more constituents and to broaden our foundation of support so that Foxcroft moves into the next century from a place of financial strength.

Help sustain the legacy of Foxcroft!

Make your gift online at www.foxcroft.org/give

22407 Foxhound Lane P.O. Box 5555 Middleburg, Virginia 20118 540.687.4510 development@foxcroft.org

Anonymous – 10 Mimi Mills Abel-Smith ’54 Stacey Morse Ahner ’73 Peggy Wickes Alexander ’64 +Elizabeth Stewart Baldwin ’23 +Elizabeth Kemp Beach ’20 Ruth Bedford ’32 Pamela Biddle ’81 +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 Hope Kane Childs ’55 Susan Knott Childs ’58 Candida Streeter Clark ’73 +Mariana Gowen Coleman ’15 +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 +Lucy Sprague Foster ’46 +Anna Lauder Garner ’39 Edmee E. Geis ’82 +Betsy N. Getz Sandra Norris Ghosh ’75 Brooke Meyer Gray ’59 Joy Sheaffer Hall ’57 Elizabeth Millard Hanes ’46 Katherine Cooper Hastings ’78 Sarah Stokes Hatch ’63 Trevania Dudley Henderson ’76 Theodora Winthrop Hooton ’47 Richard and Kimberly Hurst +May Field Jackson ’29 Hope Jones ’82 Hope Haskell Jones ’52 +Amanda Bryan Kane ’22 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 Barbara Hartley Lord ’41 +Elizabeth Mackubin Lyman ’22 +Jane Lawrence Mali ’55 +Nancy R. Manierre ’41 +Nancy Iselin Marburg ’37 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 Melissa Slingluff Morley ’81 Valerie Michel Nelson ’77 +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 +Seymour St. John +Anne Kinsolving Talbott ’60 Alix Tower Thorne ’67 +Eleanor Schley Todd ’29 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-Dillon ’82 +Mary Hotchkiss Williams ’30 +Alice Perkins Winn ’19 +Lunsford and Curgie Winchester Yandell ’24 + Deceased We have published the names of individuals who gave us permission to do so. If you have included Foxcroft in your long-term fiscal planning and would like your name listed, please write the Development Office at development@foxcroft.org or call 540.687.4510.

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Fall 2013

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

We look forward to welcoming you back to campus for the

Centennial Celebration Weekend, April 25-27, 2014 Register at www.foxcroft.org/centennial/registration Questions? centennial@foxcroft.org or 687.540.4510

Celebrating 100 Years