FWCD Falconer - Summer 2015

F o r t

W o r t h

Volume 6, Issue 2 Summer 2015

ISAS Fine Arts Festival

C o u n t r y

D a y

Photo by Robert Burn

Administrative Team

Volume 6, Issue 2

Evan D. Peterson Head of School Dr. Brad Philipson Assistant Head of School for Academics Steve Stackhouse Assistant Head of School for Operations Tom Mitchell Chief Financial Officer Joe Breedlove ’78 Director of Breakthrough Bill Arnold ’86 Head of Upper School Frank Gendusa Athletic Director Shari Lincoln Head of Lower School Kathy Lott Director of Admission and Financial Aid

The Magazine of Fort Worth Country Day

SUMMER 2015

F e at u r e s

24 Fine Arts Abound at ISAS Students from 40 ISAS member schools came together on the FWCD campus to celebrate.

John Stephens Head of Middle School

32 Five F’s for the Class of 2015

Robert Stovall Director of Fine Arts

The 102 members of the Class of 2015 celebrated their FWCD graduation on May 15.

Sandra Tuomey Director of Advancement Steve Uhr Director of Technology

38 Engineering Design FWCD students are introduced to the field of engineering through SMU and its Infinity Project.

EDITOR Shannon Rossman Allen ART DIRECTOR Lisa Koger Contributors Courtney Bourgeois Paige Farris Chisholm ’87 Rachel Donahue Yolanda Espinoza Mel Hurst Debby Jennings Shel Juliao Shilo Mancini Renee Pierce Sandra Tuomey Questions? Concerns? Comments?

Contact Shannon Allen at shannon.allen@fwcd.com

44 Then, Now, Forever.

With an eye toward the future, the Then, Now, Forever. campaign has addressed the financial and physical facility needs that will give students a solid foundation of academics, athletics and arts.

IN E A C H ISS U E 2 View from My Window 3 Around Campus 16 Faculty Q&A 18 Athletics 22 The Arts 48 Giving Back 50 Alumni News 58 Class Notes 64 From the Archives

Send address changes to: Fort Worth Country Day Advancement Office 4200 Country Day Lane Fort Worth, Texas 76109 © FWCD Cover photo by Glen E. Ellman

The Falconer is published biannually for Fort Worth Country Day families, alumni and friends by the Advancement Office. Opinions represented may not necessarily be the position of the Board or administration. Fort Worth Country Day has an institutional commitment to the principles of diversity. In that spirit, FWCD does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or national origin in admissions, the administration of its educational policies, financial aid, athletics and other School-administered programs.

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let ter from head of school EVAN D. PETERSON

View from My Window

Pictured with Gayle and Evan D. Peterson is the Manrique family, Jose, Lorena and Hilda. Kindergartener Lorena is the first recipient of the Gayle G. and Evan D. Peterson Scholarship. (See page 14 for more information on the scholarship.)

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This is my last time to address you in our Falconer. I have enjoyed watching this magazine evolve over the past 13 years. I remember when Board member Kelly Thompson ’77 encouraged the development department to “step up” our annual report. He showed us the UT quarterly as an example. I remember telling the team in development (now advancement), we needed to get close to the UT magazine.

I thank Kelly for urging us forward, and I congratulate the members of the advancement team for publishing such an outstanding and comprehensive magazine.

the world; and we are breaking ground this summer on the tennis complex and field house component of the athletic complex.

As you read through this edition of the Falconer, I hope you will appreciate the varied and wonderful things that have taken place at Country Day this year. We have a wonderful new Engineering Design course; we hosted what I believe is the best ISAS Arts Festival in history; we celebrated a stellar class of graduates this year who will make a difference in

So, for the last time, I say thank you to everyone who has had a hand in making the last 13 years some of the best for Country Day and for me. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and I wish our students, teachers, alumni and parents the very best. It has been my honor and a privilege to be your Head of School! Falcons forever!

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As Eric Lombardi becomes your next Head of School on July 1, I encourage you to take the time to get to know him.

I am confident that Eric will continue to improve on the many great things that are happening at Country Day. I look forward to seeing our school continue to grow and lead under his leadership.

Around Campus PEOPLE • HONORS • EVENTS • NEWS

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Middle Schoolers Give Back

Connecting to the Drum Beat Baba Kwasi won the hearts of Lower School students during his interactive and fun-filled program.

Using percussion instruments, Kwasi introduced students to African culture with songs, drumming and stories. Rich in meaning, his stories inspired students to persevere when learning difficult skills; to show excellence in all things; and to respect all living beings, for we are all connected by “The Oldest Drumbeat in the World”: the beating of our hearts. Kwasi is the co-founder of the Ayubu Kamau Kings and Queens.

His performing arts and cultural enrichment programs are focused on character building and cultural awareness.

Hardie Tucker ’25 and his classmates (top photo) enjoy Baba Kwasi (right) and his hands-on percussion demonstration.

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For the fourth year in a row, FWCD eighth-graders gave back to the Fort Worth community in a big way—by dispersing nearly $9,000 in grant funding to seven local nonprofit organizations. The check presentation in March concluded the Falcons for Fort Worth program, a Middle School community service and philanthropic learning project developed to instill the values of philanthropy in today’s students. The program focuses on the values of generosity, involvement and responsibility—all character qualities that students carry with them for a lifetime.

The Once Upon a Time Foundation granted $100 per student for disbursement in the Falcons for Fort Worth program. Mirroring the role of a nonprofit grants committee, the students learned about the local nonprofits through representatives who visited campus throughout the fall semester.

During the presentations, students posed questions to better understand the innerworkings of the various agencies.

This year, the eighth-graders awarded the following agencies: • Helping Restore Ability: $2,750 • NICU Helping Hands: $2,700 • Meals on Wheels: $1,500 • Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth: $950 • Boys and Girls Clubs: $400 • Alzheimer’s Association: $300 • A Wish with Wings: $200

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Kindergarten Vocation Rotation Seven community volunteers came to school this spring to share their careers with students. Patent Attorney Damon Hickman (father of Cash ’27 and Ethan ’21), Optometrist Dr. Robert Chu ’93 (father of Callie ’27 and Kaitlyn ’25), Occupational Therapist Duffy Bloemendal (mother of Owen ’27, Will ’27 and Jackson ’25), Pilates Instructor Jayme McCoy (mother of Francie ’27), Musician/ Cellist Dr. Jesus Castro-Balbi (father of Leonardo ’27, Briana ’25 and Joaquin ’22), Construction Contractor Todd Hall (father of Ryleigh ’27 and Reagan ’24), and Author Robin Bumstead (mother of Mary Evans ’27, Merrill ’20 and Bass ’19) took

turns speaking to students as part of Kindergarten Vocation Rotation. The project is invaluable to the students in that it gets them thinking about how important it is to do their current job—work hard as a student.

Dedication, determination and education are all important factors that will help the youngest Falcons soar!

Dr. Jesus Castro-Balbi, a cello professor at Texas Christian University, performs internationally as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician in such prestigious forums as Bass Hall in Fort Worth; The Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas; and Lincoln Center, Weill Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Tintype Photography Experiments Upper School photography students learned the art of tintypes from Frank Lopez, Dallas photographer and Greenhill School photography instructor, thanks to a grant from Supporting CAST. Lopez describes himself as an antiquarian avant-garde photographer. His photographic work focuses on pinhole photography and tintype. Kendall Davis, visual arts teacher, brought him to FWCD to work with her photography students on the art of wetplate tintype/ ambrotype photography, a historical process that requires the use of chemicals that are not in her possession and a special 19th-century camera lens. Lopez worked with students in the darkroom to prep the photographic plates and then took them in front of and behind the camera to create the unique images.

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PFA Supports the School Photo Above: Parents and teachers join forces for Out-of-this-World Carnival 2014.

Thanks to its faithful board members, tireless volunteers and supportive parents and faculty, the FWCD Parent Faculty Association was able to gift just over $98,000 directly back to teachers, facilities and classrooms.

PFA monies will sponsor three FWCD faculty/staff to attend the FWCD Institute for Independent School Leadership this summer, which will take place at TCU, and allow the Upper School to purchase Galaxy and Moto cellular devices, Microsoft Kinects for Windows, necessary software and computers for a new computer science class. Middle School classrooms will each be provided document cameras to use with the 1:1 iPad program and digital sign boards to help with communication in the hallways.

The Lower School is expanding its STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) program with funds to integrate the science and technology labs with new iPads, tinker lab tools, an Epson Interactive Projector 6

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Left: Amy Boyd Ryan ’80, Stephanie Dike and 2014-15 PFA President Kim Karsten enjoy this spring’s PFA party at Pop’s Garage.

this school unique,” said Kim Karsten, 2014-15 PFA president. Lastly, the PFA made the second installment on a fouryear pledge to underwrite a locker room in the planned new field house. and room dividers for their new space.

The PFA is providing a new sound board for the FWCD Scott Theater and is granting funds to financial aid to offset fees that are often an obstacle to families who wish to attend the School.

In addition, the PFA set aside funds for a dedicated PFA meeting room and workspace.

“We value the sacrifice and dedication of our faithful volunteers and hope to find a space we can gather in and use to work together on the projects that make

“As you can see, whether you chaired an event, served on a committee, worked a shift, glittered a pumpkin, painted an ornament, cooked a meal, volunteered in the FDP, bought a T-shirt, played Bingo, sorted lost uniform items, purchased a tuition raffle ticket or danced the night away at the PFA party, you played a vital role in the success of the PFA,” Karsten said. “More importantly, you helped to further the well-being of the Country Day community. We cannot thank you enough and look forward to next year!”

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Gods and Goddesses Abound

Catching Leprechauns FWCD’s youngest Falcons honored St. Patrick’s Day with the creation of leprechaun traps. Since 1990, kindergarteners have been enjoying this fun FWCD tradition.

Connor Brown and Aidan Karsten dressed the part and enjoyed some Greek cuisine.

Greekfest 2015 was a huge success! Sixth-graders came to school dressed as their favorite Greek god, goddess, titan or other Greek character.

They took their pictures upon Zeus’s throne, watched the 1970s version of Clash of the Titans, participated in a Greek Mythology Bee sponsored by the Upper School Latin Club (Janie Bradford reigned supreme), paraded around campus, feasted on Greek delicacies, and learned some Greek dances from a member of the Greek Orthodox Church in Fort Worth.

A Rumpus in the Lower School Frogs, toucans, jaguars, sloths, boa constrictors, explorers, howler monkeys, army ants, shamans and storytellers took over the Lower School Atrium in April as first-graders presented Rumpus in the Rainforest. Parents, teachers and friends were blinded by the neon colors and entertained by the silly antics of these creatures of the rainforest. Rumpus in the Rainforest tells the story of a sweet little frog who lives in the Amazon rainforest.

This frog has an impossible dream in the dense rainforest—to see the sky, even just once. The play highlighted interesting facts about the rainforest, as well as featured the various animals that are indigenous to it.

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FWCD Welcomes New Head of School Eric V. Lombardi The Fort Worth Country Day family gave a warm welcome to Debra and Eric Lombardi at a community reception on Thursday, March 19. Eric also spent that Thursday and Friday on campus meeting with students, faculty and staff— even having lunch with some Middle School students in the Fischer Dining Pavilion.

founding headmaster of St. John’s School in Houston (where Eric previously served as head of middle school), directed Fort Worth Country Day’s founders on independent education at one of the School’s very first meetings in 1961. Chidsey ultimately recommended Peter A. Schwartz H’98 for the FWCD headmaster – Eric Lombardi position. Schwartz was headmaster at Pembroke Country Day School in Kansas City, Missouri, the very school we have had five Heads of School who Eric’s father, Dick, attended. have stayed true to our purpose to inspire the passion to learn, the courage “I feel incredibly fortunate to be here,” to lead and the commitment to serve.

Eric said. “Evan [Peterson] has bragged “Eric has demonstrated during almost on the strength of the faculty at this 30 years in independent education,” school, and I look forward to meeting Ray continued, “that he has the passion and working with those who are closest to learn, the courage to lead and the to our kids.” commitment to serve.”

Eric said the highlight of his visit was meeting the students. He received an Speaking to the group of nearly 200 guests, Eric shared that he is enjoying “Alma Mater”-related lesson from some Middle School girls on how to fly “high this “fun” part of meeting the people as the falcon’s flight!” he will be working with. “My main objective is to meet the people who Eric begins his tenure as Fort Worth comprise the School,” he said.

Country Day’s sixth Head of School on July 1, 2015. Look for a full profile in He also shared some of his interesting the fall/winter issue of the Falconer. connections to FWCD: Alan Chidsey, ensuring that we continue to attract the best and brightest teachers, who in turn produce Country Day graduates that are leaders locally, nationally and globally. We have been fortunate that

“My main objective is to meet the people who comprise the School.”

Board of Trustees President Shannon Young Ray ’80 was pleased with the event’s turnout and its fun mix of familiar faces—past parents, current parents, grandparents, current and former faculty and staff, and alumni.

Ray also welcomed Ginny and Dick Lombardi, Eric’s parents, as honorary Falcons. Accepting the FWCD Head of School position brings Eric closer to his parents, who live in Dallas.

