Commons Room

ROOM NEWS AND VIEWS FROM KENT PLACE

The Upper School Ethics Bowl team took part in the National Finals in April. Competing behind their screens instead of in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the KPS students made it to the final competition round and finished second overall in the nation. “The competitions were on Zoom,” said Sahana Kapoor ’24, “which required us to adapt and adjust to technological barriers. Not being able to sit among my teammates and discuss the cases while eating dinner together was definitely tougher than I thought it would be.”

Dr. Karen Rezach, the founder of the Kent Place Ethics Institute and the team’s coach, was proud of the students’ showing: “They accomplished more than any second- or first-place finish could have given them,” she said: “the dignity of standing up for what you know and believe, maintaining decorum and respect in the face of adversity, and always giving 100 percent.”

Emma Chan is a young woman driven by a love of learning. From piano and percussion to poetry and philosophy, her talents are expansive. A Kent Place student since Grade 6, she credits the school with fostering her intellectual curiosity. “I love the atmosphere of learning and exploration that’s supported here,” she says. “We’re allowed to interact with ideas in our own way and encouraged to be confident in expressing our thoughts.”

Emma’s main vehicle for expressing her thoughts is writing, a creative skill that has garnered her recognition both in and out of the classroom. She has won numerous scholastic arts and writing awards for her fiction and poetry and has already had work published in literary magazines. She has also pursued her passion as staffer, copy editor, and now editor in chief for Ballast, the school newspaper, and as a member of Baggywrinkle, Kent Place’s literary- and art-sharing circle.

“Emma’s creative writing is exceptional,” says English teacher Mike Schwartz. “Her work demonstrates a great mix of humility and heart, and she always wants to improve. She’s open to revision and very mature in the ways she approaches her craft; she’s motivated not merely by the urge to ‘put things out there’ for the world to admire; she’s intrinsically dedicated to improving her craft and is creating art for art’s sake.”

Emma has been Senate representative for her grade and president of the Philosophy Club and is media coordinator for Active Minds, the school’s mental-health activism group. “I love my extracurricular activities,” she says. “I can explore my interests and foster a sense of creativity, which I then bring to bear in my studies. Rather than just being performative, I approach my classwork with curiosity.”

“Emma is intelligence and kindness personified,” says her advisor, Dr. Evelyn Hanna P ’30. “Her inquisitive nature and her remarkable ability to define and pursue independent work are outstanding. Not only is she driven and focused on curricular and cocurricular pursuits, but she also takes time to engage meaningfully with her peers. Emma is a well-respected leader and a trusted friend among classmates.”

Emma says she’s grateful for the growth she’s experienced in her time at Kent Place and confident that it will serve her well as she continues her education — she hopes to take up studies that incorporate her love of English, literature, history, and philosophy. “I’ve discovered the importance of being fearless in what you want to pursue,” she says. “I’ve learned that I should never be afraid to express who I am or what I believe in.”

The visual arts are where creativity, innovation, analysis, and problem-solving come together. They stimulate the emotional and psychological aspects of the human mind and bring satisfaction and pleasure. To invest in something beautiful or of aesthetic intensity has benefits for the artist and for the rest of us. The crisis of the pandemic proved to be a catalyst for making meaning of all that was occurring outside the classroom, as Ken Weathersby, Upper School visual arts teacher, explains and is shown here through Julia Gerbino ’21’s AP Portfolio work.

Nupur Ballal ’23 remembers how rewarding it felt to finally extract a DNA sample after staying at school every day for hours past dismissal. She had spent months studying genetic barcoding to detect harmful algal blooms for the Student-Designed Research class offered by the Upper School Computer Science & Engineering and Science Departments. The yearlong course provides the scaffolding and resources for students to independently follow their STEM passions.

For Nupur, that passion was biology, and her research was inspired by a summer project analyzing bee DNA, combined with her knowledge of harmful algal blooms. “This project is the point of intersection between my genetics research and a real-world application of it,” says Nupur.

Middle and Upper School Science Department Chair Wendy Hall P ’25 appreciates the value of this course not only for the knowledge, but also for the life skills, “Eighty percent of the time, students’ ideas don’t go the way they anticipated. They learn resilience when they can say, ‘There’s no failure here; I’m just learning.’”

