2015 Spring Admissions Magazine

Winter/Spring 2015

The Admission Magazine of Hathaway Brown School

Good-Natured Fun New Pre-Kindergarten program allows boys and girls to explore the great outdoors Pre-Kindergarten classes are embarking this year on a learning adventure through free exploration of the natural world in a new program called Taking Root. Three afternoons a month, PK teachers Stephanie Albrecht, Julie Harris, Marissa Haverlock, Emily Mount, Mary-Scott Pietrafese, and Kristen Wise accompany their students to Case Western Reserve University’s Squire Valleevue Farm in nearby Hunting Valley. There, the children are encouraged to investigate the distinct landscape that includes a creek, woods, meadow, and pond. The young explorers are able to watch the seasons change, study their surroundings, and just plain have fun.

Photos by Jason Miller

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Hathaway Brown is a dynamic and compassionate community dedicated to excellence in the education of girls.

Non Scholae Sed Vitae Discimus: We Learn Not For School, But For Life Hathaway Brown School is a school for girls, and it’s so much more.

It’s a school for scientists and writers and artists and budding entrepreneurs. It’s a training ground for athletes and dancers and musicians and actresses. It’s a place where young people are empowered to ask questions, challenge conventions, and explore opportunities.

And everything we do is guided by the motto above.

Since 1876, HB has given students the tools they need to confidently embrace all the possibilities that exist for them beyond our Shaker Heights campus. The faculty’s dedication to hands-on experiential learning at all levels can be observed every day in the classrooms, libraries, science labs, theatres, dance studios, and art rooms, as well as on the athletic fields.

In addition to the superior academic preparation they receive, at every turn HB students are inspired to become the best people they can be. We encourage girls of all ages and boys in our Early Childhood program to take chances, stretch their minds, work together, and pick themselves up and start over when they need to.

All of our students are able to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to their lives. They know how to test theories, hold authority accountable, find beauty in overlooked places, implement creative solutions, and lend a hand where it’s needed.

Wherever they go from here, HB graduates bring strong character, unparalleled intelligence, unbridled enthusiasm, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge along with them.

contents Admission

Contact Us pg. 5 HB at a Glance pg. 16 Important Dates pg. 26

News from North Park pg. 6 Creative Class pg. 12

In every laboratory, studio, and learning center across campus, HB students are encouraged to imagine, invent, and innovate

Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere pg. 18

HB students make a difference in the community

The Wicked and Wonderful Legacy of Margaret Hamilton ’21 pg. 22 HB celebrates the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, starring one of our own

In Their Words pg. 11

Ask a Blazer Q&A with Upper School students

HB Highlights

Student Art Gallery pg. 21

Learn more at HB.edu or call 216.320.8767 to schedule a personal tour.

Photo Credit: Jason Miller

“Makers” is a word that’s been around for a long time, but it’s now been made into the moniker for a movement. The entire initiative is designed around the ideal of creativity. A Maker is someone who leaves a mark; someone who blazes a trail on her own and for others to follow. In recent years, the Makers movement has gained considerable momentum in the United States and around the world, but the concept is nothing new at Hathaway Brown. Here, we always have been the Blazers.

At MAKERS.com, you’ll find a deep reservoir of inspirational stories told by women who have been creators and doers in all sorts of fields – from astrophysics to art; from sports to social activism. In 2014-2015, our school theme is “HB Girls Making the Future.” While it may be impossible to predict the future, we can certainly make it for ourselves. The question is, though, what kind of future do we want to see? More than ever before in human history, it is women who are driving the future, opening up exciting new pathways of possibility, and reinventing expectations and institutions and life trajectories.

Throughout campus this year, students and faculty are exploring the Makers instinct they each have within. They’re finding the capacity to build, tweak, customize, create, and fuel. Ultimately we’ll be shaping a mindset for growth, the ability to envision and build one’s own path in a world that’s changing fast – the central leadership skill for the future.

Unsurprisingly, HB girls have taken the Makers theme and run with it. Truth be told, they already had been making things their own for a very long time – 138 years to be exact. We’ve always supported them as they have moved confidently into lives filled with creativity and passion.

The rate of change in today’s world is staggering, and students need to be prepared with skill sets that allow them to adapt and make their way. Every day, I see HB girls discovering and creating new ways to inject wisdom, ethics, curiosity, and courage into situations that are increasingly automated and driven by technology.

Our girls have the ability to synthesize all the information around them in order to make sound decisions. And they’re doing so with lots of encouragement from their teachers and mentors and through the force of their own fortitude and resilience. We walk side by side with our girls as they explore, attempt, fail, and ultimately succeed.

I invite you to see for yourself all the amazing possibilities HB girls are considering, learning, and trying. I promise you’ll come away with a positive outlook on what this younger generation is capable of. I hope you can make a visit to HB soon. I’d love to introduce you to the girls who are hard at work making the future.

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HB Girls Making the Future

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contact us Sarah Liotta Johnston

Associate Head for Enrollment Management 216.320.8104 sjohnston@hb.edu

Tina Reifsnyder

Admission Coordinator 216.320.8767 treifsnyder@hb.edu

Shelley Johns

Admission Database Manager 216.320.8098 sjohns@hb.edu

early childhood/primary school Kristin Kuhn

Director of Early Childhood & Primary School Admission 216.320.8093 kkuhn@hb.edu

middle school Katherine Jenne Chapman ’04 Director of Middle School Admission 216.320.8091 kchapman@hb.edu

upper school Colleen Sommerfeld

Associate Director of Upper School Admission 216.320.8103 csommerfeld@hb.edu

Leading up to the third annual Young Artists and Writers Festival for Hathaway Brown Upper School students, some internationally acclaimed creative artists spent time on campus. Bestselling comic book artist, filmmaker, and writer Marjane Satrapi joined us for an onstage conversation about her life and work on October 23, and recording artist and activist Dar Williams performed, connected with students, and conducted a songwriting workshop on October 30.

