Greenwich Academy Connections, Fall 2016

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GREENWICH ACADEMY

CONNECTIONS

THE GA PORTAL

Connecting Cultures and Communities

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IN THIS ISSUE EDITOR Asha Marsh ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sara Fludd ALUMNAE EDITORS Megan Tyre ’88 Jocelyn Sherman-Avidan ’96 SPORTS EDITOR Martha Brousseau DESIGN Lilly Pereira PHOTOGRAPHY Claudia Chimale Sara Fludd Don Hamerman Lee Mayfield Greg Raymond Highpoint Pictures

ON THE COVER The gold shipping container shown on the cover is the Greenwich Academy Portal.

BACK COVER Maddie Lane, Shaila Goel, Alexandra Lund, Sophie Redett Connections Magazine is published twice a year by the Communications Office.

In compiling this magazine, every effort has been made to ensure that it is accurate and complete. Please advise the Communications Office at 203.625.8926 if there are any errors or omissions.

F E AT U R E S

D E PA R T M E N TS

18 Commencement

02 Outlook Letter from Head of School

Class of 2016 grads encouraged to find what fascinates and inspires

03 Noteworthy Campus news

26 Portals

An immersive audio-visual experience that serves as both art installation and dynamic classroom

32 From the Archives Flying Solo 34 Field Notes Athletics roundup

30 At the Helm

Nina Hanlon takes the lead as Director of Admission and Financial Aid

40 Class Notes The latest news from our GA family

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Thomas Dunn, Chairman

Molly H. King, Ex Officio Susan Reynolds Lehman

Eileen Tang Parents Association President

Timothy Armstrong

Sonnet G. McKinnon

Francine Tramontano

Carlos Brito

Christian Meissner

Priya G. Trauber

Eunice J. Burnett

Tim van Biesen

Gretchen Carlson

Stephen Murray, Ex Officio

Hagar Hajjar Chemali ’99

Barnett D. Osman

Robert R. Wahl

Kirsten Dzialga

Joe Osnoss

Eric Zhenhong Guo

Craig W. Packer

Michael A. Hyman

Frederic B. Powers III

Alexander E. Jackson

Gregory T. Rogers

Victoria Redmond Williams ’94 Alumnae Association President

Marianne Cholnoky Kay ’75

Heather Johnson Sargent ’92

René M. Kern

Lauren Berkley Saunders ’92

Michael S. Schaftel

Janette C. R. van der Weijden

Correction, Spring 2016 issue, page 18: It was Lydia Ferris Lester ’26 who established GA’s alumnae association, not Joan Fisher Faulkner as mentioned in the article.

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O U T LO O K

GA Is Leading with Its Humanity

BY MOLLY KING, HEAD OF SCHOOL

OUR THEME at GA this year is citizenship, which

correlates not only with the national backdrop of an election year but also with the promotion of a valuesbased education characterized by our motto, Toward the Building of Character. Modeling positive citizenship for the GA girls is important. Are we engaged in our communities and seeking to make a difference?

How do we express our humanity toward others?

Many faculty members are actively engaged citizens on a national and global scale, and I’d like to highlight two whose work is significantly enhancing the Greenwich Academy experience.

As part of GA’s professional development program, Connie Blunden recently achieved certification at the University of Rhode Island Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. The focal point of the training is to teach the nonviolent principles of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ms. Blunden and 40 others worked diligently over the summer to learn methodologies that can enhance their work as community activists, educators, and organizational leaders. One of the participants currently serves as executive director of the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth & Reconciliation and was so impressed with Ms. Blunden that she invited her for additional training and collaboration in Selma.

Consider the impact that these experiences will have on Ms. Blunden’s U.S. History/Civil Rights class and the companion trip to major civil rights sites in the South. Now in its fourth year, her course has transformed her students’ perspectives about race, in particular. Educating our students to be informed, compassionate, empathetic, and engaged citizens should help our country to move forward.

On a global scale, we’re thrilled that another veteran faculty member, Kristen Erickson, is curating a remarkable installation that teaches our students about their role as global citizens.

Portals arrived on campus in September for three months, the culmination of discussions that began last year with alumna Carrie Denning ’04. Working at Shared Studios (sharedstudios.com), Carrie and

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her partners had just begun to promote the Portals art installation through partnerships with the Yale University Art Gallery, the United Nations, and Google, among others, and they were looking to pilot the installation with their first school. GA’s longstanding leadership in using technology to enhance the classroom experience made us a natural choice.

Portals provides participants the unique opportunity to interact with individuals across the globe. An immersive full-body experience, participants meet and communicate on an individual or small group basis in order to connect with each other on a deeply personal level and break down barriers of misunderstanding.

Several of us tested Portals when it was installed in New York City last year and were deeply moved by our discussions with a graduate student at the University of Herat in Afghanistan. Portal sites with which members of the GA community will interact will range from Herat to El Progreso, Honduras, to a UNICEF sponsored refugee camp in Erbil, Iraq. Ms. Erickson and a Portals team of faculty from all three divisions have been brainstorming classes and projectbased curricula that will feature Portal interactions over the course of the fall.

GA is leading with its humanity. Because we are ever mindful of our priority to build girls and young women of exceptional character, GA will continue to generate programmatic content and experiences that teach our students to be productive, informed, and compassionate citizens in school, their communities, their country, and their world. Onward! ■

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NOTEWORTHY

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Elizabeth Winston, Charlotte VanMoorsel

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“We want all students to understand engineering and design—and the processes and problem solving that go along with that—as a part of their everyday life, from the earliest age.”

Dr. Decker

Mackenzie Reynolds

Building a Brighter Future National Engineers Week Highlights Ongoing Curricular Initiatives The classrooms at Greenwich Academy are always abuzz with engineering and design initiatives, but the pace picked up from February 21 to 27, during National Engineers Week.

In honor of another special day within the week, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day on February 25, Director of STEM Initiatives Dr. Ann Decker staged a challenge for Upper School students: “Are you smarter than a fifth grader?” Group V students had recently completed an electronics unit where they explored electricity and circuits, and even experimented with coding software in order to assemble electronics and produce a specified outcome. Could Upper Schoolers measure up? A series of circuitry and electronics challenges were given to Upper School students, and those who matched the fifth graders’ accomplishments received small prizes as further enticement to enjoy this friendly competition.

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Also timed with National Engineers Week was the annual Group V Invention Convention, the culmination of several weeks of researching, designing, prototyping, and constructing inventions. Group V students described and detailed the thought processes behind their innovations at their individual booths. Many of the inventions were created using tools and equipment from the Engineering and Design Lab. The creations ranged from a locker organizer, to a wrist-cooling bracelet, to a rotating motorized hair dryer stand.

In the Lower School, engineering initiatives ranged from building parachutes (for an egg drop experiment), to learning about simple machines, to studying the mechanics of rockets. In Group IV, students designed and built wooden boxes, honing their confidence with various tools as they sawed, sanded, clamped, and filed during classes in the Engineering and Design Lab. Group VI continued work on their Whale Tail project, which included Skyping with whales and their trainers at Sea World; creating accurate animal models of the whale tails; and expanding them to scale.

Group VII dance students brought engineering to the stage for an electronics-inspired performance. They were able to trigger various sounds through dance by completing circuits they’d designed and then installed on the stage. This allowed the dancers to compose their music in real time, as they danced. In Group VIII, English classes built Shakespeare dioramas in the Engineering and Design Lab, with students also using 2D design software and the laser cutter to make stamps and leather books.

In the Upper School, engineering initiatives ranged from building functional lamps to large floor robots.

Students built Arduino-driven word clocks from scratch, which required them to read circuit diagrams, build and debug electronics, program microprocessors, and engage in both 2D and 3D CAD design and fabrication.

The Upper School students in the Art and Code class used Turtle Art Logo to generate designs for a silk screening project and used the same language to drive a drawing robot that can output their designs on paper.