“Choosing and designing my own project enabled me to grow as a scientist,” says Nupur, “because I could experience and be responsible for all my struggles and successes while researching.”

In winter 2020, Dr. Rashied McCreary P ’29 ‘34 saw his first Black studies course approved for the 2020–21 academic year. One component was for his students to write alternative accounts of current events, inspired by a project by artist Alexandra Bell. “I thought it would be cool to understand how young adults would rewrite and craft a more balanced narrative on national or international topics than what had been presented by professionals,” Dr. McCreary said.

Said Caroline Johnson ’21, “This project is important because the media have so much control over what the general public thinks. Consumers need to be critical and notice coded language.”

With topics ranging from the police shooting of Daunte Wright and antisemitism in the Women’s March to the French government’s ban on burqas and hijabs, students were able to explore media bias regarding topics important to them. “It’s been a joy teaching this course,” says Dr. McCreary.

Whereas many of us would be happy never to see another mask or hear the words quarantine and contact tracing ever again, the last several months saw some real bright spots. “The spirit and courage and curiosity of the Kent Place community couldn’t be deterred by this pandemic,” said Nicole Hager, Director of the Upper School, during this year’s Commencement remarks. Most of what transpired during the pandemic we will gladly say goodbye to, but there are a few things that might just stick around — you know, along with that recipe for sourdough bread . . .

5A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF

4RUVNA AND HAND SANITIZER

1A GREATER OPENNESS TO CHANGE

2AN INNOVATIVE SPIRIT

3RETHINKING PROGRAMMING

Last summer, when the Kent Place Leadership Team established the hybrid model for teaching, they had no idea what the 2020–21 academic year would ultimately look like. The school’s learning-management system, MyKPS, offered teachers a basic infrastructure for remote learning, but much remained unknown. “We knew the hybrid model would prove challenging for teachers when trying to plan day to day,” says Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning Julie Gentile, “but we wanted to implement a plan that would provide maximum flexibility for students and parents in the face of so much uncertainty.”

Happily, the school could respond with some confidence to the challenges raised by the pandemic, thanks in part to an existing grant. “The Curriculum Innovation and Collaboration Grant was given by an anonymous donor several years ago to facilitate deep curricular change, and it turned out to be incredibly helpful,” says Ms. Gentile. “By having the monies already on hand, we were able to decide very quickly to mandate that 100 percent of the faculty take the same professional-development course on teaching in a virtual environment, which really set us up for success.”

Faculty members took their newfound knowledge and ran with it. Middle School math teacher Cheryl Kaplun, for example, immediately evaluated her curriculum and asked herself, What tools can I use to maintain consistency for students and keep everyone connected, no matter the circumstances? The answer included such technology as virtual white boards, which enabled students to upload their work, then share it and save it for review sessions. “As we move back to normal, all-in-person learning, I’ll continue to use some of these digital tools, because they offered me greater flexibility in delivery, practice, review, and collaboration methods,” says Ms. Kaplun. “I’ve become more intentional in my teaching — every day I think carefully about how I’m teaching math to my students to make sure I reach all of them, whether they’re learning remotely or in person. It’s been a challenging year, but our kids are learning nonetheless, which is incredibly rewarding.”

Performing Arts Chair Edel Thomas also made a positive assessment of the past year’s activities. She admits that the hybrid model has proved challenging for students in choral, orchestral, theatrical, and dance classes: “We had to get information out to the students and back again, so those working remotely had to become adept at creating audio and video recordings of themselves to submit for the creation of virtual performances.” Given the array of environments, skill sets, and devices — from iPads to Android phones — procuring consistent, high-quality recordings was time consuming, but persistence won the day. “Despite the circumstances, we created a number of amazing virtual performances,” says Ms. Thomas.

Performing arts faculty also learned. “We realized that it’s important to lay out expectations for the completed work in clear steps, so students would understand both the scope and the goal for a creative work,” says Ms. Thomas. “We were able to accomplish this using well-constructed topic pages on MyKPS. I foresee us using this technology for future independent skill development, which will give us more rehearsal time to be spent on developing artistry.”

Ms. Gentile has nothing but praise for both faculty and students: “Our teachers really rose to the occasion,” she says. “They showed an openness to innovating and wanted to enhance their technological skills. They already had a strong foundation, but I think now they feel as if they can learn anything. And our students were inherently adaptable.”