“Country Day prides itself on its long history of preserving the traditions and beliefs established by our founders while staying focused on the present and future needs of its students,” Ray said. “It requires strong leadership from within our School community to maintain such a delicate balance, 8

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around campus

Clockwise from top: Eric Lombardi learned from Middle School students how to fly “high as the falcon’s flight.”

Lombardi met with students in the Fischer Dining Pavilion during lunch.

Former Board President John Roach and his wife, Jean, welcomed Lombardi to FWCD. Lombardi’s wife, Debra (far left), and his parents, Dick and Ginny (center), attended the reception.

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Celebrating the ’20s and ’30s Students enrolled in Advanced Placement U.S. History enjoyed a bit of role playing this year. Students in Upper School history teacher Jennifer Giroir’s class celebrated famous Americans from the 1920s and 1930s by dressing up and taking on their persona for a class period.

Giroir enjoyed this project, which required research, imagination and communication skills, as it forced students to step outside their comfort zones. The type of teacher who stays up late tweaking her lessons to constantly make them better, Giroir has shelves and shelves of binders full of lessons she’s taught to students over the years, but she tends not to repeat them. She likes to conjure up new lessons based on the students in her classes and their personalities.

Ava Shen ’16 took on the role of Amelia Earhart, the first female aviator to accomplish a solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932.

Students chose their famous American and wrote a research paper prior to the role play. “I was impressed by the enthusiasm of my students and their ability to stay in character,” Giroir said. “They really seemed to enjoy the assignment, and it brought history to life for them.”

Spanish Puppet Fun Sometimes the best way to immerse one’s self in learning is through an inspiring project. Fifth-grade Spanish students showed their creative side, making puppets and then putting on a little show—all in Spanish. The project allowed students to practice speaking Spanish with some obscurity—through their puppet and behind a puppet show stage.

Supplied with a lunch-size brown paper bag, the fifth-graders designed and made their puppets. Some were very simple; others had more details. Jenna Schaffer ’22 crafted a puppet with amazing ingenuity and detail. She fashioned a “Muppetstyle” puppet, even incorporating a hand into her puppet. She sewed the puppet with a little assistance from her father.

In class, Janie Garrett, fifth-grade Spanish teacher, hung the puppet show stage in her classroom doorway, and the students presented their simple dialogues of Spanish salutations. The stage was created by Garrett’s daughter, Becca Garrett Finn ’99. “She made the stage three years ago out of her old FWCD uniform,” Garrett said. The puppets are becoming a beloved tradition in the fifth-grade language classes.

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Wall of Honor Grows by Two FWCD Faculty/Staff Honored at Founders’ Day Twenty-nine members of the community were celebrated at Founders’ Day on March 6 for their service to Fort Worth Country Day. Honorees were:

5 Years of Service Jean Webb’s family

Fort Worth Country Day’s Wall of Honor was created to pay tribute to the extraordinary people who’ve done extraordinary things for the School. This year’s Wall of Honor inductees were the late Jean Webb H’01 and the late Dr. Jim Aldridge H’14. Family members were in attendance at Founders’ Day (March 6) to receive the honor.

Webb was immersed in the life of Fort Worth Country Day the minute she set foot on campus in 1966. Hired to teach third and fourth grades, Webb spent 28 years in the Lower School. When she “retired” from the classroom in 1994, she began working in the Development Office to coordinate special events and alumni relations on a part-time basis. She officially retired in 2001—with 35 years of service to the School. The Jean Webb Service to Alma Mater award was later created to honor alumni who have shown extraordinary and lengthy service to the School. In retirement, Webb worked

with great vision to build the FWCD Archives. She was considered the walking encyclopedia of Fort Worth Country Day. Dr. Aldridge joined the FWCD family in 1983 as a Middle School life and earth sciences teacher. A true Renaissance man, he was a writer, rock collector, nature buff, computer expert, pilot, meteorologist, photographer, astronomer, scuba diver, traveler and motorcycle enthusiast. He valued education: in himself, in his colleagues and in his students. Dr. A, as he was affectionately known, served the Middle School for eight years before moving to the Upper School. He taught Chemistry, AP Chemistry and Computer Science. Dr. A’s passion for electronics and computers stemmed from his high school days when he began “tinkering” and learning the general principles of computer programming. In 31 years at FWCD, he ignited learning in the classroom for hundreds of students.

Chloe Bade Anderson ’05, San Juan Becera, Natalie Bracken ’05, Heather Goldman, Rebecca James, Caroline Corpening Lamsens ’99, Tom Mitchell, Paula Weatherholt

10 Years of Service Lynnette Burleson, Frank Gendusa, Tammi Holcomb, Kristin Vaughn, Rita Zawalnicki

15 Years of Service Maria Lupe Arechar, Roberto Arroyo, Andrew Beasley, Leo Desormier, Theresa Fuss, Joni Heinzelmann, Missi Olson Kovachev ’89, Reyna Martinez, Kellie McLarty, Maria Olvera, Chad Peacock, Cynthia Reyes, Craig Slayton, Fred Stewart, Lisa Wallace

40 Years of Service Debby Jennings

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FWCD Reads

By Debby Jennings

(Seated) Barb Kent, (Standing) Tad Sanders, Lelia Koeppe, Ann Packer, Mona Lynn Goone McDaniel, Gayle Corkery, Andy Cordell, Priscilla Harrier H’08, Hyatt Bass ’87, June Van Buskirk H’09, Debby Jennings, Lu Kelly and Sharon Foster H’05.

Many FWCD faculty and staff share a love of reading and the chance to mix a discussion of literature with the social interaction of a book club. The School has two active book clubs, Book Circle, which has been meeting monthly since 1985, and Julia’s Book Club, now in its sixth year.

Book Circle was started in 1985 by FWCD librarians Debby Jennings, Betty Reese and Priscilla Harrier H’08. Tad Sanders, Mona Lynn Goone McDaniel, Debby Jennings and Sharon Hamilton have been with the group since its inception. Originally, the group met in a member’s home for a meeting that included dinner and a book discussion. Five years ago, the group decided to meet in the Moncrief Library for an evening meeting and one member brings dessert.

Book choices vary and are chosen by group consensus. Every few months, members pitch titles they think will appeal to the group and three or four books are chosen. The person suggesting the book becomes that book’s discussion leader and typically does some research on the author, setting or historical time period to add to the discussion. Books have included classics like All Quiet on the Western Front, Marjorie Morningstar, Crossing to Safety and, more recently, popular titles like The Help, Gone Girl, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and The All Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion. The group sometimes chooses books that FWCD students are reading like Wonder, Twilight and Harry Potter, and always reads the Upper School Universal Summer Reading Book.

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From time to time, Book Circle meets for a special event.

When The Help was released as a movie, the group went to a showing and then met for dinner to compare the book and the movie. Another memorable outing involved a novel titled The Embers by Hyatt Bass ’87. The group went to her book signing at Barnes and Noble. Sometimes, there are guest leaders: Suzanne Lewis led the discussion of Death Comes to the Archbishop, and several Fort Worth authors have come to talk about their own books.

Julia’s Book Club began at the suggestion of former Assistant Director of College Counseling Julia Ando and is now coordinated by Christy Alvear and Maggie Philpot. The group meets once a month in a host’s home for dinner or heavy hors d’oeuvres. Sometimes, dinners are themed to relate to the book. Kristin Vaughn hosted a discussion of The White Queen and the entire meal was white: white pizza, white dips, white sandwiches. During a discussion of House of Silk, a Sherlock Holmes mystery set in and around London, Maggie Philpot served a British favorite, Shepherd’s Pie. Following the discussion, the host for the meeting chooses three books to pitch for the next month, and the group votes on a selection.

Past books have included The Help and Little Bee. The groups both enjoy the collegiality of the members and the chance to keep up friendships that developed from years of teaching and working together and, of course, to share their love of reading.

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New Trustees Named to FWCD Board Four Trustees were named to FWCD’s Board for a three-year term beginning in the 2015-16 academic year.

Quintin Cassady is vice president and general counsel for Galderma Laboratories, L.P., and has served at Galderma, the Fort Worth-based operations of Nestle Skin Health, for the past 15 years. He has long been involved at FWCD in a number of capacities, including serving as co-chair of the 2012-13 FWCD Fund with his wife, Jill; member of the Advancement Committee for the past three years; and member of the Major Gifts Committee.

Previously with Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Dwight Horton ’75 held various executive roles, including vice president of finance for the Europe/Middle East/Africa operations, U.S. operations, business development, and global strategic initiatives and operations at Alcon’s U.S. headquarters in Fort Worth from 1983 to 2011. Since retiring, he has been active in the community, serving on a variety of nonprofit boards.

Retired from Occidental Petroleum Corp., Kenneth J. Huffman was the company’s vice president, investor relations, from 1991-2006. A longstanding and active member on Texas Christian University’s Board of Trustees, Huffman served on the Executive committees of The Campaign for TCU and The Campaign for Scholarship Initiative and is a founding member of the Addison & Clark Society. He also is a member of the Chancellor’s Council and Board of Trustees of The Shipley School in Pennsylvania.

Martha Schutts Williams ’70 founded Williams Trew Real Estate Services in 2000. She specializes in the relocation of corporate executives and has become one of the top 1 percent of realtors nationally. Williams serves on the boards of the Fort Worth Zoo, UT Southwestern Medical Foundation in Dallas and the Van Cliburn Foundation. A founding member of the Fort Worth Professional Women’s Organization, she was its first president. She also has served as president of the Junior League of Fort Worth.

2014-15 Scholarship Recipients Vicki and Edward P. Bass Scholarship Kinsey McGlasson ’16, Isaac Narrett ’17 Beverly Anne Robinson Faculty Endowed Scholarship Joaquin Castro-Balbi ’22, Addie Finley ’23, Jessica Sustaita ’16 Malone Scholars Program Abigail Bullock ’18, Viraj Gandhi ’19, Lance Mayhue ’18, Erinn Miller ’17, Nate Wallace ’18, Joanne Wu ’17 Peter A. Schwartz Scholarship Nicholas Aufiero ’17 Captain David Herr Memorial Scholarship John Fredian ’16 Reilly Family Foundation/ Breakthrough Fort Worth Scholarship Gustavo Torres ’16 Alumni Endowed Scholarship Sarai Dominguez ’15, Michael Estrada ’15, Erik Lopez ’15 Ella C. McFadden Scholars Eleni Michaelides ’15, Kelton Rippetoe ’15 Jillian C. Thompson Scholarship Christopher Wilkins ’20 Moritz Scholarship at FWCD Samuel Kim ’16 Joey Pollard Memorial Scholarship Nicholas Epperson ’18 Betty Reese Memorial Scholarship Jacob Rains ’16

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Celebrating 19 Years of FWCD Leadership Over the course of a 41-year career in education, Evan D. Peterson has put his students first. For 19 of those years, his life’s work has focused on the educational experiences of students at Fort Worth Country Day as head of Upper School (1986-92) and, for the past 13 years, as Head of School.

During the week of April 20, the School celebrated Peterson with a farewell evening reception in the Lou and Nick Martin Campus Center and a student celebration, complete with boots, blue jeans and ice cream!

During the evening celebration, Peterson was named an FWCD Honorary Alumnus by Alumni Council President Josh Korman ’92. (See story on page 52.)

Board President Shannon Young Ray ’80 recognized the woman behind the man, telling the crowd that Gayle helped seal the deal for the Board of Trustees in 2002 when Peterson and Gayle visited during the Head of School interview process. Because of their steadfast devotion to the School and its students, the Gayle G. and Evan D. Peterson Scholarship was announced. This scholarship will benefit FWCD Lower School students.

This scholarship received initial support from Mike and Beverly Reilly and their family. In addition, 14

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each of Evan’s eight Board chairs has made a pledge to this fund in appreciation of the Peterson’s service to Fort Worth Country Day. With the pledges in hand, at least one Lower School student will receive support immediately this fall.

The evening program ended with Ray unveiling Peterson’s Head of School portrait, which will hang in the Martin Campus Center with the portraits of all FWCD Heads of School.

It was the student program that Peterson was perhaps most looking forward to. He called for the assembly because he wanted to meet with students as a group one final time before leaving his Head of School post.

The day was full of surprises as Peterson shared words of wisdom with students through stories, including find your passion, find your mentor and enjoy each day. He invoked his father, Charles Evan Peterson, and his mentor, Dr. John Meyers, and shared what cancer taught him.

His final words were thank yous to the love of his life, Gayle; to a hardworking and dedicated faculty; to a caring Board of Trustees; to an admin team with a sense of humor; and finally to his students. “I got into this business 41 years ago because of you,” he said.

“I’ve loved you like my own children

and would choose to do it all over again the very same way.” The crowd roared in applause with a standing ovation following Peterson’s words.

After his speech, each division presented Peterson with a gift as he sat in his Lower School rocking chair just off the stage. The Lower School Student Council presented him with picture books to take with him to North Carolina. Director of Fine Arts Robert Stovall introduced the Upper School choir, which sang a special song titled “Make a Difference, in Honor of Evan D. Peterson, Fort Worth Country Day.” The song was specially written and composed by Barry Talley. Middle School students created a slide show in Peterson’s honor.

