Kinkaid Spring 2013 by The Kinkaid School

S P R I N G 2013

A Legacy

of Leadership Remembering Charlie Sanders

THE Kinkaid School

From the Headmaster

he last edition of the Kinkaid magazine featured young Kinkaid alumni who had served or were continuing to serve their country in the military. This edition shines a spotlight on another kind of service: to community.

Community service has been important at Kinkaid for many years. I have heard from Kinkaid alumni that Mrs. Kinkaid

welcomed to her school several children who became orphans during World War II. No doubt service to the community at Kinkaid started earlier than that. In recent years Kinkaid has strengthened that commitment. Three years ago, I convened a task force to review the School’s current practices and to make recommendations about how Kinkaid might provide stronger institutional support for community service. The Community Service Task Force, comprised of faculty, staff, trustees, parents, and current students and led by History Department Chair Dr. Ed Harris, generated a comprehensive and thoughtful report, which it submitted to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees approved the report and directed me to begin implementing the recommendations. Principal among the Task Force’s recommendations was that the School create an administrative position, Coordinator of Community Service, that would provide leadership to the community service efforts of all three divisions of the School. The Task Force further recomThe number of mended that the upper school community service requirement be re-organized and inKinkaid alumni creased. The Task Force suggested that given through the years the importance of the School’s four core values who have devoted in community service, that a good number of the major responsibilities of the Director of significant time and Character Education, a position vacant for the energies to serving previous two years, might be incorporated into others and to leading the new Coordinator of Community Service position. Finally, the Task Force Report notothers in service ed that a stronger institutional commitment to is admirable. community service could provide additional, meaningful opportunities for Kinkaid students to develop leadership.

“

”

Over a weekend in late January, more than 200 Kinkaid students from all three divisions, as well as parents, faculty, and staff, gathered in Memorial Park in four half-day shifts to plant 1,200 trees. The Memorial Park Conservancy had designated an area, about one-fifth of an acre in the northeast corner of the park, for this work and did a great job in preparing the ground, literally, for our students’ work. The chairs of the 2013 Auction, Kelly Broesche, Ellen Wagnon, and Gina Lamme, recognized the value of this project and generously allocated funds from Auction 2013 to pay for the trees and the installation of an irrigation system for this plot of land. The weather cooperated, our students worked hard, and they achieved the goal set for the School. Houstonians know the tree destruction Memorial Park experienced during the drought of 2011 when perhaps 35-40% of the trees in the Park died, and though the planting of 1,200 trees may be a small contribution, it is nevertheless an important contribution to Memorial Park and to the larger community, and years into the future our students will be able to return to this parcel of the park and see how these trees have flourished.

Don North and Eric Yu ’15 lend a hand planting trees at Memorial Park

Coordinator of Community Service Debbie Roff and the Community Service Council (a fifteen-person group comprised of upper school students and two faculty advisors) oversaw this project. This is one of several service projects Kinkaid students have conducted this year. In the Middle School there are two days of service, one in the fall for seventh and eighth graders and one in the spring for fifth and sixth graders. Lower school students have also participated in several community service projects, including a walkathon that was part of the Auction activities and raised $25,000 to replace trees that Kinkaid lost in the drought on our campus and helped to fund the tree project in Memorial Park. I couldn’t be prouder of our students and our school for the significant steps forward Kinkaid is taking in increasing our commitment to service. Next year Kinkaid will build its fourth Habitat for Humanity house here in Houston (by the way, Kinkaid was recognized last fall at the Houston Chapter of Habitat for Humanity’s 25th year celebration as its “Emerging Builder of the Year” for the School’s commitment to building a Habitat house biennially). There will be several other projects next year as well, in all three divisions. In addition to Debbie Roff, I also want to thank middle school math teacher Karen Metclaf for her leadership of the Middle School Day of Service projects and Lower School Reading Specialist Pat Cavanagh for her leadership of the Lower School’s efforts in community service. At its best, and its best is what we are aiming for at Kinkaid, community service is not a formulaic, routine, resume-building exercise. It is, rather, a meaningful experience for students, an opportunity for them to glimpse the needs in their community and to do something lasting about those needs on a regular basis. In other words, it is an opportunity to develop and strengthen the habit of helping others. That is what we are about here. I hope you will enjoy reading about Kinkaid’s increasing commitment to community service. All best wishes,

SPRING 2013

Spring 2013

Contents 2 Around Campus

2 6

Campus Digest Fine Arts Awards

8 Features

8 18 22

Don North Tribute Remembering Charlie Sanders Leading Through Service

16 Interim 26 2013 Auction

26 2013 Auction Hits The Jackpot

32 Cum Laude 35 Sports

38 Musicals 40 Staff Spotlight

41 Alumni News

39 34

Scan this code to access Kinkaid’s YouTube channel.

The Kinkaid Magazine is a publication of the Advancement Office of The Kinkaid School Tom Moore Director of Advancement tom.moore@kinkaid.org Emily Wynne Bolin ’82 Annual Find Manager emily.bolin@kinkaid.org Renée Brownman Publication Project Manager renee.brownman@kinkaid.org

Jennifer Gould Parent Liaison and Volunteer Coordinator jennifer.gould@kinkaid.org

Jennifer Pardee Major Gifts Manager jen.pardee@kinkaid.org

Andrea Ibarra Gift Records Manager andrea.ibarra@kinkaid.org

Georgia Piazza Special Event and Electronic Communications Manager geogia.piazza@kinkaid.org

Leslie Roemer Labanowski ’02 Alumni Activities Manager leslie.labanowski@kinkaid.org

Cindy Van Keppel Advancement Assistant cindy.vankeppel@kinkaid.org

Photography contributed by David Shutts ’74

Do you have historic film footage of the Kinkaid School? Would you be willing to share it with the school archives? We are seeking historic footage of athletics, arts, and other school events for a project on the history of the Kinkaid School. Please contact school archivist Fiona de Young at (713) 243-6523 or fiona.deyoung@kinkaid.org. 1

THE Kinkaid School THE Kinkaid School

Campus Digest Faculty & Staff Honors Upper school art teacher Diane Marks has been selected as a juror for the Texas Art Education Association’s Visual Arts Scholastic Event. Upper school science teacher and science lab manager Ann Bowe and her Anatomy and Physiology class have been selected to be part of a new two-week instructional unit, “Scientific Decision-Making,” created by The Center for Educational Outreach at Baylor College of Medicine. The unit is described this way: “While investigating three simulated cases, students will learn about the cardiovascular system, evidence-based decision-making, and exercise and diet.” Middle school science teacher Shari Hiltbrand’s poster session proposal, “Angry Birds Tech,” has been accepted for presentation at next summer’s International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. The presentation will describe the “Angry Birds” project Ms. Hiltbrand designed for her eighth-grade science classes. Upper School Chief Technology Officer Larry Kahn was the subject of an alumni feature posted on the web site for The Key School, www.keyschool.org, a pre-K through 12th grade coeducational day school in Annapolis, Maryland.

Student Honors Amber Chen ’14 received second place at the Thirteenth Annual Houston Premedical Academy Research Symposium for her poster titled, “Optimizing Imaging of the

You Make A Difference, formerly Who’s Who, is a group of wellrounded students selected by the faculty of the Upper School. Those nominated for this honor must display excellence in some, if not all, of the following areas: Academics, Athletics, Arts and other extracurricular activities. These students must also have leadership qualities and reflect in their attitudes, conduct and character, the highest ideals of the School.

Fasciculus Retroflexus in the Mouse Brain” based on her internship in the lab of Dr. Mariella De Biasi, in the Department of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.

recognizes not only her fine writing skills but also her commitment to community service, particularly for her work at the Salvation Army where she teaches piano.

This year the Kinkaid Model UN team participated in three conferences: Central Texas Model UN (hosted by University of Texas), Model United Nations San Antonio (hosted by the International School of the Americas) and Johns Hopkins Model UN (hosted by Johns Hopkins University). Mirel Baysal ’13, Selim Baysal ’14 and Christopher Combs ’16 received awards at the conferences.

Joseph Edwards ’16 won first place in the Regional (GCTAME) Gulf Coast Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering Math and Science Competition. In addition to his first-place award in Geometry, Joseph won third place in Biology. Joseph advances to the State TAME Competition held in April at Texas A&M University.

In January, the Kinkaid Middle School Robotics Club teams participated in the TCEA Area 4 Robotics Contest. Kinkaid had three teams competing in the Arena games division: Techno Clan (Dani Knobloch ’19 and Niki Munsif ’20), Nerd Herd A (Julian Meyers ’19, Daniel King ’19 and Charlie Finch ’19) and iBots (Zubair Mukhi ’17, Seb Seager ’19 and Amy Ho ’19). Out of 55 teams competing, the Kinkaid teams placed 8th, 24th and 42nd. Kinkaid also had three teams competing in the Inventions division: Robot Artists (Sophia Ghauri ’20 and Sasha Busa ’20), Sonic Boomers (Christos Papandreou ’18, Graham Parsons ’19, Daniel Mirzai ’19 and Andrew Yang ’19), and Nerd Herd I (Brian Schroeder ’19, Cameron Rudin ’19, Rohan Kumar ’19 and Jason Gordon ’19). Out of 15 teams competing, the Kinkaid teams placed 6th, 10th and 13th. Annie Roff ’13 won first place in the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizens Contest. Her first-place finish

School Honors The 2012-2013 “Kinkaidian” has won two honors. Portions of our yearbook will be highlighted and reproduced in the annual yearbook publication produced by the publishing company. The publication is given to advisors throughout the country as a teaching tool and an inspiration for theme and design. Kinkaid’s editors will be videotaped and included on a QR code on the featured pages. In addition, the yearbook has been selected as a national sample for Balfour Yearbooks. This very select group represents less than 4% of the publications Balfour Taylor will produce this year. Congratulations to last year’s editors, Maggie Bremer ’12, Carly Gray ’12, Emily Lahourcade ’12 and Annie Stephens ’12, as well as the entire Kinkaidian staff. The 2011-2012 “Falcon” earned a Silver Medalist ranking at Columbia University’s Scholastic Press Association contest. This is a huge honor for last year’s editor Anna Nichols ’12, as well as the entire Falcon newspaper staff.

9th grade

11th grade

12th grade

Joe Cozby

Ray Brown

Sumant Agrawal

Alondra Reyes

Taylor Daniel

Dahlgren Baker

Arin Drtil

Katherine Drews

10th grade

Graham Marsh

Madi Goeringer

Frances Andrews

Lizzy McGee

Jenna McGaw

Allison Dyer

Paige Poe

Jake Pardee

Courtney Greer

Edie Powers

Nicholas Ho

Zach Rosenthal

Kendall Masterson

Sam Sands

AROUND Athletics CAMPUS

Annual Report SPRING 2013

The Waites, Norths and Martires at the Waites’ home

Next Head of School Dr. Andy Martire and his Family Visit Kinkaid Dr. Andy Martire, his wife Eva, and their children Belle, Tyler and Max were further introduced to the School and the City of Houston during a visit in February. One of the highlights was a reception in their honor hosted by Trustee AnnaLee Waite and her husband Andy. At the gathering, the School’s Board of Trustees and the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors heartily welcomed them. Dr. Martire also spent time with the School’s Administrative Team to help plan for the transition to his leadership.

Middle School Speech Evolves The Middle School speech program has been revamped this year with a new emphasis on tournament competition. Patty Edwards, who ran the program years ago, has come full circle, returning the competitive aspect of the program to the more than 60 students she teaches. Edwards shares, “We are providing students the opportunity to test their skills in public speaking and the interpretation of literature.” All students enrolled must compete in at least one tournament per year and most of them are speaking in public for the first time. They gain confidence in Edwards’ classes and during practice, which takes place during class, before and after school and on the weekends. They compete in a variety of speech contest events including Dramatic Interpretation, Oratory, Humorous Interpretation and Extemporaneous Speaking. There are even “fun” categories like Lip Sync. Edwards works with the students to help them choose events most suited for them. She wants every student to be successful in some way. This The Duet Acting Championship Teams were made up of seventh graders Ashton Lambert was especially evident in Duet Acting, as Kinkaid had a and Warren Barr in the fall, and Myles Chandler and Will Kunetka in the spring. championship team in both the fall and spring semesters this year. One of those students, Ashton Lambert ’18 remarks, “In school speech program as such, “The education of middle school speech I have learned that teamwork and confidence are the most students through speech activities provides them with an opportunity important things.” to apply the development of their thinking skills and social awareness through communication.” A lofty goal, and Kinkaid seems to be But it is not all about the competition. The National Forensic League, rising to the occasion. of which Kinkaid is a member, describes the benefits of a middle 3

THE Kinkaid School THE Kinkaid School

Campus Digest Chelsea Pope Collins appointed next Middle School Principal Fifteen years an educator, Chelsea Pope Collins believes her purpose is to prepare others for success despite any cultural, economic or developmental differences. A product of inner-city public schools and the first college graduate in her family, she sets high expectations for herself as well as her students. “I want my students to understand the value of goal setting, consistency, and perseverance,” offers Collins. Since joining Kinkaid in 2003 as a classroom teacher, she has been promoted to key positions, including Director of Kinkaid’s EMSI Program, Assistant Admissions Director and to her current role as Coordinator of New Student Support and Dean of Middle School. She was a Klingenstein Fellow at Columbia University Teachers College where she earned a masters degree in Educational Leadership and was appointed a Fellow in the National Association of Independent Schools Aspiring Heads Program (which she will complete this spring). She recently co-chaired the People of Color Conference, a national annual conference for educators of color within independent schools. “I am very grateful to the School’s administration and especially to my mentor, Middle School Principal Barry Spiers, for providing opportunities for me to grow professionally and to better serve our students,” says Collins. When she begins her new role as Middle School Principal this summer, she will be both the first female and the first African-American to hold the position in the School’s 107-year history. The Kinkaid family says, “Congratulations, Chelsea!”

Middle School Family Science Night 2013 The Middle School’s science department hosted a fantastic Family Science Night on February 6th. The enthusiastic crowd was treated to student science projects and hands-on science activities. Sixth and eighth grade project displays, showing the process and results of student-selected topics, were in the Kayem Library, along with seventh grade genetics projects and cell games for visitors to play. Students had the opportunity to explain their projects to parents and teachers. In the cafeteria, there was a TON of action! Chromatography bandanas, waves-in-abottle, DNA necklaces, UV bead bracelets, and straw rockets were there for the making and taking. The middle school Science team of Jeff Gessel, Shari Hiltbrand, Dara McLurkin, Laura Sinclair, Katie Wagner and Jessica Zenker with the support of our administrators Barry Spiers and Chelsea Collins provided a fantastic opportunity for families to come out and enjoy a night of science. Many thanks to all those who helped with the event and to all the families who attended. 4

Fifth Grade science teacher Dara McLurkin with Sophia Ghauri ’20

Lauren Oliver, the Kyle Likover Memorial Visiting Author, visited Middle School to teach about writing methods and idea generation. Requiem, the third book in her dystopian trilogy, was released on March 5. Middle School Principal Barry Spiers observes project board of Caroline Totz ‘19 and Callie Rosenthal ’19

AROUND Athletics CAMPUS

5th Grade Grandparents’ Day

Annual Report SPRING 2013

Kinkaid Debate Briefs The dedication and commitment of the Kinkaid debaters has been undeniable. Kinkaid had 15 students qualify for the Texas Forensics Association State Tournament in public forum, Lincoln-Douglas, and policy styles of debate, and five students qualified for the prestigious Tournament of Champions, sponsored by the University of Kentucky.

University of California – Berkeley February 16 – 18 200 schools from throughout the United States Policy

Humza Tariq ’13 and Zach Rosenthal ’13 won the tournament, first out of 234 teams. Zach was awarded 5th overall speaker, while Humza placed 15th. Sita Yerramsetti ’16 and Rikki Bleiweiss ’16 reached the top 64.

Lincoln Douglas Jan Gordon, Sally DeWalch, Don DeWalch, Andrew DeWalch ’20, Binz DeWalch, Don Gordon and Nancy DeWalch

John Lewis ’13 placed in the quarterfinals (top 8 of over 350). John qualified for the Tournament of Champions with his success. Rizwan Popatia ’13 placed in the top 64. Tyler Gamble ’15 had the record, but not the speaker points, to reach elimination rounds.

Emory University – Atlanta January 25-27 149 schools representing 22 states Policy

Humza and Zach reached the semi-finals. Zach was awarded 5th overall speaker, while Humza placed 8th.

Lincoln Douglas

John Lewis placed in the top 32.

Lexington HS – Boston January 18-21 94 Schools representing 22 States Clementine McIver, Nicole Zarr ’87, Strater Zarr ’20 and Richard Domercq ’62

Policy

Humza and Zach went undefeated in preliminary rounds and placed 1st overall. Ali Jamal ’15 and Ben Mitchell ’13 placed in the top 16. Reece Rosenthal ’15 and Ravi Inamdar ’15 placed in the top 32.

Public Forum

Roma Patel ’14 and Alina Valera ’14 placed in the top 32, out of over 100 teams.

Lincoln-Douglas

John Lewis placed in the top 32.

Jersey Village HS – Houston February 11-12 Policy

Arjun Reddy ’16 and Alex Kalai ’16 reached the semi-finals, placing third

Lincoln Douglas

Nina Kalluri ’15 placed in the top 16. Gunter Frankel, Debra Orkin, Jared Orkin ’20, Danielle Frankel, Lois Joseph and Bob Orkin ’72

THE Kinkaid School THE Kinkaid School

Fine Arts Awards 2013 Regional Scholastic Arts Awards Receiving more individual awards than any other public or private school in the Harris County region, Kinkaid’s upper school visual arts students enjoyed extraordinary success in the 2013 Regional Scholastic Arts competition. Twenty-seven upper school students received a total of 33 individual awards in seven categories. Students who received Gold Keys will move on to the national Scholastic Arts competition this spring.

Gold Key

Honorable Mention

Dahlgren Baker ’13 Ray Brown ’14 (2) Virginia Carl ’15 Griffith Greer ’14 Bianca Kaushal ’13 Rachael Levy ’15 Eva Nip ’14 Kendall Taylor ’13 Victoria Wang ’13

Emma Eggleston ’15 Nate Freeman ’14 (2) Megan Friedman ’14 Luke Harper ’13 Bianca Kaushal ’13 Anshul Palavajjhala ’14 Elise Peters ’15 Edie Powers ’13 Addy Reckling ’14 Tory Smith ’14 Sydnie Swanson ’14 (2) Grace Wang ’14

Silver Key Dahlgren Baker ’13 Selim Baysal ’14 Anna Boerwinkle ’13 Katie Fikaris ’14 Savannah Friedkin ’13 (2) Andrew Manias ’13 Mary Kelly McConn ’14 Gonzalo Perusquia ’13

The lobby of the Katz Performing Arts Center was named for the Ogilvie Family in a celebration prior to the opening night of the Upper School musical, “Chicago”. This honor was bestowed in recognition of Trustee Staman Ogilvie’s leadership in the design and construction of the Center, and for the years of generous philanthropic support that he and his wife Beverly have provided the School.

Texas Visual Art Scholastic Awards

2013 Scholastic Writing Awards

Five upper school students recently received awards in the Texas Visual Art Scholastic Event. Dahlgren Baker ’13, Eva Nip ’14 and Edie Powers ’13 received Superior ratings. Victoria Wang ’13 and Tory Smith ’14 also received Superior ratings AND perfect scores. In addition, Tory Smith’s art was selected to go to the State VASE event.

Twenty-eight upper school students submitted forty entries to the regional Scholastic Writing Competition. The following have been recognized. Submissions by gold key winners will be considered in the national level of competition.

Creative Communication’s Student Anthologies Upper school creative writing students Jeel Mehta ’16, Kylie Lohrenz ’16, Fatimah Lawal ’15 and Trevin Kurtanich ’14 have had work accepted into Creative Communication’s student anthologies for publication.

Brian Ogilvie ’00, Beverly and Staman Ogilvie and Don North at the dedication. Son Ben Ogilvie ‘02 was unable to attend.

Gold Key

Honorable Mention

Taylor Daniel ’14 Allison Dyer ’15 Fernanda González-Blanco ’15 Paige Poe ’14

Kendyl Bree ’16 Madison Calicchia ’14 Allison Dyer ’15 Laura Grove ’14 Kate Hickman ’16 Leah Jacobs ’16 Andi Jo ’13 (portfolio) Charlotte Larzelere ’16 Roma Patel ’14 (2) Megan Pearson ’13 (portfolio) Zach Roubein ’16 Mary Caroline Scofield ’16

Silver Key Kendyl Bree ’16 Taylor Daniel ’14 Ashley Davis ’15 Kylie Lohrenz ’16 (2) Anshul Palavajjhala ’14 Catalina Parra ’15

AROUND Athletics CAMPUS

Annual Report SPRING 2013

Don North and Athletic Director Bob Beeman (right) meet with Leslie and Ann Doggett.

Kinkaid Gyms are Cool!

American Visions Award Nomination Sand Storm, a photograph by Kendall Taylor ’13, was awarded a Gold Key in the regional Scholastic Art competition. Her work also has been nominated for the American Visions Award. Each year regional affiliates select and nominate up to eight Gold Key artworks that demonstrate exceptional technique and unique personal expression. These works are reviewed in a special adjudication for the American Visions Awards at the national Gold Key competition in New York, and one recipient is recognized nationally from each region.

