Crimson Magazine, Spring 2017

Crimson Spring 2017

RI

W STO N- B EA RD

Who’s Got The Power?

MO R

Mor r istow n-Bear d School M agazine

Students Take Ownership of Their Education Changing the Classroom Dynamic Transforming Our Future Campaign Progress

Morristown-Beard School

Crimson Spring 2017

Board of Trustees Michael Ranger, President Paolo Cucchi, Vice President John F. Fay, Vice President Thompson D. Grant, Jr. ’69, Treasurer Judy Taggart, Secretary Peter J. Caldwell, Headmaster Bernadette Aiello Joseph B. Baker ’65 Mary-Ellen Campbell (Honorary) Shane Connell Ronald DePoalo Wilfredo Fernandez David Ferry David Gately Abbie Shine Giordano Jeffrey Gronning Paul Hawkins ’85 David V. H. Hedley ’64 (Honorary) Allan P. Kirby, Jr. ’49 (Honorary) Gail Kurz ’86 Michael Mariano Joseph Robillard Gilbert Santaliz Roger Schwarz, Esq. ’66 Gerald Scully Katie Simon ’85 Elizabeth Warner Elizabeth Winterbottom

Director of Institutional Advancement Betsy Patterson Director of Development Joseph Locandro Associate Director of Alumni Relations Monya Taylor Davis ’88 Young Alumni Associate Maggie Ranger ’10 Alumni Relations Associate Melissa Hedley ’90 News & Information Manager Steve Patchett Brand & Communications Manager Janet Burdorf Magazine Layout & Design Sharon Cowen-Cain Website Manager Tiffany Zuber Archivist Dr. Alan Cooper Contributing Writers Darren Burns, Darren Lovelock, John Mascaro, Steve Patchett, Betsy Patterson, and Carol Selman ’64 Photography Peter Chollick Photography, David Kramer ’69, Steve Patchett, Jared Rosen ’17, Tiffany Zuber Printed locally by Action Graphics using soy based ink on 30% recycled & sustainably-sourced paper

On the Cover:

Students gather for Friday Morning Meeting Photography by: Peter Chollick Photography

Inside Cover:

Middle School pep rally Photography by: Steve Patchett

CONTENTS 2 Remarks from the Headmaster 4 Building for Our Future 8 MBS Moments 16 We are the Champions 18 The Power of Choice 22 Students Take Charge 25 Student Spotlight 30 Finding the Right Fit 34 Stories of Teaching & Learning 40 Beyond the Classroom 4 4 Crimson Corner 4 6 Powerfully Prepared 49 Class Notes 55 In Memoriam 56 Class Agents 58 Alumni Moments 62 Homecoming 2016 68 New Additions 69 One of the Family

Crimson Spring 2017 1

Remarks From the Headmaster

Dear Friends of MBS, What a year to be part of the MBS community! The campus is buzzing with activity—both inside the classroom, as we continue to work to empower students to take charge of their education, and outside, as we watch the math and science facility emerge before our eyes.

We have had great success in our fundraising efforts, but we still have work to do. Now it is time for each of you to participate in a way that is comfortable for you. As we look forward to opening the building in the fall, I am calling on each of you to help us continue the pace of our fundraising and reach the goals of the Transforming Our Future campaign.

On the following pages, you can read more about the progress of the construction and learn how you can help us reach our goal.

On campus every day, there are examples of students taking command of their education. They may be participating in a mock trial, composing a piece of music, working in teams to tackle a set of logic problems, or simply exchanging ideas with a classmate during lunch. At MBS, we strive to help students discover their own passion, gather knowledge for themselves, and focus on what it is that they want to pursue. We want students to take intellectual risks and make cross-disciplinary connections. We urge them to try new things, engage in problem solving, collaborate, and express themselves. As you will see in this issue of Crimson, we are proud of our 2

Crimson Spring 2017

talented students and alumni who have taken ownership of their education at MBS and as a result have been able to pursue their own passions.

We take great pride in the remarkable accomplishments of our students, our alumni, and our School. None of this would be possible without the support of the MBS community. From the transformation of our campus facilities, to the expansion of our academic and extracurricular programs, your support has a lasting and meaningful impact on our School.

I encourage you to visit us and see firsthand the exciting and dynamic projects that are taking place. I am confident that you will come away feeling inspired by the work of our students, and energized by the momentum on our campus.

With best wishes,

Peter J. Caldwell Headmaster

Transforming Our Future

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Grandparents & Special Friends As we build for our students’ bright future, please accept our sincere regrets that due to construction on campus for our new math and science facility, we are unable to hold this year’s Grandparents & Special Friends Day.

MI L L I ON

The Campaign for Morristown-Beard School

Campaign Update

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The Power of Choice

22

Please Save the Date for a special

Open House celebrating the opening of our new

Math and Science Facility Students Take Charge

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Finding the Right Fit

Saturday, September 23, 2017 Invitations with details will be mailed in August.

Grandparents & Special Friends Day will return in Spring 2018!

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We’re Building For Our Future

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Crimson Spring 2017

But We’re Not Done Yet...

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Building Bright Futures After months of eager anticipation, the Math and Science Facility is taking shape.

With over 25,000 square feet of newly constructed space, this impressive state-of-the-art facility will feature: ■

Eight science classrooms/labs with prep rooms

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Eight math classrooms

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An environmental science lab

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A dynamic math studio

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DNA lab

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Art gallery

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Small group study areas

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Open common space

Coming Fall 2017 6

Crimson Spring 2017

The $12.6 million Math and Science Facility is the cornerstone of our $20 million comprehensive campaign Transforming Our Future. Thanks to the support of current and former parents, grandparents, alumni and friends, we have made great progress, but we need your help to reach our goal!

Be Part Of It

Seniors leave their mark on metal studs for the new building.

$10.1M Raised

$12.6M Goal

Help us transform the future for our bright and talented students!

Donate Today!

To make your gift

• use the envelope in the back of this magazine • visit www.mbs.net/support/transforming-our-future • call the Office of Advancement at 973.532.7517

Every Gift Makes A Difference.

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MBS MOMENTS

“Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro at pep rally

“Cake Boss” Comes to MBS Excitement was in the air on October 27th as a film crew visited campus to shoot scenes for the hit reality TV show, Cake Boss.

The segments focused on the MBS Middle School girls soccer team and 8th grader Sophia Valastro ’21, who is the team captain and daughter of “Cake Boss” Buddy Valastro. The crew shot a pep rally scene in the gymnasium before getting footage of the girls game against Newark Academy.

Needless to say, Crimson spirit was at an all-time high, especially during the pep rally where the entire MBS Middle School filled the gym with deafening enthusiasm. As an added treat, Buddy (who was joined at the event by several family members, including wife Lisa and son Buddy Valastro ’23) baked a special cake for the event—a delectable sportsthemed MBS cake that was enjoyed by students and faculty alike.

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Crimson Spring 2017

Middle School Chess Team Places Third in Consortium Six Morristown-Beard School Middle School students experienced the thrill of competition while making new friends during an all-day chess tournament at Central Middle School in Stirling on October 18th. MBS placed third in the competition against students from seven area middle schools. This year’s Consortium Chess Team players include Ethan Chestnut-Stein ’22, Aaron Hong ’23, Logan Jaeger ’21, Alex Keri ’21, Luka Okuzu ’21, and Jay Pruitt ’21.

