Faculty & Staff News
Retired chemistry teacher Alice Baxter has created a website that presents the periodic table in a fun and engaging format featuring the voice talent of Music Department Head Susan Chrzanowski and former Headmaster John Ratté. “Each element is represented by a poem or song, based on a nursery rhyme or popular song, along with a colorful illustration,” Alice explains. “The rhymes contain accurate information about the elements and lesson plans that teachers can use to encourage students to learn more about the elements.” Sue, a vocal teacher and performer who directs the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers at Loomis, sings the accompanying songs. John, whose talent for storytelling and oration is known to generations of Loomis students and faculty, delivers the poems. Alice says the idea for the website was inspired by “The Element Project,” an assignment that she and her fellow Loomis science teachers used during winter term testing. “I came up with the idea of writing poems and songs for the elements based on nursery rhymes and common songs because these would be familiar to students and the public at large,” she adds. “It also offered a chance to inject some humor into the topic of chemistry. My goal was to offer a new resource for chemistry teachers to generate more interest in the periodic table among their students. And perhaps to reach some adults who are curious about chemistry and wish to learn a bit more science.” Feedback on the website has been positive, she says, and as she works to complete the interactive periodic table, she looks forward to continued collaboration with Sue, John, and Loomis Information Technology Department members Daniel Corjulo and Andris Briga. Visit ChemistryRhymes.com to see and hear for yourself.
Susan Cabot, Director of Athletics Photo: John Groo
English teacher Jeffrey Scanlon ’79 was selected for an Outstanding Educator Award from the University of Chicago in October. Based on nominations from firstyear students at the university, the award honors teachers “who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to the education and personal development of their students.” Head of the Science Department Elizabeth Conger was a featured speaker at a conference this fall titled “Citizen Science: Beyond the Backyard,” sponsored by EarthWatch Institute. Betsy and Marley Aloe Matlack, associate director of Loomis’s Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies, spoke about service learning in science for high school students. They highlighted work that Loomis students and faculty have done with EarthWatch through Alvord Center International Education Programs at the Arctic Circle in 2014 and at Joshua Tree National Park in 2016. They also discussed plans for future student travel programs and a formal partnership between Loomis and EarthWatch that will give students and faculty access to the institute’s data from environmental research sites around the world. The conference took place at the Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, Connecticut.
Susan Cabot joined the Loomis Chaffee faculty this fall as director of athletics. An experienced athletics administrator, Sue worked for 27 years at the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, first as an athletic trainer and then as athletic director. After Peddie, Sue was athletic director at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut, and at the Madeira School in McLean, Virginia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in health science, health education, and athletic training from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in education from The College of New Jersey. Sue has served in leadership positions with the Mid-Atlantic Prep League, the Mercer County Tournament Organization, and the New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association. At Peddie, the Susan K. Cabot Spirit of the Game Award is named in her honor and given annually to a student who models Sue’s commitment to loyalty and fair play. “I was well aware of Loomis’s strong athletic program, and I’ve always respected and appreciated the dedication of the school’s coaches,” Sue says. “So I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to throw my hat in the ring for this role when it became available.” The school launched a search for a new athletic director last year when Bob Howe ’80 announced his departure for a position at another school.
Two alumni were among the new faculty members welcomed to the Island this fall. Timothy Helfrich ’96 is teaching English, working in the Admission Office, coaching boys varsity soccer, and living in Carter Hall with his wife, Beth, and their four children, Zoe, Cora, Miles, and Levi. Tim brings experience as a recording musician, as an entrepreneur, and as a faculty member, coach, and athletic director at the Woodlawn School in North Carolina. Tim earned a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College, where he played varsity soccer, as he did at Loomis. “One of the greatest pleasures in returning to the Island has been reconnecting with many people who were important players in my experience here,” Tim says. Ahmad Cantrell ’07 is an assistant director of admission and a dorm affiliate in Batchelder Hall. Ahmad previously taught third grade at Achievement First Elementary School in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and served as a case manager for Community Residence Inc., which provides community-based support services. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University and worked in the insurance industry before beginning his career in education. While a student at Loomis, Ahmad served as a resident assistant, was an active member of PRISM, and was a member of the varsity football, basketball, and track teams. “It’s an honor to be back on the Island and working for the institution that helped me accomplish so many of my goals,” Ahmad says. Other new faculty include economics teacher and Penn Fellow Matthew DeNunzio; French teacher Sara Deveaux; math teachers Ben Fischer, Hudson Harper, Sam Higgins, and Hannah Saris; science teachers Clare Parker Fischer and Erica Gerace; Spanish teachers Martha Ince and Lillian Corman; English teacher Dan Reed; Associate Direccontinued next page Winter 2017
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