The Anchor, Spring 2023

GETTING INTO MATH

New Lower School

Curriculum Pinpoints Problem Solving

+ PLUS PRESCHOOL SPECIAL SUBJECTS

SAINTS MYSTERIES REVEALED

9 ALUMNI SHARE GSL'S IMPACT

RECOGNIZING OUR RETIREES

NEXT STEPS FOR CLASS OF 2023

Terrific Tigers Addison Fields and Walter Goodman –along with all their pre-kindergarten, junior kindergarten, and Little Luker classmates – helped beautify Miss Lee’s front entrance planters and the outdoor classroom during our annual Preschool Gardening Day.

LowerSchoolersarelearningalltheskillsneededforproductive problemsolvingthroughtheirnewIntoMathcurriculum.In thislesson,ThirdGraderOliviaBennettisworkingwithamath manipulative(playdough)torepresentandnamefractionson a number line.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

2022-23

Paul Morris, President

Ben Barksdale, Vice-President

Katrina Sanford, Secretary

Kathleen Behnke, Assistant Secretary

Sharon Shipley, Treasurer

Lauren Taylor, Assistant Treasurer

Jackie Butts

Emily Callahan

Natalie Davis

Kate Durbin

Linda Khumalo

Allison King

Margaret McLean

Luis Orbegoso

Zach Pretzer

Paula Sappington

Staci Somerville

Simon Wadsworth

Dr. Andy Surber, Head of School

The Reverend Ollie V. Rencher, Rector

The Right Reverend Phoebe Roaf, Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee

George Johnson, Senior Warden

Meghan Barksdale, Parents’ Association President

Head of School

Dr. Andy Surber

Editor

Brenda Berry

Managing Editor

Marci Woodmansee

Contributors

Sherry Emerson Kirsten Horton

Juan Roncal Kate Shelton

Photography

Jeff White Marci Woodmansee

About the Cover

Photo by Jeff White.

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dr. Andy Surber

Dear GSL Community,

Each day I arrive at work, I pause, take a deep breath, and offer a quick word of appreciation for playing a role in the life of Grace-St. Luke’s School. This school is such a special place for students and families to learn and grow! I am often asked about goals I have for the school, and having goals is important. They provide direction, offer accountability, and measure progress. Being new to the community, I hold many aspirations for the work ahead – some personal and some professional. One goal that I spend a significant amount of time, thought, and energy on is uniting our community around all things GSL.

When thinking about everyone who makes our school community special, a saying from Ted Lasso comes to mind that I feel fits perfectly. When Coach Lasso introduces two of his friends to each other, he has a saying that goes, “Congratulations, you just met a cool person.” This sentiment could not be more true when talking about the people and events at GSL this year. The opportunities for all of us to meet, connect, deepen relationships, and celebrate our community have been plentiful, and every person involved has had a chance to make a positive impact that strengthens us all! GSL is a dynamic place, and I venture to say that not a week goes by without an event that brings people together. Some events are HUGE – like our 75th Anniversary party, the beautiful Lower School Advent-Christmas Evening Chapel Service, and the outstanding Anchor Auction. Others revolve around our fine arts and athletics programs, including theater performances, art shows, music concerts, and contests that take place at the field, in the gym, or even out at Shelby Farms.

While the opportunity to unite and celebrate our students, faculty, staff, and coaches is often the reason behind these events, the real magic (and what makes our school so very special) is the connection between families. We are a community, and community only exists through the interactions and connections we all share. It takes intentional effort, and for that I thank you. The GSL community is not one we should ever take for granted, and it only exists through our combined efforts to relationship-build. Thank you for taking the time to be there for your children, our school, and each other. The extra effort is evident as we work together to make our school all it can be, and the results are easy to see!

Again, thank you all for welcoming me back to this amazing community this year. I look forward to what's ahead as we set the stage for the next 75 years at GSL.

Go, Saints!

Andy Surber, Ed.D. Head of School

LETTER FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT

Paul Morris

Dear GSL Community,

It’s been fun celebrating our school’s 75th anniversary this year! Our 75 classes of GSL graduates have gone on to accomplish great things and to make the world a better place. These graduates – these Lukers for Life – got their start here and were formed by GSL’s excellent academic program and our strong character education grounded in our Episcopal identity. Through its graduates, GSL has made – and continues to make – a huge positive impact on Memphis and beyond.

We would not have thrived over the past seven and a half decades without the constant love and support of the individual members of our community: all the generations of teachers, staff, and administrators; all the parent volunteers; all the generous donors; all our alumni who have given back to GSL. We owe these past generations thanks.

What will make us successful over the next 75 years?

You!

Seriously, YOU who are reading these words. No matter your connection to our school, we need your active participation in the life of our community. We need your volunteer hours, your leadership, and your generous financial donations. We can’t take our success for granted or rest on our laurels; we each need to do our part to ensure that our boys and girls thrive.

Plus, I’ve found, deepening your participation with GSL will enrich your own life and, if you are a parent, make your children’s time at GSL more meaningful. Our unique community is our greatest asset, and the more you are involved and give back, the more you benefit, along with your family and the whole GSL community.

Our mission is to prepare boys and girls to become creative problem solvers, confident lifelong learners, and responsible citizens in their communities and the world. Thank you to each of you who have modeled being a responsible citizen in our GSL community through your leadership, your work, and your philanthropic donations.

GSL’s future is brighter than ever. We have a strong foundation built upon our long history. We have generations of successful graduates reflecting our values to the world. We have a loving, welcoming community. We have new, energetic leadership and the best teachers. And… we have YOU!

I know that with your help, GSL will continue to thrive.

Sincerely,

Paul Morris President, Board of Trustees

PRESCHOOL

Fun in February

Little Lukers Lena Turner, Mills Meyer, Calvin Chisholm, and Emma Bowden enjoy the Valentine’s-themed sensory bin exploration table in the Cheerful Cheetahs room.

Hyped for Halloween

The Preschool Halloween Parade is a favorite fall event, and the whole school turns out to cheer on our tiny trick-or-treaters. Little Luker Teacher Katie Longoria walks the parade route with Jolly Giraffes Porter Burress and Maggie Connor, followed by Assistant Teacher Reece Chadwick holding Wise Stephenson, as the older students cheer them on.

Anchor Gym Outing

Pre-Kindergartners made a rare visit to Celebration with the big kids to see the annual First Grade Hip Hop Performance. Front row: Ryan Scott, May Adrian, Astrid Proveaux; middle: Ruth Fingerhut, Preston Butts, Oliver Higgins; back: Joshua Laizure, Whit Harrigan, Margo McDermott, Evelyn Bartkiewicz.

Run, Run, As Fast As You Can… The Junior Kindergarten

Lucky Llamas’ search for the elusive Gingerbread Man (a longtime junior kindergarten tradition) took them all the way to the Administrative Office, where they found an important clue in the Christmas tree!

Exciting Times Ahead

Liam Rixon, Jennings Callahan, and Jack McKee lead the way during the Fourth Grade visit to Fifth Grade, a funfilled Middle School look-ahead event. They went to Middle School chapel, took mini-lessons in math, English, and science, and even experienced snack time in Lass Hall!

You Had to Be There

First Graders Mellie East and Hunt Durbin share a laugh during birthday announcements at Celebration.

Feliz Navidad

John Wyatt Bayzie proudly displays his presentation on Mexico during Third Grade’s annual Holidays Around the World event.

Loving Friendships

Second Grader Layla Butts regularly stops by the Peppy Panda room to see her Senior Kindergarten friend Ayla Chahal before heading to class.

Hanging with the Big Kids

Senior Kindergarten buddies Aiden Williams and Maren Lamanna enjoy a joke during Read Across America Day with Eighth Grader Rishon Miller.

CAMPUS LIFE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Taking Care of Others

Every year the fifth graders lead a school-wide Food Drive for the Mid-South Food Bank and GSL Church Food Pantry. This year they collected more than 4,000 items to donate to those in need.

We Love Books

Partnering older students with their younger peers is one of our favorite parts of Read Across America Day at GSL. Pre-Kindergartner Virginia Robinson is all ears for Sixth Grader Eloise West’s read-aloud.

Hooray for Hoodies

Expanding Perspectives

Seventh graders in Sarah Ranson’s World Religions class take field trips to different houses of worship to better understand the cultures and faith traditions they’re studying. Memphis Islamic Center's Layth Fethi (center) recently hosted Izzy Stuart, Lily Woodmansee, Lucy Unglesby, Corinne Richardson, Santi Orbegoso, Talat Thomas, Lucian Hanson, Campbell McLean, Christopher Price, Milo Jacobs, and Aiden Walker.

Sharing Their Stories

Eliza Roberts and Eddie Ferguson share a laugh with Head of Middle School Ellen Hendry before delivering their Eighth Grade Chapel Talks in January.

Sixth Graders Scarlet Malone, Morgan Lambert, Chandler Somerville, and Ella Smith rep the Class of 2025 at the highly anticipated Hoodie Party, a favorite annual tradition at GSL.

INTERNSHIPS CONTINUE TO INSPIRE IN 16TH YEAR OF PROGRAM

Our eighth graders had some amazing internship experiences this year both in Memphis and outside the region. As Middle School Dean of Students and Internship Advisor Kimberly White said, “Not sure how we’re going to top this year – it’s been one for the books!”

Wesley Whitaker learned about the business of American professional soccer with Memphis 901 FC.

Shane

enjoyed some moments on court with our favorite NBA All-Stars during his marketing internship with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Graham Davis shadowed sportswriter Lang Whitaker during his internship with Grind City Media.

Martha Mitchell makes cookies at Muddy’s Bake Shop.

Taheim Elohem learned the ins and outs of the restaurant business during his internship with GSL alumni parent Lee Scifres, owner of Belly Acres.

Ruby Brunson shadowed some veteran preschool teachers – alumnae Jeremie Upshaw ’87 and Meg Comes ’80 – during her internship at PDS.

Caroline Byrnes learned about the jewelry design business with Mimi Danosky at Brave Designs.

Stella Dyer shadowed Dr. Courtney Woodmansee during her internship at Memphis Dermatology Clinic.

Barron

Bear Danosky polished his animal caregiving skills while working at the Memphis Zoo.

