New Canaan Country School Bulletin Fall 2012

BULLETIN NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL

Class of 2012 | Horizons Celebrates 50 Years

fAll 2012

New Canaan Countr y School Bulletin fAll 2012 Head of School: Timothy R. Bazemore Director of Advancement: Terry Gumz Editor: Brooke Springer Associate Editors: Jennifer Christensen Kent Findlay Eric Garrison The blue Team celebrates a victory during blue and White day.

Design: Good Design LLC Photography: Jennifer Christensen Kent Findlay Nanette Gantz Jodi Hasbrouck Betsy Hulme Kimby Johnson Fraser Randolph Shiva Sarram ChiChi Urbina Torrance York Address changes: communications@ countryschool.net On the cover: Tavin Staber and Amanda Miller get creative during second grade art class.

We WanT To hear From you!

Do you have “new news” you’d like to share with fellow classmates? Please share your stories in the Bulletin by sending submissions and high resolution photos (with captions) to: Alumni@countryschool.net.

Thanks!

Board of trustees 2012–2013

President: John M. Teitler Vice President: Karen K. Wood Secretary: Melanie J. Blandon Treasurer: Steven E. Rodgers Timothy R. Bazemore Alice Burnham Gary D. Engle* Julie S. Halloran Thomas H. McGlade ’75 Sean McManus* Lizanne G. Megrue Tina C. Miller James P. Parmelee* Matthew M. Pendo Kara Ingraham Prawl Ashraf B. Rizvi Randall M. Salvatore Susan S. Schulz Lisa B. Sparks* Judson B. Staniar Joseph P. Toce, Jr. Stephanie Bowling Zeigler ’81* Faculty Representatives: Raphael Elkind Mollie Kirkland* *new trustee

parents’ association Executive council 2012–2013 President: Julie Halloran

VP Community Life: Lynne Byrne VP Community Service: Nancy Rivero VP Marketing & Communications: Chelsea Staniar VP Events & Secretary: Tracy McManus Treasurer: Uchenna Pratt

alumni council 2012–2013

President: Stephanie Bowling Zeigler ’81 Laura Weintraub Beck ’85 Dan Bergfeld ’58 Carl Brodnax ’76 Samuel Caulfield ’79 Philip Ford ’99 Corey Gammill ’95 Hugh Halsell ’59 Paula Kennedy Harrigan ’81 Spencer Mallozzi ’92 Kathie Shutkin Mandel ’78 Diane Monson ’51 Sandy Carr Motland ’58 Amanda Nisenson ’94 Astrid Kleinbeck Peters ’84 Marjorie Brush Priebe ’74 Carl Rohde ’66 Kit O’Brien Rohn ’78 Kelsey Hubbard Rollinson ’86 Michael Sachs ’97 Rich See ’75 Mitchell Truwit ’84

Ex-officio members:

Timothy R. Bazemore, Head of School Terry M. Gumz, Director of Advancement

conTenTs

Focus To the Class of 2012 | 2 Horizons Celebrates 50 Years | 6

scrapbook Around Campus | 12 Ponus Lounge | 17 Class of 2012 | 18 Alumni Reunion Weekend and Frogtown Fair | 22 Grandparents’ Day | 24 Leadership Party | 26

glimpses Connecting A Global Classroom | 14 21st Century Learning | 16

TransiTions Departures | 27 Appointments | 32 Departing Families | 34

alumni neWs Alumni Award: Matt Heineman ’98 | 35 Class Notes | 36 In Memoriam | 42

endpiece

anna bean, lila kirchhoff, sabrina sotirhos, and ezra White launch a rocket.

The Country School Woodshop | 47

Our Mission Statement

The mission of New Canaan Country School is to guide students to reach their intellectual, creative, moral, and physical potential. We value the imagination and curiosity of children and respect childhood as an integral part of life. Our teachers set high academic standards and challenge students to question, to think, to collaborate, and to act with integrity. The school works in partnership with families to teach personal, social, and environmental responsibility and to create a community that honors diversity and our common humanity. New Canaan Country School inspires students to be lifelong learners with the courage and confidence to make a positive contribution to the world.

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stay curious To the Class of 2012:

&

Confident

The following are remarks given by Head of School Tim Bazemore at the Closing Exercises June 12, 2012.

Class of 2012, congratulations! Soon, you will be the newest alumni of New Canaan Country School. We have watched you grow over many years, and today your families, your fellow students, and the teachers and staff are gathered to celebrate your achievement. We will be sorry to see you go, but you are ready. As well, next year’s ninth graders, who sit in front of you today, are ready to move into your seats. I’d like to say a special goodbye to the twenty-five families who graduate with their ninth graders and leave our school community today. Several of you have made your way up the main drive for over fifteen years with multiple children. Thank you for entrusting them to us; thank you for our partnership; and thank you for your dedication and support. We have done a great job together.

Ninth graders, some of you arrived in Beginners, and some in Upper School. I calculate that you have logged a cumulative 399 years here at Country School. This year alone, you spent 1000 hours in class, 200 hours practicing or rehearsing, and 400 hours completing homework. That’s a significant investment of time that you (and your families and the faculty) have made in your education. What do you have to show for it? What do you take with you when you walk down these steps and go out into your 26 different next schools? Yearbooks (with appropriate inscriptions I trust). Nicknames (some of which you may prefer to leave here with us). Diplomas (with a lovely pen and ink rendering of

Grace House). Most importantly, you take two things that you always have had, but that Country School taught you to believe in: curiosity and confidence.

You are a very bright class and your teachers have done their job well. I imagine you know more about math, science, language, history, English, and arts than 99 percent of 15-yearolds in this country. Last week you had your final exams, during which you were able to answer the following questions: • What are homeostasis and genetic drift?

• What are the comma rules for non-essential adjective clauses?

• Answer the following: Pedro no es bondadoso. Él es _______.

• Apply the concept of federal and state control to a current global issue.

• Given a diagram of a sphere and a cylinder, explain, as a ratio, the relationship between the volume of the cylinder and the volume of the sphere.

Impressive, indeed! It is important to know this core knowledge. Your next schools will expect you to, and you need it to be an effective citizen in our democracy. The truth is, however, that what you don’t know far exceeds what you know. Can you name all 195 countries in the world? The 49 letters in the Thai alphabet?

Look at a Calculus text or a car engine; do a Google search for “plants of Kenya;” or watch cricket. None of you knows about all of these things, and everyone you ever meet will know something you don’t. I don’t tell you this to depress you on your big day. My point is that you may not know it all, but you know how to learn.

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Over the years, your teachers have asked you to draw, build, read, perform, solve, and play. They have asked you to learn in a classroom, on a playing field, in the woods, and in the city. They have asked you to work in groups, in pairs, and on your own.

They have asked you to complete journals, tests, video projects, and research papers. On this campus, you have encountered an endless array of interesting topics and experiences. Most importantly, from Beginners through ninth grade, teachers constantly asked you the same questions: “Why did that happen? Why is that significant? What could you do next?” The experiences they provided and the questions they asked all were designed with one goal in mind: to develop your curiosity.

If you are curious, you see the world as wondrous. If you keep an open mind and ask good questions, you can learn what you want to know and need to know. All around us are people who think they know it all or know enough. They are shut off from learning because they stop being curious. They are certain in their knowledge or opinions; but the world is too fascinating, and life is too short for certainty. Certainty is dangerous and narrow-minded. We are proud of your curiosity. You are not just obedient students who want to do well; you are curious students who want to understand.

And you are not just curious students; you are curious people. Your parents and we know this by what you are curious about outside of school, such as television news shows, 29er sailboats, Middle Eastern politics, Harry Potter, social justice, Broadway lyrics, and Linix OS. Your curiosity makes you interesting people, experts in areas that interest you. It shapes who you are.

But curiosity alone is not enough; it is important to have the confidence to take risks and to take action in the world as well.

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At Country School, we have required you to try public speaking, dance, and community service. You had to try out for a team or role and defend your point of view in class. You were good at some of what we made you do and not so good at other things. But we expected you to do your best—succeed or fail, and we expected you to persevere. When you made a mistake, we asked you to try again or to try a different approach. Each challenge you faced revealed your potential and made you more resilient and more confident.

It worked. We have seen your confidence grow before our eyes. More than any class in recent memory, you have fulfilled the promise of ninth grade leadership by creating new events and activities with a “We can do this!” attitude. You envisioned a Fall Homecoming and worked as a class to make it happen. You led the Upper School with confident performances at the new Arts Evenings. You rallied to earn exciting final-minute victories in the Upland and GCDS hockey and lacrosse tournaments. You volunteered to represent NCCS at the national Student Diversity Leadership Conference, joining thousands of high school students from all over the country. Your confidence made the inaugural year of Upper School clubs successful. You designed and executed a novel “De-Stress Day.” These activities required you to step up to the microphone and take charge with optimism and confidence, and the school community responded with enthusiasm and appreciation.

As with curiosity, we see your confidence growing outside of school as well. In the personal reflections you wrote and presented to the Upper School, we heard how you confidently explored cultures in New Orleans, Costa Rica, Germany, and Jamaica; biked 1000 miles; coped with injuries; flipped a kayak in whitewater;

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if you are curious,

you see the world as wondrous.

If you keep an open mind and ask good questions,

you can learn what you want and what you need to know. cared for your special needs sibling; and coped with the death of a family member. You showed the confidence to be accepting of others and to think for yourself. These are important achievements as you prepare to step out into a complex world.

Last month, you attended the Alumni Award ceremony at which we honored Matt Heineman, Class of 1998 and a graduate of the Brunswick School and Dartmouth College. Matt told us how, upon college graduation, he and several classmates rented an RV, borrowed a video camera, and set off across the country to visit all 48 continental states. Their goal was to record the perspective of their millennial generation on topics such as race, the Internet, political awareness, the environment, family, and pop culture. Those interviews became the source for the Young Americans Project and resulted in the successful documentary “Our Time.” Matt is now a filmmaker whose latest work, “Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare,” was featured at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Matt is a smart guy. He knows a lot. More importantly, he is curious about the world and confident enough to take a risk and make a difference.