National Engineers Week offered a snapshot of the larger, long-term engineering initiatives at Greenwich Academy. According to Dr. Decker, “We want all students to understand engineering and design—and the processes and problem solving that go along with that—as a part of their everyday life, from the earliest age. We introduce engineering to the students beginning in PC, and we call it engineering, and then give students the tools and opportunities to grow as engineers during their years at Greenwich Academy.”

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Famous Buildings Grant Global Passport to Group II Last year, Group II students traveled around the globe—from their classrooms. A GA Innovation Grant winner, the Famous Buildings Around the World project was designed to encourage students to build awareness as global citizens by exploring the world through iconic buildings.

To kick off the project, the students started close to home with a study of the Empire State Building.

“During our research the students took on the roles of architects, riveters, and others involved in the construction of the skyscraper in 1931,” teacher Paige Morley explained. “In addition, we built a puzzle model of the building, the girls created drawings in art, and they wrote about the building in various forms.”

The unit culminated with a field trip to the Empire State Building where the class went on a tour that included enjoying views from the observation deck on the 86th floor.

During the second semester, the project continued as the students prepared for a culminating event, the “Buildings Expo.” The students were assigned a variety of structures from all seven continents, chosen based on several factors including cultural or historical significance, architectural interest, or unique characteristics. “The students worked in pairs, and during the project groups shared photos, writing, artwork, and personal connections about their buildings with their classmates,” said teacher Fay Venetsanos.

The project included a robust list of requirements including research, design sketches, creating the building model, and preparing presentation notes for the expo. The finished projects, several of which towered nearly six feet tall, included the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House, the London Eye, and Chichen Itza.

Mrs. Morley shared, “We have created connections and have learned more about the world through our study of these noteworthy structures. This has been an incredible opportunity for students to view themselves as global citizens, and as teachers, it has been inspiring for Fay and me to create an exciting new curriculum that students will enjoy for years to come.”

Above: Dakota Barlow, Lucy Ryan Below: Karina Layman, Olivia Kaine

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VISITING AU T HOR L I SA G R A F F ON

IDEAS + INSPIRATION It’s safe to say that visiting author Lisa Graff was the first speaker ever to place a collection jar on the stage of Massey Theater. This, however, was no ordinary collection jar.

“I’m often asked where I get my ideas from,” Ms. Graff said. “I get them from all sorts of places, including the people I meet.” Ms. Graff, who is currently writing a book about a girl who lives in a treehouse, invited any students who were willing to contribute their ideas to the jar.

Despite the fact that Ms. Graff has published 10 children’s books, she didn’t always know that writing would be her life’s work. Growing up, she thought she wanted to be a doctor. However, in college, she discovered her passion for writing stories. She began to wonder if she could turn something she loved, writing, into a profession.

After pursuing a graduate degree in writing, she worked as an editor for many years before eventually writing and publishing her first book.

Today, Ms. Graff writes full time, “reading a lot, writing a lot, and rewriting a lot.” Initially, she did not expect the editing process to be such a significant component of her work. She simply felt that rewrites were “fixing the things I’d “Just messed up.” Students in the audience nodded in remember, agreement, as they have experienced this with their own writing assignments. Over time, Ms. no story Graff explained, she came to see rewriting as a has ever normal and important part of the process. She likened it to assembling a 10,000-piece puzzle, been explaining that you wouldn’t expect to lay out finished the puzzle pieces and have everything fall into place. “You may have too many puzzle pieces. after the You may have left some in the box. You may first draft.” have some of the pieces in the wrong place. Just remember, no story has ever been finished after Lisa Graff the first draft.”

Ms. Graff then shared her number one rule for being a good writer: Don’t be boring. Similes are one of her go-to devices for spicing things up, and she shared examples from a few of her favorite authors. She also projected prompts on the screen, and the girls crafted their own engaging similes.

With the closing of the assembly came the opportunity for the girls to contribute their own ideas to Ms. Graff’s collection jar. The girls gathered around the stage and quickly jotted down their ideas before heading back to class. Stay tuned for Ms. Graff’s next novel, as it just might include an idea from a GA girl!

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C E L E B R AT I N G

THE POWER

OF LANGUAGE This year’s Writers Fest, a Greenwich Academy tradition celebrating the power of language and expression through writing, featured educator Bryan Crandall, poet Jordan Windholz, and novelist Martha Southgate. Hosted by Greenwich Academy, Brunswick, and Sacred Heart on February 20, the event was attended by 32 students.

Greenwich Academy Upper School English teacher Jeff Schwartz opened the festival by evoking Heath Goldman ’09, who organized the inaugural Writers Fest in 2008.

“I love having live writers in the school, making it real, and having people who actually are in the writing community share their work, lives, and process with young writers,” said Mr. Schwartz, who serves as a faculty advisor for Daedalus, GA’s 27-year-old nationally acclaimed art and literary magazine.

Bryan Crandall, the director of the Connecticut Writing Project, launched the visiting writer introductions. Mr. Crandall recalled promoting student writing in coffeehouses, various publications, and 10-minute play festivals spanning the United States throughout his 22-year career as an educator. He explained that showcasing student writing prominently encourages other students to give writing a try and work on their own pieces. “Those of us in Western cultures with a privilege to write tend to be those afforded opportunities to ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ the world. It is a tremendous responsibility,” said Mr. Crandall.

Poet Jordan Windholz, a senior teaching fellow at Fordham University, read selections from his Vassar Miller Prize-winning Other Psalms, a poetry collection about faith.

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Meaningful Making GA Engineering & Design Curriculum Published by Stanford

“Most of writing feels like a kind of failure sometimes … but poetry has always been, for me, a way of knowing, of concretizing knowledge,” said Mr. Windholz.

Novelist Martha Southgate rounded out author introductions with a reading of The Fall of Rome, an acclaimed novel exploring race relations at an elite all-boys high school.

Ms. Southgate explained, “With writing, you can play around with taking things from your life somewhere else entirely. Often, you can get to the things that are the most important to you when you’re not yourself.”

Mr. Crandall’s subsequent playwriting workshop commenced with a question: What does a typical conversation sound like at your dinner table? From there, he initiated “pair shares,” then switched gears by having students act out humorous, nonsensical short plays.

Mr. Windholz’s poetry workshop scrutinized ekphrastic poetry, or a literary description of a visual work of art. After analyzing the works of Marianne Boruch, Frank O’Hara, and Melissa Range, Mr. Windholz promoted “the free play of language,” challenging young writers to metaphorically describe a Home Depot color strip by “using words like paint.”

Ms. Southgate’s fiction workshop focused on the transformation of personal experience into fiction: an emotional, but not actual, autobiography. “Think of an ordinary or typical moment in your life. Write that moment, but then write something you’d never really do. Taking some aspect of your experience and transforming it can be useful for fiction and a lot of other things in life,” said Ms. Southgate.

Writers Fest provided the students in attendance with the opportunity to hear from and explore different genres of writing as detailed by these authors, providing a unique insight into the process behind creating one’s own literary work.

—Katherine Du ’17

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Erin Riley, director of Greenwich Academy’s Engineering and Design Lab, can now add another title to her name: published author. Ms. Riley is a contributing writer to FabLearn’s 2016 publication Meaningful Making: Projects and Inspirations for Fab Labs and Makerspaces. As part of her role in the FabLearn Fellows program, created by Transformative Learning Technologies Laboratory within Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, Ms. Riley contributed several chapters to the book. She and her co-authors, also FabLearn Fellows, represent eight states and six countries.

Greenwich Academy students play a significant role in the book—and even grace its cover. “I am a big fan of our student work and feel inspired by their process and problem solving every day. I think what comes through is that they are very proud of the designs they produce— that their work carries a lot of meaning for them,” Ms. Riley explains. “As a result, the girls’ creative work is featured throughout the book. From the cover to the divider pages, the book is illustrated with images of the girls in action and their Engineering and Design and art objects.”