Tyhler Dowden learned about event management during his internship with Levy Caterers.

Anna Ratton examines a brave, furry friend during her internship at Eastgate Animal Clinic.

Andrew Strickland maintains his focus while plating ribs at the Rendezvous.

SPECIAL SUBJECTS ENRICH PRESCHOOL DAYS

From Fun & Fitness classes to Spanish, mindfulness, and more, specials reinforce learning at Miss Lee’s

Wiggle like an earthworm! Fly like an airplane! High, low, fast, slow… Little Luker, Pre-Kindergarten, and Junior Kindergarten students are accustomed to hearing these types of instructions during their weekly Fun & Fitness classes this year, and they happily oblige. Fun & Fitness is one of six “special subjects” currently included in the Preschool curriculum, enhancing the educational experience and helping shape this lively center of activity where children learn by doing, sharing, and experiencing.

Fun & Fitness

Instructor: Robert Ward | 1x/week

Getting dedicated time to develop gross motor skills and “play with a purpose” is a critical component of the Preschool day, according to Head of Preschool Cynthia Hill, and selecting Robert Ward as the instructor this year has brought new energy to the class. In addition to his 20+ years of work at GSL, Ward is the founder of the awardwinning M-Town Image Dance Troupe. And during his time at GSL, he’s also become the instructor for our annual First Grade Hip Hop performance (for 15 years now), and choreographer for the 4th-8th grade dance routines performed at the Father-Daughter Dance. With his background in dance and music, gentle spirit, and ready smile, he has been a natural fit for work with our youngest students.

“The students really get into it; they love Mr. Robert,” Hill says. “And as one of our only male teachers here, he has a presence they really respond to. He is able to incorporate so much of his background in dance and music into what he does; they just have a ball.”

Because the expansive After School Care space is equipped with a smart board, instruction often incorporates a fitness app with videos. And in addition to gross motor exercises like skipping and hopping, Ward also introduces hands-on athletic activities like catching or kicking a ball, a precursor to skills they’ll utilize when they move on to P.E. instruction in Lower School.

Spanish Instructor: Carmen Navarro

2x/week

When Spanish Teacher Carmen Navarro rolls her teaching materials into the Preschool, you start to hear children calling out “¡Hola!” as soon as she walks in the door. In her second year teaching at GSL, Navarro has won students over with her engaging lessons and warm personality. At an age when language acquisition comes naturally, children explore Spanish through music, games, and stories, including read-alouds, dancing, and general introduction to the rhythms and sounds of the language.

“She’s been phenomenal,” Hill says. “One lesson each week is typically in small groups, and the other time is more total immersion, but it’s always very interactive. With her plush toy monkey Macaco, who only speaks Spanish, she incorporates food and cooking and fun. She’ll hold class outside when the weather’s nice, on the playground or in the outdoor classroom. From singing, to storytelling, to conversation, her cheerful personality really brings Spanish to life, and her happiness at GSL is contagious!”

Library Instructor: Laura Lemly Willis

1x/month (LL and PK); 2x/month (JK)

With a dedicated early childhood librarian on staff –former Junior Kindergarten Teacher Laura Lemly Willis –it’s a given that library instruction is perfectly tailored to the Preschool age student at GSL. Classes are designed to introduce our youngest children to the school library and to foster a lifelong love of books and reading. Read-alouds include songs and movement, and Willis and her husband, Director of Library Services Jan Willis, redesigned a special corner of the Anchor Library last year with a cozy rug and soft animal cushions that are perfect for Preschoolers who may want to settle in or stretch out. Students are introduced to a wide variety of books, including fiction, nonfiction, and wordless picture books. Thoughtfully

selected Formative Five and DEI story offerings allow students to learn more about the world and recognize the uniqueness of every human being.

Tinker Lab

Instructor: Cynthia Hill | 2x/month

With creative, collaborative activities that are often STEMfocused, Tinker Lab is, according to Director of Enrollment Shelly McGuire, a favorite stop for parents on admissions tours. Taught by Head of Preschool Cynthia Hill, the lightfilled maker space is set up to spark students’ imaginations as soon as they walk through the door.

“We try to give students extra time to think outside the box during Tinker Lab, to be creative in terms of engineering and imagining things,” Hill explains. “Recently we talked about spring, and what’s happening outside –asking them to notice trees budding, or flowers blooming. Every visit they’re introduced to new concepts, with an artistic component, and I ask a lot of open-ended questions such as, ‘How would you build this?’ or ‘What do you think about that?’ The junior kindergartners recently did a building project tied to a storybook they’d read, The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires.

“I love hearing from parents how excited their kids are about what they do in Tinker Lab. We love giving students the chance to think and build and create in here!”

Discover ME Mindfulness

Instructor: Linda Hudgins; 2x/month

Founded by Memphis educator Jamie Goldring, the movement and mindfulness program Discover ME was created with a simple-sounding but deceptively challenging goal: helping kids manage their behavior and emotions. Discover ME stories, discussions, and activities teach children specific skills and strategies to do this. These essential skills of impulse-control, self-awareness, and paying attention equip children with strategies that will be valuable throughout their lives.

“Our kids love it, and it’s all about helping them understand why they react the way they do, and giving them tools to better control their bodies, emotions, and feelings,” Hill says.

Goldring’s instructors use tools like a mindfulness basket that may have a shaker or glitter jar for students to hold.

PRESCHOOL

They shake the jar, watch the glitter settle, and learn to become calmer as that visualization helps settle their emotions. There are stretchy bands they use to slow their breathing, and they learn the flower-candle breath technique – breathing slowly in and out – to learn ways to focus, be present, and calm down.

“Teachers have incorporated many of these techniques into their day-to-day classroom management,” Hill adds. “You’ll hear teachers saying, ‘You need to take a flowercandle breath, you can’t talk when you’re so upset!’”

To learn more about the program, visit breathewithmetoday.com.

Musik Adventure Studios

Instructor: Annette Morris | 1x/week

Founded by Memphian Annette Morris, Musik Adventure Studios is a top Kindermusik program and the largest such program in Tennessee, whose mission is to provide joyful, engaging activities that promote school readiness, lifelong learners, and a more confident, kinder generation. The Musik Adventures curriculum engages the children in weekly activities that encourage multisensory learning, stimulating multiple areas of the brain at once. Exploring musical concepts throughout the year introduces students to different genres and styles that help foster a lifelong love and appreciation for music.

“Instructors will bring in instruments, like sticks, bells, and shakers,” Hill says. “It’s a fun opportunity to incorporate a little music, dance, and movement in students' lives and routines here, and for some it may be their first introduction to instruments.”

To learn more about the program, visit musikadventures.com.

Learn More about Preschool

Along with weekly chapel visits from GSL church clergy, as well as ongoing studies and inquiry-based learning in the outdoor classroom (a certified Natural Wildlife Habitat by Natural Wildlife Federation), the specials described here help round out the curriculum at GSL in a profound way.

For more details, scan here to access our Programs of Study.

From Left: Pre-Kindergartners fly like airplanes with Fun & Fitness Teacher Robert Ward; Ryan Scott creates artwork of budding trees in Tinker Lab; Laura Lemly Willis reads to preschoolers during Library time; Spanish Teacher Carmen Navarro shares a story with junior kindergartners.

LOWER SCHOOL GETS “INTO MATH” NEW CURRICULUM BUILDS PRODUCTIVE PERSEVERANCE IN PROBLEM SOLVING

During most of the 2021-22 school year, a Lower School faculty math committee collaborated with Middle School math faculty to review new curriculum options that would enhance conceptual learning for our senior kindergarten through fourth grade students. The committee ultimately decided to move from our previous McGraw-Hill Everyday Math curriculum to the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) Into Math program in August 2022. Head of Lower School Marti McCloud has guided and supported the senior kindergarten-fourth grade teachers in this launch and is pleased with the results to date in the first year of implementation.

“We decided to make the switch because we were interested in adopting a curriculum that offered students more practice with a set of skills or thinking strategies, before spiraling to a new concept,” McCloud explains. “In other words, we were looking for ways to offer more time for mastery, which would move students along to more advanced skills earlier than we were doing with Everyday Math. Into Math is a problem-solving based program, in which children learn computation and, more importantly, the skills and concepts needed to solve word problems. Because once children begin tackling word problems with multiple operations to consider, there is a lot of critical thinking that has to occur.”

McCloud knows that word problems can conjure visceral memories for many adults… not necessarily pleasant! Into Math’s curriculum offers student-centered teaching strategies that support conceptual learning necessary for the successful application of computational skills.

“I watched our fourth graders recently and they were nailing it – circling and underlining the operations and identifying the important information,” she says. “We’re excited to see our fourth grade students tackling these more complex problems successfully thanks to the thinking strategies we’re teaching.”

According to HMH, Into Math’s goal is inspiring students to see themselves as doers of mathematics and instilling a positive attitude toward math. By putting students at the center, the curriculum aims to create fearless problem solvers and what HMH terms “productive perseverance in problem solving” that lets students apply their knowledge to higher-level mathematics and beyond. Their strategies help students develop strong number sense and understand math concepts, rather than just memorize the steps for solving a problem.

Middle School Math Teacher Lyn Forsyth is excited about the new curriculum’s focus on word problems, and what it means for Lower Schoolers’ development in mathematics. “Because word problems are open to interpretation as to where to begin, which skills to use, and in what order, [they] require a deep understanding on the part of the student to determine for themselves how to solve a particular problem,” she explains. “Learning math through word problems helps students see the relevance of the foundational skills they have previously developed.”

As Lower School faculty members implemented the curriculum this year, they made notes about what’s working well, and what parts they will tweak or adjust next school year.

“The pace is pretty measured in senior kindergarten,” McCloud says. “For example, SK spent a lot of time mastering number sense, and by spring, we were introducing operations where the problem is backwards with a missing addend, like 5 = 2 + ___, or 2 = 7 - ___. That’s pretty complicated for kindergartners; it’s algebraic thinking. We’ve never focused on missing addends this early, so even if it seems like we’re focusing on just the numbers 1-5 and 5-10 for so long, we’re really diving deep into the part-whole relationship and what that means.”