Following the giving of these gifts, students walked to the Upper School Practice Fields for ice cream sundaes and an early dismissal. As the Lower School students walked to the field, students began to walk up to Peterson to give him a hug. Soon the Middle School and Upper School students were “storming the Head,” nearly knocking Peterson off his feet.

FWCD showed its love for their leader in these celebrations, and, for Peterson, these special moments allowed him to depart with many fond FWCD memories and special mementos.

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Left: Evan D. Peterson is all smiles when Lower School students thank him for the ice cream social.

Top: The tradition of peanuts at FWCD’s baseball and softball games will continue in Peterson’s honor.

The School presented him with his own peanut basket at the retirement reception.

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Q& with Teresa Hoppe and Shaen A What does FWCD mean to you?

FWCD is a huge part of my life. It is where my children are spending their formative school years, growing, thriving and learning new things every day. FWCD is where Dave and I enjoy our careers and continue to grow and learn from our students and colleagues. It is great having our entire family at FWCD. With all we do at FWCD, it sometimes feels like it is our second home!

What do you enjoy about the Lower School learning specialist job?

I like that I can work with students and teachers in different grade levels. I have the privilege of observing the sense of accomplishment and growing confidence a student feels when he or she completes a challenging task. I also have the benefit of seeing students grow and progress from grade to grade. This position allows me to collaborate with colleagues, as well as serve as a resource and support for teachers and parents.

Why do you teach?

My mother was an elementary school teacher, and I wanted to be an educator for as long as I can remember. I loved to “play school.” My favorite “toy” was the chalkboard in our basement. I used my mother’s old books and created class lists of imaginary students with unique personalities. After I earned my first master’s degree, I fused teaching with my love for travel and experiencing different cultures. The Department of Defense schools overseas were seeking teachers with backgrounds in one of the models of gifted education I had studied. This led to teaching positions in Iceland, Norway and England.

Later, I taught at an international school in Japan.

Why is the Fourth-Grade Parent-Child Book Club close to your heart?

When Christopher was about to enter fourth grade, we read the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I was so moved by the book and its message of being “kinder than necessary,” that I wanted to share it with other families. I thought a parent-child book club could be a great venue for doing just that. Now, the book club finished its third year, and I am just as eager to share the books. I routinely am impressed by the students who articulately express their thoughts and comfortably share their ideas.

Earlier this year, I read an interview with Cynthia Lord, who was asked to complete the sentence, “Reading is….” She stated: “Reading is a way to live a million lives.

It provides a window to other people and places and yet, sometimes, the person we discover and learn most about is ourselves.” This aptly expresses what reading means to me and what I hope students and parents gain from reading and discussing books in the book club.

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Faculty Q&A

McKnight How did your early career shape you as a teacher?

As a field engineering representative in the oilfield (for Dowell, Division of The Dow Chemical Company), I learned (among other things) how to function without sleep, how to drive a 21-speed transmission in a 60,000 pound semi, how to be part of a team and what ‘boom or bust’ means when you are part of the oil industry.

As a chemist and research chemist (for The Dow Chemical Company), I learned that I could take off my flame-resistant Nomex coveralls and put on a three-piece suit, that I could start the day in a lab coat in Midland, Michigan, and end it in a dinner coat in New York, and that the world did not end at the Red River. And when given the task of developing and conducting a laboratory competency course for our field sales force, I learned that I enjoyed designing and teaching lessons.

My experiences have shaped me by forcing me to learn new things and expand beyond any self-perceived or -imposed limitations. These experiences both motivate me to help others to learn and ensure that I will treat my students with a degree of empathy, knowing firsthand that growth is both liberating and genuinely scary.

What do you love about teaching?

I could give some wonderful sounding, altruistic explanation for why I teach, but the truth is anything but that. I teach for myself, for my own benefit, because I am very, very selfish. I teach because it both enables and forces me to become more of the person I aspire to be—gentler, more patient, more humane and more creative. I teach because in the classroom, no word, gesture, expression or inflection can be considered trivial or inconsequential. And I keep teaching because my students provide me with something very precious in this age—hope for our future.

What is one of your favorite lab experiments?

Every chemistry teacher is at least a little bit of a pyromaniac, and I am no exception.

I like things that give off smoke and heat. A favorite experiment is the Gummi Bear Sacrifice, where you drop a gummi bear into a test tube of decomposing sodium chlorate and the excess of oxygen allows it to react so rapidly that it gives off enough light and heat to partially illuminate the room. Students have heard of calories, and often know that they represent energy. They have even written and balanced chemical equations, but often they don’t connect the concepts with the reality until they see eight calories released in just a few seconds. The hands-on experiences make it real and fun, which should never be undervalued.

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Athletics An integral part of the FWCD experience is participation in athletics. FWCD Falcons demonstrate a high regard for sportsmanship, effort, health, fitness and school spirit.

The varsity softball team was undefeated in conference play and crowned North Zone Champions.

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ATHLETICS

Two FWCD SPC Champions Seniors Turner MacLean and Melody Rodriguez were crowned Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) champions during the spring semester: MacLean in golf, Rodriguez in swimming.

MacLean won the 2015 SPC Golf Championship at the Northgate Country Club in Houston. He fired 72-68 for a 140 total and won by two strokes in the field of 92 golfers. The win capped off an incredible spring and senior season for MacLean; he won the individual titles in each of his last four tournaments. MacLean will continue his game locally when he plays for the Horned Frogs. He will attend Texas Christian University on a golf scholarship.

Rodriguez finished her swimming career at FWCD with a huge splash! She was the SPC Champion in the 50-yard freestyle and 100yard backstroke, breaking both FWCD records, which also were held by her. She was a member of the 200-yard medley relay team that finished third and broke the FWCD record as well.

Rodriguez’s finishes helped lead the girls’ team to an overall fourth-place finish at SPC.

Davis and Baird to Play College Athletics Two seniors committed to play college athletics in April. Devon Davis will play field hockey at Sewanee, The University of the South in Tennessee, and Cooper Baird will run cross country and track at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.

The Upper School community, the Davis and Baird families, friends and faculty members celebrated with Devon and Cooper on Monday, April 27.

Middle School Lacrosse Wins the Fort Worth Cup The Middle School lacrosse team competed in the Fort Worth Cup tournament, along with Trinity Valley School (TVS), All Saints’ Episcopal School (ASES) and Fort Worth Youth Lacrosse (FWYL). The Falcons met to compete at TVS. Their first opponent, FWYL, provided a back-and-forth match finishing in a 9-5 victory for Fort Worth Country Day. The team won 9-2 in the championship against All Saints’. FWCD regained the cup title, having won the previous tournament in 2013.

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ATHLETICS

“Without a doubt, he was one of the

M

usings on Murph

With more than 37 years of service to Fort Worth Country Day as head wrestling coach; PE coach; and Middle School assistant coach of track, cross country and football, Joe Murph, affectionately known as Coach “Murph” or simply “Murph,” has left an indelible impression on Falcons for close to four decades.

While Murph would never tout individual athletes’ successes as his own, it is important to note that he coached countless SPC Champions, and the team as a whole was crowned SPC Champion in 1990-91 and 1995-96, as well as Fort Worth Dual Team Champions in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Wrestlers at Country Day are an interesting breed. In a recent call for Coach Murph memories, a barrage of responses and memories came back to the School. Jeff Davis ’03 summed it up for many when he said: “I specifically say ‘mentor’ instead of ‘coach’ because he has always been more than a coach to me. Through the sport of wrestling, he taught me levels of discipline, dedication and accountability that remain with me to this day and will always be with me and influence the way I live my life.”

Following are some highlights of what was collected and passed on to Coach Murph in a memory book before he rode off into the sunset on his Harley.

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strongest and most influential men in my formative years. Aside from my father, I can’t think of anyone who taught me more, who was more supportive. He schooled me in the virtues of hard work, humor, perseverance, fighting through pain, setting goals and accomplishing them. Of course, one wouldn’t say he’s the warm and fuzzy type, but I intrinsically knew that Coach Murph cared deeply about me, my wellbeing and my development into a man. It’s been 18 years since I graduated, and I often reflect on my time at FWCD. When I do, his face is the first that comes to mind.” ~ Chad Feehan ’97

ATHLETICS

“Murph always drove me to try harder. He was the kind of coach that

athletes love having. You wanted to win and succeed because he was in your corner. His advice between periods and insights after a match made you want to be better. I didn’t have to think about top, bottom or neutral in the second period, Murph knew my strengths, and, as he watched the match, he knew where I had a better chance. His drills helped develop the skills needed not only for wrestling but for life. I attribute a lot of my discipline and drive to wrestling and to Murph. After the accident that paralyzed me, I could have given up, but I had the tools and skills needed to buckle up and get through it, and that is thanks to Joe.” ~ Rob Ritter ’06

“You were right, Coach Murph, I totally should have wrestled my junior

year! And I’m so happy I came back for my senior year. I can honestly say I miss wrestling more than football. And I LOVED football. But wrestling was just so cool .… We felt like a pack of wolves. In no other sport have I had that strong of a bond with the coach and with my teammates. It was truly special. If I have boys one day, they will definitely wrestle. Wrestling is just a primal sport that you taught us, that gets in your blood …. I always remembered your teachings. I’ve carried them and the sport of wrestling with me and will for the rest of my life.” ~ Hunter Estes ’93

“The positive impact that Murph had on me has translated from the

wrestling mat and football field to the corporate world in more ways than I ever imagined. I routinely convey to young employees and others I interact with that the life lessons I learned in wrestling and being coached by a person who believed in me are the keys to how I approach life and the various business ventures that I am involved with today.” ~ Daryn Eudaly ’91

Murph-isms Definition: Something often nonsensical—and always hysterically funny—said by Fort Worth Country Day’s beloved Coach Joe Murph to his wrestlers.

“Having married into the cult-like group of wrestlers who hold Coach Murph dear, I can tell you that Murph-isms are a daily part of the Juliao vernacular,” said Shel Juliao, who’s husband Sam ’92 wrestled for Murph from 1988-92. “For example, ‘pair up in threes’ and all day, every day, 15 minutes a day’ are some of our favorites.”

Of course there are a host more— though many cannot be put into print (insert the Popeye laugh). Here are a handful of Murph-isms, shared with the Falconer: “Tom Foolery” “Skull Duggery” “Hand control can solve 90 percent of the world’s problems.”

“Fig Newton of my imagination” “I resemble that comment.”

“Time to pick up the debris on the field!”

“Those were exterminating circumstances.” “... and .... let that be a lesson to you ...”

“Grappling hooks” “Calorie overload theory” “Bag O’Shoes” “Razoo”

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The Arts The City of Fort Worth is internationally known for its vibrant arts scene. At FWCD, we offer the finest of fine arts through our celebrated ballet program, visual arts classes, choral programs, band, orchestra, drumline, performing arts and technical theatre.

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Fine Arts Abound at 48th ISAS Arts Festival

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For those who have never experienced the ISAS Arts Festival, think of it as a student-based Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival with a young, exuberant crowd celebrating and sharing their talents in the fine arts. Sponsored by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS), this grand celebration fosters high standards and stimulates creativity in the performing and fine arts of its member schools, as well as highlights the individual endeavors of students and teachers.

On March 26-28, 3,100 students from 40 schools came together on the Fort Worth Country Day campus to engage in workshops, presentations, performances, displays and more related to their artistic crafts. FWCD alone sent more than 170 Upper School students to get their arts on!

“The annual ISAS Arts Festival is such a unique event.

The interactive forum allows students to create, perform, collaborate and support the many different genres of the fine arts,” said Robert Stovall, FWCD’s director of fine arts and this year’s festival chair. “We, at Fort Worth Country Day, fully embraced this opportunity. Our students enjoy every chance they get to display their talents. This exhibit of talents is so important because we, as teachers, are always working toward a goal of expression, comprehension and performance at a high level. The festival gives us, as well as other ISAS schools, a venue to showcase our work to those who truly appreciate the arts.”

The very first ISAS Arts Festival took place in 1967 with an invitation from the Casady School Choir to the choirs of

Wichita Collegiate School and Holland Hall to participate in a joint program. The festival has grown to become the nation’s premier annual regional arts festival among independent schools. What makes this festival so special is that it is designed as a celebration of sharing and learning with critiques by professional artists and performers. There are no competitions for prizes or rankings, so students can soak in the experience, hone their skills and revel in learning. This approach fosters creativity and experimentation, providing an exceptional opportunity for students to connect with others and understand and appreciate qualities in one another’s programs and facilities.

An event of this magnitude takes great planning and forethought. FWCD’s Fine Arts Department successfully led the charge, planning the festival and working behind the scenes, with the support of 300 parent, student and faculty/ staff volunteers. Parent volunteers led by Pam Darrow and Connie Smith worked in areas where their Upper School students were participating or performing: One of the perks of volunteering is getting a sneak peek at the sessions and performances because the event is closed to parents.

“When taking on an adventurous project such as the ISAS Arts Festival, one has to realize that in order to provide the best possible experience for our visitors, the community has to buy-in to the cause. I am extremely grateful to be a part of this true community. While the ISAS Arts Festival is an Upper School student event, it takes an entire community to host such a large, prestigious event. Parents who volunteered were amazed. You simply cannot explain this festival in words.