Ms. Riley’s chapters range from “Think Like an Architect, Draw Like an Engineer” (showcasing a Group VIII project involving Lego models, isometric drawing, and building plans) to “Story Architects: Reflection on an Integrated Project” (featuring an English class’s literature-inspired building models) to “The Power of Making What You Can Imagine” (describing students’ 2D and 3D approaches to prototyping iPhone amplifier designs).

In “What Do People Learn from Using Digital Fabrication Tools?”—and in fact in each one of her articles—Ms. Riley details the myriad skills and concepts at play every day in the Engineering and Design Lab. In addition to drilling, milling, etching, and cutting, students exercise skills in math and spatial reasoning; ordering, sequencing, and visualizing; vector design; programming; architectural drawing; joinery; 2D and 3D design; laser technology; and circuitry.

“I worked closely on the Digital Fabrication Tools article with my Stanford mentor, Sylvia Martinez,” says Ms. Riley.

“To analyze the digital fabrication processes and identify the connections between creating and learning and expressing it in non-academic language was a challenge. The article builds the case of making in schools, and it’s easily accessible to all educators.”

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Raw Footage A DYNAMIC PORTRAYAL OF A DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY Raw Footage, a dark comedy written by Laurel Haines, debuted last winter at Greenwich Academy’s Massey Theater. Our cast of seven GA and Brunswick students portrayed Haines’s pragmatic and unromantic characters. Mrs. Haines and our director Brian Borowka are old friends, and she wrote Raw Footage while they attended graduate school together.

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Mrs. Haines’s story develops as Christopher, a young documentary filmmaker (played by Sean Redahan ’18), struggles to make a film about the dysfunctional family of a comatose girl, Jamie (Sam Sarelli ’19). Overwhelmed by medical bills and unemployment, the family fractures under multiple psychological stressors.

Christopher is pressured to deviate from his journalistic ideals and works with the family to produce “film-worthy” material. They resort to soap opera scripting, and seemingly impossible bonds form as they fabricate scenes for the video camera.

Raw Footage was a fascinating yet challenging script to bring to life. The dialogue was humorous and brooding, playful and reflective. Moreover, every character was multidimensional, making their portrayal more difficult as well as interesting for the audience.

As actors, we stretched our abilities to appear comical, without foregoing the realism of our characters’ pathos.

I played Jamie’s mother, Sharon, who is an emotional tornado.

She alternates between her frazzled working self, her aggressive mother-of-a-teenager personality, and her melodramatic soap-actress

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N OT E WO R T H Y Sean Redahan, Sam Sarelli (lying down), Heather Bienstock (standing), Rashelle Ibrahim, Gallant Zhuangli, Quinn Murphy

See more photos at greenwichacademy.org.

persona. During rehearsals, I struggled to differentiate Sharon’s poor soap acting from her routine hysterics.

As a point of reference, Mr. Borowka suggested I watch the film Soapdish, directed by Michael Hoffman in 1991.

This movie (absolutely hilarious!) tells the offstage stories of a daytime drama cast. Sally Field’s lead-role comedic choices definitely helped prepare me for my role as Sharon. For example, I learned how to specifically exaggerate facial expressions to enliven Sharon’s fake soap acting, in contrast to her otherwise “real” mannerisms.

Every one of my Raw Footage co-stars tackled the difficult cast of characters with admirable zest.

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Redahan mastered Christopher’s development as a filmmaker, progressing rapidly from naïve amateur to ruthless professional. Rashelle Ibrahim ’18 added immeasurable warmth to Cissy, Jamie’s pill-popping nurse, with goofy lines such as, “Mentally incompetent my pinky, I am fit to serve!” All the while, Sarelli played Jamie with commendable grace, perfectly unconscious on the center-stage couch for all of each performance.

Raw Footage is an absurd story that resonates with the audience because it juxtaposes contrasting ideas such as the qualities of life and television.

One considers: What is real? What is authentic or crafted about on-screen

programming? I think we did the script justice as, on show nights, our audience laughed at all the right moments. In addition, when the curtain fell, they asked all the right questions about the ethics of filmmaking, soap operas, and overcoming financial hardship.

The cast and crew’s journey to show night was wonderful. On-stage, we played a conflict-ridden household, but off-stage, we bonded like a family. In December, we struggled with our roles, but with Mr. Borowka’s guidance, we grasped our characters and became a smooth-running ensemble by February’s end. So, here’s to Raw Footage—a tremendous cast and terrific show all around! —Gallant Zhuangli ’16 9

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Q Lasley, Harper Ashby, Juliette Winkler

G R A N T AWA R D

Butterflies Take Wing In February, Greenwich Academy was awarded a grant for the Schoolyard Pollinator Project through the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the Lego Community Fund, and the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. The purpose of the award grant is to support STEM learning and to protect and enhance monarch and other pollinator habitats on school grounds.

Over the past two decades, the number of monarch butterflies in the United States has declined drastically from 1.3 billion to 50 million—a 96% decrease. Much of the loss has been due to the disappearance of native milkweed plants from the butterfly’s migration routes. This startling decrease in the number of monarch butterflies directly affects various plant species and dramatically weakens ecosystems.

Pre-Connecting class teacher Audrey Esmond is leading our Schoolyard Pollinator Project, which will focus on growing and preserving monarch habitats and engaging students in the process. “The outdoors is a classroom for learning,” she said.

“This is also about encouraging the children to form a more reverent relationship with nature.” By involving students in the process of preserving the monarch butterflies’ habitat, they can learn about the impact of the environment on this species. Mrs. Esmond participated in a daylong professional development session that includes curriculum training in preparation for the project’s implementation.

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The habitat garden has been planted along the perimeter of the PC-CC playground, an area that receives the sunlight and water necessary to create an attractive environment for the butterflies to come and lay eggs. Mrs. Esmond explained, “Right now the goal is to have just one monarch lay her eggs in the garden! Bigger projects include replacing invasive plant species with native ones and expanding the garden to include the perimeter of the turf field.” In addition to the outdoor work, the PC and CC girls learned about butterflies in their science classes, so building a habitat for monarch butterflies was the perfect way to build upon what they have already learned.

Along with Mrs. Esmond, the GA facilities staff, US science teacher Charlie Alt, PC-CC science teacher Kelly Fischetti, and GA parent Patrick McIntyre (who supplied the plants) are all heavily involved in the project. This past school year, the Upper School AP Environmental Science class came to Ridgeview Campus to help work on the garden with the PC and CC girls.

The Middle School Latin classes worked with Erin Riley, the Jane and Alexander Jackson Director of the Engineering and Design Lab, to make botanical signs in Latin for the garden. These joint efforts with other classes and divisions are only beginning to unlock the potential of this project for Greenwich Academy as a school.

Mrs. Esmond also elaborated on GA receiving bronze/silver status as an ecoschool from the NWF: “The next step is to work with the Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program in order to continue to cultivate and expand the Monarch habitat. This is definitely not a short-term project. This is the kind of project that will continue to grow for future classes of GA girls yet to come.”— Anisha Laumas ’19

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CAPTIVATED BY THE

SPOKEN WORD It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.

And performance poet Sarah Kay proved this point with captivating performances of her original poems during her February 25 visit to GA. Still in her 20s, Ms. Kay is one of the rising stars of the performance poetry movement and the founder and co-director of Project VOICE, which introduces spoken word poetry to schools.

Traditionally, poetry has been a form of the written word. However, in the past decade, a genre of poetry has emerged that is written for the sole purpose of being performed on a stage in front of a listening audience. Ms. Kay is especially well known for her TED Talk, “B (If I should have a daughter)” which has been viewed nearly nine million times since it was originally posted in 2011.