Multiplication units also moved at a measured pace in third grade, but students were going deeper with concepts such as multiplication, division and their conceptual relationship with fractions. "We are seeing results from spending time building conceptual thinking and connecting concepts with skills, like the relationships between multiplication and division and fractions, and part-part-whole thinking. Students are able to practice skills and then apply the concepts flexibly when a word problem calls for it.”

Another reason Lower School landed on Into Math was because it was conducive to the small group work necessary for differentiated instruction that can meet individual needs of students. As Middle School’s math faculty members prepare to launch their own curriculum review, Forsyth believes Lower School students will be well-prepared to advance to the next level.

“Math is not learned for the next test grade,” she says. “Math is necessary to understand the world around us and is critical in most every career. I would go so far as to say that math is necessary to navigate life in the 21st century!”

Into Math Highlights

• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt curriculum

• Problem-solving based program

• Designed with logical progression of skill development

• Created to instill a positive attitude toward math

• Helps students build number sense and conceptual understanding

• Encourages skill practice and flexible application of concepts

• Offers thinking and planning strategies to solve multi-step word problems

• Supports small group work Scan

New Classroom Furniture Chosen to Enhance Learning in Lower School

By Kirsten Horton, Senior Kindergarten Teacher

The math curriculum isn’t the only new feature this year in GSL’s Lower School. Over Christmas Break, classrooms were refurnished with brand new tables, desks, and chairs from VS America (see photo 2). Head of Lower School Marti McCloud guided the thoughtful selection of pieces based on environmental psychology research. Teachers also played a role in choosing the furniture that would lead to engaged collaboration within their specific classrooms, the aim being to create the best possible learning environment for students.

Each table and desk has a natural finish, which produces calming feelings for students and reduces eye strain. Research shows that furniture like this with curved edges leads to feelings of positivity and optimism. Additionally, the light blue color of the chairs is shown to enhance creativity and promote memory. They even have a little bounce for active bodies! The improved aesthetic has inspired many teachers to refresh their overall classroom design. Win-win for both faculty and students, and GSL was pleased to be able to donate the previous furniture to Promise Academy.

FE(1) Second graders Zoe Wood, Elizabeth Snow, (2) Andy Balk, and Morgan Farmer play Guess My Number. (3) Third grader Celia Sanders competes for a win in Fractions Bingo. (4 & 5) Teachers Caroline Canon and Abby Hensley divide their senior kindergartners into small groups for differentiated math instruction.

Portrait of a Graduate O

ur proudest moments at GSL come around every spring, when we prepare to launch another graduating class into high school. Setting them on the next phase of their educational journey is always exciting, especially when we’ve only just begun to see their potential and glimpse what they may accomplish next.

“The kids we graduate are just special … we consider them a cut above the rest, and the high schools validate this for us every year,” says Ellen Hendry, Head of Middle School. “From the Preschool on, we truly get to know the whole child, and we accept them for who they are, no matter where they are at any point. Because of that, our kids really know they are loved, even when they mess up or they struggle. And knowing this, they develop a healthy self-concept and wonderful self-confidence.”

Our co-ed, Episcopal, Preschool-8th grade model is designed to inspire a love of learning, to kindle lifelong friendships, to foster mentorship between grades, and to recognize the unique, inherent worth of every individual. And GSL graduates are widely known as kind and thoughtful students who go on to make a difference in their high school and college communities.

GSL’s Portrait of a Graduate outlines the traits we aim to instill in our students by the time they finish eighth grade. (Scan the QR code below to learn more.)

• GSL graduates are innovative and willing to take risks.

• GSL graduates have strong character.

• GSL graduates have a love of learning that inspires them to seek knowledge.

• GSL graduates have a real-world sense of themselves and others.

• GSL graduates are spiritual while respecting the beliefs of others.

To help illustrate what that looks like in the real world, we reached out to some Saints alumni from different decades for an update on where they are now and how GSL helped them get there. We hope you’ll be as inspired as we are by their stories. Their accomplishments are no surprise to Hendry, who sees the GSL experience transform students’ lives every year.

“I’m always confident that our eighth graders are going to go on and be successful,” she says. “Those are the anecdotes we hear from their high school and college years and beyond. They are high-achieving kids and not just on paper. We graduate really good people. I mean, what more could you wish for?!”

Dr. Carlos Clardy ’92

UTHSC Instructor, Department of Physical Therapy

• University of Memphis: pursuing Doctor of Education in Instructional Design and Technology

• Passed Board exam for Geriatric Clinical Specialist (’22)

• University of Tennessee Health Science Center: Doctor of Physical Therapy, ’11

• Middle Tennessee State University: B.S. in Exercise Science ’99, MBA ’01; Academic and Athletic Scholarships (Men’s Track)

• White Station High School ’95

My parents were in healthcare (mom as a nurse and dad as a physical therapist). Growing up I was able to observe my dad in his profession. I wanted to continue that tradition, not only making a difference in my patients’ lives, but also assisting students with a passion for physical therapy to achieve their goals, which led me into academia.

GSL taught me at an early age how to study and how to prepare. The faculty always challenged me to perform at my highest level. Having those challenges early in life kept me driven. So many teachers were influential! I instantly think of Martha Akin, Joy Rice, Sarah Black, Jim Lassandrello, and Russ Cangelosi. I owe everything I am to these teachers and many more I didn’t mention. They provided an education in academics, but really more in life. They all had to have hard conversations with me while I was growing up, and I cannot thank them enough.

The main thing I will say is GSL is family. Many of my closest friends are those that went to GSL. And there are people from GSL who I don’t see often, but when I do, we are close again and it’s just like family because of that GSL bond. I am and will always be proud to say that I am a Luker!

9th Grade, GSL

John Adrian ’98 Senior Director for Business Operations, The University of Mississippi Co-owner, Oxford's Circle & Square Brewing Co. (Opening

Summer 2023)

• Harvard Extension School: Graduate Certificate in Organizational Behavior Studies ’21

• University of Mississippi: Master of Accountancy ‘07; B.S. Accounting and Business/Management ’06, cum laude

• Certified Public Accountant (passed all four tests the first time!)

• Memphis University School ’02

If you told me early in my career that I would have spent most of it thus far in the education industry, I would not have believed it. I had no idea there was a whole world out there on the business side of education.

My degree and the early experience in Big Four accounting opened up doors to other opportunities. But after getting burned out in the audit practice and trying out a role in the financial services industry, I found myself a little lost. I called it my “quarterlife” crisis! I still enjoyed accounting and finance, but I needed more purpose, so I started looking for ways to use my education and experience to support an organization that served a greater good. It just so happened that in 2010, GSL was looking for a Director of Finance and Operations, and I couldn’t think of a better place to match up my skills with my desire to serve. Former Head of School Tom Beazley took a chance on a young accountant, and I held that role for six years.

It’s hard to quantify the impact GSL has had on me! The Christian foundation provided a strong sense of service and higher purpose. The sports teams instilled a work ethic and team-focused discipline. Serving on the Honor Council reinforced truth and integrity as extremely valuable principles in my life. The academic rigor set me up for success in high school, college, and beyond. I am especially grateful for the emphasis on reading, comprehension, and writing that provided a platform for success. While you might not think those are important skills for an accountant, the ability to problem solve and communicate clearly is a key differentiator in the business world. My GSL education polished my creative thinking and problem solving skills, regardless of the subject.

Mr. Wallace, who taught 7th and 8th grade history, was very influential to me. He made history fun, but we also had a quiz every day, which taught me the value of preparation. So many other teachers also lit up my brain, and made me feel known and loved: Mrs. Prewitt in 1st grade, Mrs. McAtee in 2nd grade, Mrs. Stevens in 3rd

grade, Mrs. Glueck in art, Mrs. Gault in science and math, and many others.

There are many ways to have a fulfilling career using your gifts and following your passions. Each endeavor will lead you to discover more about yourself. Think about what you want to accomplish down the road and build habits that position you to reach those long-term goals. You also have to connect yourself to a purpose. One of my favorite quotes is from Teddy Roosevelt: “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” There is a lot of work out there worth doing, so find something that fits your abilities and passions and work hard!

General Manager, Huey’s Restaurants

• GSL Alumni Association Board Member

• Certified Hospitality Supervisor (American Hotel & Lodging)

• University of Alabama: Bachelor’s degree in Restaurant and Hospitality Management ’10

• Christian Brothers High School ’06; Student Ambassador, Alumni Board

Being raised in a hospitality family had everything to do with my ultimate career. Huey's was always a part of who we are, but more importantly, the lifestyle we lived was much more hospitality than restaurants – the outside events, giving back to the community, and helping ensure others had a good time and were taken care of. I enjoyed watching the smiles on people's faces as we fed them at events. I enjoyed the staff members of nonprofits telling us how much of an impact we made in their world. That is what drew me back into the hospitality industry. I also happen to enjoy flipping burgers, so that helps!

The lessons learned at GSL that stick out as impactful in my life are those that helped me learn who I wanted to be as a person. Being part of a community with an emphasis on inclusivity, and seeing the importance placed on community work and giving back, and the lessons we learned about a person's core values had such a significant impact on me. Those are memories I still think back on to this day.

Class trips helped with my transition to high school and adulthood in learning how to branch out and get out of my comfort zone. Ms. Reddick's theater classes and performing in a play provided one of the first chances for me to see who I really am. And the way Mr. Beazley

8th Grade, GSL

Alex Boggs ’02

8th Grade, GSL

listened and gave advice to me as an eighth grade boy was invaluable.

I would tell GSL students today to choose a career for who you are and what you want to do. Don’t choose one for who you think someone else wants you to be, and certainly don’t choose one for money or lifestyle. The older you get and the more you develop your own family and ways, the less important anything like that becomes.

Alex Boggs mentored GSL’s J.W. Curry ’23 at Huey’s during this year’s 8th Grade Internship Project.

The impact of Tina Gault, Tom Beazley, Thor Kvande, and Paige Henson during my 7th and 8th grade years cannot be overstated. When I was faced with challenges due to my learning differences, these incredible teachers provided me with unwavering emotional and educational support. They helped me overcome academic hurdles and instilled in me a sense of self-assurance that my learning differences did not define me or limit me in any way. Their impact on my life has been truly profound, and I will forever be grateful for the care and attention they showed me during those formative years.