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You have to see it to understand it,” Stovall said. “The passion and creativity of the students is simply incredible. My hope is that the volunteering parents gained an understanding and appreciation of the event. Their students will most likely attend an ISAS festival in the future. The invitation to host comes only once every 10 years, so this was truly a special opportunity for our community.

“A huge evolvement has taken place during the festival’s 48year history, and FWCD has played an important part in that evolution process,” Stovall continued. “Our faculty, staff, parents and students have invested a large amount of time and effort over the years to ensure successful festivals. This year, I think we put together an unforgettable experience and display of fine arts.”

Since the festival’s inception, FWCD has hosted five times: in 1976, 1984, 1991, 2003 and 2015.

While hosting the festival was a major endeavor, it was done with the students in mind. The campus was electric from the moment the first bus arrived at noon on March 26. The energy raged on throughout the next two days as student artists took part in performances, displays, presentations and workshops. Students from the 40 schools performed and gained feedback on their works in a variety of sessions that included: • 2D and 3D adjudication and portfolio review • Brass and percussion, vocal, woodwind, strings and guitar solo/ensemble • Show/concert choir • Two Coffee House stages for rock and acoustic performances • Concert band and orchestra • Drumline • Improv • One-act play • Photo display adjudication and portfolio review • Scenes and monologues • Showcase: dance and musical • Video and video adjudication • Jazz band and piano solo Continued page 29

Left: Filmmaker Ya’Ke Smith presented a Directing for the Screen video workshop.

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Clockwise from the top: Gustavo Torres ’16 performs a piano solo.

John Holt Smith ’87 critiques 2D artwork.

A student participates in the Stop Motion on iPad workshop.

FWCD students Madelyn Luskey ’15, Annalyn Kumar ’15, Caroline Malanga ’15, Casidy Bates ’15, Adele Elkind ’16 and Laura Murphy ’15 enjoy a break.

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Clockwise from the top: The ISAS illustration map was found throughout campus.

The Celery Heads performed in the Improv Tent.

Pam Summers shared ceramic techniques through wheel demonstrations.

The fold-out map was a hit with festival-goers.

FWCD’s video presentation Sedrick Huckaby presented a portraiture workshop.

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The two Coffee House venues were fun centerpieces of the festival. Conducted as open mics, the stages allowed students to perform in small groups in the acoustic tent behind the library while the rock tent pulsed throughout the day with throngs of fans screaming over the thump of the students’ music.

On March 27, music performed in the Rock Band Coffee House by FWCD students brought the house down as students shrieked and crowd surfed through the performance. Rumor has it the hum of the performance and shrill screams of the fans could be heard nearly a half mile from campus. Some FWCD faculty and administrators were even sporting earplugs near the back of the venue—it was that fantastically loud!

The true heartbeat of the festival included its many arts workshops and seminars by expert faculty members and professional artists. This year, nearly 60 master classes related to theatre, choir, 2D art, ceramics, video, photography and instrumental music were offered multiple times throughout the three-day festival in order to allow students to take advantage of as many as possible.

Many sessions had wait lists, the result of participant caps that allowed for more meaningful student-teacher interactions.

One great example is Pam Summers, who has worked with members of FWCD’s National Junior Art Honor Society. She gave a ceramics workshop titled Throwing on the Wheel. Summers shared her various forms of ceramic artwork, provided wheel demonstrations and hands-on experience, and answered student questions over the course of her two-hour sessions. Charles Varner, TCU adjunct professor in graphic design, also shared his expertise, presenting Illustration Techniques. A professional illustrator, Varner taught students basic illustration techniques and then students created their own drawings. The 2015 ISAS illustration map was designed by Varner.

And, of course, fueling the participants’ energy was central to the entire three days. Led by Brandon Barnes, SAGE Dining Services took Top: FWCD’s one-act play Right: FWCD’s band

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care of the food needs for more than 3,500 students, chaperones, volunteers and adjudicators, serving 20,000 meals throughout the festival. Under a circussized tent, students dished up their meals.

Ten chefs were called in for the event, and nearly 100 full-time SAGE employees worked around the clock in either the food tent, the accompanying kitchen tents or the Moncrief Library hospitality suite. An ice sculpture of FWCD’s ISAS Arts Festival logo graced the beverage area of the food tent throughout dinner the first evening. While warmer temperatures melted the graphic by Friday, it was a hit with students who chose to take their ISAS selfies in front of it!

No one was more pleased with the festival than Head of School Evan D. Peterson. This was the third time FWCD had hosted the event since he arrived at the School, and this is the last time he could take special pride in its success.

“I am so proud of the way Robert and his crew of teachers and parents put everything in place for this festival and pleased with how well the event came off.

I am equally proud of the way all of our volunteers, no matter what their job or responsibility was, did what was asked of them,” Peterson noted. “This was truly a community effort for our students. From the many hours spent by Robert and his steering committee, to the grounds crew, to the parents and teachers … everyone pitched in to make this an event the ISAS schools will talk about for years. I know that will be one memory I will enjoy recalling for many years to come.”

Top: Charles Varner discusses illustration with students.

FWCD students ignited the Rock Band Coffee House.

Students enjoyed downtime in their ENO hammocks.

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It Takes a Village The success of the 2015 ISAS Arts Festival hosted on the Fort Worth Country Day campus is due to the hard work of more than 300 FWCD volunteers. The Fine Arts Department, Plant Operations, Security, SAGE Dining Services, parents, students and faculty/staff each put their best foot forward to serve as stellar hosts throughout the three-day celebration of the arts.

“The undertaking of this epic adventure was both a pleasure and a challenge. It would not have been possible if we didn’t have our COMMUNITY completely vested in this event,” said Robert Stovall, director of fine arts. “We presented our COMMUNITY to the ISAS Arts Festival in a manner that all who participated came away with a positive experience and were very complimentary of the atmosphere we created. For that, I am very grateful and appreciative to the COMMUNITY at Fort Worth Country Day. Thank you all for your help and time in this amazing endeavor.”

Special kudos go to the following members of the ISAS Arts Festival Steering Committee who gave of themselves over the past year and went over and above to do the behind-the-scenes work: Brandon Barnes Cathy Gullo Clovis Murphree Rex Bozarth Tricia Franks Natalie Bracken ’05 Melodee Halbach Carrie Cheng Jonathan Hinton Ed Chisholm Darlene Ignagni Holly Clifford Rebecca James Tiffini Crum Lisa Koger Lauren Cunningham Chuck Kraus Pamela Darrow Jerry Mahle Kendall Davis Lori McCormack Dorrine DeChant Steve McGaw Christine Derber Tom Mitchell

Michael Parker Chad Peacock Brad Philipson Craig Slayton Connie Smith Steve Stackhouse Robert Stovall Peggy Wakeland Lisa Wallace Mary Weir Erin Ypya

The Acoustic Coffee House drew large crowds.

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Five F’s for the Class of 2015: Friends,

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Faculty, Family, Freedom and Falcons

Photo by Robert Burn

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O Top Left: As a guest speaker at graduation, Pete Geren ’70 was able to present his daughter, Mary, with her diploma.

Top Right: Baylor-bound Mixson Staffel and Kennedy Stovall give the “Bear Claw” sign with Baylor graduate, Dr. Mark Martin.

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n Friday, May 15, the atmosphere was charged as 102 seniors entered the packed auditorium of McKinney Church in procession to Sir Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1.” It was official: Graduation was underway for the Fort Worth Country Day Class of 2015.

gifts of others took center stage.

Early in the program, Fine Arts Director Robert Stovall introduced the choral piece “Make a Difference,” which was commissioned for retiring Head of School Evan D. Peterson. Composed by Stovall’s friend and peer arts director, Barry Talley, the song was performed flawlessly by the FWCD choir.

Here, in their final celebration as Country Day students, the graduates were honored with a program structured to commemorate their journeys as Falcons and provide insights for their paths ahead.

Distinct to this year’s commencement service was a poignant feature address from well-known community leader Preston “Pete” Geren III ’70, who is also father to 2015 graduate Mary Geren.

From their classmates, Salutatorian Melody Rodriguez and Valedictorian Sydney Mulqueen, the graduates were reminded of their bonds of friendship; of their times together through rice babies, Greek Fest and the Washington, D.C., trip; and the challenges of outlines, intensive projects and all-night study sessions; and that in racing through life, sometimes stumbling is part of winning and one’s cheering section of family members, friends, mentors and educators is the most important aspect of any challenge or triumph.

Throughout the evening, words of hope and encouragement were plentiful.

Applause and cheers from family, friends and faculty filled the large space, and a theme of gratefulness for the support and

“I firmly believe that the best is yet to

Far Left: Upper School History Teacher Sara Teegarden imparted her four life lessons: Quality not quantity; drop the rock; think once, twice, three times; life lessons never stop.

Left: Kassadi Smith was chosen by the senior class to speak on their behalf.

come,” encouraged Rodriguez, as she related the unending circle of a school running track to their ongoing journeys in life. Mulqueen told of an insightful moment for her during the ISAS Arts Festival in March, when a bus driver, amazed by the campus, opened her eyes to the good fortune in being a Fort Worth Country Day student. “Slow down and look around like that driver … wake up every day, seeing the sunrise as new opportunities,” she imparted. “… all the while remembering Fort Worth Country Day as the place where our dreams and hopes were fostered, where the tight-knit community we are a part of continues to flourish, where we hold our deepest sense of pride.”

Maya Angelou. “You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled tree lights,” recited Ray in her list of snippets. “I’ve learned that: making a living is not the same as making a life … when I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision … I still have a lot to learn.”

Board President Shannon Young Ray ’80 congratulated the students on their graduation. Challenging the seniors to embrace their love of learning and use FWCD’s core values as a guiding light in their life choices, Ray shared with them her favorite ‘simple truths’ by the late Dr.

Addressing the students, Geren, president of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation—or Mary’s dad as he prefers to be known—introduced them to their newest class member, retiring Head of School and now honorary alumnus Evan D. Peterson H’15. “This is unique,”

“I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.”

Melody Rodriguez Class of 2015 Salutatorian

related Geren. “His tenure as head began and ends with the Class of 2015. In 2002, one of his first duties as head was to welcome those of you who started here in kindergarten to your first day of school. As he shakes hands with all of you tonight, it is one of his last acts as head.

I know you will welcome him to your ranks and take pride in sharing that with him.”

Thanking Peterson for his years of service, Geren segued into his topic of advice for the students: gratitude for the gifts of friends, faculty, family and freedom. He spoke about preparing for his speech by talking with FWCD students, parents, teachers and administrators. He learned that teachers valued the deep sense of community at Country Day. The students cited great friends and great teachers as their favorite aspects of the School.

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Department of Defense (200109), which culminated in his top appointment as 20th U.S. Secretary of Army, that helped provide the basis for adding freedom to the list. That and a startling connection to the 2015 graduating class.

your best friends. Drop the rock—the sooner you can relieve yourself of the burden, the sooner you can heal. Follow your gut in making decisions. In front of you now are your stories and life lessons,” she imparted, “I hope they help you work to be the person you want to be.”

“Factoring in pre-K, our nation has been at war as long as the Class of 2015 has been in school,” Geren explained. “No graduating class in American history has been able to say that.

We are in our 14th year of war—the longest in American history.”

Expounding on his experiences and extending honor to FWCD’s own family of soldiers, including Head of Upper School Bill Mary Barber and Cassidy Bates sing the “Alma Mater.”

Arnold ’86 and the late Chip Herr ’80, Geren As the students lined up for the talked about the freedom we have and presentation of the diplomas, Senior the sacrifices that continue to provide Class President Dheeraj Reddy placed it. He told how he came to treasure a sizable fish bowl on the stage. “Mr. freedom as a gift rather than a debt after Peterson,” he said, “This year’s class has a posthumous Medal of Honor award. decided that our traditional ‘present’ The soldier’s father told the survivors, to the Head of School will be that each ‘Enjoy your lives; it was a gift from my member contributes to the Gayle G. son to you.’ Geren added, “We have the and Evan D. Peterson Scholarship.” duty to use that gift well.”

(The class collectively donated nearly $12,000 to the scholarship.)

Sara Teegarden, the class-chosen faculty speaker and Upper School Rounding out the ceremony, Peterson history teacher, utilized a class outline went off script to call longtime FWCD to give the students a fun rundown of Head Librarian Debby Jennings her top four life lessons: Quality not to the stage. “A lot has been said quantity; drop the rock; think once, about my retirement, but it needs to twice, three times; life lessons never be recognized that this woman has stop. Her bits of wisdom included, dedicated 40 years to serving your “Quality MUST trump quantity with 36

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children and thousands of Country Day students in their library needs,” Peterson told the audience. “Debby, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.” As he presented her with a bouquet of roses, the auditorium erupted in a standing ovation.

Back to the business at hand, Peterson instructed the Class of 2015 to turn their tassels and quoted Abraham Lincoln: “The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”

On behalf of himself and Gayle, he thanked the class for the honor of their thoughtful gift, stating that to help a student attend a great school like Fort Worth Country Day is the best gift they could give. Keeping his comments brief, Peterson advised the graduates to keep their balance in good times and bad, and enjoy the journey ahead.

