2011 #45 Spring/Summer GCS News

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C R H U H S C C H E O C O A R L G news Spring/Summer 2011, No. 45

New York, NY

Senior Administration Named RELIEF

ROCKS In the wake of the earthquakes in Japan this winter, students and faculty reacted quickly, organizing ROCK THE RISING SUN, a concert in April to benefit Japan, with performances by students, teachers, alumni and parent bands, t-shirts, and food donated by current and former GCS families. The concert was a rollicking success with a huge turnout continued on page 20 of the community enjoying the

ALUMNI/AE PROFILE

Charles Best ’·‚ Delivers for Kids Arvind S. Grover, Dean of Faculty; George P. Davison, Head of School; Hugo M. Mahabir, Head of High School Division; Camilla Campbell, Director of Admissions, High School Division

HIGH SCHOOL UPDATE Over the next year, three key administrators will prepare the High School Division of Grace Church School for opening in September 2012: developing the program, hiring faculty and staff, and recruiting students. Although Hugo M. Mahabir officially joins the staff on July 1 as the founding head of the High School Division, he has already begun to participate in key planning. Mr. Mahabir has 25 years of experience in New York City independent schools and comes to Grace from Ethical Culture Fieldston School where he has been since 1997 and has served as Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs since 2007. Also starting on July 1, as Dean of Faculty is Arvind S. Grover, most recently Director of Technology at the Hewitt School. Mr. Grover has worked in New York City independent schools for the past nine years. Director of Admissions of the High School Division, Camilla Campbell, is a familiar face around GCS with two students in the school and one who graduated in 2008. She has already begun the recruiting process for the Class of 2017, reaching out to placement directors in K–8 schools and seventh graders who will be looking at high schools in the fall of 2011. In July, when the new facility becomes available, the three adminFor more, see page 18 istrators will move into 38-50 Cooper Square.

For ten years Charles Best has been harnessing the power of citizen philanthropy for classrooms around the country. What’s next? Turn to page 22.

Benefit Auction: page ›


a MESSAGE from the HEAD

CONTENTS 2 Message from George Davison 5 Behind the Scenes 6 Auction 8 China with Grace 11 News Around School 17 Tell Zelda 24 Alumni/ae News

GCS NEWS Spring/Summer 2011 No. 45 Director of Development

Joyce Kuh Associate Director of Development

Tia Biasi Communications Director

Kate Marcus Database Manager

Robert K. Brown Development Assistant

Ryann Supple Photography

Tivadar Divéki Joyce Kuh Kate Marcus Eric Schneider Chanté Stone Ryann Supple Design

The Blank Page New York, NY GCS News is published for students, parents, alumni/ae and friends of the school. We welcome comments from our readers.

How Failure Leads to Success

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e aim to have children leave Grace Church School with a strong sense of self, able to think clearly, function well academically, and embrace coming challenges with confidence.” So reads the final sentence in the school’s mission statement. What, then, do we need to give children in order for them to function well as adults long after school ends? The list is infinite. Should we have Latin, or Mandarin, or geography, or fill in the blank? I decided to go deeper, beyond just those learned things, to uncover what students need to help them not only thrive as individuals but will allow us, as a society to thrive because they are prepared? We hear a great deal about how Americans have lost their edge—American students trail the world in everything except self-image. In a broad study comparing math scores, American students came in 32nd; but in another study asking, “How good do you think you are in math?”Americans came in first. Have we lost our toughness? Has prosperity destroyed our willingness to break a sweat? My father used the phrase “soul destroying luxury” to describe anything that he did not want to buy for us. Has the luxury of our prosperity destroyed our souls? There is some evidence to support this. Take snow days. I hate snow days. This past winter some schools had a snow day before a single flake fell; they were the best endowed schools in town with the most entitled families. Are we entitled to a day off whenever it snows? How about a day off when it rains? Another pet peeve is smartphones in the hands of young children, allowing them access to non-stop gaming and entertainment. And, lastly: helicopter parenting—the “failure is not an option” culture. Many parents interfere daily in their children’s lives in order to make sure failure doesn’t happen in school assignments, activities, and social lives. How do we counteract the factors in the life of American children that work against their ultimate success? I did some basic research on this by reading “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee” by Wendy Mogel and “The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua, and by watching the movie “Race to Nowhere.” All three of these works are commentaries on contemporary parenting. Each has a different take on what we should be doing for our children. The basic thesis of “Race to Nowhere” is

that the pressure of expectations is crushing children. If failure is not an option, then children are being crushed by expectations. I somewhat agree that there are children being crushed by expectations, but I think it is more the lack of resilience that causes children to be crushed when they encounter difficulty and hardship. We need to allow our children to struggle and fail more often, starting when they are quite young. The experience of failure in a small thing will function as a vaccination for the pressures to come. They need to grow, as Wendy Mogel says, to be “resilient, self-reliant, and courageous people.” If you have these traits then you will not be crushed by a hardship in terms of school work. So, the next question is how do we do it? Wendy Mogel says that children must be taught to honor their parents and to respect others: family, friends, and the community and to be grateful for their blessings. In our materialistic culture, that is a tough concept. An entire industry pushes material goods, which is how the lower schooler gets a cellphone, because so-and-so has a cellphone and “if I don’t have one, then I’m diminished by the lack of one.” The response to that should be: “No, you are not what you have; you are who you are, and we must be grateful for all that we have.” Mogel continues, “Teach them the importance of rules and to exercise self-control.” On a ski outing last winter, a trail was icy and blocked by a rope but fresh snow was visible beyond a barrier. One man in our party ignored it and enthusiastically encouraged us to do the same. He ducked under the rope, while we went the long way around and got back on the trail further down where it was safe. But what this man said very loudly and then demonstrated while his kids watched, is that the rules, which were designed to keep us safe, did not apply to him. “Teach children about faith and spirituality, and the preciousness of each moment.” At Grace Church School, a key premise behind our mission is that children who grow up with a coherent faith and/or value system are at an advantage at attaining a sense of emotional centeredness. If you know who you are and you are comfortable with that notion, you are going to be resilient.


George P. Davison

Amy Chua tackles this issue differently and while I do not always agree with her, (No, we do not burn stuffed animals at GCS.) she makes some excellent points: School work always comes first. This is not about being brainy but about developing a work ethic, a life skill. While I know there are people who are brainier than I, my work ethic is that of a determined and dedicated worker. I may be outsmarted, but I’ll never be out-worked. The lesson is when you do the homework; you will be fine—even if the other person is smarter. If your child ever disagrees with a teacher or coach you must take the side of the school or coach. This can be hard for parents. It may sound self-serving. Schools are not perfect. I have to admit that one of my biggest failures as a parent was when my daughter was in middle school and had a teacher that I felt was not a good teacher. My daughter saw my disdain. And everything that she was taught that year by that teacher was undermined because I couldn’t contain myself. Amy Chua says that the only activities your children should be permitted to do are ones in which they can eventually win a medal and that medal must be gold. What I think she’s saying is, have high expectations for your kids. Practice creates excellence, which creates approval, which stimulates practice. Mastery is the product of practice and mastery is fulfilling. In some ways moving toward mastery is the justification for sending your children to Grace Church School; you want them in a school that will challenge them and push them forward and make them achieve. Mastery and excellence are both gold medals. I would like to offer my list of parenting tips to compete with Mogel and Chua. Have a plan and stick to it. Parenting is about consistency; children need to know where you are and what you want. They want consistent goals and expectations. Have a passion and teach your children about it, while encouraging them to develop their own passion —excellence comes from within. If they are to be internally motivated, they have to be passionate about something. At the age of five that could be dinosaurs, and that is fine even if it drives you crazy. The fact that they develop passions will lead to proficiency, then excellence and mastery.

Good things come to those who wait. I consider this one of my own parenting success stories. Material goods, like snow days, should be earned. When HD TVs first came out there was a certain demand in our family to get one. We decided it would be a good object lesson to wait some time for a special occasion, my next major birthday. So for about four or five years we would periodically walk to our local Best Buy and visit our TV, even watching part of a football game on a Sunday. Our family was invested in the project, and after the long wait, on my birthday, we all trooped down to buy it. The delayed gratification made this big purchase special. Allow them to feel the pain of legitimate effort and the value and virtue of hard work. My daughter had been playing the piano for about five years and she hit a wall. The wall was also her being 12 years old. She stopped practicing, she missed lessons, and this is where we as parents needed to keep pushing. What she needed was a push in a different direction. My wife suggested that she change from classical to jazz, and now she plays fluently. Recently, as a college freshman, she often visited a music store and played the piano. The store’s owner hired her to play a song on each of the pianos, while being filmed. This was posted on the store’s website so that people could hear how the same song sounded on the different pianos. When the going gets tough, that is the time to keep going in order to achieve mastery. Allow children to fail and succeed on their own. Kids don’t need leashes, they need a comforting hand, and that need continues all the way through adulthood. Model respect for all who serve, especially teachers, but everyone else from waiters and waitresses, to police officers. Your children are watching you and your behavior. Do not make my middle school teacher mistake; the teacher is the other important adult in their life. So, I hope that when the time comes, my kids will say that their parents did the best possible job that they could. And I hope that as we all work together, we will all feel confident that when your children are grown, that our community of school and families will have been instrumental in creating resilient, self-reliant, creative people who will be leaders of the 21st century.

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LETTERS I was delighted to cross paths with each of you in the last couple of weeks. Parents always have bragging rights and I’m taking this opportunity to send the attached article (see www.gcschool.org /moore) that was written about Jonathan. This is a testament to teachers and parents who do make a difference in a child’s life and certainly the Grace community did that for Jonathan. Grace Church School provided Jon with a sense of self that enabled him to lead other persons with disabilities to speak out in their communities. It seems like yesterday that we were teaching Carol how to perform Jonathan’s stretching exercises to give him the opportunity to join his class at a ski weekend. Mr. Davison, who at that time was the newly appointed Assistant Headmaster, was always considering alternatives in order to maintain Jon’s full experience as a student and class member. We congratulate the Administration as you establish the High School Division. We are making a donation in Jonathan’s name to support this project and keep Jon’s spirit alive with the Class of ’91. Thank you again. Ron, Ronni, and Allison’96 Moore To all of you teaching and others helping in so many ways to continue to make GCS an excellent school, I continue to be thankful for the education I received at GCS, in basic knowledge and in how to approach and evaluate information. Many sincere wishes for an enjoyable Holiday Season and Happy Christmas. From a holiday greeting sent by Virginia (Ginger) MacManus Philips, Ph.D. ’59 The elaborate brochure you sent me indicates that the growth and development of Grace Church School has been amazing! As you may not know, I attended the school during the years of 1926–27 but remember the English headmaster and his wife though his name escapes me. Passing the play yard on 10th Street, at times I have talked with the younger students saying that I, that old man, once played there. They were embarrassed and ran away. I am presently in my 95th year, probably the oldest alumnus. It would be interesting to visit on one of the celebrations there but I am unable to make the long trip from my present home in retirement on Cape Cod. In any case, I am pleased to have contact with you and Grace Church School. Best Wishes, John M. Johansen