I would tell GSL students what I share with my young actors. I always encourage them to stay open-minded and embrace new experiences. I often share the quote, "Comparison is the thief of joy." It's a powerful reminder that comparing oneself to others can rob you of the satisfaction of pursuing your own dreams and forging your own unique path. Your journey is yours alone, so embrace your passions and purpose, and remember that each day is a precious gift to live life to the fullest!

Founder/Lead Coach, K. Nichols Studio, New York AVP & Product Manager in Blackstone’s Technology & Innovations group supporting the Blackstone Charitable Foundation

• University of Memphis: B.F.A., Communication & Leadership ’13, magna cum laude; 4-year talent scholarship, theater; 4-year Emerging Leaders scholarship

• Northpoint Christian School ’09

From a young age, I always loved performing and the platform it could provide to convey meaningful stories. My first leading role was on the GSL stage as the White Witch in Narnia, and I went on to perform at other venues, including Playhouse on the Square, Ivoryton Playhouse (Connecticut), and OffBroadway in NYC.

Today, I serve as a teacher and mentor through my studio, which offers virtual lessons and workshops for young actors pursuing performance training for fun or because they want to pursue a professional career in entertainment. I have also worked as a voiceover actor and voiced commercials for Apple, Kohl's, DKNY, Lay’s, and theatrical roles for Lifetime Movie Network and Nickelodeon, to name a few!

Throughout my journey, the friends and teachers I've had at GSL have been an endless source of inspiration and support. Leslie Reddick's unwavering dedication and passion for teaching and directing have left an indelible mark on me. She attended almost all of my shows, even throughout college, and her belief in me was a constant source of confidence and motivation as I worked in entertainment and media.

Urban Planner/Research Fellow, Works Community Development Corporation

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Ph.D. Candidate, ’27

• Harvard University Graduate School of Design: Master’s degree in Urban Planning with distinction, ’20; recipient of Urban Planning Thesis Prize

• University of Virginia: B.A., Political and Social Thought with distinction, ’18; Jefferson Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa; William Lee Miller Thesis Prize

• White Station High School ’14

Right now I have one foot in Boston and the other in Memphis. I chose MIT because their urban planning program celebrates community-based research and real-world problem solving. My favorite professor comes to class right after speaking to the Boston City Council or working directly with grassroots nonprofits. It’s a community of academics who aren’t stuck in the ivory tower. They’re actively working with and researching alongside residents and community leaders.

When I was in high school, I worked at Shelby Farms; my first job was tending their 40-foot long bison manure pile. I had the chance to teach after school programs in their community garden, and to start a garden alongside classmates at White Station. I’m a horrible gardener –everything I grow dies! But I loved collectively planning the community space and building a coalition of people who could make something grow.

Katelyn Nichols ’05

8th Grade, GSL

8th Grade, GSL

In college, my favorite professor at the University of Virginia also taught classes in a low-income housing development. She brought me along, and I worked with the youth resident leadership team to shape the redesign of their playgrounds and apartment units. I went on to get my master’s in urban planning and moved back to start my career in my hometown with the Works Community Development Corporation. I had the opportunity to work on a team that paired 13,000 tenants facing eviction to rent relief and representation during the pandemic, and to assist with a range of anti-displacement affordable housing development initiatives. I’m still with Works now throughout my Ph.D., studying the impact of their affordable housing efforts.

My mom had a saying when I was growing up: “There are no bad days at GSL.” I remember being unconditionally supported at GSL to pursue whatever path I wanted. I loved Celebrations, when the whole school gathers to cheer the small and big ways we care for each other. I remember us bursting into applause when a teacher recognized a student who held the door even though no one asked them to. It was a moment of saying “I see you,” even for the smallest acts of kindness that we should collectively lift up more often.

Francie Sentilles

MSPH Candidate at Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Morehead-Cain Scholarship Recipient

• Finishing Master’s of Science in Public Health (MSPH) in Environmental Sciences and Engineering ’23

• Fulbright Scholar ’22

• BSPH in Environmental Health Science and B.A. Anthropology ’21

• Hutchison School ’17

My main focus this semester at UNCChapel Hill is writing and defending my technical report, which is the equivalent of a thesis for my degree path. My report analyzes the health impacts of disaster response activities on fishing communities in Bahia, Brazil, following the country’s largest documented oil spill, which began in fall 2019. I’m working with data from epidemiological questionnaires and semistructured interviews, most of which I collected last year while doing my fieldwork in Brazil with support from a Fulbright Research/Open Study Award. My core research team includes a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and two professors at Brazil’s Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) in Salvador, Brazil.

Urban planning has a lot to do with that. Neighborhood and affordable housing development is all about celebrating long-time resident leaders who have tirelessly been working to improve their communities in big and small ways. It’s the planner’s job to lift them up, connect them to resources, and put them at the wheel of decision making. I credit GSL for teaching me so much about celebrating and caring for your community.

So many influential teachers come to mind at GSL – like Leslie Reddick, who taught me acting, public speaking, self-confidence, and pushed our full cast to perform at our best. Lyn Forsyth and Brenda Hawkins, who inspired me to become an educator simply because I could see they found such deep joy in teaching. Kimberly White and Tina Gault, who pushed for excellence and were exceptional mentors.

I would tell current students to learn from people committed to the causes you care about. Chances are, someone is out there trying to solve an issue you’re interested in. From volunteering with different nonprofits I learned so much about relationship building, and community resources and needs, which pointed me to the planning field today. Volunteer experiences can be some of your most formative work experiences.

In a few years I’ll return to school for a Ph.D. in environmental epidemiology or behavioral health. I just started applying for jobs in environmental or public health nonprofit roles. Right now, two graduate student peers and I are developing an environmental crisis training to help community members access more resources when incidents similar to the oil spill occur. We received a Community Engagement Fellowship from UNC’s Carolina Center for Public Service that will allow us to return to a few of the communities where I did fieldwork last year to pilot the training. Working with the fishers is definitely the most rewarding part of my role, so I’m really excited that I will have another opportunity to visit these sites and share what our team has learned. Sometimes the research focus in academia can seem more important than putting the findings in action, so it’s really exciting and meaningful that our team will get to use our results to meet a community-identified need.

So many things at GSL impacted my work in high school and college. For research papers in middle school, there was a really specific writing process that we had to learn. Finding sources online and documenting where every idea came from seemed so tedious. Turns out, I had to use those skills for nearly every assignment in

’13

8th Grade, GSL

My mom had a saying when I was growing up:

“ There are no bad days at GSL.”

college and graduate school, so I’m grateful that I started learning them early on. It made the research process more accessible, and pursuing a research-oriented degree less intimidating.

The community-mindedness of GSL has had a big influence on my current work. Artisanal fishing in Brazil is very collaborative; all the fishers know each other, work together, and have their own community organizing systems. Growing up in a tight-knit community like GSL helped me understand why that matters and motivated me to help these fishers preserve their lifestyles and communities.

When I think of influential teachers at GSL, the first that comes to mind is Mr. Boyd, my 7th/8th grade science teacher and track/cross-country coach. I was quite a perfectionist and very goal-oriented at that time, and Mr. Boyd really challenged me, not just in the classroom but also in sports. I think he wanted me to chill out a bit and realize I would be okay even if I didn't meet every one of my goals. There’s no way I would’ve been confident enough to move to Brazil last year if I had held on to that level of perfectionism!

I would tell current GSL students to be open-minded! Your interests will probably change a lot over the next few years, so follow what’s exciting to you, and be open to something new if that excitement fades.

I fell in love with the work of True and, more importantly, the team. They must have liked me enough to keep me around, and I joined the investment team earlier this year. I changed my major nine times while at Carolina. I never really settled on one and, instead, designed my own interdisciplinary major in Behavioral Data (my dad still asks me what that even means). Clearly, I was not decisive in what I wanted to pursue, and at my most insecure moments, this terrified the type-A part of me. However, in hindsight, it was the most fruitful way to spend my college career because I got to be excited about many distinct areas without ever feeling tied to one.

When I discovered True and the work of venture capital, I realized that there is actually a job that allows you to do just that: learn about wildly interesting ideas and meet the smartest people working on them, every day! Needless to say, I was sold. My days are spent meeting people who are creating technologies that are changing the way humans interact with each other and operate today as we know it. It's an incredible feeling to walk into every meeting and think this might be the one – the one to create a life changing biotechnology or mitigate climate change or expand financial freedom to all.

Our job at True is to empathetically connect with a company founder’s ideas and excitement and translate their vision to those who don't see it yet. That work is all about people. The same skill set that is required to be a good friend is required of a good early stage investor. When I think of where I learned that, it's not in any college lecture hall or online seminar; it's at GSL, in all the great and messy moments from Miss Lee's playground to the Nantahala River. GSL gave me the space to mess up and learn to love better, and taught me how to trust others and myself – and that's maybe the most important skill I practice in my job today.

GSL teachers have a special ability to ensure students feel seen. They let us spend hours sitting on top of desks during lunch asking them questions about their lives, they entertained our antics on class trip bus rides, they stood by us when we were frustrated on the court, and above all, they saw us not for who we were then but who they believed we could become. I am certain I would not have had the confidence to discern what I want and then to ask for it if it had not been for my GSL teachers modeling to me that I deserved to be in whatever room I dreamed to be in.

• University

• Morehead-Cain Scholarship

• Bachelor’s degree in Applied Behavioral Analysis '22

• St. Mary’s Episcopal School ’18

True Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in smart people doing weird things. We're industry agnostic and follow where our founders go. I was first introduced to True through their fellowship program where I worked as a product manager for one of their portfolio companies, Hatch. That summer 8th Grade, GSL

When I tell my college friends that I'm texting my middle school English teacher or sitting by my fourth grade teacher at church, they sort of take a pause. I try to explain to them that this is normal, but then I'm reminded, it's not! And for that reason, even more important.

The advice I’d give GSL students today is to go where good people are, and once you find them, hold on to them. Many of them might be sitting next to you at lunch or in Lass Hall. All the rest works out as long as you hold on to the good ones (and try to be one yourself). Oh, and ask a lot of questions – always, and about everything. And if in 10 years you find yourself starting a company, you know where to find me! :)

Caroline Ciaramitaro ’14 Analyst, True Ventures, San Francisco

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Recipient

Francie Sentilles at far right with research colleagues in Sergipe, Brazil.