For example, when they were permitted to return to campus, students eagerly embraced the school’s beautiful outdoor spaces as open-air classrooms, and those in Primary School, who were confined to indoor classrooms throughout the year, personalized their plexiglass cubbies, making the most of their required safe personal spaces.

Although Ms. Gentile concedes that there were many hurdles to overcome, she believes the opportunities they brought will remain. “The kids saw their teachers learning in real time and saw that everyone can grow from their mistakes,” she says. “I feel much appreciation for our faculty and for the people who had faith in our school and generously provided us with funds,” she says, “so that when we needed to act quickly, we could. We’re extremely fortunate.”

—CLAIRE CHERILL ’26

Claire has been very involved with the Ethics Institute during her Middle School years: She was a member of the winning Ethics in Action Middle School team and writes posts for the Ethics Institute social-media platforms. This year, Claire will be a student representative on the National/New Jersey MS Ethics Bowl Advisory Committee, helping to create the cases for the Middle School Ethics Bowl, as well as providing insights into the format of the program.

All a-Buzz about Ethics

In the spring, Assistant Director of the Ethics Institute Ariel Sykes brought ethics into Kindergarten with the help of Beatrice the Ethical Bee and her friends as part of the new BEE (Be Ethical Everywhere) program. “Ethics is a field of philosophy that’s interested in understanding what’s important in our lives and how core principles and values should inform how we live,” says Ms. Sykes. “This curriculum has the children take part in ethical thinking and decision-making by learning with Beatrice how to identify and apply values in everyday situations.”

Starting with a catchy theme song and an exuberant dance, the students dove headfirst into ethics and quickly learned how to give reasons and examples to explain how they worked through the dilemmas presented. “Our hope is that this curriculum will help students learn how to think and navigate the gray areas in life,” says Ms. Sykes. “We hope that ethics will become integrated into the entire classroom climate, popping up in science, art, and social studies and on the playground.”

For more information about the Ethics Institute, please visit kentplace.org/ethics.

At Kent Place, “women in STEM” is not a one-day lesson — it’s a lived experience. Just look at our Kindergartners, who are on a first-name basis with renowned female computer scientists. The robots used by Primary School computer science and engineering instructor Sue Tracy P ’29 are named after women such as Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani and the late NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.

Computer science and engineering (CS&E) are now embedded in the Primary School with a new department devoted to the subjects. STEM Innovation and CS&E Department Chair Dr. Evelyn Hanna P ’30 worked with Mrs. Tracy to design a program to equip young learners with the skills and habits of mind required for their future careers.

“We wanted to build on the strength of our curriculum by getting students excited about engineering as a helping profession, using a human-centered, Kent Place mission–aligned framework,” says Dr. Hanna.

Mrs. Tracy immerses her CS&E students in hands-on, inquiry-based learning around fundamental skills for the jobs of the future. According to a United Nations study, more than 60 percent of incoming primary school students could end up in jobs that don’t yet exist. Meanwhile, the 2021 UNESCO Science Report states that women remain underrepresented in the fastest-growing STEM fields, among them computing and engineering.

The good news is that children are natural engineers, says Mrs. Tracy. “Preschoolers are always building and exploring. We need to present elementary students with those same opportunities to explore and ask questions about the world around them.”

The world around them is an essential part of the Primary School CS&E curriculum, Engineering Is Elementary, which comes from the Museum of Science, Boston.

Every unit begins with a story featuring a character from a different culture. For example, the first-grade package-engineering unit tells the story of a child in Jordan who wants to give her sister a plant for her wedding. Students are instantly attached to the characters and feel compelled to learn about packaging to preserve greenery, using what they learn to build packages for plants they have grown in science class. The unit ends with girls bringing their packaged plants home for Mother’s Day.

“We want these subjects to be accessible in students’ lives so they can immediately find meaning and use for them,” says Mrs. Tracy.

At this rate, don’t be surprised when the classroom robots of the future are named after the KPS Primary students of today!

What makes a great team captain?

Jeff Janssen helps answer this question. KPS uses his Team Captain’s Leadership Manual: The Complete Guide to Developing Team Leaders Whom Coaches Respect and Teammates Trust to help student-athletes discover the traits that make a great team captain. Spoiler alert: The characteristics may surprise you.