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The first annual GCS Alumni Sponsored event on 1.11.11 was a fascinating evening of stories and music. Jordin Ruderman ’85, Paul Spillenger ’69, Julie Sharbutt ’96, Carter Wiseman ’59, Lauren Shockey ’98, and Cliff Schecter ’86 told stories that made us laugh and think and even cringe a little. The audience was so inspired by the theme, the stories and the moody club ambience that four of them got up to tell their own stories. The music by Cas Weinbren ’01 and his quartet solidified the atmosphere and transported the crowd from Tuttle Hall to the comforts of a late night cabaret. Alums from classes spanning four decades turned out, along with current parents, alumni parents, faculty and staff from now and other times. Even after the last notes on Cas’s piano struck, and the band packed up and the stories were long over, many lingered to make new acquaintances or to catch up with old friends. Hear all the stories on the Alumni BLOG: www.gcsalumni.wordpress.com


BEHIND THE SCENES

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THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

hile Grace Church School’s governing Board of Trustees meets six times a year, much of what it accomplishes is based on the work of standing committees that meet regularly and as needed. These committees inform the board and supply often comprehensive background and research to ensure dynamism within the walls of 86 Fourth Avenue. What does the Education Committee actually do? And why does it attract so many involved parents, former parents and educators? The Education Committee got its start during Kingsley Ervin’s years as Head of School, when a group of trustees, parents and faculty members came together to form the committee, which meets four times a year. Much of the work of the committee is to review and respond to the cycle of departmental selfevaluations where every department, at regular intervals, is required to examine the way courses are taught and how their departments function. The committee carefully evaluates these reports, identifies any changes that should be made and endorses recommendations that result, which they then submit to the Board for approval. The Education Committee also considers for recommendation special reports on any changes in the program that may happen outside of the normal department evaluation rotation, such as the study of Life Skills, which was introduced at GCS a few years ago and has spawned several changes in the school’s program. Similarly, the Committee considered changes in the PE program, which came about following the opening of the new gymnasium. Additionally, the Committee is responsible for evaluating the results of the annual Graduate Survey, which asks 10th grade students about how well Grace prepared them for their ongoing schools. One unusual aspect of the Education Committee is that it has always included GCS parents, alumni/ae parents, and teachers and administrators in other schools. Sometimes, consultants are asked to help with the evaluation and recommendations. The committee is given free rein to look at each department’s self evaluation from many angles. The end result is a detailed document that reflects the department’s curriculum and provides recommendations to correct any weaknesses. This mechanism ensures that the Grace education is anything but static, and that each department has a roadmap to make positive changes. The committee members are a dedicated group of

Lucy Schneider – Chair Leona Chamberlin Carol Collet George P. Davison Curran Estreich Karin Greenfield-Sanders Barbara Haney James Higgins Laura Holt Ellen Jewett Cheryl Kelly Miyoung Lee Tara Liddle Paula Madoff Libby McCabe Stephanie Moulton Susan Nascimento Peter O’Neill Mimi Oka Sandford Pelz Sara Queen Tara Rockefeller Kevin Rotheroe Douglas Skrypek Jennifer Segre-Lawrence Eric Seiler Russell Steinert Donna Zaccaro Ullman Felicia Washington Mark Weinsier Melanie Wells Rick White

people who volunteer their time and energy, many of them for several years, to ensure the quality of the Grace education. This committee attracts participants; in fact, it is the largest of the board committees with 30 members. According to Lucy Schneider, committee chair and former Head of School at the Rudolf Steiner School, “The committee has served the school and faculty well. The faculty of the department being evaluated brings recommendations. We talk about the recommendations, which then go to the board. The final say is the head of school.” The recommendations may influence curriculum, staffing needs, and teaching materials. In 2009, the History Department was given the go-ahead to include a Current Events component to the coursework, a systematic way of teaching geography across the grades, the addition of a Renaissance study, more coordination between the English and History Departments in teaching how to cite references in a research paper. Smartboards were added, a particularly effective tool for teaching geography. After a review of the Mathematics Department, Sam Laury was welcomed to the faculty as dean of math. The most recent review of the Physical Education Department brought a new staff member to enhance the athletics program. Next fall, GCS will have a Dean of English, Lucie Aidinoff, who comes to the school after twenty years teaching English including the last ten at Brearley. The Education Committee allows the school to maximize the effectiveness of teaching, with the prescribed regular evaluations and focused inquiry reflecting the philosophy of teaching at GCS. Because the committee is spending time with each department, it is in a unique position to see the curriculum as a whole entity and how the teaching of each discipline relates to the teaching of every other discipline. The process is collaborative and not intrusive, therefore the faculty has embraced this form of assessment. And it’s working. The goals that are coming out of these evaluations are attainable and designed to ensure the growth of the curriculum on an annual basis. The Board of Trustees supports the work of the Education Committee, which in turn enables the faculty to make adjustments that uphold the quality of a Grace education.

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Co-chairs Dana Foote and Conni Walsh Langan

The 25th Annual Scholarship Benefit Auction combined the giddiness of a beach party, the compelling visual experience of a downtown art gallery opening, and an adventure into the latest technology. Festivities generated a record-breaking sum exceeding $680,000 for the scholarship fund, thanks to inexhaustible energy (and hours) from co-chairs Dana Foote and Conni Walsh Langan and a mighty team of volunteers. Art co-chairs David Zwirner, Chris D’Amelio and Pamela Bell commandeered artists to donate major works, creating a spectacular exhibit of important art for sale. Bidders found the electronic bidding on specially configured iPods a strategic and easy way to make and keep track of their bids. The GCS community was able to preview the art in the days before the auction with David Zwirner and Chris D’Amelio as the tour guides. The art was accessible to the students too, bringing the wonder of a museum field trip to Tuttle Hall.

Art co-chairs David Zwirner and Chris D’Amelio with Monica Zwirner

Oliver Platt and Pamela Bell

Negar Feranghil, Ferit Feranghil, Ashley Ludwig, Aline Gooding

Eric Bischof and Susannah Shipman 6

Lisa Henry and guest

Sandy and Adele Pelz

Susie Gilbert, Laura O’Brien, Blanche Williams


Nancy Lorenz and Douglas Schwalbe

Naomi and Bruce Usher

Auctioneer Tash Perrin, Judy Rivkin and George Davison

Donna and Paul Ullman

Maggie and Amor Towles

Olivia Douglas and Hugo Mahabir

Vanessa McGarry and Vicki Hurley

Cassie and Paul Glover

Vincent and Marjorie Thompson

Vikki and Chris King, Robert Attanasio

Lee “Jaws” Godfrey and Yun Jae Chung

Rome and Lisa Arnold 7


GRACE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

China with Grace

hrough the Grace International Exchange Program, our 7th and 8th

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grade students alternate visits with students at Southwest Weiyu Middle School in Shanghai. To prepare for the trip, our students enroll in the

China Elective at the beginning of the year. So while most GCS students had a vacation from school over spring break, the group that traveled to China went to school, attended classes and experienced field trips. This trip marked the fifth year of the relationship. Students arrived at Southwest Weiyu Middle School at 7:30 am on the first Monday, toured the school and went to class. In the afternoon, they went on a field trip to Pudong, a section of Shanghai developed since 1990 that is now the financial and commercial hub of China. The next day, GCS students not only went back to school but went back to Kindergarten where they enjoyed being with the younger students. In the afternoon, there was a trip to the Shanghai Museum. On Wednesday, the students spent time at the China Pavilion, Shanghai Expo site, Chenghuangmia, the core of old Shanghai and the Bund. As the end of the week approached, the GCS contingent made presentations on topics including A Day in the Life of a GCS Student, What We Do for Fun, famous places in New York City, and ended with songs.

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George Davison accompanied the group along with his wife, Judith Rivkin, and kept a travelog of the second leg of the trip:

Friday After a breakfast of warm soy milk, fried dough and dumplings, we went to school where we participated in morning exercises one more time. We said goodbye to Southwest Weiyu and Shanghai. There was a tug of sadness to leave our partnering school and huge new friend of a city and its now-familiar sights and sounds for the road. The first stop was the water village Zhouzhuang. We bought some wooden games and a vendor tried to sell magic cards to our gang with no success. We headed to Suzhou to tour the Hanshan Temple and the Suzhou Number 1 Silk Embroidery Factory. The novelty of our group led to stares and requests for photographs.

Saturday We hit the road, or rather, the canal, at 10 am with a boat ride, where we saw a China that is lost or at least hidden. The afternoon was a real treat. First we went to the garden at Shizilin, the site of the most amazing rockery and garden where I.M.Pei spent time as a child. The kids loved the maze. It was a truly special place. We then walked to the new Pei-designed Suzhou museum. GCS parents Shauna and Remi Hinduja arranged for us to have a special tour of the impressive museum. The kids listened intently and politely, which made me proud of GCS and this program. At dinner that night, the chicken complete with head in the pot caused a stir among the kids, but a splendid time was had by all.

Sunday Our first activity was to head for a boat ride on West Lake, which Marco Polo had described as the most beautiful sight in the world. Hazy smog obscured the mountains, but the views were still good. After a quick lunch, we headed for the tea plantation. The air was clear and the mountains gorgeous. Our tour was quite short: a tea shrub in the parking lot, one guy swirling tea in a wok and then it was time to try the tasty tea.

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GRACE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Monday We flew to Bejing from Hangzhou. We walked and then rode in rickshaws in the narrow lanes of the hutong, a residential neighborhood. After a walk through a local market, we were set up to make dumplings for dinner in a house on the hutong. After dinner the rickshaws took us back to the edge of the hutong and we walked around the lake nearby where we came across fried insects and scorpions not to mention electric t-shirts and cotton candy. It was a very successful evening indeed.

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Tuesday Today we set out for Tiananmen Square. Huge crowds waited for a chance to see the embalmed Mao. We worked our way to the gate to the Forbidden City. One’s heart beats faster when something familiar from pictures suddenly looms ahead and in reality. The Forbidden City itself is enormous, bright and colorful. You feel the sweep of Chinese history as you walk through the place. After a noodle lunch, we went to the Temple of Heaven, where Emperors once sacrificed animals. Now a park, the place is full of seniors playing cards, doing Tai Chi or kicking hacky sacks with feathers. We bought a few hacky sacks and played too. After shopping at the Pearl market, we saw the Kung Fu Show at the Red Theater. It was a marvelous show with actors performing great stunts using swords, a bed of nails, and a sledgehammer. We met up with the Hindujas and headed off for a delectable vegetarian meal. The food just kept coming, one course better than the next.

Wednesday This was our Great Wall day. We went to Quinling, which is a less touristy but much steeper part of the wall. With a lot of effort, we made it to the top of the wall and started down the other loop and who was coming up the other way, but Kirby Spivey ’08.

Thursday The last full day. First stop the Bejing Zoo and the pandas. They were everything that we had been led to believe they would be: cute, expressive and interesting. From the zoo we went to the opulent Summer Palace. Lunch was at a great Mongolian restaurant. Later that day we saw an acrobat troupe that featured, among other things,15 women on one bicycle. We ended with Peking Duck that some of us ate. After one more shopping expedition, we all went to bed that night happy with a great trip.


UNDEFEATED 2009! UNDEFEATED 2010! UNDEFEATED 2011!

NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

The ‡th and °th grade girls basketball team

finished the season ⁄‚-‚—undefeated for the third consecutive season. They also finished first in the Town Tournament as well as the first annual Grace Tournament.