Frances Cates ’17

Pre-Med Sophomore, University of Texas at Austin

• UT Austin; pursuing bachelor’s in Plan II (humanities based interdisciplinary program) and Public Health, pre-med track; Forty Acres Scholar; Distinguished College Scholar in the College of Liberal Arts, Health Leadership

• St. Jude Pediatric Oncology Education 2023 Intern

• Hutchison School ’21: Cum Laude Society, Ideal Hutchison Girl, Latin Book Award (thanks, Mrs. White!), English Book Award, Tri-Sport Athlete Award, Peer Council President

Right now I’m working on a research project called the Cancer Needs Assessment through Dell Medical School – attending focus groups and round-table discussions in low-income areas of Austin to explore community members’ beliefs about and awareness of screenings for cancer. We are particularly interested in identifying barriers to receiving screenings that Austin community members face, and will be presenting our research at a symposium. I still love sports (which I started playing at GSL) and play intramural soccer for fun!

GSL taught me to love reading and writing and, most importantly, how to express myself and communicate my ideas through writing. In Lower School, I remember being so excited to go to the library each week, because Mr. Willis would always have something new for me to read. In Middle School, I remember class discussions about S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders with Mrs. Hendry, To Kill a Mockingbird with Mrs. Buckner, and Of Mice and Men with Mrs. White. I truly started learning how to express my opinions in Ethics class with Ms. Ranson. When I was deciding where to attend college, it was extremely important to me that I be in a place where I could study the humanities along with taking hard science classes for my public health degree.

Besides the academic passions I cultivated at GSL, GSL taught me what a community should look like. The people make GSL the amazing place that it is, and the support system is unparalleled. Whenever I am searching for communities in college, I reflect on the friendships and community I experienced at GSL to gauge whether something is the right fit.

Every teacher at GSL influenced me. I remember struggling in Mrs. Woolard’s seventh grade math class, and she was the first person to help me understand that challenges, academically and in general, are integral to growth, and that asking for help is the best way to get through them. I also loved Mrs. Slatery’s science class

(I still remember the periodic table song and use it for college chemistry) and playing basketball for her in eighth grade. A class that really excited me was Latin with Mrs. White, and I got to visit Pompeii last summer after learning about it in seventh grade!

My advice to current students is never be afraid to ask for help from older students, teachers, and other mentors! Asking people who have been in your situation is the best way to learn about what you might want to do in the future.

Lydia Ford ’21

Sophomore, St. Mary’s Episcopal School

• Student Ambassador; Beta Club

• Honorable Mention Mays Writing Competition ’22; Yearbook Co-Editor-in-Chief, 2023-24

• Art business on Instagram: @lydiamakes.art

The study skills I learned at GSL helped a ton with the transition to St. Mary’s. The change from co-ed to all girls was definitely a bit of a culture shock at first, but I am so glad I ended up where I did. I am eternally grateful for the experience writing and editing my eighth grade research paper, as the process was a huge help writing my AP History term paper earlier this year.

Currently I’m on the staff of the St. Mary’s yearbook, the Carillon. It’s so much fun being able to create and produce a book each year highlighting student life at St. Mary’s. I love being able to harness my creativity in such a special way.

At GSL, the tight bond between our class was special, and activities like the eighth grade class trip strengthened our close connection. I loved having the experience of bonding with everyone through activities outside of the classroom, and our trip to Nantahala was truly the perfect way to wrap up our crazy, COVID-filled eighth grade year. Mrs. White was undoubtedly the best teacher I’ve ever had. The grammar rules, writing tips, and life advice I learned from her class have been applicable to almost every class I’ve taken at St. Mary’s, and I am forever grateful for her guidance. I’m not sure yet what I want to do next, but definitely something with art and relating to English.

8th Grade, GSL

8th Grade, GSL

SAINTS MYSTERIES Revealed

Have you ever wondered where the 8th grade stairs are located? What’s our mascot’s name? And why do we call our bus the Bullet? Answers to some of these questions follow below … so now you can be in the know on some not-so-secret Saints lore.

GSL Mascot:

A St. Bernard, named Luke ... get it?

The Saints:

Our school nickname!

The Bullet:

Our iconic red & white school bus, used primarily for transport to Snowden Field (though older alumni swear it made at least one trip in the ’80s to the Florida Panhandle). Named because of the speed at which it was driven by certain former coaches on staff. The first Bullet was acquired by GSL in the ’70s. The second Bullet (pictured here) was acquired in 1983 and retired in 2022. Current bus … Bullet 3?!

Fan 5:

Five designated home games featuring our 7/8 Varsity girls and boys basketball teams.

Luker(s) for Life:

Anyone who has ever attended GSL or worked at GSL, for any amount of time. Once a Luker, always a Luker!

Anchor Hill: The grassy area south of the Anchor Center

Legacy Lukers:

Graduating students whose parent(s) also attended GSL; Margaret Fore ’23 and Mary Evelyn Stevens Fore ’91 pictured here.

8th Grade Stairs:

Stairs on west side of Morton Hall, designated for use only by 8th graders, as a special privilege for them.

Legacy Club:

GSL graduates who attended for at least nine years.

Formative 5:

Have

An Anchor for Life:

Our longtime GSL motto.

Our social-emotional learning program, based on empathy, self-control, integrity, embracing diversity, and grit, known in an earlier iteration as the Traits for Success.

Dogpound: Saints' student section, where we like to get loud!

We commemorated our 75th anniversary year with an all-school photo after the December Celebration Holiday Sing-Along with Dr. Surber.

GSL'S #1 FAN MARILYN KIDD RETIRES AFTER 44+ YEARS

Bookkeeper, Appointment 1979

Lorena Webber Walker Award, 2005

To describe Marilyn Kidd simply as the school’s Bookkeeper, a position she has held for the past 44 years at GSL, is to vastly understate the influence and impact she’s had on this school and the entire Grace-St. Luke’s community.

Officially appointed as a member of the school staff in 1979, Marilyn’s connection with GSL began years earlier as a parent, when she and husband Hulette Kidd brought their third-grader Paul and second-grader Phillip here in 1971. Like so many GSL parents, she became involved immediately, first as a room mother, then as a substitute teacher, then as a substitute in the Administrative Office. The office was a two-story stucco building at that time, attached to the original Primary Building, in the spot where Bratton Hall now stands on the western corner of our campus. She befriended another longtime GSL mainstay, former Business Manager Kathie Cavette, and proved so indispensable to day-to-day operations that the school officially appointed her its bookkeeper in 1979.

Lucky for all of us at GSL, Marilyn and her family became integral to all aspects of campus life at GSL. She and her husband were charter members of GSL's Athletic Booster Club. He umpired countless baseball games for the Saints and spent summers helping maintain our campus –sprucing up classrooms and repairing items that always seemed to need fixing. Never one to shirk a job that needed doing, Marilyn herself painted all the bathrooms in the Primary Building one summer, and was for several years in charge of our maintenance needs, on top of her business office responsibilities. Her boys played sports and thrived, both attending through 9th grade (Paul in 1977 and Phillip in 1978) before going on to high school at Memphis Prep.

GSL BIDS FAREWELL TO LONGTIME EMPLOYEES

By Marci Woodmansee ’83

We are sad to bid farewell to both Marilyn Kidd and Sherry Emerson at the end of this school year! Great colleagues and longtime Saints fans, they are pictured here during the Shelby 7/8 League Basketball Tournament championship games in February.

Season after season, Marilyn faithfully, loyally, and steadfastly worked on GSL’s behalf to keep business accounts in order, while also serving as one of the school’s biggest advocates and fans.

As our de facto, one-woman human resources department, Marilyn onboarded new employees before onboarding was a thing. She served as counselor for countless colleagues and in-house mom for the younger employees. She could always be counted on for her kind but truthful advice.

Outside the financial office, she served as guardian angel of sorts for hundreds of student field trips by overseeing the school’s transportation needs. Marilyn was the one who kept our small but mighty fleet of iconic red and white buses (including both the ’70s and ’80s versions of the beloved Bullet) in operational shape for trips around –and sometimes outside of – Memphis.

She also organized GSL's commercial bus transport for years of overnight field trips, faithfully watching for each driver’s timely arrival on Lemaster (generally alone, in the dark, at 5 a.m.) as sleepy parents arrived to put excited children on buses headed to Chicago, New Orleans, or Nantahala. At the end of every trip, you could count on her being back on Lemaster, waving them in when they returned.

And if you’ve EVER attended a GSL sporting event, you know there’s no bigger Saints fan than Marilyn Kidd! In her signature red top and vintage GSL football or basketball button, she attended home games, away games, and even games of our students when they went on to play at the high school level.

Steady, dependable, and a friend to all, Marilyn has been GSL’s rock. Through her own good times and bad, she’s been a faithful and loyal Saint, and is the second longest-serving employee in school history (after Debbie Callahan). Having a great memory and the vast institutional knowledge that comes from working with nine different heads of school (Elbert Fields, Canon Lloyd Gesner, Eddie Gamble, Barbara Daush, John Effinger, Father John Merchant, Tom Beazley, Thor Kvande, and Andy Surber), she’s an invaluable resource on school history. And with her immense love for the school, Marilyn in many ways defines community at GSL.

Marilyn Kidd at GSL, 1984

Marilyn linked her family to the GSL family from their first moments on campus, and for that, we are forever grateful. Her late husband is memorialized at Snowden Field, and her son Paul, also deceased, is memorialized in the Lower School 2nd floor hallway. Her son Phillip and his wife Jodi were at her side at this year’s 75th Anniversary celebration.

While a pending medical procedure kept her away from the office more than any of us anticipated this year, it’s no surprise that she made sure to be courtside for the boys and girls 7/8 Shelby League championship games this winter. With a well-deserved retirement now in her sights, she will move forward as our VIP retiree, and we look forward to seeing her continue to cheer us on from the sidelines. She spent most of this year and last year training her successor, Cindy Sorrells, with the same love, encouragement, and sense of humor that has characterized her entire tenure at GSL.