He thanked the community for their support and closed with, “For the 13th and final time, it has been my great honor to serve as your Head of School.

Congratulations graduates, and to all, goodnight, good luck and goodbye.”

As the FWCD “Alma Mater” began playing, Geren’s words still lingered: “Tonight, we gather in a spirit of gratitude and say thanks for some of our treasured gifts. I discussed four; I will add a fifth: friends, faculty, family, freedom and Falcons—102 Falcons, the Class of 2015.”

Valedictorian – Sydney Mulqueen Sydney Mulqueen’s passion for the sciences was fostered throughout her 13 years as a student at Fort Worth Country Day. As a result of the School’s stimulating college-preparatory curriculum and her summers serving as a junior volunteer at Cook Children’s Medical Center, she knows she wants to attend medical school, with aspirations to become a pediatric doctor. Inducted into the Cum Laude Society as a junior, Sydney always challenged herself in the classroom academically and by learning to balance her activities. As a junior, she received year-end awards as the top student in math, English, Latin and history, and she graduates having successfully completed eight Advanced Placement courses. Her resume of activities is lengthy: TEAM Service, Link Crew, Project Prairie, FWCD student ambassador, Breakthrough Boutique and pianist. A National Hispanic Scholar, Sydney was honored at this year’s Upper School Awards Assembly with the prestigious Andrew Cordell Community Service Award and the Ted Sanford Award for excellence in ballet. Service is central to Sydney’s life; she loves volunteering and knowing that she is impacting the community in a positive way. Sydney will attend the University of Notre Dame in Indiana where she plans to major in neuroscience.

Salutatorian – Melody Rodriguez A Fort Worth Country Day “Original,” Melody Rodriguez excelled in her Falcon journey. A National Merit and National Hispanic Scholar, she was inducted into the Cum Laude Society as a junior and graduates having successfully taken nine Advanced Placement courses. At the Upper School Awards Assembly, Melody received the Mathematics Chairman Award, Outstanding Students of the Sciences Award, the R.D. Varnell ’88 National Merit Award, and the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Award. As gifted athletically as she is academically, Melody also earned the Varsity Award for 12 seasons of athletics—cross country, girls’ basketball, swimming, and track and field. The FWCD record-holder in the 1600m, she also earned All-SPC honors in cross country three times. In the pool, she set six School records, was crowned SPC Champion in 2015 and earned Academic All-State honors as a junior and senior as well as Private School First-Team All-State status as a freshman, junior and senior. Her well-rounded development included being both a TEAM Service member and an FWCD student ambassador throughout her Upper School tenure, as well as fostering her love for the arts: She performed in Legally Blonde, Pride and Prejudice, Damn Yankees!, and Rehearsal for Murder.

Melody will attend Stanford University in the fall.

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Engineering Design at FWCD 38

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As an Upper School student at Fort Worth Country Day in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Jordan Hampton ’01 was interested in pursuing a career in engineering, but he really didn’t fully understand the field and the opportunities it offered. He knew you had to be good at science and math, but he didn’t necessarily know how the disciplines fused together. Undaunted and prepared to learn, he pursued a double major in architecture and civil engineering at Texas Tech University.

Because of the Advanced Placement courses he’d taken at FWCD, Hampton felt ahead of the academic curve in his core classes, but he did not have that same feeling in his engineering courses. “I felt way behind because many of my peers were already using and understanding the AutoCAD Modeling software that is commonly used in the field,” Hampton said. “I’d never really felt behind or unprepared in a class before. I didn’t like the feeling of having to play catch-up.

“After three years of study, it became evident to me that architecture and engineering wasn’t what I wanted to go into,” Hampton continued. “It was less about design and more about serving as a middle man with a client.”

Hampton began to rethink his path and chose to pursue mathematics, in addition to sports. He graduated with a BS in Exercise Sport and Science with a minor in mathematics, and, in 2009, he earned his Texas Teacher Certification (grades 8-12).

Drawing on Experience Fast forward to 2013 and Hampton’s first year as a teacher at his alma mater. He was excited to be back—and ready to make a difference. “I vowed that I would enhance the Upper School program in some way,” he noted. “The best way I knew how to do this was to draw from my own experience.”

He began to pave the way for an engineering course during his very first year teaching at the School. He spoke with Peggy Wakeland, assistant head of Upper School, about creating an engineering program. He asked Dr. Jim Aldridge H’14 about forming a department. Dr. Aldridge had success beginning FWCD’s Computer Science Department. “I talked to Dr. A at length about my ideas, and he encouraged me to use my civil engineering background and find a way to bring engineering to FWCD. He told me to dream big.”

With the emphasis on STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) offerings to today’s students, Hampton’s initial research was all-consuming; there was so much information out there. In the end, his research led him to Southern Methodist University (SMU) and its Infinity Project.

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The InFInity Project at SMU The Infinity Project at SMU is a national leader in STEM curricula for both middle school and high school students.

For more than a decade, the program has helped hundreds of schools increase student interest and achievement in STEM through hands-on engineering design projects. Developed in 1999 by SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering and Texas Instruments, The Infinity Project also works in partnership with many corporations; federal and state agencies; and philanthropic organizations, such as Tyco Electronics, the U.S. Department of Education, National Science Foundation, the Communities Foundation of Texas; as well as with a world-class team of faculty, teachers, working engineers and leading researchers. These partnerships ensure instructors receive the curriculum support they need so that students encounter a relevant and impactful STEM education experience. Together, these organizations provide curriculum development, STEM educator professional development, program implementation and program dissemination.

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The overarching mission of The Infinity Project is to inspire students to pursue advanced education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through innovative curriculum and project-based learning opportunities. Created to help close the gap between the number of engineering graduates currently in college and the large need for engineering graduates in the future, the program fosters a love for STEM and engineering in the next generation of learners.

Through a cutting-edge curriculum; outstanding instructional materials; hands-on design projects; lowcost, high-impact classroom technology; and best-in-class professional development for educators, The Infinity Project has trained more than 1,000 instructors in 37 states, the District of Columbia and nine countries—better preparing teachers to engage students in the fun and exciting world of engineering.

A Complete and Well-Crafted Course Hampton was drawn to SMU’s Infinity Project because it provides a complete solution for implementing engineering into the classroom. “The curriculum for the Engineering Design class has been written by college professors,” he said. “As an instructor, I am trained through The Infinity Project and then follow the syllabus, adding my own value to it for our students.

For example, the syllabus doesn’t cover civil engineering, so I’ve added it in since that’s my area of expertise.” The course is deemed a college freshman course; it is the very same course an SMU freshman would take at the university. Juniors and seniors at FWCD may enroll in the course as an Upper School elective.

The course presents students with four different types of engineering: electrical, mechanical, environmental and biomedical, with the goal that a quarter of the year be devoted to each area.

“It’s an introduction of sorts so that students can gain baseline information to determine their interest level and possible focus area,” Hampton said. Developed by an expert team, including leaders in engineering education, the technology industry, government and teachers, The Infinity Project curriculum helps students quickly understand how the concepts they’ve learned in previous math and science courses apply to real-life challenges in the world around them. Each area of engineering focus includes instructional support materials that make it easy for teachers to implement the curriculum into their classroom.

In its first year at FWCD, the course drew more than 40 interested students; however, it was restricted to 26 participants. Recommended prerequisites were Geometry, Algebra II, Chemistry and Physics. This year’s inaugural class included 25 seniors and one junior, seven of which were young women, in two course sections.

Tools of the Trade The course uses a variety of tools, including The Infinity Project Technology Kit, which comprises myDAQ hardware, an affordable, studentready measurement and instrumentation device; LabVIEW for Education 2010 software, a graphical programming platform that helps engineers scale from design to test and from small to large systems; The Infinity Project lab activities; two audio speakers; a Web camera; and microphone.

Students also needed the LEGO Mindstorms NXT Kit, a programmable robotics kit released by LEGO, which includes a programmable microcomputer brick, components and intuitive drag-and-drop programming software.

It is the projects that have the students so engaged in learning.

Over the course of the year, students built their own speakers and created their own digital music to play on them, designed a Rube Goldberg machine, used LEGO Mindstorms to create a robot that pushed a tennis ball from the middle of the classroom to another location and more. Within the electrical engineering unit, the big project involved LabVIEW, the actual graphical coding software that engineers use to create things. “Students created a program to generate a random number at the push of a button. The user than had to guess the number. The program simulated a dice role,” Hampton said. “The students also wired some LED lights, and it looked kind of like a slot machine of sorts.” In the biomedical engineering unit, students tested for genetically engineered and modified crops in common foods.

For a civil engineering project, Hampton had students develop a business on a plot of land using Sketchup (formerly Google Sketchup), a 3D modeling computer program used for a wide range of drawing applications such as architectural, interior design, civil and mechanical engineering, film, and Summer 2015

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video game design. A friend of his provided the class with the city codes and ordinances for the city of Coppell and an underdeveloped plot of land next to the airport. Using the 3D printer that was given to the class last year by Dr. Aldridge, the class created their models.

“It was very exciting to see the groups search the available plots of land, make sure their ideas were properly zoned and then create a business that would hold up to city ordinances,” Hampton said. “There were ideas that ranged from a food truck park all the way to an equestrian rehab facility. I felt it gave the students freedom to problem solve, but with realworld constraints. They completed research, 2D modeling and then we were able to use our 3D printer to print out final presentation models.”

Lockheed Field Trip A special field trip in January took all 26 students to Lockheed Martin, the global security and aerospace company that employs about 112,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Head of School Evan D. Peterson set the trip in motion with Orlando Carvalho, a current parent who serves as executive vice president of the aeronautics business area in Fort Worth.

“It’s always important for prospective engineers to speak to professionals in their working environment,” Hampton noted.

“This trip allowed us a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of an influential corporation that has a worldwide impact employing all kinds of engineers. The best part, however, was being able to see the new F-35 fighter jets being assembled.

Maybe next time they will let us fly one.”

Student Perspectives Henry Luengas ’15 took the course because he has a passion for math and science and is thinking of studying some form of engineering. “The class has been very different from any math or science course I have taken,” Luengas said. “We have focused more on learning how to solve problems and work together, rather than just learning new concepts like we do in more traditional classes. All of our projects have been illustrative of this concept of working together on problem solving.”

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His favorite project was the city of Coppell civil engineering project. Luengas’s group chose to build a race track, and his role was to design and 3D print the physical structure of the central building. He left the building ordinances and code research to some of his peers. “Normally this sort of stark division of labor is frowned upon in group projects at school, but I feel that it was exactly the point of the project in this class,” he said. “If my group had argued over every single point in the design process, rather than delegating certain jobs to one another, we would never have finished as strongly as we did.”

Luengas is a huge proponent of the class and recommends it to future seniors. “It’s a fun class,” he said. “Students might be surprised that they won’t learn a whole lot about physical or mathematical concepts, but they will end up learning a good deal about how professionals and engineers actually learn and work.” As a result of what he’s learned in the class, Luengas is set to study electrical engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Hannah Cramer ’15 chose to take the course because she is considering majoring in biomedical engineering in college. It was a rocky start for her, and she thought about dropping the course at one point. Hampton encouraged her to keep at it.

“I was unsure about the course in the beginning, but I am so glad I stuck to it because we’ve learned so much about what it means to be an engineer and what it takes,” Cramer said.

The projects were a big draw for Cramer as well. “The robotics project was my favorite because we were given the pieces to build our robot, instructions as to what we would have to program the robot to do, and then we all learned together,

The Syllabus Over the course of the year, students focused on four types of engineering.

through trial and error, how to complete each objective,” she said. “Watching our robots complete tasks and battle each other was great because we each got to see that even though people programmed in different ways, we reached the same result.”

The course strengthened her desire to pursue engineering in college. Because she studied several types of engineering, she felt she was able to get a good feel for each branch. She is enrolled in the Lyle School of Engineering at SMU.

Continuing to Build

Engineering Our Digital Future (Electrical Engineering) This portion of the curriculum focuses on the fundamentals of modern engineering and technology in the information and communications age. Engineering and design examples are drawn from wireless and telecommunications, the Internet, electronic music and other multimedia technologies popular in today’s culture.

The Challenge of Roving Callisto (Mechanical Engineering) The rovers Spirit and Opportunity both landed successfully on Mars in January 2004. More than 10 years later, these two robotic devices still continue to send data back to Earth.

Take the challenge to learn from the successes of Spirit and Opportunity to design and build a rover to explore the surface of one of Jupiter’s moons.

With the first year teaching this course under his belt, Hampton plans to build upon the class and its projects each year to enhance learning. “I know how I was as a student,” Hampton said. “I learned best by doing. These projects really give students a sense of what engineering is like, as well as give them a chance to learn new skills. This is a buildingblocks type of class, and, hopefully, it gives students who are interested in pursuing engineering as a major in college a clearer idea of what type of engineering they are most interested in.”

Engineering Earth (Environmental Engineering) Earth may be a large planet, but it’s the only one we’ve got.

Through environmental engineering, we can reverse the effects of human activities that degrade our planet’s ecological well-being.