Today, the Flik Invitational Cook-off; tomorrow, the Food Network

FOOD TALK

On May 6, a GCS cooking team of Chef Sheehan and 11 intrepid fifth graders competed in the Flik Invitational Cook-Off, an Iron Chef-like culinary contest, facing off against teams from Trinity and Dalton to raise funds for Spoons Across America, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating school communities about the benefits of healthy eating. Flik, the provider of food service programs for independent schools (including GCS), hosted the event at The Trinity School campus. Each school culinary team prepared and presented a three-course meal. The GCS team chopped, stirred and cooked, producing a delicious meal containing local ingredients: spring asparagus gazpacho, Montauk black sea bass with roasted Mediterranean salsa and zabaglione served with fresh berries.

In April, GCS hosted “Food Is Our Common Ground,” a panel discussion with Jerusha Klemperer, Associate Director for National Programs at Slow Food, USA; Michael Anthony, Executive Chef, Gramercy Tavern; Dan Tainow, Lower East Side Ecology Center; Ben Flanner, Brooklyn Grange, Long Island City; Lydia Walshin, Editor and Writer for The Perfect Pantry, SoupChick, and Drop In and Decorate; and Jude Sheehan, Chef at Grace Church School. Panelists discussed sustainable practices and the power of children’s eating habits in transforming our schools, our homes, and our city. (Visit www.greengremlins.org for panelist profiles.) 11


NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

DISCOVERY MUSEUM EXHIBIT

ANOTHER HUNDRED DAYS… Every year it happens, the rite of passage of celebrating 100 days in Kindergarten. The students have a variety of ways to show just how much is 100.

Second Grade presented a museum quality Lewis and Clark exhibit for parents and friends in Tuttle Hall. Museum-goers explored the displays of life back in the (Lewis and Clark) day, and papier-mâché animals galore while hearing the story of the expedition as told by the students.

JAZZY KINDERGARTEN This spring Kindergarteners were immersed in jazz. They explored the music and and its rich history, then paid their own tribute by improvising their favorite instruments out of recycled materials.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT In their classrooms, JK students discovered how caterpillars undergo a metamorphosis to become butterflies and celebrated the change by fluttering through the school in a butterfly parade, a precursor to the butterfly release and their own metamorphosis into Kindergarteners.

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NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

MLK DAY Where Peace Grows was the focus for Martin Luther King Day with the second grade contributing a seeds of peace poster project. Students in Ms. O’Mara’s puppet elective created a new puppet for the march. Wangari Muta Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, joined the ranks of puppets held high in the march: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Rosa Parks and the school bus. Sixth graders read a poem they wrote in honor of Dr. King. The Affinity Poem was one of many highlights of the Martin Luther King Day events at GCS.

The Sixth Grade Affinity Poem We are five-six, five foot and four-feet-eight, yet we all stand tall to preserve what is free and great. We eat kimchi, mac and cheese, sushi and pesto, yet we all appreciate three meals a day. We are amethyst, aquamarine and diamond, yet we all are precious in the same way. We go to bed at 9:50, 10 and 11, but we all have sweet dreams. We are baseball and football and volleyball, yet during times of trouble we are on the same teams. Even though our hair is blonde, red and brown, when we are together, you’ll seldom find a frown. We were born with jaundice, a heart disease, a full head of hair and excess drama, yet we all cried while our mothers held us with care. We are an Asian, a German and a Canadian, yet we all breathe America’s air. We are tall, medium and even short, but we can all agree on a fun sport. We are a sporty, a spunky and a silly, yet we all ignore that our names include an “I.” Our signs are Virgo, Aries and Sagittarius, but Father Sky looks down on us all with pride. When asked, we’re usually pink, black and blue, but when put together, our true colors shine through. 13


NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

GRACE’S GOT TALENT

From their performance early on in the Junior Kindergaten Variety Show to the later limelight of the Upper School Talent Show, Grace students know how to wow an audience.

The Junior Kindergarten Variety Show Budding stars shine in the ¤‚⁄⁄ program

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NEWS AROUND SCHOOL Excerpts from the JK Playbill Charlie is a veteran of the stage. Oddly enough, his previous experience was in his camp show, “Variety Beach”! He played a dad. Today, Charlie stretches his actor chops, moving from human roles to an avian one. When not treading the boards, Charlie has been a Super Soccer Star. When she went to the circus, Marni was fascinated to see “This man? He came out of a book! …AND some elephants!” As a performer, Marni got a medal for her gymnastics expertise “a long time ago,” when she was four. This may be Oliver B.’s first opportunity to dance before a crowd, but he is no stranger to accolades. He was supposed to have Medal Day at his gymnastics class on the snow day last week, but the extra waiting only added to the thrill when it was finally hung on his neck. William has his eye trained on the sports arena. His favorite sport is football, but he enjoys soccer too. He is one of the Super Soccer Stars in the after-school program. He has not seen plays, but really enjoyed the acrobats at the circus. Today a Raindrop; tomorrow a gridiron star!

A favorite night at Brian’s home is Family Movie Night. Although he is a little foggy on the title of the movie, Brian fondly remembers one particular time when “We watched a movie and Daddy and I had cupcakes!” A chess player and Super Soccer Star, Brian strings together a series of somersaults for today’s show. New York City offers Jessica many opportunities for entertainment. She took ballet class and did a show when she was four, but “is finished now.” Still, the barre was enticing enough for her to enjoy the ballerinas in The Nutcracker. Just as exciting was her visit to the circus. Miranda has been to the theater on numerous occasions. She saw Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid, and gives big points to the part when “Ariel sings to the prince.” While at Disney World, she won the coveted Silver Bucket at a show that had “two funny workers talking.”

“Play good, but play extra good to get a trophy” was Kai’s summary of his experience on the soccer pitch. Today he somersaults into the hearts of his adoring audience as a member of the Tumblers. Emelia “did two shows that the parents could come in” at her ballet class at The Joffrey. She also enjoyed the Hansel and Gretel theater workshop with Adelaide. A real trouper, she loves the smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd, and tumbling on mats. Each Christmas season finds Lucia waiting on line for tickets to The Rockettes. She has seen them “a whole bunch of times.” Her other theater experiences fade in comparison, with the exception of The Nutcracker. Lucia has given her own ballet outfits to her cousin and now concentrates on gymnastics. Bobby admits to being “scared, no, not scared, well, a little bit scared” when he saw Yogi Bear at the movie theater. Today marks his first time before an audience. He lives up to Gene Kelly’s legacy as one of the Raindrops.

Having earned a trophy and medal for his soccer playing, Oliver E.H. balances his sports interests with the arts. He has seen The Nutcracker and especially enjoyed when the corps danced together. Let it rain! The performing bug bit Adelaide when she attended a Hansel and Gretel workshop after a show. “We got to do part of the show for our parents.” Adelaide tells us that she is embarking on a dancing enterprise, soon to begin class at The Joffrey. Dance! Dance! Dance! Celia takes ballet class and has performed before an audience. She “saw a lot of ballets, like The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.” In today’s show, she will be one of the dancing Supergirls. She has never been to ski school, but has a Snowboard Barbie.

crowd, his parents have watched his various matches and “it wasn’t scary.” At the Downtown Dance Factory, Sarah has already shown her ease with performing at her ballet recital. She is the proud earner of a medal for gymnastics. She is also a fan of the theater, having seen Click, Clack, Moo! She laughed, she clapped, and today she acts …fishy! She has seen the Rockettes. She loves the movies, especially Tangled. She took skiing lessons in Chicago and swim lessons in the Hamptons. She received a medal for doing a good job in her gymnastics class and is about to start ice-skating. Today she sings. That’s Milly!

Pia found Wicked to be a little scary because “when she was born she was green, but not her sister because the mom took some medicine.” Pia steps up today as a Raindrop, testing her theatrical mettle.

“We were cheering for the NY Knicks because we’re from New York,” said Luke when talking about his experience as an audience member. He loved the game. Luke took gymnastics class, “but not anymore.” He breakdances on the weekends.

His experience in the theater is comprised of going to the movies, but Ian is “a little excited” about Twenty Eleven Variety. He loved Toy Story. Today he wows the audience by “seeing things far away like a giraffe.”

Performances? James P. went to the Big Apple Circus and saw the clowns doing tricks and then “this one clown pretended like he was crying.” So funny! James plans to translate his dance moves and fancy footwork to the soccer pitch when he joins the Super Soccer Stars.

Catherine “had a ballet recital, but [her] sister couldn’t come because she was sick, but she was lucky because there was this other performance that she could do, but [their] mother had to be go because she did the make-up.” Catherine is excited about tumbling in Twenty Eleven Variety.

Born in a trunk, Grier is no stranger to show biz. At her old school in California, she “had to say a line and then somebody else said a line.” She loved Angelina Ballerina and her mom’s show, Leap of Faith. Grier earned a necklace at her gymnastics class. Watch out PGA! “At Flamingo Golf, if you get the ball in the hole at the last one, up to the mountain, you get a trophy and a lollipop.” Adam completed that rigorous course and graciously accepted his awards. Today, he tumbles! A veteran of ballet school, Ava is hoping to add a gymnastics class soon. She was in a “ballet show” so is no stranger to performing. When not on stage herself, she enjoys being a fan. She LOVED Angelina Ballerina when she saw the show. Elisa joined the JK just in time to join our rehearsals and perform in our show. A real trouper, she takes both ballet AND gymnastics classes and is excited to be a chameleon that wishes she were as fast as a deer. She found The Lion King “exciting, but scary.” At her camp’s show, Sienna “was in the front while the other kids went in the back, in a square.” Not one to glom all of the attention, Sienna is enthusiastic in her praise of The Lion King, which she saw in the theater. “Exciting!” She has also received a medal for her gymnastics work. Gerrit has diverse interests. He ice skates and plays hockey! He plays soccer and has received trophies for all of his sports. He also enjoyed The Nutcracker when he saw it. Although he has never sung before a

Harry goes to Gil Sports every Wednesday and has received a medal for his soccer prowess. He is currently working hard to perfect his ice-skating with Gil. While no plays sprung to his mind, Harry says he saw the movie, Secretariat, about a racehorse and really liked it. Charlotte S. has been to gymnastics classes, swimming class and ski school, where she “learned to turn and stop and go fast.” Along with her grandparents and all of her cousins—but not the baby one—she went to see High School Musical on stage. Owen especially enjoyed the Bouncy Train in his spring and summer gymnastics class. Today’s performance stretches his skills even further. A dancing skeleton, Owen gives us a glimpse of his breakdancing expertise. While she admitted to being “embarrassed about the Variety Show,” Charlotte W. is no stranger to the theater. She saw Pinkalicious. She will surely shoo away the butterflies before she takes the stage today, a Party Time Dancer. Working in front of an audience is nothing new and “not so scary” for Drake. He has had to exhibit his American Jiu Jitsu moves in order to move up in his martial arts class. Drake now has a grey belt. As one of the Chameleons today, he is “smart as a fox.” Learning to stop on skis is vital and James Y. learned this skill at ski school in Vail. “S! T! O! P!” he says. He also played soccer when he was younger. Not a big proponent of the theater, James saw the movie Ironman, but was not enthralled. “I was tired.” Mustering more energy, he takes the stage today as a Tumbler.