Last May, at the Duke University baccalaureate ceremony, President Richard Brodhead said: “The deep goods of education

cannot be measured at the finish line. They reveal themselves over time, as you translate your powers into an emerging life.”

Class of 2012, you arrived on your first day here with the capacity to be curious and confident. You leave having realized that capacity. Your parents and we see this; it makes us happy and gives us hope for you and for your generation. In his remarks, your classmate Kevin Pendo said that your time here will meld into one happy memory of friends, teachers, and the campus.

The same is true of what you learned here. You may forget specific facts you worked so hard to know, but you will always have curiosity and confidence. These character traits are central to our mission and will be central to your success this fall—in college, in your jobs, and in life. Remember to thank your teachers and parents today for having the wisdom to know what truly matters and the love and dedication to teach that to you.

In closing, we’d like to recognize your achievements by planting a tree in your honor. A beautiful Hollywood Juniper, an evergreen, now stands behind the new Irvine Reflecting Pool adjacent to the Stevens Building. You’ll see it as you make your way to the luncheon today. Visit your tree at reunions. Watch it grow, and remember where your future began.

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ONWARDS +UPWARDS: Horizons Celebrates 50 Years

By Brooke Springer

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early fifty years after the vision for a small summer program at NCCS began to take shape, the Horizons Student Enrichment Program continues to grow as it remains tightly woven into the fabric of the Country School community.

Fostered by Headmaster George Stevens and trustees in the early 1960s, Horizons started with the simple idea of opening up the School’s campus during the summer when it might otherwise go unused and, at the same time, giving public school students access and opportunities they would not otherwise have.

Officially named the Horizons Summer Program in the early 1970s, the name was changed to its current one in 1995 after a full school-year program was added.

Over the past five decades, Horizons has grown from a oneseason program serving 20 to a year-round program serving more than 400. However, its mission and guiding principles remain essentially unchanged. Horizons provides academic, athletic, and cultural opportunities to low-income students from Norwalk, Stamford, and other surrounding towns. Most recently, there were 265 students enrolled in the K–8 summer program, 165 of whom also participate in the school-year tutoring, Music Academy, Tennis Academy, and Saturday Winter programs. An additional 140 students participate in the High School Program, which was added in 2000 to address the needs of the K–8 graduates. High school programming includes academic coaching, college tours, financial aid workshops, and SAT preparation. In recent years, a Parent Program has been added as well.

While the program is responsible for all of its own fundraising and has a budget independent of the School’s, it receives

substantial in-kind assistance. Most significantly, Horizons does not pay rent for use of the Country School campus over the summer or during the school year.

Beyond campus and facilities issues, there are a number of other mutual benefits shared by Horizons and NCCS. A third of the program’s faculty members also teach at Country School, and many of the School’s alumni work as Horizons teaching assistants during the summer. In addition, approximately 12 Horizons students attend New Canaan Country School each year. Through the Horizons Friends Corps, Country School eighth graders serve as peer mentors to first through fourth grade Horizons students. Perhaps most important, however, is the generosity that Country School families have consistently provided to the Horizons program over the last half-century— whether as donors, volunteers, or in other unique ways such as donating sports equipment, or opening up their pools or tennis courts for the use of Horizons’ students.

“We wouldn’t exist without Country School,” explains Leah Kimmet, Executive Director of Horizons, who was first introduced to the program while working as an apprentice at New Canaan Country School. “When people ask me to explain Horizons, I tell them that basically what we’re doing is taking low-income students and giving them the New Canaan Country School experience: experiential learning, emphasis on the importance of childhood, and academic rigor. The mission of Country School is our mission, too. What a gift to be able to share the pedagogy of New Canaan Country School with kids who would never be able to have that opportunity otherwise!”

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The value of the Horizons/Country School relationship is underscored from the School’s perspective by Head of School Tim Bazemore, who was drawn to NCCS in part because of its commitment to the Horizons program: “Horizons fulfills our public purpose. It is our institutional commitment to the community, to confronting the achievement gap which is largest in our state,” he explains.

Country School alumnus Peter Elkind ’11 served as a Horizons teaching assistant in a fourth grade classroom this summer. He has been tagging along with his dad, Country School and Horizons teacher Raphe Elkind, since he was six years old, helping out with the Horizons Arts Happening and other creative projects. He enjoys sharing his alma mater’s campus and working with the Horizons students in the spaces where he loved to learn, especially the woodshop and art classrooms. “I love giving back, being a part of that,” says Peter, who currently attends Staples High School. “It’s also a great way to start working. My friends ask me how I get up so early and go to work, and I tell them, it’s not really like work; it’s just having fun with some great kids.”

And while working at Horizons might feel like “just having fun,” the program’s effects on its students are staggering. Last year, Horizons accepted only fourteen percent of its applicants.

Students rarely leave once they join the program, with 98 percent of them participating for at least seven years. “Being part of

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the Horizons family produces long-term results. High school students from low-income families drop out of school at a rate roughly six times that of their peers from higher-income families. Only one in three can expect to enroll in college. Horizons students are beating the averages,” explains Ms. Kimmet.

Last year, 100 percent of Horizons high school seniors graduated from high school, and 96 percent of them enrolled in college in the fall, most of them the first in their families to do so.

“We are thrilled with our results in this area, especially because two-thirds of the students we serve are functioning below grade level when they are admitted to Horizons,” says Ms. Kimmet. In fact, the program has been so successful that it has been used as a national model. In 1995, Horizons at NCCS received a grant to replicate the program across the country. Through the efforts of several NCCS Horizons board members, the program’s thenexecutive director Lyn McNaught, and former NCCS Head of School Nick Thacher, two new affiliates were established. Two years later, Horizons National was created as a 501(c)(3) organization designed to guide and support existing affiliates, while initiating and overseeing national expansion.

Today, Horizons at New Canaan Country School still serves as the model for the ever-growing number of Horizons affiliates. To date, there are twenty-six programs in eleven states with plans to open forty new programs by 2016. “The spirit and culture of Horizons at New Canaan Country School are at

Focus the foundation of the Horizons National network. The imprint of Horizons at New Canaan Country School lies within every Horizons program, including a careful balance of project-based learning and enrichment, appreciation for the arts, a broad spectrum of athletics, and, of course, swimming,” said Lorna Smith, CEO of Horizons National.

The academic rigor and high expectations that are part of the Country School ethos are very much in evidence at Horizons.

“There’s no bending of the rules or lowering of the bar to accommodate expectations,” says Carl Brodnax, who teaches Physical Education year-round at Country School, as well as during the Horizons summer program. “Many Horizons teachers also work at Country School, where the bar is really very high, and I don’t see anyone teaching in the Horizons program lowering that bar.

The kids just thrive on it.” At Horizons, students learn through project-based, hands-on activities such as rocket-building and film-making, complemented with a broad range of enrichment opportunities—from woodshop, studio art, and dance to weekly field trips and several overnight campouts. Each summer has a theme which the students explore through many different disciplines—music, art, and literature. The theme creates a dialogue among students, teachers, and teaching assistants. This summer’s theme, “What I Am,” encouraged Horizons students and teachers to celebrate their unique qualities and the many things that they have in common.

Last year, 100% of Horizons high school seniors graduated from high school, and 96% of them enrolled in college in the fall, most of them the first in their families to do so.

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Another very important part of the Country School commitment to the development of each child focuses on supporting students as they find areas in which they can succeed and encouraging them to take pride in their accomplishments.

Fraser Randolph, who spent fourteen years teaching in the Danbury public school system before coming to teach at Country School in 1989, recently emphasized the need of students to be able to celebrate their victories. “It breaks my heart to see Horizons students with the same enthusiasm as their Country School peers, but Horizons is the only place where these students really get to shine.”

At Horizons, students are encouraged to try new things and to take on new challenges. For many students, the program offers their first contact with camping, Broadway shows, and swimming. “I like the fact that the emphasis is on everybody trying, and in the case of Horizons, it’s often on trying something new,” added Mr. Brodnax, who also runs Horizons’ year-round Tennis Academy for approximately thirty students in first grade through high school. The program is held on tennis courts donated by Country School families or in the Watson Gymnasium and is run almost entirely by volunteers, many of whom are current and past Country School students and their parents. Brodnax, who coaches football, basketball, and lacrosse at Country School, introduced lacrosse to the Horizons students this summer. Many of them said they will be signing up for teams at their schools this year.

Swimming has always been a critical component of the program, and, at Horizons, students continue to embrace their work in the Horizons pool with enthusiasm and a spirit of adventure.

Over the years, hundreds of students, and lately even their parents, have learned how to swim in the Horizons pool. All Horizons students in grades K through 5 have formal swim instruction 10

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at least twice a week. Every afternoon, all Horizons students go swimming, either on campus or at the many donated private pools. “Most students come to Horizons without basic water safety skills. Many are afraid of the water. Learning to swim is a goal to which all children aspire and which all can achieve. And we have found that the confidence a child gains from succeeding in the pool spills over into the classroom and benefits them for life,” said Ms. Kimmet. That was certainly the case for Nikkia Ellis, a Country School and Horizons alumna, who had an internship in the Horizons office this summer as part of a Bonner Fellowship through the University of Richmond. Her experience with the program inspired her to major in sociology, and she is considering a master’s in nonprofit management with aspirations to open a Horizons program one day.

The benefits of the Horizons Summer Program also extend into the school-year classrooms for both students and teachers.

“I get to spread my wings to meet and teach with other people who bring a different perspective,” says Mr. Randolph. And it works the same way for the students, he says. “Take Ferris Armstrong for example. He came into Country School and hit the ground running. He reminds us how rich our resources are.