Learn how you can evaluate your own ecological footprint and then use engineering skills to reduce it. Explore ways to meet the dual challenge of maintaining Earth’s health and quality of life at the same time.

In a perfect world, Hampton said he would like to see this course become a core requirement or at least strongly encouraged. “It truly is a great STEM experience,” he said.

“For students to enter college already knowing LabVIEW, Sketchup and having a grasp of other engineering tools and a portfolio of projects gives them a great advantage,” Hampton said. “This is an amazing field—and we need students to see its full realm of opportunities.”

Engineering the Human Machine (Biomedical Engineering) Welcome to the world of biomedical engineering, where the human body is viewed as a system of levers, pumps and electrical circuitry. From optimizing human movement in sports to improving the lives of disabled persons, biomedical engineering focuses on understanding the body as a living machine. Find out how biology, physics, chemistry and math come together in this discipline to investigate and improve the human condition.

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Then, Now, Forever. Laying the fo

By Renee Pierce

On May 20, Shannon Young Ray ’80, 2013-15 Board president, enthusiastically announced that Fort Worth Country Day will break ground this summer on the tennis center and field house for the new athletic complex. Chaired

by Laura ’88 and Jeff Alexander and their team of 20 top volunteers (see sidebar), the Then, Now, Forever. capital campaign has been quietly progressing since early 2013, and has generated more than $12 million to support these two facilities as well as endowment for student financial aid and faculty salaries.

“Laura and Jeff have been the driving force behind this endeavor to strengthen the School’s programs through increased endowment and priority facilities,” Ray said. “Their leadership on the Board and with the volunteer committees has been steadfast throughout the campaign and recognized by our Board of Trustees and School administration.”

Facilities: Building for the Students’ Needs “Bringing the new athletic facilities to life is just one of the initiatives of the Then, Now, Forever. project,” shared Ray, “but it is a big one for our students.” Big because it addresses more 44

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than just athletic needs; it is a primary step in realigning the campus to best serve all students’ needs.

FWCD’s current campus master plan reflects the School’s commitment to a balanced and diverse program that emphasizes the 3A’s. Critical to the long-term plans are building community, ensuring an outstanding experience and facilitating a sustainable campus environment. These objectives will be achieved through the creation of a central academic core that is flanked by the arts and athletic facilities, which will further promote the 3A’s and initiate a stronger connection and cross-divisional interaction among the Lower, Middle and Upper schools. Equally important is that centralizing the divisions into the academic core increases protection for the students as off-campus development continues to advance on all sides.

To progress on this path, the existing athletic facilities will be restructured for better access and efficiency, aligning them to the west side of the campus. The first step is the construction of a new tennis complex and the field house component for the athletic complex. The field house facility will be known as the Patton Field House as a result of a generous gift from Sherri and Bobby Patton.

Incorporating recommendations from coaches, the new tennis complex will feature 10 courts and make it possible for Country Day to host competitions on campus instead of leasing courts at outlying venues. The plans also include shaded outside seating for families and fans to view their students during matches. Weather permitting, the new tennis

undation to advance the Falcon legacy courts are expected to open in time for the spring 2016 tennis season.

initiatives and projects that will only enhance the outstanding education we offer our current and future students.”

Adjacent to the Upper School parking lot, the 35,000 squarefoot Patton Field House is an easy walk from academic classes and is organized around a main hall. The facility includes a community fitness center with free weights and training and cardiovascular equipment, coaches’ offices and locker rooms, two classrooms, large girls’ and boys’ locker rooms, a training room and office, PE and Middle School locker rooms, as well as athletics offices. The field house construction is expected to take 12-14 months, which puts the facility in use in fall 2016.

At the top of FWCD’s list is ensuring a diverse student community. In today’s global environment, a diverse peer group is fundamental to developing well-rounded students.

To foster an inclusive community that reflects a broad array of social, economic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, FWCD offers financial aid to qualified, high-potential students who have demonstrated need. Requests are currently increasing by an average of $151,000 annually. The financial aid budget has grown to more than $2 million, with 19 percent of the student body—208 students—receiving aid this year. FWCD’s named scholarships attract the best and brightest students and allow the School to maintain a diverse peer group, which is fundamental to developing well-rounded students and preparing them to become the next generation of leaders. The Then, Now, Forever. campaign includes funding for a new Gayle G. and Evan D. Peterson Scholarship, which will benefit FWCD Lower School students. One Lower School student will receive support immediately in the 2015-16 academic year.

Endowment: Enriching the Student Experience Imagine a Fort Worth Country Day with crowded classrooms; no ropes course; no pond; and no Vicksburg, Big Bend or Washington, D.C., trips. Now envision one in every six students no longer here. These gaps are what endowment resources, coupled with the FWCD Fund, provide to Falcon students.

“Opportunities [like these] are driven by the generosity of donors,” 2011-13 Board President L. Russell Laughlin stated. “Supporting the School’s endowment ensures its financial stability for the future. It opens doors to new

Faculty retention and development is another strong focus for FWCD. Skilled professionals strengthen Country Day’s program for students, cultivating the knowledge to grow and the imagination to soar. A strong endowment gives the School the ability to ensure that the best and brightest teachers are invited to join the learning community, stay to inspire and grow their skills for the students. Then, Now, Forever. advances FWCD closer to its NAIS-guided (National Summer 2015

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Association of Independent Schools) target for competitive day school salaries.

Moreover, the endowment provides financial stability, giving the School the flexibility to pursue forward-thinking strategic objectives that would not otherwise be afforded through the operating budget. Case in point: purchasing the property where the new tennis complex will be built.

A Legacy in the Making The Fort Worth Country Day we know and love today did not happen overnight. It has taken continual planning, commitment, investment and willingness to evolve.

Like any solid, successful organization, Country Day utilizes strategic and master plans to provide an organizational framework that helps drive priorities and guide decisions.

Board-approved strategic developments through the past 50 years have spurred funding projects that are providing today’s students with outstanding facilities and a faculty team and learning program that is second to none.

“This school to me is a beacon, a lighthouse, an incredible education legacy,” said Darlene Ignagni, Middle School humanities teacher, “and that’s only because of the generosity of many, many people that put time and effort and financial support into this school.”

The tangible impact of the School’s strategic growth is evident throughout the campus. Planning and funding have provided dedicated buildings for each division, grade-appropriate libraries, outdoor classroom areas like the pond and ropes course, technology labs, a dining facility that encourages student/faculty interaction and a central meeting space that promotes community gatherings. This targeted funding format also produced a road that runs completely through the campus to improve access for families, and it created a range of facilities that make it possible to offer a broad array of arts and athletics options, which in turn foster a balanced learning program for students.

Philanthropic support has significantly boosted the School’s endowment as well, greatly influencing the students’ learning environment. With a growing value approaching $45 million, endowment resources have increased more than $24.3 million since 2005. This jump of 119 percent has helped FWCD achieve a competitive salary range that attracts and retains 46

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highly trained and qualified faculty for our students. Increased reserves also help provide a meaningful scope of professional development options for FWCD teachers as well as enable the School to offer a financial aid program that helps open the doors to high-achieving students from a variety of need-based backgrounds.

Soaring Toward the Future Fort Worth Country Day is here today because of the vision of the School’s founders and a group of giving individuals— alumni, faculty, staff, parents, past parents, grandparents, former faculty and staff, current and past Trustees, foundations and more. Their generous support of campaign objectives stands as a crucial illustration to the broader community of their belief in the School.

That spirit has continued with the Then, Now, Forever. campaign, and, going forward, we all have a part to play as emphasized by retiring Head of School Evan D. Peterson, “We have a responsibility to the future,” he said. “Fifty years

As a result of Laura ’88 and Jeff Alexander’s dedicated leadership in the Then, Now, Forever. campaign, FWCD is able to further advance the campus master plan, as well as support long-term financial sustainability and innovation on the campus. “With the School having recently achieved its 50th anniversary, now is a great time to reflect, but it’s also a reminder that to maintain excellence you have to continue to change, progress and develop,” Jeff said.

The campaign has been hallmarked by the remarkable commitment of a short list of foundations, parents, alumni, grandparents and past parents who contributed. Of special note is the Fort Worth Country Day faculty, staff and Board of Trustees who can claim an impressive 100 percent participation rate to the project. The Alexanders have been especially pleased with this participation rate and the confidence it has exemplified to the community about the project.

Grateful to the many volunteers who helped to bring the elements of the Then, Now, Forever. campaign to fruition, Laura and Jeff extend thanks to: Amy Roach Bailey ’85 Marshall Boyd ’85 Gantt Bumstead

from now, we want people to reflect on this time and say, ‘Those people really took care of the community of Fort Worth by helping Fort Worth Country Day continue to lead.’”

FWCD has made a great start into its next 50 years, and an all-School event in the fall will celebrate this new era in Falcon athletics and the latest step forward in our journey together.

As new Head of School Eric V. Lombardi joins the FWCD family, we will have much to celebrate and new plans to forge.

“Fort Worth Country Day is an impressive community,” Lombardi shared. “I appreciate the giant shoulders on which we stand, and, going forward, I am eager to learn more about the current needs in our community. On behalf of students,

Quintin Cassady Brian Crumley ’92 Randy Eisenman ’93, Leadership Gifts Chair Kenny Fischer ’84 Randy Gideon Jim Hubbard Josh Korman ’92 Bill Landreth ’67 L. Russell Laughlin, Board President 2011-2013 Scotty MacLean Laura O’Brien Sherri Patton Frasher Hudson Pergande ’81 Shannon Young Ray ’80, Board President 2013-2015 Scott Sankary ’86, Major Gifts Chair Joel Sawyer Melissa Taylor

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Giving Back Acts of service pave the way to a lifelong love of philanthropy and a deeper understanding of the world in which we live. Giving back begins at Fort Worth Country Day.

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GIVING BACK

Giving Back Is Easy

By Paige Farris Chisholm ’87 What started off as a simple DJ gig turned into a much richer experience than two high school seniors could imagine. William Kleinheinz and Graham Pergande run a disc jockey business together called B&B (Bowties and Bass) and work various parties in the Fort Worth area. One of their friends helped them land a job to DJ at Pop’s Garage, a privately owned recreation center geared for youth in the Como area of Tarrant County just two miles from the Texas Christian University campus. They DJ’d on Wednesday evenings for the better part of last year. FWCD parent Gus Bates, creator and founder of Pop’s Garage, hosts about 40 kids from Como on Wednesday nights. The kids are bused in and play all sorts of games, listen to music and hang out. It is a safe place for the kids to have fun and meet students from TCU who have come to help and spend time and mentor the younger kids.

About the same time he got the DJ job, Pergande joined former classmate Shelby Butt at Como Middle School to read to students in an afterschool program. He spent time talking to the kids and learned they had a mutual love for sports. One young man in particular caught Pergande’s attention. The boy shared with Pergande that he liked to play sports, especially football, but was waiting to see if his mother could come up with the fee required to participate. When he learned the cost to participate—$15—he was floored. Pergande knew that he and Kleinheinz had to find a way to make a difference.

Pergande and Kleinheinz were so touched by the kids at Como Middle School that they wanted to help make their sports dreams an easy reality “Athletics has given us so much, and we wanted these kids to have the same opportunities to play that we have had growing up,” Pergande said.

The boys decided to use their DJ proceeds to help these aspiring athletes at Como Middle School. After working DJ jobs at the community center for about eight months,

Graham Pergande ’15 and William Kleinheinz ’15 used proceeds they earned as DJs to help aspiring young athletes at Como Middle School realize their dreams.

Kleinheinz and Pergande were able to set up a fund to allow any Como child the opportunity to play. They were so successful in their fundraising that they were able to sponsor kids in 2014 and set aside money for future fees. They also were able to donate balls, tackling gear, chin straps and mouthpieces.

While being able to provide financially was important, Kleinheinz and Pergande also knew they wanted to spend time working with the players. The boys were able to help sponsor four teams, and they attended team practices about once a week to help coach the players.

“I’ve learned it’s really easy to give back,” Kleinheinz said. “It doesn’t take anything other than devotion and determination.

We are so lucky and grateful for how we have grown up; it only makes sense to give back.”

Pergande and Kleinheinz are hopeful that some younger Fort Worth Country Day students will rise to the occasion, take over the business and continue to give back to the Como Community Center and Como Middle School.

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Alumni News

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Alumni news

Truelson Encourages Students to Follow Their Bliss Sixteen years after graduating from Fort Worth Country Day, the Class of 1999’s valedictorian returned to campus as the featured speaker at the 2015 Cum Laude Society Induction Ceremony.

Dogpatch Technology helps patients and family caregivers better navigate the medical system. The company is named after the Dogpatch area of San Francisco where Jean grew up and the Truelsons currently live.

He also encouraged students to never stop studying people, citing his friend Adam Grant’s book Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success.

“You’ll have no problem fitting in if you understand people,” he noted.

Palmer Truelson ’99 and his wife, Jean, are co-founders of Dogpatch Technology, a mobile app development company that focuses on helping cancer patients and their families through some of the most difficult moments of their lives. After Jean’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, they created Appointment Buddy, an app to help caregivers and patients share notes between doctor’s appointments.