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NEWS AROUND SCHOOL

GLI at GCS Makes the French Connection News travels far. The “Real Parents, Real Daughters” program at GCS was featured in the French newspaper Libération. To read an excerpt of the article in English, please visit www.gcschool.org/GLI.

ALUMNI SPEAKER SERIES

Vivian Rosenthal ’90

SUNDAY at SCHOOL The Lower School Recreation Event brought families to school on a Sunday last winter, with plenty of games and refreshments, and where climbing the walls was a good thing.

Vivian Rosenthal ’90, co-founder of digital design company Tronic Studio, spoke to Upper School students in April as part of the Alumni/ae Speaker Series. The students were curious as Vivian explained the vision for her studio as “the collaboration of space, technology, perception, and humanity all culminating in experience.” But they were captivated by the images when she showed them the range of computer generated animation she produced—the work of grafitti artists coming to life, origami forms mobilized, and marbles rolling playfully with a mission. Tronic boasts clients such as Sony, Target, Mavi, AT&T, and Diesel, and the work ranges from TV and Internet ads to large scale outdoor installations. Vivian founded Tronic with Jesse Seppi, a friend and fellow graduate of Columbia University’s School of Architecture, where they attended graduate school. Coincidentally, the dean at the time was former GCS parent Bernard Tschumi, and Vivian credits his requirement of ‘paperless studios’ with playing a major role in her interest in digital arts. Students asked questions about everything from specific computer programs to the creative process, demonstrating a particular interest in the varying technologies and techniques involved in the work Vivian showed them that afternoon. Later she commented, “I’m so surprised and pleased by the sophistication of their questions!” After the presentation, Vivian was able to catch up with her former science teacher, Mr. Divéki, to whom she confessed that all of her work is based in math and physics. She thanked him and added, “Schools and teachers really shape you. I wasn’t aware of it then, but looking back it’s true.” Vivian remains on the cutting edge. She’s just launched a new company, GoldRun, doing only augmented reality, layering animation over real life views. You can see more of Vivan’s work at her website: tronicstudio.com. 16


FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS

Tell Zelda

Send news to zpwarner@earthlink.net

FORMER FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS I don’t know about the rest of you but the first thing I turn to when the Newsletter arrives is the Class Notes section. I love reading about our graduates, where they are, and what they are doing. I often meet friends and colleagues from my Grace years and the conversation turns to “I wonder where ______ is now. Have you heard anything about what _______is doing? So I jumped at the chance to compile this information for a new section of the Newsletter catching up with former faculty and staff. So, TELL ZELDA what you have been doing in your life after Grace. I can’t wait to hear from you.

Just to get things started: I met Ben Chant on 16th Street a few weeks ago on his way home from Friends Seminary where he is now the Assistant Head of School. Ben is the proud father of four children.

Martin Fitzgerald writes, “Worked at Grace 1990–1998. Closer to home began working as an Assistant Principal in Robert E Bell Middle School in Chappaqua. Appointed Principal in 2003. Entry into work as administrator began with the GO summer program and later an internship at Grace as part of the college and State certification requirement. Wife Terin, teaching 30 years working in a middle school, grade 8, math teacher in Peekskill since 2005. Son Max entering Kindergarten in September. Continue running and occasionally compete in Master’s running events. Travels include places throughout this, my adopted and great country, Ireland, Spain, France, Malta. Fond memories of my time at Grace include: A wonderful family of administrators, colleagues, clerical and custodial staffs. Incredible parents and students. Traditions such as the Pecan Festival, Scholarship Benefit Auction, Grace Church Sunday and May Fair. Grace was inspirational as a place to work with its proud history and culture celebrating academic endeavor and community involvement. Loved my time at Grace and happy to have been part of its history.” Congratulations to Martha Hirschman who has accepted the position of Head of the Lower School at the Dwight School as well as the newly created position of Chair of the Admissions Department beginning July 1, 2011. Martha left Grace to be Assistant Head of the Hewitt School where, in addition, she served as Director of Admissions, chair of the Creative Arts department, dance instructor, and Parents Association liaison. Lots of good luck Martha as you move across town to a new school and new challenges. Dwight is lucky to have you. From Hopewell, VA, 30 miles south of Richmond Laura Price writes: “After teaching in Arizona and returning to New York in 2002, I held administrative positions at three independent schools and was a

tutor for Sylvan in a SAT college prep program in partnership with NYC Housing Authority. In 2008 I moved to the Richmond area, worked for a time in the city’s library and am now employed as the Celebrations Specialist for the Richmond TimesDispatch. I assist folks in writing their engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements. It’s a pleasant job working with people at such happy times. I represent the section at bridal shows and the local wedding association. I live in Hopewell with my little old pug and have reconnected with my best friend from high school who lives not far away. I miss New York and my family, but like the slower, friendlier way of life here.” I had lunch with Maggie Staats last fall. We had a wonderful time catching up with 30 years in 2 hours and reminiscing about the “good” old days at GCS. For news about Maggie, read her interview with GCS alum Tyler Maroney ’87 at www.gcschool.org/ maggiestaats. As for me, I retired from Grace in 2002 after so many years as parent, volunteer, and for the final 15, Director of Admissions. I became a volunteer school advisor at the Parents League, which I enjoyed very much and had flexibility and free time to spend with my family in Washington, DC and to enjoy all the wonderful things New York has to offer. One thing led to another and I am now Director of Admissions and Ongoing School Placement at the 14th Street Y Preschool. It’s fun being around toddlers and working with young families in their first school experience. I especially enjoy welcoming Grace graduates, now parents, when they come for a tour as they go through the admissions process for their own children. Congratulations to Suleiman Osman on the publication of his book “The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn”, “an absorbing study” according to The New Yorker. The New York Post said it “may well be the most important current book on New York.” Suleiman is currently an Assistant Professor of American Studies at George Washington University.

We’re all waiting to hear about YOU! So Tell Zelda, zpwarner@earthlink.net. I promise to pass the news along. 17


Senior Administration Named Our inaugural team considers the immediate tasks ahead: Hugo Mahabir: “There will be many tasks associated with getting the high school up and running and ready to receive our first class of ninth graders, including, of course, admissions and enrollment, curriculum planning and design, and recruitment and hiring of faculty. Starting July 1, when I will be officially in place and starting my work, I have three quite different projects that will be part of my summer at GCS. The first may seem like an odd choice, or a putting-of-the-cart-before-the-horse, but in fact, without this, nothing else works, or to put it aphoristically: “The schedule drives everything.” So, I’m planning to attend a conference in early July on scheduling, in order to learn more about schedule design and the latest in scheduling software. Having a clear concept of schedule options will facilitate all of our work in the coming year, as we will be able to marry our plans and ideas to the practicalities of time and space. Secondly, I am in the process of working to develop an alumni advisory group of GCS alumni from 1999 to 2006, those that are currently in college or recently graduated, in order to survey them and meet in focus groups to learn about their high school experiences and to consult with them about our plans for the high school. I hope to gather their ideas and advice, as GCS graduates, as we design the program and develop the curriculum. I am looking forward to having these alumni advisory group meetings in late June and late August. A third summer project, which I am most eager to begin, is hosting individual meetings with all 8th grade families, to learn about their GCS experience, what they are hoping to find in a high school, and what their thoughts are about the new High School Division. I hope to have these meetings over the course of the summer in my office at 38-50 Cooper Square. I also plan to schedule a round of individual meetings with all 7th grade families in the fall.”

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Arvind Grover: “Summer is a lovely time to be in school because, while it is quiet, we prepare for teachers and students to return. Once I get settled in this July, I will begin meeting with faculty members who are available over the summer, continuing these meetings into the fall. One of my main priorities is to learn as much about the institution as I can so that I can fairly represent it while helping to plan the high school program. I have said often that Grace is in the enviable position of being able to take over 100 years of institutional knowledge and merge that with incredible new understandings around teaching and learning; I look forward to being part of the team taking up that great challenge. The high school will consume much of my early focus, but I will also quickly dive into the Junior Kindergarten–8 program, learning about all of its successes and searching for room for growth. I am passionate about faculty development so I am also excited to learn about their desires while bringing fresh eyes and ideas to the school.”

Camilla Campbell: “The admissions season for the fall 2012 ninth grade is well underway. Starting at the beginning of spring, the new administration team collaborated on materials including two brochures, one about the new facility at 38-50 Cooper Square, complete with floor plans, and the other about program and general curriculum. These are available to view online at www.gcschool.org/highschool, where more detailed information about the High School Division can be found. As we move along the timeline of creating the division, these web pages will be updated and will serve as a place to get the most up-to-date news about the High School Division. To kick off our recruiting season, GCS attended two New York City regional high school fairs, uptown and downtown, to officially introduce the high school to the city and to seventh graders at the beginning stages of their high school search. Reception was enthusiastic and we anticipate a large pool of applicants from every borough. In April, I was able to present our plans for the High School Division to admissions directors (who also manage outplacement) at the NYSAIS Admissions Directors Conference at Mohonk. We are having ongoing meetings with placement directors at all of the K–8 guild schools, parochial schools and select public schools. The purpose of the meetings is to present the mission, program and facility of the new high school division of Grace Church School. Applications will be accepted starting in September and will be available on the website.”


HIGH SCHOOL UPDATE

HUGO MAHABIR Founding Head of the High School Division In 14 years at Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Mr. Mahabir has most recently served as Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs, and prior to that at ECFS, he was Dean of the Upper School, Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and Upper School English teacher. In addition to his 25 years of administrative and teaching experience in New York City K–12 independent schools, he is active in the academic community, having guest lectured at Bank Street College of Education and Teachers College at Columbia University and taught at Brooklyn College School of Education. For many years, he worked as a staff member of the National S.E.E.D. Project on Inclusive Curriculum, based at Wellesley College. He served as the Director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Teaching, a consortium of Brooklyn independent schools funded by the DeWitt-Wallace Reader’s Digest Foundation. He was founding co-chair of the New York State Association of Independent Schools Diversity Committee and board chair of South Asian Youth Action in Queens. Alongside his academic career, as a writer and performer, Mr. Mahabir has developed performance pieces for theater projects based on the Asian American experience, that have seen performances at The Public Theater and Second Stage. Mr. Mahabir earned a B.A. in Literature and Philosophy from Sarah Lawrence College, an M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago, and has done graduate work in Administration at Teachers College, Columbia University.

ARVIND S. GROVER Dean of Faculty Mr. Grover joins Grace Church School from the Hewitt School where he was Director of Technology. In his nine years working in K–12 independent schools, he has proven to be an accomplished teacher and administrator and an innovative leader in the New York City educational community. His wide range of responsibilities at Hewitt included chairing the Educational Technology Department, overseeing departmental curriculum, technology professional development and technology usage for all faculty, staff and administration as well as continuing his role as a classroom teacher. In his tenure at Hewitt, he has taught courses in lower, middle, and upper grades. As a member of Hewitt’s Academic Council for grades K–12, he helped design strategies and implementation plans for the school’s academic initiatives. He served on a number of committees at Hewitt including the Diversity Committee, which plans school-wide programs, and the Math/Science/Technology Task Force. In addition, he chaired a self-study committee on diversity and organized the school’s participation in the NYSAIS Job Fair to Promote Diversity. He has been a 7th and 8th grade advisor, varsity soccer coach and has developed outdoor education programs. Mr. Grover has co-chaired the NYSAIS Information Technology Committee since 2006. He earned a B.S. in Biology at the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Computing and Education with a concentration in Technology Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.