“It’s been an adventure for sure, but it’s been a wonderful trip,” she says. “It never felt like work, it always felt like family. It’s important to keep it going that way, and with all the good folks here, it will! I will dearly miss it. It’s been great fun. GSL let me stay around that long, since 1971? How about that!”

SHERRY EMERSON LEAVES LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE

Associate Director of Advancement, Appointment 2004

When Sherry Emerson first became involved at Grace-St. Luke’s, it was as a parent and Parents' Association volunteer for the Anchor Auction. And when she actually joined the staff in 2004, she anticipated a temporary, part-time stint assisting with the school’s capital campaign. But when then-Head of School Tom Beazley witnessed her remarkable skill set and focus on customer service, he knew he needed to convince her to stick around full time.

Nineteen years later, his decision clearly paid off for GSL. With her unparalleled relationship-building abilities and gift for event organization, Sherry quickly became integral to the school’s success.

“From the moment I met and hired Sherry, I knew her love of the school was genuine and contagious,” Beazley says. “Her enthusiasm and positive attitude were so important in motivating and assisting all the many volunteers for the school events. I never had a concern, because I knew everything would be done flawlessly and professionally.”

A school parent when she joined the staff, Sherry's son Webb ’08 was then in 5th grade, and Tess ’14 was a junior kindergartner. Both children graduated from eighth grade at GSL; Tess is now a nurse in Kentucky and Webb is a general contractor in Mississippi. Sherry’s husband Jeff, executive vice president and chief risk management officer for Montgomery Martin Contractors, was also a regular and trusted presence on campus who served as a Board of Trustees member from 2001-2007, the last two years as President. In addition to helping oversee construction of our Anchor Center from 2008-2010, Jeff always cheerfully shared his expertise when facilities questions arose at GSL.

For 19 years, Sherry helped oversee a number of events and worked closely with the P.A. Board and event chairs. She also shepherded the Alumni Association, overseeing its relaunch in 2004 and working tirelessly to keep alumni

connected. She orchestrated five fantastic reunion events in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014, and 2018, culminating with the epic 75th Anniversary event held in August 2022.

And if that wasn’t enough, Sherry enthusiastically tackled a gigantic additional assignment for 13 years – organizing the Lisa Lassandrello 5K Memorial races at GSL (and collaborating with our peers at St. Agnes during their years to host) from 2006 to 2018. These races became a beloved tradition at GSL and were recognized by the local race community as exceptionally well-organized events that drew hundreds and hundreds of runners every year.

With her fantastic sense of humor, incredible institutional knowledge, and steadfast advocacy for the school, Sherry became an absolutely integral part of the community. Her announcement that she planned to retire at the end of this year prompted a search for a worthy successor. The school ended up tapping Mackay Lee, who will begin training with her in May until her last day at GSL. Sherry leaves big shoes to fill, and has set an extremely high standard of excellence during her career at this school. She will be greatly missed!

“Sherry’s ability to delicately navigate the most complicated situations, paired with her love for GSL, is unmatched,” says Director of Advancement Brenda Berry. “It has been an honor to work alongside my dear friend Sherry for the past seven years. I think all will agree that GSL is a better place thanks to her contributions over the last 19 years.”

Sherry Emerson at GSL, 2004

Event Co-Chairs Christina Ross and Kelly Martin recognized Sherry Emerson for her service to the P.A. at the 2023 Anchor Auction.

WIZARDRY OF JANE WILLIAMS WILL ENDURE AT GSL

By

Roncal,

Fourth Grade Teacher, Appointment 2000

For me, Jane started as a mentor who turned into a dear friend. When I arrived at GSL as a fourth-grade maternity leave substitute teacher in January 2016, I held many similarities to the fourth graders; I, too, was looking for guidance on what it meant to be a Saint.

Luckily, right next door to me was Jane Williams. Jane retires after 23 years as a fourth-grade teacher at the end of this school year. During her time at GSL, she was an exemplary role model who led her classes, the Williams’ Wizards, to learn long division, read their first chapter books, write a formal letter, and generally flourish. Yet, while Jane undoubtedly prepared the Wizards for academic success, her students' greatest acquisition was learning from a teacher who embodies human decency. Her high standards, deep personal regard for others, and commitment to ethical decision-making provided the bedrock for a successful fourth-grade program that prepared countless Lower Schoolers for the rigor of GSL's Middle School and productive lives beyond GSL.

Of course, Jane’s connection with GSL began years before she joined the faculty team. She sent two sons to GSL, John ’95 and Mark ’98, and served as president of the Parents’ Association from 1996-98. Her husband is legendary 3rd/4th grade basketball coach Bruce Williams, who has been helping prep boys for our Middle School basketball program through GSL Church league sports for the past 30 years, oftentimes alongside his son, alumnus Daniel Williams ’01.

Over the years, as Jane and I began to collaborate regularly, she showed me what it meant to be a teacher who is “all in.” Jane was always the first one to school each morning, the planner who kept the Wizards, my Roncal Rockstars, and even me on track, and the leader who would anticipate our next opportunity. During our

conversations, I came to understand her deep passion for each child's success. The friendship we formed was due to our thoughtful partnership and the countless hours we spent talking and texting after school to plan activities, discuss ways to reach our students, and push each other to create the absolute strongest fourthgrade community. From these conversations, our early professional partnership bloomed into friendship, one that I will continue to cherish throughout my life.

It's from our friendship that I learned what it means to be a Williams' Wizard:

• To learn more than you ever imagined within one short year.

• To exhibit respect for the Episcopal tradition.

• To know that hard work leads to success.

• To value the learning process as much as the learning outcome.

• To understand that respect and kindness are enduring traits.

• To embrace – and learn from – new ideas and perspectives.

• To emerge a more ethical human working toward a brighter future for you and others.

And so much more.

Jane led so many students to success during her years at GSL, and she led me there, too. I consider myself a de facto Wizard because, just like she did for her students, she imparted those same Wizard values to me. From these values, I've forged my career as an educator and found a home at GSL. I know we all congratulate Jane on a tremendous and impactful career, and we wish her well as she embarks on her next journey.

Jane Williams at GSL, 2001

Juan

7th Grade English & History Teacher

Cheers to 23 years teaching fourth grade! Jane Williams sits for a photo with her final class of Wizards at GSL.

Front row: Finnegan Coleman, Jake Breen, Jennings Callahan, Jonathan Vance, Julia Martin; bench: Jonathan Young, Jane Williams, Dylan Johnston; back row: Liam Rixon, Jack McKee, Libby Behnke, Farrah Lou Hudson, Beck Whitaker, Ella Grace Billings, Isabella Fundo, Marshall Lawrence, and Elizabeth Robinson

Juan Roncal and Jane Williams

LEGACY LUKERS: CONTINUING THE SAINTS TRADITION

Best wishes to these three legacy members of the Class of 2023, and special thanks to their alumni parents for continuing the Saints tradition and sending them to GSL! We asked these students and their parents to reflect back on their time at GSL for this annual legacy feature.

MARGARET FORE ’23

Favorite class: English. Mrs. White is hilarious!

Favorite extracurricular: Tennis

Favorite GSL memory: When the girls in Mrs. Campell's eighth grade math class did a fashion show down the hall.

What you'll miss most: Pep rallies and Red vs. White team challenges.

JACKSON HALPERN ’23

Favorite class: History

Favorite extracurriculars: Model UN and Track

Favorite GSL memory: Fifth grade JV basketball or sixth grade track

What you'll miss most: Ms. Thompson's extracurriculars

SAM WILKINSON ’23

Favorite class: English. Mrs. White always finds a way to make English fun and understandable.

Favorite extracurricular: Baseball – it’s pretty much all I think about.

Favorite GSL memory: Sitting with my friends at lunch is what I look forward to most each day, especially all of the funny conversations.

What you’ll miss most: Going to our basketball games.

MARY EVELYN STEVENS FORE ’91

Favorite teacher/class: Betsy Gafford (art) and Sarah Black (English)

Favorite extracurriculars: Volleyball, cheerleading, and basketball

JOEL HALPERN ’97

(Attended GSL through SK, 1989)

Favorite class: Music

Favorite teacher: Kathy Doss

Favorite extracurricular: Probably soccer at the time

Favorite GSL memory: Sneaking (or so we thought) gummy bears into lunch with Patrick Munson. And blaming each other when we got caught.

ALLEN WILKINSON ’86

(Attended GSL through 8th grade, 1985)

Favorite class: Coach Scully’s History class

Favorite teacher: Coach Scully

Favorite extracurriculars: Basketball

Favorite GSL memories: The 8th grade Nantahala trip, basketball trips, pep rallies, and GSL dances in Trezevant Hall June

Favorite GSL memory: Our class trip to New Orleans for the World’s Fair in 1984, and going to Bourbon Street and having brunch at Commander’s Palace!

Class of 2023

TAKING THE NEXT STEPS

Congratulations to our Class of 2023! We wish you the best of luck as you begin your new school careers in August. You will be greatly missed!

Shane Barron

J.W. Curry

Tyhler Dowden

Reed Hoffman

Rishon Miller

Jake Turner Smith

Andrew Strickland

Christian Villanueva

Bo Nanney

Wesley Whitaker

Sam Wilkinson

Caroline Byrnes

Stella Dyer

Bella McAdams

Anna Ratton

Eliza Roberts

Stephan Binder

Ruby Brunson

Bear Danosky

Eddie Ferguson

Will Kenworthy

Calvin Leitzell

Graham Davis

Taheim Elohem

Jackson Halpern

Jamel LeFlore

Wren McCloud

Katie Young

Gates Whitt

Ellery Kuebler

Martha Mitchell

Lucy Cothern

Joan Terhune

Margaret Fore

2022–2023 SCHOOL YEAR FUN FACTS

WE ARE A COED SCHOOL

54% MALE

46% FEMALE

OUR FAMILIES IDENTIFY WITH THE FOLLOWING ETHNICITIES:

EUROPEAN AMERICAN/CAUCASIAN

AFRICAN AMERICAN

ASIAN AMERICAN

LATINO/HISPANIC

MULTI-RACIAL

NATIVE AMERICAN

IN ADDITION TO ENGLISH, OUR FAMILIES SPEAK 9 LANGUAGES IN THEIR HOMES

OUR FAMILIES REPRESENT A WIDE RANGE OF FAITH TRADITIONS

CHURCH OF CHRIST

ORTHODOX

75 REASONS WE LOVE GSL

HONOR A SAINT WITH AN

ALUMNI CORNER PLAQUE

Alumni Corner, located in front of the Anchor Center at the corner of Linden and Lemaster, features a number of plaques that honor GSL alumni, students, classes, and others. Add your favorite Saint to Alumni Corner by purchasing a plaque today! Each plaque is $150 and measures 2” high x 7” wide with a silver-toned background.