Thanks to the generosity of a number of Kinkaid families, led by trustee Leslie Doggett ’75 and his wife Ann, two enormous HVAC units were recently installed to cool Kinkaid’s Fondren Gym and the smaller gym (which will be named in honor of the Doggett family). The new A/C kept guests at the Kinkaid Auction nice and cool – even as the bidding got hot! For a video on the installation, check out https://vimeo.com/61041703

Shakespeare Class Buries Richard III In honor of the recent discovery of Richard III’s body, Kate Lambert’s Shakespeare class held an honorary burial for the misunderstood “villain.” Complete with York peppermint patties (for the Duke of York), pigs in a blanket (his symbol was the boar), a processional through the halls (with candles!) and eulogies written by all, he was buried in style. 7

THE Kinkaid School

“I am profoundly aware that as the fourth headmaster at Kinkaid, I am standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Don North

Legacy of Leadership N

estled in the piney woods of our nation’s fourth largest city, The Kinkaid School has endured as a prominent institution of learning for more than 100 years, graduating some of the most notable leaders, from artists to statesmen, who have touched our world locally, nationally and globally. Students who mature into leaders of this caliber do not come by such skills effortlessly. Rather, they are nurtured and taught by leaders who come before them.

At Kinkaid, this torch of “Light through Knowledge” has been preserved by its leadership since 1906, beginning with Margaret Hunter Kinkaid, whose progressive ideas and pragmatic methods laid a firm foundation for educating young men and women that has clearly stood the test of time. After nearly half a century, she passed the torch to another capable leader, John Cooper, who moved the growing school to its permanent home in Piney Point Village. Cooper’s leadership fostered the school’s family atmosphere that is still alive today, laying the groundwork during his almost three decades of service for Kinkaid’s third headmaster, Glenn Ballard. Ballard guided the School to new heights in all areas, including faculty, where he focused on equipping and encouraging his staff to lead, a basic tenet of empowering leadership. Upon his retirement, he said, “It has been a great satisfaction to me that five teachers or administrators here have gone on to run their own schools.” One of the individuals Ballard was referring to at the time is current headmaster Donald North, who served Kinkaid under Ballard in the mid-1980’s as Upper School Principal, English teacher and coach before being recruited as headmaster to Durham Academy in North Carolina. Upon Ballard’s retirement, Kinkaid reunited with North— one of its own—as the new torchbearer to illuminate its course.

Retired faculty member John Germann recalls having North in mind at the outset of the search for Ballard’s successor. He personally knew the two preceding headmasters, describing Cooper as a family man, Ballard as a businessman, and North as a delightful combination of both. “Don is sympathetic and sincerely interested in what you have to say when you approach him,” Germann says. “If you look at what he’s managed to accomplish at Kinkaid just in terms of fundraising and facilities, it’s pretty amazing.” Life Trustee Chip Cureton, who led the search committee at the time, says North stood out among the candidates in the field, plus he already knew the School’s culture. So in 1996, North accepted the Kinkaid torch and, with it, the opportunity to ignite his vision for the school. It would be an opportunity that would testify to his personal leadership as well as foster the leadership of many others. In his first 10 years, he would lead Kinkaid to its Centennial, ushering it into the 21st century. However, even before coming to Kinkaid, North’s commitment to education was rooted in a love of literature and learning inspired by his teachers.

SPRING 2013

THE Kinkaid School

Love of Learning, Lifelong Commitment to Education 1965 – 1996

orth credits his parents for encouraging his hard work, a value he says continues to be part of who he is today.

In high school, he was encouraged by his senior year English teacher, whom he describes as “bright and cheerful,” noting that her true delight in discussing literature with students was motivating. Another influential person who inspired North was his football and track coach, a former Marine turned tough, competitive coach who was also a fundamentally kind and good-hearted man. “When you have people in your life like that, you look back and realize what impact they had,” North reflects. “Not even in terms of a future career, but a love of literature and sports inspired by them were two things that drove me.” North excelled in academics, sports and leadership in high school, being named to such positions as class president, president of the honor council and captain of the track team. “I’ve always sought additional responsibility,” he says. “That’s probably one of the constant themes in my life. From an early age, I felt I had a certain amount of ambition although it wasn’t focused toward a particular career or mission or idea.” North’s innate ambition would take him places, securing a scholarship at Vanderbilt University where he continued to play sports, lettering in football and track. His established love for literature matured as he studied English, and he decided to pursue it as a major. Still not certain what he wanted to do after college, he accepted an invitation from a former classmate to visit St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas, which was looking for an English teacher and coach. Newly married his senior year, North and wife, Mary, set out for Dallas. “It all seemed pretty extravagant in the spring of 1969 when they asked me to interview and said they’d fly both my wife and me to Dallas,” North says. “So we went down, and I loved the school and the people. I thought I’d do this for a couple years and then figure out what I really wanted to do.” In the spring of his third year, North’s calling to leadership came unexpectedly when the newly named chairman of St. Mark’s English department backed out at the last minute. “It kind of fell in my lap,” North recalls. “I’d never do that as a headmaster—hire a 25-year-old as a department chair. But, it was a great opportunity, probably the first step. I realized then that maybe there was a career here.”

“What I’ve observed in Don North is a man who is infinitely faithful to the mission of his school.”

Almost 40 years later, Arnold Holtberg, the Headmaster of St. Mark’s and fel— Arnold Holtberg low board member at the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest, notes that North’s accomplishments since his time at St. Mark’s have been significant, both for the industry and for the schools he has led. “Heading a school in the modern era is demanding,” he states. “There are competing aims among students, parents, faculty, graduates, trustees, etc., and sorting out these issues while en-

suring an institution stays on course according to its mission is never easy. What I’ve observed in Don North is a man who is infinitely faithful to the mission of his school.” After eight years at St. Mark’s, North was recruited to Fort Worth Country Day School as middle school principal and began on the path that would engage his natural leadership abilities to serve, guide and instill leadership in others. At the same time his career was advancing, North continued studying literature, completing a five-summer master’s program for English teachers at Middlebury College in 1979. In his sixth year at Fort Worth Country Day School, he began seeking the next challenge, applying for headships at several smaller K-8 schools, but was persuaded to join Kinkaid by Ballard, who was headmaster at the time. North says “He thought that being an upper school principal at a larger school would give me a better platform for my ultimate goal, which was to be head of a first-tier K-12 school.” From 1983–1988, North served Kinkaid as Upper School Principal, teacher and coach, honing his leadership and establishing relationships that would be valuable in years to come. Five years later, he went on to head Durham Academy in North Carolina, where he and Mary planned to spend at least 10 years before their three daughters would graduate from high school, but Kinkaid presented itself sooner. North was attracted to the School’s commitment to excellence broadly defined, meaning that, at its core, it continues to strive for students not to be singly focused, but rather be involved in all areas of education—academics, arts, athletics and extracurricular activities. “This is certainly one of the qualities that attracted me to come back,” North says. “The work, support and generosity the community provides the School is incredible. It’s an ambitious school. As an independent school head who wants to increase responsibility, who wouldn’t accept the opportunity to be head at a school like Kinkaid—the job only comes open every 30 years!”

SPRING 2013

Building for the Next Century, Celebrating the Centennial 1996 – 2008

n his first written message as headmaster in July 1996, North refers to Huck Finn’s “lighting out for the Territories” as a literary comparison to his “new beginning” at Kinkaid.

Mark Twain, author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, wrote in his biography, “From the beginning of my sojourn in this world there was a persistent vacancy in me where industry ought to be.” Similar to Twain, North’s awareness of his “ambition” as a young man, that in youth had yet to reveal its direction, now had a clear mission in Kinkaid. “I am profoundly aware that as the fourth headmaster at Kinkaid, I am standing on the shoulders of giants. The challenge for me will be to help Kinkaid determine the next level of excellence and then move toward that higher level.” North wasted no time getting down to business, immediately establishing a technology task force and long-range planning committees. In his first act of stewarding leadership, North committed the task of installing the system that would establish the School’s intranet, web site and school-wide Internet connection to two students who were willing to take on the project when the person hired for the job was unable to finish. Next, he formed committees for the long-range planning process, involving more than 100 people, including trustees, parents, alumni and faculty.

Before 2007 Auction which had a James Bond Theme

Mary Nell Lovett ‘63, chair of the board of trustees during the first four years of North’s tenure, recalls the long-range planning process as “all-inclusive” and “greatly significant” to Kinkaid’s future. “Don was very clear that he wanted all constituents to have a place at the table and to have their voices heard so that no major viewpoints were overlooked,” Lovett says. “He’s virtually achieved everything in that longrange plan, certainly the very key items. It’s quite an extraordinary achievement on his part.” By the end of 1999, Kinkaid had its long-range plan and, with needs identified, launched “Building for the Next Century,” the capital campaign that would enable the building of nearly half the School’s 365,000-square-foot facility. Campaign Chair David Weekley spiritedly remembers how he and North went on so many fundraising calls together they became known as the “Don and Dave Show.” “We would go in and ask folks for half-million dollar gifts, mil-

At 2004 fundraising event, “A Conversation with the Bushes”

lion-dollar gifts—huge gift asks. One of the reasons the campaign was so successful was because Don, as the leader of the School, had such great credibility.” The campaign eventually raised over $46 million, well above the initial goal of $35 million, allowing for enhancements to its original building plans and an additional $7 million contribution to the School’s endowment. By 2004, Kinkaid’s physical features were greatly improved with the construction of a new lower school, performing arts building, and Center for Student Life, Fine Arts and Administration. Additionally, a canopy at the student life building’s main entrance and the creation of a quadrangle between the Middle School and the cafeteria created a welcoming setting for the Kinkaid community. “To that point, we were a 1950s-built, institutional, flat-roof structure,” North says. “Now we are so much more. I love the tall canopy as it draws your attention up. One of the things we discussed was wanting the architecture to mirror in some way the great beauty of the School, which is vertical—in the trees.” North also asked the long-range planning committees to consider the whole realm of student life, furthering the aims of Margaret Kinkaid to educate the whole child. Careful study revealed a need for character education that helped identify and establish the four core values of the School.

“One reason the Building for the Next Century Campaign was so successful is because Don had such great credibility.”

Weekley, who also was involved in identifying the core values, says that where Kinkaid — David Weekley has a long history of doing a terrific job educating kids, both intellectually and in moral character, the School had never really defined great moral character. “To see a great institution like Kinkaid not having captured the key core values was an opportunity for us,” says Weekley, who remembers long discussions about the right words, the wrong words and coming up with words students from lower school to high school could understand.

THE Kinkaid School

“They had to be meaningful all the way through, from the children in kindergarten to the faculty and administration, and the leaders of the School. They had to be more than words someone says, but words everyone in the Kinkaid family could live out in their daily lives.” North believes formalizing the four core values—honesty, respect, responsibility and kindness—was very important to sustaining Kinkaid’s mission and was personally a significant milestone in his tenure at Kinkaid, equal to the one marked by the School’s physical enhancements. “Obviously, they were very important to Mrs. Kinkaid,” North says. “We talk about the values in terms of community service, in terms of student discipline, and in terms of professional standards for faculty and staff. We ask ourselves how are we modeling them and how are we not.” While Kinkaid’s exterior reached new heights, within its walls a heartbeat—students and faculty —continued to seek new levels, according to the goals set forth in the School’s statement of philosophy: intellectual endeavor, achievement, and the pursuit of a well-rounded education that includes experiences in the arts, athletics and a variety of extracurricular activities. North underscores the value of Kinkaid’s traditional college preparatory curriculum but notes that in the last 17 years there have been significant changes in the use of technology by teachers in the classroom, the offering of more languages and electives, and the expansion in range and depth in the arts and athletics.

Trustee Tom Simmons characterizes North as a leader among leaders, saying that his day-to-day calm, poised and friendly manner is what he always will remember. “Don’s ability to maintain his demeanor and spirit and good-natured attitude at such a high level is just astounding to me.”

He credits the exceptional faculty with maintaining the rigor expected at a school of Kinkaid’s esteem and challenges them to find innovative approaches to meet the ever-changing, technologically advanced and global world. North mentions that “maintaining and enhancing the high quality of the faculty and staff ” is another noteworthy milestone during his tenure.

Jeanne Alsup, upper school English teacher, who joined Kinkaid in 1983 when North served as Upper School Principal, recognizes that his keen understanding of children, especially of the wide variety of children at Kinkaid, came from time in the classroom. “You almost have to have been in the classroom to have that sense because you get a much better view of kids when you’re teaching,” she says, “and Don had some really good kids and some really challenging kids…and I think he understood them too, so when he became headmaster, he knew how to handle that.” Head Upper School Dean, Robin Doran, characterizes North as understanding in his leadership of the administrative team as well. “He is extremely trusting and doesn’t micromanage,” she says. “He also does a really good job of hiring people who are good at what they do and then figuring out how he can help them grow.”

With third Headmaster Glenn Ballard

By 2006, there was much to celebrate. As Kinkaid marked its centennial, North would not merely reflect on the School’s accomplishments during his last 10 years as headmaster, but also would continue to carry the mission of Kinkaid forward and to embolden others to do the same. “I always think leaders are there at the right time for the right reason; history has proven that for the most part,” says Emily Crosswell ’59, who co-chaired the Centennial Celebration Steering Committee with husband and Life Trustee Holcombe Crosswell ’58. “What I love about Don’s leadership is that he trusted us, invited us to chair the centennial. To orchestrate the 100-year celebration of any organization, but particularly an organization as well known in our city as Kinkaid, is an awesome responsibility. He supported us in all our crazy ideas and in our very fine ideas.” The Centennial Celebration is one of two events, along with the dedication of the Lenny C. Katz Performing Arts Center in 2012, that Board of Trustees Chairman Tad Mayfield ’81, a Kinkaid “lifer” whose family spans three generations at the School, will forever remember. “Alumni came in from all over the country for both those events because they feel gratitude toward Kinkaid and for what it’s done for them. This is the ripple effect that occurs at a great school,” he says. “I don’t think we can measure the impact that a Kinkaid education has, not only

With (l-r) Eddie Leonard, Wes Hohenstein and John Friday when Eddie received KPRC Sunshine Award in 2005

SPRING 2013

A 1980s photo of Mary and Don North with their three daughters, Angie, Becca and Catherine

on its students but also on what they give back to the world. That’s the ripple effect of leaders like Don North.” Not long after the Centennial, Kinkaid’s “Fields Initiative” led by Trustee Andrew Segal and parents Ray Childress and Curtis Harrell funded a $5 million renovation of the School’s outdoor athletic facilities. President of the Alumni Association Board Stephen Dyer ’85, who enjoys sitting on the sidelines with North watching Kinkaid sporting events more than he used to enjoy being called into his office for teenage antics, says that “From the minute my first kid walked into Kinkaid, I knew I had a friend in Don, since he was my high school principal. The improvements to the athletic complex are first-class, much better quality than when I was a student. Don cares about investing in all programs, not just academics.” Additionally, loyal Kinkaid supporters contributed $7.5 million to the endowment for need-based financial aid scholarships. Trustee Ed Frank ’68, co-chair for the “Dreams Initiative” endowment campaign, says that he and co-chair Mike Kuhn ’68 worked the campaign almost daily during that time but relied on North’s support when a donor was ready to make a gift. “Don has a very disarming manner and encouraging approach when speaking with potential donors. He would most often suggest their gift be something that strikes a good balance between the donor’s capacity to give and the importance they attach to the purpose.” Trustee Tom Simmons characterizes North as a leader among leaders, saying that his day-to-day calm, poised and friendly manner is what he always will remember. “The ability for him to walk the campus and know almost every student, parent and staff member by name is just remarkable for a head of school with the size, scale and complexity of Kinkaid,” he says, adding “You’ve got to be on your feet and alert at all times because there is a crisis every day. Don’s ability to maintain his demeanor and spirit and good-natured attitude at such a high level is just astounding to me.”

A Test of Leadership 2009 – 2010

orth’s reputation for being even-keeled, levelheaded and balanced in his approach would be tested in 2009 when Kinkaid faced a firestorm that would put him, Kinkaid trustees and its community in the spotlight after a confidential letter to the School’s board of trustees was broadcast via the Internet.

“It was a difficult time for the School,” North says. “It was painful. I think of Kinkaid as a family, and sometimes families fight and go through really difficult times together. This was one of those times.” North acknowledges that perhaps he had become a little too hands-off in certain areas, saying, “This was one of the big lessons for me as a leader. You cannot foster leadership if you’re going to constantly watch over others, but in several situations at the time, I didn’t pay close enough attention.” Simmons, who was chairman of the board at the time, compares Kinkaid to other longstanding entities that have experienced growth pains and find themselves in a place where they need to redefine their position. “We saw at the time an opportunity for Kinkaid to come through for the better,” he says, “but the process was gut-wrenching and involved a great deal of soul searching and self-reflection. We purposely made it our goal to hear from every constituent, and we were not going to act upon who spoke the loudest or who spoke the last. Throughout the whole process, the board, Don and I, along with many members of the committee looking at this, worked as a team. I am very pleased at what we were able to accomplish by listening…and producing “Moving Forward,” the document to help identify who we are.” Looking back, North agrees with Simmons that Kinkaid has reaffirmed itself and its basic values. “The real lesson is that we made it through. Despite the pain and furor, there were things pointed out that were helpful and that the School needed to identify, clarify and change.”

THE Kinkaid School

Tomorrow’s Promise, A Dream Fulfilled 2010 – 2013

ith lessons learned and a renewed pledge to champion the mission before him, North would continue to preserve the inheritance of Kinkaid’s founders while at the same time renewing his dedication to the School and its faithful pursuit of excellence. Shortly thereafter, Kinkaid would realize the fulfillment of a long sought-after goal. Cureton, who continued to work with North through the years, says that from the minute they arrived at Kinkaid, North and his wife Mary engaged nearby property owner Majorie Milby. She was very environmentally oriented, and North kept her apprised of undertakings he thought would interest her, such as the Backyard, the School’s outdoor classroom along the bayou. His relationship with Mrs. Milby was an important factor in her family’s decision to sell the property to Kinkaid in 2010.

Mayfield, who currently chairs the board, concurs that North’s stewardship helped secure the 25-acre property. “Don has had a vision for the School from the start, and the ability to acquire this acreage is part of a shared vision with the board,” he says. The purchase of the property, which increases the campus size by more than 60 percent, was made possible through the generous support of the Kinkaid community as part of phase one of the “Tomorrow’s Promise” capital campaign, which surpassed its $25 million goal. Mayfield goes on to note that in 2012 the Annual Fund set a new record as well, crossing the $2 million mark for the first time in the School’s history. “The generosity of the Kinkaid community happens because they believe in the School, and believing in the School means belief in the leadership,” he says. “That’s what Don North has provided for the School, and it is indeed a lasting legacy.” While groundwork is being laid for the property improvements, North does not pause in aspirations for Kinkaid and its students, even after announcement of his retirement. Most recently, he formalized a Community Service Council to provide yet another substantive leadership opportunity for students and connection with the community.

“I consider myself deeply fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead this exceptionally fine school and to be a part of the lives of so many remarkable young men and women. I leave with profound gratitude to the many people whom I have come to know and respect.” — Don North “One of the challenges a school like Kinkaid faces as it acquires increasingly ambitious kids is finding opportunities for them to be leaders,” North says. “It is in the actual leadership experience that they gain a sense of how important service is. The steps we are taking this year are significant, and Kinkaid can be, and maybe already is, on the leading edge of service programs among independent schools.” Presenting the Leigh Weld 6th Grade Award to Will McLeroy in 2011

In reflection, North observes another gratifying milestone during his tenure is the School’s broadening diversity. “Today we are a much more diverse school in terms of race, culture, religion, and socioeconomic status than we were a number

SPRING 2013

Part of the team at the 2012 Kinkaid Habitat for Humanity Build

of years ago, and that’s important considering the world our kids are going to enter. We work to ensure that everyone at Kinkaid feels welcome, valued and respected,” he says.

Scholarship Fund Created Honoring Don and Mary North

North’s opening comments to the Upper School this year salute the vision he has carried throughout his 17-year tenure while recalling the ambitions of its founder: “Preparing students for success in the academic challenges that await them; helping them develop a strong moral character; providing them with a range of opportunities in academics, athletics, the arts, extracurricular activities and service; encouraging the development of leadership; and supporting our students in their journey from childhood to young adulthood—these are the primary goals of Kinkaid.”

We are pleased to announce that some proceeds from Auction 2013 will support a fully endowed need-based financial aid scholarship honoring Don and Mary North. If you are interested in helping the fund reach its $400,000 goal, please send a check payable to The Kinkaid School, c/o Advancement Office, 201 Kinkaid School Drive, Houston, TX 77024. A list of donors to this scholarship will be published in the summer magazine.

There is so much more that could be said about North and the Kinkaid heritage he has sustained. It is a legacy he has endeavored to uphold and gratefully bestows on those who will follow in his steps, keeping the torch alight and inspiring leadership for future generations. “The last 17 years have been a time of great enjoyment, challenge, satisfaction and growth,” North says. “I consider myself deeply fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead this exceptionally fine school and to be a part of the lives of so many remarkable young men and women. I leave with wonderful memories, great friendships and profound gratitude to the many people—faculty, staff, trustees, parents, students and alumni—whom I have come to know and respect.”