CAMILLA CAMPBELL Director of Admissions, High School Division Ms. Campbell has extensive experience in marketing and communications and a strong background in admissions, most recently at the prospective Greenwich Village High School. Previously, she was the manager of corporate communications for Jim Henson Productions where she created publicity campaigns, maintained press relations, managed special events and press conferences, developed public service campaigns and oversaw the budget. She has also worked as marketing director of a medical practice in Boston, and for a financial services company, where she supervised its marketing, including print and broadcast advertising, copywriting, and branding. In addition to her professional life, Ms. Campbell brings years of volunteer experience. In our own admissions office, she spent eight years as a tour guide; she was a valuable asset to the admissions team and gained an intimate perspective on the GCS admissions process. Also at GCS, she has been a co-president of the Parents’Association, a Long Range Planning Committee member, and co-chaired the Long Range Planning Committee task force for the community. She twice co-chaired the May Fair. She is a trained facilitator for Parents in Action and served as a GCS parent liaison. Ms. Campbell has a B.A. from Boston University, College of Communication.

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extraordinary talent on stage, and raised a whopping $7,000, which was split between the Japan Society and Save the Children. Dovetailing with the concert, students made paper cranes, as a show of unity and to raise awareness of the crisis. Relief efforts at Grace Church School continue to aid Haiti, hit hard by earthquakes in January 2010. At that time students rallied and raised funds. Months later at the beginning of the 2010–11 school year, though it was no longer headline news, students repeated the effort with the Valentine project. Every child in the school made valentines, which they then sold, raising $1,718. Proceeds went to the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti.

continued from front cover

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A FORMER STUDENT HELPS CURRENT STUDENTS

ALUMNI/AE PROFILE CHARLES BEST ’·‚

I

n 1999, Charles Best ’90 was a history and English teacher at Wings Academy, a public high school in the Bronx. Frustrated that simple learning materials were often missing from classrooms, and thinking that people would be probably be willing to give small amounts directly to particular classroom projects if they knew about them, Charles tried to come up with a way to make that connection. In 2000, he launched DonorsChoose.org to do just that for New York City public schools. Teachers could post projects or classroom needs, like headphones for music students, a laptop to replace an obsolete computer, or gardening equipment for an indoor classroom planting project. Visitors to the site could choose what they want to support and how much to give, with contributions as low as a dollar. The idea took off. As DonorsChoose.org enters its second decade, the success of this venture is astounding. The number of donors exceeds 520,000 and the donations have topped $82 million, supporting close to 200,000 classroom projects around the country. This year, DonorsChoose.org became the first nonprofit to be included in Fast Company’s “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” list. Good Magazine included the organization in its most recent “30 Places We

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Want to Work” roster. DonorsChoose.org has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Fortune Magazine, CNNMoney.com, ABC World News Tonight, and USA Network, to name just a few, and is a regularly mentioned on Stephen Colbert’s nightly show, the Colbert Report.. According to Charles, “Stephen Colbert learned about DonorsChoose.org three years ago when the founder of craigslist, Craig Newmark, appeared on The Colbert Report and spoke more about DonorsChoose.org than about his own website. It was so generous of Craig and that got Stephen intrigued.” Stephen Colbert is now on the Board of DonorsChoose.org and this past spring held a high profile-celebrity auction of a “self ” portrait, embellished by various artists, that ultimately raised $52,000 for art projects on DonorsChoose.org. At the beginning, Charles focused his efforts on New York City public schools to help local classroom teachers innovate and do the projects they wanted to do with their students. In 2003, Oprah Winfrey featured the site on her show, which prompted calls from people around the country interested in getting DonorsChoose.org


open to public schools in their states, When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, they opened to all public schools along the Gulf Coast. And in 2007, DonorsChoose.org went national. According to Charles, “That’s been the last ten years and it doesn’t feel any less fresh today. I’m learning just as much and having as much fun as I did at the start of this. We’re experimenting with additional ways to engage people

“I’m learning just as much and having as much fun as I did at the start of this.” with under-served classrooms, ways that go beyond opening your wallet. We are meeting up donors and teachers using meetup.com actually, to talk about the schools in their community and education.” A recent innovation could further revolutionize the way donors can identify projects to support—since last month, DonorsChoose.org has opened up its data so that web developers* can create applications for the postings on its site. There are as many as 25,000 classroom projects in need of funding on the website at any given time. A developer might create a mobile phone application which would present classroom project requests within the neighborhood where the donor happens to be at the moment. The concept for this site was new in 1999, but in the intervening years it has proven effective in multiple arenas. Opportunities to give micro loans are readily available online, and their success stories are as easy to find. Political organizations like MoveOn.org and later the Obama campaign, took the idea of collecting small amounts from many people to finance ambitious projects to new highs. Additionally, education has been at the center of the national conversation. This seems to add up to a unique position for Charles and his team. So what’s next for DonorsChoose.org? Charles says the next thing they can do is open up all the data they’ve collected to help others implement change. By scrubbing all the identifying details of the project

participants, organizations, municipalities, reformers, web developers can use this enormous volume of data to identify trends in classroom needs that might be useful. If a number of teachers in a region request funding for environmental field trips, that provides information about a trend in curriculum, which is useful for governing administrations that oversee schools to know about. Charles commented, “Teachers on the frontline know their children better than anyone and they’ve got pent up expertise and imagination. If you could tap into that, you can unleash and unearth better targeted, smarter, more innovative micro-solutions for education than a superintendent on a large bureaucracy would come up with. Donors are now empowered to be ‘citizen philanthropists’ to make the decisions about which projects should be brought to life. We think that certainly the people who come to our sites spend a lot more time thinking about and evaluating the projects, more so than a paid staff could.” Charles Best and his wife, Bridget, have two children, three-yearold George and one-year-old Hannah. When asked about keeping up with GCS friends he says, “It’s easy on Facebook.” He shared his memories of being a student at Grace. “The earliest memory I have, would be my first day at Grace, in PreK with Mrs. Reid, I knew how

“Donors are now empowered to be ‘citizen philanthropists’.” to tie my shoe and I got this little certificate because I knew how to tie my shoe. So that was my earliest, but there were lots of amazing teachers and projects at Grace.” He remembered fondly Mrs. Henry, Mr. Diveki, Dr. Wheeler and his 7th and 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Hecksher. “But outside of Grace I would say it was my high school wrestling coach who made me want to be a teacher. I really looked up to him and I figured if anybody ever looked up to me the way that I looked up to him I would’ve done my share. So since then I wanted to be a teacher.”

To track DonorsChoose.org’s daily accomplishments, please visit www.donorschoose.org/about/impact, where the data clearly illustrates the magnitude of support generated by the organization. *Stephen Colbert will give a trophy to the person who comes up with the coolest app for DonorsChoose.org data. 23


ALUMNI/AE NEWS

ALUMNI/AE REUNION ¤‚⁄⁄ The annual Alumni/ae Reunion Cocktail Party drew a crowd of over 80 guests from milestone classes—graduation years ending in “1” and “6”, spanning the 50 years from 1961 through 2001. Attendees enjoyed sharing memories with old friends, poring over old photos, touring the school, and continuing the reunion into the evening at neighborhood restaurants.

Class of ’‡⁄

Class of ’‡6 Diane Falk ’§⁄, DeeGee Godfrey ’∞·, George Davison

Class of ’°⁄

Tom Southwick and Jonathan Cohen ’86

Richard Rosenthal ’‡⁄ and Maggie Staats Simmons 24


ALUMNI/AE NEWS

Class of ’86

Class of ’·⁄

Class of ’·6

New Chair for the Alumni/ae Board Callie Siegel ’96 was named chair of the Alumni/ae Board last spring. Callie has been an active member of the Alumni/ae Association: on the Alumni/ae Callie Siegel ’96 Committee and Board since 2006 and serving on both the Events and Fundraising committees this year. Her work as Development Director for the GO Project gives her valuable experience to bring to the group and also places her physically at the school where she has already been an invaluable resource to help re-launch the Alumni/ae Board’s activities. Callie replaces Charles Buice, who after thirteen years on the Alumni/ae Committee and Board, is stepping down. The Board is grateful for his commitment to the school and the Alumni/ae Association.

Class of ’‚⁄

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ALUMNI/AE NEWS 1947 George Gordon Bellis continues to enjoy life in the Bay area of the Golden State where he has lived quite happily since leaving Gotham in 1967. He returns to the East Coast twice every five years for SPS and Yale Reunions. George is still hail and hearty despite 75 years on this mortal soil. His lymphoma has been cured and he spent three years as a Marine Infantry Officer. He would love to get together with any GCS contemporaries passing through San Francisco. George was here for grades one and two in 1941 and 1942, until WW II pulled his naval officer father and their family away from Manhattan.

1957 CLASS AGENT

Durell Godfrey durellgodfrey@optonline.net

The connections to GCS continue for Sarah Guthrie Melvin, alumna and mother of alumnus John Melvin ’83. Her husband, Walter, is the architect for recent renovations to Grace Church.

1958 CLASS AGENT

Durell Godfrey durellgodfrey@optonline.net

Fred Covan: I’m still living in paradise working as the “Southernmost Shrink.” My oldest son Alexander, lives in, of all places New Jersey, and has two children, Natalia (6) and Gabriel (4). My third son, Zachary, just moved back to New York, is living in Brooklyn and working at the Apple Store on 14th and 10th Ave. I guess there is some kind of magnet about the Village. My newest venture is acting as a commentator on the local variety show. It’s broadcast live on a local AM station and is also live streaming on the Internet at konkam.com. I am sort of a “Dr. Phil.”

Deke Simon: Better late than never. After a career in documentary filmmaking, I’ll be graduating from Antioch University in June with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology. Already started my clinical training at a local Los Angeles community mental health center and loving the work. People tell me if I grow a Freudian beard I can charge more.

1962 CLASS AGENT

Alan Bernheimer abernhei@yahoo.com

The class of 1962 mourns the loss and reveres the memory of Myron Jones, our teacher and our friend. (see inside back cover) Joe Soler: Another year nears its end and as I look back, it was a good one. My wife, Nudia, and I moved into our new home. Although just three miles from the other house, this one is just perfect for us now! Our son, Joseph, completed his Ph.D. in Urban Education and continues to make Philadelphia his home. If something should open up, he’s ready for a move; anything promising out there? following in his uncle’s academic footstops, our grandson, Mark, now in middle school, was accepted into the Marine Oceanographic Academy (MOA). Upon successful completion of the program, he will recieve a four-year college scholarship to Florida Atlantic University. What a year! Greetings to all!