He makes us all look at the school with fresh eyes and appreciate what we have here.”

So what’s on the horizon? Ms. Kimmet has big plans—from adding a summer component to the high school program to continuing to build relationships with the public schools, offering more one-on-one tutoring and serving more children. “One of the things that we always hope to do is serve more kids. That’s something we’re always talking about,” she says, her voice tinged with both regret and optimism, before shrugging her shoulders and ending her thought with one of her favorite expressions, a sort of motto for the program: “Onwards and upwards.”

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HORIZONS BY THE NUMBERS

165

K–12 students served each year

hours of one-on-one high school academic coaching provided each year

teaching assistants in the 2012 Summer Program were NCCS alumni, 30 were Horizons alumni (4 are both NCCS and Horizons dual-alumni)

95

Horizons alumni are currently enrolled in college

students participate in K–8 school year programs in 2012

hours of one-on-one K–8 tutoring provided each year

lead teachers in the 2012 Summer Program were also New Canaan Country School teachers Horizons–NCCS student pairs participated in the Friends Corps mentoring program

265

students are enrolled in the 6-week summer program in 2012

students and parents learn to swim at the Horizons pool every summer

nutritious breakfasts and lunches served during the Summer Program

29 out of 30 members of the Horizons class of 2012 enrolled in college this fall

30 out of 30

year-round staff members including 2 current NCCS parents and 1 past parent

elementary, middle, and high schools served by Horizons

Horizons students currently attend New Canaan Country School

Horizons high school seniors graduated in 2012

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scrapbook

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13 1. The White Team shows their spirit during Blue and White Day. 2. Finley Bean and Ford Beck display their strength in a tug-of-war during Field Day. 3. Mimi Pastor represents NCCS Cougars on the lacrosse field.

4. Joia Criss gets ready for the Medieval Fair.

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5. Beginners circle the May Pole.

6. Lower School students go “across the ocean” during Field Day. 7. White Team members try out their intimidation tactics during Blue and White Day. 8. Cece Salvatore competes during Field Day.

9. Jamie Schlim, Olivia Consoli, Elizabeth Foster, Adele Whitmyer, and Isabel Tibbets rally together during Blue and White Day. 10. Jay Parmelee prepares to launch his rocket.

11. Lila Kirchhoff, Anna Bean, and Marina Yu strike a pose.

12. William Hauer does his best “Thomas Edison” during the third grade Wax Museum.

13. Second grade students present Little Red Riding Hood.

14. Potato sack races are a hit at Field Day. 15. Jaren Leal steps up to bat.

16. Liam Griffiths gets ready for the Medieval Fair.

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glimpses

connecting

A Global Classroom Fifth and sixth grade students created their very own global classroom last spring, connecting through a one-hour video Skype session with students from Ilolangulu Primary School in Mbola, Tanzania. In celebration of “World Read Aloud Day” in March, they took part in a worldwide effort to raise awareness of the need for education globally, and to celebrate the power of literacy. They learned about their differences and similarities by singing their national anthems, reading books aloud to each other, and joining in a lively Q&A session.

By 8:15 am (4:15 pm in Tanzania) on March 7, the thirty-two students in Kristen Ball’s and Fraser Randolph’s classes could hardly hold their excitement, waiting eagerly for the Skype call to come through from Mbola. The faces of the Tanzanian students were visible on the computer and projected on a large screen.

Upon seeing each other, the students on each side clapped and immediately exchanged greetings, giggling and waving to each other from the opposite sides of the world. Ms. Ball then introduced the students, thanked the teachers and students from Mbola, and highlighted the incredible opportunity it was for the two groups to share their readings with each other.

Fifth grader Susanna Montgomery read Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell. “It was chosen because our students wanted to show the children in Tanzania how important it is to believe in yourself, and how much it makes a difference when people believe in you,” said Susanna. Fifth grader Campbell Lewis introduced the book and afterwards asked a student in Mbola, “If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?” The seven-year-old girl in Tanzania thought for a moment and softly responded, “No more war. Peace.”

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“I will remember that because that is not what popped up in my head, but that is what should have,” said Wyatt Pastor, fifth grader.

The students at Ilolangulu then read a short story about Mt. Kilimanjaro, located in northeastern Tanzania, the highest free-standing mountain in Africa at 19,341 feet above sea level. They are proud of this beautiful snowcapped mountain that attracts many tourists from around the world and is the main source of revenue for the country.

During a Q&A session, there was singing, laughter, clapping, and waving as the students made their way individually to the computer video camera to ask a question or answer one. In a very short time, the students were talking to each other with ease. The connection that the students had made across the miles was obvious in the expressions on their faces. Ms. Ball’s class grew teary as the students at Ilolangulu asked them how far they have to walk to fetch their water and how far they walk to school every morning and evening. After hearing the students in Tanzania explain that they walk one and a half hours to school every morning and also walk a very long way to get water, one student in Ms. Ball’s class was heard to say: “We are really lucky.”

Ms. Ball’s class then sang “America the Beautiful,” after which the students from Ilolangulu sang the Tanzanian national anthem.

GLIMPSES

It was hard for the students on both sides to end the call, but eventually they had to say Kwaheri (goodbye in Swahili, the national language for Tanzania) to each other as Ms. Ball thanked the teachers and students in Ilolangulu.

“This is an important milestone in our School-To-School program, which seeks to connect classrooms in the U.S. with classrooms in rural Africa,” said Kara Nichols, Executive

Director of Connect To Learn, a Global Education Initiative of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, which facilitated the call. “It required a good deal of time and coordination from everyone from connectivity to content and classroom orchestration to language translation, and it was well worth the effort given the excitement among the kids on both sides of the world.”

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GLIMPSES

Faculty Development Spotlight: 2 1 s t C e n t ury L e arn i ng

By Will McDonough

“Welcome to the Elluminate Server. Recording in Session.” With my headset on, I complete my audio setup, settle into my chair, and enter my classroom. On the screen to my left, I notice one of my classmates has arrived.

“Hey, Thatcher!” I type, “How’s the weather in Tokyo?”

“Cloudy. Rainy. 45. Ugh. My students are so depressed. I don’t blame them.”

“Thatch, can you send some of that cloudy rain down to us?” chimes in the voice of Cristal. “It was 96 the day before yesterday, and we lost electricity and A/C in my classroom.”

Thatcher teaches high school in Tokyo, and Cristal teaches at a bilingual (English-Indonesian) middle school in Bali. Both of them are my classmates in the Global Studies in Education (GSE) Master’s Program at the University of Illinois.

Though I’ve never set foot on the Urbana-Champaign campus, I follow the path of many teachers hoping to juggle a full teaching load, a family, and the commitment of pursuing an advanced degree. The idea of completing a class online had never appealed to me; I am, after all, a learner who thrives on conversation and human connection. I thirst for deliberative dialogue, discussion-based contextualization, and the collaborative development of ideas. I do not yearn for more alone time with my computer. Yet, with the impending arrival of my second child, I quickly realized that leaving the family to attend night classes was unrealistic.

Ultimately, I read some good reviews about the GSE program and applied. The positive feedback from GSE alumni stressed the “synchronous” and “distance-based” approaches to learning. These facets combine to allow students from different countries, often on

different continents, to share “class time” in a sort of online chat room. So when Thatcher sits down for a two-hour class at 9 a.m., I am settling in at 8 p.m. in New Canaan. We can talk, type, video chat, share documents, power points, view videos, even pass notes.

Really, the only thing we can’t do is high-five.

What I’ve discovered in my first three classes (Human Rights and Education; Globalization of Educational Policy; and Ethics of Technology in Education) is that there are benefits to online education that extend beyond the commonly-perceived perks.

Along with being less costly and more convenient, I have forged connections—both personal and professional—with tremendous colleagues who are teaching or leading educators around the globe. Through their myriad perspectives, I have discussed topics ranging from the “neoliberal social imaginary” to The Grapes of Wrath and on to “dignity as an international pedagogy.” I have provided my perspective and represented NCCS on a global platform. As well, I’ve tried to remain sponge-like in observing the perspectives and methods of others.

As a thinker, a learner, a World Cultures teacher, a colleague, and a 21st Century global citizen, I have found my curiosity fully engaged, and my thirst for development quenched in the program. My professional sphere of global influence has expanded beyond the anonymity of the Internet to include real collaborators on three new continents, and my students—whether they realize it or not—are the beneficiaries of a teacher who can now deeply empathize with their daily struggles to meet deadlines and juggle commitments. Yet, with each assignment I complete, I find new inspirations and avenues for innovation in my everglobalized life, my ever-globalized classroom.

Faculty Development S po t l i g h t : Keira Cardinal received a professional development grant to take a Spanish immersion course in Peru in preparation for the launch of the full-day Kindergarten program, which includes regular Spanish language lessons. After finishing the course, Cardinal went on a five-day trek to Machu Picchu.