Once on stage in Massey, Ms. Kay talked about her life and family, focusing on her relationship with her younger brother whom she described as her “polar opposite but close.” In the midst of describing their differences and their relationship, she slipped into a poem. In a soliloquy of sorts, she conveyed her love and admiration for her brother, poked fun at his quirks, and hinted at typical sibling squabbles. Students in the audience were captivated; from the tone of her voice to her body language, Ms. Kay had a commanding presence on stage.

The remainder of her presentation shifted between discussion and performance on topics including her relationship with her parents, growing up in NYC, and the adjustment to spending time in the suburbs. In a theater full of young women, her performance of the poem “B (If I should have a daughter)” was especially moving as she described her hopes, dreams, and advice for the daughter she might one day have. The audience was in stitches during a poem about her first encounter with a raccoon, which she mistook for a magic cat.

While many of her pieces are rooted in her own experiences, she also shared a poem, “Toothbrush to the Bicycle Tire”—her musings on the Romeo and Juliet-type relationship that could exist between a bicycle tire and the toothbrush used to clean it.

In addition to speaking at Middle and Upper School assemblies, Ms. Kay also conducted a workshop with a small group of Upper School students, diving deeper into the process of writing and presenting performance poetry.

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“I’m going to paint the solar system on the back of her hands so that she has to learn the entire universe before she can say ‘Oh, I know that like the back of my hand.’”

From the poem “B (If I Should Have a Daughter)”

by Sarah Kay

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Spring Party QUIZ NIGHT, the theme for the biennial Spring Party, was a fun-filled evening that brought the GA community together to benefit financial aid programs. Event co-chairs Suzanne Cabot and Susan Tejpaul created a truly distinctive event that fostered friendly competition among teams and lots of laughs led by the emcee, comedian Christian Finnegan.

The event was held in Raether Athletic Center, which was transformed into a luxurious lounge complete with sofas, armchairs, and coffee tables—ensconcing each team in comfort.

Over refreshments and beverages, the teams tackled the trivia questions customized exclusively for the Greenwich Academy community. Quiz Night was a high-energy, competitive, and socially engaging evening that was enjoyed by all.

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WINTER WARMER SHEDS LIGHT ON WORRY WOES

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Mary Duty, Tim Morris, Suzanne Cabot, Susan Tejpaul, Molly King Kelly Corroon, Jenn Burraway, Jane Jackson Marvin and Evelyn Batres, Dr. Art Jenkins Michael Hyman, Jennifer Grant-Hyman Lin and Michael Liu Renee and Jim Farrell Giorgio and Mariella Cuccolo

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This year’s Winter Warmer brought parents together to learn more about the number one mental health disorder in the U.S.—anxiety.

Featured speaker Lynn Lyons is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults and children. She is also the co-author of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous & Independent Children.

Ms. Lyons’ engaging presentation focused on breaking the generational cycle of worry and techniques we can use to help our children tackle anxieties head-on. Ms. Lyons explained that the tendency to worry may have a genetic component, but it can also be learned. In other words, a worried parent can create a worried child simply by exhibiting behaviors that reflect their anxieties. “Pay attention to what you are modeling. What you say matters,” she said.

Ms. Lyons also explained, “Anxiety demands certainty and comfort.” As parents, it is tempting to address the situation prompting anxiety in our children. She advised that rather than helping children address an anxiety-provoking situation, or the content of their worry, parents should help children change the process of their worry. For an anxious child, the content of their worry will change over time, but the process will not.

While one in eight children in the U.S. has a diagnosable anxiety disorder, Ms. Lyons was clear that parents can have a positive impact on managing and reversing their children’s tendency to worry. “The good news here,” she said, “is intervention works.” By teaching a child how to constructively manage anxiety, parents are helping their children make changes that will have a long-term positive impact on their lives.

Ms. Lyons recommends seven steps to achieving this: expect to worry, acknowledge the worry when it is present, face uncertain and uncomfortable situations on purpose as a way of moving forward, breathe to help relax and aid mind/body connection, know what you want to achieve, take action on your plan, and reflect on prior successes. With support from and positive role modeling by parents, these seven steps have proven to ease anxiety and help children (and adults) mitigate their daily stresses.

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SP R I N G F EST 2 016

“The spring concert is always exciting because by the second half of the year, the company has really learned how to work together, communicate, and feed off each other’s energy.”

Phoebe Bloom

See more photos at greenwichacademy.org.

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Daniella Lazarus, Tiffany Rodriguez, Paige Harty, Natasha Recoder, Kelsey Krantz, Katie Morena, Darren Drittel, Olivia Winn, Phoebe Bloom, Amy Cass (hidden)

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The End of the Beginning This April, I performed in my last Dance Corps show, entitled “Ready or Not.” The title was fitting for this show in particular, as it was also the name of the opening number.

Decked out in camouflage cargo pants, the 18-member dance group transformed itself into a pack of warriors, captivating the audience’s attention with powerful and high-intensity choreography. “Ready or Not” was also an appropriate title because it reflected the feelings of the 11 graduating seniors. This concert marked the end of the seniors’ GA dance careers, and it was very difficult to say goodbye to this aspect of our GA experience. We have dedicated much of our time to dance while developing close bonds with the other dancers and our faculty advisors, Marcia Brooks and Annie Heinemann. None of us really felt ready to leave the GA dance program.

The show included four facultychoreographed pieces, three solos, and 13 student-choreographed numbers.

Each piece was different from the next, requiring different lighting and costume designs. The sets and dances portrayed concepts including coming of age, Hollywood corruption, and modern-day technology. We were so fortunate to have Andrew Sakaguchi return as our guest choreographer, bringing with him the Fosse style of choreography.

Vital to the success of this show was the bond between the faculty advisors and dancers. Dance Corps Co-President Phoebe Bloom commented, “The spring concert is always exciting because by the second half of the year, the company has really learned how to work together, communicate, and feed off each other’s energy. ‘Ready or Not,’ in particular, was truly a companydriven concert.” This last performance was bittersweet for me, as it was filled with mixed emotions about leaving GA’s Dance Corps behind. Thinking back to the level of commitment and professionalism that was essential to this performance, we are ready to move on despite our refusal to believe it.

—Darren Drittel ’16

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N OT E WO R T H Y

Girls Making GAIN(S) Access to Unique Opportunities

From April 3–5, 16 GA students, along with students from 24 other public and independent schools, came together for the second annual Girls Advancing in STEM (GAINS) Conference. Held in partnership with Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the event drew students from schools in Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico and Connecticut.

The GAINS Network was founded in 2011 as an online network connecting GA girls and alumnae interested in STEM fields with women working in these fields. In 2013 this social network was opened up to include select girls’ schools from across the country. Last year, the network was extended from the online realm to a conference held at MIT’s Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

Dr. Ann Decker, GA’s director of the Duff Center for STEM Initiatives, said of the conference: “Our attendees were immersed in a highly engaging and intellectual environ“Where ment. They learned about a breadth else could of STEM professions, met women who are leaders in their fields, and felt a junior in a sense of community that they will high school carry with them well beyond the close meet a Duke of the conference.” As a GA student attendees, we accomplished that and University much more during the three-day event.

On the afternoon of April 3rd, vascular we arrived at the Carolina Inn located surgeon?” on the UNC campus. We dropped our bags and eagerly prepared for Anna Sargeantson ’17 the meticulously planned evening at Duke’s Nasher Museum of Art. The evening began with a keynote address by Dr. Valerie Ashby, dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. Following Dr. Ashby’s engaging presentation, we enjoyed dinner accompanied by electronic building blocks called littleBits. The students and faculty advisors collaborated to build a working circuit using the littleBits at their table.