1965

1959 CLASS AGENT

Durell Godfrey durellgodfrey@optonline.net

Mary Elliot Woodrow: Terry and I moved to Greensboro seven years ago to be close to our two grandhcildren: Josh, almost 7 and Elliott, 31⁄2. Josh goes to Canterbury School, an Episcopal day school very much like GCS. When I go to chapel services, I am transported back in time. How strange to think that 50 years have passed! Josh loves his school and is always telling us about his ‘spiritual development’ class. Elliott carries my family name and is a lively and articulate little girl. She can hardly wait to go to Canterbury! My brother, Chuck ’61, is alive and well in the Chicago suburbs with his second wife and their

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two adopted children, a boy from Russia and a girl from China. He has grown children and grandchildren in England. Good luck with the high school plans!

CLASS AGENT

Kit Rachlis ’65 kit.rachlis@gmail.com

CLASS AGENT

David Ratner ’65 dratner@hurrlaw.com

Kate Haines Richards: We have been traveling to Europe twice a year to see our grandson. His parents live in Lisbon and will for at least three more years. The small one is well worth the cramped seats. Now under weird: Father Ben Thomas recently from Grace Church is the new Dean at Christ Cathedral in Salina, KS. He is the third connection following Ashley Null and Father Cambell who taught Sunday School. That is about all I have to report. Things are just plugging along.


ALUMNI/AE NEWS 1977 CLASS AGENT

Alexandra Calas Koch Maximilian_Koch@t-online.de

CLASS AGENT

Nancy Shapiro Toddlers2@aol.com

Classmate Nancy Weigner Shapiro reports that Lauren Feinsot Reiordin’s daughter, Emily, was accepted early admission to Vassar.

1981 CLASS AGENT

Lisa Kellar ’81 lisa.kellar@yahoo.com

Class Agent Lisa Kellar reporting: After my five years working abroad (in London with the BBC, and Dubai with Brodeur Worldwide/Spot On Public Relations), I found home again during time spent with old friends who shared my first New York experiences in playgrounds of the Village and Murray Hill, where we grew up. It has been deeply moving to see those faces and hear those voices again from childhood. Jocelyn Williams and I have recently had the pleasure of spending some quality time together, as well as she with Richard Hecht, and I with Eddie Grant who lives in the West Village, Liliana Trafficante also in the West Village and Suzanne Ort who is also my Chapin alum. Nicole DiLauro, visiting from California with her husband of 20 years, and Andrew Lewis on a visit home from Japan where he lives with his wife and their new baby girl, were wonderful and special surprises. Andrew is fluent in Japanese and has founded a company, Cerego, based on a science-based method of teaching and learning a foreign language. His wife, Cindy, is a recording artist. Nicole and her husband are highly athletic, with the glow and the muscles to show for it! She is raising two gorgeous children. We have all recently had an especially delightful time reconnecting on Facebook after posting some ‘vintage’ photos, and tagging a few people in them led to a Grace Church School Class of 1981 page that now, in addition to the aforementioned classmates, also includes Anne Rochelle, Brooks Peck, Matthew Flusser, Eric Westerlund, Keith Interrante and Cindy Eustice, George Lee and even some who left long before graduation: Barbara Sampson, Nicole Coady, Teja (Benamor) Van Wicklen, Nicole DiLauro, and William Garema! We have a transcript of our recollections that goes on for pages (but will never be published)!

I recently learned about two others not yet connected with our page: Nicole (Gamille) Oliver is a registered nurse married to Jason Oliver and lives on Long Island where she works at Winthrop University Hospital. She has two lovely children. Teja Benamor, now Teja Van Wicklen, founded deviprotectiveoffense.com (also on Facebook). She is now a veteran martial artist and founder of Devi Protective Group, LLC, a company she created to teach women smart, sensible selfdefense strategies for real world scenarios, and to dispel common myths about women’s self defense. She has trained for over 25 years and is skilled in a wide range of martial arts styles including Kali, Taekwondo and Tai Chi. We miss and would love to reconnect with many of our classmates not recently heard from. Hopefully they will find us online or through GCS. Meanwhile, here is some of the latest from those who were happy to share: Thom Hall: My wife, Kim, and I live in North Stamford, CT with our two daughters Amanda (9) and Lindsay (7). Both of our girls were baptized at Grace Church. As for work, I am a partner at the law firm of Fabiani, Cohen & Hall, LLP. We specialize in civil litigation with a focus on construction. My little sister, Carolyn, has been teaching first grade at GCS for over 10 years now. In recent years, I have been back for a few of the spring auction fundraisers. The new gym and facilities are remarkable. It is no longer that little neighborhood school in Greenwich Village that we all attended. Looking forward to seeing everybody at the big reunion on May 6.” Noah Hawley (excerpt from his Facebook page) is an accomplished author of three novels—“A Conspiracy of Tall Men”, “Other People’s Weddings” and “The Punch”. Hawley is also the creator and executive producer of two ABC television dramas: last year’s groundbreaking My Generation and 2009’s cult classic The Unusuals. An accomplished screenwriter, Hawley’s first feature script was turned into the movie Lies & Alibis, and he also spent three seasons as a writer/producer on the hit Fox show Bones. In the

27


ALUMNI/AE NEWS early 1990’s, he worked with abused and neglected children. He then moved to San Francisco and joined The San Francisco Writers’ Grotto, a collective of writers and filmmakers. Also an accomplished musician, Hawley wrote the theme music for The Unusuals, and regularly collaborates with the composer on the scores for his shows. Hawley is married and currently splits his time between Los Angeles and Austin, TX. Keith Interrante attended GCS for 7th and 8th grade, then moved to California in 1981, and he still misses New York. He fell in love in San Francisco and is married with two kids, 4 and 7. He writes, “I remember so many people so fondly, and so many people so awkwardly from Grace Church. My first date, my first kiss, my first crush. (wow, three different people!) My first truly close friend relationships, my first David Bowie poster, my first need to pretend I knew who I was and why the world yet didn’t. Apologies, love stories, and missed continued friendships...I wish I could be there with you now.” Malcolm Mead is by far our star reunion attendee, flying his family in from Seattle, with exhuberance, to visit us. He sends this photo of his family in front of the Gaudi Cathedral in Barcelona, featuring his children Angie (13) and Nate (10), and he writes, “my lovely wife Kathy married me on July 16, 1994.” Malcolm owns a computer solutions company and data facility in Seattle—currently lives in Seattle area on Bainbridge Island. Bucky McCallister: Sorry to miss the reunion. I live in Brooklyn with my wife, Beth, son Rowan (14) and daughter Janet (11). I used to bump into Anne Reid in Prospect Park, but I think she has moved away. I also see Tom Southwick in the neighborhood. His son, Tae-Chul went to preschool with my son. He and his wife are really nice. Kim Miller sends us this lovely photo of her gorgeous twin boys Skylar and Jesse (17), and Griffin (13), at their uncle’s wedding.

28

Barbara Sampson is looking forward to the GCS reunion. She says, “It was so much fun to catch up with Suzy, Jocelyn, Liliana, and Cindy last year! I live on the Upper East Side with my husband, Cyrus, a physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and my 9year-old daughter Alexis. I am the First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for New York City, second in charge of the Agency. I enjoy my job very much, although it is less glamorous than depicted on TV! Outside of work and keeping up with my daughter, I enjoy swimming, spinning, playing the piano, and living in NYC.”

1984 CLASS AGENT

Jason Hackett ’84 kieran.jason.hackett@gmail.com

CLASS AGENT

Cara Wall ’84 cara.wall@verizon.net

Jen Collet has been on a four-month garden leave with her job, and has been enjoying the chance for some travel to Vieques, Puget Sound and New Orleans. On July 4, she’ll be moving to London for a new position.

1985 CLASS AGENT

Evan M. Silverman emsnba@yahoo.com

Nick Kraus stopped by GCS for the first time in many years in January. Mrs. Collet showed him the school, and he filled us in on the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) whose goal is to honor and empower wounded service members after returning home. The WWP was founded by a group of veterans to provide care packages to offer comfort to wounded soldiers. In eight years since it’s creation, the organization has grown into a complete rehabilitive effort offering counseling and family and academic support in addtion to care packages. To find out more, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.


ALUMNI/AE NEWS 1986 CLASS AGENT

Charles Buice charlesbuice@hotmail.com

CLASS AGENT

Michael Kuh michael.kuh@lw.com

CLASS AGENT

Alexandra Barrett Paradise AlexStrubingParadise@yahoo.com

Alex Brown dropped in on a recent NYC visit to see the school. Disappointed she won’t be in town for her big 25th Reunion this year, she took a look around and spoke of her memories of Grace. “Grace always felt like home to me, much more than high school. She remembered many teachers fondly, especially Mr. Bender, “the best teacher I ever had.” Alex lives in Seattle where she works in the University book store.

1987 CLASS AGENT

Kate Baker katebaker6666@gmail.com

CLASS AGENT

Tyler Maroney tylermaroney@gmail.com

1988 CLASS AGENT

Alexander Edlich alexander_edlich@mckinsey.com

Sister Alex reports that Gwen Brown is a Flamenco dancer and lives in San Francisco.

1989 Monica Baisley Warren: Last summer we welcomed our second child, Nora. She joins big sister, Audrey. At about the same time my husband started a new job at HSBC in the Debt Capital Markets Group.

1990 Vivian Rosenthal brought her computer generated animation to the upper school in April. (See page 16). Still moving on the cutting edge, Vivian is launching another company, GoldRun, working with augmented reality for commercial purposes—adding interactive graphics and sound to the natural world. Vivian and her husband, Sebastien Agneessens, live in New York.

Liz Campbell Kelly: I am doing very well—working as a landscape architect at Mathews-Nielson. I’m working on a bike path that connects the south Bronx to Randall’s Island, and a public plaza in Jamaica, Queens. It’s great to be working in the city. also, my husband, Seth, and I are expecting a baby boy in July (our first)! I have many fond memories of Grace.

1992 CLASS AGENT

Isca Greenfield-Sanders studio@iscags.com

CLASS AGENT

Michael A. Smertiuk msmertiuk1@aol.com

CLASS AGENT

Gwyn Welles gwynwelles@yahoo.com

Matthew Alexander is a senior editor based in NY who writes about U.S. politics including Capitol Hill and the 2012 race at NewsCore, Rupert Murdoch’s internal wire service, servicing News Corp. properties such as WSJ, Dow Jones, Fox News Channel, The New York Post, and Sky News. Damon Bayles: All’s well on this end: I’m in my fifth year of grad school, working on completing my doctorate in psychology, living in NYC and am happily married to my husband, Clinton. We have a dog, Mary (3ish). Matthew Cohen: I’m married (as of September last year) and recently transitioned to video games from working in film. We live in Koreatown in LA, partially because its the part of town most like NYC. The first video game I executive produced, Yar’s Revenge, came out on Xbox Live in April. Jared Cross: I’m living in Brooklyn and teaching science and math at Saint Ann’s School. I’m married and have a daughter, Ginger, who is almost 2. Julius Diaz and his wife, Kate, have just returned home to Kennett Square, PA, after a two-year work assignment in Manchester, England.They have been married for four-and-a-half years. Julius is a human resources director for a pharmaceutical company in the Greater Philadelphia area. However, finding it hard to detach himself from NYC, he frequently visits the city to catch up with family and friends. Isca Greenfield-Sanders: I still live in the East Village with my husband and two sons, the older of whom (Hudson) will be attending Junior Kindergarden

29


ALUMNI/AE NEWS at GCS in the fall! I had a solo show of my paintings in NY at Haunch of Venison gallery this spring and my work was included in a museum show in Germany at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. My first solo museum show opened in October, 2010 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.

mium cable channel, but until more information is released by the network I can’t say much more than that. I’m also gearing up for my second feature film as well as developing and producing several other TV and film projects through my new company, Uncharted Entertainment.