All members of the HB community were invited to see Williams perform a 30-minute set in the Middle School Atrium, featuring such classic numbers as “If I Had a Hammer” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” along with several originals, including “The Babysitter’s Here.” Following her performance, Williams spoke with HB students about finding their voices and being unconventional during a Real Conversations with Real People discussion. She also hosted personalized songwriting workshops with Middle and Upper School girls.

Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, a favorite of HB students, tells the story of the author’s youth in Iran in the 1970s and ’80s, of living through the Islamic Revolution and the war with Iraq. After its initial publication in France, Persepolis earned enormous critical acclaim and won several prestigious comic book awards. The book has been translated into more than 40 languages, and it was chosen by the Young Adult Library Association as one of its recommended titles for all students, and also named one of the “100 Best Books of the Decade” by The Times (London). After a 45-minute conversation with HB’s Osborne Writing Center Director Scott Parsons, Satrapi stayed for an audience Q&A session with HB students, and she signed copies of her books.

Open to Cleveland-area high school girls, the Young Writers and Artists Festival is organized by the Osborne Writing Center to offer small workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. Each section offers students the opportunity to pursue their creative passions and develop their craft by working with a talented and accomplished professional writer or artist in a small workshop setting with other invested young writers/ artists. The 2014 presenters were authors Alexandra Fuller, John Estes, and David Giffels; playwright Wendy MacLeod; comics author Derf; painter James March; poet Jamaal May; and songwriters Over the Rhine. Authors Michael Dirda and Wes Davis also were on campus for a special Writers Forum that was open to the public and preceded the festival.

An idiosyncratic songwriter who writes folk songs from a unique, insightful perspective, Dar Williams often has been compared to Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez. Since her debut in 1993, she has recorded nine studio albums including 2012’s Time of the Gods, she’s written two children’s books, and given talks to aspiring musicians and artists around the country.

The pre-festival visiting artist opportunities with Marjane Satrapi and Dar Williams were made possible through sponsorships by HB’s Center for Global Citizenship, the Tremaine Art History Endowment, Dorothy Tremaine Hildt ’45, the Hathaway Brown Parent Association, and a generous family donor.

Photo Credit: Vanessa Butler

Gifted Guests

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High Marks

Tessa Murthy ’15 recently earned a 36, the highest possible composite score on the ACT exam.

The ACT features tests dedicated to English, mathematics, reading, and science, with each scored on a scale from 1-36. A student’s composite score is an average of these four test scores.

Typically, fewer than one-tenth of one percent of all test takers fare this well. Earlier this year, Tessa’s classmate Rebecca Weinberger ’15 also earned a perfect score on the ACT.

SPORT REPORT CROSS COUNTRY - For the first time since 2012, the team was ranked fourth in the OHSAA Division II district meet and advanced as a team to the OHSAA Division II regional meet. * The Blazers finished ninth at regionals.

FIELD HOCKEY - The Varsity team had a 12-5 season. * The JV team’s record was 8-2-4.

GOLF - Advanced to the OHSAA Division II

State Tournament and finished fifth, with a team score of 702.

SOCCER

The Varsity team was the OHSAA Division II District Runner-Up and had an overall record of 8-9-2. * JV completed their season with a record of 0-8-5.

TENNIS

- The Varsity “A” team completed their season with an overall record of 11-3. * Varsity “B” finished the season with a record of 11-6. * The JV Tennis team’s record was 13-1. * Lauren Gillinov ’17 captured the OHSAA Division II Singles State Championship. * Catherine Areklett ’17 and Ally Persky ’17 were the OHSAA Division II Doubles State Runners-Up.

VOLLEYBALL

- The Varsity Volleyball team advanced to the OHSAA Division II District Semifinal, and they ended the season with a 10-11 record. * The JV team completed the regular season with an overall record of 4-12.

Congratulations also are in order for Bridget Babcox, Tessa Murthy, Sanjana Roy, Charlotte Tse, and Rebecca Weinberger, the five Hathaway Brown seniors who have been chosen as National Merit Semifinalists this year for their high scores on the preliminary SAT. They are now part of a prestigious list of only 16,000 American high school seniors (fewer than one percent), who are the highest scoring entrants in each state. These semifinalists may advance as finalists and compete for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships, worth $33 million, that will be offered this spring.

Additionally, nine members of the Class of 2015 recently have received Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise, based on their Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test scores. This year’s National Merit Commended Students are Emily Amjad, Alexis Anderson, Marta Baker, Emily Imka, Alison Martin, Laura Mueller, Anisha Sehgal, Emily Spencer, and Elizabeth Toohey.

Kayla Briskey and Ronda Kyle have been named Outstanding Participants in the National Achievement Scholarship Program, based on their performance on the 2013 PSAT. This designation is reserved for those students who scored in the top three percent of the more than 160,000 Black Americans who took the test in 2013.

GOOD CHEMISTRY Upper School science teacher Don Southard has been teaching at Hathaway Brown since 1981. And he’s beginning to see some familiar faces in his classroom. During the 2014-2015 school year, Southard is helping members of the sophomore class understand the principles of chemistry. Four of those students have the added benefit of being able to turn to their mothers for help if they need it, because Southard taught them as well. Three decades may have passed, but Southard still has the

same classroom, and he’s still captivating students with his knowledge and expertise.

These mother-daughter pairs may not share a covalent bond, but they share a special HB Chemistry bond just the same. They are (back row, l-r): Denise Wood Hahn ’88, Lisa Mortimer ’88, Heather Strom Areklett ’88, and Missy Vertes Butler ’86; (front row, l-r): Skylar Hahn ’17, Maggie Cha ’17, Catherine Areklett ’17, and Maren Butler ’17.