The following days began early with breakfast followed by a series of breakout sessions in which students were able to meet in smaller groups with

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GAINS Conference attendees

professors and researchers, and tour the STEM facilities at Duke and UNC at Chapel Hill. Tour options ranged from an eco-friendly, sustainable SmartHouse to a hyperbaric chamber. Breakout sessions were followed by technical talks in the afternoon. Professors led these subject-focused sessions and explained their ongoing research in areas such as math, biology, and chemistry. Students were able to select the sessions that interested them from myriad options prior to the conference, which allowed us to craft our own unique experience.

Ese Bowry ’18 said, “My favorite part of the GAINS conference was the career mixer because I got to meet an electrical engineer, and she gave me some really good advice on my possible career choices.” The GAINS Conference gave us access to scientists and researchers whom we would never otherwise have the opportunity to meet. Where else could a junior in high school meet a Duke University vascular surgeon? But more importantly, where else could a junior in high school have a lengthy conversation discussing the pros and cons of surgery as a field of occupation with an established and practicing surgeon?

Lindsey Pitts ’17 added, “The most interesting thing I learned was how interconnected the different fields of science are, and how often people in different fields collaborate.” One would definitely be hard-pressed to find the unique opportunities and experiences that the students were exposed to at the GAINS Conference.

The GAINS Conference provided all of the students in attendance an inside view of the daily experiences of professionals in STEM fields. —Anna Sargeantson ’17 The 2016 GAINS Conference was made possible by the generosity of sponsors Greenwich Academy, Tim and Nancy Armstrong, and the Edward E. Ford Foundation; and with the support of program partners Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Morehead Planetarium & Science Center, the Pratt School of Engineering, AOL, MAKERS, and the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools.

GREENWICH ACADEMY CONNECTIONS

VISIT US AT THE

Career Resource Center

IT’S … A WEBSITE, A PROCESS, PEOPLE, A NETWORK The Career Resource Center connects juniors, seniors, and alumnae with a vast network of GA community members for career networking, information, guidance, and placement.

G E T CO N N E C T E D : WWW.GREENWICHACADEMY.ORG/CRC OR CONTACT: The Alumnae Office at crc@greenwichacademy.org

Claudia Portugal, Estelle Girshow

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BY LIZZIE SANDS ’16

Once Always

ONCE A GA GIRL, ALWAYS A GA GIRL The Class of 2016 had been counting down the days until graduation day, May 19, with nervous excitement since the first day of senior year. However, graduation always seemed very far away. When the day finally arrived, we were all shocked by the realization that it was finally our turn to process into the graduation tent, as we traded our red senior polo shirts for white graduation dresses. Each of us anticipated this event from our very first day as a GA girl, whether that day was 14 years ago or just three.

In the weeks leading up to graduation, I had many conversations with my classmates about our roles in previous GA commencement ceremonies. We shared fond memories, such as singing the flower songs in Group VII and VIII and “Jerusalem” in high school.

Personally, my favorite graduation memory was being a flower girl when I was in Lower School. I remember eating lunch with my assigned senior and marveling at the fact that her time as a GA girl was almost over. She had taken every test and written every essay that she would write in high school. She had been to high school dances, sports events, and theater productions. She had done it all. I remember feeling envious of this girl who

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had conquered the challenges of high school. This year, while having lunch with my own flower girl, I found myself feeling envious of her, as she has many wonderful years ahead of her at 200 North Maple Avenue.

The days before graduation were full of lasts for us— the last time we ate lunch in the cafeteria, the last time we checked in with Mrs. Tarrant at the front desk, the last time we walked the path. These small moments became very significant as graduation grew closer and we reflected on our overall GA experiences.

With many fond memories of past graduations, our class had high expectations for our own special day.

On one of the most beautiful spring afternoons, friends,

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family, and faculty gathered to celebrate the many accomplishments of the Class of 2016. After opening remarks from Chairman of the Board Tim Morris, Head of School Molly King addressed the graduates and the audience. In remembering the class’s many acts of generosity and kindness, she spoke of the first day of school when our senior class decorated the high school and put candy out for all of the underclassmen. She commended the class on its impressive work ethic and strong character, and congratulated the class on truly living up to this year’s slogan, “All in.”

After Mrs. King concluded her remarks, Caroline Dunn, the valedictorian of our class, introduced the commencement speaker, Paula Kerger, who is the president and CEO of PBS. She recognized our class’s unique interests and diverse talents. Among the 79 graduates, there are girls who started clubs and teams, award-winning writers and artists, and nationally ranked athletes.

Ms. Kerger advised us to find what fascinates and inspires us, and to pursue these interests with the goal of making a difference in others’ lives. She told us to take time to appreciate our own journey, rather than simply focus on the destination.

Kate Connors, the class-elected speaker, reflected on our class’s journey as Greenwich Academy students.

Kate’s sense of humor, intelligence, and love for our class was extremely touching. After Kate’s speech, the flower girls processed into the tent with bouquets for the new graduates, while Groups VII and VIII sang the beloved flower songs.

It’s hard to imagine not being a GA student next year. I will miss our Monday morning meetings, Mrs. Tarrant’s enthusiastic emails announcing upcoming civvies days, as well as the all-school assemblies like Mumming, Ingathering, and Charter Day. However, I am so excited to see what the future holds for the Class of 2016. Although graduation was bittersweet, I leave GA with much certainty that our class will accomplish amazing things, and I am so lucky to have been part of such a talented, passionate, and caring group of girls. ■ 1 Valedictorian Caroline Dunn 2 Head of School Molly King, Lizzie Sands, Tom Sullivan 3 Alex Elam 4 Isabelle Ezratty, Caroline Sorensen 5 Phoebe Bloom, Olivia Quinton, Olivia Winn, Annie Harris, Sarah Gold, Katie Morena, Ellie Garland, Meg Apostolides 6 Lena Mersereau, Phoebe Morris, Adele Whitmyer, Molly King, Annie Harris, Allegra Milani, Annie Klein, Lizzie Sands 7 Kyla Hodges, Julia Song 8 Charlotte Winkler, Alina Maki 9 Kate Connors 10 Kristy Keil 11 Emma Duty, Paige Harty, Megan Bugniazet 12 Head of Upper School Tom Sullivan, PBS CEO Paula Kerger, Chairman of the Board Tim Morris, Head of School Molly King

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GREENWICH ACADEMY CONNECTIONS

COMMENCEMENT

CLASS OF 2016 6

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MAT RICULATIO N Meg Apostolides College of the Holy Cross

Isabelle Ezratty University of Virginia

Francesca Narea Santa Clara University

Jadesola Ariyibi Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Jenna Finkelstein Amherst College

Avery Pierce Stanford University

Jordan Fischetti Gettysburg College

Claudia Portugal Williams College

Ellie Garland Yale University

Heather Powis Queen’s University

Alyssa Gerasimoff Rhode Island School of Design

Serena Profaci University of Virginia

Maggie Basta Harvard College Olivia Bastianich Boston College Alexa Beeson Washington University in St. Louis Seton Beitler University of St. Andrews Phoebe Bloom Williams College Remi Bohbot Wake Forest University Domenica Borja Emory University

Estelle Girshow Boston University

Olivia Quinton Washington University in St. Louis

Sarah Gold University of Pennsylvania

Alexis Raskin Lehigh University

Annie Harris Colgate University

Tasha Recoder Washington University in St. Louis

Paige Harty University of Richmond

Brynn Ressa Colgate University

Megan Bugniazet Bucknell University

Georgina Hickey Southern Methodist University

Lucy Burnett Duke University

Kyla Hodges Temple University

Tiffany Rodriguez Elon University

Bella Cartularo Emerson College

Oluchi Ihionu Boston University

Lizzie Sands Bowdoin College

Hannah Casey Middlebury College

Charlie Johnson Georgetown University

Amy Cass Princeton University

Annie Klein University of Virginia

Jordan Smith Washington University in St. Louis

Liz Chicas Universidad de Navarra

Kelsey Krantz Carleton College

Isabella Chung Princeton University

Daniella Lazarus Boston University

Chapin Clark Cornell University

Olivia LeSueur Princeton University

Kate Connors University of Chicago

Anushya Makam University of Pennsylvania

Paloma Corrigan Parsons School of Design

Alina Maki Carleton College

Reagan Cowin Washington University in St. Louis

Lena Mersereau Claremont McKenna College

Liza Daniels Davidson College

Allegra Milani New York University

Charlotte Winkler Yale University

Kate DeFrino Colorado College

Lexi Milunovich Harvard College

Olivia Winn Northwestern University

Alessandra DeLucia University of Miami

Katie Morena Colby College

Hannah Wolfson Indiana University

Darren Drittel University of Michigan

Phoebe Morris Wheaton College (Illinois)