Sarah Homrighausen welcomed a baby girl, Sophia Lindsley, to the world on November 5, 2010.

Sean O’Sullivan: My wife Beth, son Will (31⁄2), and daughter Claire (11⁄2) live in Arlington, VA. We moved here last summer from Jacksonville, FL. I work for Deloitte Consulting in their Federal practice. Before this, I spent eight years on active duty with the Navy flying reconnaissance planes. We love DC so far and are looking forward to sticking around for a while after moving around a bit.

Stefan Karpinski: I’m an Applied Mathematician/ Data Scientist at Etsy and I’m all-but-dissertation in the Computer Science Ph.D. program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, but I’m back in New York. Elizabeth Knafo: I live in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and am finishing up my MFA in Integrated Media Arts at Hunter. I’m working on a thesis video project centered around Rare Earth Elements mining in the Mojave. I also work on food system and food justice projects. This past summer and fall I helped start Foodshed Market in Boreum Hill, and I am also working on a farm-to-bodega project (which is challenging and ongoing). Jessica Lacy currently lives in Los Angeles with her fiance, Chris, their dog, Kujo, and their cat, Boxer. She has been working at International Creative Management, one of the top literary and talent agencies, for the past five years raising and structuring financing as well as securing distribution for independent films such as last year’s Oscar winner Crazy Heart and the upcoming release of Everything Must Go. Wai Lee: I took three years off from the University of Rochester to work in IT. I eventually decided to go back to school at Brooklyn College. After majoring in nutrition and working three years at a community health center, I found my calling in medicine and went back for a postbaccalaureate degree at Columbia and I’m currently a third year med student at Stony Brook. Alex Merkin: I started a film production company shortly after college called Fivelion Productions where I began producing and directing commercials and music videos while developing various film projects. A few years ago I made a short film called Across the Hall for Samsung and First Look Studios, starring Adrian Grenier (“Entourage”) and executive produced by Jon Kilik. The short won 16 awards and led me to making my first feature, an expansion of the short, starring Mike Vogel (Blue Valentine), Brittany Murphy and Danny Pino (Cold Case). The feature was shot at Universal Studios and released in theaters last December. Currently, I’m in Europe shooting 13 episodes of a new television series for a major pre30

Jed Reinetz lives in Seattle, WA with his wife, Susan Thompson, and their six-month-old son, Jasper. Jed has an MBA from the University of Washington and works for Amazon. Paul Reinetz lives in Boerum Hill Brooklyn with his wife Gabrielle Glemann and their cat Dante. Paul operates a solo law practice in lower Manhattan focusing on intellectual property transactions. Joe Stein and his wife Amy, have a son Jeffrey (7) in first grade and another child due in June. Sadly, their daughter Bizzie (31⁄2) died this spring from a very rare brain stem cancer called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (D.I.P.G.). She was diagnosed in May, 2010. For more on Bizzie, or to support cancer research, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/bizziestein. Joe works in NYC for Medialets, Rich Media Advertising solution for Mobile, heading up the server platform team. They live in Parsippany, NJ. Gwyn Welles lives in New York and produces documentary films focusing on current social issues. She recently directed her first film Welcome to My World that premiered at the Maine and Harlem International Film Festivals. She will be attending Columbia Business School in the fall with the goal of developing models to create social change through film and media. Damian Zunino: Our newest addition to the family, our daughter Harper, turned one in March. She’s an amazing and happy baby, but still a bad sleeper. Her rambunctious and loving brother, Brecken, turns 6 in July. My wife, Britt, and I started together a design/build company called studiodb four years ago. Recent business would indicate that the NYC housing industry is rebounding nicely from the recession. It was great to see Isca and her adorable family at her gallery opening; her work is amazing. :)


ALUMNI/AE NEWS 1993 CLASS AGENT

James Benenson III james@jamesbenenson.com

CLASS AGENT

Katherine Wood de Vos katherine.devos@alumni.duke.edu

CLASS AGENT

Amy L. Sonnenborn amysonnenborn@gmail.com

Lindsey Schaeffer dropped by GCS in April. She currently teaches second grade at Brownsville Ascend, a charter school in Brooklyn. She taught English in Mexico for a year before settling back in the Village. Lindsey has subbed at GCS and made the comment, “Things have changed around here a lot, but it still feels the same. It feels like Grace.”

to extend her love, support and gratitude to him. Finally Liliana is the Director of Film Program-ming for the Wassaic Project, co-founded by Bowie Zunino ’96. Lily invites everyone to check out the festival this August 5–7 in Wassaic, NY. Claude Kelly received a Grammy nomination in the Best R&B Song category for co-writing Fantasia’s “Bittersweet.” Claude also wrote Christina Aguilera’s hit “Express” for the recent film Burlesque as well as “Hold My Hand,” which he wrote for Michael Jackson. MJ recorded the duet with Akon in 2007 and it was the first official single from his posthumous album, “MICHAEL”. Claude has also written hits for Whitney Houston, Miley Cyrus, R. Kelly, Kelly Clarkson, Akon, Ke$ha, Chrisette Michelle and others.

Lately Lindsey has been dabbling in stand-up comedy and performs for fun around town—check out her Facebook page for the details.

1996

1994

Whitney Mancino married Nick Phend last year.

CLASS AGENT

Sophie Rosenblum SophieRosenblum@yahoo.com

Lydia Rosenthal’s sister Vivian reports that Lydia just got married and is living in San Franscisco. She’s a speech pathologist.

1995 CLASS AGENT

Rachel Zabarkes Friedman ’95 zabarkes@post.harvard.edu

CLASS AGENT

Callie Siegel calliesiegel@gmail.com

Callie Siegel married Nate Guildon September 11, 2010, at Stonover Farm in Lenox, MA. Charley Siegel, Bowie and Damian Zunino, Stephen Cohen, Michelle Roberts, Clem Benenson, and Claire and Michael Newton attended. Callie is the Development Director for the GO Project and has just taken up the role of Chair of the Alumni/ae Board (see page 25). Callie and Nate live in Brooklyn.

1998 CLASS AGENT

Brian Platzer brianplatzer@gmail.com

After finishing NYU’s Graduate Film Program, Liliana Greenfield-Sanders has been traveling the film festival circuit with her award winning short films Ghosts of Grey Gardens, Miriam, Anna, Samantha and Adelaide. She spent this past year writing a feature length screenplay version of Adelaide that was accepted into the 2011 Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab in January and was recently chosen to be one of eight projects in the highly prestigious Sundance Director’s Lab this coming June. Liliana is attached as both writer and director on both that and her other feature film project Bypass, which is simultaneously a finalist for the coveted Sloan Foundation Feature Film Grant Award. Liliana says that she absolutely got her enthusiasm and confidence in her own writing from Rod Keating at GCS and she wants

CLASS AGENT

Lauren Shockey ldshockey@gmail.com

CLASS AGENT

Ariane Tschumi arianetschumi@gmail.com

Yasmine Fordham: I’m currently working as the Meetings & Memberships Manager at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations here in Mumbai, India. It’s a foreign policy think tank modeled after the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC. I will be back in June and am not sure what I will doing yet... Will have to start from scratch!

31


ALUMNI/AE NEWS 1999

2001

CLASS AGENT

Pierce Jackson piercej@papermag.com

CLASS AGENT

Andrea Marpillero-Colomina andrea.vm.colomina@gmail.com

Grace Wilentz dropped by GCS in January. She’s been living in Dublin for five years—she went there to study the Irish language and ended up staying to work in reproductive health with the Irish Family Planning Association. Eddie Major: I am working as an Executive Officer to a General Officer, similar to an Executive Assistant to a CEO. It’s very interesting work in the DC area, and I am learning a lot.

2000 Bo Wulf is working for the Philadelphia Eagles, writing and broadcasting for their website. Check him out on www.philadelphiaeagles.com Justine Wells has been working for the Guggenheim Museum for two years, after receiving a B.A. in Art History from Vassar.

CLASS AGENT

Tilden Marbit marbit.tilden@gmail.com

Tilden Marbit and Max Turpin ’02 performed a Mahler program at Carnegie Hall in February with the Mannes College Orchestra. Music teacher Elizabeth Abrams saw the orchestra perform in March and was deeply moved by the musicianship of our alums and the high quality of the the performance. David Newman and his friend Nicole dropped by for a visit in March. David is in his second year at Harvard Law School. Ross Clements is starting at Cardoza Law School in May. Annie Lastihenos recently graduated from cosmetology school, and started working in a salon in January. She lives in Hicksville, LI with her dad.

2003 CLASS AGENT

William Horton willhhorton@gmail.com

CLASS AGENT

Jasmin Stanley JasminStanley@gmail.com

2002 CLASS AGENT

Samantha McCoy smccoy@gmail.com

Ian Mangiardi writes about his new non-profit organization, The Dusty Camel, a project he conceived while hiking the Appalachian Trail. “We started our non-profit organization in order to inspire those who might not otherwise go outdoors, to get out there and explore…Our philosophy is, if you promote an adventurous lifestyle, it inspires people to get outside, and the more people outside the more people there are to protect it. However, even with all the things we had going, we realized that the best way to lead is by example. So, we decided to tackle another, even more intense journey —the Pacific Crest Trail. Essentially the Appalachian Trail of the West coast, the PCT is longer, more remote, and much more severe. Though the challenges are obvious, we want to carry out our mission through example, and show people why the freedom to roam is important.” Read the full story: www.gcschool.org/dustycamel

32

Bobby Abramson: I’m currently trying to transfer into computer science at Carnegie Mellon. Which means that I’ll be sticking around Pittsburgh this summer to take some courses and taking a fifth year because I’m starting as a junior, which makes my currently expected graduation year (gasp!) 2013. On a more immediate note, I’ve lined up a part-time job with a local blacksmith and sculptor, Stephen Douglas. Hopefully I’ll still have some time to race bikes. Ferry Foster: I’m graduating with a B.A. in Art History and going to the Corcoran College of Art + Design in DC to get my M.A. in Exhibition Design. I just finished my first exhibition in Lancaster, PA and another one is going up in October. Katherine Demartini: I will be graduating this year with a B.A. in Latin American Studies and might be with the Peace Corps in Africa for the next two years, though I am still waiting for medical clearance and the final acceptance. Otherwise, I’ll be looking for a job back in NYC.


ALUMNI/AE NEWS Kent Shelp: I’ll be finishing up my degree in Japanese at Bard this May by translating a portion of a novel from Japanese to English. I’m hoping to eventually finish translating it in Japan, where I’ll be teaching English for a few years at least through the JET program. We’ll see where I end up after that. Kasia Garland: I’m graduating this May with a B.A. in Psychological and Brain Sciences from JHU. I’m taking a year off to work before pursuing graduate work in Clinical Psychology. I am currently still in the process of searching for a job so am not sure where exactly I’ll be next year yet! Aset Griffith: I am graduating with a B.A. in Communications: Media and Journalism, moving back home hoping to jumpstart my career in the city.