WELCOME TO OHIO

Through the school’s annual exchange with Ravenswood School for Girls in Gordon, Australia, just outside Sydney, Georgie Byers, Olivia Haglund, and Ali Westmore (l-r, inset) spent five weeks at Hathaway Brown in November and December. The relationship with Ravenswood is one of the longest such exchange programs HB has in place with a dedicated partner school. Each year, two or three rising HB sophomores travel to Australia in the summer, and their Australian counterparts arrive in Shaker Heights in the fall. The Ravenswood students anxiously anticipate experiencing the cold of the Midwest and watching the snow fall (many for the first time) while they’re in the States. These photos capture the girls’ excitement during an early November snowstorm, the first of the season. Shortly after the snow hit the ground, they dashed outside to feel the flakes on their faces and to enthusiastically make snow angels. Little did they know that by the next morning there already would be seven inches piled on the ground in the HB Courtyard, and the temperatures would have dropped to the single digits.

Food for Thought Nearly 400 Northeast Ohio parents and their young children joined us on campus for the first-ever Family Food Fest at Hathaway Brown. Presented in partnership with Macaroni Kid Cleveland East, this free event was a kid-centered celebration of healthy eating featuring music, activities, and a whole lot more.

A variety of organizations focused on health and nutrition for kids ages 10 and under were on hand the morning of October 11 to answer questions and provide resources. The program included a special cooking demonstration by Steve Schimoler, chef/ owner of Crop Bistro in Ohio City and Crop Kitchen in University Circle. There also were parent-child fitness and yoga classes, along with special programs designed by HB Early Childhood teachers to help families find healthy ways to snack.

Dozens of sponsors contributed to the cause, and there was plenty of delicious, nutritious food for everyone. The fun continued outdoors as well, and families spent time exploring the Oliva Herb Garden, sampling wares from food trucks, and even getting up close and personal with Teddy, the adorable (and cuddly!) alpaca. We’re grateful to all of our partner agencies and the terrific parent, faculty, and student volunteers who made the Family Food Fest possible.

Special thanks to AVI Foodsystems, HB’s dining services provider, for offering a wide array of beautiful and healthy locally sourced fruits and vegetables in a variety of preparations for attendees to sample.

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Blanket Statement Beloved American storyteller, author, and illustrator

Polacco is the author of dozens of children’s books,

Museum at the University of Findlay, which houses

at Hathaway Brown this fall. HB was the first stop

Sunday, The Keeping Quilt, and Thunder Cake.

by children’s book illustrators. In preparation for

Patricia Polacco made a special personal appearance

on Polacco’s rare grand tour of Northeast Ohio, organized by HB’s Early Childhood & Primary School Librarian Kathy Englehart. Other schools

and organizations on Polacco’s itinerary included Hawken, Laurel, University School, Cleveland

including some HB favorites such as Chicken

Englehart and her Primary School colleagues have included these works and others in their

curriculum for many years. The themes of family and heritage are extremely prevalent in Polacco’s

the world’s largest collection of original artwork

Polacco’s visit, HB Primary School students created their own “Keeping Quilt”out of fabric and felt, which

they shared with the author while she was on campus.

writing. A gifted artist, she spent her childhood

Another fun way that the school marked the visit

did not learn to read herself until she was 14 years

The recipe for this Devil’s Food cake was inspired

that point. She began her career as a storyteller,

grandmother during a Michigan thunderstorm

expressing herself through art. Remarkably, she

was by serving “Thunder Cake” during lunchtime.

old, having lived with undiagnosed dyslexia to

by a day of baking Polacco shared with her

and her first book was published when she was 41.

when she was young. The cake contains a unique

some of the students’ favorite books allows them to

“She’s incredibly inspirational,” Englehart says.

for the girls and their teachers to take so they could

very key elements in all that happens in our world.”

Polacco’s own family heirloom quilt that inspired

Schools Book Fund, Gesu, and Bryden School.

“For us, the idea of having the children meet with

a real author and illustrator is very powerful,” Englehart says. “Our business is the business of literacy. Spending time with the person who created see, hear, and understand that writing and art are

Photo byand Kevinrecipe Reeves cards were available surprise ingredient,

try their hands at baking Thunder Cake at home.

The Keeping Quilt now is on display at the Mazza

LEARNING AND GROWING TOGETHER

This fall, parents of tween and teen girls had the opportunity to come to Hathaway Brown to meet with and learn from Michelle Icard, author of Middle School Makeover: Improving the Way You and Your Child Experience the Middle School Years and creator of Athena’s Path, a curriculum that helps girls navigate the tricky middle school social scene.

Parenting in the Middle, which was held at HB on October 15, was designed to provide important information about girls’ social, emotional, academic, and physical health and wellness during the important middle school years. With current HB families and any others who were interested in attending, nearly 150 parents were on hand for Michelle Icard’s keynote presentation and a series of educational breakout sessions.

After an hour-long opening session, parents were invited to participate in four different 20-minute workshops hosted by members of HB’s faculty and administration. Choices included “Managing Moodiness,” with Amy Speidel, Certified Parent Coach and Consultant for HB’s Center for Family Support; “The Secrets of Middle School Social Life,” with Sharon Baker, HB Middle School Director; “Using Social Media for Good,” with Lisa Lurie, HB Counselor; and “Health Swap Challenge,” with Brittany Tarver ’06, HB Wellness Teacher.

Numerous resources from this inaugural parenting program are now available for all to access at www.hb.edu/ parentinginthemiddle. To learn more about Michelle Icard, please visit www.michelleinthemiddle.com.

Photo Credit: Jason Miller

Photo by Keith Berr

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UPPER SCHOOLERS: WHAT’S YOUR

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FAVORITE CLASS?

I like ENGLISH the best, because there are so many discussions during class around a round table, My favorite class is PHOTO because it really teaches me how to relax and where nobody capture the moment. is shut out from the discussion.

Kaley, Grade 10

Julia, Grade 9

CALCULUS BC is probably my favorite class. It is certainly my most challenging class. But the feeling I get when a concept clicks in my head or when I get back a test with an A is irreplaceable.

Lauren, Grade 10

LATIN, because the teacher is amazing and it’s really cool to learn how a ‘dead language’ still plays a part in the world today. Sue, Grade 12 My favorite class is BIOLOGY because it is a subject that I find particularly interesting.