Middle School Chess Team

Spirit Week Students celebrate after Jonas Weinmann ’23 made a half court shot at the pep rally during Spirit Week in October.

Crimson Spring 2017 9

MBS MOMENTS

Student-Athletes Sign with Division I Colleges

Morristown-Beard Student-Athletes Sign with Division I Colleges Congratulations to MBS seniors Tyler Faccenda ’17, Connor Morin ’17, and Kevin Gill ’17 who signed Letters of Intent to continue their athletics on the Division I level next year.

Tyler Faccenda, who was named First Team All-NJAC, will play baseball at Lafayette College. Connor Morin will play lacrosse at Notre Dame. He scored 94 goals and 62 assists in his three-year career at MBS. Kevin Gill, who has tallied 62 goals and 69 assists for a total of 131 points in his MBS career, will play lacrosse at the University of North Carolina.

MBS Seniors Honored by 2017 National Merit Program Morristown-Beard School seniors Theresa Green ’17 of Florham Park and Jenna Racaniello ’17 of Denville have been named Commended Students in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Theresa and Jenna are among 34,000 commended students throughout the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.

They placed among the top five percent of more than 1.6 million students who entered the competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

Senior Lucas Fagan was a named a semifinalist and finalist in the program.

He is one of the 15,000 other finalists (less than one-percent of U.S. high school students) that will continue to compete for some 7,500 Merit Scholarship Awards worth $33 million. To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier qualifying test performance. The Scholarship winners will be announced in April.

Upper School Stages Shakespeare’s Macbeth Everyone’s favorite cursed play, William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, took center stage in The Theater at Founders Hall from November 9th—12th. The MBS Studio and Performing Arts Department presented “The Scottish Play” in observance of the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death.

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Macbeth

National Merit Scholars

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MBS MOMENTS

Winter concerts

Winter Concerts showcase choral, instrumental and dance talent The MBS community enjoyed ringing in the holidays as the School’s talented students took center stage for the Winter Dance and Vocal/Instrumental Concerts. The Dance Concert featured nearly 100 student performers from the MBS Dance Ensemble and all Upper and Middle School dance classes.

The concert was a culmination of choreography the students have been working on since September, and included a mix of holiday songs. The Vocal/ Instrumental Concert included performances by the Upper School Chorus, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, String Ensemble, and Crimsingers.

MBS Welcomes French Exchange Students In October, the Morristown-Beard School community hosted 17 students and two teachers from Lycée Notre Dame-de- Rezé, a private school in Nantes, France. The exchange students spend three and a half days of their 10-day visit taking classes in the Upper School. “Although their time at MBS seemed brief, they enriched our daily activities on campus, taught us about their language and culture, and underscored the similarities that unite us all,” said Dr. Gorica Hadzic, World Languages teacher. The hospitality of the host families encouraged special friendships between the students that hopefully will continue into the future. MBS student host Sofea Stanton said, “This was easily one of the best experiences of my life. I was fortunate to have my exchange partner be someone as amazing as Clara, and I’m so grateful for the good times we shared in the 10 short days she was here. I wish she could’ve stayed longer.”

French Exchange Students visit MBS

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French Exchange Students visit MBS

MS Soccer Team

Middle School Soccer Wins County Title The number two-seeded MBS Middle School boys soccer team captured the Morris County Championship by defeating the number one seed Mendham Borough by a score of 3-1. Congratulations to Head Coach Eric Shea ’05 and his team!

Students Work with Artist in Residence

Perry Kroeger workshop

This fall, the Morristown-Beard School Studio and Performing Arts Department hosted visionary performer, writer, designer, videographer, and painter Perry Kroeger for a series of events. He conducted maskmaking workshops for the sculpture classes, glazing workshops for Art 3 students, scenic painting workshops with the Stagecraft class, and also worked closely with students on the set painting for the Upper School fall play, The Tragedy of Macbeth.

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MBS MOMENTS

Students Present at Meteorology Conference

By Steve Patchett

In January, six students traveled to Seattle, Washington with science teacher Jeff Yuhas to present at the 2017 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting.

monitor, which is used to record and store temperature readings, to a screen and the three sensors, and finished their work by programming an accessible, easy-to-use graphical interface using Python.

Morristown-Beard School was the only high school in the nation to have students deliver an oral presentation at this year’s meeting. MBS seniors Taylor Grant ’17 and Harrison Kern ’17 lead a discussion entitled, “Learning Programming and Electrical Engineering through Meteorology.”

In addition, MBS students Olivia Braunstein ’17, Michelle Corcoran ’19, Sam Nadler ’17, and Rebecca Tone ’19 presented a poster on “Bringing Meteorology to Students Through Social Media.”

Unlike many typical high school projects, the future of the portable weather station is entirely openended. With guidance from Yuhas and support from EarthNetworks, the students were allowed to experiment unlimitedly with materials uncommonly offered to teens. “This project gave me the opportunity to work in a discipline that I love with a project that has endless possibilities, no deadlines, and all original ideas,” said Grant.

Over the past year, Grant, Kern and MBS graduate Tom Margosian ’16 collaborated with EarthNetworks, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Global Cities Team Challenge, and the Internet of Things (IoT) Education Working Group to create a portable weather station which includes a pressure sensor, humidity sensor, and temperature sensor. The students were able to apply their technological skills to a unique and experimental setting, working towards a product that will assist the entire MBS community.

The students soldered and wired a Raspberry Pi 14 Crimson Spring 2017

WEATHER SERVICES “Although the result

of our project is amazing, it’s not necessarily about the final project—it’s about learning skills and combining a group of people with different skill sets,” —Harrison Kern ’17

While students involved with Morristown-Beard Weather Services (MBWS) may not pursue careers in meteorology, their experience with STEM develops skills that can be used in other fields. Students are attracted to the program because it gives them the freedom and flexibility to use their diverse talents in a new and exciting environment. “Although the result of our project is amazing, it’s not necessarily about the final project—it’s about learning skills and combining a group of people with different skill sets,” said Kern.

In addition to gaining technical proficiency, the students also got practical experience in budgeting, collaboration, and design. After securing funding

Save The Date from the MBS Student Government Association, the students learned to apply for outside grants. The connections made with EarthNetworks were not only beneficial in terms of collecting supplies for the project, but also taught the students what it means to work with a large corporation.

“Presenting requests in a persuasive way, along with overcoming obstacles which may interrupt the process, are fundamental skills that students need to learn in order to be successful in the workplace,” said Mr. Yuhas.

This is the fourth year in a row that Morristown-Beard students have presented at the AMS Annual Meeting, which brings together more than 3,500 scientists, educators, students and other professionals. As a member of the American Meteorological Society, Yuhas presents regularly at the AMS Annual Meeting, and makes sure that his students take part in the prestigious conference. “Attending and presenting at the Annual Meeting is an exciting opportunity for our high school students,” said Yuhas. “It’s a chance for them to see how science is really done. It’s not about being alone in a lab with a textbook; it’s about engaging with other people and exchanging ideas. The conference also allows the students to see how meteorology brings together people from a lot of different backgrounds and skill sets.”

