vIcKy Zhang ’13
naIchI ShIh
Circiter | Featured on Campus
Not cowardly: Adam Cheung ’02 presented a traditional Lion Dance to help Groton celebrate the Chinese New Year. The School’s Chinese New Year celebration also included Chinese decorations, dumpling-making, a special karaoke event, and a trip to Chinatown in Boston.
A Groton Family’s Tragedy Prompts Cui Servire
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cathy LIncoLn
n late January, the family of Ysis Tarter ’11 lost all their belongings in an electrical fire at their home. A heartbroken but determined Groton community quickly took action. Math teacher Cathy Lincoln, an emergency medical technician for the Town of Groton, announced the tragedy at a faculty meeting and posted the news to internal conferences. She asked for help, in any form. The response was immediate: faculty, staff, and students—whether they knew Ysis or not— donated furniture, clothing, housewares, and cash, enough to help the Tarters get back on their feet. “Exactly one week after the fire, their apartment was fully furnished,” says Cathy. Students held fundraisers and about a dozen volunteered to move furniture. The load was substantial: the School provided a dining room table and chairs, while individuals handed over bunk beds, a bureau, a couch and chair, lamps, rugs, a microwave, pots and pans, dishes, and a plentiful supply of clothing for Sonya and Jerome Tarter, as well as their 12-yearold daughter and 7-year-old son (Ysis was safe at Stanford).
Nya Holder ’12, Nala Bodden ’15, Sarah Brooks ’12, Sarah Long ’12, Lydia Schulz ’12, Chris MacDonald ’12, Peter Laboy ’12, Kayode Dansalami ’12, Tim Morrill ’12, Winston Shi ’12, and Tyler Phelan ’12 helped the Tarters.
6 | Quarterly Spring 2012
The Tarters wrote this letter in response:
O
n Sunday, January 22, 2012, our family was stopped on the way home from church by a police officer; he informed us that our house was on fire. You can imagine the shock as we walked toward what was our home to see black smoke and broken windows. We thought about our memories, our loss, and the plan God had in store for us. As we stood outside, we saw a familiar face. Mr. Cheeks is not only a faculty member at the Groton School, our eldest daughter’s alma mater, but also a volunteer firefighter for the town. He provided comfort and even helped us to retrieve some of our belongings from the home. Nevertheless, we faced a great loss and could not recover many of the items that had made our house a home for the last few years. While we stayed at the hotel for three days, we prayed and tried not to worry. What mattered most was that our family was safe. We believe God was at work in the hearts of our family, the Groton School. Still, we never could have anticipated the great blessing we received from the Groton School. We were unaware that Mr. Cheeks had informed Cathy Lincoln. Also a volunteer firefighter, she understood the devastation a fire can bring and spearheaded the efforts of the Groton community to help us in our time of great need. She contacted family, students, and staff; within a few days Groton had blessed us with furniture, clothes, gift cards, cash assistance, and even toys for the kids in our new home. We were overwhelmed by the love, support, and commitment the Groton community has shown us during our time of crisis. We will always be grateful for your service and we can’t thank you enough for everything you have done. You will always be in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you. The Tarter Family