To order, visit gslschool.org/give-back and complete the Alumni Corner Order Form. Orders received by May 26 will be installed this summer, and a customized certificate will be provided to you at the time of purchase so you have something to share with the recipient of the plaque, if desired.

Email Kate Shelton at kshelton@gslschool.org with any questions.

Scan the code to watch this special video that was produced in honor of the Celebration of Giving to GSL and our 75th Anniversary. We hope you enjoy this production, featuring GSL students, faculty, and staff! First Grader Lalin Tas pictured here.

GSL COMMUNITY GIVES BACK DURING

FIRST-EVER CELEBRATION OF GIVING TO GSL

By Brenda Berry, Director of Advancement

Earlier this year, GSL received a remarkable blessing: A current family made a $75,000 donation to this year’s Annual Fund. The gift was given without restriction, but did come with one request from the family: Use this gift to enhance and inspire giving in our community. And so, on Monday, February 27, we launched our first-ever weeklong Celebration of Giving to GSL.

We are so touched by the generosity of our community and thank everyone who responded to the call to increase the culture of giving at GSL. Here are some of the outcomes from the week of giving as of March 8:

• We received gifts from 130 donors

• Donors represented all constituencies*, including

• 60% current families

• 30% alumni

• 22% alumni parents

• 12% faculty and staff

• 11% grandparents

*Why don’t these numbers add up to 100%? Because many donors fall into more than one category. For example, a current parent may also be an alumna/alumnus.

We are overwhelmed with gratitude for our GSL community! To raise more than $43K through this brand new, never-tested week of giving is a testament to the strength and generosity of you — our GSL community! We will continue to raise money for GSL as we strive to reach our $750,000 annual fund goal this year. Please join us in commemorating GSL’s 75th anniversary by helping us create a more robust culture of giving that will help ensure our sustainability for years to come. Whether celebrating the past, present, or the future, we hope you will reflect on the reasons you love GSL and then share that love with a gift to this year’s Annual Fund. Just as each member of our community makes a difference, so too does each gift make a difference, regardless of the amount.

You may give or pledge online at gslschool.org/give — simply scan the QR code below. All gifts received by July 31, 2023 will be recognized in the 2022-23 Giving Report later this year.

Thank you for being a part of this special year at GSL!

P.A. EVENTS CONNECT THE COMMUNITY P.A.

From the return of our in-person Spirt Wear Sale at the All-School Picnic this fall, to our annual Anchor Auction this spring, GSL’s P.A. worked tirelessly this year to offer a wide range of events that brought the Saints community together. The photos here offer a glimpse of some of the fun moments. Many thanks to all participants and volunteers for supporting our events!

Fourth graders enjoying their first Father-Daughter Dance: front row, Aideen Flynt and Elliot Bagwell; back, Julia Martin, Leah Perry Butler, and Emelia Willig.

Father-Daughter Dance Event Chairs Jenny Rixon, Gina Roberts, Molly Smith, Hayley Hudson, and Alysa Johnston created a beautiful enchanted forest event for this year’s attendees.

Sixth graders show off their moves at the Father-Daughter Dance. Every year Preschool Fun & Fitness Teacher Robert Ward choreographs pieces for each class to perform.

Nicole McCarty, Jennifer McCarty, and Caroline Willson organized three appreciation events for GSL’s employees this year, including the mid-year Faculty-Staff Luncheon.

GSL invited retired faculty to join the fun at this year’s luncheon, giving former Science & Technology Teacher Karen McLaren a chance to catch up with P.E. Teacher Debbie Callahan.

Smiles all around for the free lunch AND red/white dress-down day! Senior Kindergarten Teacher Caroline Canon, SK Assistant Kat Vinton, Assistant Athletic Director Emily Merrell, SK Assistant Amanda Hamilton, and SK Assistant Abby Hensley.

A happy table of Trivia Champs at this adults-only event, which was held at Old Dominick Distillery in February.

Walking in Memphis: Molly and Hayes Smith; Hayley, Davis, and John Hudson; Katie and Gabe Ratton; and Kristy, Max, and Zane Glassman on the way to FedExForum for the Mother-Son event.

Crady and Semmes Schneider show their Grizz spirit.

Colleen and Santi Orbegoso, Christina Ross and Lucian Hanson, and Kelly and Porter Martin at the Grizzlies game January 29, this year’s 4th-8th Grade Mother-Son event.

Event Chairs

SAINTS SUPERLATIVES SPECTACULAR STUDENTS

Led by Model UN Advisor Lily Thompson, GSL’s MUN team participated in the 24th Annual YMCA Middle School Model United Nations Conference at City Hall in December. Lucian Hanson ’24, Ellery Kuebler ’23, Eddie Ferguson ’23, and Jackson Halpern ’23 (far right) won an award for Outstanding Bill, while Foster Gettys ’25 (second from the right) and Halpern each won awards for Outstanding Delegate.

Winter Spirit Award Winners: Jake Turner Smith ’23 and Caroline Byrnes ’23

Rowan Halpern ’28 won Cub Scout Troop 34’s Pinewood Derby in February.

Middle School Geography Bee Winner: Sebastian Mixon ’24

Christmas Card Art Contest Winners: Cover Art: Mila Douglas ’26, Inside Art: Phoebe Owen ’28, Back Cover Art: Franklin Barton ’27, First runner-up: Zoe Pretzer ’25, Second runner-up: Madison McCarty ’28

FANTASTIC FACULTY

Head of Preschool Cynthia Hill and Junior Kindergarten Assistant Teacher Jeanette Walton attended the 2022 NAEYC Conference in Washington, D.C. in November and presented a workshop on creating an outdoor classroom like ours at GSL.

Head of Lower School Marti McCloud and Senior Kindergarten Teacher Kirsten Horton presented at the 2022 TAIS Biennial Conference in Chattanooga in November. They led workshops on enhancing early literacy development and using environmental psychology in classroom design.

Grace-St. Luke’s helped sponsor the Daily Memphian Developing Memphis Seminar this fall, and Head of School Andy Surber welcomed attendees, sharing highlights about GSL and some of the reasons why his job is, as he described, “the best job in the world.”

Middle School Spelling Bee Champion: Ellie Barksdale ’25

Lower School Spelling Bee Champion: Leah Perry Butler ’27

Russ Thompson has written his second children’s book, The Owls of Sedgemount, which features illustrations by alumna Paige Fernandez ’21. He shared some excerpts with students in Celebration this fall.

Middle School Dean of Students and English teacher Kimberly White finished her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy at Boston College's Lynch School of Education and Human Development in November. She was accepted into the doctoral program in educational leadership at the University of Memphis and hopes to complete her Ed.D. in 2025.

Ruby Brunson ’23, Joan Terhune ’23, Elizabeth Thompson ’24, and Gates Whitt ’23 received Thespian Awards this fall for their work on our fall musical, Disney’s TheJungleBookKIDS.

TWO LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS AND TWO RUNNERS-UP IN SAINTS HOOPS

5/6 Varsity Boys: Shelby League Champs

5/6 Varsity Girls: Shelby League Champs

.

Coached by Webster Cannon and Logan Taylor ’95

7/8 Varsity Boys: Shelby League Runner-Up

Coached by Allyson Campbell and Ariel Laws ’03

7/8 Varsity Girls: Shelby League Runner-Up

From

’24, Harrison

’24, Campbell

’24, Taheim Elohem ’23 (All-Tournament), Edward Scrugham ’24, Levi Johnson ’24 (All-Tournament), J.W. Curry ’23, Andrew Strickland ’23, Shane Barron ’23, Graham Davis ’23

Coached by Logan Taylor ’95, Webster Cannon, and Andrew Sichting ’15

Coached

From left: Parker Taylor ’25, Miles Orr ’26, Foster Gettys ’25, Ronan Keough ’25, Matheo Ibled ’25 (MVP), Cameron Gibbs ’26 (All-Tournament), Crosby High ’26, Zachary Moore ’25, Will Hagerman ’25 (All-Tournament), Cullen Weeden ’25

From left: Alice Moore ’26 (kneeling), Anna Cochran ’25, Matilda Blair ’26, Mary Elizabeth Fisher ’26, Ellie Barksdale ’25, Julia Laizure ’26, Eloise West ’25 (AllTournament), Lydia Reardon ’26, Zoe Pretzer ’25 (MVP), Beklin Johnson ’25, Eleanor Fore ’25 (All-Tournament), Virginia Irvine ’26

left: Grant Barger

Evers

McLean

From left, Anna Ratton ’23 (All-Tournament), Martha Mitchell ’23, Lucy Unglesby ’24, Emerson Callahan ’24, Caroline Byrnes ’23, Zoey High ’24, Lily Woodmansee ’24, Bella McAdams ’23 (All-Tournament), Eliza Roberts ’23

by Morgan Slatery, Kallan Klinger, Becca Burnett ’20, and Nora Jacobs ’22

LUKERS FOR LIFE ALUMNI NEWS

’04 Tucker Carr and wife Audsley welcomed their second child, Alice Nicola, on January 16.

’76

Susan Pittman was on campus this spring for a tour of Miss Lee’s Preschool with her grandson Miller Connell.

’08

’09 Mary

Evans Wallace

’81 Audrey Duff Overstreet, Kate Reid Surmeier, Elizabeth Wilkinson, Elena Jabbour Caron, and Amy Amonette Huber enjoyed their annual get-together this winter, a tradition for these Saints since 1999!

Webb Emerson became a licensed commercial general contractor in Mississippi. He currently is the construction administrator for WBA Architecture in Jackson, Miss.