Parents Association

Morristown-Beard School

The Morristown-Beard School Parents Association Presents

The

Spring Gala A Celebration of our MBS Community Featuring

The Class of 2017 Fashion Show

Students at Meteorology Conference

Friday, April 28, 2017 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM

The Short Hills Hilton 41 John F. Kennedy Parkway Short Hills, New Jersey

Register online by April 21, 2017 @ www.mbs.net/spring-gala

Cocktail Attire • Hats Optional

Students at Meteorology Conference

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We Are The Champ WINTER SPORTS

This winter has been one of the most successful sports seasons in Morristown-Beard School history.

championship game. In addition, the MBS Middle School ice hockey team captured the Great Morris County Championship.

Three MBS teams—boys swimming, boys basketball and girls ice hockey—won Prep championships, while two others—boys ice hockey and girls basketball—advanced to the finals. For the first time in School history, the boys basketball team advanced to the Morris County

For the fourth year in a row, the boys ice hockey team won the Mennen Cup, and for the third year in a row, the boys ski team advanced to the State Tournament. In winter track, MBS athlete Jaime Sheppard ’17 set a new School record in the 400 at the Meet of Champions.

Boys Basketball The boys basketball team won an overtime thriller, 92-85, over Doane Academy to capture the Prep B Championship on February 20th.

Boys Ice Hockey

The boys ice hockey team won the Mennen Cup for the fourth year in a row as the Crimson defeated Morris Knolls, 4-3, on February 16th.

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ions!

Girls Ice Hockey

The girls ice hockey team captured the Prep B title following a 2-1 victory over Princeton Day School on February 14th.

Middle School Ice Hockey

The MBS Middle School ice hockey team skated away with the Greater Morris County Tournament title following a 7-2 victory over The Peck School on February 15th.

Boys Swimming

The boys swim team captured the Prep B Championship on February 7th in Lawrenceville—the team’s first Prep crown in 23 years!

Ryan Waters ’17 won two State Championships in the 200 and 500 freestyle at the Meet of Champions in Sewell, NJ on March 5th.

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MBS students are EMPOWERED to EXPLORE their INDIVIDUAL PATHWAYS to ACADEMIC

SUCCESS and PERSONAL FULFILLMENT.

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The Power of Choice

J

B Y: J O H N M A S C A R O Ph.D., Dean of Faculty, Parent ’03

ust about any independent school will claim that one of its goals is to “empower” its students. Anyone—student, parent, teacher—involved with schooling is familiar with the rhetoric of student empowerment that is a standard trope of 21st century marketing and messaging in college preparatory education. The prevalence of this message quite likely stems from a general understanding that today’s students will need to develop greater critical, creative and expressive abilities than students of previous generations, because the social and professional worlds they will become part of are so dynamically and unpredictably evolving. In such a state, those who succeed will need to be intellectually empowered—able to think for themselves, to make choices, solve problems, create new knowledge and communicate it. And the drawing out of these skills through an educational program in line with such principles must be the prime mission of any serious school.

But an understanding, even a consensus, among educators about the type of education today’s schools must offer does not in and of itself lead to the changes required to bring real, practical programs into being. Such deep and systemic change, involving every aspect of the institution, requires a sincere commitment from leadership at the highest level to the long and protracted, even at times contentious, process that must be accepted if the changes are to be more than cosmetic. So such ideas as “student empowerment” too often remain in the realm of rhetoric, nice copy for publicity brochures, pleasant-sounding abstractions that feel good for a few moments to contemplate, until we move on to business as usual.

Morristown-Beard School, however, doesn’t have this luxury. For MBS, the idea of student empowerment is not just a feel-good slogan but is the bedrock of our School Mission. We take very seriously the commitment to helping students discover their individual pathways to learning and life fulfillment. The culture of support we are rightly proud of in our community is set up to prepare students to make critical choices about the paths they will take as learners through high school, college and life. In order for these choices to be truly meaningful, they need to be truly independent.

And there’s the rub, or one of them at least. Much if not most of the institutional structures and practices of the previous model of education do not foreground true student choice, especially not in the sense of allowing students to create their own academic identities. These traditional practices are still the norm.

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At most schools, students follow tried-and-true academic paths, often One reason to make such a commitment is understanding the complex determined before they are out of Middle School. They are constrained interactions of learning, stress and student empowerment. It is widely at key transition points by a series of benchmark standardized tests, and accepted that today’s students are subjected to high, in some cases extreme, more often than not tracked in one form or another in ways reflecting the levels of stress every day in their learning environments. It is also widely assumptions of a previous era. And while it is true that in this older model understood that stress inhibits learning (see Leah Levy, “How Stress Affects upper division students are sometimes given a semblance of choice, it does the Brain During Learning” <http://www.edudemic.com/stress-affectsnot usually go very deep, not much further than, perhaps, a slate of elective brain-learning/> for a brief summary of key research findings). And one courses. When we get to the level of truly significant choice, the idea, for factor directly related to stress in the learning environment is the degree of example, of a student deciding for herself whether to pursue honors-level control students are allowed to exert over it. Educators and parents both need work in a given course, we hit a wall of unexamined to find ways to place appropriate checks on levels of assumptions that carry over from the older model, stress students experience. (Knowing of course that a where it would be unthinkable for students to completely stress-free environment is neither possible determine whether they are honors students or nor, interestingly, desirable. Levels of stress associated “At MBS, students not. Traditionally such decisions are made by the with the normal rush of adrenaline an athlete or institution, where students are assigned the status actor experiences before the game or show begins do not receive of “honors” or “regular” by the school, where they can enhance learning and performance, but beyond a are labeled as such and where their course options certain point stress becomes highly inimical to both.) their education; are shaped by this labeling.

Victoria Tennant, writing in the Johns Hopkins School of Education online journal New Horizons they pursue it.”

Whatever name it is given, tracking students in Learning emphasizes the relationship between into different academic strata is a “fixed mindset” stress and control, explaining that “Stress is negative practice, badly at odds with the current model of when a person feels threatened and not in control of intellectual growth that has emerged out of the past the situation . . . affecting both the brain and body in generation’s research efforts. More and more, educators are accepting the key ways that can be destructive to physical and mental health.” (“The Powerful implications of this research—broadly, that intelligence is not fixed, but will Impact of Stress on Learning,” < http://www.education.jhu.edu>). Indeed, continue to grow in proper learning environments—and they understand it can be argued that one of the reasons standardized tests have become that schools need both to promote in their students and take into account in recognized as potent stress inducers is precisely the fact that the testing their practices the implications of this “growth mindset” model. But as I have situation removes virtually every element of control from the students who continually stressed throughout the series of recent articles I’ve written for are forced to take them, down to the level of not being allowed to turn a page this magazine, genuine, deep and systemic change is enormously challenging, until told to do so. particularly in an independent preparatory school where so much energy is devoted to the college application process and that process itself—formulaic Teachers and parents often fail to recognize the levels of stress students in a number of ways—often encourages schools to be risk- and change-averse. experience. Tennant cites research showing that “parents perceive children And this, I believe, is where MBS prevails. We are more than a decade into as having lower levels of stress than children perceive themselves as having.” a comprehensive and ongoing revision of our curriculum to ensure that our That fact along with the kinds of institutional inertia described above academic program aligns itself with the best research and emergent practices are the core of the challenge facing schools that want to enhance student in the field of secondary education. And our commitment is institution-wide, empowerment by giving them a measure of genuine choice and control because the vision of the School is shared by all who work here, a vision that within their learning environments. MBS has been willing to accept both has as one of its core principles the empowerment of all MBS students. the challenge to traditional educational thinking as well as the significant

Morristown-Beard School Independent Study Courses The Independent Study program encourages students to expand their intellectual curiosity and explore areas of interest that fall outside of the traditional course catalog.