The most effective captains may not be the top scorers; instead, they’re the ones who come early and stay late, shoulder the equipment bag, and pick up cones. They also model respect for coaches, teammates, officials, and opponents.

Kent Place has adopted Janssen’s “Top Three Leaders List” to help both athletes and coaches identify who will be the best captains for our interscholastic teams. The process works like this: (1) Student-athletes receive a form with a complete team roster and a series of statements about leadership; (2) They fill in the names of one, two, or three of their teammates who embody the qualities outlined in each statement; and (3) The athletes who rank at the top are encouraged by their coaches to continue to build upon their leadership skills.

“The Leaders List helps inform the coaching staff’s decisions when selecting captains,” says Bobbi Moran, Director of Athletics. “It’s a great tool for building strong, confident, individuals.”

What do you like most about the sports you play? I like being a part of a team where I can support others to achieve greatness. It’s taught me to think of others first so that we can work together for the greater good.

How has playing sports at KPS shaped you? It’s given me an extended family of sisters I can trust and rely on to have my back.

Sophia Miller is the quintessential student-athlete. She excels in the classroom and leads in several sports arenas. She’s captain of the Varsity Golf team, ranked as one of the top 25 players in the state, but golf isn’t Sophia’s “main” sport. She’s the leading scorer on the varsity Field Hockey team and was named All-County and All-Conference last fall — Sophia had a hand in 27 of the team’s 39 goals. In winter, you’ll find her running varsity track, on the lacrosse field, or on the basketball court.

Head Lacrosse Coach Ashley Quinn P ’24 ’26 ’28 joined the Dragons in spring 2016. She played Division I lacrosse for Loyola College and helped lead her team to an NCAA championship. She was inducted into the Greyhounds Hall of Fame in 2020.

I was attracted by the school’s culture of achievement — carefully curated in the classroom and on the field. Kent Place encourages students to lead, boldly stepping outside of what’s comfortable, in order to build confidence, self-assurance, and character.

It’s simple — to develop leaders and prepare students for what lies beyond the lacrosse field. We’re guided by principles of consistency and clarity, integrity and respect, effort and execution. I demand much from my student-athletes, setting high (but attainable) expectations, and hold myself accountable to these same standards. We model behavior daily that creates an environment of trust and achievement.

Diane Aikens, my lacrosse coach at Loyola College. A decorated athlete, Diane played football and soccer in her youth, only one of two girls on the local boys teams. She was a three-sport athlete in high school; although recruited to play volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse, she settled on volleyball and lacrosse at Loyola. She earned All-American honors in lacrosse, went on to play for Team USA (earning two gold medals), and was inducted into the Loyola College Athletic Hall of Fame. She was a model of hard work, determination, and the belief that anything is possible.

Shalane Flanagan, former American long-distance runner, Olympic medalist, and New York City Marathon champion. Serena Williams, professional tennis player, former world #1, wife, and mom. Misty Copeland, first African American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

My first interaction with physical education teacher and coach Elizabeth “Tizzie” Benthien P ’10 came via text message in June 2016. Tizzie had sent a short video clip of how she spent her 60th birthday — jumping out of an airplane! I remember thinking: She’s a legend . . .

Tizzie jumped from an airplane because she was afraid of heights, and at 60 she wanted to conquer that fear.

That July, I started my job as Director of Athletics, and Tizzie and physical education teacher Sheila Dunne helped me tackle the basement in the Field House. It took three eight-hour days to haul, sweep, toss, and stack equipment, sports records, gear, and decades-old memorabilia. I’m fairly certain we didn’t stop for lunch, but Tizzie never flagged. We exchanged stories and laughed, but dug deep and did what had to be done. Tizzie was intent on organizing the facility, and that’s what we accomplished.

My colleagues and I came to rely on Tizzie for her ability to spot what needed fixing and get right to it. For 44 years, Tizzie was the go-to for projects big and small; she embodies passion and teamwork.

A brief primer: • She and Bob were married on the

Mabie House lawn. • She shies away from the limelight. • She believes in gratitude, kindness, optimism, and Dragon Spirit. • She’s about commitment, dedication, and sacrifice for the good of the team. • She can still hold a handstand for 60 seconds.