Save The Date

Honoring Don North May 5

Hope you can join us for a special event planned on Sunday, May 5 to celebrate Headmaster Don North’s 17 years of great leadership and many contributions to Kinkaid. Don is retiring on July 1 after 44 years in independent school education as a teacher, coach, principal, and headmaster. The event, which will feature student performances and surprise guests, will take place at 4 p.m. in The Brown Auditorium of The Lenny C. Katz Performing Arts Center. Invitations will be mailed in April. 15

THE Kinkaid School

Interim Experiences Abound “The Kinkaid community owes Interim Term a round of applause. It adds a special quality to our school. Those three weeks give us a chance to explore new interests and further develop old ones. The most important aspect of Interim is how it brings our community together. We get a chance to make friends from all grade levels, learn from teachers we wouldn’t normally have and get to see what our teachers find interesting and want to teach.”

— Audrey Briscoe ’14

Kinkaid students in the Forbidden City on China trip

Max Scheinin ’13 and James Mentz ’13 with the lung removed during a transplant they observed

Courtney Favaloro ’14 and Angel Mathis ’13 join Courtney’s grandmother, Beejay Schuler during a reception for guests from The Hampton at Tanglewood

SPRING 2013

Upper School students read to the Kindergarten class of Mary Margaret Greer and Lillie Hutcheson

Jacqueline Jacobs, who formerly attended The Fay School, teaches there during Interim

2020 Exhibits welcomes interns and Judy Muir, Director of Career Development

Katherine Fisher ’14

Jewelry making class

Furniture making

Rocking chairs for Bo’s Place

Eric Sung ’13

Enjoying France

Costa Rican Experience

THE Kinkaid School

Great Falcon Remembered Kinkaid lost the greatest

Remarks by Headmaster Don North at Charlie’s memorial service on February 9

guardian of the School’s

With the possible exception of Margaret Kinkaid, I don’t believe anyone has loved The Kinkaid School more deeply or better than Charlie Sanders. You know the facts: Charlie graduated from Kinkaid and enrolled in Davidson College. He returned to Houston after one semester and began volunteering at Kinkaid in a variety of capacities – running the clocks at basketball games, keeping statistics at football games, helping out with Field Day, and many others. He worked part-time at Kinkaid for several years and then Kinkaid’s second headmaster, John Cooper, wanted to centralize the School’s duplicating and audio-visual functions and he asked Charlie to head this up. This began a nearly 50-year full-time professional connection between Charlie and Kinkaid. When his body began to fail him several years ago, he retired from full-time work but continued to come to Kinkaid daily to help the school’s archivist Fiona de Young collect and maintain materials for the School’s newly created archives.

traditions and history when Charlie Sanders ’54 passed away on February 4 at the age of 76. No one wore the purple and gold quite like Charlie. Here are some of the comments we received from the many people his life touched during his 68 years at Kinkaid as a student and employee.

I first met Charlie Sanders in 1983 when I became Upper School Principal. During that time and again during my tenure as Headmaster I had wonderful conversations with Charlie – about Kinkaid, the City of Houston, my three predecessors in this position, sports, and E.T. There is an old joke that

“Charlie Sanders was a remarkable man, and to many of us he embodied the absolute best of Kinkaid.” — Don North

SPRING 2013

within every old man is a young man asking, “What the heck happened?” Well, inside Charlie there was a young boy still full of wonder and delight and imagination. For several years the license plate on Charlie’s car read, “ET LIVS.” I think he believed that not only was E.T. still living but that he would also return to Earth at some point, and he was going to be ready. I have attended parties at Charlie’s house that he held for the Kinkaid faculty and staff, I have watched him come early to school and stay later than anyone else as he completed his scorekeeping at games, and I have visited him in his work room as he was duplicating tests and class materials for faculty and at the same time having conversations with parents or alumni about the myriad jerseys and photographs in his room, each of which carried a story the details of which Charlie knew by heart.

“Charlie was our ambassador – unforgettably, and without peer.” — John Germann

missed a great introduction to the city. He took part in the official orientation for new faculty and staff each year, with wonderful stories about the history of the School and some of the special events held each year at Kinkaid. He never missed a Kinkaid-St. John’s football game, he was the official starter for every Field Day, and he considered it a personal mission to let everyone know, almost every day, what the official Kinkaid colors are. Charlie Sanders was a remarkable man, and to many of us he embodied the absolute best of Kinkaid. In 2000 Kinkaid formalized its commitment to four values that in truth had long been part of the School’s culture: honesty, respect, responsibility, kindness. Charlie exemplified those four values through and through. On my own behalf as well as that of my colleagues on the faculty, staff, trustees, countless alumni, and school parents I say thank you, Charlie Sanders, for loving this school so much and so well. We will miss you indeed.

Heart – that’s the word I think best describes Charlie. He had a huge heart, and he held the School, all of it, in that huge heart.

He knew no enemies, with the possible exception of whoever didn’t like Kinkaid, and he would introduce himself to the parents of new students throughout the year, frequently with knowledge about those students that would surprise the parents. “Who are you and how did you know that?” they would sometimes ask. He took it upon himself to show new faculty and staff around Houston. If you haven’t been on the Charlie Sanders 610 Loop tour of Houston, you have

Reflections from retired history teacher John Germann No one has been (or, I feel safe in saying, ever will be) more involved with Kinkaid than Charles B. Sanders Jr. No one was more loyal to it, or more consumed by things Kinkaidian – much less for as long as he was. All of this devotion started with his enrollment in the school in 1945. He graduated in 1954 and joined KTRK-TV and the Air Force Reserve, but his heart never really left Kinkaid. Early on he picked up younger students who needed a ride and brought them to the School, and in the summer he accompanied them on school bus camping trips to Canada. Then and throughout his life he had a special affinity for those of middle-school age; accordingly, a fifth-grade Honor Day award bears his name. Whether it be announcing football games, scoring basketball games, photographing all kinds of groups and gatherings, directing audio-visual operations, collecting paraphernalia and serving as our museum director, opening his home for multiple annual school parties (and never missing someone else’s party), appearing at countless functions be they academic, athletic, or artistic – you could count on Charlie’s enthusiasm and dedication. Kinkaid was, without exaggeration, HIS LIFE. What there was to the rest of his life centered around movies (he had an amazingly precise recollection of films, especially mu-

sicals) and around collecting. He amassed a room filled to the ceiling with books on Texas history, Old South history, and the Titanic, for example. Those of us fortunate enough to attend his parties were treated by being shown what almost has to be the world’s largest private collection of E.T. memorabilia, complemented of course by his personalized “ET LIVS” license plates. Charlie loved sports, especially football – be it the Kinkaid, Rice, or Texans brand. He loved to drive, once describing himself as a 12-year-old with a driver’s license; in fact, he loved to drive anything! I can vouch for the fact that he drove a mean lawn tractor on our acre lot in the country, mowing in circles and all the while singing arias from whatever opera he had on his mind at the time. What he liked he loved, and he embraced it with passion. Blessed with a gift for conversation, he took great pleasure in giving tours of those things he loved – his school, his home (and his grandmother’s pre-1900 home in Galveston), his church, his city. Charlie loved life, and he was his happiest when functioning in the world of purple and gold. Who can forget, or would want to, Charlie decked out in his purple and gold ensembles? He was our ambassador – unforgettably, and without peer. So now it is our turn, Charlie: “Thy praises high we love to sing.”

THE Kinkaid School

Reflections from some of Charlie’s many friends archive at Kinkaid was, he told me, one of the very best things the School had done, and he loved being a part of it - as well as its chief contributor. Happily, Charlie’s love for Kinkaid was very much a two-way street. The School always appreciated him, and all who knew him got as much pleasure as he did when he was up in the booth celebrating Falcon touchdowns or announcing the start of Field Day. We will miss Charlie himself, but his legacy will remain as part of what made Kinkaid his favorite place to be.

Susan Santangelo ’55 (former faculty member)

I knew Charlie for 65 years, and for most of that time I considered him to be very lucky because he found his passion early on in life and was able to follow it wholeheartedly. That passion was, of course, The Kinkaid School. When Charles (as we all knew him then) entered 6th Grade, all of us girls were atwitter; he was handsome and tall, soft-spoken and polite. When Coach Hanagriff persuaded him to join the football team, Charles became our hero. He found a second home in the Kinkaid athletic department, and his faithful score— Senior yearbook quote keeping at every game of every Charles B. Sanders Jr. sport at every venue, even as a middleschooler, was just the beginning of Charlie’s legendary contributions to Kinkaid.

“The greatest truths are the simplest, and so are the greatest men.”

An inveterate collector, Charlie’s stashing away of memorabilia from the old Richmond Avenue campus was invaluable to me when I worked on the hundred-year history of the School, and his knowledge of how to get in touch with retired teachers and friends and relatives of Margaret Kinkaid was prodigious. Often during my years at the School I would pop in to Charlie’s audio-visual room/”Kinkaid museum” not only to talk about old times but also to find out what was going on in the Lower and Middle Schools and who the promising athletes were in 5th and 8th grades. The establishment of an “official”

Francita Stuart Koelsch Ulmer ’49 “Coach Charlie” was unforgettable. He will long be remembered by his many friends who thought so highly of him. If he had not gathered materials and artifacts from the Richmond school building when it was sold, much of Kinkaid’s history would have been lost. The extensive well-organized records he kept over 50 years preserved for future generations the story of our school. His loyalty, dedication, and presence will be missed. Kinkaid will never be the same without our beloved “Coach Charlie.”

Dick Janse ’54 I am so sad to have lost such a dear friend. I have so many wonderful memories of Charlie from going through grade school together all the way to graduating from high school together to coaching an undefeated Kinkaid elementary basketball team together. This was the start of my own coaching career. Charlie was not only a groomsman in my wedding, but he also honored my wife and me with a wonderful prenuptial dinner party...When you think of Kinkaid you think of Mrs. Kinkaid, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Ballard, Mr. North and Charles Sanders.

Jonathan Finger ’78 I remember going on a Kinkaid 7thgrade summer trip to Colorado with Coach Charlie and Coaches Chaney and Hardin. The best time was when we all went swimming in the hot springs in Glenwood Springs, Co. The scariest part of the trip was when Coach Charlie had to look out the bus door to see if the bus was going to drive off the side of the mountain.

Webb Jennings ’89 Coach Sanders was a fixture in the halls and athletic facilities for the 12 years I attended Kinkaid. He always wore purple and gold on campus and had a welcoming, approachable personality. I can remember many conversations with Coach Sanders in the AV room talking about movies, history (Houston, US and KHS), and athletics. It didn’t matter if we were 10 years old or 18, we’d stop by. His recall was amazing and he really knew how to deliver a story in a way that made you want to stay. I can still hear him calling football games from the press box at Barnhart. Thank you, Coach for your selfless service to KHS and the many fond memories.

Doug Aron ’92 I had the pleasure of doing my high school required service semester working with “Coach Charlie” in his audio/video office. What a truly remarkable man he was, with more stories and historical perspective about Kinkaid than anyone. He was a walking Kinkaid encyclopedia. His love for Kinkaid was evident in the stories he told and in the smile that would come to his face as he told them.

Trey Melcher ’01 (former student) Years ago my family and I had the opportunity to visit with Coach Sanders at his home as he gave us a personal tour of his E.T. Collection and the Olympic pins and items he had procured over the years. I was instantly impressed at the depth of his passion for collecting. According to an official Universal Studios list, Coach Sanders had acquired almost every licensed E.T. item ever produced… He also regaled my family and me with stories of my oldest uncle with whom he had attended Kinkaid years earlier. I know I speak for the Melcher family when I say Coach Sanders was a wonderful human being and a good friend. Mrs. Kinkaid would have been very proud of how he represented our alma mater.

SPRING 2013

Gene Festa

(retired faculty member) Charlie was many things for me, but most of all my good friend. When I returned to Kinkaid to teach after being away a few years, he saw me, gave me a big bear hug and told me, “Welcome home.” Nothing could have been more true for me. I always enjoyed going to talk to him, and look at what was new in his “museum.” But most of all, I liked taking my students to see him to learn about the wonderful Kinkaid traditions, including the historical marker he helped to acquire. They truly learned a lot about their school and always enjoyed writing thank-you letters to “Coach Charlie”… I admired and loved Charlie for many things, but most of all for his friendship and devotion to all that is Kinkaid: kids, teachers, families, memories, traditions, all of which he so gladly shared with everyone.

Gary Klingman

(former faculty member) I was truly saddened to hear of the passing of Charlie. He was the most welcoming person to new faculty and a friend to all who knew him. My fondest memory, and one of the funniest, was at the passing of Kitty Dammit, the longtime pet of art teacher Pat Foley. Sure it was a cat, but Charlie helped to organize a memorial and burial service just outside his office. The service was well attended by students and faculty, and Charlie capped it off by placing a marker (big rock) to mark the spot. For years, he helped me lead 6th graders on a tour of the memorial site. After all, it is part of the history of Kinkaid that Charlie loved to talk about with all of us.

Annie Roff ’13 As a lower school student, I always considered Mr. Sanders the “original” Kinkaidian. He was the man “who had a museum in his room,” and always began our Field Day celebrations… I admire Mr. Sanders for what he’s done and what he represents. I would see him walking through the hallways and he reminded me of the light at the end of the tunnel. Although Kinkaid may seem like everything today, there is so much more to it than a vocabulary quiz

and a history test. Kinkaid sparked a passion in Mr. Sanders, a passion I only dream of finding in my own life. He reminds me to stay afloat, to think beyond my next class period or school year and into the future. Mr. Sanders found his home at Kinkaid, and continues to teach us of the sheer dedication only true ardor can yield.

David Goddard,

son of former Middle School Principal Arthur Goddard He was Kinkaid and always will be Kinkaid. A true legacy he has left that I doubt anyone could ever fill, ever. Generations need to always know who Charlie was. Memories need to be left for all generations to read about this wonderful, kindhearted man. He had many a Thanksgiving with us in the country, fitting in and adding to our family get-togethers. My dad, Art Goddard, said Charlie was first a student, then became a colleague and a very close friend. He was an ex-

tended part of our family. I am sure thousands will say the same. I am sure there are volumes of stories on how Charlie touched all our lives. Those stories need to be passed down to generations. He always said the kid in him never grew up. Thankfully it never did. I think Charlie just loved life to the fullest. Let us all help to keep the history and stories of Charlie alive.

Contributions in Charlie’s memory may be directed to The Kinkaid School c/o The Charles B. Sanders Jr. Scholarship, Advancement Office, 201 Kinkaid School Dr., Houston, TX, 77024. A list of donors to this scholarship will be published in the summer magazine. Charlie’s obituary is found on page 55.

THE Kinkaid School

Leading through Service Service Program Promotes Leadership, Philanthropy

n two sunny January days, in celebration of Arbor Day, the Kinkaid community gathered to plant 1,200 trees in Memorial Park, bringing together more than 170 volunteers to help regenerate the urban forest treasured by our community. The park, which lost thousands of trees in the 2011 summer drought, is steadily recovering with the help of community service groups and schools like Kinkaid. “This is the first time that students, faculty and families from all three divisions of the School have worked together on an outreach project,” says Debbie Roff, Coordinator of Community Service for Kinkaid. “There was a tremendous sense of partnership with everyone pitching in to help.” Roff says the event brought the whole community together—volunteers from age 3 to 65-plus, including parents, siblings, faculty, staff and students from all grades—to give back, knowing their hard day’s work would also make a difference for years to come. “Memorial Park Conservancy was concerned that we wouldn’t be able to complete such an ambitious project in two days, but they didn’t understand what Kinkaidians can do when we all work together!” “Kinkaid has a history of community service, but it’s been informal. We weren’t ensuring our students were being exposed to it consistently; we just assumed they were,” Roff notes. “It was Mrs. Kinkaid’s vision that her students become community leaders. Community leaders need to have a philanthropic side and be involved in service.” To this end, Headmaster Don North formed a committee in 2010 to examine what other schools were doing regarding service while at the same time interviewing students, parents and faculty to determine the program’s makeup. More than 250 people participated in a survey that identified interests in a wide variety of projects and a shared consensus in several areas, most importantly the desire for the program to be designed, initiated and led by students.

Elizabeth Vail and daughter Alexandra Vail ’20

SPRING 2013

Headmaster Don North with Upper School students

A year later, with an established mission aimed at inspiring students toward a personal interest in service, five criteria emerged to guide the program. The criteria state projects should: • involve groups of Kinkaid students working together • provide a valuable service to the community • be acts of service rather than fundraising activities • partner with charities that meet Kinkaid’s standards • include face-to-face interaction with those served The requirements that we do group projects—Kinkaid students working together and building camaraderie—and that we interact face-to-face with those we serve distinguish us from any other school out there. Trevin Kurtanich ’14, who started volunteering by shelving books at his neighborhood library, says the personal interaction of the Kinkaid program adds value to the experience. “My personal favorite project is the Special Olympics bocce ball event because I get to have face-to-face involvement with people that have special

needs. It’s really eye opening to see how lucky you are…to have full mental capacity and physical capacity, and it makes you want to do more to help,” he says, adding that the event is a gateway for other students to get involved in community service because it’s a largescale, fun project at the start of the school year. Another project held this fall was Math and Science Night at BakerRipley Promise Community School, where Reed Sellers ’13 and Eric Sung ’13 created two of the science stations, one on sound waves and one on chromatography, for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. “What we like about Kinkaid students is that they are really smart and they need minimal direction once you tell them what to do,” asserts Fidel Maffuz, Principal of Baker-Ripley. “At the Math and Science Night they were able to explain the activities so well to students from many different grade levels.”

The program reinforces part of Kinkaid’s stated philosophy that “every student is and will continue to be part of a community and, therefore, seeks to strengthen his or her moral responsibility and service to it.”

Offering a selection of service opportunities that appeal to the wide variety of student interests is another tenet of the program. Upper School English Department Chair Kate Lambert believes the importance of allowing students to choose their projects is enormous. “Students are happier when they get to choose. All sorts of research state that the more emotionally engaged a student is, the more he or she gains from the experience.” Lambert also recognizes the benefits of faculty participation and encourages fellow faculty to get involved. “After spending my Saturday with this group of kids and really enjoying it, I am ready and willing to give more time,” she says. “A few days later I ran into some of the boys from the event, and they were genuinely excited to see me!” Jake Lipman ’16 and Mason Mings ’16

THE Kinkaid School

The Gleason Family – Melinda, Griffin ’25, Joe and Emmett

Keeping in mind the program’s pledge to be student led, Roff credits the newly established Community Service Council as key to the program. This year, under the leadership of Council President Bianca Kaushal ’13, the 15-member team committed to identify, promote and lead about 10 projects that include outings for students, whether their interest be sports, nature, fitness, math, science, the environment, working with children or helping veterans. “Students have a lot of different interests,” Kaushal says, “so we try to offer a variety of service opportunities so everyone can find something they like.” Calin Ackerman ’13 is honored to be on the Council and serve as co-chair of the Special Olympics bocce ball tournament. “Both my siblings have learning differences, so I can really relate to some of the kids—I just love the whole idea—it combines all the grades of Upper School, and even some from Middle School and faculty. We all come together to referee the bocce ball games for these special kids. Being on the Council is a big honor. It has taught me that if you want something to happen, you’ve got to make it happen; just sitting around and talking about good ideas isn’t going to get the job done.”

“Service develops the whole person, so much like athletics, we felt it needed to be a required part of the educational experience at Kinkaid.”

Upper School Principal Patrick Loach affirms that Ackerman is the kind of student the Council needs, saying, “Calin has maturity and responsibility you don’t see in every high schooler—and she’s willing to take ownership of these projects and deliver. She’s also been very effective at bringing other people along with her and ultimately that is part of leadership. We created the Council not only to provide leadership opportunities for students but also to elevate its importance…so at some point in the future it will be seen alongside Honor Council and our Governing Council.”

Samantha Dillon ’23

“We use a lot of teen volunteers, and this year we had a group from Kinkaid not only come to help but also offer to bring a craft activity and run it,” says Ann Eisner, Program Coordinator for Nature Discovery Center’s Pumpkin Patch. “This was spectacular because it gave the students the option to be creative and come up with something they wanted to do; it gave them more of an interest in being here.” Currently the program requires upper school students to join in one project, either during the school year or over the summer. Roff acknowledges that initially there was concern over the program’s requirements and whether there would be a requisite number of hours. “Service develops the whole person, so much like athletics, we felt it needed to be a required part of the educational experience at Kinkaid. We really want to inspire students to do more community service on their own. Therefore, we decided there would be a requirement, but not an onerous one, because our students are challenged in every way possible, and adding a requirement of many additional hours did not seem to fit with our philosophy.” Ackerman thinks requiring community service participation is beneficial. She says “Serving others teaches kids a lot of good things, and I think it’s also a way to breathe—away from the stress of school. Plus it’s really fun, and you meet a lot of new people. At the tree planting, I met a freshman whom I probably never would have met had we not volunteered together.”

SPRING 2013

Bianca Kaushal ’13

Bocce Ball tournament

In hindsight, Roff reaffirms that the program has achieved much and met with such enthusiasm this year because it has stayed on course, carrying out its mission of introducing students “to opportunities available for service, with the hope that many of them will go beyond these requirements to find these service opportunities to be a meaningful aspect of the educational experience at Kinkaid.”

cers need to be “committed, innovative and connected people who are going to be able to get volunteers.” The Kinkaid School can rest assured that with leaders like this, the program will continue to thrive, multiplying students’ desires to serve and touching countless lives in the community.