Jessica Yacobucci Yale University

Caroline Dunn Stanford University

Sarah Morris Lafayette College

Gallant Zhuangli Barnard College

Emma Duty Hampshire College

Ali Mothner Brown University

Alex Elam Tulane University

Alexa Murray University of Pennsylvania

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Kathleen Reynolds University of Pennsylvania

Julia Song Colby College Morgan Sorbaro Dartmouth College Caroline Sorensen University of Richmond Annika Tallis University of Virginia Tati Viola Boston College Juliann Whitman Syracuse University Adele Whitmyer Santa Clara University

Top to bottom: Jordan Fischetti, Annie Harris Liz Chicas, Remi Bohbot, Connie Blunden, Phoebe Morris Daniella Lazarus, Oluchi Ihionu

GREENWICH ACADEMY CONNECTIONS

COMMENCEMENT

Cum Laude Inducts Nine Ceremony Recognizes Fellowship of Scholars

Sarah Holzschuh

Her love of literature brought her back to Greenwich Academy as an English teacher, where she continues to make a life of reading the words of “other, smarter people”— and in turn makes smarter people of her colleagues and students alike.

On Sarah Holzschuh, English Teacher and Cum Laude Ceremony speaker

Front: Molly King, Charlotte Winkler, Alina Maki, Lizzie Sands, Serena Profaci, Morgan Sorbaro, Phoebe Bloom, Claudia Portugal, Olivia Winn, Jim Fout Back: Sarah Holzschuh, Alexa Murray, Caroline Dunn, Kathleen Reynolds, Alexa Beeson, Jordan Smith, Amy Cass, Ellie Garland, Tom Sullivan

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The Upper School—and some proud parents—gathered on Tuesday, March 1, for the annual Cum Laude induction ceremony. Greenwich Academy’s Cum Laude chapter, founded in 1977, recognizes scholars in the top 20% of the class. The seven members of the Class of 2016 who were inducted last spring returned to the stage in Massey Theater, and the names of nine additional seniors were read as they received their certificates to great applause. Dr. Jim Fout, Upper School science and history teacher and secretary of GA’s Cum Laude chapter, welcomed the new members to this “fellowship of scholars” and charged them with the “honor and responsibility” of becoming lifelong learners.

Dr. Fout introduced colleague and alumna Sarah Holzschuh, and shared teachers’ remembrances of Ms. Holzschuh from her Middle and Upper School years at Greenwich Academy. Ms. Holzschuh, Class of 2006 and current Upper School English teacher and director of community service, then delivered the Cum Laude speech, upholding the tradition of having a 10-year alumna address the gathered assembly.

Ms. Holzschuh spoke of her own career path after graduating from Georgetown, one that involved a glamorous public relations job in New York City—which left her miserable. With a refrain of seeking out the words of “other, smarter people,” she described a life of “leaning on literature”—and the comfort and guidance it provides her—as she quoted from the works of T.S. Eliot, Mary Oliver, Adrienne Rich, Ellen Bass and Jay Z, among others. She eventually gave herself permission to start over, and her love of literature brought her back to Greenwich Academy as an English teacher, where she continues to make a life of reading the words of “other, smarter people”—and in turn makes smarter people of her colleagues and students alike.

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Awards SENIOR ACADEMIC AWARDS ENGLISH Anna Phillips Bolling Award Ellie Garland Holly Lowell Richards Award Gallant Zhuangli Ruth West Campbell Award Serena Profaci Olivia Winn Senior Essay Award Amy Cass HISTORY Diane W. Darst Art History Award Caroline Dunn Williamson Award Jordan Fischetti MATHEMATICS Greenwich Academy Mathematics Award Kathleen Reynolds Leo J. Whelton Award Sarah Gold Mathematics Faculty Award Daniella Lazarus Remi Bohbot MATHEMATICS/SCIENCE Computer Science Award Morgan Sorbaro Elizabeth Mims Couch ’34 Award Caroline Dunn SCIENCE Life Science Award Charlotte Winkler Science Department Award Tasha Recoder WORLD LANGUAGES Alliance Française Scholarship Ellie Garland Ambrose Latin Award Annika Tallis Chinese Language Award Caroline Sorensen

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Italian Language Award Olivia Bastianich

Shakespeare Award Sarah Gold

Nolan Spanish Award Annie Klein

MUSIC Deborah Boldon O’Brien Award Reagan Cowin

Patterson French Award Lizzie Sands

ACA D E M I C AC H I E V E M E N T & C H A RAC T E R AWAR DS Alexander A. Uhle Award Gallant Zhuangli Ethelwyn L. Finch Award Lizzie Sands Greenwich Academy Faculty Award Caroline Dunn Greenwich Academy Parents Association Award Kate Connors Daniella Lazarus Charlotte Winkler Jean Holzworth ’32 and Elizabeth Holzworth ’33 Award Caroline Dunn

VISUAL ARTS Design Award Paloma Corrigan

Visual Arts Award Phoebe Morris

HISTORY Columbia University Book Award Devon Mifflin Erinn Goldman

MATHEMATICS Greenwich Academy Mathematics Award Erika Kraus Lily Bloom

Susan B. Smart Award Charlie Johnson Phoebe Morris

Daedalus Award Ellie Garland Lucy Burnett

SCIENCE Outstanding First-Year Chemistry Student Award Megan DeMott Emily Fiorentino

DRAMA Christina W. Kelley Award Bella Cartularo Marian W. Edwards Award Gallant Zhuangli

Physical Science Award Nicole Windreich WORLD LANGUAGES Alliance Française Deuxième Prix Erika Kraus Arabic Language Award Samia Khatib

Karina Schulze

Sally Noble Award Alyssa Gerasimoff

Chinese Language Award Parker Murphy French Language Award Susana Vik Italian Language Award Natalie Threadgill

Peloubet-Knopp Award Darren Drittel Sally Gillespie Award Olivia Winn

Leo J. Whelton Award Katherine Du Mathematics Faculty Award Whitney Elmlinger

Daedalus Art Editor Award Olivia Quinton Paloma Corrigan GAP Journalism Award Seton Beitler Gallant Zhuangli

Wall Award Olivia Ferraro William Phillips Award Jane Watson

FAA Scholar Athlete Alexa Murray Rose Herbert Award Meg Apostolides

ENGLISH Beattie Kosh Award Erinn Goldman Elizabeth Winkler Brown University Award Maddy Howe

AT H L E T I C AWA R DS

Patsy G. Howard Community Service Award Allegra Milani Daniella Lazarus Ali Mothner

DANCE Meryl Green Award Phoebe Bloom

Grace Ryan

New Media Award Lucy Burnett

P U B L I CAT I O N AWA R DS

AR TS AWAR DS

ACA D E M I C AWA R DS

Drawing Award Olivia Quinton

Katherine Hewitt Award Lizzie Sands

Shirley Weadock Tawse Award Phoebe Morris

U N DE RC L ASS M EN

Elizabeth Winkler

Captions Seniors left to right: Erin Riley, Paloma Corrigan, Sherry Tamalonis, Patrick Dwyer, Alexa Murray, Jamie Brower, Reed Minor, Amy Cass, Jeff Schwartz, Ellie Garland