’94 Parker-Leigh Juby Evans is a nurse practitioner in Eugene, Ore. She and her husband, David, a fisherman and chef, have two children (pictured here), Braeden (2nd grade) and Skye (4th grade).

’03 Memphis firefighter

John Carr made a special visit to campus in February as the mystery reader in the first grade classroom of his nephew, Hunt Durbin ’30

’03

Gill Family Law has hired Lee Johns as a new litigation paralegal. Johns will assist with the digital aspect of client case management. Johns is a graduate of St. Agnes Academy and Southwest Tennessee Community College.

’03 Marshall Bartlett and his wife Katie welcomed a baby girl, Joan Elizabeth “Joanie” Bartlett, on March 6. Joanie represents the sixth generation to grow up farming the Home Place!

married Matthew Owen in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, March 18. Many former Lukers attended her wedding; she’s pictured here with two of her bridesmaids, Lillian Norcross ’09 and Wallace Ann Sorrells ’07

’11

Anna Johnson is pursuing her MBA at Columbia Business School in Manhattan, with a target graduation date of May 2024. Before business school she was doing research for the state government in Nashville. She plans to transition into consulting.

’08 Will McGee plays in Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country band, which is currently on tour; they are opening up for Widespread Panic on May 6 in Charleston, SC. You can see Will playing bass and singing background vocals if you catch the show!

’11

UT Health Science Center Match Day 2023 was a happy one for fourth-year medical student Claire Sentilles, who matched with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital for a residency in pediatrics.

’14 Edward Henley works at Rekerdres Insurance Company in Dallas, which specializes in insuring commodities like cotton, coffee, and cocoa beans as they move around the world.

’15 Memphis Shelby County Schools held its first ever Teacher Signing Day in March to honor graduating seniors at UofM who intend to teach in the school district. Bralyn Horton, a student teacher at White Station Elementary, was one of eight University of Memphis students recognized at the ceremony.

ALUMNI NEWS

’18 Carter Strickland was elected to serve as a top representative in the SGA Congress and is one of two freshmen selected to serve in the SGA President’s Cabinet at the University of Oklahoma.

’19 Nick Dyer was named a National Merit Scholarship finalist.

’19

’19 Grace Ciaramitaro signed to swim at Vanderbilt University. She had a stellar career at St. Mary’s and has been nominated multiple times for Swimmer of the Year by The Commercial Appeal and the Daily Memphian

’19

Isabelle Mansour won the top attorney award at the district Mock Trial competition this spring.

’21 Jack Hagerman traveled to Murfreesboro to compete in the Tennessee State Robotics Competition, where he and his team won first place.

’19 Emma Couch received the outstanding Youth in Philanthropy award for her work with Le Bonheur Club Teens, given by the Memphis chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Berklee Scifres signed to play basketball at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She plans to pursue a career in aviation. ’19

Winnie Wilson will graduate from Oxford High School in May and plans to attend the University of Virginia in the fall.

’19 Kylie Jackson was recognized at the Talented 10% Reception at the University of Memphis for being among the top scholars in her Central High School senior class. She was also presented to society by the Memphis Chapter of the Links, Inc. during its 33rd Annual Holiday Cotillion in December and was selected as the 2nd place scholarship recipient. This spring she was inducted into mathematics honor society Mu Alpha Theta.

’19 Avery Arkle was selected by her classmates to portray the Madonna at Hutchison’s Christmas Chapel. This honor is given to a senior who shows exemplary character and moral strength.

’21 Simone Guyton placed 1st in the TSSAA regional bowling tournament this past fall and is the top qualifier out of the western region! As the youngest competitor, she represented Harding Academy at the State bowling championship and finished in 6th place. ’22

Frank Plumley placed 5th overall in the Sylamore 25K trail run in Mountain View, Ark. this February.

Saints alumnae at St. Mary’s academic honor societies ceremony this spring: Izzie Cochran ’21, Grace Ciaramitaro ’19, Bronwyn Saatkamp ’20, Anna Smith ’20, Lydia Ford ’21, and Evie Fore ’21 (not pictured, Mary Clara Smith ’21)

Alumni came out in support of the Saints for our 7/8 Shelby League Tournament championship game in February. From left, Bauer Patton ’19, Coach Morgan Slatery, George Henley ’20, Hays Prather ’20, Graham Springer ’19, Henry Duncan ’20, Andrew Jones ’19, Knox Brown ’20, and Jackson Saatkamp ’20

LUKERS FOR LIFE ALUMNI

THE SHOW (AND FINE ARTS PERFORMING) GOES ON AFTER GSL

Middle School Performing Arts Teacher Leslie Reddick caught up with some of our alumni at their area high school theater productions this fall and spring:

 At St. Mary's Episcopal School with Aislinn Choo ’19, who portrayed Frau Schmidt in The Sound of Music

 Cinderella at Hutchison School with Zelia Cedeno-Avila ’20 and Emery Brown ’19

 Freaky Friday at Harding Academy of Memphis with Simone Guyton ’21

 The Robber Bridegroom at Christian Brothers High School with Michael Davis ’22

 Alumni cast and crew at Julius Caesar at Lausanne, plus some 8th grade class members:

Edens Richardson ’20, Cooper Deason ’20, Reddick, Sam Mascolino ’22, Aiden Orr ’22, Lucy Cothern ’23, Ethan Choo ’22, and Ruby Brunson ’23. Also in attendance but not pictured: Lillian Deason ’18, Dher Shubbar ’22, and Joan Terhune ’23

 &  Emery Brown ’19, Nora Jacobs ’22, and Hannah Dunlap ’21 performed at Celebration Chapel in the fall as members of Hutchison’s ensemble choir Vocal Point.

IN MEMORIAM

Deborah Ann Lowe

May 23, 1964 - December 16, 2021

Deborah Ann Lowe passed away November 15 after a brave battle with cancer. She was 61 years old. Deborah joined the GSL staff in 1989, working steadily at the Preschool until her cancer diagnosis and leave of absence in 2020. After two years of medical leave, she was excited to return to the classroom this year as an assistant teacher in the Playful Peacocks room. Our hearts are heavy that her time here with us this year was so short. In addition to her invaluable contributions as a member of our faculty community, Deborah was also a GSL parent (Ashley Lowe '11) and GSL grandparent (Destiny Lowe '20 and Zoe Tate '26). She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Keith Lowe, and their other children and grandchildren.

Deborah loved working at Grace-St. Luke’s School where she educated multiple generations over 30 years and had immense skill in engaging both parents and students. She took pride in sharing the importance of dedication, service, and love. Facebook gave her a way to maintain contact with many of her GSL friends, and she loved being able to see former students mature into wonderful adults.

At the start of this school year, she sat down with new Head of School Andy Surber who was visiting with every faculty member to get to know them better. It will be no surprise to her friends that when asked to identify something she really loved, she said the Pittsburgh Steelers. When asked what restaurant in Memphis she liked the most, she said she loved her husband Keith’s cooking the best.

It’s a testament to her resilience and hopefulness that she was determined to start this school year back in the classroom. She was able to be at Miss Lee’s for several months, and even made it to the gym this fall to watch her daughter Ashley help coach GSL’s 5/6 varsity volleyball team. Our social media feeds and inboxes were flooded with condolences after her passing. We share some of these sentiments with you here. Deborah was a beloved teacher who will be dearly missed.

Memories of Mrs. Deborah

Stephen had her when he was a Mudpuppy. She was a wonderful teacher and a part of what made Miss Lee’s a special place. - Allison Cates, GSL Alumni Parent and Past Board President

Deborah brought love and joy to all she did, and I’ll be forever grateful to have known her. - Chapman Morrow, GSL Alumni Parent and Past Board President

Mrs. Deborah was the first friendly face to welcome my little Gus to Preschool Bootcamp. I will never forget how special she made him feel. She will be dearly missed. - Lee Schaffler, GSL Middle School Art Teacher and Alumni Parent

What I would give to give her one more hug! She was truly a saint here on earth. We will miss her so much.

- Collin Buckner, GSL Parent and Former Teacher

Just heartbroken. One of the sweetest humans I’ve ever encountered. That smile. That laugh. Pure warmth. A true light is gone indeed. - Audra Eickhoff, GSL Former Teacher

We loved Mrs. Deborah and I am forever grateful to her and Mrs. Lucy for showing such love and care to my little Mudpuppy. - Beth Robinson-Price, GSL Alumni Parent

She was a gem of a person - kind, generous, empathetic, creative. What a loss.

- Robyn Whipple Diaz, GSL Alumni Parent

My daughter is 21 now, and the lessons she learned and the love she received from Ms. Deborah continues to this day. So much of the good in her has come from her teachers, and Deborah was one of the best.

- Brooke Sanders, GSL Alumni Parent

Deborah truly embodied the GSL spirit. She was so welcoming to us as a new GSL family in 2007, and as a fellow Middle School parent. Sending love and prayers to the Lowe family. - Jody Tennyson, GSL Alumni Parent

Deborah always led with her heart. That's just one of the many reasons children immediately adored her. We grown-ups when with her were warmed and moved by how deeply genuine she was. A rare gift. That she will be missed is an understatement. - Father John Merchant, GSL Head of School, 1990-98

Loved Mrs. Deborah with our whole hearts! She not only nurtured our kiddos…she always made us feel special too! - Baylor Stovall, GSL Alumni Parent

She made such a difference at the preschool. There was no one better with 3-year-olds and no one more loyal to GSL.

- Liz Awsumb, GSL Junior Kindergarten Teacher

Left: A gathering of pre-kindergarten colleagues at the Preschool last August: Deborah Lowe, Head of Preschool Cynthia Hill, Blair Connor, and Victoria Blackwell.

Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School

246 S. Belvedere Blvd. Memphis, TN 38104 gslschool.org

Fifth Grader Aiden Cannon took on referee responsibilities for this 5th/6th grade recess football crew, outfitting himself with jersey, penalty flag, and whistle! From left, Aristen Polk, Zachary Moore, Crosby High, Sebi Sacoto, Sam Shipley, Davis Hudson, Cameron Gibbs, Foster Gettys, Joseph Howard, Luke Bresee, Aiden Cannon, Gabe Ratton, Ronan Keough, and Henry Davis.