Tizzie was Athletic Director for almost 10 years. She coached field hockey, gymnastics, swimming, track, and other sports. And in 2019, she was inducted into the inaugural KPS Athletics Hall of Fame.

In June, during the eighth-grade awards ceremony, Aila Kennedy ’25 said this: “Whether you’ve been here since Junior Pre-K or just came this year, Ms. Benthien is always in everyone’s corner, cheering us on. She reminds us to be courteous. She brings a very high-spirited, energetic, and optimistic attitude to everything and has helped many of us achieve our goals. Ms. Benthien brings our school of individuals into a community of brave, bold, and brilliant minds. She has touched the lives of so many of us and the campus won’t be the same without her.”

Tizzie, thank you for inspiring countless Kent Place students, faculty, and staff. And to show our appreciation, the Eighth-Grade Athletic Award will now be called the Tizzie Benthien Award for Excellence in Athletics, with this citation:

“The Tizzie Benthien Award for Excellence in Athletics is awarded each year by the Athletic Department and Middle School coaching staff in honor of Elizabeth ‘Tizzie’ Benthien, who consistently led by example. The recipients of this award, like Coach Benthien, are dedicated to true Dragon Spirit and demonstrate courtesy, teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship, and a sincere desire to help others.”

Tizzie, we wish you much happiness in your retirement.

—BOBBI MORAN, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

• Lacrosse finished the season as Union County Tournament Semifinalists with five student-athletes earning NJIGLL Academic and All-Team

Honors. Team captain Skylar Lienhardt ’21 also earned the prestigious

USA Lacrosse: Academic All-American Honors. • Volleyball wrapped up an unprecedented season with four student-athletes — Elizabeth Miller ’21, Iman Handy ’22, Margeaux Morial ’24, and Lauren Osuala ’24 — posting stats that rank them among the top in the state. • Golf finished its season with a 26–0 record, winning the Millburn Tournament and boasting two student-athletes, Taylor Sieg ’24 and team captain Sophia Miller ’23, who rank among the top 50 in New Jersey. • Softball had an amazing comeback victory over crosstown rivals Oak

Knoll. After losing to OKS 16–1 in April, the team turned it around in May and defeated the Royals, at KPS, 4–3. • In Track and Field, Lindsay Hausman ’23 won the UCIAC Championship in the 1600 meter and broke the meet record in the 3200 (11:00).

She’s the first athlete from KPS to win the 1600m at the Union County meet. Lindsay also earned a photo-finish second at the NJ Meet of

Champions in the 3200 meter. Christiana Nwachuku ’22 took home first-place honors in the 100m, 200m, and 400m at the Union County

Conference Championships.

Congratulations to these college-bound athletes.

Iman Handy ’22

Spend but a few minutes chatting with Iman Handy and the word that springs to mind to describe her is dynamo. Vivacious and warm, she has emerged as a leader among her peers. Eleventh-grade class president, captain of the volleyball team, and a leader in campus student diversity initiatives, Iman comes across as confident and capable. One would never guess that this young woman arrived at Kent Place School as a quiet, shy ninth-grader.

Iman credits much of her growth to her advisor, Michelle Stevenson. “Ms. Stevenson has played a huge role in encouraging me to be independent and use my own voice,” she says. “She believes in my abilities and is always in my corner. As I advocate for myself, I know I’m supported.”

Ms. Stevenson is equally enthusiastic in her assessment of this student. “Iman is a strong, courageous leader who’s willing to face her own fears in order to meet the expectations she sets for herself, and she brings out the best in others,” she says.

When she arrived at Kent Place, Iman says, she saw lots of junior and senior girls in leadership positions and quickly aspired to be a Kent Place girl as well. “I decided I wanted to be a leader who’s brave and brilliant, so when opportunities to lead presented themselves, I stepped up.

“When I was a freshman, I remember Ms. Woodall, the former Director of the Upper School, saying that Kent Place girls should ‘unapologetically take up space,’” Iman says. The advice made a lasting impact. The senior says she no longer backs down at the first sign of a challenge and doesn’t apologize reflexively, as she once did.

Looking to the future, Iman envisions a career in marketing, something that melds her love of socializing and her fascination with human nature. Wherever she’s headed, Iman will step forward with a strong belief in herself. “Since coming to Kent Place,” she says, “I’ve changed little things and those changes have enhanced my presence. My confidence has definitely grown.”