The program also reinforces part of Kinkaid’s stated philosophy that “every student is and will continue to be part of a community and, therefore, seeks to strengthen his or her moral responsibility and service to it.” “A lot of credit goes to the student leaders on the Community Service Council—they are the ones who’ve gotten the program off the ground in a relatively short period of time with a tremendous amount of success,” Loach shares. “We’ve come a long way in just a year; it’s night and day…truly a community effort.” Ackerman and Kurtanich both agree that the continued success of the program depends on its future leaders. “We are looking for people who want to be involved in community service but will go beyond to lead and create events,” says Kurtanich, one of the Council’s two vice presidents. Ackerman wants to guarantee that future leaders carry on what she has started, adding that new offi-

Molly Higby and Sam Griggs ’25

THE Kinkaid School

Auction 2013

Wow-ee Wow Wow, Kinkaid Platinum Players and Diamond Dolls! What a clambake! Frank, Dean and Sammy would have felt right at home at the 2013 Auction where players in the Cool Cat Casino and Lounge rolled late into the night, serenaded by the sounds of the Rat Pack.

SPRING 2013

uction-goers dined in The Copa Room and shopped at The Sands as the School’s three gyms were transformed into a neon wonderland of vintage Vegas. When they weren’t trying their luck in the Casino, guests were able to bid on a selection of over 500 Silent Auction and Live Auction items including jewelry, trips, the Kinkaid wine cellars, and just about any indulgence you could ever want.

THE Kinkaid School

f course, the big winner was Kinkaid with the success of the night’s fundraising directly benefitting Kinkaid students and faculty through scholarships, technology enhancements, equipment upgrades as well as supporting our community. Specifically, as a nice send-off to our retiring Headmaster, the Mary and Don North Endowed Scholarship, honoring the North’s faithful service to the School, has been fully funded through Auction proceeds. We tip our fedoras to Pit Bosses Kelly Broesche, Gina Lamme and Ellen Wagnon for dealing us a winning hand!

SPRING 2013

Wine Cellar Underwriting Party On February 6, the Wine Committee toasted the Wine Underwriters in the beautiful home of Sabiha & Omar Rehmatulla with a teaser of selections from the Wine Cellars offered in the Live Auction.Â Underwriting Party What a way to jumpstart the Auction festivities with a fabulous party! On January 24, Mary Tere & Ricardo Perusquia offered their lovely home to celebrate with the 2013 Auction Underwriters. KINKAID

THE Kinkaid School

Committee Chairs Auction Chairs Kelly Broesche Gina Lamme Ellen Wagnon

Hospitality Kim Deal Mary Smith Jolynn Towns

Underwriting Nini & Tino Bekhradi Jill & Scott Holstead Amy & Scott Shaper

Inventory LT Cameron Katherine Jones

Absentee Bidding Gail Orr Advisory Roni Atnipp Julia DeWalch Ad Sales Lisa Sarvadi Susan Schwager Big Board Kara & Ray Childress Natalie & Roy Horlock Mimi & Todd Marix Casino Heidi Binet Lisa Cook Catalog Writers Karen Edelman Gretchen Manias Catering Marjorie Jacobe Marie Louise Kinder Check-in Kristen Buck Nancy DeWalch Kim Schuenemann Check-out Clare McLeroy Lisa Stone Class Projects Beth Cozby Rachael Herz Contracts Madeline Masterson Meredith Powers Decorations Courtnay Elias Martha Kirkwood Faculty Auction Becky Pivec Fall Luncheon Virginia Mary Brown Estelle Racusin Favors Ashley Clark

Invitations Kimberly Bayley Kick-off Celebration Karen Susman Live Auction Dina Lawal Courtney Swanson Anita Wilson Live Auction Coordinator Pam Daniel Mailings MaeLissa Lipman Betsy Siff Kimberly Van Belle– Ebel Needlepoint Laura Wheless Parking Spot Project Sheri Bailey Amy Murchison Brooke Robertson Photography Ellen Ann Sands Physical Arrangements Jill Deutser Merritt Marinelli Pick-Up Kathy Arcidiacono Charlotte Orr Priceless Parties Mary Tere Perusquia Program Lesa DuCharme Melissa Vu Proofers Michele Clements Debbie Roff Publicity Helen Burt Jackie McGreevy Quilts LS – Denise Moseley MS – Joy Yeager US – Lisa Cochran SR – Diana Anderson & Adele Bentsen

Underwriters Silent Auction Marlo Bruce Evans Christ Heather Consoli Karen Finger Amy Hammer Kim Klevenhagen Lisa Wilson

whales

Silent Auction Closing Denise Scofield Shawn Carolan

headliners

Nini & Tino Bekhradi, Jill & Scott Holstead, Amy & Peter Shaper Lawrence Family Foundation C.N. and Maria Papadopoulos Charitable Foundation Laura & Will Robertson/Frontier Utilities, LLC Sabiha & Omar Rehmatulla Kelly & Kirt Broesche, Gina & Tommy Lamme, Ellen & Robert Wagnon Brigitte & Bashar Kalai

Silent Auction Displays Kim Adkins Dana Oster Laura Sheffield

high rollers

Silent Auction Set-Up Jessica Jacobe Cathy Watson

Laura & Vineet Bhatia, Shelley & Alex Kaplan, Katie Sammons & Terry Lohrenz, Karen & Harry Susman, Katherine & Carlos Treistman

Student Art Colleen Smith Technical Theatre Student Art Pat Berry Marcy Hahn Tara Walker Teacher Events LS – Laura Kelsey MS – Ellen Bass

Reagan & Doug Bauer Adele & Lan Bentsen, Marcy & Robert Duncan, Shelia & Tad Mayfield, Sharyn & Dan Robinson, Tiffany & Michael Smith

Suzette & Kirbyjon Caldwell, Robin & James Chandler, Sandi & Ken Cowan, Dina & Kamoru Lawal, Wendy WilsonWills & Patrick Wills Lisa & Ralph Eads Courtnay & Mark Elias, Dana & Charlie Hartwell, Paula & Hal Mentz, Andi & Scott Scheinin, Ellen & Matt Shaffer Courtney & Bo Hopson Marie Louise & David Kinder Erin & Michael Maggi Weatherford International Yellow Cab

show stoppers

Kelly & Carl Beeler, Michele & Glenn Clements, Debbie & Robbie Guinn, Amy & Mark Hammer, Courtney & Sean Mitchell Jenifer & Eli Ben-Shoshan, Sarah & Sam Cooper, Megan & Daniel D’Souza, Nicole & George Gibson, Martha & Andrew Kirkwood Caroline & Peter Billipp, Tennie & David Ott, Nevine & Aaron Webster, Mequet & David Werlin, Allison & Philip Wise Jennifer & Doak Brown, Erin & Boyd Heath, Jackie & Connelly McGreevy, Missy & Sam Pitts, Leslie & Adam Strauss Marlo & David Bruce, Laura & Brett Chiles, Jill & Michael Josephson, Aynsley & Palmer Letzerich, Laurel & Penn Shaper Kristen & David Buck, Shana & Holden Burrow, Laura & William Kelsey, Joy & Edward Randall, Camille & Joel Scott Melissa & Jeffrey Budoff, Jennifer & Adam Cox, Melissa & Todd Joyner, Andrea & John Mark Osborne, Traci & John Young Mara & John Burpeau, Cheri & Alan Fama, Laura & David Favaloro, Susan & Charles Schwager, Lisa & Phillip Turboff Helen & Prentiss Burt, Laura & Ross Eastman, Karen & Jonathan Finger, Debbie & Shawn Hurwitz, Cheryl & Brian Tucker LT Cameron, Holly & Kirk Coburn, Anne & Brady Edwards, Rebeca & Greg Huddle, Wendy & David Nockolds Lou Ann & Alex Chae, Debbie & Cliff Greenbaum, Sharon & Howard Hamat, Lisa & Abrey Rubinsky, Lisa & Greg Spier

Kim & Marshall Adkins, Beth & Patrick Clegg, Mary Ann & Tim Detmering, Marcy & Roger Hahn, Mary & Greg Whalley

Kara & Ray Childress, Ellen & Jim Cummins, Beth & Curtis Harrell, Janis & Andy Priest, Ann & Kevin Snodgrass

Trees Project – MS Kristi Whiteside

Diana & Scott Anderson, Mary & Stephen Dyer, Louise & Stephen Brollier, Belinda Oelman, Giggy & Matt Thanheiser

Trees Project – US Debbie Greenbaum Sharon Hamat

Heather & Jason Consoli, Cindy & Clinton Farmer, Jo Anna & David Finkelstein, Stacy & Wade Head, Tiffany & Eric Herleth

Carolyn & David Anderson, Leslie & Michael Fertitta, Leslie & Randy, Newcomer, Sarah & Brooks Shughart,Kate & Logan Walters

Shelley & Mitch Cox

Tuition Drawing Leisa Dillon Amy Goldstein

Linda & Kevin Andrews, Marla & Monty Briscoe, Susan & Jon Harris, Laura & Brian Molin, Patti & Mike Morgan

Trees Project – LS Jennifer Brown Missy Pitts

Valet Parking Melissa Ison Wine Cellar Mark Elias Greg Whalley Wrap-Up Jenifer Ben-Shoshan Elyse Kalmans

Roni & Doug Atnipp, Noelle & John Barr, Heidi & Todd Binet, Lisa & Loch Cook, Susie & Ira Green Sheri & Camp Bailey, Cari & John Griggs, Amy & Hardy Murchison, Brooke & Corby Robertson, Beth & Chase Robison Bonnie & Bob Baldwin, Ellen & Tommy Ford, Virginia & Lee Lahourcade, Nena & David Marsh, Annu & Sagar Naik Ellie & David Bale, Liz & Mark Crosswell, Angie & John Reckling, Mary & Stewart Smith, Christine & Blake Williams Ellen & John Bass, Kim & Matt Deal, Judy Ann & Jimmy McCartney, Dana & Marc Oster, Laura & Ward Sheffield Kimberly & Scott Bayley, Monica & Kevin King, Fran & Mark Lapidus, Nancy & Joe McDermott, Laura & Kerry Notestine, Ann & Don Short Derya & Unal Baysal, Dilsat & Dogan Baysal, Allison & Jeff McClanahan, Linda & Alan Rosen, Asha & Farid Virani, Melissa & Tuan Vu

Lisa & Frost Cochran

Ashley & Sam Cruse, Amanda & Thad Davis, Sarah & Matthew Liuzzi, Betsy & Rob McCeney, Marcia & Brig Smart Caroline & Mark Dannenbaum, Leslie & Mark Hull, Lauren & Brad Morgan, Kathy & Nick Neblett, Sandy & Tim Sturm Pam & Steve Daniel, Jina & Dennis David, Kay Sifferman-Lasater & David Lasater, Sally & Ken Raty, Dawn & John Schuette Viviana & David Denechaud, Kristen & Scott Weber Julia & Mark DeWalch, Roxanne & Joe Ellis, Pam & Keith Fullenweider, Amy & Tod Greenwood, Melinda & John Stevenson Tricia & David Dewhurst Leisa & Andy Dillon, Amy & Daniel Ferber, Amy & Jason Goldstein, Katie & Jordan Orange, Lisa & Tony Wong Arvia & Jason Few, Kathy & Kirk Hachigian, Mamta & Jay Mehta, Debbie & Andrew Roff, Nathalie & Charles Roff Karen & Michael Frumovitz, Estelle & Charlie Racusin, Susie & Jeff Raizner, Toiee & Dan Roubein, Betsy & Todd Siff

SPRING 2013

Janet & Ken Gustafson, Kim & Richard Lucas, Lucile White & Mark Villa, Lindsey & Ben Whitman, Michelle & Glenn Woo Stephanie & Mark Hamilton, Susanna & Palmer Moldawer, Alix & Jimmy Nakfoor, Marilyn & Bruce Phillips, Dabney & Jim Pierce Terri & John Havens Susan & Mike Heldebrand Sheri & Ron Henriksen Elizabeth & Wyatt Hogan, Jessica & Jeff Jacobe, Elizabeth & John Jeffers, Katherine & Stewart Jones, Cathy & Greg Watson Natalie & Roy Horlock, Kristi & Stuart Ison, Ally & Korsh Jafarnia, Maryam & Amir Mireskandari, Kristi & Rex Whiteside Kay & Howard House, Mary Tere & Ricardo Perusquia, Alma & Antonio Salman, Joan & Culver Stedman, Beth & Schuyler Tilney Paige & Todd Johnson Stacy & Reed Jinnette, Carolina & Jeff Malonson, Jennifer & Michael Mineo, Vicki & Dennis Price, Sushma & Haresh Yalamanchili Kim & JJ Klevenhagen, Hollie & Matt Landrith, Julie & Philip Peacock, Sarah & Peter Tropoli, Tee & Charles Wickman The Lobb Family Jenifer & John Nash Charlotte & Bobby Orr Melissa & Doug Schnitzer Mary Eliza & Park Shaper Laura & Winston Talbert Karen & Brian Thurman Katherine & Andy Tower

smoking aces

April & Carlos Abello Chris & Rob Ammons Carolyn & Henry Broesche Beth & Michael Chambers Margaret & Geoffrey Chamblee Dan & Lynn Churay Ellie & Tony Essalih Karen Katz Feldman & James Feldman Rebecca & Pat Frede Tomsiu Friedkin Alicia & Monroe Garrison Janice & Barrett Green Blakely & Trey Griggs Carol & John Gunn Cindy & Steve Hanan Kristen Harper Yolanda Movsessian & Jason Herbst Jennifer Hester Sara & Brad Howell Carol & Lance Kassab Miriam & Jack Meyers Kelli & Chris Mize Bruce & Denise Moseley Catherine & Cenk Ozdogan Katherine & Bill Phelps Peggy & John Rathmell Lisa & John Sarvadi Raquel & Andrew Segal Tanya & Mark Strum Adri & Bruce Swanson Olga & Todd Swanson Maggie & Robert Vermillion Anita & Welcome Wilson Joy & Doug Yeager Christine & Andrew Zipper

Wine Cellar Underwriters

Kim & Marshall Adkins Roni & Doug Atnipp Ellie & David Bale A.L. Ballard Jennifer & Steve Baur Kimberly & Scott Bayley Dilsat & Dogan Baysal Cissy & Rick Beeler Susan & Michael Bono Gayleen & Mark Breeding Anne & Will Britt Louise & Stephen Brollier Virginia Mary & Ray Brown Kristen & David Buck Melissa & Jeffrey Budoff Shana & Holden Burrow Helen & Prentiss Burt Chris & Bo Butler Anne & Noble Carl Pam & Mark Carmain Deirdre & Francis Carr Lou Ann & Alexander Chae Beth & Michael Chambers Lynn & Dan Churay Michele & Glenn Clements Jennifer & Todd Colter Susie & Chris Cone Shelley & Mitch Cox Kelli Cravens Deana & Todd Crawford Viviana & David Denechaud Mary Ann & Tim Detmering Marcy & Robert Duncan Mary & Stephen Dyer Courtnay & Mark Elias Cindy & Clinton Farmer Rebecca & Pat Frede Bill Frisco Eleni & Thad Fuller Susie & Ira Green Amy & Tod Greenwood Debbie & Robbie Guinn Carol & John Gunn Winnie & James Hart Suzanne & Steve Harter Jennifer Hester Elizabeth & Wyatt Hogan Heather Hughes Paige & Todd Johnson Laura & Chris Jones Brigitte & Bashar Kalai Monica & Kevin King Virginia & Lee Lahourcade Mary Frances & Mark Lapidus Sarah & Matt Liuzzi Lisa & Paul Mason Christie & Billy McCartney Christiana & Luke McConn Susie & Skip McGee Jackie & Connelly McGreevy Heather & David Mitchell Susanna & Palmer Moldawer Laura & Brian Molin Renee & Keith Montgomery Brad & Lauren Morgan Alix & Jimmy Nakfoor Kathy & Nick Neblett Reiko & Dan Nip Dana & Marc Oster Cindy & Brett Perlman Mary Tere & Ricardo Perusquia Missy & Sam Pitts Cindy & Don Poarch Meredith & James Powers Vicki & Dennis Price Janis & Andy Priest

Peggy & John Rathmell Angie & John Reckling Elise & James Reckling Janelle & Greg Reid Nathalie & Charles Roff Julia & Michael Rudin Melissa & Doug Schnitzer Camille & Joel Scott Galina & Rawdon Seager Mary Eliza & Park Shaper Laura & Ward Sheffield Ann & Donald Short Tiffany & Michael Smith Mary & Joe Studlick Emily & Tim Sullivan Mary Ellen & William Taylor Andrea & Trent Tellepsen Karen & Brian Thurman Jolynn & Keller Towns Katherine & Carlos Treistman Mary Jane & Robert Wakefield Beth & Jim Watt Mary & Greg Whalley Anita & Welcome Wilson Suzanne & Timm Wooten Traci & John Young Christine & Andrew Zipper

Needlepoint Project Underwriters Diana Anderson Ashley Clark Anne Coskey Laura Eastman Carrie Fisher Susie Golding Jennifer Gould Mary Margaret Greer Elani Hantel Jennifer Josephson Susie & Skip McGee Karen Moore Needle House Becky Pivec Sally & Ken Raty Debbie Robinson Tiffany Smith Kim Thomas AnnaLee Waite

Special Thanks

A very special thank you to all the businesses and individuals who generously have underwritten expenses of the Auction. Art Attack Aztec Events & Tents Jay Bole/ HiFi City Kitchen Catering Renee Jones/National Fundraising Solutions Torsten Louis Parker School Uniforms Mary Tere & Ricardo Perusquia Georgia Piazza Sabiha & Omar Rehmatulla David Shutts Photography Specâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods Karen & Harry Susman The Kinkaid School Facilities Staff Yaffe|Deutser â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Brad Deutser, Jennifer Bailey, Diana Lovelace

THE Kinkaid School

2013 Cum Laude Society

n February 12, 27 seniors were inducted into the John H. Cooper Chapter of the Cum Laude Society during an Upper School assembly and were further honored at a dinner that evening that was hosted by the School in the lobby of the Katz Performing Arts Center. In addition to their outstanding performance in the classroom, these students have exhibited good character, honor and integrity in all aspects of their school life.

The following are excerpts from the speeches delivered at the assembly and dinner. Ben Eloy ’98 When I started at Stanford in the fall of 1998, I thought I would study Computer Science. Then I reached CS 109, the first theory course. Unfortunately, I found that I had neither a great interest in this work, nor a great aptitude for it. At the time, I was living in Silicon Valley during the Tech Boom, and my programming skills were in demand, so, uncertain of my academic path, I took a leave from Stanford to work in the software industry. After bouncing back and forth between industry and school, and trying out a variety of majors and academic fields, I settled on an interdisciplinary program called Urban Studies that brought together my interests in history, anthropology, technology, design and education. I stayed on at Stanford for another year after graduation to complete my Masters in Teaching Social Science at the Graduate School of Education. To explain how I found my path, I have to go back to the beginning, which was actually near the end of my Kinkaid career. My Physics teacher, Linda Miller, was running the summer Engineering/Math/ Science Institute, and she asked me to teach Basic Electronics. I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought I knew a few things about Electronics until I tried teaching it. But somehow, the students seemed to learn, and they seemed to mostly appreciate my efforts. After the summer, I went off to Stanford and didn’t think too much about teaching until one specific day in the winter quarter of my freshman year. I remember that I woke up one morning and I had this very distinct feeling, that this is the kind of work I need to be doing. It was a combination of the challenge and the satisfaction of working with young people and watching them grow.

There are three important lessons here about how to find your path. First, listen to the people around you. Sometimes people who care for us know us better than we know ourselves. I don’t know what Ms. Miller saw, but I am ever grateful that she thought of me and expressed confidence in my abilities.

“I had this very distinct feeling, that this is the kind of work I need to be doing. It was a combination of the challenge and the satisfaction of working with young people and watching them grow.”

Second, listen to yourself. Stubborn as I am, it took six months for me to realize that teaching was a call I had to respond to. Then it took me eight years to actually get there! But that’s OK. The important thing is, when the call comes, listen to it, engage with it, and decide if it’s something that will help you make a meaningful life and add value and richness to the lives of those around you. Third, help others find their path, too. I try to be more conscious of my students’ unrealized abilities and more active in hinting to them that they should consider being an attorney, or studying economics. Even better is if you happen to be personally empowered to invite that person to try something that may later change his or her life. Neither you nor I may know what your path is at this point. But if you listen to others and to yourself, you’ll have some help finding your path. And when the time is right, maybe you’ll return the favor for someone else. Until then, I hope you are as fortunate as I have been, to have extraordinary teachers whose conscious efforts have made all the difference.

SPRING 2013

Ashley Drews

Zach Rosenthal ’13

I can’t remember exactly when I decided to be a doctor, but it was some time in high school. My parents thought the “doctor phase” would pass, but it did not. They were of course proud of me for working hard in school, making good grades and having high ambitions, but they didn’t think medicine was a good career choice for a woman, especially their daughter. They were concerned about the long hours and if I would ever find a husband or have children. They got me a summer job with a friend of theirs who was a pathologist. This was supposed to show me what a mistake I was making. Well, that plan backfired. I loved the job! It was fascinating in every way and I worked there again the next summer.