Writing Studies Milton and Time What’s True in News Entrepreneurship Lakota Lit. & Culture Latvian Culture Mandarin 2

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Digital Media Lettering: Pen to Pixel Web Technology Adv. Theater Prod.

Stage Lighting Nutrition Civil Engineering 2

Engineering Drawing 2 Music and Social Change Music Composition 2 Adv. Graphic Design Video Editing Digital Music Comp.

Vector Calculus 2

Investment Theory Neuroscience Divergent Series Mars Research Art 4

Trickiness in execution illuminates the larger problem of bringing the new curriculum into being at the institutional level, since the software we employ to keep track of academic records is not designed to recognize a situation where all students entering a course are potentially honors students but where only some of them will actually earn honors status. This software, an industry standard, has been written to serve much larger schools than ours, schools where various forms of tracking are still routinely employed, so the software assumes this is all any school should need. It has taken a lot of creative thinking and problem solving coming out of our College Counseling office, our Upper School office, our Registrar’s office and our Academic Technology group among others to manage both our Earned Honors model and our Independent Studies Program, but it is being done quite fruitfully.

This is how a school models the principles it tries to teach: creativity, risk taking, resourcefulness, resilience, a refusal to be uncritically bound by custom, consistent values that drive and shape thinking. We have brought our academic vision and our institutional resources to bear in order to allow students to take ownership of their education. In doing so we are able to fulfill a commitment our Upper School Head, Mr. Darren Burns, likes to make to incoming freshmen during their fall orientation when he promises them that “At MBS, you will not receive your education; you will pursue it.” It is our firm conviction that given the right tools—such as the power to make significant academic decisions for themselves—that is exactly what our students will do.

Photographed by Peter Chollick Photography

logistical energy required to create genuinely student-centered and studentdriven academic programs designed to enhance empowerment. Two key examples currently flourishing are our Independent Study (IS) courses and our Earned Honors Model. An Independent Study student works oneon-one with an MBS teacher to design a course and create the curriculum, assessments and work product the course will inspire. The program has led to some stunning academic and creative work and convincingly supports the notion that almost any student, in the right learning environment, can achieve high levels of critical and creative performance (see sidebar for a list of current IS courses). Our Earned Honors mechanism has been evolving over the past several years and has now reached a point where nearly half of all Upper School courses employ it. It is very easy to state, though a bit tricky to execute. Simply put, students are given the choice of whether to work for honors credit in a course or not. Those committing to earning honors will engage in more challenging assessments and must meet an academic benchmark. The key point is that the student is not pre-slotted as “honors” or “regular” but allowed to develop naturally as the course unfolds. In order to work properly, this model requires skilled and deeply engaged teachers who can understand the often- nuanced differences in the ways students learn, and help students to tease out and develop their greatest strengths. We are fortunate at MBS to have such teachers, and so Earned Honors can successfully demonstrate a concrete and specific way to embody the type of growth mindset thinking required of today’s schools.

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STUDENTS TAKE CHARGE Changing the Classroom Dynamic B Y: D A R R E N L O V E L O C K M.A., Chair of English Department

During my early days as a wobbly teacher in a British boys’ boarding school, the sure signs of a class having gone well, for the teacher at least, were these: the students had written pages and pages of notes, I had spoken very loudly for 90 percent of the time, and, wielding the fearful weapon of the “Test Next Week” above my head, I had managed to cow them into some kind of obedience.

Joining MBS has inspired me, after 15 years teaching in schools in Europe and New York, to become a very different sort of teacher.

For the first of its five goals outlined in the 2015-2020 MorristownBeard Strategic Plan, our School pledges to “create an environment that empowers students to take ownership of their education.” My early students had no means available by which they could “take ownership of their education.” I owned it all, spoon-feeding it out in bits and scraps. Since starting work at MBS six years ago, I’ve been trying—and sometimes failing and trying again—to 22 Crimson Spring 2017

help students grab the spoon and feed themselves. Engineering an empowering classroom environment like the one described above in the strategic goal has been no simple feat.

The traditional classroom binary of provider-consumers is rather hidebound in me—and my students have not always appeared exactly eager to wrest control of their education from out my hands.

Change is hard, for both of us. But I know bone-deep that it is better for them to pursue their education than have me simply deliver it to them. I also know that my real job is not teaching English; it’s teaching students. Such an observation may seem blindingly obvious, but I confess it took me nearly 15 years to see it clearly.

Just recently, in Humanities English 11, our quarter theme was Land. In past years, I had packed each week with Steinbeck’s Dust Bowl, Frost’s horsy snows, and Emerson’s self- reliance. They

Photographed by Peter Chollick Photography

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“KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION REMAIN AS IMPORTANT AS EVER, BUT WE FEEL, TOO, THAT A STUDENT’S INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY— KINDLING IT, FUELING IT, FANNING IT—IS OUR GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY AS TEACHERS.” —Darren Lovelock appeared this year, too, but for a good while a colleague and I did something new. We asked them to submit, in a month’s time, a multigenre creative portfolio on America and Land. We suggested they might create the opening chapter of a novel, or a scene from a screenplay, or a song, or a stand-up comedy routine, a commercial, or an obituary, or a children’s book. Their first job, however, was to narrow their focus and choose what specific aspect of Land and America to explore. This was their choice. They owned the topic.

The results—sometimes brilliant, sometimes not—were nonetheless heartening. One student, exploring animal agriculture in the US, wrote a children’s story about veganism. Another, researching Native American land, wrote two screenplay scenes, one describing the first encounter between Europeans and Native Americans, the other a kitchen conversation between a Native American father and son living just by the Dakota pipeline. One junior, arguing that the moon has often been seen as an extension of American land, found a speech written for Nixon in case the 1969 moon landing ended in disaster.

Extracting a few dozen words from the speech, she spun them into a poem on the American character. Filled with trials and errors—and dozens and dozens of individual conversations—this four-week handing over of the reins of learning felt, and was, risky. I am left certain, however, that my students picked up a spoon and fed themselves.

Physics teacher Jeff Yuhas and I co-teach an Advanced Seminar called “The Science and Culture of the 1960s.” Napalm, the Moon Landing, Vaccinations, and the Arpanet: these are the topics that he and I lead the way in exploring over the first quarter. With Napalm, for instance, Jeff explains what it’s made of, how it works, how long it lasts and so on, while I take the lead in exploring the gelling agent’s cultural impact and legacy.

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But we designed the second half of the course to ensure that our students take charge—and that teachers are somewhat disempowered. For the second half of the course, students become teachers, each researching and choosing one aspect of 1960s culture and then creating lesson plans, discussion questions, homework assignments, and so on. Jeff and I coach and guide throughout the process, but essentially, students run the room.