Upper School English teacher Lisa Cohen wanted to breathe new life into teaching classic literature. By partnering contemporary novels with the books that have been staples in English classes for decades, she’s helping her students to draw connections across time, whether it’s the hundreds of years separating Homer’s The Odyssey from Madeline Miller’s Circe or rereading texts in the English 12 Revisionist Literature elective.

“It’s important to continue reading the classics because those books enable us to listen to the conversations people have been having for thousands of years,” says Ms. Cohen. “Reading the canon with a critical lens for the ways literature replicates injustice in history means we can form a reimagination in our own work.” To apply that critical lens, she has her English 9 students re-create dramatic monologues by contemporizing characters, and her English 12 students apply classical poetic forms to investigate modern news topics. For example (left), Jocelyn Ameo ’24 reinterprets Atwood’s The Penelopiad. “I hope that students doing this kind of work — revising the canon, reading revisions to the canon, and questioning the canon in general — feel liberated to make their own written compositions that offer new perspectives and experiences,” she says.

When Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Walidah Justice first joined Kent Place, in 2018, Upper School students approached her and expressed their interest in a regional student of color conference. Annually, only six students per institution may attend the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), and Kent Place students wanted more opportunity to get together with their peers in other schools. In 2020, they got their wish: Kent Place cohosted the New Jersey Students of Color Conference (njscc.org) with Newark Academy, and in 2021 we joined Dwight-Englewood, with Francesca Callejas ’22, Jannat Chaudry ’21, and Karla Perdomo ’22 as cochairs. This new conference enables students of color from both independent and public schools to connect and further social dialogue in both their own schools and across institutions.

“I hope students come away understanding the importance of creating time and space to discuss topics that resonate with their generation,” says Ms. Justice. “With peer-led workshops and discussions, students can build trust, affirm each other, engage in dialogue, and educate one another on their own terms.”

When the Upper School Film Club was brainstorming themes for the 13th-Annual Kent Place Film Festival, all agreed that “Silver Linings” was perfect. What better occasion to turn struggles into art while looking through a hopeful lens?

Usually held in the Hyde and Watson Theater, last year the festival was live-streamed, hosted by the Film Club board and coordinated by Middle and Upper School Head Librarian and Film Club Advisor John Walz. Although the dry run had its glitches — “the number of things that could go wrong was exponen- tially larger than I had anticipated,” Mr. Walz says — he was pleased with how smoothly the festival went: “The students were having a wonderful time hosting, and I was so impressed.”

Fourteen of 43 submissions representing eight high schools were shown at the festival, and they ran the gamut from drama to comedy, from black-and-white to animation.

The festival was the silver lining in a challenging year. “The celebration of creativity and expression is what keeps the festival going,” says Ayana McMillan ’22, who is the club’s vice president. Her I’m Doing Amazing premiered at the event, which was started by Jessica Myers ’09.

“The festival encourages students to show and be proud of their work, which is also what makes it so special,” Ayana says.

This spring, Kent Place honored and bade farewell to four special teachers who have devoted their lives to educating students — mostly KPS students. If you tally up their experience, their careers amount to more than 150 years of service, and one can only estimate the number of students who have benefited from the guidance and wisdom of these consummate educators. Elizabeth “Tizzie” Benthien P ’10, Carol Gordon, Richard Morey, and Edee Zabriskie P ’04 leave a legacy of excellence that has come to define our community. We could go on for pages with testimonials and memories, but we thought you’d like to hear from them why they chose to be a teacher. Please join us in wishing them all a retirement filled with relaxation, fulfillment, and joy.

“I worked in the business world for 20 years before coming to Kent Place. What took me so long? After I got my undergraduate degree, I was a teaching assistant while working on my master’s in English, and I loved teaching more than my own studies. Helping students communicate effectively was demanding but fulfilling. Looking back on why I then chose business, I admit I was scared to teach. To me, teaching is like being a doctor or a nurse; it’s vitally important to do it well. After two decades in marketing, however, I felt my life would be wasted if I didn’t teach. I convinced myself that I couldn’t fail if I worked hard and cared about my students. Kent Place gave me the opportunity to realize my dream. Helping students master a text or skill, grow into confident leaders and learners, and succeed beyond their own expectations — this has been one of the great joys of my life.”