… And then came high school. Our class composition changed as we acquired new basketball stars, violin prodigies, and even debaters. Most of us were in for a huge surprise – going from almost never studying for tests in middle school to doing hours and hours of homework per night was a dramatic change. Somehow we’ve managed to struggle through it – we’ve acquired a healthy work ethic, we’ve learned how to effectively communicate in research papers, we’ve managed to survive APUSH. But actually, we haven’t just “struggled through” it – we’ve managed to be immensely successful while balancing our academic life with our social lives and our wide-ranging extracurriculars. We have all found a way to succeed at one of the most challenging schools in the country.

When I was a senior at Victoria High School. we did not have anything like the Kinkaid dean program. In fact we had one guidance counselor for my whole grade of 465 students. His advice to the top students was “College is really hard. You should go to junior college first and then if that goes okay you could think about transferring to a university after a year or two.” Well, I didn’t take that advice. After The University of Texas, I went to Baylor College of Medicine, where “Choose (mentors) I did a rotation in infectious diseases at The Methodist Hospital. It is a specialty that is not wisely and look focused on one organ system but the entire body. The myriad of presentations, the solvfor qualities you ing of mysteries and the potential to really most respect and help people was and is addictive to me. I was want to emulate.” hooked and never looked back...So, I have the following advice for you seniors tonight: Follow your dreams. It is a cliché but that is probably because it is so important. Don’t let anything stand in your way. My guidance counselor was right. College is hard. Challenge yourself and make the most it, but have fun along the way, too. Just as you have had many excellent mentors here at Kinkaid, you will be exposed to people during your college and early professional years that you can look to for guidance and counseling. Choose these people wisely and look for qualities you most respect and want to emulate. Don’t be afraid of hard work. Most things that are truly worthwhile require it. When choosing your major or later your profession, choose what you love, and love what you choose. Remember to call home. When things are great—call home. When things aren’t so great—call home. No one will ever love you like your parents and WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. Congratulations and best of luck to you.

We have a lot of people to thank: first and foremost our parents, who made this opportunity available in the first place; our teachers, who have inspired us in one way or another and are really the drivers behind our education; and our peers – it’s really the entire community of Kinkaid that makes it so amazing… And we’re about to enter a new era of our lives where we’re only going to meet more amazing people like that.. In the next four years we’ll all be attending amazing colleges and universities, free to intellectually pursue whatever we want to…

“We have the responsibility to realize our obligations to society and to look beyond our own individual needs in favor of the greater good.”

No matter what each of us decides to do in the future, we should find success. In this room sit future astronomers, physics majors, chemistry buffs, doctors, businesspeople, lawyers, you name it. There are people here who have absolutely wonderful voices, who are dedicated cheerleaders, some who you’ll probably see on Broadway, and some who are so dedicated to journalism you might see them someday in the New York Times. And it’s because of our hard work and the resources we’ve been afforded that makes it possible for us to pursue literally any interest we want. To be a part of the Cum Laude Society is a tremendous honor, but I personally think that with this honor also comes a tremendous responsibility: to lead. We shouldn’t simply be passive followers for the next few decades – followers are the lemmings that go off the cliff, as opposed to leaders who are visionaries, who are able to deal meaningfully with controversy, and in a democracy can unite people to challenge injustices to create a better future. And we have the responsibility to realize our obligations to society and to look beyond our own individual needs in favor of the greater good… I hope and fully expect that in a few years I’ll see some of you on TV or in the news, curing cancer or even giving speeches in front of Congress. Congratulations to all of you for making it into Cum Laude, and I am honored to be here with you.

CUM LAUDE 2013 Calin Ackerman

Carolyn Louise Dyer

Andrew William Manias

Mustafa Sohail

Dahlgren Diane Baker

Christina Bruni Fondren

Declan Christopher Mawer

Eric Rueyhao Sung

Mirel S. Baysal

Madison Nicole Goeringer

Edith Elizabeth Powers

Carrie Lou Walker

Mallory Elizabeth Burns

Brynn Victoria Harris

George Mitchell Rupprecht Randt

Victoria Mingyi Wang

Ryan Miller Clegg

Marjorie Jacklyn Jacobe

Zachary Cole Rosenthal

David William Warren

Jordan Elizabeth Crawford

Laura Elise Jones

Katie Rose Shaffer

Nicholas Gregory Whalley

Katherine Elizabeth Drews

John Raymond Lewis

Annie Gilmour Sher 33

THE Kinkaid School

International Fair 2013

International Fair Team 2013

CHINA

Chairs

Nicole Gibson Melissa Massey Argentina Chairs

Sarah Liuzzi Marlee Sikes

Argentina Assistant Chairs

Katherine Jones Jill Josephson

China Chairs

Wendy Nockolds Joanna Raynes

hank you to International Fair Chairs Nicole Gibson and Melissa Massey and their team of dedicated parent volunteers who magically transformed two lower school classrooms into Argentina and China in February.

In Argentina, the children enjoyed eating alfajores, left their mark in the Cave of Hands and trekked across the glacier in Patagonia. In China, they celebrated the Year of the Snake, learned about life in rural China and studied Chinese inventions commonly used today. The children attended an assembly with professional performers sharing traditional talents like tango and kung fu and had the opportunity to hear from speakers who grew up in Argentina and China. Parents and lower school teachers worked together to tie in classroom projects with the Fair, providing students the opportunity to learn about other countries and cultures by stimulating their senses. This lower school tradition celebrated its 14th year.

ARGENTINA

China Assistant Chairs

Francine Bailard Kim Hankamer

Assembly Chair

Camille Scott

Student Performance Chair

Lydia Sekili

Curriculum Chairs

Viviana Denechaud Jennie Zhang

Volunteer Chair

Anissa Paddock

Hospitality Chairs

Stephanie Hamilton Allison Lewitton Parade Chairs

Rachael Herz Marie Louise Kinder Decorations Chairs

Amy Goldstein Martha Kirkwood

Major Donors 2020 Exhibits The Wind Water Gallery – Asian Home Decor Debbie Doodles Ink Kati Ozanic-Lemberger and Yolle Lemberger with Yakwerks, LLC L.T. Leach - General Contractor Nathan Sommers Jacobs, a Professional Corporation Rice Epicurean Market Rohe & Wright Builders/Chad Muir Peter and Sarah Tropoli/Luby’s/ Fuddruckers Restaurants Cornelius Nurseries

Mid-Level Donors Maida’s Belts & Buckles Home Depot Casa Argentina H.E.B. – Central Market & Helena Johnson Luna Argentina Dance Company/Susana Collins Master Shi De Shan & Coaches/Traditional Kung Fu from Houston Shaolin Temple Dance of Asian America F E I ~ T I A N/Contemporary Eastern Folk Music Ensemble Lydia Sekili Jennie Zhang Juan and Ana Gershanik

Lucy Keeper KIPP SHARP Maria Ereli Eirene Liang Carmen Cooper Ed Harris With Special Thanks to All of the Kinkaid Families who generously support the Fair with their time and donations.

Athletics

Winter Sports Wrap-up Boys Varsity Basketball SEASON STATS OVERALL RECORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-5 CONFERENCE RECORD . . . . . . . . . 5-2 TEAM RANK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd Place in SPC Div. 1 ALL SPC PLAYERS: Senior Larry Wilkins Junior Jeff Roberson

SPRING 2013SPRING 2013

Congratulations to David Warren ’13. He has signed a Letter of Intent to play tennis at Rice University. David is excited to play for a perennial NCAA tournament team while receiving a high quality education. Congrats, David!

Boys Varsity Soccer SEASON STATS OVERALL RECORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1-3 CONFERENCE RECORD . . . . . . . . . 6-0-1 TEAM RANK 2nd Place in SPC Div. 1; 1st Place in South Zone ALL SPC Players: Seniors Tom Chapman, Will Hollo, Jared Lapidus, Mustafa Sohail

Boys Wrestling SEASON STATS OVERALL RECORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8 CONFERENCE RECORD . . . . . . . . . 3-1

7th grade girls soccer A team finished with an undefeated season scoring 31 goals versus 4 goals against in 8 games.

TEAM RANK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd Place in SPC ALL SPC Players: Senior Sam Sands - SPC Champion Juniors Casey Cowan - SPC Champion, Jack Rose - SPC Champion Sophomore Joey Manetti - SPC Champion, Michael Sands - All SPC

Girls Varsity Soccer SEASON STATS OVERALL RECORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-2-2 CONFERENCE RECORD . . . . . . . . . 7-2-1 TEAM RANK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5th Place in SPC Div 1; 1st Place in South Zone ALL SPC Players: Senior Anna Wittenmyer Junior Julia Camp

Girls Varsity Basketball SEASON STATS OVERALL RECORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-5 CONFERENCE RECORD . . . . . . . . . 7-1 TEAM RANK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st Place in SPC Div 1; 1st Place in South Zone ALL SPC Players: Juniors Brecca Thomas, Raevyn Rogers Sophomore Tyjae Scales

Swimming and Diving SEASON STATS SPC RANK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Girls 6th Place in SPC; Boys 7th Place in SPC

Congratulations to Macan Wilson ’13. He has signed

a National Letter of Intent to play football at Northwestern University. Macan is thrilled to be playing Big 10 football next year while maintaining the high academic standard to which he has become accustomed at Kinkaid. We hope to see Macan on Saturday afternoon!

Kinkaid Wins Coveted Sportsmanship Award! The Touchdown Club of Houston annually recognizes the high school football programs in the Houston area that, in the opinion of football officials, best demonstrate sportsmanship. This year for the first time, private schools were included in this program. Kinkaid, along with 11 other public 3A and private schools, was nominated for the prestigious Sportsmanship Award. The nominations come from the officials, who fill out after each game a “scorecard” for each team based on the demeanor of fans, audience attention during the national anthem, the conduct and demeanor of players on the field, and the conduct and demeanor of coaches on the sidelines. And this year, the award goes to…Kinkaid! Go Falcons! 35

THE Kinkaid School

Winter Sports Wrap-up

Athletics

SPRING 2013

Junior Casey Cowan wrestled his way to 8th place for All-American status. This capped a great season for Cowan that included a state and SPC championship and an overall record of 47-4. He is Kinkaidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first all American since 2006 when Jonathan Powell â&#x20AC;&#x2122;06 earned that distinction.

THE Kinkaid School

8th Grade Musical

The cast members of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seussicalâ&#x20AC;? dedicated their performance to Barry Spiers, Middle School Principal, who is retiring from Kinkaid after 27 years of service to the School.

Upper School Musical

SPRING 2013

THE Kinkaid School

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Mark Harris

hen Kinkaid was looking for a new food services director six years ago, former Kinkaid parent and restaurant executive Chris Pappas had just the person in mind. Mark Harris had recently talked with Chris about wanting to return to work as an Executive Chef after 20 plus years in the hotel and resort business. At the same time, Kinkaid had chosen SAGE as its new food services provider. Chris suggested that Mark interview with SAGE, and he was soon hired to come to Kinkaid.

Mark first arrived in Houston from Connecticut in early 2002. At the time, he was working for Dolce International, a hotel/resort management group. Dolce had just acquired the Warwick Hotel and asked Mark to come to Houston for a few weeks and see if he liked working and living here. He was sold on the friendly people – and the fact that he could play golf all year long! After a stint at the Warwick, Mark went on to Lakeway Inn in Austin and then the American Airlines Resort and Conference Center in Dallas. But he was happy to get back to Houston when the job at Kinkaid was offered. Coming to Kinkaid was a huge change from the nonstop pace of the hotel and restaurant business. “I used to work 60+ hours a week, 51 weeks a year, plus every weekend and holiday,” says Mark. “Now I work a normal schedule.” He also enjoys the camaraderie of the faculty and staff, who are “like a big, extended family.” Mark and his cafeteria crew serve about 800 meals daily, including omelets made to order each Tuesday and Thursday morning. He constantly brings new and healthy choices to the lunch menu and recently added sushi twice a week. “It’s all about options; that’s what keeps people interested,” Mark says. “Mark has been a great addition to Kinkaid, both as a top-notch chef and colleague,” says Joanne Margraves, Kinkaid’s Chief Financial Officer. “He has a cheerful, can-do attitude and has been known to produce a lunch for 30 with only 45 minutes notice.”

Mark is blazing a “new culinary trail in an educational setting.

”

Mark’s arrival at Kinkaid also heralded in-house catering for campus events, which is where he gets to unleash his talent and creativity. His duck quesadillas with mango salsa and famous bread pudding are two Kinkaid favorites. “I love cooking, creating and making people smile,” Mark shares. The increase in attendance at faculty and staff functions since he came has not gone unnoticed! Off duty, Mark likes to cook Italian food for friends and family. “Growing up in the northeast there is a huge Italian presence, so that’s had a big influence on the way I cook.” Besides golfing, Mark enjoys fishing in Galveston and riding his bike. Yet even though he loves Houston, he stays faithful to his favorite New England

teams. “The Patriots were a disappointment this year, but we’ll be back even stronger next year,” he says. And maybe he’ll get to see more of his beloved Red Sox now that the Astros are joining the American League… With early planning for a new school cafeteria underway, Mark is working with Chris Pappas on the design. Chris shares, “Mark is blazing a new culinary trail in an educational setting. He’s creating an experience that students will remember, just as an earlier generation remembers Georgia and Eddie Leonard. The new Kinkaid eatery will be the centerpiece of that experience in the future.” Mark is excited about the possibilities the new cafeteria presents. “We hope to increase the square footage of the existing building and create more inviting spaces for students to gather, kind of like Starbucks,” Mark says. “I’d also like to be able to introduce as much ‘green’ equipment and procedures as possible.”

SPRING 2013

Class Notes and Alumni News Kinkaid Alumni Event

December 23, 2012

KYPO Holiday Party

Many family members of Walt Fortney ‘17, including relatives from Houston and Austin, attended his Seussical debut.

1929 – 1940’s Jane Hoffert Moore ’46 1620 Calumet Street Houston, Texas 77004 713.529.9700 My family and I were all together for our usual southern traditional Christmas, a nice New Year and looking forward to a good one. Many college crowd parties made things more festive and I was glad Rachel, my granddaughter, could be here with me to help celebrate my birthday on January 8. This has been a winter/summer season – cool mornings, hot afternoons – I hope the weatherman will send us some real winter weather. We deserve it. I heard from Cynthia Walker Blackburn ’74, the daughter of Caro Ivy Walker ’46, that Caro would welcome hearing from her many friends. Please send notes or cards to Mrs. Robert Blackburn, 6231 Del Monte, Houston, Texas 77057. Caro was a go-getter spearheading many efforts and projects in the old Kinkaid days. Please help us locate Hendley Tomlinson ’46. Does anyone know anything about Hendley? Last address we have is PO Box 2006, Silsbee, Texas 77656. He and Peggy have six sons. Robin Gill Stanford ’46 was recognized at SMU at a Special Collection of Photographers that showed on February 7. She has an amazing collection of historical pictures. Robin and I also passed our driver’s license renewal test on January 3. We went to lunch to celebrate at French Provence and even ate a wonderful dessert. I had such a wonderful phone visit with Beverly Clark Campbell ’46 at

Houston

Laura Sheedy ‘01, KYPO President Mollie Schall ‘01 and Allison Poarch ‘03

her assisted living house in Florida. She said she wishes she could see some good Texas folks. Beverly absolutely loves Texas. Bridge is a challenge for her and she is reading many biographies, which she has always enjoyed.

1958 Linda Beeley Denison Houston, Texas lindabdenison@comcast.net Wow, I have never been so impressed with a middle school drama production as I was with the 8th grade production of “Seussical”. It easily could have been a Broadway production, and I am so proud of the entire cast who worked so hard for so long to make it such a great success. The theme was about Dr. Seuss stories, and our grandson, Walt Fortney ’17, was Horton the Elephant. Lucy Lee Lamme’s grandson, Lawson Lamme ’17, was a cadet, and Tami Dyer’s grandson, J.D. Dyer ’17, was on the Technical Crew. The acting and singing talent, the acrobatic talent, the dancing talent and the directing talent were second to none. Congratulations to the Directors, Accompanist, Choreographers, Sound and Video technicians, Photographer, Orchestra, Conductor and all the parent volunteers who worked together to produce this spectacular musical. I wish I could see it again and again. The play was dedicated to Barry Spiers, the Principal of the Middle School who has devoted 27 years of his life to Kinkaid’s Middle School students. Congratulations to him for an outstanding career, and heartfelt appreciation from students, parents, and grandparents for guiding and caring for our children.

Lisa Frankel ‘03, Mary Beth Tyler ‘03 and Georgea Pappas ‘03

Michel Miller ‘00, Whitney Rape ‘04 and Trey Miller ‘99

Ryan Caughey, Jennifer Vosko Caughey ‘00, Rica Gardner ‘00 and KYPO President Mollie Schall ‘01

THE Kinkaid School

Tami Dyer’s granddaughter, Carolyn Dyer ’13, was crowned Homecoming Queen this year. She is a senior, and time flies so fast because I remember writing a letter of recommendation for her acceptance to Kinkaid as if it was yesterday. Carolyn has been an excellent allaround student, and I know Kinkaid will miss her. I know I am missing news from other classmates, so please update me on your lives. With fun memories of reading Dr. Seuss stories to my children, Linda Denison

1962 Adrian Turner Ross Houston, Texas adrian@rexross.com Dear Class of 1962, Here is a bit of news about the “goings on” of several of our classmates. Donna K. Donelson is traveling to Scotland in May, and promises to visit David Elliott in London on her return trip. Dorothy Knox Houghton has the travel bug also. She spent three weeks in China between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And, she is going to Peru in March. Later in the spring she will attend graduation ceremonies for both of her daughters who will be receiving advanced degrees. Lucy Austin says that retirement has kept her busier than when she was working full time! She just returned from a Caribbean cruise and is planning to go on another cruise to Alaska. Both of her daughters are in college, so she can travel to visit them during the year, also.

Many, many thanks to Mary Nell Lovett, Lana Cureton and Jan Cato for their efforts in organizing the list and getting out the word to our classmates for our upcoming 50th reunion! I sincerely hope that as many members of our class as possible will attend in April. We need to get together now that we are grandparents and compare pictures and stories. Be sure to bring pictures, everybody!! Stand by for more news on Reunion Weekend from Kinkaid and our three beautiful ladies!!! I am happy to report some news items from classmates. Art Beane says, “Checking in to tell you my blood pressure is 120/78, my eyesight is 20/20 with a new lens implant in my right eye, I’ve gained five pounds since our 1963 graduation, I’m a half inch shorter than I used to be in 1963, and running a 100 meter dash takes about a day and a half. Love to all.” Well, Art, you sound pretty good!

come to Houston and will be there for our reunion, can’t wait and I hope everyone will come. Four of my five children live here in Napa Valley so I am very busy with them. I love to garden, travel and play bridge and have friends from Houston pay a visit. My husband and I are leaving for a five week cruise to the S. Pacific and New Zealand in a couple of days. Should be fun. I am really looking forward to see everyone this April. If there is anything I can do to help from afar I would be happy to.” It’s good to know that Lucy will be here for the reunion! Jane Wadsworth Mason wrote, “Julia is studying sociology at University of Colorado Boulder and loving it. Hayley is Director of Acquisitions and Development Global Content for Fremantle International Television in Los Angeles. I took a solo winter road trip to Colorado, Montana and New Mexico with my two Chihuahuas, Cuica and Bunnie. We had a wonderful time staying with friends and family in Santa Fe, Durango, Big Sky, Boulder and Santa Fe again. Amazing winter landscapes and horseback riding in the snow. Highly recommend going on an adventure.” I am so glad you are home safely, Jane! The pictures you sent on Facebook were great!

Next came Bob Morse who said, “Looking forward to the reunion. Although ostensibly retired, I seem to be quite busy doing some consulting work with the College Board revising the AP Physics curriculum and exams. (I write this from a three day work session in Atlanta.) In January, I visited New Orleans for a conference and had a mini-reunion with Dave Shaver. We had not seen each other in nearly 50 years! Had a nice luncheon with Dave and his wife Debbie and heard about his experiences in Hurricane Katrina.” Thanks, Bob! We are impressed with AP Physics!

This has been an unusual winter with strange weather. I am looking forward to warm beach weather again! It’s fun to take the grandkids and spend the day on the sand! Our son Roland recently got a promotion to night charge nurse at Ben Taub ER. If you ever have to go there at night be sure to ask for him and say you know me! He’ll take good care of you!

Love to you all, Calanne

Best wishes, Adrian Turner Ross

Patty Milner Marvel writes, “…we are still living in Tullahoma. Jeff is still practicing while I retired from Psychiatry to run his numerous offices. We still have horses and take the wonderful horseback riding trips in Europe with friends we have met on the rides. I come to Houston a couple of times a year to see family.” Patty sounds great, doesn’t she?

1963

Longtime friend Ab Fay writes to say, “Standing by. Thanks!” It was good to hear from Ab after a long time!

My happy news relative to Kinkaid is that our granddaughter will be enrolled in Pre-K at Kinkaid next Fall! I know that Richard Domercq has second or third generation Falcons. Are there any other Kinkaid Grandparents in our class? Let me know! I wish all of you a happy and healthy spring and summer. I hope to hear from you soon.