The biggest piece of advice he imparted to students when following your bliss is to bring something else along with you—something of real value—because bliss often fades. “The art of following the muse is how you dig yourself out of the trough of disillusionment,” he said.

“When following your bliss, you need meaning behind it.” In his presentation, he invoked Baymax, the cartoon character from Disney’s Big Hero 6.

This company brings Truelson great joy because he knows he and Jean are helping others. “We [humans] are manic creatures, especially when we care deeply about what we are doing,” he said. “So remember to follow your bliss and bring something big, cuddly and meaningful with you.”

Truelson is pictured left.

Alumni Return to Chat with Seniors The transition from high school to college is foremost on FWCD seniors’ minds during their final semester as Falcons. To offer some guidance related to transition, academic preparation and college social life, the College Counseling Office invited six recent FWCD alumni currently immersed in college life to speak to seniors at the annual College Chat event in January. Returning to their old stomping ground to speak with the 102-member Class of 2015 were Nathan Bowser ’13, University of Oklahoma (transferred from The Citadel); Morgan Clifton ’13, University of Oklahoma; Maddie Jiongo ’14, TCU; Hannah Kelly ’14, The University of Texas; Erin Parker ’12, Rhodes College; and Aria Sanders ’14, Bates College.

Erin Parker ’12, Aria Sanders ’14, Morgan Clifton ’13, Nathan Bowser ’13, Hannah Kelly ’14 and Maddie Jiongo ’14 offered some college guidance to FWCD seniors.

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Alumni news

Peterson Graduates Head of School Evan D. Peterson was named FWCD’s 2015 Honorary Alumnus at an all-School retirement reception on April 20. Alumni Council President Josh Korman ’92 bestowed the honor upon Peterson in front of a crowd of nearly 400 members of the FWCD community. This honor makes Peterson a forever member of the Class of 2015.

Korman shared one of his first memories of Peterson: “causing a little bit of a ruckus” with some fellow Middle School friends and being approached by “this monster of a man who scared us to death before releasing us back to our basketball coach and the game.”

Later, Korman became friends with Peterson’s son, Chris ’92, and grew to know the entire Peterson family on a more personal basis. He credits Peterson for getting him involved in the Alumni Council in 2008.

“I present honorary alumnus status upon my principal, my Head of School and my friend, Evan Peterson,” Korman said.

102 Seniors Inducted into the FWCD Alumni Association In a time-honored rite of passage for Fort Worth Country Day’s graduating seniors, 102 students from the Class of 2015 were inducted into the FWCD Alumni Association. This event ushers these students into the alumni family and provides an opportunity for them to meet their Alumni Council members in a casual setting. Council members Tasa Anderson ’88, Joe Breedlove ’78, Kelly Decker ’98, Melissa Kulig ’01 and Alexandra Stevens ’85 joined Alumni Relations Coordinator Shel Juliao and Alumni Council President Josh Korman ’92 in welcoming the impressive group of seniors. Head of Upper School Bill Arnold ’86, Assistant Head of Upper School Peggy Wakeland and several senior advisers also were in attendance.

Korman spoke to the group about the benefits of Alumni Association membership, reminding the seniors that they are now part of a special network 52

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that can see them through all facets of their personal and professional lives. He reiterated the idea that the association is a family that takes care of one another and values membership, much like a fraternity or sorority.

During the meeting, seniors were taught about the value of networking, going so far as to get them all registered on LinkedIn, a business-oriented social media website. Decker walked students through the steps of creating their profiles, sharing her own page and those of other alumni as good examples of profiles that are kept current and relevant. Juliao reminded them of the jobs section within the network, imploring them to send in their cover letters, resumes and requests for internships in the years to come.

She then invited the seniors to join the LinkedIn Fort Worth Country Day Alumni Network.

Alumni news

Acuña Headlines FWCD Founders’ Day FWCD celebrated its annual Founders’ Day on March 6 with keynote speaker Geraldine Acuña ’88. Acuña spoke to students and faculty about her time at Fort Worth Country Day and how her formative years impacted her life.

She also highlighted and thanked the important people who comprise the Country Day community, including the visionaries who brought the School to life and the faculty and staff who, through the years, shaped FWCD into the great school it is.

Acuña conjured up an image of the 1980s for students, drawing on the movie Back to the Future, which she said reflected the optimism of her time at the School. “Your life is what you make it to be,” she said.

As a Country Day student, Acuña admitted to leaning toward the “nerdy” side. She credited former faculty for fostering her civic engagement, teaching her to write well and to never

suppress her unique voice, and for helping her to better understand the human condition. “My time here was so fruitful that when I was offered admission to Harvard, I was given sophomore standing,” she said. Acuña didn’t take that standing; she said there was too much fun to be had in college and she enjoyed every minute of it, admitting that some of her Harvard classes were actually easier than her Country Day courses.

“I was blessed to have the teachers that I had,” she said. “It really is all about the teachers. I challenge you to hug and thank one teacher a day until you’ve thanked every teacher that has made a difference in your life.”

One person Acuña was excited to publicly thank was Head of School Evan D. Peterson, who was her Upper School principal. She touted Peterson’s commitment to campus expansion, his desire to increase the number of

academic courses available to students and his dedication to technology. “His passion was palpable because he truly cared,” she noted. “I will always be proud to be considered one of your kids.”

Sharing her thoughts on the Falcon mascot, Acuña highlighted its ability to see opportunities and seize them, indicating that is what Falcon alumni are doing all over the world. “Soar like a falcon,” she charged the students.

“Rock the world, and live beyond your amazing dreams.”

2015-16 Alumni Association Executive Council The FWCD Alumni Association exists to support the School’s mission and vision and to assist in providing alumni with the means to retain a meaningful and lifelong relationship with Fort Worth Country Day. To this end, FWCD’s definition of alumni includes all former students, regardless of graduation.

Josh Korman ’92, President Mary Hallman Smith ’03, President-Elect Alexandra Stevens ’85, Advancement Chair Suz Bahan ’86, Secretary Rob Semple ’95, Nominations New Members: Crisanne Potts Barker ’93, Barron Parker ’09, Davis Ravnaas ’03

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SAVE THE DATE Homecoming 2015

1970 | 1975 | 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010

OCTOBER 15-17 Thursday, October 15 6 p.m. Alumni Awards Reception – FWCD Campus 7 p.m. Alumni Awards Dinner – FWCD Campus Join your classmates for a cocktail reception and dinner to honor this year’s Alumni Award recipients Friday, October 16 5:30 p.m. Alumni Campus Tour – Meet at the fountain When was the last time you were on campus? Meet at the fountain for a campus tour led by Alumni Council President Josh Korman ’92 and Alumni Relations Coordinator Shel Juliao 6 p.m. Alumni/Family Cookout – On the field hockey fields 7:30 p.m. Football Game – Rosacker Field Homecoming Football Game vs. The Oakridge School Athletic Wall of Fame Inductions Saturday, October 17 Events to be determined by each Class Reunion Committee

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If you are a member of the Classes of ’70, ’75, ’80, ’85, ’90, ’95, ’00, ’05 or ’10 and are interested in helping out with your class reunion, please contact Shel at shel.juliao@fwcd.com. the falconer

Alumni news

Tinkering with an Expert Nine lucky third- and fourth-grade “tinkerers” heard from an expert in the field: Harvard University junior Shree Bose ’12.

Via a 30-minute Skype session after school, Bose shared some of her Upper School Falcon experiences, including how she became passionate about science, thanks to Upper School science teacher Sharon Hamilton, and ultimately won the very first Google Global Science Fair for her research related to cancer.

while playing the ever-popular Minecraft game.

Bose said the team spent nearly seven months building Piper and testing it in schools. At first, Minecraft wasn’t the game being played—the team had created their own “game” with tasks, but students shared that they weren’t engaged by the game. Students were enamored with—and addicted to—Minecraft. So the team changed directions.

“I remember thinking I would definitely not win [the Google Global Science Fair],” she said. “I didn’t have a prop to show my cancer research so I brought a statue of a cowboy to represent Texas, but the head had fallen off along the way. I was sitting next to a guy who had created a functioning Lego robotic arm.”

Piper launched on Kickstarter, a global crowdfunding platform in the U.S. with the mission to help bring creative projects to life. They needed $50,000 to fund Piper. In the 40-day funding period, they raised nearly $300,000.

Bose was blown away by her Google experience as she met amazing individuals, including Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway, and ultimately President Barack Obama—twice! As a result, she began talking to kids and learned they were excited about technology.

The students listened intently and then posed questions, including why name the product Piper? Bose responded: “Just like there are pipes under the building you’re sitting in, there are ‘pipes’ running throughout a computer that make it work. We thought it was a fitting name.”

She joined forces with Mark Pavlyukovskyy, a friend she met while working at the National Institutes of Health, to create an electronic toolbox that engages young students’ minds. Through their creation, called Piper, students build and run a computer

Now Piper is under production and will be shipped in December to those individuals who funded the project. “Ultimately, we wanted to inspire kids and engage them through the game and a mission,” Bose said. “And all the while, they are learning.”

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Alumni news

John Robinett ’66 John Robinett graduated from Fort Worth Country Day in 1966. That’s right, 1966—not 1967, the year of FWCD’s first graduating class. That makes Robinett, the School’s very first graduate, and he is immensely proud of this accolade.

He came to FWCD as a sophomore from The Kinkaid School in Houston. “My folks were set on private school, and there wasn’t a school in Fort Worth at that time,” Robinett said. “I went to live with my sister and attended Kinkaid. When Country Day opened in 1963, it was all over the news. My parents wanted me home, so they spoke with Mr. [Peter A.] Schwartz.”

While the School was enrolling students in grades 1-9, Robinett had enough credits to be considered a sophomore. According to Robinett, the Founding Headmaster said, “It could all work out.”

Robinett describes his Falcon days as idyllic. He recalls Tawny Kilbourne’s masterful English classes. Science impressed him: He remembers the lab-like classroom. And his history teacher was known to frequently say, “When in doubt, don’t.”

Because he suffered from asthma, Robinett did not participate in athletics. Instead, Schwartz allowed him to operate the School’s PA system for chapel and morning announcements. “I was very interested in electronics so it was a dream job,” Robinett said.

“One of my favorite memories is seeing Mr. Schwartz in his office each morning with his dog, Bismark.”

When he graduated on June 4, 1966, there was no great fanfare—he was a class of one—but that did not lessen the momentous occasion. He was celebrated by students at closing exercises in the cafeteria (now the Sid W. Richardson Visual Arts Center) with Schwartz and Board Chair Perry Bass presenting his diploma.

Robinett’s father was insistent that he earn “a business diploma because that’s where the jobs would be.” He immediately started summer school at Texas Christian University, ultimately earning a bachelor’s of business administration in 1970. That same year, 56

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he married Barbara Ray, a Paschal High School graduate. He then earned an MBA at TCU and spent a year at Texas Tech Law School in Lubbock.

When the couple visited Barbara’s parents in Seattle in 1973, they never thought they’d be leaving Texas forever. While there, Robinett applied at The Boeing Company in the Marine Systems Division. “They were impressed because I’d attended law school and taken a contracts class,” he said. Robinett spent five years working as a contracts administrator.

In 1979, Robinett felt called to teach. He earned his certification at the University of Washington and taught Business Education at Sumner High School near Seattle. He fell in love with his job and spent 20 years striving to emulate his Country Day teachers, sharing his love of learning with students.

Before retiring, Robinett sent a letter to Schwartz. “I wanted to know what he thought about me going into education versus pursuing a profession with greater financial rewards,” he said.

“I was concerned I might have disappointed him after the extra effort to get me into FWCD and allowing me to graduate early. Mr. Schwartz replied, explaining that he thought it was wonderful and was proud of me. He affirmed that it is more important to do work you enjoy, especially if you are helping others.”

Robinett now spends his time with Barbara and is a “cuddle” volunteer at Seattle’s Swedish Hospital in the Neonatal Intermediate Care Nursery. “I rock the babies, helping out the new parents and nurses,” he said. In 2011, he began blogging, and today, through John’s Island (john-s-island.blogspot.com/), he shares his passion for vintage Western memorabilia and books. Robinett still has family attending FWCD: Evelyn ’22, Vivian ’25 and Madeline ’27, daughters of Dr. Stephen and Heather Richey.

Next year, Robinett celebrates his 50th reunion. He’s looking forward to going out for a nice steak dinner in Seattle. If any other FWCD alumni are available, he’d love the company.

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Class Notes

Do rubber duckies dream of growing up to be FWCD Falcons? We think so. Please let us know when your family increases so that we can welcome another Falcon into the nest!

To submit information for Class Notes and Alumni News, contact Shel Juliao, alumni relations coordinator, at shel.juliao@fwcd.com or 817.302.3263.

1970s The Texas State Bar Litigation Section awarded Cantey Hanger Managing Partner Stephen L. Tatum the Luther (Luke) H. Soules III Award, which is presented annually to an attorney who embodies excellence in the practice of law and exemplary service to the Bar through outstanding professionalism and community impact.

Harriet Harris ’73 is starring with Tyne Daly in It Should’ve Been You on Broadway.