I like that it is interactive. The labs make class much more exciting than listening to lectures all the time. Lekha, Grade 9

I really enjoy PSYCHOLOGY because it isn’t a part of the core curriculum and isn’t offered in many other schools. It is a very special opportunity and also happens to be a subject I’m very interested in.

Lizzy, Grade 12

Creative

Photos by Vanessa Butler

imagine, invent, & innovate

Class t’s an annual tradition at Hathaway Brown to dedicate the work of each school year to an overarching theme that spans all grade levels and permeates the curriculum. In August, Head of School Bill Christ announced that the 2014-2015 theme would be HB Girls Making the Future. In a letter to the school community, he wrote: “A fast-spreading ‘Makers Movement’ is becoming a global phenomenon, with legions of both women and men striving to capitalize on the ‘Makers instinct’ embedded in us all–what Bob Johansen, author of Leaders Make the Future calls the universal human ability ‘to harness one’s inner drive to build and grow things and to connect with others in the process of making.’

The 2013 PBS documentary MAKERS: Women Making America, narrated by Meryl Streep, told the story of the modern women’s movement and of women, known and unknown, who remade American life through their transformational visions and energies. Since that documentary aired, more and more stories of trailblazing women and girls in every realm have been cached at a terrific website called MAKERS.com, a digital sisterhood of innovators and way-finders to inspire us.

MAKERS.com doesn’t tell the HB story–yet. But it should. After all, our Five Founding Girls, when they couldn’t find a school in Cleveland back in 1875 devoted to educational excellence for girls, decided to make one, and that school eventually became Hathaway Brown.

So the Makers drive is truly baked into our institutional DNA and today’s HB girls have all kinds of special and personalized vehicles to activate their Makers instincts, from Discovery Learning in Early Childhood to Storyline in Prime to WEST Fellowships in Middle School to the Institute for 21st Century Education in the Upper School.

So this year we’ll take delight in the making of things– of all kinds: new ideas, fresh solutions, differences for the better, art, code, connections, inventions, history, and joy. We’ll explore the Makers instinct in ourselves and each other, and find the capacity to build, tweak, customize, create, and fuel. And ultimately we’ll be shaping a mindset for growth, the ability to envision and build one’s own path in a world that’s changing fast–the central leadership skill for the future.”

Recently, we checked in with some HB faculty members to learn how they’re incorporating the Makers theme in their classrooms and helping students tap into the ingenuity and resourcefulness they each possess inside.

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In every laboratory, studio, and learning center across campus, Hathaway Brown students are encouraged to

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Jamie Atlas ’03, Second Grade Teacher

Laura Zappas, Sixth Grade English Teacher

Creation Station

GROW Foundation

PRIMARY SCHOOL INVENTION INCUBATOR

Girls Reaching Others Worldwide student philanthropy organization

How does Creation Station help HB girls become purposeful Makers? More than

anything, Creation Station allows the girls to use their imaginations in a very hands-on way. Before the girls begin creating, they have to first come up with a plan. The guidelines are that the creations should be useful and helpful to someone, or that they should help fix a problem in our school, community, or world. In our classroom we have four core words that lead us every day: Explore, Create, Imagine, and Discover. To me, this is what an HB education is all about and it’s what sets our school apart from others.

Are there any particular student creations that stand out? The creations that

the girls have come up with blow my mind. I had one student design a new crib that actually rocks the baby to sleep. There was a group of girls who worked together to create a whole neighborhood of homes with underground tunnels so that they wouldn’t have to go outside in the winter to visit family and friends. But what has been really interesting to me is that some of the best creations have been ideas that didn’t work out and were then changed into something different.

How do you model being a Maker? I like to think that as a teacher, I am a Maker every day.

In my classroom, I strive to instill in my students the values of creativity and empowerment. It is important to me to make sure that my girls leave my classroom knowing that they have a voice, and that it is their responsibility to make the world a better place for others. When I was a student at Hathaway Brown, my teachers taught me that anything is possible. This is a message that I want to continue to convey to the next generation of HB girls.

How are members of the GROW Foundation Makers? GROW girls make a

difference as agents of change. Throughout the year, our lunch meetings are engineered to help our members understand how to become lifelong philanthropists who look for ways to give. We define philanthropy as a “love of man” by giving one’s time, treasure, and talent. As ours is one of the only student-run foundations in the country that is Middle School-based, it is essential for us to distill the concept of philanthropy into that definition so girls understand just what they are doing to make a difference.

The magic of GROW happens during proposal review in early March each year, which is run by the foundation’s eighth-grade president.

We employ a variety of methods to help our members make the decisions about whether or not to fund charitable projects and how much to award each project funded. This is the moment when GROW comes to life, when GROW makes sense, and when our GROW girls know they are making an impact.

What are some GROW initiatives that make a difference in the community?

Each year, our members make a difference here at HB by bringing philanthropy to life for their peers. They share their work by giving educational presentations about the needs they have addressed through the grant-giving process and involving the student body in selecting our annual partner-in-service-and-philanthropy. This year’s partner is New Avenues to Independence.

GROW members involve their peers through projects such as Giving Tree (this year’s recipient is Providence House), educating them about the organization and the purpose of the gifts donated, and at our spring benefits, during which our grants are awarded. GROW girls rely on their peers to support their fundraising efforts; without their peers’ support in buying hot cocoa, bringing in change for the Penny Challenge, making donations in honor of faculty and staff during the holidays, their grant-making efforts would not be possible.

Our members make a difference in Cleveland as well. We have developed long-standing partnerships with organizations including the American Red Cross, Daily Dose of Reading, New Avenues to Independence, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, the Rainey Institute, Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland, Transitional Housing Inc., Bellefaire JCB, Tri-C, and University Settlement. Through grants given last year, we are working on developing stronger partnerships with Trinity Lakewood Community Outreach, Proyecto Raices, West Side Catholic Center, Providence House, and HER Ideas in Motion, to name a few. Much more information about the GROW foundation may be found online at www.hb.edu/grow.