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| ponus lounge

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1. Patrick Connors, Mandi Morgan, Brooke Connors, and Lord Morgan 2. Bo and Julie Marcus, Aimee and Doug Mueller, Cindy and Chris Willis 3. Heather Raker, Mandi Morgan, and Carolyn Woodberry 4. Jackque McLean-Markes, Dao Engle, Uchenna Pratt, and Stephanie Bowling Zeigler ’81 5. Lisa Sparks and Anne-Lie Kleeman 6. Claire and Randy Salvatore 7. Riz Rizvi, Torrance York, Saira Rizvi, and Gary Engle 8. Eric Zeigler, Lisa Dale, Stephanie Bowling Zeigler ’81, and Glenn Balanoff 9. Steven Matthews, Allison Ryan, Jenn McDonnell, and John Ryan 10. Steve and Kristen Rodgers and Nicole Intile 11. Michele Jacob and Dao Engle 12. Kendra Seth, Sara Alvord, Holly Parmelee, Annika Sotirhos, and Anne-Lie Kleeman

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| class of 2012

1 Ferris Armstrong........................................................... Westhill High School Christian Arntzen ������������������������������������������������������������� Millbrook School Susanna Baker.............................................................. Westminster School Nicholas Balderston ���������������������������������������������� Greens Farms Academy Parker Beladino................................................... New Canaan High School Alec Bickerstaff............................................. Williston Northampton School Diego Blandon.................................................. Phillips Academy, Andover Christine Campisi.................................................. Rye Country Day School Robert Henry Carr ����������������������������������������������������������� Millbrook School Olivia Consoli.................................................................. St. George’s School Brianna Cummings ��������������������������������������������������������The Harvey School George Delana �������������������������������������������������������������� Brunswick School James Dolphin..................................................... New Canaan High School Will Ford............................................................................. Millbrook School Elizabeth Foster ������������������������������������������������������������ Westminster School Grant Galasso..........................................................Choate Rosemary Hall Barclay Gammill ��������������������������������������������������������������� Berkshire School Elizabeth Growney ������������������������������������������������������� Deerfield Academy Conlon Kiesling.................................................... New Canaan High School William Landis ����������������������������������������������������������������������� Brooks School John Lane.......................................................... Phillips Academy, Andover Andrew Laub �������������������������������������������������������������������� St. Luke’s School John Leasure �������������������������������������������������������������������� Berkshire School Mackenzie Lewis................................................. New Canaan High School Parker Lewis.......................................................... New Canaan High School Catherine Luchars ���������������������������������������������������������� Millbrook School

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James Maguire �����������������������������������������������������������������Milton Academy Julia Mandel................................................................. The Madeira School Amalia Maric ���������������������������������������������������������������������� The Bay School Henry Marshall..........................................................Choate Rosemary Hall Sean McEwen............................................................... Wilton High School Samuel Merrill �������������������������������������������������������������������� Berkshire School Katherine Norton ���������������������������������������������������������������The King School Amy Orser............................................................. The Lawrenceville School Kevin Pendo..................................................................... Brunswick School Dylan Rathbone ������������������������������������������������������������������� Brooks School William Reid........................................................ Phillips Academy, Andover Nicholas Rohn............................................................... Westminster School Brandon Salvatore �������������������������������������������������������������The Taft School Jamie Schlim ��������������������������������������������������������������������� St. Luke’s School Katelyn Schoenholtz ����������������������������������������������������������The Taft School Juliana Serrano............................................................ Greenwich Academy Olivia Silverman ���������������������������������������������������������������� Berkshire School Margaret Small �������������������������������������������������������������� St. George’s School Justin Swirbul ����������������������������������������������������������������������� Blair Academy Isabel Tibbetts............................................................... Westminster School Adele Whitmyer........................................................... Greenwich Academy Corey Wieczorek �������������������������������������������������������������� Berkshire School Scott Williams................................................................ Westminster School Clifton York, Jr. ............................................................... Deerfield Academy Charlotte Zonis �����������������������������������������������������������������Milton Academy

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7 1. First Row (l to r:) Mackenzie Lewis, Elizabeth Growney, Susanna Baker, Adele Whitmyer, Olivia Silverman, Amalia Maric, Charlotte Zonis, Julia Mandel, Katherine Norton; Second Row (l to r:) Corey Wieczorek, Margaret Small, Juliana Serrano, Catherine Luchars,

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Nicholas Balderston, John Lane, Kevin Pendo, Nicholas Rohn, Will Ford, Scott Williams 2. The families of the Class of 2012 gather to celebrate Closing Exercises.

Elizabeth Foster, Katelyn Schoenholtz, Olivia Consoli, Brianna

3. Amalia Maric and Charlotte Zonis

Cummings; Third Row (l to r:) Conlon Kiesling, James Maguire,

4. Ferris Armstrong, Christian Arntzen, Susanna Baker and Nicky

Christine Campisi, Ferris Armstrong, Jamie Schlim, Parker Lewis,

Balderston enjoy the graduation speeches.

Amy Orser, Grant Galasso, Isabel Tibbetts, Justin Swirbul, Parker

5. Class speaker Kevin Pendo delivers his address.

Beladino; Fourth Row (l to r:) Henry Carr, Sean McEwen, Dylan

6. Olivia Silverman, Maggie Small, Susanna Baker, Isabel Tibbetts

Rathbone, William Reid, Samuel Merrill, Andrew Laub, Clifton York, Jr., William Landis, Brandon Salvatore, Barclay Gammill, James Dolphin ; Fifth Row (l to r:) Diego Blandon, Henry Marshall, George DeLana, Alec Bickerstaff, Christian Arntzen, John Leasure,

and Adele Whitmyer share a moment.

7. Head of School Tim Bazemore presents Maggie Small with the Gamble Award.

8. Olivia Consoli celebrates her achievement.

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| class of 2012

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9. CJ York shares a moment with his family.

14. Corey Wieczorek

10. CJ York, Jack Lane, Kevin Pendo, Sam Merrill, and Henry Marshall

15. Head of School Tim Bazemore hands Ferris Armstrong his certificate.

congratulate one another.

11. Christine Campisi 12. Dylan Rathbone’s parents Alanna and Peter give a victory salute.

13. Alec Bickerstaff shares his moment with parents Michael and Jeanne.

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16. Class speaker Kevin Pendo with brothers JJ ’17 and Matt ’11 17. Amalia Maric, Brianna Cummings, Charlotte Zonis, Mackenzie Lewis, and Katherine Norton 18. Isabel Tibbetts with her siblings Austen ’11 and India ’09

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24 19. Nick Rohn, Alec Bickerstaff, Barclay Gammill, James Maguire,

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23. Kyle ’07, Matty ’10, Corey and Blake ’08 Weiczorek

Sam Merrill, Parker Beladino, Henry Marshall, and

24. The Faculty Choir sings a final farewell to the Class of 2012.

George DeLana

25. Peter, Nicky, Kathleen and Chris ’09 Balderston

20. Tevin ’09, Brianna, Portia ’16 and Frank ’07, Cummings 21. Luis, Juli, Daniel ’09 and Victoria Serrano 22. Olivia and Grace ’15 Consoli

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| Alumni Reunion Weekend & Frogtown FAIR scrapbook

Margaret Lewis

Kate and Banks Edwards

Millones Family

Sophie Bajaj and Elizabeth Woodberry

Ollie and Simon Batten

There was fun for all generations.

Ginny Fox Wagenseller ’62, John ’62 and Frances Clausen

Class of 2010 classmates Cassie Christopher, Lillie Diomede, Allie Christopher, Madeleine Ker, and Kylie Glover enjoy the Alumni Picnic.

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Alexandra LeBaron, Nina Parker, and Carolina Salvatore with Claire Salvatore

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Ashley Orser, Olivia DeGulis, Avery MacLear, Seanie Clark, Christina Halloran, Whitney Rintoul, Mimi Pastor, Greta Baker, Ellie DeSouza

Kari Cholnoky, Alumni Artist 2012 Shown here with her painting, “George Takes A Break From The City To Breathe The Clean Air Of Connecticut,” Kari Cholnoky ’03, a Brooklyn, NY-based painter, graduated with High Honors in Studio Art from Dartmouth College.

She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Art in Painting at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Kari has exhibited her work in exhibitions in Seattle, Philadelphia, Chicago, Holyoke, Brooklyn and Singapore. A solo show of her work opened October 10, 2012 at HERE Gallery, in SoHo, New York. For more information, visit www.karicholnoky.com.

Emily Coughlin Basaran ’98 and Lily Drummond-Hay Tangen ’98

Beanbag slingshot fun with ninth grader John Leasure

Ninth graders lead younger classmates around the handmade carousel

Class of ’02 alums Jamie Rogers, Dave Ingraham, Peter Wyman, Rishonda Thomas, Morgan Eifler, Emily Smith, Jill Greiner and Monica Rowett relive Frogtown Fair memories

Felix Shaskan, Sue Hubbard Okie, and John Clausen, all Class of 1962, celebrate their 50th Reunion.

Families enjoy a ride on the fire truck, a fair favorite.

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1. Joe Pepe discusses the day’s schedule with Lina Pepe.

2. Kate Edwards and Nancy Fitzgerald play mancala.

3. Clara Wollmeringer and Cece Johnson with Barbara Johnson 4. Tony and Jennifer Coleman observe Cayden Brodnax during a writing exercise.

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5. Serene Swirbul and Tyler Swirbul craft a banner.

6. Charlie von Stade gets some advice from Missy and Peter Crisp.

7. Matt Riccardi reads to Mirella Riccardi and Stephanie Orawiec.

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9. Cyrus and Leila Pearson welcome Chuck and Ginny Pearson on the steps of Grace House.

10. Avery York and Barbara Whitton build an egg protector for the sixth grade egg drop.

11. Diego Blandon and his grandfather James Hayes listen attentively in class during Grandparents’ Day.

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12. Ginny Pearson helps Leila Pearson with some measurements.

13. Alexis Rodgers and Venora Rodgers review vocabulary words.

14. Bill Nightingale watches Cole Nightingale line up his numbers.

15. Beckett Walters discusses story ideas with Milt Walters.

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16. Samantha Stevens reads to Lynda Cohen and Brigitte Morgan.

17. Mason Pratt gets a hug from Trudy Pratt 18. Jack Megrue and Brooke Megrue 19. Jackson Alvord explains his math assignment to Brenda Marshall.

20. Ashley Rodgers and Kathryn Cosentino match shapes.

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21. Tanis and John Erdmann design shape pictures with Will Erdmann and Parakram Karnik.