—CAROL GORDON UPPER SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER, 19 YEARS AT KPS

—EDEE ZABRISKIE P ’04 FIRST-GRADE TEACHER 39 YEARS AT KPS (40 TOTAL)

—ELIZABETH “TIZZIE” BENTHIEN P ’10 PRIMARY SCHOOL PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND MIDDLE SCHOOL COACH 44 YEARS AT KPS (47 TOTAL) “In my senior year in college, I had been given a lot to think about: the Vietnam War, graduate school, Selective Service (‘the draft’), making a living, and, not coincidentally, college loans. Temporarily lost in the background was growing up with parents who included historical sites in New England as an expected part of our vacation agenda. A Spanish professor whom I admire suggested that I think about teaching as a career — not a time-filler, but a true career. As I completed my work toward a master’s degree, I was inspired by another scholar, this time my thesis advisor in American history. He suggested teaching as a commitment that could help me combine my love of inquiry and research with my talent (as he perceived it) in sharing that passion with others. And so I began a dedication to teaching that over the years has only grown.”

—RICHARD MOREY UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER 17 YEARS AT KPS (51 TOTAL)

Last fall, two students approached me with a “great idea” to start an Arts Committee at Kent Place. It was not the first time I’d heard this request, so I probed a little deeper. What was driving this, in the midst of a pandemic, when there was no singing or playing wind instruments indoors, no live audiences, no in-person theater productions or dance performances due to spacing limitations?

Lily Gabriel ’23 and Arabella Hubbauer ’23 had thought long and hard about what they saw as a need for representation and the development of a community of people who are passionate about the arts. They likened a student’s artistic passion to an athletic passion. They wanted to organize and mobilize so that this passion could be recognized and nurtured throughout our community, not just in a class. Together, we examined the KPS Constitution as written in the handbook. It clearly stated that there are six committees: Senate, Judiciary, Student Affairs, Athletic Association, Community Service, and Social. They discovered that they’d have to propose an amendment to the Constitution. Thus began the work of preparing their proposal for the Upper School Senate.

Lily (at right, top) and Arabella (bottom) initiated conversations with students in the arts, both performing and visual. They discussed ways they could support one another within the arts pursuits at school and also in activities off campus. The idea of an arts committee came together. I started hearing snippets of these conversations in my classes, in the hallways, and, in the next step, the Upper School Senate.

The students gave a well-organized presentation. I admired Lily and Arabella’s tenacity and also their creativity in answering the questions that followed — and the Senate liked the proposal. The discussion turned to leadership, and the group even considered Arabella and Lily’s request for a joint leadership position when they became seniors. This would require a rider to the proposal for the year 2022–2023.

On May 18, an Upper School Town Hall was convened (via Zoom) and the proposal was presented to the Upper School community. The vote was in favor of making the change to the Constitution — and in the fall, a committee of Upper School students and faculty who are interested in supporting our visual and performing artists will be piloted. The following year, the Upper School student body will elect joint presidents and the other leadership positions to complete the committee.

This was quite an illuminating process and one I can’t recall watching unfold in my previous years at Kent Place. It’s surely a shining example of how our students use their confidence to effect change. I’m very impressed at how these young artists moved from step to step in a considered manner to achieve their goal. Lily attributes the outcome to the overwhelming support from students and the school. “I’ve learned that passion drives motivation,” she told me. When she was working on the Arts Committee meetings, she says, she was “excited about all the planning sessions.”

Once the girls had summoned the courage to follow up on their idea, the project hit the ground running, and they held firm to their belief in the need for this committee. Says Arabella, “One of the reasons I’m passionate about this integration is that more people in our community will feel represented and proud of their talents.” My colleague Mr. Gates, Chair of Visual Art, and I look forward to supporting Arabella and Lily in their roles as leaders for the new seventh committee, which will be behind all of the artistic activities of our students.

Tutti brava!

—EDEL THOMAS, CHAIR OF THE PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT

LeAnn Yannelli’s Upper School dance students were in the zone — literally — when in-person learning resumed. Faced with the challenge of teaching dance while keeping students socially distanced in individually marked zones, Ms. Yannelli decided to try something new: personal dance histories.