Joy Barton, Middle School Art Teacher

Project-Based Learning sculpting, painting, problem-solving What skills or concepts do you teach that allow HB students to be Makers? I

try to inspire HB Middle School artists to be Makers by teaching them to feel confident using a wide variety of tools and materials and offering unexpected art challenges where unpredictable outcomes are celebrated. We began the year with a collaborative balloon sculpture challenge in which the girls broke into small groups and were asked to use up to 25 twisty balloons to create the tallest free-standing sculpture possible. I wish there were video footage of them enthusiastically brainstorming, trying, failing, and solving problems together. Inspiration drives what we are up to in the Middle School art room, and so what we make is constantly fluid, flexible, and full of artistic surprises.

I hope that the Makers movement is a memorable and motivational experience for HB girls throughout this year, and throughout their entire lives. No matter what passions they choose to pursue or problems they set out to solve, HB Makers are sure to fearlessly tackle the world with creative enthusiasm.

As an artist, how are you a Maker? I have been part of the Makers movement for as long as I can remember. I have always loved making things and am fortunate enough to have parents who thought it was amusing that as a child, I loved to build elaborate forts—using every single sheet in the linen closet, of course. I always loved the challenge of constantly rethinking my fort designs as bits inevitably collapsed as I scrambled around inside. Those forts usually turned out even better after certain parts failed and were reworked multiple times. Today, I create my works of art

Sara Barresi, Infant & Toddler Center Teacher

Community Connections teacher-parent communication initiative How does your work make an impact on families’ lives? I have the privilege of caring

for the youngest students at Hathaway Brown. In most cases this is the first situation that parents have to entrust someone outside of their family for their childcare needs. Especially for first-time parents, this can bring a great deal of anxiety.

Many of the worries or concerns are shared at the initial conference we have with parents. This is the time for a teacher to simply listen and respect their hopes for their children.

The amount of developmental growth that occurs in one academic year while a child is in our care is outstanding, and I strive to always include parents in each step. After all, we are a team. Daily communication not only assists in the best care for the student but also builds a trusting relationship between the teacher and parent. Our daily log of information helps document our fun excursions, the songs we sing, the books we read, and all the specific essentials of each student’s day.

Our low child-to-caregiver ratio allows me to provide attention and proper care for my students.

I enjoy getting to know my students’ families.

Having the opportunity to hear their excitement about their baby’s first step, or the happiness in parents’ voices once they get a full night’s rest, allows me to be part of the most wondrous year of their child’s life. I gain a little pride knowing I was a part of it all. It is an honor to experience these moments.

Nicole Trombetta, Eighth Grade Science Teacher

Middle School Science Fair brainstorming solutions How do you bring the Makers movement to life in the classroom? There are some

amazing concepts that girls gravitate toward in my curriculum that go hand-in-hand with being a Maker. This includes repurposing materials, reciting the mantra, “fail often in order to succeed sooner,” and embracing the Makers mindset that anyone can do anything.

One of many projects that encapsulate the Makers movement during the eighth-grade year is when the girls build toy cars for Science Fair. My favorite moment in the classroom is hearing that very first victory cry from a group when the students finally succeed in making their toy cars work. After days (or sometimes weeks) of struggle and frustration, the pieces fall (or are soldered, wired, or glued) into place and the car actually moves. At the very beginning of the project, the groups are given a plastic tub with the bare necessities for their cars, and the most common reaction is “I don’t know how to build a car!” I love seeing how they prove themselves wrong and end up with a unique toy that really works. It is such an empowering project for Middle School girls.

“Making” isn’t all about technology, though.

Eighth-grade history teacher Jason Habig and I are using the Makers movement as the theme for the Food, Culture & Society Academy that we’re teaching this trimester. On the first day of class, we challenged the girls to invent their own recipes for salsa given a table full of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, most of which came from our home gardens. Everything the students made was delicious—and they were so proud of themselves and so encouraging of each other. They were surprised by how much they already knew.

How do you think being a Maker will affect the future for HB girls? Primarily, I see

the Makers movement as a path to empowerment for our students. Once given the opportunity, they will see that they are capable of literally “making”—designing, inventing, building, and improving—the world around them.

FUTURE DESIGNERS Across the country and around the world, women are needed more and more in the fields of engineering and technology.

In 2011, the Computing Research Association’s Taulbee Survey found that fewer than 12 percent of undergraduate computer science and computer engineering degrees were awarded to women. This is an especially dire problem because demand for these skills is growing at a rate much faster than American universities can grant degrees.

With a new state-of-the-art facility to be used by students in grades K-12, Hathaway Brown is doing its part to fill this need. In 2015, the school is launching a “Fab Lab,” or digital fabrication laboratory. Housed in the site of the former Invention Lab (a woodworking space), the Fab Lab will serve as an incubator for creativity by integrating design, engineering, computer science, problem solving, art, video and media production, and 3-D printing–everything needed for a “dream factory.”

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Bits and Atoms, “A Fab Lab is a technical prototyping platform for innovation and invention, providing stimulus for local entrepreneurship. A Fab Lab is also a platform for learning and innovation: a place to play, to create, to learn, to mentor, to invent. To be a Fab Lab means connecting to a global community of learners, educators, technologists, researchers, makers and innovators­ —a knowledge-sharing network that spans 30 countries and 24 time zones. Because all Fab Labs share common tools and processes, the program is building a global network, a distributed laboratory for research and invention.”

HB’s new Fab Lab will function under the direction of the school’s Center for Technology & Invention, which is part of our signature Institute for 21st Century Education. Fab Lab programming will cut across the curriculum and incorporate the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math; the arts; afterschool programs such as the robotics team; HB outreach programs such as Aspire; and all other Institute centers. Students will now have a dedicated space in which they will be able to use a suite of digital design and rapid prototyping tools typically found in an MIT Fab Lab. Here, they can reimagine the world while they invent new products and mold innovations for the future.