22. Huett Nelson and Arnette Nelson read through books from the Tin Tin series.

(Photo Credits: Jodi Hasbrouck, Betsy Hulme, Nanette Gantz, Kent Findlay, and Shiva Sarram)

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| leadership party

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Anne-lie and Rick Kleeman hosted the annual leadership Cocktail Party at their beautiful home to thank Annual fund and Ninth Grade endowment leadership donors for their generous support. A special thank you went to Annual fund Chairs Patrick Connors, lisa Sparks, and Karen Wood, and Ninth Grade endowment chairs Diane and Victor Consoli.

1. lisa sparks, patrick connors, karen Wood | 2. Jack and carol liebau | 3. Tina and malcom miller, brooke connors, karen Wood | 4. lisa bazemore, dolf and Josephine dibiasio | 5. saira rizvi and dao engle | 6. diane and victor consoli | 7. Jon and annie burleigh, cece Teitler, louise york, brooke connors, Jane schoenholtz, victor consoli, marnie gizzie and libby hudson | 8. lisa and Jeff sparks, anne-lie and rick kleeman | 9. Julie and rowan Taylor | 10. rick kleeman, cindy and chris Willis, barbara and John burns | 11. Jon and marnie gizzie, subodh karnik and smita singh | 12. lisa sparks, kendra seth, Jim and holly parmelee | 13. John and cece Teitler, peggy and Joe Toce

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| departures & appoIntmEnts

Gail Gundelach By Lilani Balasuryia My first recollection of Gail was the bright red dress she wore when I first glimpsed her as she was being introduced to the faculty. She had just come to NCCS from Berkeley, California.

That was 18 years ago. I have not seen the red dress in a long time, but, to me, it symbolized her vibrant personality. She brought with her the free spirit of California and a brand of feminism that was committed to making girls strong in math and science. It was also important to Gail that the children in her class embrace cultural differences and lifestyles in all their forms.

Gail began her career at Country School as a multiage teacher with a combined class of first and second graders, and then went on to teach first grade when the multiage program was discontinued. Her passion for science and math was reflected in her classroom, which featured fish tanks humming, along with turtles, gerbils, snakes, and stick bugs—a wide array of animals for the children to learn from and enjoy. I watched with fascination as Gail made endless trips to the pet store to get live mice to feed the snakes, and I heard many stories about “the mouse that got away.”

Gail made math interesting and challenging for her students. She had many math games going on in the classroom and encouraged the children’s use of manipulative materials. She was always thinking of creating new games to suit the material that she presented to the children and would often develop word problems that suited the math concept of the day. She was resourceful in wording these problems in ways that helped the children develop a common language and understand subtle differences in mathematical proportions.

Gail was a strong advocate for computers in the classroom.

She saw the value of programs that could help the children hone their skills and open up other worlds for their learning.

A strong believer in celebrating other communities and cultures, Gail chaired the Country School cultural committee.

Under her aegis, the children visited China, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, and India without ever leaving the Welles Building.

There were many wonderful years when we packed our bags, bought our airline tickets, and stamped our passports, and away we flew. Our trips always culminated in a gathering in the Perrine Commons with a taste of food, music, art, and crafts from these wonderful lands.

Gail was instrumental in the creation of a new social studies curriculum for the first grade. Her love of science brought to the

curriculum the study of Long Island Sound. We learned about the water cycle, the variety of habitats, and the sea creatures and birds which made the Sound their home. Gail incorporated ecology into her curriculum and stressed how environmentally important it was for us to preserve the many different terrains of Long Island Sound.

Whether studying Long Island Sound or the Woodland Indians, Gail put her heart and soul into her social studies curriculum. It was her idea to cook venison stew in celebration of a day of games and Native American activities to honor the Woodland tribes. Without hesitation, she would be on her way to the fabric store to buy material to sew Woodland outfits and stitch moccasins, and then to the market to buy popcorn and cranberries. She valued experiential learning and had a way of making things as authentic as possible for the children. I am not sure how we will celebrate Halloween without Gail.

She was always the first to brainstorm ideas and to gather materials to create the costumes.

As well, her attic was full of all the items we needed to celebrate our end-of-year class party.

Sponges and plastic tubs for the water race, burlap bags for the sack race, and spoons for the potato race—she had them all.

Her students will always remember Gail for her enthusiasm and dedication in teaching them to reach their full potential, in valuing each child, and in making learning interesting. Gail always thought “outside of the box.” As she retires from teaching and looks forward to spending more time with friends and family, we will miss Gail for her vision and creativity, and mostly for her generosity and kindred spirit.

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francie irvine farewell

By Tim Bazemore, Head of School When my predecessor, Nick Thacher, was searching for a new assistant head in 1999, he received glowing references from several headmasters regarding Francie Irvine. One described her as “beautifully educated [with] one of the most versatile and informed intellects I have encountered.” They were right; Nick was wise; and Country School students, faculty, and parents have benefited from Francie’s deep expertise, good heart, and wise counsel for the past thirteen years. When she told me last fall that she would retire in June 2012, I was happy for her and her husband Andrew, sad for our school community, and somewhat panicked at the prospect of losing my working partner. Now that we have said our goodbyes, I want to share my profound gratitude and appreciation for all that Francie has done to improve our school and help us to achieve our mission.

Francie came to Country School from the Shady Hill School.

Previously, she had worked at Madeira School, Foote School, and Ecole Bilingue. She had served as a language teacher, a department head and division head, admission and placement counselor, dean of students, and headmistress. That breadth of experience served us well. At Country School, she managed our professional development and teacher apprentice programs, served as our Parents’ Association liaison, taught French and English, advised ninth graders with speeches, led diversity work, conducted admission tours and interviews, helped in the Placement Office, managed faculty housing, and chaired every faculty committee we could come up with. She played an integral role in creating our new master schedule, in designing our faculty evaluation system, and in helping us to earn a sterling review during our most recent accreditation. At the Board level, Francie co-chaired long-range planning and mission review committees; served on the Education, Finance, Faculty Life, and Diversity Committees; and made important contributions to every major strategic decision in the last decade.

As much as her good thinking and hard work informed school decisions and programs, Francie was also valued by colleagues and students for her willingness to do the little things.

She understood that in order for us to nurture and educate children well, we must model good behavior, sound judgment, and personal responsibility. To her, that meant driving vans to games, chaperoning dances, monitoring the cafeteria, greeting parents in the main drive, and cheering on the sidelines of games. She even dressed up for the Halloween parade every year (until I finally relieved her of that duty!).

Francie was a skilled writer and editor. She authored a wide range of articles for school publications and was the “go-to” 28

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initial author for communications from various departments. Her deft touch with words and her impressive vocabulary extended to conversation as well. Blessed with impeccable timing and wit, she used humor to lighten heavy moments and to keep us humble.

Parents and teachers trusted Francie as a partner and counselor. Generations of Parents’ Association presidents and committee chairs found her to be available and knowledgeable, sensitive to their plans and to school culture in a way that made everyone feel good about the result. She was a teacher of teachers, responsible for improving the overall quality of instruction and for ensuring that hardworking faculty and staff colleagues had a place to go for professional or personal advice, or just a good listener. She knew how to train a new teacher and how to help an expert veteran improve. For me, for parents, and for teachers, she was uniquely equipped to be what each of us needed her to be.

Most of all, Francie modeled a balanced thoughtfulness, skillfully navigating personal agendas and dichotomous thinking to determine practical action. She respected our school’s mission and values and recognized what was best for the children. In 1999, she provided us a glimpse of this skill in her personal statement as a candidate: “Though it may be poetic to muse about two roads diverging in a yellow wood, I have always wanted there to be a third road, a lane that meandered through the woods, between and occasionally connecting, the two opposing paths; at best, the harmonizing of distinct points of view creates a solid base from which to wrestle with future decisions. [We] must resist the either/or mind, and become at ease with the time it takes to come to a truly new idea or a creative solution.”

Francie and Andrew, a former head of school himself, have settled in New Haven, where their agenda includes plays and concerts, travel and good books. Knowing Francie’s energy level and keen intellect, I assume she soon will be writing, tutoring, or consulting as well. As I said at her farewell picnic, she is wise about many things, including diversity, teaching, and building a school community. She is also gracious and compassionate in a way that is rare in our schools and in society these days. Thank you, Francie, for sharing your gifts with us at New Canaan Country School.

transitions

Becky Brown For the past 17 years, one of the first people that visitors to the Welles Building were likely to encounter when entering the Lower School was Becky Brown. Her warm and friendly manner has made a wonderfully welcoming impression upon teachers, students, parents, and prospective families since Becky’s arrival on the NCCS campus in the fall of 1995. A Learning Resource teacher and former Admission Coordinator, Becky quickly became a vital part of the excitement and rhythm of our lower grades. She is one of those people whom independent schools value highly for an ability to work outside of specific job parameters and a talent for doing whatever needed to be done in a particular circumstance. Indeed, flexibility and support in all of her roles at Country School have been the hallmarks of Becky’s work here.

In her work as an associate in the Admission Office, Becky offered invaluable support for the office in myriad ways. Her friendly manner and pleasant disposition made her the perfect choice for touring prospective families through the Thacher and Welles Buildings. In fact, many of our current families remember Mrs. Brown as their first introduction to the Country School.

Her love of children and understanding of the Early Childhood and Lower School curricula enabled her to speak knowledgeably about the school’s programs and to encourage families to see how the school would be a wonderful experience for their children.

Many of these families, through their years in the Lower School, would reminisce with her about their first impressions of Country School and how their dreams for their children became a reality.

Her Admission role was important to Becky, and the flexibility with which she took on that work was equally important for the school’s continued growth and development.