Students began by writing about early memories around dance, then turned those memories into motifs (short movement ideas), which they choreographed into solos. The project culminated with trios of students merging their solos into one dance.

It was a summer workshop through the internationally acclaimed dance center Jacob’s Pillow that inspired Ms. Yannelli to embark on this project: “I wanted to get students creating again, sharing their stories, saying, ‘This is who I am,’ learning one another’s movements and trying them on,” she says.

Junior Emmy Wheatley saw the project as a chance to remember the origin of her love for dance and learn more about her colleagues. “It was nice to be able to have such an interactive and collaborative experience after so much isolation,” she says. “Working together for the last part of the assignment enabled us to interact with each other, have fun, learn more about each other’s experiences and styles, and learn new original pieces.”

Primary School music teacher and mezzo-soprano Lori Mirabal is coproducing — and performing in — a documentary about Clara Brown, the subject of the opera Gabriel’s Daughter. Clara Brown was a formerly enslaved African American who grew wealthy in gold-rush Colorado and became a philanthropist. In one of the highlights, the film will feature some Kent Place Upper School voice students. To enhance the storytelling, all performers were individually interviewed on camera after their recording sessions. Ms. Mirabal talks about the experience.

I’m currently producing legacy projects: performances that I strongly believe will be meaningful to the community and gratifying for me as a performer. Gabriel’s Daughter is a wonderful project for these goals. When I mentioned that I was singing the role of Clara in an opera, one of my colleagues, video producer/director Sharon Shepard Levine, was interested in producing a filmed version. Sharon’s background includes coproducing Metropolitan Opera broadcasts for PBS. This documentary represents an ideal match for our mutual goals.

Students stretch and grow faster when they have an extraordinary project to work on, one with an imminent deadline. This type of project also seems to inspire them to think beyond the ordinary and set extraordinary goals for themselves. I constantly seek out-ofthe-box experiences for my students who are ready for such opportunities. I enjoy seeing the gleeful expressions on their faces during the preparation phase and seeing their self-esteem grow as a project nears completion.

One of my overarching goals as an opera singer and music educator is to find ways to make opera relevant to the lived experiences of young people and families. Retelling the life of the legendary pioneer Clara Brown is one way to explore opera in a meaningful way. By including the multigenerational and multiethnic voices of the recording artists, there’s the potential to broaden interest in this art form even further. Most important, Clara Brown’s life exemplifies the promise of American ideals. Her legacy is her demonstration that given the right set of circumstances, with faith, tenacity, and courage, it’s possible to achieve what seems impossible.

My favorite part has been going into the recording studio with the different artists and my students to give them a chance to sing and express their ideas about how Clara’s life and times intersect with their own experiences. The video/recording sessions began in January, and some of the artists had been out of work for many months because of COVID. They were especially excited to be performing again. As both coproducer and a performing artist, it was particularly rewarding to help facilitate jobs for them.

Singing in choir and any opportunity to make music with other people are what’s most inspiring to me.

When I was in sixth grade, I had a big choir solo called “Cuckoo” that meant a lot to me. Also, listening to the orchestra perform “Jupiter,” by Gustav Holst, at STAR during my freshman year was really spectacular.

I’m really excited to possibly have STAR again and to be able to sing at Morning Meeting with the Chamber Singers and the Treblemakers.

Jaileen Portorreal has been at Kent Place since sixth grade. Throughout Middle and Upper School, her love for music has grown and her dedication to developing high-level skills is impressive. Jaileen is a member of Chamber Singers and a co-president of Chorale. This year, she attended a Summer Vocal Institute at the Eastman School of Music, in Rochester, New York.

After seeing a workshop performance of Finder and the North Star, Middle School Theater Director Keri Lesnik P ’27 knew it would be a perfect choice for Kent Place. After getting in touch with the playwright, Erica Berman, Ms. Lesnik received a copy of the play and worked on bringing it to the Middle School. Originally planned as a prerecorded Zoom show, enough COVID-19 restrictions were lifted that a live, outdoor performance could be presented to a limited audience.

“The play speaks directly to the struggles many of today’s middle schoolers face,” Ms. Lesnik said, “and everyone can learn from the advice that North Star and all of the characters give to Finder. All of our Middle School plays are entertaining, but this one makes you think, and that’s what makes it so special.”