2004 CLASS AGENT

Roma Chatham Sarah.Chatham@gmail.com

Georgina Wells just completed a semester abroad at University College London to read Art History.

2005 CLASS AGENT

Marketa Ort marketaort@gmail.com

Alexandra McClure is having a great sophomore year at Hopkins. She is majoring in political science and psychology and planning to go abroad next year. Austin Wright is a junior at Grand Canyon University where he is president of the College Republicans. He worked on Senator John McCain’s re-election campaign and is going to work for the senator in Washington, DC this summer. He is also the director of the College Board for famous shock rocker Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation, which helps teens at risk.

2006 CLASS AGENT

Peter Shapiro poshapiro@gmail.com

Annalise Lockhart plays the mellophone in the marching band at Stanford and played at the the Orange Bowl. She is also the assistant producer of the spring production of Sweeney Todd.

2008 CLASS AGENT

Christopher Pelz blooboy1@mac.com

Duncan Abbot: Over break I played golf with Kishan Patel in Santa Cruz, CA, and then came back to the city and biked and worked and hung out with Ben Smith, Sam Nakagawa, and Maya Johnson.

Chris Pelz: Junior year has been wonderful for me. The winter trimester was tough, and I am excitedly looking forward to the spring trimester. Over spring break, Max Liu, Jon Pelz, and I went to Florida for Browning’s baseball spring training. This was our third time going, and it was by far the best. Despite losing the three games we played (to much bigger schools), we still played well and had excellent practice. I am on the varsity team again this year, and so far we are off to a great start. After Florida, Jon and I went to the French Alps for two weeks. We stayed in a Swiss chalet in the ski resort of La Clusaz and made several trips to Annecy, called the “Venice of France” because of the canals that meander through the ancient part of the city. The weather was wonderful, and we even got in some skiing! Jon is running track, and he is captain of the team again this season. We miss you all a lot and hope to see you soon! Ben Smith: As I continue to struggle through junior year, I also continue to open up new doors and make new friends at Poly. I went to Canada with Poly’s Concert Choir and had an amazing experience, singing in many different types of cathedrals. I have also recently joined the War Child club, in which we try to aid children who have been affected by war. I also am continuing my Student Government involvement and have continued to help out Poly’s Cambodian school. On the athletics side, I have retired from baseball, and now throw javelin and play ultimate Frisbee. It has been a tough, but fulfilling year and I hope to see all of you soon! Paulina Tarrant reports that she started a Green Team at her school—The International School of Florence—and they are making strides. During a recent visit to the school she was swooning over all the evidence of GCS’s Green Gremlins efforts, but noted, “We did finally get recycling bins at our school.” She’s also raised some money for her school’s recycling effort.

2010 CLASS AGENT

Elizabeth Evans lizzie.evans96@gmail.com

Toni Burdick is loving her experience at the George School so far! French and English are her favorite subjects and the people are also amazing. Andrew McLaughlin stopped in to say hi to Ms. Meyer and Mr. White, and reported that he’s loving Lawrenceville and is doing really well. He also mentioned that Eliza Rockefeller won the English award last year at the end of 9th grade.

33


ALUMNI/AE NEWS

MEMORABILIA Bob Kloepfel ’37 of Clifton Springs, NY sent two very small honor rings from his GCS Choirboy days. We hadn’t seen anything like this before and it stoked the embers of an idea that has been smoldering—how best to create and share an archive of the objects that color and populate the history of the school? A small collection is mounting: a turn of the [last] century uniform; a depression era football trophy; the original school crest depicting a lamp and a bygone motto; a myriad of photos depicting original building details or the configuration of its environs. THE PLAN: a case dedicated to the school’s history, designed to embody GCS traditions and will reside prominently in the modern school in the path of students and visitors. COMING FALL ¤‚⁄⁄.

CLASS AGENT

1951 1954 1956 1961 1963 1966 1966 1967 1968 1969 1969 1969 1971 1972 1973 1976 1978 1979 1982 1983 1984 1984 1997 2007 2009

Class Agents non-reporting

Janet R. Campbell Cynthia Pyle Pamela Soden Diane M. Falk Cathryn L. Guyler Jill Brandon Wilson Evitt Patricia Butler Whitehill Verne Leven Paul Rittenberg Mark Julio Alonso Niles Burton Rodney K. Hobbs Mary-Paula Bailey Allegaert Sidney Monroe Elizabeth Bailey Ethan Silverman Michele Queen Conni Walsh Langan Christopher Collet Lori Wasserman Jason Hackett Cara Wall Eric Raicovich Cecilia Smith Elenore Simotas

cruachan@bellsouth.net c.m.pyle@nyu.edu pasoden@aol.com dianemfalk@yahoo.com clguyler@att.net brandonathome@alum.conncoll.edu whitehillt@carnegiemuseums.org vleven1953@yahoo.com paul.rittenberg@foxnews.com malonso@alonsolegal.com nilesburton@yahoo.com Rodney.hobbs@aya.yale.edu mpallegaert@gmail.com sidneysmonroe@gmail.com ebailey@nyc.rr.com emanproductions@nyc.rr.com mich7@knology.net cwalsh@gcgames.com crcollet@aol.com littlelor7@aol.com kieran.jason.hackett@gmail.com cara.wall@verizon.net eric.raicovich@gmail.com cecill237@gmail.com elenore.simotas.18@gmail.com

If you would like to contribute to our collection of memorabilia, please contact the Alumni Office.

IN MEMORIAM

Ruth Backhurst, mother of Deborah Johnston ’57, and David ’60 and Paul ’65 Backhurst, December 5, 2010

Geraldine Ferraro Zaccaro, grandmother of Matthew ’09 and Natalie Ullman ’11, Elizabeth ’14, Samantha ’16 and John Zaccaro, March 26, 2011

Milton Babbitt, father of Betty Duggan ’60, January 29, 2011

Sidney Lumet, grandfather of Cole ’08 and Eve ’09 Gimbel, April 9, 2011

Marcia Bain, mother of Thomas Bain ’75, Gail E. Tobias and Susan M. Bain Bellack, January 26, 2011

James Eustice, father of Cynthia LaPier ’81 and James Eustice ’83, April 26, 2011

Myron Jones, teacher at Grace Church School from 1959–1965, March 15, 2011

34


MYRON JONES REMEMBRANCE

Stuck With the Truth

N

one of us had ever met anyone like Myron Jones—not before, and not since. He had a towering influence on our young lives, starting with the fact that he was very, very tall. Kids have special radar into a person’s character. So, it seems, did Grace Headmaster E. Allison Grant, who hired Mr. Jones in 1958 after a two-hour interview—a young man with no teaching experience who was holding down a job as the day manager at the Café Rienzi on MacDougal Street. Prior career: writer for a short-lived humor magazine and union organizer. But that tells you volumes about him: humor, leadership, progressive values. He was also a born storyteller, and nothing captures young minds like a good yarn. He seemed to be able to do anything. From 1958 to 1965, he taught science, English, and history in the upper grades. He led the boys’ sports program, coaching soccer, basketball, and baseball, and served several years as assistant headmaster. He moonlighted as bartender at the legendary Five Spot bar and jazz mecca on St. Mark’s Place. His career after Grace is just as impressive: community organizer (NYC); director American Indian education programs (New Mexico—“Every good thing we ever did came out of my experience at Grace Church School,” he said); consultant for Indian elderly program; board chair of National Public Radio. Myron Jones was born in 1930 and grew up poor in Buffalo during the Depression. His father, a Seneca who worked for the railroad, died when he was two months old and his mother cleaned other people’s houses for a living. Go get his “Babysitting” episode of This American Life from Amazon or iTunes for an account of childhood adventure and imaginative invention that is a good sample of his narrative talent, and you’ll understand how he held the attention of rambunctious middle schoolers with wistful humor and unerring humanity as he read us stories by some of his own heroes, James Thurber and Ring Lardner, or marched us around the classroom reciting grammatical rules. What you won’t see is the figure he cut, dark, tall and angular, bemused and slightly distracted by the chaos just beneath our barely

civilized surface, but so attuned to our individual quirky personalities that, 40 years later at our 2002 reunion, he remembered and knew us all. Here are a few memories of him from the Class of 1962: “Myron Jones saw what was unique in each of us (for a long time I sure as hell couldn’t see it and so many grownups seemed to miss it). I think this was part of his great gift,” writes Susy Schneider. “I remember his tall figure, and his black hair, his expressive face and hands. He was always kind, but he was also very sagacious about the ways of teenagers. Not much got past him. No matter, he loved us, the offenders, anyway,” writes Janet Carruth McGuffin. Stephen Rachlis writes that he hoped his own children “might someday have that one teacher who would change their lives, inspire their curiosities, and teach them to love the world.” Stephen remembers the weekend that his father, writer Eugene Rachlis, and Myron spent turning out a 25-cent paperback, Victory at Sea Flattops, for the money. Author credit went to Myron’s toddler son Christopher (now all grown up into bluegrass singer-songwriter Chris Jones). “I’ve spent energy in recent years helping some religious communities interested in building the world we dream about, the beloved community Dr. King spoke of,” writes Jim Armstrong. “In three years in the early 1960s this groundbreaker? taught me in my heart what that means and the promise of beloved community. He even helped me grow when we saw him again some years ago.” “He was the very first adult I met who I knew was genuinely cool and the coolest thing about Myron was that his coolness was accessible to us – his students,” writes Peter Ratner. “He had the extraordinary ability to allow us within the circle of his personality, where we were, at once, awed and comforted by the fact that he let us in.”

Thanks to Melinda Meers, Myron’s wife, for her help in making this accurate.

Myron Jones, 1930–2011

“Equally comfortable with James Thurber and Shakespeare, Mr. Jones was a creative educator who could capture the imagination of young teens, and lead them to ponder the power of poetry. His booming bass voice resounds in my memory,” writes Abe Cáceres. Back to that hiring interview, in his own words. “It was the only interview I ever had when I didn’t always know what the right answers were supposed to be. That meant I was stuck with the truth. At the end, Al Grant said, ‘I think you’re a natural teacher.’ He then handed me a contract that expired at the end of the first semester, smiled, and said, ‘Just in case I’m wrong.’ I signed it immediately. He said, ‘That was part of my test. I trust people who have a lot of confidence in themselves.’ I said, ‘Maybe I’m just reckless.’ He said, ‘I’ll take that chance.’” How had this 28-year-old become a confident, natural teacher? Where did he get the gumption, the brass to stand up in front of mocking young savages and win our respect and affection without putting on any authoritarian airs? Knocking around the world surely helped: going away to school at age 10, a hitch in the army. But worldliness had not hardened him. He could look into a person, young or old, and appreciate who you were. He had the same radar we did, but he was kinder in its use, with a compassion that doesn’t occur to kids. Long before political correctness gave us the homeless, Mr. Jones called them gents from the Bowery, and Susy Schneider recalls him courteously escorting any who were dozing in the Grace Church pews down the aisle and out onto Broadway before seating us for a service. “If anyone laughed, Mr. Jones would shoot them a look that stopped it cold. He saw the dignity in everyone,” she writes. He not only taught us, he showed us how to behave in the world. —Alan Bernheimer, ’62


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