Over the years, Becky worked with different grade levels in the Lower School, but her primary focus (and the one that she grew to love the most) was her work with the fourth grade. Again, flexibility and support were the hallmarks of her work there. On any given day, Becky could be found working in a fourth grade classroom with a small group of children, reading with a breakout section in her cozy space, or even filling in periodically for a head teacher. In all that she did, Mrs. Brown inspired children to believe in themselves and to strive for their personal best. She would carefully select novels with which the children could form a strong connection and would often host a popular movie/ popcorn tie-in event after the children finished reading these books. She became an “all-in” member of the fourth grade team, attending the rehearsals and performances of the Greek Plays; chaperoning field trips; cheering and supporting at field day; and providing comfort on a difficult day. It became

second nature when thinking of the fourth grade team to think of four lead teachers as opposed to three.

As a member of the Learning Resources Group, Becky took great pride in the progress her students achieved with her support.

Her small group work with children was carefully crafted with a tremendously effective understanding of how best to support their developmental needs. She would tirelessly advocate for her students in Student Support Team meetings as they moved into Middle School. Her ability to work seamlessly between the fourth grade team and the Learning Resources team was invaluable to her students and exemplified the truly remarkable nature of her work with children. Her ability to shift gears and recognize and adapt to the individual needs of each of the students she served was in true support of the Country School mission.

Becky’s beloved Golden Retriever, Riley, was also a very special member of the NCCS community. Lower School children would make a point of stopping by Mrs. Brown’s office to say hello to her dog and give him a hug or a scratch behind the ear.

Visitors to Becky’s office universally enjoyed the opportunity to spend a few therapeutic moments with Riley, who served as Becky’s ambassador of good will to all who stopped by. As Becky moves on with Riley in tow to plan a new home in South Carolina, her colleagues at NCCS feel very fortunate to have had the value of her collegial presence and support for so many years. As an educational institution, we thank her for her keen sense of the independent school experience and the value she placed on the Country School mission. More personally, we wish her well, remember her fondly, and take comfort in the fact that what she has given us will live on in the hearts, minds, and spirits of all whose lives she has touched.

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Anne Carlson By Mark Macrides In her seven-year tenure as Director of Advancement, Anne Carlson had a positive and significant impact on the school’s culture. Arriving in 2005 with her twin children, James and Sarah, in tow, Anne and her family were promptly welcomed into the Class of 2008. They soon became a fixture on the Country School campus at games, dances, class trips, and Frogtown Fairs.

Through her deep understanding of independent schools and the richness of her children’s experiences, Anne quickly learned the ropes. Her casual, friendly manner and outgoing disposition immediately endeared her to faculty, staff, and parents alike.

As a consummate professional in the world of advancement, Anne was well positioned to face the challenges presented to her in her early years at Country School. As the Development Office became the Advancement Office, this seemed particularly appropriate, for “advancing” things was exactly what Anne set out to

do. In her first few years at Country School, Anne worked hard to build a professional team of individuals which, in turn, translated into a highly successful Advancement Office. With responsibilities clearly defined and professional expectations outlined, her team collaborated effectively on a wide variety of Advancement activities and events whose success had its roots in a deep respect and appreciation for one another. Anne valued the personal touch and considered face-to-face communication a must. Whether appearing at our office doors or calling down the hallway with a casual question or friendly hello, Anne kept in constant touch with her co-workers. She believed in the value of teamwork and was always available to her staff for advice and support.

Anne did much to foster an understanding of the importance of the role of Advancement in the life of the school. She believed that Advancement was something with which every Country

John Murphy By Jennifer Christensen Easterners may still remember the Perdue commercial: “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.” In John Murphy’s case, the “chicken” in question is, instead, a very tender croissant. During his tenure as NCCS facilities manager, John was equally adept at clearing frozen gutters with an ice pick while perched on the roof, as he was while up to his elbows in dough, making batches of “Charlotte’s Super Bread” for faculty and staff. Everyone’s favorite morning was the day before holiday break when John would arrive at the crack of dawn and have fresh croissants warm and ready in the cafeteria.

While serving at NCCS from 2005 until 2011, John supervised a full-time staff of six, oversaw construction projects and the maintenance of the School’s 75-acre campus, and kept multiple buildings both on and off-campus in top shape year-round. He was a diligent employee who tackled a wide range of often-unpredictable tasks with consistent focus and energy. When snowstorms were predicted, he would often spend the night on campus to be sure the roads and walkways were clear by the time school opened.

NCCS maintenance staff member Leroy Anderson described his former boss with admiration: “John was a very hard worker, and he would go out of his way for the safety of the children here.” As a dedicated 20-year member of the National Guard, John was a familiar figure, raising the flag at the School’s annual Veteran’s Day 30

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assembly. As the father of twins Nick and Charlotte (Class of 2010) and Ian (Class of 2015), John was active in the parent community and volunteered at many school events.

Physical fitness was very important to John, and he was a great role model for students and faculty alike. In the fall and spring, he coached cross-country, encouraging young runners to achieve their personal best and celebrating the accomplishments of all. His co-coach Will McDonough remembers that “John always put the students first, and he genuinely wanted all members of the team to increase their own physical fitness and sense of self-worth as athletes.” Furthermore, performance was never the ultimate goal; in fact, John established the highly-coveted ‘Golden Shoe’ award, given to the student who did not earn a varsity letter, but showed up each day with a great work ethic, supported his or her teammates, and displayed an impeccable attitude. Nowhere was John’s consistent awareness of the NCCS mission more evident than in his team cheer, repeated at the end of each practice: “Respect, Motivation, Dedication! NCCS leads the way!” Another reflection of John’s commitment to the school community’s health and fitness was the highly popular “boot camp” exercise and endurance training course that he offered for faculty and staff for a number of years.

John has moved on to a position as District Supervisor of Facilities for the Wilton Public School system. There, he is responsible for 750,000 square feet of building space and 44 employees. We wish him every success at Wilton, and we hope that the district has a big kitchen!

TransiTions

School constituent should be involved. In her reports to the faculty, she always thanked faculty members for their work and stressed the important connection between learning in the classroom and the school’s fundraising success. As a result, Anne led the school to significant achievements, including record Annual Fund totals and revamped publications. The Living the Mission campaign—which raised funds for the construction and renovation of the Stevens Upper School building, athletic fields, and for the school’s endowment—was a perfect example of this approach.

Through Anne’s leadership on this project, the entire community embraced the process and became involved in a variety of ways, including contributing financially, organizing communitybuilding events, and involving children through curriculum connections. The success of the campaign and the Stevens Building project exemplified Anne’s ability to develop a successful strategy to achieve the school’s master plan goals by generating school pride and commitment among parents, faculty, and students.

Anne was a supportive friend to me and many of my colleagues. She was always ready for a laugh or a serious conversation, and could be counted on to raise the spirit and enlighten the mind. Anne’s presence and the warm sound of her laugh were fixtures at innumerable school events. As she moves on to become executive director of Parent Programs at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, she will be greatly missed. Her achievements as Director of Advancement have moved our school forward in important ways, and generations of students and teachers will continue to benefit from them long after Anne’s departure. As a colleague, she inspired us to work hard and play hard, but, most of all, to be happy.

Jennifer Christensen By Mark Macrides Jennifer Christensen joined the Advancement team in 2006 as Director of Communications. Over the next six years, she played a vital role in advancing Country School’s profile and strengthening its identity within the school community and beyond. She brought significant experience and skills to the position; she also immersed herself in school life in order to understand and appreciate the school’s culture. Jennifer made a point of being involved in the life of the School and could often be seen taking pictures around campus for school publications, singing in the faculty chorus, and volunteering at school events. Her son Peter was a member of the Class of 2010, and Jennifer plunged into her role as a school parent with equal fervor. Although her work at NCCS marked her first experience in a school setting, she deeply appreciated the School’s mission, its teachers, and its students, and that informed her success in improving the School’s marketing and communications efforts.

In her time at NCCS, Jennifer impressed colleagues with her welcoming manner and collaborative spirit. Her work on the Bulletin showed her ability to balance history and tradition with the need for progress and innovation. She introduced color and a new sense of design to the publication, while preserving the historical relevance and familiar feel of the magazine. These changes to the Bulletin were well-received by all constituents, especially the alumni community. Jennifer was also instrumental in a major overhaul and re-launch of the School’s website. In this project, she drew on her corporate experience with web-based publications to interview designers, suggest content, and execute

a complete redesign. The re-launch was celebrated with much fanfare as the new website provided the School’s internal and external communities with a compelling destination for news and information.

Perhaps Jennifer’s most important contribution to the School was the redesign of the School’s logo and branding efforts.

Leading this project in a bold and collaborative manner, she exhibited a singular ability to persuasively articulate the need for rebranding to those of us who initially had reservations and questions. The School’s logo had considerable historical identity, and its redesign was a challenging job that required great sensitivity and a compassionate understanding of all the School’s constituencies. Throughout the process, Jennifer worked with a clear plan, filtered the needs and concerns of the community, and found ways to compromise while maintaining a high level of creativity and innovation. The new logo was met with great success and has served NCCS very well.

Jennifer leaves Country School to become Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications at the Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut. We know she will approach this new position with the same grace and respect that she brought to her work at Country School. We wish her all the very best in this new endeavor.

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APPOINTMENTS Administration Day Rosenberg joins New Canaan Country School as Assistant Head of School. Day has seventeen years of experience as a teacher, dean of students, associate director of admission, and division head, most recently as the Director of Upper School (grades 6–8) at Far Hills Country Day School, a K–8 school in New Jersey. During his six years there, Day showed leadership in every area of school operations, including faculty recruitment, evaluation, and development; curriculum assessment and design; parent education; and scheduling, technology, diversity, and sustainability programs. He has been a teacher and coach, and developed award-winning student publications and advisory programs. Previously, Day worked at Brooklyn Friends School for eleven years. In that K–12 Quaker setting, he taught grades 5–8 and served in various administrative roles in both the Middle and Upper Schools.

Day has a B.A. in history from Rutgers University and an M.A. in Organization and Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. He has attended and led a variety of local, regional, and national conferences and workshops on topics including technology, diversity, and conflict resolution.