Calanne Koenig Choate Pearland, Texas mayamom@hotmail.com Hello Folks! Here’s the latest from the class of 1963. First of all, our

class is shocked and saddened by the recent death of our dear friend and classmate James G. “Jimmy” Moses. We are never ready to see the death of someone with whom we shared so many good times. Rest in Peace Jimmy. Love and prayers to Jimmy’s dear family.

Lucy Clark Shaw writes, “It is incredibly nice of you to take the effort of keeping us all up to date with each other! Thank you very much! I still live in Napa Valley, still love to

Ok all, pack up your stuff and get ready to come and play. We’ll all enjoy seeing each other again, I think! Take good care and stay healthy until our reunion in April! Bye for now!

1964 Claire Andreae Murray 3913 Rickover Rd Silver Spring, Md 20902 (301) 946-2184 claire.murray@verizon.net We have made it alas to the resurrective spring where winter bound souls slowly emerge to be greeted by mother nature’s gentle unfolding, the awakening of fond desires, the frolicking of newborns and the blossoming proliferation of flora and fauna to one and all’s delight....

Speaking of delights hearing from both Bebe Hatchett and Mike Rose truly qualifies.... Bebe Hatchett shared “I am living in Lawrence, Kansas home of the Jayhawks. I am retired after teaching art in the Kansas public schools for 27 years. I was named the KNEA outstanding Kansas Art Teacher at the end of my career in teaching which I thank my mother for. I spend some time in San Miguel in the beginning of February. I do keep in contact with my friends from Texas and my nephews live in Houston, one is an artist, and two (twins) are lawyers with Joyce, McFarland, + Mcfarland. I have five great nephews and one great niece”. Mike Rose reports that he has been in the Commercial Real Estate business in Houston since 1969 and all is well. He enjoyed our class reunion of several years ago and appreciates all the efforts in that event. His daughter Sarah is a sophomore at the University of Colorado Boulder heading for the advertising world and son Jack Rose ’14 is a junior at Kinkaid and on the wrestling team. Both have been Lifers at Kinkaid, and accordingly he does not anticipate retirement. He says he plays golf with Steve Pearce and Beth Robertson, who are quite good, and enjoys the experience of seeing Steve Allen, oil executive, often for lunch. He occasionally gets invited to Cathy Malone’s exclusive social dinner affairs and wishes she was able to attend the next reunion. He also gets golf instructions from Tony Geiselman and John Malone, and he wishes Jim Underwood was around to join them to keep things in perspective. He enjoyed his Kinkaid years and says “Hi” to all. Let us hope that we all are equally inspired to bolster our courage to gather once again for the big one, our 50th in 2014. Surely that allows for sufficient time for our personal trainers and dieticians to whip us into post graduation shape. Feel free to share information in regards to reputable tummy tuckers, face stretchers and makeup artists as time draws near…

1968 Elizabeth Topper Nash San Marcos, Texas enash@grandecom.net Annie Owen Houston, Texas anniedowen@me.com Let’s toast to 45 years! Join the Class of 1968 for a fabulous dinner

ALUMNI NEWS

in the Wine Room of Carrabba’s Italian Grill (3115 Kirby) from 8:30 p.m. until closing. For more information contact Lynn Meyer Fort at lynn.fort@gmail.com or 713-278 0992. Cost: $50 per person, which includes beer, wine and liquor.

1970 Malcolm Waddell Houston, Texas mwaddell@waddellinvestments.com Good evening from Lake Tahoe. It is once again just before deadline hour, and I’ve got the news for the first class of the Have A Nice Day decade – the Class of 1970! And I start with some exciting news from our lost-and-found classmate file. After the winter issue, Janet Lee Cohen set out on a quest to find Pierre Huguet, our 2nd AFS senior classmate. With the help of Tomoko Masuzawa, our other AFS classmate that year, Lynn Meyer Fort ’68, Mark Perwien ’71, Leslie Labanowski and a little facilitating by me, we found Pierre alive and well in Paris! A flurry of emails and remembrances flew across my inbox, and Pierre shared, “My daily work is with meteorological forecasts and satellites. My evening and weekend areas of interest with Martine, my wife, go to subjects [such as] the 17th and 18th century philosophers and with how memory is present in contemporary art, like with Christian Boltanski, Anselm Kiefer or Daniel Liebeskind. I went back to visit Kinkaid when visiting the Perwiens in 2003. They drove me to the school, [and I had] moving feelings.” Besides the notes, current pictures of Pierre and Martine and Janet and Rick and pictures of AFS gatherings from our senior year were shared. Welcome back, Pierre, to your senior class. It is so good to hear that you and your lovely wife are doing well. We hope you will be able to join us at our next reunion. And please stay in touch. Checking in from California was Andy Beck responding to my question of how his sons were doing, especially Alec, a champion skateboarder. The proud father wrote, “Alec (26), my younger son, is teamed with Arbor Skateboard, and he is a member of the movie/ TV unions SAG, AFTRA and Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures. He’s a happy camper rewriting scripts on location to improve skateboard authenticity. Jack, my older son, heads up global communication for the Global Aids Forum in San Francisco. He has become

an expert advocate for global healthcare. Both young men are kind, considerate, courteous and generous gentlemen. Talk about exceeding a father’s best wishes for his sons.” If you would like to watch a short video of Alec on his board, go to: http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=1slt7lk3f4E. Also from the West Coast wine country, Spencer Clark provided his family update just after the winter issue deadline. “Just a quick little bit concerning the Clark family and Amizetta Estate Family Winery. Amizetta and I have now been married for 40 years. We founded and have run this small estate vineyard and winery for what will soon be approaching 35 years. Since my late twenties it was a life dream to build and establish a wine estate in Napa Valley after relinquishing my earlier music career. We have had many joyous years engaged in the growing, making and selling of Cabernet Sauvignon wines. It’s enabled us to live and raise a family of four (three boys now working with us and a daughter in medical school) in an amazing community situated in one of the most beautiful wine regions in America. It’s also allowed us the opportunity to meet thousands of interesting and wonderful people from all over the world. Today we preserve and advance our original concept of being a true family owned and operated 3,000case Estate Grown and Bottled Napa Valley Winery. I am proud to say that over the past few years our sons, Spencer, Jr. (Vineyard Manager), Perry (General Manager) and Edward (Winemaker), all having been educated in Viticulture and Enology through California schools, are now back with us in our family business. It’s an exciting time as parents to be able to experience these young adults applying their knowledge and passion to carrying on the dream that we have been so lucky to create. Having been blessed for over three decades in the growing and sustaining of this family business, we are excited about our new generation’s future and our continued commitment in the production of world-class Amizetta Estate Family Wines.” Spencer and his family do make some fine wines, and he’s still rockin’. Visit his music website at http:// songsmith123.com/fr_home.cfm. From the other coast, Leslie Buchanan from her home in Virginia answered my update request with her latest activities: “Semi-retirement affords me the time to do things that I have talked about doing for a long time. This year I have re-committed myself to the

Kinkaid Alumni Event

SPRING 2013

January 16

Dallas Area Alumni Party

Paul McCleary ‘83, Ban Bywaters and Peter Wrench ‘83

Stewart McLeod ‘92, Annie McLeod, Ashley Allen, Marcus Allen ‘92 and Headmaster Don North

Lee LaGrasse Nichols ‘00, Josh Nichols ‘99, Jeff Sears, Murphey Harmon Sears ‘00 and Barrell Barbour Jones ‘01

Director of Advancement Tom Moore and Eddie Moore ‘06

THE Kinkaid School

Teaching Teachers to be Unusually Effective

hen Stacy Birdsell ’96 headed to Tufts University in 1996, she thought she was going to be a musician. She was very involved in the arts at Kinkaid and intended to follow that path in college. That is until she took a 100-level Education course where she read Common Ground by J. Anthony Lukas, his seminal work about court-ordered busing for public school integration in Boston in the 1970s. She instantly was hooked on education and education reform as a social justice issue.

After a Fulbright year in South Korea researching education, graduate school at Harvard, and over 10 years of teaching experience, Stacy is now training the next generation of teachers to make a difference in underserved communities. As Director of Training for the Match Teacher Residency program in Boston, Stacy is helping prepare recent college grads to be “jaw-droppingly good” teachers in high-performing, high poverty schools. The program, which currently has 42 residents, is a mix of graduate school classes, simulations and, ultimately, full-time tutoring in the Match charter public schools. Later, the program helps residents find teaching positions in the nation’s top urban charter and turnaround schools and continues distance learning and mentoring opportunities in the first year of teaching. Stacy is excited to be part of such a talented group of educators. “Besides working with an incredible team–just eight of us run the program–the best part of my job is seeing how quickly the residents learn and how driven they are to close the achievement gap,” Stacy shares.

Stacy Birdsell ‘96 with her Rhode Island middle school students

Prior to joining Match, Stacy taught middle school English in Mt. Kisco, NY, and later at Democracy Prep Charter Schools in Harlem. Democracy Prep was looking to expand out of New York, and Stacy wanted to get back to New England, so when an opportunity arose to start a new charter middle school near Providence, Rhode Island, she jumped at the chance. Stacy was the founding principal when the school opened in fall 2010 with a mission to prepare 100% of its students for “success in the college of their choice and a life of active citizenship.” At the same time, Teach for America welcomed its first Rhode Island Corps (recent college grads who commit to two years of service in high-need schools). One-third of Stacy’s new staff were rookie teachers who had not attended undergraduate or graduate programs in education. Stacy remembers, “It put my ability to teach teachers to the test. We worked hard and saw incredible results–some of the best the state had ever seen. Proficiency rates grew 25% in English/Language Arts and 41% in Math in the first year.”

best part of “The my job is seeing

how quickly the residents learn and how driven they are to close the achievement gap.

”

Although she loved working with middle school kids, the experience in Providence made Stacy realize she could have a bigger impact by working directly with young teachers. She moved back to Boston to join the Match program last year. One of Stacy’s goals is to make sure the trainees get lots of feedback. She says, “We spend time teaching how to take feedback, how to recognize the signs in your own tone and body language, how to work with a person who is not taking feedback well, etc. As a result, I’ve learned my own defaults which has helped me to be better at my job.” Stacy got married last September to Matt O’Toole, whom she met while living in New York. Matt is from the Boston area, so they are happy to be back there. Paul Knickerbocker ’96 flew in from Denver to be a reader at their Cape Cod wedding. Stacy and Matt love hiking the Cape dunes with their dog, Cooper. Looking back on her time at Kinkaid, Stacy credits English teachers Carolyn McCarthy and Bart Thornton with inspiring her love of learning. “I really became an English nerd in their classes. I developed a passion for the subject that I carried into my own classroom with students and now into my English Methods course for aspiring teachers.” She also credits the whole Kinkaid Fine Arts department, but especially Fred Angerstein. “I spent so much time practicing. I remember getting to school before 7 a.m. and staying until after 5:00, practicing the same eight measures. Mr. A. would sit in his office listening and occasionally shouting, ‘Slow down!’ or ‘Try it again.’ I learned so much about persistence, practice and progress from him. Learning to teach requires the same kind of discipline and practice.”

ALUMNI NEWS

basement. I have been finishing the space that has for nearly thirty years been a cinder-block cave. It slowly has grown into three rooms, one remains unfinished for storage. The main “living” area and now a full bathroom are taking shape. I hope that I will have the whole project completed by the end of this year if the cash holds out! So that has consumed all my free time this winter. Last year I traveled a lot, spent time in Greece and Guatemala and made several trips to Phoenix to visit my mother. This year doesn’t hold any great adventurous plans (yet).” And then from the Gulf Coast came news from Bonnie Robins Coburn. Bonnie wrote, “[Husband] Mickey and I bought a motorcycle trailer this year. We have about decided those 2,500-mile trips riding the bike are getting out of our league. We’ve done the Rockies, the Ozarks and Florida. So we are thinking about the Smokies for our vacation ride this year. Between the two of us, we now have six grandchildren ranging in age from four months to 14 years. All is going well in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area. I am hoping to retire in about two years and do some more traveling. Your trip looked really exciting on your Facebook posts.” And the trip Bonnie is referring to is the one our family took over Christmas to East Africa. We spent two weeks in Kenya and Tanzania and had a fabulous time – great parks, incredible animals and nice lodges and camps. We highly recommend Micato Safaris, our tour group. Julianne, our older daughter, took 6,000 pictures, many with a huge lens that we referred to as “the bazooka”. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend you put Africa on your bucket list. We will go back to see other parts as soon as we can. Just up the road from Africa in Qatar, Phil Salvador filled me in on life in the Middle East: “Qatar Petroleum has decided to end my employment with them at the end of June 2013. I am currently looking for work in Qatar so that we do not need to pack up and move on, but this is currently looking like an unlikely outcome. If nothing clicks within a week or two, I will expand my search to the global oil patch, with a preference for the U.S. We will be sorry to leave Qatar after only three years, but no doubt we will find good things wherever we end up next.” I’ll close this edition of class news with a brief recap of our second Class of 1969 and 1970 holiday lunch held this year at Up! Restaurant in

Highland Village. This new joint tradition of the last class of the 60’s and first class of the 70’s started when we shared our 40th reunion in April 2010 – the first year Kinkaid hosted its reunions in the spring. Well, that reunion was a blast with many saying we need to get together again. And this year we did it for the second time since our reunion. Attending were Ron Bernell, Mary Lou Peckham Cozean ’69, J.J. Finkelstein, Tom Hale, Dana Harper ’69, Trey Lander, Erik Littlejohn, Mike Robinson, Welcome Wilson ’69 and yours truly. Special guests were retired professor John Germann and Headmaster Don North. We had a great time catching up. What was also heartening was how many other classmates from these two years responded even though they could not join us this go-round. We will do this again, hopefully before another year has passed. That’s it from the slopes of California. I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous rest of 2013. Keep the emails and Facebook posts coming!

1977 Lucy Hutcheson Barrow Houston, Texas lhbarrow@gmail.com Well, every time I get tired of being Class Correspondent there is a report that floors me. This spring I received a great note from Philip Fox about his family – wife Kathy, oldest son Matthew, daughter Julia and youngest Andrew. What an extreme climate they live in. In Minnesota, on January 31st at 12:36 p.m., the temperature was two below zero! That evening the temperature was predicted to drop to 20 below. He sent me a photo of an “ice house” for fishing. Talk about dedicated fishermen, these folks drill holes into two foot thick ice with power augers, modify trailers to lower onto frozen lakes over those holes, and fish in water that is forty foot deep for crappies, northern pike, yellow perch and walleye. OK – that is awesome. Philip also gardens, coaches soccer, and practices patent law. Kathy works at Medtronic doing quality control auditing of medical devices. Their kids are super achievers and very athletic – snow boarding and ice hockey are right outside their doorstep.

in Abidjan on a 40-acre piece of property. They are renovating their home and running a local food production business. This includes a chicken farm and proposed lakes for a fish farm. Mike hardly sees any “tubabus” (white people) and he is struggling with the local French language, but all in all, he is making the best of his new lifestyle relaxing on the farm, playing guitar and banjo. He and Fanta have a guest room if anyone in our class would like to visit Africa, which I’m sure is on someone’s “bucket list”. Ted Lyons writes, “my wife Stacey and I are proud to announce the wedding of our daughter Haley Lyons ’06 to Matthew Gilliam ’04 on September 1 of last year. They have a great home in Houston and are very happy. They are both gainfully employed and enjoy for the time being the title of “dinks” (double income no kids). My son Logan has recently started a new job in the steel service center business and is very happy. So we are official “empty nesters”! We will be celebrating our 27th anniversary this May!” I heard from Davis Whiteford, who works with World Financial Group here in Houston. His son Ted is a senior at Texas A&M, Sigma Nu fraternity treasurer, and will complete his Oceaneering degree this fall. Daughter Amy is a freshman engineering student at Mississippi State University and in the Delta Gamma sorority. Stuart Hoff and Lisa Wallace will be married on April 20, 2013. Lisa is the mother of William Kanaly ’08 and Virginia Lee Kanaly ’12. Katherine Kirby Bravo and her husband have lived in Jacksonville,

SPRING 2013

Florida for the last ten years, and they really love it. Their kids are now 28 and 25, and so they are enjoying the freedom that comes along with being empty nesters. Keith Crawford’s son Ross is a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin this year. David and I still enjoy escaping to Castell, Texas for a little R&R. Our oldest son Justin lives in Houston and he is recently engaged to his high school sweetheart (sound familiar?) He works at Delmar Systems, an offshore mooring company, and he has flown to Africa (Equatorial Guinea) and to Perth, Australia on business just in the past few months, installing and/or pitching the company’s mooring system. Caroline is earning her teaching certification for grades K-6 and hopes to find a full-time teaching position this fall. George Barrow ’14 is a junior at Kinkaid, so we are entering the college search process again with great guidance from the school. Take care everyone, Lucy Hutcheson Barrow

1978 Class correspondent needed. Please email alumni@kinkaid.org if interested 35 years and counting! Plan now to join the Class of ’78 at 7:00 p.m. on April 20 at the home of David and Heidi Gerger (3763 Jardin) for an evening of Mexican food and catching up. Please contact David Brill at uncsig@hotmail.com if you have any questions. Cost: $40 per person.

Mike Schmidt is also doing a great job of staying in touch from a great distance. As you might recall, he and his wife Fanta moved to Cote d’Ivoire last year. They now live Philip Fox ‘77 and his portable ice house 45

THE Kinkaid School

Adam Ereli ‘79, an official with the U.S. State Department, meets students at the Lycee Pierre Gabie in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire as part of his world travels.

1979 Steven Arnold Houston, Texas sda@3lmc.com Evans Attwell Houston, Texas eattwell@gmail.com Alice Berry Houston, Texas missformicadinette@yahoo.com We wish to express our heartfelt condolences to Allison Ebert Wagner and Stephanie Ebert Adams on the recent passing of their wonderful father and big Kinkaid supporter, Al.

1981 Bridget O’Toole Purdie Houston, Texas bridget.purdie@bgllp.com Warren Whitehead Houston, Texas whiteheadhw@aol.com Hello to the Class of 1981! For most of us this is a big year as we either approach or have already withstood the passing of our 50th year on this planet. Our classmates have been celebrating in both big ways and small ways both here in Houston and locales much more exotic. Professor John Barrett was the first to check in and who wouldn’t when your wife takes you to Borneo to wander the jungle while communing with orangutans and proboscis monkeys. As if that was not enough, on John’s actual birthday he dined in Tokyo at Takazawa and had what he called one of the most amazing meals of his life. Penny Barrett Hornsby has turned celebrating your 50th into an all sea46

son sport. She reports that she had a wonderful day with her boys in December, that she will celebrate again in the spring with a ski trip planned for her family in Colorado and finish up the celebration spending a week with her husband Lance in Sandy Bay, Roatan Island, Honduras - kayaking, scuba diving and relaxing. John Graham has spent the last four years travelling like crazy so he opted to be low-key and invited a bunch of friends to New York for a beautiful late summer weekend to christen his new pad in Tribeca. Rebby Gregg and Bryan Legate helped John celebrate. John reports that he felt all of 50 of his years the next morning if not a full 80 when it was all said and done. Tad Mayfield has no big plans as of yet but I am betting that after reading about all these adventures he gets started on planning a celebration. Tad and his wife Sheila are empty nesters with their eldest Walt attending Johns Hopkins as a mechanical engineering student and their youngest Mike attending the University of Texas at Austin as petroleum engineering student. Lauren Lasater Martin has had fun celebrating at some of the super fun parties our classmates have hosted. Lauren is celebrating her 5-0 by SKYDIVING on her actual birthday. So fine. Then, she and Peyton plan on celebrating with a trip to an unknown destination as of this writing. Lise Liddell decided to be a bit monastic in her first celebration. She spent her birthday in a 500 year old bed and breakfast on the tiny island of Ils ‘de Re in the south of France. She wanted to be alone “to contemplate the fact that she has been running around on this planet for half a century.” A few weeks later she and Bridget O’Toole Purdie met up

in Paris for dinner to celebrate life in general. Then, in October, Lise’s brothers Frank and Robert Liddell hosted an awesome surprise party at Rockefeller’s with Skyrocket, a live band, cranking out our high school favorites. Lise arrived wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words “I VOTE VODKA.” She says the party was a total surprise, in fact it almost surprised her to death but it would have been worth it because “she would have croaked happy.” Meg Smith sends an update saying she is very happy. She still teaches at Briarwood and loves it every day. Who else among us can say the same about our work. Meg you are awesome! Meg is headed to Paris with her boyfriend in late May. But, she doesn’t stop there, in late July Meg and a friend are headed to Ireland. Pat Stallings celebrated the old fashioned way surrounded by his circle of friends and their families, eating Mexican food, drinking wine, swimming, watching football all at his parent’s home. Sounds perfect. Tom Thurlow checked in saying he wasn’t sure how the rest of us felt but he still feels like he is in his 30s and that there must be a typo in his birth certificate. His big day was pretty subdued because he made everyone promise NOT to throw him a surprise birthday party. Tom reports that he is happy with his life, family, career, just about everything but a lot of big changes can still happen in a person’s 50s and beyond. Tom then went on to get philosophical by writing: “Later that day I began concentrating on people who made big moves in their lives after they had turned 50: Col. Sanders, Julia Child, Ronald Reagan, Laura Ingalls Wilder, John Galt, Henry Ford and many other. Then there are the words of Mark Twain when he wrote ‘age is an issue of mind over matter, if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.’ To me that sounds about right.” Craig Wilson and his wife Lisa had a lot to celebrate other than the big 50. First, their 20 year anniversary, they celebrated in Istanbul and Venice. Then, the entire Wilson clan (about 25 of the 35) travelled to Sydney, Australia for the holidays. They chartered a 50 person sailing yacht and anchored off the Sydney Harbor bridge to watch the fireworks display. On a much more somber note, we realize that not all of our classmates were able to celebrate their 50th as their lives were cut way too short last year. Clay Cravens died while camping in Colorado. His beautiful wife Kelli and their three children

held an amazing memorial service where Clay’s life was celebrated. He lived life to its fullest and gave so much to his family. We lost Darryl Lewis after a long and valiant fight following complications after surgery. He, too, was a man that lived his life to the maximum. He leaves a wonderful wife and two children to carry on his legacy of adventure and compassion.