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using this same mentality. I think anyone can be a Maker if they dive into the linen closet, so to speak, and are willing to create something that excites them without being worried about the outcome.

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Hathaway Brown is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the Ohio Association of Independent Schools, the Cleveland Council of Independent Schools, and is a founding member of the World Education Alliance.

Head of School Bill Christ has been designated one of 20 outstanding Independent School Heads in the U.S. by Columbia University’s Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership.

100+ 100% of graduates attend four-year colleges

Hathaway Brown is an independent day school that enrolls girls in preschool through 12th grade and boys and girls in Early Childhood. It is the oldest college-preparatory girls’ school in Ohio, originally established as the Brooks School for Ladies, an adjunct to the prestigious Brooks Military Academy in downtown Cleveland. It was founded by five intrepid young women who implored the headmaster at Brooks to allow them to take afternoon classes. The school’s name was changed to Hathaway Brown 10 years later, and it moved to its permanent Shaker Heights location in 1927.

HB’s inclusive environment, outstanding faculty, and unique programs draw families from 81 communities across Northeast Ohio to its beautiful 16-acre campus, which houses an aquatics center, invention lab, visual and performing arts spaces, and working television studio. Immersive academic, service, and cultural opportunities abound, and graduates attend many of the country’s top universities.

The school is consistently honored by well-regarded educational institutions, social service organizations, businesses, professional societies, and journalistic publications.

The number of HB students who have been named finalists or semifinalists in the prestigious Intel and Siemens science competitions far surpasses all other schools in Ohio and all independent girls’ day schools in the United States.

Eighty percent of the class of 2014 were accepted to their top-choice schools. Among the 84 members of that graduating class, nine were named National Merit Finalists, one was a National Achievement Finalist, and nine more were National Merit Commended Students. Many were awarded merit scholarships from their schools of choice, and several committed to play collegiate-level sports.

16 Acre Campus

$53.5M

Endowment (market value 6.30.14)

32%

of HB students are awarded Financial Aid

841 Students

8:1

Student-Teacher Ratio

33%

students of color

1:1

Technology Program

Established:

1876

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Faculty Members

To learn more, please visit www.hb.edu/ataglance.

Photos by Jason Miller

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Partnerships with Greater Cleveland organizations

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Photos by Jason Miller

focused its fall Legacy Day on making a difference in the lives of others through

n September 12, students, faculty, and staff in every division came together to create some meaningful moments and plans to continue doing good for others.

HB’s Legacy Program builds on the class color tradition to foster a stronger sense of full-school community and to create connections, friendships, and camaraderie across divisions. At the core of the Legacy Program are service, sisterhood, and school spirit. The Legacy Program is centered around “legacy groups,” sets of mixed-age students, teachers, administrators, and support staff. Specific legacy events are held throughout the school year, including a Legacy Day at the beginning of each school year, and legacy groups gather for various traditional school events and activities. These legacy groups are part of the way one belongs to the HB community, strengthening sisterhood while creating a common experience for all of the members of our diverse community.

This year, HB joined forces with Ricky Smith, uncle of HB student Kristen Ferguson ’16 and founder of RAKENow.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to committing Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere. Smith shows by example how one person from Cleveland, Ohio, can make a big difference in other people’s lives across the country and around the world.

For the HB Legacy Day, Smith kicked things off with a keynote presentation about how doing good can change people’s lives, including your own. A comedian of the digital age, he got his start on Twitter, where his 140-character humor caught the attention of Comedy Central executives and he landed a job writing for the show Black Dynamite. But he was looking for something more out of life. On a whim, he decided to travel the country with nothing but an ID and a cell phone. Strangers who followed him on social media made it a point to help him along the way, offering money, food, and even a car.

He discovered that people have a desire to help their fellow man, with no expectation of anything in return. Kindness, he learned, just feels good. So Smith launched a movement: Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere, or RAKE for short. He has traveled the country chronicling his actions—from buying a new wardrobe for a homeless man in California to organizing a blanket drive in Washington, D.C., to simply planting a kiss on a delighted 92-year-old woman’s face in Atlanta—via social media using the hashtag #RAKE. He passes out brown bag lunches to the homeless in Cleveland and hot dogs to fans at Indians games. He does it because kindness feels good.

And he encourages other people to do the same. #RAKE is now an international sensation. If you search the hashtag, you’ll see people all over the world are doing Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere.

Smith’s work has been featured in such high-profile media outlets as Men’s Health. In 2014, Cleveland Magazine named him one of its Most Interesting People, and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson declared February 17 “Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere” Day in his honor.

After the opening Legacy Day assembly, HB’s 48 family color groups gathered to make #RAKE boxes filled with colorful artwork, inspirational notes, creative origami, and candy. At the end of the school day, the boxes were distributed to members of the HB support staff, bus drivers, and parents who were picking up their children. Some older students even walked around the neighborhood and passed them out to people who live near the school.

It was incredibly gratifying to see the impact of such a seemingly small gesture. One woman called a school administrator and left a long voicemail message to praise and thank a group of HB students who were passing her on the sidewalk and handed her a #RAKE box as she was coming in from a physically exhausting 12-mile run. She said it was just the lift she needed at that very moment. And the mother of an HB middle schooler sent a note that read, in part: “Whoever came up with the idea for yesterday’s Legacy Day should be applauded! As I picked up my daughter in the front circle, I was greeted by a couple of middle school students who passed me a little box and smiled, ‘Have a great day!’ I had no idea what was happening over there.

Just before then I hadn’t been having the best kind of day, but that little box turned it all around.”

Legacy groups also spent time developing ideas for larger #RAKE projects to be completed with Ricky Smith’s assistance at the second Legacy Day in May. The concept for that day is for family groups to leave campus and do Random Acts of Kindness Everywhere in Greater Cleveland. Preliminary plans include such things as delivering no-sew blankets to a local children’s hospital, bringing a mobile smoothie-making operation to a nearby firehouse, and baking treats for dogs at a regional animal clinic.