GREENWICH ACADEMY CONNECTIONS

MUSIC Dorothy Dakin Pine Award Jane Watson

Latin Award Gabi Guzman Spanish Language Award Nicole Hessler ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Duke University Award Katherine Du

Greenwich Academy Instrumental Music Award Nicole Hessler Devon Mifflin

Princeton University Award Jane Watson

VISUAL ARTS 3D Design Award Amelia Riegel

Smith College Award Anisha Laumas Cum Laude Inductees Katherine Du, Whitney Elmlinger, Olivia Ferraro, Erinn Goldman, Nicole Hessler, Katie Miao, Renee Ong, Nicole Windreich

Design Award Graiden Berger Katherine Du

New Media Award Emily Fiorentino Parker Murphy

Kotsbar Award Alice Hudson Melissa Dee Holland Award Lily Bloom Whitmore Award Morgan Doherty Parker Murphy

Samia Khatib

Yale College Book Award Emily Fiorentino

A RTS AWARDS DANCE Suzanne Renault Award Tia Thevenin

Drawing Award Renee Ong Greenwich Arts Council Award Jo DeWaal

CHARACTER Harvard Book Award Erinn Goldman Katherine Zierleyn Award Grace Ryan

Greenwich Academy Vocal Award Emily Fiorentino

Visual Arts Award Devon Mifflin

DRAMA Susan Zedar Award Aimee Booth

Alliance Franรงaise Award Emily Fernandez Corinne Kelley Science Award Eliza Bowman Gertrude Griffith White Award Julia Sulkowski

AT H L E T I C AWA R DS

Heather Walder Award for History Hanna Tulchinsky

Alan Gilchrist Award Karina Schulze

Mandarin Award Emma Carney

Mildred Boyd Schoeller Award Meghan Keating

Marion Kingsley Award for Latin Maddy Singleton

P U B L I CAT I O N AWA R DS

Nicholas Kulukundis Award for Math Sophia Klein

GAP Journalism Award Morgan Doherty Jane Watson

MI DDL E S C H O O L

Sally Noble Award Katherine Du

Front: Emily Fernandez, Emma Carney, Hanna Tulchinsky, Sutton Mock, Laurel Pitts Back: Sophia Klein, Maddy Singleton, Maya Walker, Holland Ferguson, Eliza Bowman

Martha S. Rhodes English Award Laurel Pitts

Performing Arts Award Holland Ferguson Roberta McLeod Figuet Award for French Emily Fernandez Spanish Award Maya Walker

Morgan Doherty

ter Meulen Award for the Highest GPA Hanna Tulchinsky Visual Arts Award Sutton Mock

Captions Seniors left to right: Carolyn Hyman, Tasha Recoder, Kristin Gannon, Caroline Dunn, Kendra Weeks, Tom Sullivan, Allegra Milani, Sarah Holzschuh, Ali Mothner, Daniella Lazarus

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Wendy Emeny Award Ava Darrin, Cole Mersereau

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BY KR I ST E N E R I C KS ON

PORTALS PROJECT CREATES GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

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GREENWICH ACADEMY CONNECTIONS

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Front: Noey Johnson; Sitting: Gabi Henry, Lyana Calyanis, Caroline Cowin, Maddie Wise, Gigi Jones, Lily Sorensen, Eloise Osman; Standing: Hutton Saunders

isitors to Greenwich Academy this fall will be surprised to discover a large, gold shipping container positioned next to the historic Ruth West Campbell Building. While it looks like a shiny railroad boxcar, the GA Portal is actually a dynamic learning space, part of a global network of similar structures connected through a live audio-visual feed. The Portals Project is a creation of the multidisciplinary arts, design, and technology collective Shared_Studios, and Greenwich Academy is the first school in the United States to host a Portal.

In the words of Shared_Studios founder Amar Bakshi, Portals are “wormholes” through the world.

Since its opening, the GA Portal has been linked to an arts center in Kigali, Rwanda; a camp for displaced Iraqis located in the Kurdistan Region; a school in El Progreso, Honduras; and a community center in downtown Milwaukee. A traditional Portal visit lasts for 20 minutes and begins with a universal prompt: “What would make today a good day for you?” GA teachers have elaborated on this approach and developed lesson plans that utilize the Portal in class discussions, writing projects, dance and music performances, and artistic collaborations across disciplines and ages.

The power of Portals lies in the immediacy of the connection and the simplicity of the medium.

Visitors stand in a gray, carpeted interior that eliminates external context, creating a sense of being in

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the same room with someone who is actually thousands of miles away. Portal visitors stand face to face and engage with one another with a heightened awareness of nonverbal cues, such as hand gestures, facial expressions, and stance. In this era of constant technological chatter, the Portal experience can be somewhat uncomfortable at first because it is so direct and sustained. However, after 20 minutes, visitors feel incredibly connected and even emotional about the Portal experience.

Our Portal partners in Erbil, Iraq, were forced from their homes in Mosul when ISIS took over the region in 2014. The many children in the UNICEF displaced persons camp hosting the Portal are eager to meet other children. Fifth grade history teacher Sarah Popescu looks forward to connecting her students with Erbil. She plans to discuss the historical importance of key resources like water in early Mesopotamia and relate her Portal visits to five geographical themes—location, place, movement, region, and human-environment. As ISIS has gained power by controlling water and oil, Upper School teachers Nathan Kress and Lulu Sandes can dig deeper into issues like resource scarcity, as well as religious and ethnic tensions and civil war in the Middle East,

GREENWICH ACADEMY CONNECTIONS

The GA Portal is open from September 15 to December 15 by appointment.

For more information visit www.greenwichacademy.org/GAportal or contact portal curator Kristen Erickson, kerickson@greenwichacademy.org.

Portals insist we pay greater attention to those we meet in another world, and as we learn about a foreign culture, we ultimately learn more about ourselves. as part of their AP Comparative Government and AP World History classes.

Our connection with Honduras opens on that country’s Independence Day and coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month, which is widely celebrated in all of our divisions. Working with Honduras and Mexico, Spanish teachers Heather Way and Tancee BrodeurSassi plan to run class discussions in the target language and emphasize greater geographical and cultural awareness in their lessons. At a time when politicians are calling for stricter border controls and immigration is a hot-button issue, our Portal connection to Mexico

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City provides an opportunity to engage in dialogue on politics, while also exploring art, culture, and music.

For English teacher Aisha Gawad’s new class Listen to the Beat: Hip-hop, Literature, and the Art of Storytelling, the Portal offers a chance to demonstrate the global reach of American hip hop and examine the art form’s potential to empower marginalized voices.

Dance teacher Marcia Brooks sees the Portal as an opportunity for improvisational performances based on small groups of dancers entering and exiting the shipping container, creating chance encounters with a dance partner in another country.

After establishing Portals in many foreign countries, Shared_Studios committed to building bridges among American communities, and thus the portals in Milwaukee and Newark, NJ, were established.

Housed in a community center to foster dialogue about criminal justice and police-community relations, the Milwaukee Portal offers children a virtual way out of a neighborhood plagued with gun violence and poverty. For the Greenwich Academy community, a connection to Milwaukee allows us to meet children with shared values but less opportunity, providing an immediate context for the news we read about riots and mass incarceration.

Greenwich Academy students live in an age of technology focused on curated Instagram pages, Facebook “friends,” and a steady stream of lighthearted Snapchats, but many engage only infrequently in prolonged, meaningful dialogue with their peers.

Portals insist we pay greater attention to those we meet in another world, and as we learn about a foreign culture, we ultimately learn more about ourselves.