1982 Maria Semander Crawford Redondo Beach, California msemander@yahoo.com Happy Spring Everyone! Thank you to everyone for responding so quickly to my last minute (literally) request for news. I heard from a few on my “chosen” list so I will get to those first. Cole Thomson was the first to respond with a big thank you again to Michelle Rogers Rogers for hosting the reunion last year. He said it meant a lot to see people that he hadn’t seen in years and had a blast. Cole, or Dr. Thomson as he is better known, is a gastroenterologist working out of Memorial Herman Hospital and Methodist hospital in Katy. He reminded me that we are all turning 50 this year and will need a colonoscopy….yikes! So, if you are looking for someone to perform one, Cole’s your guy. Although, he could understand if that’s not exactly how you want to reunite with an old high school classmate. Cole and his wife Cheryl live in the Heights and enjoy all the cool restaurants and bike trails in the neighborhood. Cheryl is originally from Connecticut and the two met in New York after college. They lived in the “Big Apple” for 20 years before moving back to Houston about seven years ago. They have two kids, Diana and Cole Jr., 17 and 14 respectively, and Cole says they are both great. What a proud dad! Another proud dad is Scott Owens who is happily married to Nina and has two stepsons and two daughters, almost a real-life Brady Bunch! His wife has a booming design business and is doing fantastic, which in this economy is no easy task. One of his stepsons graduated from Baylor and has started his own business and the other is at the Golf Academy planning on hitting the tour within the next year. Scott also has two wonderful daughters, one is 12 and the other is 16 and every bit a teenager. On the business side, Scott sold his businesses twice in the last year and is currently in the process

ALUMNI NEWS

of starting a new business, which will launch in June of 2013. Scott is also doing some amazing work abroad, building a Christian school and dorm in the heart of French Muslim Africa. His group saves children from prostitution rings and guerrilla armies and houses them in a secure location where the teachers provide them life skills training and education, all based upon Christian doctrine. WOW! They have already built one school with about 300 kids there and are trying to raise funds to complete the next one. They have raised $100k of the $225k needed so if anyone out there would like to help, donations would be greatly appreciated. You can email Scott at sowens@kosystemsllc.com. And Scott, if you ever find the answer to life, let me know. Melissa O’Toole-Smith does some amazing work as well as a breast radiologist. She feels lucky to have such a rewarding career that helps women and she plays an important part of the process that many women go through with cancer. We all know that early detection saves lives. So, first go get your colonoscopy from Cole and then your mammogram from Melissa. Ok, sorry just trying to add a little humor. When Melissa is not working, she is busy being a mom, wife and doctor. Her oldest son Ryan Smith ’16 is 15 and a freshman at Kinkaid. He loves being in high school finally with NO uniform. I definitely remember that feeling and I actually think I remember what I wore on the first day of 9th grade! Melissa’s youngest son Kyle is ten and in fourth grade at Presbyterian School. Both boys play baseball, which will make her life even busier this spring. With a house full of men, the Smith home is full of sports year round; even cheering for Melissa’s college team, Stanford, in the Rose Bowl this year. While in LA, they had fun being tourists and doing the Hollywood thing. Melissa and her husband Paul love to travel and last summer visited Italy. They enjoyed the beaches of Capri and the Amalfi coast before touring Rome and the Vatican. She said it was quite amazing! In July, Melissa and Paul will celebrate their 20th anniversary and are planning a vacation worthy of that accomplishment. Congratulations you two lovebirds! Someone who just celebrated his first wedding anniversary and also deserves big congratulations is Greg Kung. Elva Weatherford Riley passed along that news with the reminder that Heidi Balser Budaj recently took a new position as the Regional Director at ADL (Anti Defa-

mation League) so congrats to Heidi as well! Laura Wynne Cale also emailed me with news about yet another classmate, Waverly White Gage, who deserves kudos. Waverly not only still has her very successful food blog (peaceandloveinthekitchen. com), but she has also won many impressive recipe contests on a web site called Food52. So, if you haven’t checked out her blog yet, you need to. I just did and found lots of great new recipes and cooking tips for my family to use. Ania Battlestein Bender emailed from Beaumont, Texas that she and husband are officially empty nesters with daughter Hannah a freshman at the University of Texas. Hannah loves college life and stays busy as a pledge for Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority. Ania’s son Aaron just graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Business/Real Estate. Aaron is actively looking for a job, so if anyone is hiring, Aaron would love an interview. Hey, never hurts to put the word out, right? Besides, if he doesn’t get a job then Ania may not be an empty nester for long, so at least help her out! Good News! Our WANTED list from the last issue is now a little shorter. We found Jennifer McKay Petro and Katy Bohnert Orsack. Katy, who now goes by Cate, is a doctor and lives in Dallas with her husband Geoffrey and their two kids. Mary is in seventh grade at Hockaday and Peter is in third grade at St. Mark’s. Cate says she always thinks of Kinkaid when she sees the Kinkaid banner hanging in their gyms during SPC time. Jennifer is still living in the frozen Alaskan Tundra with her husband Chris and three boys who keep them busy and on their toes. She’s only been able to visit Texas once, when her niece got married last July, but she’s hoping to make it to the next reunion.

Kinkaid Alumni Event

SPRING 2013

January 31

Austin Area Alumni Party

Jeanette Hughes, Headmaster Don North and James Hughes ‘56

John Bell ‘04, Will Thanheiser ‘05, Nicole Weitz ‘04 and Nelson Monteith ‘07

Lindsey Jones Roberson ‘96 and Lewis Leavitt ‘96

And finally, the news everyone has been waiting on. Did Dewey Gaedcke take a Salsa class? Hahaha Yes, he did! Only one class, but hey it still counts. However, he is currently enrolled in Improv and Flying Trapeze and loves both classes. He promises to send a picture of him flying through the air with the greatest of ease, because he is now the daring young man on the flying trapeze (y’all know that song, right?). As for me? One day I was surprised by a phone call from Emily Wynne Bolin, who works in the Kinkaid Alumni office. It was fun to talk and

Shaun Elizabeth Hopson Dickerson ‘00, Elizabeth Topper Nash ‘68 and Chris Shannon ‘99

THE Kinkaid School

Interim Term Impact

You just never know… aria Semander Crawford ’82 didn’t know it at the time, but her MKinkaid Interim Term experience would significantly impact her life. Today she lives in Redondo Beach, California with her husband Fred and two sons, Daniels (11) and Zane (4). Soon after Zane was adopted, Maria realized something was “off ”, and he was eventually diagnosed with autism at 19 months. With incredible strength, determination and love, Maria learned everything she could about autism to make the best life possible for her son and her family. They are an inspiring example for all families, especially those with special needs children.

How has life changed for you and your family since Zane’s diagnosis?

I realized Zane had autism. I immediately remembered that little boy and thought he must have had autism. I wondered, did anyone even know back then? As I processed Zane’s diagnosis, I thought often about my experience at The Center and was terrified about what the future held. Then one day, I had a revelation. My experience at The Center and my memories of that little boy gave me the courage that I needed to tackle this challenge. I faced autism 31 years ago and made a connection; I could do it again. But this time I vowed to make a difference. And that is what I have tried to do. I don’t think I could have embraced and accepted Zane’s autism without the personal experience I had during Interim Term at Kinkaid.

MSC: Our day-to-day schedule is nonstop. We have in-home therapy and school every day from 9 to 6, as well as additional appointments for speech, occupational and physical therapy. And then there are endless meetings with specialists, evaluations and support groups. However, even with our full schedule, we try to integrate all aspects of Zane’s therapy into our regular family life. One of the biggest challenges was realizing that my older son’s needs are just as important as Zane’s. Finding this balance has brought our family closer. On a personal level, having a child with autism has changed me for the better. Here I am trying to save him, but he has saved me. He has literally made me a different person. I am much more accepting of people who look or act differently. I know there is a story behind each individual, and all people ultimately just want to be accepted.

am much more accepting of people who “Ilook or act differently. I know there is a

story behind each individual, and all people ultimately just want to be accepted.

”

The Crawford Family – Zane, Daniels, Maria ‘82 and Fred

How did your Kinkaid experience relate to your life as a parent of an autistic child?

What advice do you have for families dealing with autism?

MSC: In an ironic twist of fate, my introduction to autism actually occurred during my senior year at Kinkaid. For my Interim Term internship, I volunteered at the Houston Center for the Mentally Retarded (now called The Center). I thought I might be interested in a career working with special needs kids. I can vividly remember the students, particularly one little African-American boy who was constantly rocking back and forth, yelling and banging his fists. He never made eye contact or talked, and he was often violent, but I was drawn to him for some reason. I remember feeling so happy when I finally made a connection, even just for a moment. But more than anything, I felt sad that I couldn’t do more for him. At the end of my internship, I acknowledged that as much as I enjoyed it, I knew I was not cut out for working with disabled students. Apparently, God had a different plan. Fast-forward 31 years later to the moment

MSC: The most important thing is to get intervention as soon as possible. Many parents are in denial or think it’s a “phase” their child will outgrow. Having a support group is essential. Connect with families who have traveled this road – no one understands what you are going through as well as the parent of another special needs child. I connected with LA FEAT (Los Angeles Families for Effective Autism Treatment), which was a lifeline to me when Zane was first diagnosed. Now I’m on the Executive Board so I can “pay it forward” to other families. Finally, believe in recovery and embrace your child’s individuality. Celebrate the little milestones you reach each day. Those are the true miracle moments, and I’ve learned it takes time, even 31 years, to recognize a miracle.

ALUMNI NEWS

catch up just like old times. Emily and her husband Don have three daughters, one at Kinkaid, one at Memorial and the oldest a freshman at University of Texas at Austin. Ironically, Emily wasn’t calling to just chat. She told me I had been chosen by the Advancement Office to be spotlighted in this issue for my work with autism. I hope you take the time to read it. It’s a huge honor and I am very grateful to Kinkaid for highlighting my family and giving a little insight into my life with a special needs child. On a final note, I’m sad to say Kinkaid lost a legacy this month with the passing of Coach Charles Sanders. Coach Charlie as many of us remember him, was a special part of our class as Elva Weatherford Riley’s uncle. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Elva and all of Coach Sanders’ family. He will be greatly missed. Please see page 18 for a story on Coach Sanders. Have a great spring everyone, and don’t be surprised if I’m emailing in a few weeks looking for more news!

1983 Anthony Brown Houston, Texas abrowntex@gmail.com Do you remember when Philip Stephenson buzzed the beach in a Cessna during senior skip day? Remember Temple Williams’ singing any Stones song better than Mick Jagger? Certainly you remember how the black St. John’s jerseys magically appeared at Kinkaid one day and that Anthony Brown returned most of them that very same day. Our reunion will not be as exciting as any of these but will be a lot of fun. We hope you can join us for cocktails and dinner on Saturday, April 20 at 7:00 pm at the home of Lauren and Jeff Friedman (809 Kuhlman Road). Cost: $60 per person.

1985 Carolyn Lasater Hodges Houston, Texas mkcarolynhodges@gmail.com Hello 85ers Happy 2013! Apologies for not submitting “scoop” for the past several newsletters. I hope all is well with you and yours. THANK you for keeping us updated.

SPRING 2013

Alethia Hassell Brown who is living in southern California (San Diego area) writes: “Mark and I took a road trip at the end of October from San Diego to Portland, Oregon for the French Bulldog National Specialty where our female puppy showed in conformation. We stayed in Portland for one week and enjoyed exploring the city. We took Highway 1 on the way home and enjoyed Carmel, Montery, Big Sur, Santa Barbara, etc. It was a gorgeous drive that everyone should take at some point. The drive around Pebble Beach and the neighboring golf courses is beautiful as well. We are looking forward to our annual vacation to Palm Springs at the beginning of January.

Kinkaid Alumni Event February 4 Private tour of Texas Children’s Hospital Pavilion for Women

Sharon Callender Snowden who’s living in Houston wrote: “I’m spending Thanksgiving with my family in Galveston. This will be my first turkey day since marrying Richard Snowden last December. He is an English citizen so Thanksgiving is a new thing to him. We actually got married in Galveston last year at the Dickens on the Strand festival in full Victorian attire where we ran into Anne Doyle Charpentier. I’m sure we will be watching a little American football as well - another new concept to him” Editor’s note: Speaking of Anne, she posts some stunning photographs of her life in Galveston!

John McInnes ‘98, Ryan Gordon ‘93 and Tobin O’Donnell ‘98

Another wedding! Candy Clardy married Mark Provine last Spring, and went somewhere fabu for their honey moon (saw photos on FB). Looked like everyone had fun at their wedding, too! Gigi Greene who’s living in College Station writes: “The most newsworthy thing in my life is that I’ve recently started a local (Bryan/College Station) chapter of the Weston A Price Foundation (www. westonaprice.org). Not sure if that qualifies as newsworthy to Kinkaidians, haha! Editor’s Note: Gigi posts some really great articles about healthy food and supplements, very knowledgeable.

Hosted by Kinkaid Young Professionals Organization

Caroline Brown, Will Brown ‘99, Catherine Goble ‘99 and Liz Evans Mann ‘99

Heather Lawrie Shepherd ‘01, Katie Forney and Justin van Keppel ‘01

Kara Thompson Dlabal messaged me saying that she has moved from Austin and took an “opportunity she couldn’t refuse” with MD Anderson and loving it. She is in the process of interview schools for her children in Houston. FYI: Kara is a heart doc! I’m not sure where Clay Platt is living, however he is traveling all over the world. He wrote that he spent Christmas in Steamboat Springs with his daughter. At some point Clay was in Russia and last I heard he was in London. Other sightings: I saw Caroline Boone Mitchell at a lacrosse tour-

Liz Riddle Anders ‘98, Mollie Schall ‘01 and Margot Fried Hogan ‘98

THE Kinkaid School

nament in Austin on the UT campus this past December (schools and lax clubs came from all over the state) where her son (and other kiddos) was playing for Kinkaid. Helen Stovall Gilbert was there, as well, with her son (and family) who was playing for an Austin sports group (hubby Geoffrey was coaching). We, too, were in attendance. It was fun seeing our boys compete! Helen and I went to the Kinkaid Austin Alumni Cocktail party recently for “Mr. North’s Farewell Tour”. We were the only ones in attendance from our class, and Mr. North recognized our class in his remarks referring how we welcomed him to Kinkaid as our Upper School Principal (slightly tongue in cheek). On behalf of the class of ’85, we wish Mr. North and his family good vibes and great blessings on all their future endeavors. I visited with Stacey Gillman Wimbish over the Christmas break. She has moved into a beautiful new home, where my boys quickly stripped down and joined Frankie in the outdoor hot tub at nine am. Spoke with Ellen Dunlap Ohmstede through the fence (she and her husband Will share a property line with my in-laws in Houston). Ellen is doing great - still hunting and fishing all over and a Director at the Coastal Conservation Association. Oh, news alert: Nancy Davis Keely is a big Texans’ fan. George (Evnochides) Ducas seems to be traveling the country, and is a featured entertainer at a lot cool places. Ok, folks...that’s all I got...until next time...take care! Hugs-C

1988 John Semander Cypress, California cperiod@hotmail.com Change of Venue! Hey everyone – it’s been 25 years, and the Class of 1988 is STILL great! Let’s get together to catch up on what’s new, and remember the “time of our lives!” Jon and Merritt McReynolds Marineli (224 Sage Road) will be our hosts for Mexican food & margaritas! Please contact William Kelsey at william@ wrkelsey.com or Stuart Ison at stuart.ison@abbott.com for any questions. Cost: $60 per person.

1991 Lane Alexander Danville, California lanealexander@yahoo.com 50

Leslie and I are finally feeling settled in the Bay Area with daughter Haley (five) enjoying Kindergarten and all her new friends. She still misses her Kinkaid Pre-K buddies and teachers. Jacob (one) is keeping us busy as he moves from fast spider crawl to walking. We’re looking forward to spring break in Carmel and coming back to Houston this summer to see our family & friends. Karen Thomson has some great news to share as daughter Parker Leigh Loudermilk was born Nov 8th. She and her husband live in Chevy Chase, DC. Colby Denison is developing affordable housing in the Austin area. He and wife Susanne are busy with three kids Worth (six), Merritt (four) and Miles (one). Daisley Kramer just moved back from Hong Kong and has been enjoying a little time in Houston before moving to the San Francisco area in May. Her husband Matt will be working for a legal translation company there with daughters Frances (five) and Lucy (three) starting new schools in the fall. Daisley continues to work for Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong and New York. Christi Parker recently left the nonprofit world to start her own business. The Parker Center: Development and Etiquette for Modern Professionals (theparkercenter. com) teaches civility, leadership, and integrity to individuals and corporate groups including recent college graduates to seasoned executives. Anthony Gonzalez and his team continue to work hard to keep our sailors safe and we deeply appreciate their dedication and hard work. From his most recent assignment, Anthony shared that “I never really go out in town, but for the first time in the eleven months, my guys convinced me to go to Friday Brunch (Friday for us is like Sunday in the states) at a price of 28 BD (Bahraini Dinar). The brunch out here is pretty impressive, but I did not eat enough to convince my wife that almost $75 for breakfast was a good idea. I have less than 100 days before I go to Norfolk, VA for my next assignment - I am looking forward to going back to my wife Surenity and dog Wilsonie who are in Fredericksburg, Virginia right now, and seeing my family in Texas again.” David Mims writes that son Constantine Liubomir Mims joined the crew on December 31. He and big brother Noah are making the house a noisy and joyful place! Adrienne Cutter moved this summer

Lindsay Green ‘98, Meredith Hopson ‘98, Colleen Sheedy ‘98, Margot Fried Hogan ‘98, Amy Parker Beeson ‘98, Liz Riddle Anders ‘98 and Chelsea Dreyer ‘99 at Liz’s house during the recent holiday season

to a new house in Spring Valley and loves the new space and backyard. “All three kids, John (fourth grade), Katelyn (second grade) and Lauren (kinder) are in lower school at St. Francis and are keeping us quite busy with school and all the sports they play. I continue to do a little estate planning on the side when I’m not being Mom.” David Curtis and wife Alexandra live in New York City and recently bought a place in Upper Manhattan (Hudson Heights) living close to friends Rachel (Hausner) Duncan ‘92 and her husband Ritchie. David was promoted to Associate Principal at Callison Architects in June of last year. He finished the REI flagship project at the Puck Building in SoHo last year and it has been a great success with many design awards. He then followed it up with two Joe Fresh projects, one of which was in landmarked modernist building at 5th avenue and 43rd street in midtown. He’s now working on the first phase of a 32-story data center project next to the Brooklyn Bridge. For some well earned R&R he traveled to Barbados last winter to escape the cold and back to Sydney to see Alexandra’s family as well as celebrating his 40th in Montreal.

1993 Courtney Dreyer Beauchamp San Antonio, Texas courtbeauch@gmail.com Wendie Seale Childress Houston, Texas wendiechildress@gmail.com Ashley Morgan Hanna Houston, Texas ashleymhanna@gmail.com Please join the Class of 1993 for a toast

to 20 years! We plan to celebrate at the home of Leslie and Mark Hull (5135 Green Tree Road) at 7:00 p.m. on April 20. Bring your significant other and join us for an evening of good food, great cocktails, and the chance to catch up with your classmates. We hope to see you there! Cost: $65 per person.

1998 Amy Parker Beeson Houston, Texas amyparkerbeeson@gmail.com Has it really been 15 years? Please join us to celebrate our upcoming reunion. We have arranged for a semi-private area at OTC (3212 Kirby Drive) on April 19 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Bring your significant other or no one at all. For questions, please email Chris Leavitt at Christopher. leavitt@gmail.com, Amy Parker Beeson at amyparkerbeeson@gmail. com, Liz Riddle Anders at lizriddle@ gmail.com or Tobin O’Donnell at Tobin@coltoncap.com. Hope to see you there. Cost: $10 per person.

2003 Fallon Ukpe Houston, Texas fallon.ukpe@gmail.com Fellow falcons, how can it be? A decade has passed since 2003! Please join your classmates at El Patio (6444 Westheimer) on Saturday, April 20 for margaritas and tex-mex as we celebrate our 10-year reunion. It will literally be a blast from the past, and we hope you will attend. Please contact Allison Poarch at Allison.a.poarch@gmail. com with any questions. Cost: $40 per person.