I have come to realize that those initially rather overwhelming moments for students, when we push them to helm their own learning, are golden.

Creating the environment in which such moments might occur takes some surrendering on our part and some usurping on theirs.

After their senior elective on journalism, a pair of students asked to pursue an Independent Study to explore more deeply the suddenly ubiquitous concepts of “post-truth” and “fake news.” And so we have arranged to meet for an hour once a week or more, coffees all round, to discuss how truth works in disciplines such as journalism, science, law, and religion. These students, in a rather pure sense, are taking control of their education, grabbing hold of the spoon. They are lucky to be in a school where such an action is lauded loudly. My role is simply to provide an environment in which such empowerment can occur—although I have suggested our very first topic: Octavian’s fake news back in 30 BC and what it did to Mark Antony.

Plenty of other teachers at MBS—in many more ways than I am—are doing all they can to fulfill the first goal of our current Strategic Plan.

Knowledge and information remain as important as ever, but we feel, too, that a student’s intellectual curiosity—kindling it, fueling it, fanning it— is our greatest responsibility as teachers. As I design and teach classes and courses in the coming years, I’m planning to keep asking myself, “Who’s holding the spoon?”

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Members of the senior class are charting a path to success, pursuing their passions in the classroom, on stage, on the playing field, and across the globe.

On the pages that follow, we are proud to share the stories of four members of the Class of 2017â&#x20AC;Ś

Crimson Spring 2017 25

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Ryan Waters ’17 “Since I started here in the 6th grade, the MBS community has been extremely supportive of me and all of my endeavors. It means a lot to me that my teachers know me as a person and not only care about what I do in the classroom, but also how I do in my athletics and extracurricular activities. They recognize the bigger picture and understand what makes each individual whole. I feel proud to represent Morristown-Beard School in the pool, and am extremely grateful for all that the MBS community has given me in the past seven years. There are so many opportunities to learn leadership skills here. Since Middle School, I dreamed of one day becoming the SGA (Student Government Association) President, and it was a thrill to achieve that goal. The MBS faculty and administration is always looking for student input in regards to various topics, and I feel like my voice—and the voice of my classmates— really matters.”

MBS ACHIEVEMENTS ●

Student Government Association President (2016-2017)

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All-America honors for swimming in 2016

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State champion in the 200 freestyle (2017) and the 500 freestyle (2016, 2017)

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Serves as a Peer Leader

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Contributed more than 100 hours of community service last year

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Participated in the MBS service trip to Peru

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Attending US Naval Academy in the Fall of 2017

26 Crimson Spring 2017

MBS ACHIEVEMENTS ●

Serves as an editor in chief of the student newspaper, The Crimson Sun

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Worked backstage for productions of Macbeth, Anything Goes and Almost, Maine

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Participant in the MBS Writers’ Retreat and the MBS Theater Trip to London

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Girls varsity tennis team member

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French Honor Society member, winner of Multilingual Excellence Award and U.S. History Award

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Attending Barnard College in the Fall of 2017

Olivia Land ’17 “When I first came to MBS in 7th grade, my parents were really drawn to the sense of community here. I’ve seen that this is true throughout my time here, and the incredible faculty help foster that sense of connection. The teachers here provide students with a fantastic base and help them build confidence. They see things in the students that they might not see in themselves. My new role this year as editor in chief of the newspaper was not a role that I ever

envisioned myself in, but I was encouraged to try it and I’ve already grown so much as a leader and acquired new skills. I’ve never felt pigeonholed at MBS. I have a broad range of interests, and MBS has always encouraged that diversity. For example, last week I participated in my first Constitutional Law test case and I also had an exam in anatomy and physiology. MBS prepares students to be multi-faceted individuals with broad and open minds.”

Crimson Spring 2017 27

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

MBS ACHIEVEMENTS ●

Lead roles in the MBS productions of Pippin, Anything Goes, and Peter Pan

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Performed in numerous coffee houses and Contemporary Music Workshop shows

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President of the MBS Diversity Club

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Member of the GLOW (Girls Leadership Outreach and Worth) Club

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Participated in Broadway Show Choir and Summer Conservatory at Paper Mill Playhouse

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Attending NYU’s Clive Davis Institute at the Tisch School of the Arts in the Fall of 2017

Dominique Diggs ’17 “At MBS, I have taken risks and found my passion along the way.

As a freshman, I remember seeing all of the opportunities that were afforded to me, and I got involved with the GLOW (Girls Leadership Outreach and Worth) Club, the Kaleidoscope Club (the diversity club), and the performing arts program. In my freshman year, I remember trying out for a role in Peter Pan and that sparked my interest. In my sophomore year, I took tap dance for the first time,

28 Crimson Spring 2017

and by my junior year, I had the lead in Pippin. None of this would have been possible without my teachers guiding me along the way. It’s amazing to have teachers who really love to teach, and who share their passion for learning inside and outside the classroom. I’ve learned so much—from finally doing tap dance shuffles correctly, to managing a busy rehearsal schedule, to writing a legal brief, to connecting with people and understanding cultures across the world.”

Lucas Fagan ’17 “In my junior year, Morristown-Beard School helped me take ownership of my education by encouraging me to apply to the School Year Abroad (SYA) program in Spain. While in Spain, I discovered the value of learning from other people and getting diverse perspectives, but one of the most important things to me was that I was able to remain a part of the MBS community. In order to stay in touch with my friends, I wrote a blog that was posted to the MBS website and was read by students and faculty. I also made a video about my time abroad that was shown at Morning Meeting. Looking back, I can see that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a new country. Studying abroad gives you a multi-faceted perspective that’s very valuable. MBS facilitated a journey that truly gave me a better understanding of the world and prepared me for success.”

MBS ACHIEVEMENTS ●

National Merit Semifinalist and Finalist

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Spent his junior year abroad in Spain

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Varsity tennis player

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Volunteers with The Neighborhood House

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Attending Duke University in the Fall of 2017

Crimson Spring 2017 29

30 Crimson Spring 2017

Finding The

A perspective on the college application process

Right Fit B Y: D A R R E N B U R N S M.A., Head of Upper School, Parent ’19, ’22

Each fall more than 100 college admission counselors from all over the country visit Morristown-Beard School to meet with our students and college counselors. These visits provide a valuable opportunity for our students to learn about the myriad of college programs, areas of concentration, and the benefits of campus life. At the same time, it is an important occasion for our college counselors to discuss and demonstrate the curricular work that has been evolving at MBS. Our academic program, defined by our Strategic Plan, has been steadily developing for the past decade and we are proud of the progress we have made in preparing our graduates to succeed, not just in the admission process, but also in higher education and beyond. Our college counselors build relationships with admission officers at colleges and universities across the country to ensure that they understand our rigorous curriculum that includes our advanced seminars, independent study programs, and earned honors program.

When I speak with college representatives, our conversations often turn to the “arms-race” that is happening in the college admission process. The increase in applications, the lower acceptance rates, the higher costs and the frenetic pace of the process has greatly increased the stress and confusion already present in the application process. To help ease this anxiety, the MBS college counseling program has been advocating and supporting a more thoughtful, genuine and meaningful approach.