Terry Gumz joins New Canaan Country School as Director of Advancement. Terry is a seasoned veteran in her field, having spent nearly twenty years leading the advancement efforts at Chapin and Hewitt Schools in New York, Brunswick School in Greenwich, and San Francisco Day School in San Francisco, California. Terry holds a bachelor’s degree in French from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and is a graduate of The Gill School (now Gill-St. Bernards) in Bernardsville, New Jersey. Terry has also been an independent school parent with two children who attended Rippowam-Cisqua School in Bedford, New York, Greenwich Academy, and Brunswick.

Terry’s experience in advancement includes capital campaigns for facilities at both Chapin and Brunswick, and a

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successful endowment campaign at San Francisco Day School.

She has also overseen centennial celebrations (NCCS will celebrate its centennial in 2016), annual fund, senior or ninth grade funds, communications and website development, donor relations, and alumni affairs. In Terry’s new role at NCCS, she will also act as the primary liaison with the Parents’ Association.

Brooke Springer joins New Canaan Country School as Director of Marketing and Communications. Brooke has more than a decade of experience in communications, most recently serving as Assistant Dean of Communications for Pace University’s Dyson College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a master’s degree in media and communication arts from Pace University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Fairfield University. She was previously Director of Media Relations and Marketing for Stamford Museum and Nature Center. She started her career as a journalist and has written and edited for numerous local and regional newspapers and magazines including the New Canaan Advertiser, Greenwich Post, Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, Stamford Magazine, Ridgefield Magazine, and Bedford Magazine, among others.

Beth O’Brien has been appointed Head of Early Childhood, after serving for one year as Acting Head of Early Childhood.

A graduate of Bucknell University and a certified Montessori teacher, Beth has been an educator for seventeen years. After working as an apprentice at Country School, Beth spent several years in Washington where she worked as a Montessori teacher for grades 1–3 and a children’s book specialist. In 2000, she returned to Country School as a teaching assistant for two years, and then a lead Beginners teacher for six years. Beth became captivated by the way children acquire and process language, and her interest in the subject drew her to Windward’s Teacher Training Institute and on to work with fifth and sixth graders there, before returning to Country School as Associate Director of Admission in 2010.

transitions

Faculty Eva Verduzco, Kindergarten Spanish, is a native speaker with a B.A. from Universidad Iberomericana and experience teaching in elementary and middle schools in Mexico City.

Shannon Faella, First Grade, had been teaching third grade at NCCS. She has a M.S. in Elementary and Special Education and has worked in public schools and at Windward.

Sue DeOreo, Third Grade, rejoins us in a permanent role after serving as a maternity leave replacement for Maria Sette this past fall. Sue has an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University, and seven years of teaching experience.

Stephanie Royal, Fourth Grade, was most recently the Assistant Head at Waterside School in Stamford. Stephanie has an M.Ed. from Cabrini College. She taught fourth grade at Chestnut Hill Academy for five years and has taught grades 1, 4, and 6 in other settings.

Cynthia Thom, Learning Resources Teacher, had been a third grade teacher at NCCS. She has an M.S. from Bank Street College and over ten years of experience.

Hannah James, Lower School Science Assistant, was the apprentice teacher in Mr. Hastings’s fourth grade homeroom.

Hannah has a B.S. from St. Lawrence University in Geology and Environmental Studies.

Julie Porter, Fifth Grade, is a former apprentice at Greenwich Academy who has taught at Convent of the Sacred Heart and served as a fourth grade teacher in North Carolina public schools. Julie has an M.A.T. from Manhattanville.

Amanda Fillio, Creative Arts Teacher, had been teaching music at Old Rochester Regional High School, and has taught for Waltham Public School. Amanda has an M.A. from Boston University and a B.A. from Westfield State University.

Lee Sheldon, Assistant Girls Athletic Director, PE Teacher and Coach (maternity replacement August through December), has taught third grade at McCleary Elementary School. Lee has a B.A. in Sociology from Roanoke College.

Abigail Cali, Spanish Teacher and Coach, previously taught Spanish and coached at Stanwich School. Abigail has a M.S.Ed. in Adolescence Education Foreign Language from Manhattanville College, and a B.A. in Spanish from Sacred Heart University.

Melissa Knowlton, Athletic Trainer, was previously at Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Melissa has a M.Ed. in Special Education from Bridgewater State University, and a B.S. from Springfield College.

First Year Apprentices Daley O’Herron ’05, St. Lawrence University, Major: Sociology, Minor: Education, Taylor Smith, Colgate University, Major: French, Minor: Education Jane Budnick ’05, Boston College, Major: Elementary Ed, Minor: Special Education Jeanne Simons, The College of Wooster, Major: History, Minor: Early Childhood Ed Emily Kugel, Master of Education in Teaching and Learning— DePaul University, Bachelor of Science, Advertising, University of Texas Blaire Spaulding, Spelman College Audrey Wood, Denison University, Major: Educational Studies, Minor: Pyschology Melissa Pepe, Marywood University, Major: Elementary Ed, Minor: English Ali Atkinson, Colgate University, Major: History, Certification in Elementary Ed Nick Ganstoudes, Bucknell University, Double Major: History, Political Science Johanna Lou, Union College, Major: History Taylor Hedges, Mount Holyoke College, Major: Politics, Minor: Gender Studies Erin Bradley, Goucher College, Major: Arts and Art Administration David Menard, Trinity College, Major: Biology Luisa Myavec, DePauw University, Major: Education Studies Charles Donnelly, Ohio Wesleyan University, Major: Classics, Minors: Humanities, History

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Departing Families Eighteen Years • Diana & Tom Maguire Caitlin ’04, Julia ’05, David ’09, Charlotte ’10, James ’12 • Alanna & Peter Rathbone Sarah ’99, Vanessa ’01, Dylan ’12 Seventeen Years • Pam & Mark Silverman Carolyn ’03, Alex ’05, Melanie ’08, Olivia ’12 • Marte & John Small Jack ’05, Tory ’06, Jimbo ’11, Maggie ’12 Fifteen Years • Kathy & Peter Balderston Emily ’07, Chris ’09, Nicky ’12 • Liz & Scott Logie Jackson ’07, Ryan ’10, Emerson ’13 • Lynette Prescott & Mike Wieczorek Kyle ’07, Blake ’08, Matty ’10, Corey ’12 Fourteen Years • Althea Seaborn & Donald duBoulay Allie ’09, Zach ’10, Catherine ’15 Thirteen Years • Page & Jeff Growney Thomas ’05, Ted ’07, Mettler ’10, Elizabeth ’12 • Amy Reid Elizabeth & Bill Reid Alexa ’04, William ’12

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Twelve Years • Wendy & Mark Agnew Emily ’11, Sam ’13, Allie ’16 • Jeanne Holmes Max Holmes Ginger ’10, Clay ’11, Sarah ’13 Eleven Years • Priscilla & Jim Wong Jay ’09, Phebe ’10, Ellie ’13 Ten Years • Shana & Richard Beladino Parker ’12 • Helen & David Jaffe Alexandra ’07, Spencer ’09, Russell ’11, Laurel ’13 • Carolyn & Tucker Jeffrey Jack ’11, Griffin ’13, Halley ’16 • Laura & Jim McEwen Sean ’12 • Edie Brickell & Paul Simon Adrian ’08, LuLu ’10, Gabriel ’13 • Gwynne & Alfred Tibbetts India ’09, Austen ’11, Isabel ’12 • Mary Pat & Wes Whitmyer Declan ’09, Adele ’12 Nine Years • Poppy & Alex Luchars Thomas ’08, Robert ’11, Catherine ’12 Eight Years • Anne-Lie & Rick Kleeman Serena ’13 • Hilary & Peter Richards Oliver ’14, Jasper ’16 • Vicky Giraldo & Alex Serrano Danny ’09, Juli ’12

New Canaan Country School Bulletin Ff ALL all 2012

Seven Years • Lauren Wales-Chanler & Clifford Chanler Casey ’14 • Margie & Bill Connors Will ’09, Kate ’13 • Laura & David Pellegrino Elizabeth ’13, Katherine ’16 Six Years • Jamie & Bradford Beck Kayla ’16, Ford ’18 • Jennifer & Matthew Comyns William ’16, Cody ’19 • Erica & Andrew Merrill Hadley ’10, Sam ’12 Five Years • Pam & Ken Gammill Barclay ’12 • Lael & Gordon Kiesling Stewart ’11, Conlon ’12 • Lisa & Branko Maric Amalia ’12, Noah ’14 • Katie & Eric Welles Elsie ’17, Henry ’19 Four Years • Janine & David Campisi Christine ’12 • Glen Capelo Melissa Capelo Sammy ’16, Alex ’20, Ben ’20 • Renate & Jim Dolphin Jimmy ’12, Kyle ’13 • Dyneka Edwards Ferris Armstong ’12

• Janet & Lou Galasso Grant ’12 • Jeanne Marconi & Mike Holloway Alec Bickerstaff ’12 • Louise & Stewart Johnson Juliette ’19, Charlotte ’20 Three Years • Bill Ford Wendy Ford Will ’12 • Kelly & Buck French Reilly ’19 • Heather & Bob Mylod Maisy ’16, Ella ’17, Dale ’23 • Amanda & Brian Rickers Luke ’18, Olivia ’19 Two Years • Gillian & Ewan Andrew Flynn ’20 • Kathleen & Paul Housey Rebecca ’15 • Kathie & David Mandel Julia ’12 • Greville Ward Tine Ward Rex ’18 • Joanne & AJ Weidhaas Lilly ’14 One Year • Laurie & Jonathan Shiff Emily ’22

Departing Faculty & Staff Damon Kelliher, Music teacher.................................5 years Bruce Hallet, Lower School Science Assistant ����������3 years

alumni

| honors & SPOTLIGHTS

2012 alumni A W A R D w i nn e r Matt Heineman ’98 Of the many qualities that Matt Heinemann ’98 developed during his career at NCCS, the two that have had the most powerful and meaningful impact on his personal and professional development are curiosity and open-mindedness. It was at Country School that he first learned to be curious about everything—curious about learning, curious about himself, and curious about the world. He also learned to be open-minded and willing to let his ideas, plans, and path change course. These lessons have served him well in his budding career as a documentary filmmaker.