ALUMNI NEWS

2009 Alanna McAuley Houston, Texas arm75@georgetown.edu Rashi Agrawal will be graduating from The University of Texas at Austin in May with a BS in Public Relations and Pre-Physical Therapy. She had the time of her life being a Longhorn where she danced with her wonderful team for four years and got to travel abroad through her nonprofit organization, GlobeMed. While she is reluctant to leave Austin and all her amazing friends here, she is very excited to be heading to Southern California to now attend

While she’ll be sad to say goodbye to all her college shenanigans, including her sorority, frisbee team, equestrian team, and professors, she can’t wait for real Mexican food and the chance to find someone who wants to hire her. Oh, and to buy a puppy. Puppies and jobs are at the top of her post-graduation list.

Kinkaid Alumni Event

SPRING 2013

February 27

Washington DC Area Alumni Party

Malcolm Bremer is currently in his fourth year of his five year internship program at Drexel University. He is pursuing a degree in sport management and is an active member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity where he is the athletics representative for the chapter. Malcolm is looking forward to beginning a six month internship on April 1 with the Alex Curlet ‘98, Catherine Curlet, Stacy Sweet Patlovich ‘00 and Ryan Patlovich

Bridget Murphy Nikodem ‘97, Robin Lewis Baker ‘95, Kristen Bell Farman ‘96 and Katherine Ordway Reishman ‘94

The wedding of Taylor Liedtke ‘02 and Devon Meyers in Dallas on November 10 included two of his classmates, Adam Spalding ‘02 and Geer Blalock ‘02

USC’s physical therapy program for the next three years. She’s ready to see what’s ahead of her, but will take her time the next few months enjoying the last few months she has in Austin! Philip Angelides will graduate from The Colorado College in May with a BA in History and Political Science. In his last two years at The Colorado College, he served as the President of the Global Health Club (later becoming GlobeMed) and the Chair of an independent student-run think tank called the Energy, Environment and Security Project. He will return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June and plans to work for a policy think tank in D.C. or start a Masters degree in the U.K. or France in late September. Jeanie Arnold is excited to graduate from Colgate University this May with a double major in English (Creative Writing) and Anthropology.

Philadelphia Eagles where he will be working within the client services department. Nina Brener-Hellmund will graduate from Stanford University with a BA in International Relations and a minor in Management Science & Engineering. She has really loved her four years at Stanford and is sad to be leaving the Bay Area soon. Outside academics, her two major commitments are serving as the President of Stanford Women in Business and the President of the Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi. After graduation, Nina will join Goldman Sachs’ Investment Management Division in Geneva.

Headmaster Don North, Julia Lovett ‘07, Ryan Beiermeister ‘08 and Liz Eggleston ‘07

Madison Brown graduated a semester early from TCU. Katherine Cunningham will graduate in May with honors from Bryn Mawr College with a BA in Psychology and a Theatre minor. She is so

Alumni Activities Manager Leslie Roemer Labanowski ‘02 and Lauren Schall Rhea ‘02

Sarah Atnipp ‘08 and Bowe Partin ‘07

THE Kinkaid School

goes well, Drew will be working next year as a pastoral assistant at Lake Forest Church in the town of Davidson, where he has attended and served the last four years. Alanna McAuley will graduate from Georgetown University in May with a BA in English. She has had an absolutely wonderful four years at Georgetown, where she is the editor of the campus literary magazine and is on the lead staff of the Phonathon--but she’s also really looking forward to graduation and the exciting changes it’ll bring. At this point she’s still looking for a job, but can’t wait to see what the future will hold.

Identify those pictured and be eligible to win a special prize from the Alumni Office. Send your entry to alumni@kinkaid.org by April 15.

grateful for the amazing experiences over the past four years, being president of her a cappella group, Counterpoint, and being president of the musical theatre club, Greasepaint. She is excited about graduating, and is currently looking forward to a possible career in performing arts management, or starting her own theatre company!

a BS in Economics-Finance. She enjoyed exploring Boston over the summer while interning downtown, and is excited to finish out the last semester in Alpha Kappa Psi and the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. Maddie is looking forward to her move to Nashville next fall where she will pursue a Masters in Finance at Vanderbilt.

a BA in political science. She has been involved in the UConn Greek life community as a member of Delta Gamma sorority, as well as an active participant in Huskython (an 18 hour dance marathon to raise money for Connecticut Children’s Hospital). Next year Rebecca hopes to attend graduate school in New York City to pursue a masters in journalism.

Maddie Dorflinger will graduate in May from Bentley University with

Rebecca Harris will graduate from the University of Connecticut with

Andy Huang is currently taking a leave of absence from Babson to grow his startup, Mixcal. He is living in Cambridge near Inman Square. You can find him shipping code and hustling for next month’s rent at his office in MassChallenge or at various coffee shops around MIT. Matt Johnson is a senior at Rice University, about to graduate as an Electrical Engineer. He’s incredibly thankful for his time in college and has loved being a social coordinator, techie, and bike enthusiast. He’s embarking into the professional world, but is currently undecided as to exactly where he’s going to end up. Regardless, he can’t wait to get out and start doing big things for the people around him! Drew Masterson will graduate in May from Davidson College with a BA in Religion. His time at Davidson has been joy-filled and extremely edifying, and he now desires more than anything to invest in younger students through campus ministry. Currently, he serves as President of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, where he was recently replaced as Chaplain. If all

Helen Hemingway ‘05, Courtland Crosswell ‘05 and Hilary Sealy ‘05 in Napa Valley 52

Emily McMillan will graduate from Trinity University this spring with a B.A in English and comparative religions, and a minor in music. During her last year at Trinity, she has served as the Vice President of the Beta Kappa chapter of the national music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon, and the chief copy editor of the Trinitonian, Trinity’s weekly newspaper. Next year, Emily is hoping to go into graduate school for English education. Ananya Mishra will be graduating from Cornell University this May with a BA in Physics and Economics, and with a minor in East Asian Studies. He’s had an amazing four years on the hill and hopes to head to Japan for a year this May on the JET program to teach English in rural communities while soaking in Japanese culture and lifestyles. Lilian C. Nwora will graduate from Rice University in May with a BA in Sports Medicine. During her four years at Rice she has been thrilled to represent the Rice Women’s Track & Field team, The Rice African Student Association and to take part in numerous community service leadership roles. She is awaiting admission from several graduate schools before she embarks upon the journey that is medical school. Brian Perlman’s fall semester as a visiting student at NYU turned him into a New Yorker. But for now, he’ll be relegated to merely visiting his newfound home of choice, as he will be beginning pilot training in the Navy shortly after his graduation from Texas A&M in May. He’s pretty happy to be done with college, but mostly, he just can’t get out of Texas quick enough. He looks forward to embarking on worldly adventures to faraway places and to serving alongside our nation’s finest. Rachel Rosenthal has started a job as the newest person in the At-

ALUMNI NEWS

lanta AIPAC office, after interning this past summer at the Houston AIPAC office. Though staying in Atlanta means even less of good Texas BBQ and Mexican food, she is thrilled to be working with the premier organization for Israeli advocacy. However, this excitement pales in comparison to seeing her sister Hannah Rosenthal featured in the Kinkaid Winter magazine! Emily Sangalis will graduate from Indiana University in May with a BS in Elementary Education and Minor in Spanish. She is currently student teaching in an accelerated sixth grade class in Bloomington and is loving every minute of it! After graduation, she hopes to move to and teach in the Chicago area.

SPRING 2013

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. As an aspiring primatologist, she hopes to earn her PhD in Biological Anthropology and go on to study captive cultures in chimpanzees.

New York City Area Alumni Party

Alexander Vu will graduate from Case Western Reserve University in May with a BA Honors in Psychology, and a BA in Sociology. He has had a truly amazing time at Case Western, where he is a proud and active brother of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, president of the Medieval Combat club, and employee and research assistant for the Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders. At this point he is waiting to hear back from graduate schools, and weighing the options of going to grad school, taking a year off to work as a Milleu Therapist, or working towards a Masters in Human Resources.

Corinne Kendall ‘02, Chad Roosth ‘01, Kelli Roosth Cooney ‘96, Melissa Miller ‘02 and Bart McGuyer ‘02

Elaine Thurman will graduate from Colgate University in May with a BA in English. She recently concluded her varsity field hockey career and finished her senior season as a captain of the team. She is currently embracing her first semester without the time commitment of athletics, but is also working hard to find a job for next year.

2010

Avery Twitchell-Heyne will be a field research assistant in South Africa this year studying baboons, guenons, and vervets. Having taken time off from Rice University, she will matriculate once again in January 2014 to pursue her degree in

Sahil Patel was named Editor-in-Chief of Student Life, Washington University’s campus newspaper, for the 2013-2014 academic year. The journalism governing board said that “Sahil has the vision, the temperament and the skills to be a terrific editor-in-chief.”

Kinkaid Alumni Event

February 28

Class correspondent needed. Please email alumni@kinkaid.org if interested.

Front Row - Katherine Bookout ‘08 and Coco Sprague ‘07, Back Row - Madeline Hemingway ‘07, Kase Lawal ‘06, Kirby Allison ‘08, Mackie Wood ‘07 and Mattie Rutherford ‘07

Save the date Atlanta Area Alumni Party April 10 Mi Cocina 6:30 - 8:30 p.m

Update on last magazine’s article on students who have served in the military post 9/11

Rusty Ross ‘91, Director of Advancement Tom Moore and Julia Ross

Adam Huber ’03 is currently stateside and awaiting a yearlong assignment to Afghanistan beginning in summer of 2013. He has already had many challenging assignments, including Operation Tomodachi, which provided humanitarian assistance and aid for the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake that struck the northern Japanese coast in 2011. His unit was also involved in navigating through and monitoring radiation hazards in the city. His unit’s second major deployment was in Operation Martillo, which focused on countering the drug trafficking off the Pacific Coast of South America. Adam notes that Dan Cassis, his former Kinkaid art teacher, who was himself a veteran of military service, was a key factor in inspiring him to choose military service.

Stephanie Johnson ‘99, Alexandra Lacy ‘99 and Amanda Hulsey ‘95

THE Kinkaid School

Birth Announcements

Corbin Louis Creech, son of Rose and Stayton Creech ‘95

Marriages Ellen English ’03 & Andrew Sheedy ’03 November 17, 2012

Michel Miller ’00 & Philip Mullet March 2, 2013

Katie Hoffman ’02 & Fredy Reyes December 2, 2012

Sarita Pitt ’05 (FS) & Jake Francis March 2, 2013

Alyson Weaver ’01 & Evan Nicholas December 31, 2012

Paige Garrison ’02 & Taylor Wright March 2, 2013

Lacey Liedtke ’00 & Ross Brunner January 12, 2013

New Alumni Board Members Foster Brian Kilpatrick, son of Brian and Alyssa Gardner Kilpatrick ‘00

Emma Jane Meyer, daughter of Peter and Jessica Jones Meyer ‘00

Steve Yeager and Ashley Alsup ’88, a daughter, Madeline Jeanne Yeager, July 12, 2012 Jared and Barrier Gordon Gruner ’00, a son, Max Mann Gruner, September 28, 2012 Dan and Bevin Bering Dubrowski ’00, a daughter, Edith Louise Dubrowski “Edie”, November 6, 2012 Kyle and Karen Thomson ’91, a daughter, Parker Leigh Loudermilk, November 8, 2012 Megan and Charles Lawrence ’96, a son, Charles Berdon Lawrence III “Berdon”, December 24, 2012 Peter and Jessica Jones Meyer ’00, a daughter, Emma Jane Meyer, January 11, 2013 Jeff and Murphey Harmon Sears ’00, a son, Phelps John Sears, February 1, 2013 Laura and Charles Litton ’01, a daughter, Cecilia Hall Litton, February 24, 2013

Thank you to Alumni Board President Stephen Dyer ’85 for a great 2012 - 2013 term. Alumni Board Members Mark Sikes ’87 and Aisha Carter Crumbine ’95 complete their service in May. Gayl Carlberg ’66, Jim Frankel ’69, Virginia Mary Thompson Brown ’84, Nicole Zarr ’87, Wyatt Hogan ’90 and Philip Wise ’96 will stay on to serve one more three year term. Annette Faubion Stephens ’82 will become the new president in May, Mark Breeding ’74 will become the new vice president and Virginia Mary Thompson Brown ’84 will become the new secretary. Their dedication and service to Kinkaid’s alumni are greatly appreciated. The following alumni have been elected to take the vacated positions: Brian Dinerstein ’95 entered Kinkaid in Pre-Kindergarten and graduated in 1995. Brian graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Political Science and Business Administration in 1999. Brian serves as president of The Dinerstein Companies (TDC), a national construction and development firm that specializes in student housing and infill apartment communities. Specific to Houston, TDC currently has developments underway in Highland Village, the Galleria and the Woodlands Town Center. Brian serves on the National Multi Housing Council’s Board of Directors, the Urban Land Institute’s Multifamily Blue Council and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. Brian and his wife, Liz, have two children, Molly (age six and in Kindergarten at Kinkaid) and Billy (age two). Brian and Liz enjoy participating in all of Molly’s Kinkaid activities and last year served as the Pre-Kindergarten class captain of the Annual Fund. Vianei Lopez Braun ’85 entered Kinkaid in the second grade and graduated in 1985 as Kinkaid’s first Presidential Scholar. While at Kinkaid, she was active in theater, dance, debate and field hockey. Vianei graduated from Princeton University in 1988 as the youngest female graduate in Princeton history, and received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1991. She started her legal career at Bracewell & Patterson (now Bracewell & Giuliani) and is now a partner with Buck Keenan LLP. Vianei was honored as Kinkaid’s Distinguished Young Alumna in 1997, and she has been recognized as a Texas Monthly “Super Lawyer” in Labor & Employment Law every year since 1993. Vianei serves on the Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries of Houston, and she is married to fellow attorney Jason Braun.

ALUMNI NEWS

SPRING 2013

In Memory

Assistant basketball coach Levy Garrett passed away on December 27, 2012. He leaves to cherish his memory his devoted wife of 40 years, Jacqueline “Jackie” Terrell Garrett, two sons, Jeff and Monice, and a host of other relatives and friends. Levy had coached at Kinkaid since 2001 and was also very involved in the community, coaching A.A.U. Basketball with the Houston Lynx. John Smith Ivy Jr. ’53 passed away on January 12. He attended Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated with a BA in Geography. He received a BBA in Business in August 1959, after which he went into the United States Army where he was stationed in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He was honorably discharged from the Army in the summer of 1961 and returned to Houston to work for Texas Eastern Transmission. He was instrumental in acquiring for Texas Eastern the 30 contiguous blocks in downtown Houston called Houston Center. With his two sons, he was involved in the Post Oak Little League, Karl Young Pony League, football leagues and anything else that his sons were interested in. They will always remember him as Coach Ivy as he was always a coach or manager of any team they were on. He is survived by his wife Pat; sons John Smith Ivy III and wife, Terrell Conway Ivy and wife; sisters Caro Ivy Walker ’46, Barbara Ivy Jogerst ’49 and husband Allen of Houston; numerous grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. James Graham “Jimmy” Moses ’63 passed away on January 12 at the age of 68. His early years were spent in Richmond, Texas, which he referred to lovingly as “the pearl of the Brazos” and “the hub of the Gulf Coast.” He attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and attended Kinkaid for his senior year. He attended the University of Texas at Austin on a football scholarship and was

a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Jimmy moved to Houston after graduation. He worked first with Metals and Tubes and then founded Bunker Steel, an oilfield tube and pipe company, where he served as Chairman and CEO. He married Jeanne Wehmeyer in 1968 and proudly declared that this was the smartest decision of his life. He was a member of Second Baptist Church, Houston Country Club, Allegro, Tejas Breakfast Club, and Gulf Coast Conservation Society and a lifetime member of the Texas Exes. He served on the board of Amegy Bank of Texas and spent many years on the Breeders Greeters Committee of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He is survived by his wife Jeanne, his daughters, Jennifer Hart and husband Raymond, and Jill Holstead and husband Scott; his grandchildren, Tommy Holstead ’21 and Jean Holstead ’23; his brother Robert Moses (former Kinkaid trustee) and wife Loretta; his sister Barbara Moses Robertson ’65 and husband Corbin (Kinkaid Trustee Emeritus); other relatives as well as numerous nieces and nephews including Corbin James Robertson III ’89 and William Keen Robertson ’94. Charles B. Sanders Jr. ’54 passed away peacefully on February 4. An enthusiastic member of the Kinkaid School community, Charles was involved with Kinkaid sports as a coach, game announcer, scorekeeper, timer and keeper of statistics. Charles combined his love of history and Kinkaid to become the unofficial school archivist and maintained a relationship with Kinkaid up through and beyond his retirement. Charles was also an active member of Christ Church Cathedral. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Charles B. Sanders and Elva McDonald Sanders, and is survived by his sister Elva Sanders Weatherford ’57 and her husband John; nieces, Elva Weatherford Riley ’82 and her husband Joe, and their children Melissa and John; Melanie Anzaldua and her husband Danny, and their children Alexandra and Isabella; and Kendall Weatherford. See page 18 for a tribute to Charles and his dedicated service to Kinkaid.

Barbara and Randall Meyer

Kinkaid lost a good friend with the passing of Randall Meyer on December 7 at the age of 89. He was a generous, respected and revered

businessman educated in a one-room schoolhouse who eventually filled the CEO position at Exxon.

His children, Warren Meyer ’80, Gretchen Manias ’81 and Kristen Wrinkle ’83, attended Kinkaid, which led to Meyer’s involvement at the school where he served the Board in many capacities from 1979 to 2012, including Chairman of the Board and Trustee Emeritus. Kinkaid trustee Holcombe Crosswell ’58 recalls, “Randall had a great ability to get the support of other board members on a solution to the problems at hand. He always had time to listen to other people’s ideas and thoughts.” Born in 1923, Meyer was a visionary individual who was an impassioned proponent of the importance of combining a liberal arts education with professional preparation. In addition to Kinkaid, he had long-standing advisory relationships with Princeton University, the University of Iowa and Texas Southern University. Headmaster Don North admired Meyer’s intellectual vitality, integrity and interest in education. North says, “Mr. Meyer made a point to drop by from time to time to see how things were going and to talk. Always, there was something he had recently read related to education that he wanted to share with me.” He adds, “As Upper School Principal, I remember his comments to the graduating seniors. He told our seniors that he was proud of their academic achievement, but he was more proud of their character and their interest in serving others.” To quote his daughter Gretchen Manias, “Our father was the embodiment of the American success story — he rose from humble beginnings, was educated in a small farm town in Iowa, survived polio as a young child and worked tirelessly to put himself and his siblings through college. He was continually guided by and practiced his strong Midwestern values of honesty, loyalty, respect, faith in God, dedication to hard work and the duty to give back to the community. Greater than all of the successes of his career, are these values, as well as the love and unfailing support that he and our mother have passed on to their children and grandchildren.” 55

THE Kinkaid School

The Kinkaid Commnity is invited to

The Distinguished Alumni Awards Program & Reception Honoring

Distinguished Young Alumnus

Distinguished Honorary Alumnus

Distinguished Alumnus

Grover Geiselman ’91

David Veselka

Professional screenwriter and accomplished musician, composer and cartoonist

Director of Visual Arts & Photography and former English Teacher

CEO of Living Spaces Furniture

Robert Moreland ’83

Friday, April 19 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Welcome Reception 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Presentation of Distinguished Alumni Awards 8:00 p.m. Celebration Hors d’oeuvres and drinks are generously provided by the Kinkaid Alumni Association

1 1

t h

A n n u a l

Sporting Clays Benefit Friday, April 5 Greater Houston Gun Club Noon – Lunch & Games 1:30 p.m. – Shoot

Kinkaid Summer School June 3 - June 28

• Summer courses and camps will be held June 3 - June 28.

Join alumni, parents and faculty in an afternoon filled with outdoor fun at this annual fund raising event. For additional information, please contact Georgia Piazza at georgia.piazza@kinkaid.org or 713-243-5078. ENTH ANN V U LE

• Arts/Academics/Athletics programs are offered to non-Kinkaid and Kinkaid students, PreK through 12th grade. • One, two, three or four week programs are available. • Registration begins March 21 at noon.

A L•

•E

2013

• Open House Sat. June 1 from 11am-3pm • Late Fee After May 12 • Download a brochure and register at kinkaid.org/summer. • For more information, please call 713.782.1640.

FR 56

IDA

Y, APRI

2013 Cum Laude Society

From Left to Right Front Row:

Second row:

Third row:

Back Row:

Brynn Victoria Harris

Laura Elise Jones

Dahlgren Diane Baker

Ryan Miller Clegg

Annie Gilmour Sher

Christina Bruni Fondren

Marjorie Jacklyn Jacobe

George Mitchell Rupprecht Randt

Victoria Mingyi Wang

Jordan Elizabeth Crawford

Zachary Cole Rosenthal

Declan Christopher Mawer

Carolyn Louise Dyer

Katherine Elizabeth Drews

John Raymond Lewis

Andrew William Manias

Katie Rose Shaffer

Mirel S. Baysal

Eric Rueyhao Sung

Nicholas Gregory Whalley

Madison Nicole Goeringer

Edith Elizabeth Powers

Calin Ackerman

David William Warren

Mallory Elizabeth Burns

Carrie Lou Walker

Mustafa Sohail

NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 3375 HOUSTON, TEXAS

the kink aid school 201 Kinkaid School Drive Houston, TX 77024

Parents or Alumni: If this publication is addressed to your child who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Alumni Office of the new permanent mailing address.