Forever Grateful
of June after more than 40 As Fr. Schell prepares for retirement at the end ues and family members near years of service to Kent School, friends, colleag ool and on their own lives. and far are reflecting on his impact on the Sch
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itude and reflection, we tapped Impossible to include everyone’s words of grat ng the community’s collective five people to write tributes in the hope of capturi speed to Fr. Schell. sentiments as the School’s constituency bids God
s on the Hill, mid-1980s
Fr. Schell in autumn at the Girls School Campu SPRING 2020
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Keeping the Faith
ws with day, “ Always the valley flo orning stand, Always the hills of m e strong than they…” Always the faith mor
nuity of nature, and g speaks to the conti The Kent School son Macedonia Valley th. The seasons of the to the continuity of fai plan for all things. natural order and a convey a sense of the to have had nt School is fortunate Founded in 1906, Ke n. Having such stable rs since its inceptio only five headmaste history for the ed Kent to look to its leadership has allow perance, faith and ditional values of tem inspiration of its tra ation for the build a plan and found to o als yet cy, tan ns co constituencies. changing needs of its the ess dr ad t tha e futur ce 1981. been Headmaster sin My brother Dick has faith—since before, he has kept the Like those who went later serving on prefect in 1968, and ior sen d me na ing be duate at Harvard. s while an undergra the Board of Trustee aplain and then at Kent, initially as Ch Dick’s four decades mmitment to a owed a consistent co Headmaster, have all emic pursuits, to excellence of acad plan for the future, endowment. of Kent’s brand and and to enhancement rship and enduring d under Dick’s leade During this time, an its traditions Kent has maintained sense of constancy, in the world order. itself competitively and also positioned science and the ing, commitment to Kent’s academic stand ty of life have t facilities, and quali humanities, excellen y that would make ring this time, in a wa greatly benefited du Father Sill proud. to itself and the faith, being true Indeed, Kent has kept sight of its original ities, without losing to ordering its prior k’s devotion to Kent n of the mission, Dic values. As a guardia at it is today. has helped make it wh
— F ra nk S ch el l ’6 4
Caring for His Flock “ May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, Ma y the sun shine warm upon your face, the rai ns fall soft upon your fields and until we me et again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.” —A N IRI SH BLE SSI NG In 2002, Fr. Schell surprised me with his creativity. Unt il that moment, I knew and respec ted him as a brilliant manag er and a compassionate leader, but during a conversation one Sun day after Holy Eucharist, I saw the breadth of his vision as a ste ward for the School. He mentioned that he had begun a new fun draising campaign to establish endowe d teaching chairs. I was the n stunned to learn that Robert Hoerle ’52 planned to establ ish and endow a permanent Tea ching Chair in the Arts and tha t the headmaster had designated me as the inaugural recipie nt. As you can imagine, I felt profound gratitude, but also intense hum ility. This honor has served as a constant inspiration for me . In 2004, I recognized Fr. Sch ell’s keen intuition and the depth of his religious vocatio n when he asked me to ser ve as an assistant chaplain in the School’s Chapel Program. My initial response was, “Oh, but I’m not qualified.” He responded , “Yo u may not have attended seminary, but I see the depth of your Chr istian faith. I have prayed about this . I want our female students and teachers to see, through you r presence, that the Episco pal Church welcomes them.” As a consequence, the headmast er’s hunch concerning vocations gave me, over the years, som e of my most precious and meaningf ul experiences at the School. Fr. Schell has cared for his flock with compassion, ins ight, prayerfulness and kindness. And I thank him most sincer ely.
— Je nn a L yn ch , A rt D ep ar tm en t C ha ir
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Guidance in Crisis
dance providing clarity and gui us on our mission while h bot en Fr. Schell’s ability to foc wh n many times arkable. There have bee rem is es tim ing try am I . ing dur m and steady leader cumstances require a cal difficult and serious cir skillfully lead Kent t to watch Fr. Schell so sea row nt fro a had e well grateful to hav and a fire on Mt. Algo, as ion, a catastrophic flood, he es tim all School through a recess munity. At that shook the School com nts eve er oth all and s de rm ma as sto ered many and ing direction that empow vid pro , ure pos com h can acted wit lized how a true leader these times, I quickly rea involved better. During pact on a community. make such a positive im to deflect praise and realize how quick he is All who know Fr. Schell rds of Harry S. Truman, Schell told me, in the wo Fr. er. mb me m tea a to shift it who gets the credit.” we do not worry about if hed plis om acc be “So much can ss manner. He has been the School in this selfle ions Fr. Schell truly managed the most important act g and executing some of pin elo dev for le sib for pon res r him take credit y, yet many will never hea during the School’s histor tivate the team and the chosen to inspire and mo ell his work. He has always butions of others. Fr. Sch emphasizing the contri larger constituency by ous rm erves an eno the modern Kent, and des is the true architect of
amount of credit. e worked closely with forever grateful to hav be l wil I e, not al son to On a per r and a friend. I have yet d so much. He is a mento who e eon Fr. Schell. I have learne som e, ued and capabl o has made me feel so val wh e eon som h be wit rk and wo to enjoy their work ent that encourages all can create an environm times, too. Dick, I laugh so hard, so many me de ma has he us, bon happy. As a will miss the laughs.