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1980s Helen Clark ’86 was hired as the digital technologies and websites manager for the Heard Museum of Native Art and Culture in Phoenix, AZ. Helen spent five years with the museum as the e-commerce administrator before moving into this new position.

Baron has been learning Chinese. This summer, the Lobstein family will move to mainland China for a three-year posting at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Pete Greenhaw ’89 and his wife, Robin, welcomed Pierce Samuel into the world on March 6. Pierce weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 20 3/4 inches.

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1990s Class Agents 1992 – Craig Christopher craig@tarranttech.com 1995 – Alison E. McManus amcmanus@post.harvard.edu 1997 – Zareen Khan zareen@bloomfw.com

Dina Gachman ’92 is the author of Brokenomics, a book of nonfiction/humor essays about living the high life, even if you’re nowhere near Beyonce’s tax bracket.

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Baron Lobstein ’89 and his wife, Irene, welcomed their first child on January 16. James Demetrios was born in Cleburne, weighing 6 pounds 9 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. His name honors his mother’s Greek ancestors. James begins his life of international adventure in Taipei, where 58

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John Augustat ’92 and his wife, Emily, welcomed a new baby boy, John Michael, on April 12, 2014. He joins big brother Andrew ’20 and big sister

Lauren ’22, who couldn’t be happier.

CD Dickerson ’94, curator of European art at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth since 2009, will become curator and head of sculpture and decorative arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in July. CD will oversee a collection of some 3,526 works of European and American sculpture, decorative arts and medals, along with the associated exhibition program.

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Chad Feehan ’97 and his wife, Julie, welcomed daughter Stella Ray on August 29, 2014, in Los Angeles.

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Daniel Hodge ’97 and Reed Clay ’97 moved into their new offices in the Capital of Texas in January as senior staff members for Governor Greg Abbott. Daniel serves as chief of staff; Reed is senior adviser.

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Courtney Crummel Summers ’99 and her husband, Gif, welcomed twins Jackson and Addison on February 8. Big sister McKinley was over the moon! Gif is the owner of DFW’s Advanced Concrete Services, and Courtney was recently promoted to

CLASS NOTES

director of marketing and sales for Fort Worth-based IT company Consuro Managed Technology.

Blair Taylor Walker ’99 and her husband, John, welcomed Whitney Leigh into the family on January 9.

Whitney is doted on by her twin big sisters, Katherine and Martha, and all are well.

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Maggie Hughes ’99 and Matt Irwin were married on August 9, 2014, in Santa Fe, NM, overlooking a 100mile view of stunning mountain and high desert landscape. Other FWCD Class of ’99 attendants included Garth O’Reilly and Alice Johnson. Maggie and Matt reside in Fort Worth.

Flaminia Chapman ’99 started her own luxury travel agency, Flaminia Travel, in 2010. She focuses on Italy. Flaminia married Cesare Terracina in Rome, Italy, in 2013. The couple welcomed their first child, Sammy, in June 2014.

©2015 Joan Marcus

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Harriet Harris ’73

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Pierce Greenhaw

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Baron Lobstein ’89 and son James

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John Augustat

Chad Feehan ’97 with daughter Stella

2000s Class Agents 2001 – Craig Barbolla cpb@mcdonaldlaw.com 2004 – Kate Jennings kjennings610@gmail.com 10

Craig Barbolla ’01 and his wife, Kate, welcomed Bradley Patrick on September 24, 2014. He weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Mary Ashton Phillips ’02 earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mississippi and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, with a faculty position at the Baylor College of Medicine.

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Daniel Hodge ’97 and Reed Clay ’97

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Whitney Walker

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Addison, McKinley and Jackson Crummel

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Matt Irwin and Maggie Hughes ’99

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CLASS NOTES

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Bradley Barbolla

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Gavin Davis

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Ross Nuenfeldt ’07

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Cav Walters and Julie Silsby Hughes ’09

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Jackson Davis ’03 and Sharon McAlpine Davis ’04 are excited to announce the birth of their son, Gavin Bruce, on June 20, 2014.

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CeCe Hickman

Keri DeVos Hickman ’04 and her husband, Bradley, are excited to announce the May 15 birth of their daughter, Cynthia Carol “CeCe.” 13

Doug Rosenstein ’05 married Grace Havlicek on Sept 13, 2014.

Doug graduated from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA in June. He will be working for Gridiron Capital Partners in New Caanan, CT. 14

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Grace Havlicek and Doug Rosenstein ’05

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Ross Nuenfeldt ’07 is currently starring on stage in Curtains at the historic San Francisco Bay area Hillbarn Theater.

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Jay Stouffer ’09 and Liz Tooze

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K.K. Maddox ’11, Whit Maddox ’12 and Madison McDade ’13 15

Julie Silsby Hughes ’09 and Cav Walters were engaged on April 18 at Washington Square Park in New York City.

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Jay Stouffer ’09 and Liz Tooze will marry on December 19, 2015, in Maryland. The proposal took place on the beautiful campus of St. Andrews School in Middletown, DE, where Liz was a 2006 graduate. Jay is a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, currently stationed in Quantico, VA. Liz just finished her third year teaching Middle School Spanish at FWCD.

2010s Class Agents 2013 – Jonny Clum clumjonny@gmail.com Oliver Newberry oliver.newberry@utexas.edu

CLASS NOTES

2015 – Connor Cassady connorcassady@sbcglobal.net Madelyn Luskey madelyn.luskey@gmail.com

Shelby Sanford

shelby.e.sanford@vanderbilt.edu

Upon graduation from Washington and Lee University in May 2014 with a degree in Journalism, Laura Lindsay Tatum ’10 was hired as a news assistant at CNN where she recently obtained her first CNN byline.

Paul Mackey ’11 is now Second Lieutenant Paul Mackey. He commissioned into the U.S. Army Infantry from the TCU Army ROTC program in May 2015. Paul has the honor of being TCU’s Distinguished Military Graduate for 2015. He also received the TCU Army ROTC Officership and National Defense Industrial Association awards. Paul graduated from TCU with a BS in Psychology and a BA in Philosophy. He is currently training at Fort Benning, GA. 17

K.K. Maddox ’11, Whit Maddox ’12 and Madison McDade ’13 enjoyed the Alabama vs. University

Not even record breaking temperatures in NYC could keep these FWCD Falcons apart! Bundled up, left to right, are Ashley Marrow ’06, Bobbie Marrow, Allison Marrow ’09 and Annalee Hurst ’09. of Texas football game.

In addition to being elected Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Newman “class cook” and social chair for spring of ’15, Oliver Newberry ’13 was inducted into the Texas Cowboys, an honorary men’s service organization at the University of Texas. Texas Cowboys membership is reserved for current students at the University who demonstrate exceptional leadership, character, spirit and

service. The application and interview process is overseen by the university administration, the Texas Cowboys Alumni Association and the current Texas Cowboys Selection Committee.

Invitations to join the organization are extended to no more than 25 students each semester, all of whom must have completed at least three semesters at the university. In order to ensure new members come from diverse organizational backgrounds, no more than two-thirds of each incoming class

2015 CLASS AGENTS Connor Cassady, Shelby Sanford and Maddie Luskey will serve as 2015 class agents. Class representatives serve an important role at Fort Worth Country Day—they promote class unity and serve as liaisons between their classmates and the School. Providing a great service to both their graduating class and to FWCD, class representatives assist in the outreach for Class Notes in the Falconer, FWCD’s biannual magazine; help with the planning of class reunions during Homecoming Weekend; and support the FWCD Fund, the School’s annual fund. Class representatives are integral to the success of FWCD’s Alumni Relations program.

Ideally, each class is represented by two or more alums.

If you are interested in serving as a class agent for your class, please contact Shel Juliao, alumni relations coordinator, at shel.juliao@fwcd.com or 817.302.3263.

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CLASS NOTES

may be affiliated with a fraternity from the Interfraternity Council. Student applicants are often deeply involved in campus life.

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Hunter Williams ’13 took time out of his busy schedule to give FWCD students a tour of his college, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

The FWCD students were in New York City attending the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Spring Convention for three days of workshops at Columbia University on design, writing, leadership, social media, digital trends, media law and ethics, and interviewing. Hunter also provided some tickets for FWCD seniors to see Late Night with Jimmy Fallon through a connection he has with an intern at the show.

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Stanley Brown ’13 (back row, far right), a Columbia University student, and Nathan Bowser ’13, (next to Brown) a University of Oklahoma student, met up with FWCD journalism students who were attending the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Spring Convention in New York City.

The group is pictured in front of a statue of Joseph Pulitzer, which is located within the Columbia Journalism School.

Reign Parker ’14 is spending the summer serving as an intern in Fort Worth Country Day’s Admission Office. Reign is a sophomore at Auburn University, majoring in marketing. She worked as an FWCD student ambassador with Kathy Lott, now director of admission, as an Upper School student and is interested in becoming a private school admission counselor.

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IN MEMORIAM Alumni

Friends of FWCD

Diana Tarride Palmer ’76 Ben Fortson III ’78 Wade Costello ’86 Jeremy Rodgers ’92 Parker Jordan ’11

Harriett Atkinson Clemons Mary Walker Meadows Foose Herbert Gibbs, Jr. Thomas Ridgway Loffland Virginia Mays Greg Ploetz Diana Mitchell Sanford Don Sanford Joy Ann Weaver Val Wilkie

Congratulates the Class of 2015!

College Acceptances for the Class of 2015 The Class of 2015 was awarded more than $11 million in merit-based scholarships and awards.

Abilene Christian University American University The American University of Paris Arizona State University Auburn University Austin College Baylor University Belmont University Blinn College Boston College Boston University Brandeis University California Polytechnic State University,

San Luis Obispo Case Western Reserve University The Citadel Claremont McKenna College Colgate University College of Charleston College of William & Mary Colorado College Colorado School of Mines Colorado State University Cornell College Dartmouth College Davidson College DePauw University Drexel University Duke University Eckerd College Elon University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Emory University Florida State University

Fordham University Franklin University Switzerland George Mason University The George Washington University Georgia Institute of Technology Harvard University Hendrix College Hofstra University Indiana University Johns Hopkins University Kansas State University Liberty University LIM College Linfield College Louisiana State University Loyola Marymount University McGill University Miami University, Oxford Missouri University of Science and Technology New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Oklahoma City University Oklahoma State University Parsons The New School for Design Pepperdine University Philadelphia University Pomona College Portland State University Purdue University Reed College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rhodes College

Rice University Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Rutgers University-New Brunswick Saint Mary’s College of California Samford University Santa Clara University Sewanee: The University of the South Southern Methodist University Southwestern University St. Edward’s University St. John’s University - Queens Campus St. Mary’s University of San Antonio Stanford University Syracuse University Texas A&M University Texas A&M University, Commerce Texas Christian University Texas State University Texas Tech University Trinity University University of Alabama University of Arizona University of Arkansas University of British Columbia University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz University of Colorado at Boulder University of Colorado at Denver University of Dallas University of Denver University of Edinburgh University of Georgia

University of Glasgow University of the Incarnate Word University of Kansas University of Leicester University of Maryland, College Park University of Miami University of Mississippi University of New Mexico University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Texas University of North Texas at Dallas University of Notre Dame University of Oklahoma University of Oregon University of Redlands University of Richmond University of South Alabama University of South Carolina University of Southern California University of St Andrews University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Texas at Arlington University of Texas at Austin University of Tulsa University of Virginia University of Wisconsin, Madison Vanderbilt University Virginia Military Institute Wake Forest University Washington and Lee University Washington University in St. Louis Western Oregon University Willamette University Worcester Polytechnic Institute

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From the Archives In 1976, FWCD hosted its first Language Fair in cooperation with other Fort Worth ISD schools. Students from all grade levels participated in various competitions in six languages. In addition to the academic competitions, there were also art, cooking, dancing, music, photography and sports competitions. While the student competitions were underway, the general public sampled international foods from various booths around campus.

Pictured above are FWCD’s first place winners, Elizabeth Miley Corwin ’85, Courtney LeBlanc Palumbo ’85 and Sara Leeman Perrine ’85.

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Be part of their legacy.

The Peter A. Schwartz Legacy Society Fort Worth Country Day established the Peter A. Schwartz Legacy Society to honor and recognize those individuals who have made planned or estate gifts to Fort Worth Country Day.

Contact Sandra Tuomey, director of advancement, at 817.302.3223 or sandra.tuomey@fwcd.com

4200 Country Day Lane Fort Worth, Texas 76109-4299 Address Service Requested

Parents: If this issue is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permant address at your home, please notify the FWCD Alumni Relations Office of the correct new mailing address by contacting us at shel.juliao@fwcd.com or 817.302.3263.

We can’t invite you if we don’t know where you are.

Update your information with FWCD’s Alumni Relations: shel.juliao@fwcd.com or 817.302.3263.

Stay Connected!

Follow us! @fwcdAlumni #fwcd #falcons #cds #countryday Fort Worth Country Day Alumni instagram.com/fwcdalumni twitter.com/fwcd youtube.com/user/FtWorthCountryDay linkedin.com/company/fort-worth-country-day-school issuu.com/fwcd fwcd.org/Page/About-FWCD/Alumni