As Lower School teacher Guillermina Casanova insists, “It’s our job to make our kids citizens of the world.” The GA Portal has the power to do just that, one student at a time. ■

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BY JOAN SLATTERY

At the Helm

A FA M I L I A R FAC E , A F R E S H P E R S P E C T I V E

First impressions count, and Nina After graduating from Brown Hanlon—as the new director of University—where she focused on admission—will be the first face of Africana studies, rowing, and actGreenwich Academy for many proing—Mrs. Hanlon returned to her spective students. Anyone who’s met high school alma mater, Noble Mrs. Hanlon will quickly recognize and Greenough in Dedham, how her warmth, engaging manner, Massachusetts, to teach ninth grade and strategic vision will serve her drama and English. well in this high-profile position.

She soon felt the pull of the stage With applications on the rise across and headed west to earn a Master of all divisions, it’s an exciting moment Fine Arts at the American Conservatory for Mrs. Hanlon to assume this role as Theater in San Francisco. Mrs. Hanlon Greenwich Academy continues to expand comments that when she arrived, it took the breadth and diversity of its applicant base. effort to switch gears from teacher to student: Nina Hanlon, Mrs. Hanlon is new to the Admission Office, “I was constantly thinking about what I could Greenwich Academy’s but current students may know her from the ‘bring back’ as a teacher, and it took a long time new Director classroom, a student leadership meeting, or to change seats into that of a student.” of Admission even an early morning practice on the Mianus Mrs. Hanlon graduated from ACT with an River. With an apparent ease for switching Equity Card for stage and then signed on with roles—and doing them all well—she has held several an agency. positions over the past five years at Greenwich Academy, Meanwhile, her husband began a teaching job at first in 2011 as a Group V history teacher, advisor, and Greenwich Academy in 2006, which brought the couple Upper School crew coach. A year later, she took on the to Greenwich (Mr. Hanlon is now a history teacher at Group V Team Leader role as well. In 2013, Mrs. Hanlon Rye Country Day School). After performing in theater was named assistant head of Middle School and also productions across the country and working as an anashifted to teaching Group VII English. Not one to rest lyst in Manhattan for a strategic planning company, Mrs. idle in the summer, she served as director of the i2 STEM Hanlon shifted her focus to working in Greenwich, landsummer program at its Greenwich Academy location ing a job coaching crew at Greenwich Water Club and from 2013 to 2015. also working as a tutor for Greenwich Education Group.

Mrs. Hanlon and her husband Ron managed to fit in She moved on to become Greenwich Education Group’s an additional significant event during these busy years: Assistant Director of College Counseling, overseeing its they became the proud parents of twins Simone and SAT/ACT program while teaching drama and English Dylan in 2013. too. Her career then led her to Greenwich Academy, It comes as no surprise that Mrs. Hanlon, a classically where she’s been thriving ever since. trained actor, is adept at juggling roles—and that her Eager to dive into her new role in the Admission career path has led her to the school world. She describes Office, Mrs. Hanlon began outreach efforts—attending herself as “always a teacher at heart” and grew up conferences, RIISE (Resources in Independent School surrounded by educators; she counts teachers, artistsEducation) workshops, and school visits—while wrapin-residence, and a law school dean among her close ping up her teaching and Middle School responsibilities family members. for the 2015–16 school year.

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GREENWICH ACADEMY CONNECTIONS

Shélah Johnson, Georgia Gallagher, Nina Hanlon, Sophie Freedman

Although she’ll miss the classroom and her close work with the Middle School faculty, Mrs. Hanlon is looking forward to working with the admission team, made up of Melissa Cassis, Tara Fetzer, Anne Tillman, Theresa Hall, and Tatiana Anderson. In addition to overseeing all admissions, she will directly handle admissions for PC, CC, and the Upper School, and she’ll take on another new role as well: Upper School advisor.

“I love to be challenged and to see everything I’ve done professionally coming together in this new admission position—teaching, coaching, and acting too,” says Mrs. Hanlon.

As Mrs. Hanlon looks toward the future, she also looks to the past—with gratitude. “I’m so grateful for everyone who has encouraged me in this community and for the years of support and mentorship I’ve had here.” ■

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“I love to be challenged, and to see everything I’ve done professionally coming together in this new admissions position—teaching, coaching, and acting too.”

N I N A H A N LO N

Hanlon Family

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FROM THE

ARCHIVES Flying Solo

Fran Farley Snabes ’79 poses with her airplane for her senior yearbook photo, which was accompanied by a quote by Amelia Earhart. She took flying lessons during school summer vacations and is now an orthopedic surgeon in Michigan. Fran was also the first-ever recipient of the Greenwich Academy Distinguished Alumna Award.

ARCHIVES

BY SUSIE DAVIS

It was the 1930s and Molly Cummings Cook ’35 had found the perfect outlet for her inner daredevil— she became a stunt pilot. Buzzing under the Brooklyn Bridge, Molly flew for the sheer thrill of it.

Remembering her time at GA, Molly can still recite the French songs Madame Roberta Figuet taught her in the Lower School. In the 1930s, she sang those songs while stunting in her Luscombe aircraft; today she sings them while driving around town.

In an interview for the 2012 Greenwich Oral History Project, Molly described a stunt in which she would fly up to about 4,000 feet and throw a roll of toilet paper out the window of her plane, watching it stream down before spiraling in descent to cut through the ribbon of toilet paper twice!

Molly returned to GA in 2015 for her 80th reunion and spoke to the GA student body at Charter Day about her flying days. She even told the girls about how she met Amelia Earhart one day in an airfield bathroom. After graduating from Vassar College, Molly joined the Civil Air Patrol. She continued to fly after she got married, only giving it up recently. Now 99, Molly enjoys painting and photography among other hobbies.

Anne Muldoon Tunney ’54 was a young girl when New York’s first international airport was opened in 1948. Little did she know that a few years later, she herself would be flying internationally. After getting married in 1960, Anne received her commercial pilot’s license and flew to Mexico and Canada with her husband, Gene Tunney Jr. Anne recalled flying down to Baja, along Mexico’s coast, where she landed on dirt roads because there were no control towers in the area in the 1970s.

Anne explains, “GPS wasn’t available, so we flew with charts all the time. I loved the navigation. I loved the math. ... The hardest thing was understanding the weather.” In 1982, Anne sold her airplane, opting to explore new hobbies.

Margaret Kohler Nicholson ’62, a GA “lifer” and former class president, started flying when her husband bought them flying lessons. She recalls that she had no idea that Bernoulli’s principle, which she remembered from her physics class, would have such an impact on her future as a pilot. Margaret even remembers how Mrs. Bolling, her physics teacher, followed the “learn-by-doing method.” Margaret says, “It appealed to a student like me who liked physical activity more than sitting in a chair memorizing declensions.” Margaret and her husband enjoyed flying together for 48 years.

Dede Lavin Parish ’79, a former trade show manager, is always up for an adventure. After deciding to become her boyfriend’s backup pilot, she trained for

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1 Molly Cummings Cook ’35.

2 Anne Muldoon Tunney ’54 3 Margaret Kohler Nicholson ’62 4 Dede Lavin Parish ’79

“My knees started to shake just as they had when first on stage at Greenwich Academy. However, I wasn’t on stage; I was 1,000 feet above the ground in a small airplane.

Such is the rite of the first solo.”

Margaret Kohler Nicholson ’62

her license. Dede completed her pilot studies at the Panorama School at Westchester County Airport.

“I wasn’t a natural pilot,” she says. However, even before her 30 supervised hours were completed, her instructor let her fly solo in a Cessna 152 aircraft.

Dede remembers flying low across Manhattan, before it was a no-fly zone. “I wasn’t good with the instruments, but I loved flying up and down the Hudson River,” she recalls.

Today, many years since their GA graduations, all of these remarkable GA pilots have safely landed with their feet on the ground, happy in new pursuits or retirement.■

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’74 Andrea de Cholnoky ’74 at the Great Wall of China, November 2015

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