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In keeping with the school theme, the Hathaway Brown community

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Tuition & Fees We look for talented students of strong character regardless of a family’s ability to pay tuition. For commonly asked questions and detailed information about HB’s financial aid program and eligibility guidelines, please visit www.hb.edu/admission.

Students are admitted to Hathaway Brown and awarded financial aid on the basis of personal and academic performance and promise, and are included in all school activities and programs, without discrimination on grounds of race, color, religion, or national or ethnic origin.

For 2014-15, HB has committed $4 million to the need-based financial aid program. Students in grades K-12 are eligible to apply for these funds and approximately 32 percent receive financial assistance. Hathaway Brown School does not offer athletic scholarships. All awards are based on a family’s demonstrated need as determined by School and Student Services, a subsidiary of the National Association of Independent Schools.

Photo Credit: Jason Miller

Merit scholarships also are available for ninth-graders.

COST: Infant & Toddler Center (6 weeks - 36 months) tuition & fees range from $3,000 to $14,000 Early Childhood (ages 2½ – 5) tuition & fees range from $4,000 to $11,000 Primary School (grades K – 4) tuition & fees range from $18,000 to $22,000 Middle School (grades 5 – 8) tuition & fees range from $22,000 to $25,000 Upper School (grades 9 – 12) tuition & fees range from $25,000 to $27,000

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Art Gallery Hathaway Brown art students continue to impress. This year, 15 HB girls earned 24 regional commendations from The Scholastic Art Awards, a longstanding, highly-competitive local and national visual arts program.

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Gold Key Winner - by MacKenzie Hridel ’15 Gold Key Winner - by Emily Imka ’15 Gold Key Winner - by Victoria Race ’15 Honorable Mention - by Molly Sharpe ’16 Silver Key Winner - by Nitya Thakore ’16

by Barry Goodrich

The wicked & wonderful legacy of

MARGARET HAMILTON The irony was never lost on Margaret Hamilton, a former kindergarten teacher who became the biggest female villain in the history of the movies. The woman who adored children ended up creating a character that scared them nearly to death.

A member of the 1921 class of Hathaway Brown, Hamilton had prepared herself for a career as a teacher but her love of the stage took her in a different direction, one that would lead to appearances in more than 70 films during a 50-year career.

But it would be one iconic role that guaranteed her legendary status. A character seared into the consciousness of anyone who has ever heard that distinctive cackle that could only belong to the Wicked Witch of the West.

“It’s a great character role and she played it to the hilt,” said Hamilton’s son, Hamilton Meserve, calling from his home in Maine. “It scares the bejesus out of you and it’s embedded in your mind.”

Meserve, a retired banker who is now a county commissioner, remembers his mother worrying that her portrayal of the witch would frighten youngsters. “She was very concerned about the affect it had on small children,” he says. “She was very aware of the impact it had on kids. Time and again she would literally get down on her knees and have kids touch her face. She would say ‘I’m a nice lady’ and that the witch was ‘all make-believe.’”

His mother did not want him to see the movie until he was 9 but Meserve was 6 when

Above: Photo courtesy of Hamilton Meserve; Below: The Wizard of Oz, courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

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says Meserve. “Then she pounded the pavement until she got her break.”

That break came in 1932 when she appeared in the Broadway show Another Language. She recreated her role for While filming a second take of the the film version of scene in which the the play, embarking witch disappears in “She was very aware of on a career that flames and smoke, the impact it had on kids. would see her work Hamilton’s face was badly burned Time and again she would for directors such literally get down on as Busby Berkeley, and she would not Frank Capra, and return to the set for her knees and have kids Altman six weeks. “I was led touch her face. She would Robert and alongside into her bedroom say `I’m a nice lady’ actors such as W.C. by my nanny and I and that the witch was Fields, Mae West, said, ‘Mommy has a `all make-believe.’” and, of course, funny costume on.’

Judy Garland.

She was wrapped Unlike most other actors, Hamilton up like a mummy with only one eye never signed with a studio, choosing showing,” Meserve recalls. instead to work for $1,000 per week.

Hamilton was born in Cleveland and For her Wizard of Oz roles of Almira lived in a Victorian home on Euclid Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the Avenue. Her father was a successful West, Hamilton earned approximately lawyer and her grandfather a judge. $23,000 for four months of work.

“She came from a socially prominent “Beverly Hills was an absolute paradise family, a family where young ladies for a child in those days,” remembers did not go on the stage,” says Meserve.

Meserve. “I was one happy kid. My “She had one foot in the entertainment mother was multifaceted; she was a world and one foot in the social world. member of the PTA, a Den Mother, a I love to tell the story of her going to member of the Beverly Hills Board of Hollywood for the first time with two Education and a union leader. Within letters of introduction – one from her the business, she was very respected, agent and one from the Junior League.” what they call an actor’s actor. I would Hamilton attended Hathaway Brown come home and literally trip over the when the school was located at 1945 bodies on the floor of all the actors she East 93rd Street. She went on to had taken in.” spend several years at the Cleveland Hamilton would go on to appear in a Play House, where she would return multitude of films and on television years later to perform. “That’s where shows such as Patty Duke continued on pg. 24. she learned all of her dramatic skills,”

Photo: 1921 Specularia

he “snuck in to see the melting scene” at a friend’s birthday party. “I just wanted to know what she was doing with all those soldiers,” he says.

No Place Like Home The 1921 Hathaway Brown Specularia offers a snapshot of the early life of an iconic American actress

Margaret Hamilton, or “Ham” as she was affectionately called by her Hathaway Brown classmates, served as the fourthquarter school vice president in her graduation year of 1921. The quote next to her senior class picture in the Specularia describes her thusly: “She’s quiet enough except when she’s making a noise.”

Other yearbook references to Hamilton give glimpses into the type of actress she would become. In one section of the book, it’s noted that she was clever young woman with a unique voice whose favorite expression was “Golly!”