Recently, I was pleased to see that a recent report by the Harvard Graduate School of Education titled: Turning The Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions strongly

Crimson Spring 2017 31

Liz Gately ’17 Gettysburg College

Q: Tell me about your college search process…

supports our philosophy and provides another piece of support for the idea that MBS is at the forefront of educational thinking. This report acknowledges some of the educationally questionable aspects of the college admission process and includes concrete recommendations to help it to evolve. A few of its pertinent suggestions include: • Encouraging more meaningful and sustained community service • Prioritizing quality over quantity of activities • Reducing standardized testing pressures • Reducing over-coaching • Maintaining an awareness of Advanced Placement overload • Expanding students’ thinking about “good” schools In particular, I want to touch on the last two items: awareness of overloading on Advanced Placement courses and expanding students’ thinking about “good” schools. Both of these recommendations are echoed and supported by our curriculum development and our college counseling programmatic offerings.

A: I wanted to go someplace fairly close to home, and I was looking for a good communications program. I thought I wanted to go to Penn State. My mom asked me to visit Gettysburg, but I refused to get in the car and go. Eventually I gave in because I knew that if I didn’t see it, it would be a fight. At first I liked it, but I wasn’t sure. Then over the summer, I visited the University of Delaware and was just overwhelmed by the size of it. At that point, I decided to go back to Gettysburg and take another look because I realized that I wanted a small, tight-knit community atmosphere that is similar to Morristown-Beard School.

Q: What do you think helped to set you apart in the application process?

A: Last year, I took Intro to Communications with Miss Sweeney. That sparked my love of marketing, and it led me to pursue an Independent Study with her in Digital Media in which I created my own lifestyle blog.

From there, I was able to get a summer internship in New York City with KVD NYC, a beauty branding agency.

Q: How did the MBS College Counseling Office help guide you?

A: Mrs. Cassidy helped me narrow my list of colleges and figure out the environment that would be best for me. After I would visit schools, she was always there to meet with me and help me process my thoughts about each one. She guided me in applying Early Decision to Gettysburg, and made sure I was doing it for the right reasons.

Q: Why do you think Gettysburg College is a good fit for you?

A: It’s like MBS in all the best ways possible. You’re not a number there. It’s got a family feel where you can get one-on-one attention and get to know the faculty closely. Even though they don’t offer a communications major, you can tailor your education to create your own course of study. It’s also close to home.

Q: What advice would you give an underclassman who is starting the college search process?

A: Keep an open mind. You may think you know what you want, but once you begin touring colleges, you might discover new things that you like or don’t like. It also helps if you can stay organized and budget your time so that you can process what you’re feeling after each visit.

32 Crimson Spring 2017

Turning the Tide notes that, “even the most advanced student may benefit from avoiding course overload and devoting more time on scholarly work that allows for unstructured reflection and encourages the development of intellectual curiosity.”

Our curricular initiatives are clearly aligned with this recommendation as we have launched a robust Independent Study program as well as new Advanced Seminar course offerings.

The Independent Study program encourages students to expand their intellectual curiosity and explore areas of interest that fall outside of the traditional course catalog. Under the guidance of a faculty member with a special expertise or interest in the field, student and teacher work side by side to develop a curriculum, create authentic class content and create original assessments. Some examples of Independent Study courses are: Bioethics, Multivariable Calculus, Female Voices in Poetry, and Ecological Sustainability.

We have also created meaningful alternatives to Advanced Placement courses in our Advanced Seminar Classes. The seminar format promotes critical thought and discussion, requires students to work independently, and is flexible enough to encompass a broad range of course themes.

In every Advanced Seminar, the level of research, reading, writing and critical discussion is on par with a foundation-level college course. Some Advanced Seminars offered this year are: Science, Culture and the Decade of the 1960s, Medicine: Analysis and Decisions, and Theories of Beauty: An Introduction to Aesthetics.

The Harvard report also advocates for expanding students’ thinking about “good” colleges. At MBS, we believe there is no “best college.”

Instead, our college counselors focus on helping every student find the "right fit.” As articulated in Turning the Tide, “guidance counselors and other stakeholders should challenge the misconception that there are only a handful of excellent colleges, and that only a handful of colleges create networks that are vital to job success. It is incumbent on parents to underline this misconception as well.”

The MBS College Counseling office has implemented several initiatives to help expand the conversation about fit and match. Their programmatic growth provides a supportive, student centered approach to counseling, not a prescribed version. Every student's journey is different—a unique compilation of accomplishments, skills and passions. Ultimately, the college search reflects the uniqueness of each individual—the recruited athlete’s lens perhaps different from that of the aspiring engineer.

Although the college process culminates in the selection of a college senior year, in many ways it begins on the first day of high school. A rigorous academic program, coupled with extracurricular activities, gives students the opportunity to explore and develop their own interests and talents.

Their experiences in the classroom, on the playing field, on stage or in their community all play a role in the journey of self-discovery that will frame their search for the right college "match."

The MBS College Counseling program provides students with the necessary tools and guidance to identify “best fit” schools and communicate their stories effectively. It involves a process of self-reflection to determine which factors are most important in considering where to further their education.

Moreover, it encourages an honest self-assessment of their own profile and how it fits with that of a prospective college. The role of the counselor is to help students recognize the choices available to them and provide support and advocacy throughout the process. This approach, in combination with the colleges’ growing appreciation of Morristown-Beard School’s curricular philosophy and offerings, yields excellent results. The majority of our students enroll at schools identified as “most” and “highly” selective, with many gaining admission to those which, based on standardized testing alone, may have been considered a “reach.”

The anecdotal feedback from our young alumni is that the MBS experience and the College Counseling office have served them well in their college journey. This year we are initiating a more formal longitudinal study to examine our young alumni experiences and preparedness for college life.

While our forward-thinking curriculum and programmatic growth in the College Counseling office have not eliminated the angst and pressure surrounding the application process, counselors are helping students to emerge from high school true to their interests and passions, and with a healthier sense of self. In doing so, we are powerfully preparing our students for success—not just in college—but also throughout their lives.

Sam Nadler ’17 Boston College

Q: Tell me about your college search process…

A: I started the process very early and originally I was only looking at schools that were recruiting me for soccer. By my junior year I decided that the most important thing was not to limit myself to schools that were offering a soccer scholarship, but to find colleges where I could continue the kind of liberal arts education that MBS offers. It seemed really important to get a broad background because you never know where you’re going to end up down the road.

Q: What do you think helped to set you apart in the application process?

A: At MBS, you can really take ownership of your education, and I think colleges appreciate that. You can start a club, do an Independent Study, or make your mark in a number of different ways. During my time here, I participated in MBS Weather Services, not because I thought I’d pursue a career in meteorology, but because it was an exciting and unique opportunity. We were one of only two high schools nationwide to present at the American Meteorological Society Conference. As part of the BFI (Business, Finance and Investment) Club, we took a field trip to the Royal Bank of Canada and I was able to meet one of their senior economists.

After this, I decided to take an Independent Study in economic forecasting and an Advanced Seminar class in economics.

Q: How did the MBS College Counseling Office help guide you?

A: It’s so helpful that they’re here on campus and you see them all the time.