Every year, the Alumni Award is presented to an alumna/us who embodies the values of the school. This past May, the 2012 award was presented to Matt, who arrived at Country School in second grade. After graduation from NCCS, he attended Brunswick School and then graduated from Dartmouth College in 2005.

Matt told a rapt audience of ninth grade students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni that a valuable lesson he has learned is that if you end up in the same place you started, then you’re not listening closely enough to the clues that inevitably lead to new directions and, ultimately, a fulfilled life. His own path was shaped by an unexpected change of plans. After failing to gain acceptance to the Teach for America program after graduating college, he and two friends decided to travel the United States and explore what defines their generation. They set out to document their findings by creating a website, writing a book, and making a film about the experience, despite a lack of expertise in any of those realms. They received some funding from Nantucket Nectars and headed out for a three-month RV odyssey across the lower forty-eight states in what they dubbed “The Young American Project.”

During the course of their adventure, the filmmakers interviewed nearly 300 people, including the not-yet-famous Mark Zuckerberg. They interviewed their peers about everything from 9/11 to race, love, sex, career choices, the state of the “American Dream,” and everything in between. Matt shared with the

ninth graders some of the lessons he learned along the journey. While he and his friends taught themselves the craft of filmmaking, they learned some even more important skills—the art of listening, the value of taking chances, the importance of getting out of one’s comfort zone, and how to learn from one’s mistakes.

The success of TYAP led Matt on to a project about Alzheimer’s disease that appeared on HBO. Again, he was learning by doing and taking risks.

After that project wrapped, he launched into his next work, a film about the state of the health care system in the United States entitled: “Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Health Care” (www.escapefiremovie.com) which premiered at the Sundance Festival in January 2012 and was subsequently funded by the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund. The film attempts to give an unbiased assessment of the current health care system. He chose this topic because it affects all Americans, and he sought to bring clarity to a complex issue. After a spring and summer tour of college campuses, military bases, hospitals, and medical schools, the film opened to the public in October 2012.

Matt Heineman’s return to NCCS provided inspiration to a new generation of Country School students and embodied the School’s mission in a very articulate and powerful way. “I always like thinking of Country School as a circle, and Matt did a great job of revealing that circle to the students,” remarked Stephanie Zeigler ’81, incoming Alumni Council president. “He really showed them that he is using what he learned here at Country School in his life, and has brought that back to the school to share with them.”

This year’s Alumni Council will again be looking for an award recipient whose life and career embody the values and mission of New Canaan Country School. The 2013 Alumni Award Reception will be held Friday, May 17. fa l l 2 0 1 2

Matt Heineman is congratulated by Andy Johnson

“ It wa s a t Country School t h at h e f i r s t learned to be curious about everything— curious about learning, curious about h i m s e l f, a n d curious about the world. He also learned to be openminded and willing to let his ideas, plans, and pa t h c h a n g e c o u r s e .”

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endpiece

Innovation & tradition the Country School Woodshop:

By Mark Macrides

n a recent trip through the NCCS woodshop, I was humbled by the overwhelming sense of institutional history encapsulated within those walls. The building dates back to the “Grace House in the Fields” days, with an addition added in 1940. Not much else has happened to that building in 72 years, yet the saws continue to hum, producing that comforting sawdust smell, and the hammers continue to pound in an unforgettable rhythm. Woodshop is, in fact, the only Country School program that is still housed in the original facility it occupied in 1936 when the Community School moved to Ponus Ridge and became New Canaan Country School. In those days, the shop consisted only of what is now the west end of the building. With a tin ceiling and a wood stove for heat (the original chimney is still standing), it served as a workshop, of sorts, for Grace House. Initially, the small building was well-suited for a traditional woodshop program, but as the school quickly grew, innovation came to the shop, as it did to most places on campus, and more room was required. Within just a few years, the building grew eastward. Older students actually practiced their carpentry skills by helping with the finish work on the new addition. In fact, contractors built only the shell of the addition, while students from the fifth through ninth grades completed the insulation, pressed-wood tile floor, and wallboard and trim, and painted the building. The expanded shop provided increased opportunity for the students to continue to learn the art of craft and express themselves three-dimensionally.

Woodshop has been an important component of the NCCS program since the Community School days on Park Street in New Canaan. Community School newsletters as far back as the early 1920s make reference to student “carpentry projects” under the

direction of Mr. Harold Dean. These projects were periodically displayed for parent evenings on tables in the School’s assembly room. Mr. Dean and his wife Margaret, who taught first grade at the Community School, made the move to Ponus Ridge, continuing their work with children. An article from a November 1940 newsletter reflects an impressive degree of student involvement in the School’s growth through work in the shop: “One interesting aspect of the work done with Mr. Dean is the responsibility the children have felt in carrying out work for the school community. The seventh, eighth, and ninth graders have made wooden benches for use in the assembly hall (the very same brown benches we use today) and on the athletic field. Pictures done in the art studio are attractively framed with the handwork of the eighth grade. The seventh grade is digging a drainage ditch, while the first grade works on a shelter fence, both for the Far House.” In addition to these group projects, students also worked independently learning to craft pencil boxes, bird houses, insect cases, and bicycle stands. By fifth grade and beyond, students were using the lathe to turn out items such as chair legs, candlesticks, table lamps, and chess pieces made out of Catalin, a polymer plastic product similar to Bakelite which was as hard as brass. With innovative ideas never too far removed from the woodshop, the ninth grade, in 1940, was working with electricity, making motors and experimenting with gapping spark plugs in much the same way that spark plugs are “gapped” in automobile tune-ups today.

Throughout the years, the tradition of teaching craft continued in the woodshop, and students in all grades learned basic skills and techniques by producing countless benches, doll houses, toy boxes, and wooden clocks. Innovation thrived as well in the 1950s

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and 1960s under the direction of George Bridgeman, who guided the students in constructing a wooden tugboat which stood on the playground of the old Beginners house across the street on Ponus Ridge, inspiring dramatic play for many years. Mr. Bridgeman also brought his interest in astronomy to the shop, and with the seventh grade, he built a telescope, the lenses of which were ground at the Hayden Planetarium. Many parents of that era well remembered the chilly evenings when their eager children were brought back to school to study the stars through their homemade instruments.

As enrollment increased and curriculum became more diverse, it was not possible for students to participate in woodshop courses in every year of their Country School experience. However, the program was structured in such a way that students had opportunities in Lower, Middle, and Upper School to hone their developing skills and participate in the variety of traditional and innovative projects which became the hallmark of the program.

In the 1980s, inspired by shop teacher Wendell Stickney, NCCS students built sailboats, sleds, and stools, and in a truly innovative moment constructed a solar hot dog cooker which cooked to perfection many a pre-or post-lunch snack in the hot sun on the front stoop of the shop. Mr. Stickney played the accordion, and it was not unlikely, upon approach to the shop, to hear a chorus of hammers mixed with accordion music in a pleasantly collaborative fashion. Mr. Stickney’s musical leanings also found expression in student explorations of a number of imaginative stringed instruments which took their inspiration from traditional instruments. Among these was a giant dulcimer that was built using a standard hollow-core door. This manystringed leviathan brought with it lessons in woodcraft, physics, and the science of acoustics, along with the great sense of adventure and play that Mr. Stickney brilliantly wove into his classes.

More recently under the direction of Mr. Lawler and Mr. Fabrizio, the arts program continues to value the instruction of craft, and students in the Lower and Middle Schools still attend shop classes. There, they learn the skills their predecessors did within the same four walls where every Country School student since 1936 has had the opportunity to create something out of wood. The machinery has been updated and the tools a bit refined, but the pleasant odor of the sawdust and the music of the hammers is still the same. The building is showing its age and is somewhat stuffy and cramped, but that has not dampened the enthusiasm of shop students, nor has it stifled the innovation that has characterized the program through its history. Metalsmithing classes, a recent addition to the shop offerings, are housed in a small shed adjacent to the shop; there, students have an opportunity to craft jewelry and other items out of metal and semi-precious stones. Under an open-sided, barn-like structure, the shop has expanded its footprint, and exciting innovations are taking

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The machinery has been updated and the tools a bit refined,

but the pleasant odor of the sawdust and the music of the hammers is still the same.

place annually. Totem poles have been carved and installed at the trailhead to the woods; ice boats have been built and launched on the frozen Hardon Pond; and in a most exciting endeavor, ninth graders designed and built a hand-powered, mechanical carousel complete with four hand-chiseled carousel horses, which has made a most welcome appearance at the past two Frogtown Fairs.

Today, as we begin to think ahead and plan for a new shop which will honor tradition and foster innovation, we take pride in all that has been accomplished behind that small, nondescript façade. As I stand in the shop, I’m struck by the value of this unique program which, in so many ways, fully embodies the breadth and depth of the Country School experience.

545 Ponus Ridge New Canaan, CT 06840

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address changes Please help us reduce our mailing costs and our carbon footprint by sending address changes to: Alumni@countryschool.net.

Calendar of Upcoming Events Young Alumni New York City Reception .......................Thursday, December 13 Alumni Career Networking .................................................. Thursday, January 10 New York City Reception .............................................................Thursday, April 4 Annual Alumni Award Presentation ...............................................Friday, May 17 Frogtown Fair and Alumni Picnic................................................Saturday, May 18 Alumni Art Show and Cocktail Reception .................................Saturday, May 18 Reunion Dinners: Classes of 1963, 1988, 2003 ...........................Saturday, May 18