During her senior year, she acted in a production of Pomander Walk, a play by Englishman Louis N. Parker set in the days of George III. According to an account by two of her classmates, “the part of Sir Peter Antrobus was admirably played by Margaret Hamilton; she entirely forgot herself and for two hours lived the part of the old admiral. … One of the most remarkable features of the play was the evident enjoyment all the players derived from their make-believes. Clearly some guiding genius had told them how to live their parts – not just act them.”

Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Off To See The Wizard In November 2014, Hathaway Brown staged The Wizard of Oz as a tribute to Margaret Hamilton ’21, who immortalized the role of the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939. Prior to the show, a commemorative display honoring Hamilton’s life and career (1902-1985) was installed outside The Ahuja Auditorium. The display included dozens of photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and other memorabilia from the HB archives.

In the play program, HB Theatre Director Molly Cornwell wrote, “We dedicate this production to Ms. Hamilton not because she was a scary witch, but because she was a young woman who had the courage, heart, and brains to follow her dream – to create her own yellow brick road – and who serves as an inspiration to all of us.”

Margaret Hamilton ’21 with her son, Hamilton Meserve, and grandson, Chris, in Seoul, Korea in 1967.

and The Addams Family in addition to playing the role of Cora, a spokesperson for Maxwell House coffee. But her greatest fame came as the witch whose evil laughter once blew out the sound equipment circuits on the set of The Wizard of Oz. “When it was shown on TV in the 1960s is when the legend starts,” says Meserve. “It didn’t really become popular until the kids could handle it and the parents began to see the virtue of the film. Then it was handed down from generation to generation. When Andy Warhol included Wicked Witch screen prints in his work that sort of cemented the character.”

Hamilton passed away in 1985 at the age of 82. “She was very gracious with fans and was always dressed to the nines,” says Meserve. “She signed stacks of photos right up until she died. She would always sign WWW for Wicked Witch of the West.”

During an appearance on Mister Rogers Neighborhood, Hamilton said of the witch “She does enjoy everything that she does. Whether it’s good or bad, she enjoys it.”

And generations of fans continue to enjoy the work of Margaret Hamilton.

The 75th anniversary Blu-ray edition of The Wizard of Oz is now available from Warner Home Video.

Hathaway Brown’s November Production of The Wizard of Oz. Photos by Kevin Reeves

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admission calendar january

february

Primary Visitation Day

Kindergarten Curriculum Night

for parents of prospective students grades 1-4 Wednesday, January 14, 2015

8:30-10:30 a.m.

Anne Cutter Coburn Reception Room

Infant & Toddler Center Sneak Peek

for current and prospective parents of rising Kindergarten students

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

7 p.m.

Kindergarten Classrooms

for prospective Infant & Toddler Center parents

Kindergarten Screenings

Anne Cutter Coburn Reception Room

Pre-Kindergarten students

Thursday, January 15, 2015

9 a.m.

CCIS Admission & Financial Aid Early Decision Date

for prospective Kindergarten and current Friday, February 6, 2015

Kindergarten Classrooms

11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

for prospective students with completed admission files

Early Childhood Screenings

Friday, January 16, 2015

Saturday, February 7, 2015

grades 4-12

Winter Playdate: Jungle Terry and Open Gym

for families with children ages 3 months-5 years Saturday, January 24, 2015 HB Gym

10 a.m.

for prospective Early Childhood families Early Childhood Classrooms

9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Winter Playdate: Storytime

for families with children ages 3 months-5 years Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Courtland Boulevard Entrance

9:30 a.m.

Kindergarten Visitation Day

Infant & Toddler Center Sneak Peek

Wednesday, January 28, 2015 8:30-10 a.m.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

for prospective Kindergarten families

Anne Cutter Coburn Reception Room

Middle School Parent Preview

for prospective Infant & Toddler Center parents 5:30 p.m.

Anne Cutter Coburn Reception Room

for parents of prospective students grades 5-8

Infant & Toddler – Grade 3 Application Deadline

Anne Cutter Coburn Reception Room

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Thursday, January 29, 2015

8:30-10 a.m.

Kindergarten Screenings

for prospective Kindergarten and current Pre-Kindergarten students Friday, January 30, 2015

Kindergarten Classrooms

9 a.m.-2 p.m.

CCIS Grades 4-12 Early Decision Round Reply Date

for prospective students Infant & Toddler-Grade 3

CCIS Infant & Toddler – Grade 3 Admission & Financial Aid Decision Date rolling admission grades 4-12 Friday, February 27, 2015

Friday, January 30, 2015

march

ISEE Testing

Primary Acceptance Day

for prospective students grades 5-12 Saturday, January 31, 2015

8 a.m.-12 p.m.

Anne Cutter Coburn Reception Room

for newly accepted K-4 families Tuesday, March 3, 2015

9:30 a.m.

Anne Cutter Coburn Reception Room

Infant & Toddler and Early Childhood Acceptance Day

for accepted Infant & Toddler Center and Early Childhood parents

Friday, March 6, 2015

9:30 a.m.

Anne Cutter Coburn Reception Room

CCIS Infant and Toddler – Grade 3 Admission Reply Date Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Photos by Jason Miller

natural world later in life.

Ruth Wilson, Nature and Young Children:

Encouraging Creative Play and Learning in Natural Environment, 2012

QUOTABLE

HB

Nature play makes kids healthier by stimulating higher levels of physical activity; smarter by boosting brain development; feel better by fostering emotional well-being; and preconditions them to care about the

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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

19600 North Park Boulevard Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122

PAID

Cleveland, Ohio Permit #3439

learn more.

Photo Credit: Vanessa Butler

The best way to get to know Hathaway Brown is to come see us.

Call 216.320.8767 today to schedule a personal tour. We’d love to show you around.

Extensive additional information about HB, including overviews of all our signature customized academic programs, may be found at www.hb.edu. Navigate to the Admission tab for details about interviews, student visits, applications, screenings, and financial aid. Be sure also to “like” Hathaway Brown School on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @HathawayBrown.