They talk to your teachers and they really get to know you as a person, so they can be true advocates for you in the college process. The Center for Academic Writing was also a fantastic resource when I was writing my college essays.

Q: Why do you think Boston College is a good fit for you?

A: I’m ecstatic about going to Boston College. I wanted a strong liberal arts program and I really liked the feel of the campus environment. Boston is such a fun, young city.

Q: What advice would you give an underclassman who is starting the college search process?

A: Be proactive and take ownership of it. This is your college search, not your parents’. Visit the schools that interest you; you need to get a good feel for the community in person because this is the environment where you’re going to be living for the next four years.

Crimson Spring 2017 33

Stories of

Teaching& Learning Parents participate in problem-solving activity

At the Middle School Coffee on December 1st, parents learned about tinkering by stepping into Rob Mead’s science classroom, dividing into teams, and tackling a problem of their own.

Armed only with some PVC tubing, a bucket of joint pieces and some zip ties, the parents had to figure out how to send a ball out 10 feet and make it return again. The activity was designed to illuminate the concept of tinkering, a movement which aims to instill creativity and innovation through the design and construction of objects.

“It’s an open-ended exercise in which the focus is on the process,” explained Mead, who incorporates tinkering challenges into his curriculum. “It’s great to put a ‘problem’ out there and help the students develop a mindset that they have literal and figurative tools at their disposal that can be brought to bear on any problem. What’s more, they are equipped with the realization that they may not ultimately succeed in solving the specific problem at hand, but their attempt will lead them to greater understanding of the nature of the problem and into new areas of knowledge. For teachers, this can mean putting aside their mantles as ‘knowledgeable experts,’ and assuming roles as supportive coaches, willing collaborators, or even eager students.”

Although the parents were unable to complete the task in the short 30-minute time span, they improvised well and learned about team dynamics. Most importantly, they gained new insights into what their children are experiencing in class every day.

34 Crimson Spring 2017

IN THE CLASSROOM

Physics Students Wire Dollhouses This fall, MBS 9th graders created their own model houses and used their physics knowledge to help equip the structures with everything from interior and exterior lighting to working doorbells and variable speed fans.

In groups of two, the students designed, built, and wired the houses, which were furnished with 3D objects in each room. To meet the basic course requirement, students included elements such as a series circuit, a parallel circuit room, and a compound circuit room. Honors credit upgrades included outside lighting, a door alarm, and a variable speed fan. At the end of the project, all groups provided a diagram of the complete circuit of the building.

The “Wired House” project helps students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, while also calling for a great deal of creativity.

“When you allow students to get creative, they get much more invested in the work,” said Jeff Yuhas, Upper School science teacher. “They’re gaining an understanding of science that is memorable and relatable. It goes from a demonstration and an experiment to a moment when students really understand how circuits work in their own homes.”

Yuhas enjoyed seeing so many students collaborating and problem-solving.

“The best part is that all of the 9th grade physics classes are doing the project, and it allows for so much collaboration. Students are coming in during their free periods and are working together to figure things out.”

Crimson Spring 2017 35

Branching Out As part of their unit on trees, Middle School science teacher Brent Deisher and his 8th grade students studied the massive American beech tree near Alumni House.

Mr. Deisher and his students estimate that the tree is 200 years old—predating the founding of The Morristown School by about 75 years!

The 8th grade science class also makes frequent trips to Frelinghuysen Arboretum to study forest ecology and field biology.

History Students Get a Dance Lesson History students in Dr. Brian Merry’s “America in the 1950s” history class got a lesson in one of the most popular dances of the era with some help from Andrea Deventer’s dance class.

The students met in the MBS Dance Studio on Friday, December 16th to learn the jitterbug, a mid-20th Century dance associated with swing and jive.

36 Crimson Spring 2017

IN THE CLASSROOM

Independent Study Takes Senior to Broadway As part of her Independent Study in Theater Management, which she pursued jointly with Studio & Performing Arts Chair Susan Speidel and MBS Technical Director Nik Marmo, senior Taylor Jaskula ’17 had the opportunity to go “behind the scenes” of a Broadway show.

For one day, Jaskula shadowed Matthew DiCarlo, the production stage manager of the Tony-Award winning show The Color Purple.

Taylor's Independent Study focused on the broad range of responsibilities that define the job of a theatrical stage manager, as well as an exploration of how stage managers interact with the staff and administration of a professional theater production.

She has explored the differences between commercial and nonprofit theater companies, as well as budgeting practices and marketing strategies for theatrical productions.

Crimson Spring 2017 37

Middle School Students Vote in Mock Election The 2016 Presidential election provided tremendous opportunities for Middle School students to learn about the issues, participate in debates, and experience democracy at work. Mrs. Alders’ 8th grade history students gave speeches outlining the policy positions of the Presidential candidates and created their own advertising campaigns. The classes devised a system to simulate the Electoral College using advisories instead of states. They also calculated a winner based on the popular vote.

Students Find Inspiration at Writers’ Retreat Chaperoned by Dr. Boynton, Ms. Warner, Ms. Williamson, and Mr. Lovelock, a group of 17 students left School on a Friday afternoon in November for the annual MBS Writers’ Retreat in Blairstown, NJ. Students comfortably settled into couches and armchairs in front of a roaring fire as they worked on their poetry, short stories, screenplays, essays, and novels. Mother Nature provided a dusting of snow on the final morning, icing on the cake of a splendid weekend of words.

38 Crimson Spring 2017

IN THE CLASSROOM

Middle School Airs Newscast After school on Wednesdays, Jennifer Larson’s classroom is transformed into a bustling newsroom as Middle School students are busy brainstorming ideas, writing copy, prepping for interviews, and taping segments using their iPads.

The students are part of the “MS MBS” news team, an exciting new activity that allows Middle School students an opportunity to produce their own weekly news show. The first seven-minute newscast aired at Middle School Morning Meeting in September and was an instant hit.

“I’m so happy with how the first newscast turned out,” said MS MBS faculty advisor Jennifer Larson. “It was a student-driven effort and it was a real cross section of students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. From writing to shooting video and editing, they did it all.”

There are currently about 15 students involved on the news team, covering a range of topics including weather, student life, sports, culture, and more.

Future Doctors Practice Suturing Members of the MBS Future Doctors Club got a hands-on lesson in wound closure on Wednesday, November 2nd thanks to Dr. Michele Blackwood, parent of MBS junior Jenny Blackwood ’18. Dr. Blackwood, a board-certified breast surgeon and seven-time New Jersey Monthly Top Doctor, helped the students practice suturing techniques using chicken breasts. Dr. Blackwood is affiliated with Saint Barnabas Medical Center’s esteemed breast cancer department, where she also mentors residents.

Crimson Spring 2017 39

Beyond the

Classroom

40 Crimson Spring 2017

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS VISIT QUEBEC AND MONTREAL On October 20th, MBS 7th and 8th graders embarked on an exciting trip to Quebec—“La Belle Province.”

The students toured Quebec City, and discovered the magnificent Parc de la Chute Montmorency (with falls higher than those of Niagara Falls!), took a mysterious ghost walk through the old city, and strolled through the enchanting Quartier Petit Champlain—the oldest shopping district in North America. In Montreal, the students discovered the city’s Parisinspired metro system, explored Place Jacques Cartier in Old Montreal, and entered the fabulous world of the Biodome.