O es s M an ag er an d C F — J ef f C at al do , B us in
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Father Daddy
running around the was yesterday. I was it e lik y da the er I rememb parents and other in sister, Sarah. My tw my th wi nt Ke at football field trustee handed us re four years old. A we We . re the o als ster!” grownups were d is the new Headma ops and said, “Your da lip lol of ip use str a ca be ch ea s good news ant, but I knew it wa me t tha at wh a ide I had no ning of a beautiful lipops. It was the begin lol ny ma so n see I had never life at Kent School. that exciting day, I t have passed since Over the 38 years tha r. I have watched ans to be a headmaste me it at wh ed ess tn have wi many. I have watched prove the lives of so my dad change and im compliment the dining eer on the crew team, . him give sermons, ch ulty member by name every student and fac eet gr d an ff, l welcome sta fee ll m ha d make the put people at ease an to y ilit ab r’s he fat My night during a ongest qualities. One str his of e on is nt e. Students knew and importa front hall of the hous the in on ht lig a t lef out the window, snowstorm, he the light. As I peered w sa y the if me lco ought that they were we ce inside, my dad br through the snow. On ing dg tru y bo a d an see ter I could t him laugh pings. He also brough top the all d an am him ice cre . s very far from home parties at comfort. The boy wa of music and dinner l ful e ar s rie mo me od ho team would My early child , the entire football untain. Some nights Mo iff Sk t we on e us ho the erful babysitters tha were spoiled by wond We r. ne din for wo er come ov ettes and we uld band called the Skiff ily fam a d ha We . tly re dance parties admired grea Beach Boys. There we e Th d an es atl Be e . Mazza, play classics by Th d hot cocoa with Ms Cloutiers, sledding an the th wi en ch Hill. kit the in the small chapel on urch services in the ch d an s, me ga all basketb ow he will take Kent next adventures, I kn his to on ies rr ca d As my da nderful father to ever. He has been a wo for t ar he his in As small School with him unity for many years. d to an entire comm an me d an still. His ter him sis my how I think of ther Daddy.” That is “Fa him d lle ca we n, childre t. I now know what the have been paramoun n sio as mp co his d warmth an truly means. word “headmaster” S ch el l
Sarah (Schell) An derson, the Head master, Christina Schell
— C hr isti na
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Striding Out There’s a framed photograp h that hangs on a wall in my farmhouse in New Hampshire. It’s an image of my father walking almost out of the frame and behind the trunk of a maple sugar tree on campus. His gai t appears brisk as he strides, his face tilting upw ards, along a path through the brightness. What I love most about this image is that it’s how I think of my fat her: on the move, confident, with a heart full of joy and a desire to spread com pas sion. I believe it is safe to say the role my father played in the live s of countless Kent School studen ts has been akin to the role he still plays in my life: a constant voice of support, someone telling me to believe in myself; “confidence!” was sometim es all he needed to say. While he was delivering powerful sermons, attending board meetings, cheering on a football team, or laughing with students, he was also cheering me on, a doting father. Other images of my father come to mind: Him adherin g wallpaper to the walls of the room I shared with my sister in Nova Sco tia. Spa ghetti dinners and raucous kitchen dance parties on Skiff Mountain. Bea min g with pride at my fifth-grade science fair , and then supporting me dec ade s later when I took a trip for graduate school, leaving my toddler for the first time. He bought me a gorgeous scarf, and the n took me out for dinner. He told me stories and helped me laugh away my wor ry. All would be fine. I wore tha t scarf that entire semester. Twenty-two years later, I still wear it. Everyt hin g will be fine, I say. Until I became a mother and a high school teacher, I did not know the balancing act that is parent ing and working. A child sho uld not have a full sense of this challenge. A chi ld should be a child. I feel like the luc kiest person to be able to say I tru ly did get to be a child. All the times we spent with my dad on weekends or on vacations, he was with us while also keeping up with his Kent Sch ool responsibilities. He has live d and breathed the School the way he lives and breathes his role as my dad and his role as a granddad.
— S ar ah (S ch ell ) A nd er so n
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