FIELD TRIPS IMPACT MIDDLE SCHOOL LEARNING In an ongoing effort to extend the classroom walls and purposefully fold the local area into the curriculum, Middle School students embarked on a series of field trips this past fall.

Sea, Air and Space Museum. The students participated in a docent-led social studies program in which they responded to a series of historical photographs in a short creative writing assignment.

The 6th Grade visited Bobolink Dairy in Milford to study this completely sustainable farm.

The 8th Grade visited Grounds For Sculpture, a sculpture garden and museum in Hamilton Square, NJ just outside of Trenton. The 42-acre sculpture park opened in 2000 and now includes more than 270 large-scale contemporary sculptures.

The 7th Grade traveled to Manhattan, where they toured the Intrepid

Crimson Spring 2017 41

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM MBS COMMUNITY SUPPORTS LOCAL CHARITIES Morristown-Beard School students, faculty and staff got a true taste of the holiday spirit by participating in a Thanksgiving food drive this October that provided meals for distribution by The Salvation Army to families in need.

The year’s holiday toy drive was a tremendous success again, providing more than a truckload of toys to the Morris County Park Police to be delivered to various churches, welfare organizations and hospitals, and underprivileged and sick children in Morris County.

VARSITY ATHLETES VOLUNTEER On November 12th, members of the MBS girls varsity soccer team hosted a soccer clinic on campus for 10 children from Children’s Specialized Hospital. The girls led the children through various games and exercises before joining them for a fun scrimmage.

MBS parents and players brought wonderful snacks and drinks for everyone to enjoy after the clinic.

“It was a wonderful experience for our team, and it was so good to see the joy on the children’s faces and happiness while playing,” said MBS girls soccer coach Chris Calveley. “Our girls were amazing too, taking complete care of the children, engaging them fully, looking after them, and doing everything they could to make each child feel so special and enjoy playing.

I’m very proud of every one of them.”

42 Crimson Spring 2017

STUDENTS ENJOY A DAY OF SHAKESPEARE In October, a group of 37 MBS Upper School students from English classes and the theater program traveled to Drew University in Madison for a day filled with Shakespeare.

The students visited the First Folio Exhibit, part of a nationwide tour hosted by the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., the Cincinnati Museum Center, and the American Library Association, and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and Google. The Folio, which was published in 1623 after Shakespeare's death, includes 36 of his plays—18 of which had never been published before.

They also toured a special exhibit in the Drew Archives about the process used to print the original folio and heard from one of the Drew librarians about how paper was made and type was set. After the exhibit, they attended a matinee performance of Richard III, produced by the Shakespeare Theater of NJ, and participated in a post-show discussion with the cast, moderated

by Brian Crowe, Director of Education at the Shakespeare Theater of NJ.

MBS STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT PEACE CORPS On September 28th, five Morristown-Beard School students attended a special program at 70 South Gallery in Morristown in conjunction with the National Peace Corps Association.

The gallery’s exhibit, Spirit, featured more than 120 photographic works of Peace Corps volunteers from around the world. It showcased the interactions these volunteers had with the locals in their respective communities, and provided the viewer with a window into their lives.

By participating in the gallery’s “Peace Corps Discovery Day,” the students learned about the iconic organization and the opportunities that exist for students in global volunteering. Back at MBS, they used different types of media—photography, painting, drawing, and digital creation—to illustrate the theme of Spirit in their everyday life.

Crimson Spring 2017 43

Crimson Corner

VARSITY SPORTS ROUND-UP

By Steve Patchett

Cross Country

The MBS cross country team enjoyed a successful season, with runners posting personal bests at batch races as well as tournament races.

As a team, the Crimson competed in the Morris County Tournament, the Prep Tournament, and the State Group Meet. Sophomore Alex D’Alessandro ’19 was named First Team AllNJAC Liberty Division while classmate Justin Recupero ’19 received Honorable Mention.

Arik Morton ’19 received the Coach’s Award, while boys team captain Jake Raimer ’17 earned the team’s Crimson Award for leadership.

The girls cross country team was led by senior captain Allie Goldberg ’17, who received the Crimson Award, and Jessica Roitman ’20, the team’s Most Improved Runner.

Girls Soccer

The girls varsity soccer team enjoyed another winning season, posting a 10-7-3 record. The Crimson were seeded #1 in their Non-Public B Section before falling to Newark Academy 44 Crimson Spring 2017

in the semifinals. MBS also advanced to the semifinals of the Prep B Tournament, and played into the second round of the Morris County Tournament. Juliette Pike ’19 and Maggie Cotter ’19, the team’s Co-MVPs, were named First Team All-NJAC Liberty Division, while Sofea Stanton ’18 and Lily Pinkin ’19 were named Second Team, and Sarah Bregna ’18 received Honorable Mention. Sophomore Maggie Cotter was named to the Second Team All-Daily Record squad, while Genevieve Pike ’19, Juliette Pike, Lily Pinkin, and Sofea Stanton received Honorable Mention. Juliette Pike and Maggie Cotter were also named to the Morris County Coaches Team. Izzy Warner ’18 received the team’s Crimson Award.

Boys Soccer

The boys varsity soccer team finished with a 5-13-1 record, which was a significant improvement over last season. The Crimson lost a heartbreaker to Dwight-Englewood in the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA State Tournament, and played into the semifinals of the Prep

Fall 2016

Tournament. Joey Velazquez ’17, the team’s MVP, and Sam Nadler ’17 were named First Team All-NJAC Liberty Division, while Johnny Schaaf ’17 was named to the Second Team, and Charlie Ewig ’17 received Honorable Mention.

Nadler was named Third Team All-Morris County, while Ben Hargrove ’20 and Velazquez received Honorable Mention. Hargrove, Nadler, Schaaf, and Velazquez received Honorable Mention from the Daily Record.

Football

Although it was an injury-plagued season, the young MBS varsity football team made real strides in 2016. The Crimson (2-7) played with heart and determination, and posted a convincing 51-28 win over People’s Prep as well as a 34-30 victory over Riverdale Country Day School. Offensively, the Crimson were led by running back Tahj Valentine ’18, who scored five touchdowns in six games before missing the remainder of the season due to a broken hand. Valentine, quarterback Declan Kelly ’18, and lineman Pat Salazar ’19 earned

Honorable Mention from the Daily Record.

Ryan Russo ’18, who had five interceptions, was honored by the Morris County Football Coaches Association for his defensive play.

He also received the MBS Fall Sportsmanship Award. Senior Jack Cipriano ’17 received this year’s Crimson Award, and was praised by Coach Tim Fell for being a “constant leader who led in many ways…sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly. He led by his words and by his actions.”

Volleyball

The girls varsity volleyball team worked hard on refining their volleyball skills as well as learning the importance of teamwork, communication, patience, and camaraderie.

Despite a 1-18 record, the team learned to support one another and become a cohesive unit. Senior Samantha Salazar ’17 received the team’s Crimson Award for her positive attitude and leadership. Jasmin Jenkins ’18 was named to the Second Team All-NJAC Liberty Division squad, while Katie Connell ’17

received Honorable Mention. Jenkins also received Honorable Mention from the Daily Record. Maeve Logan ’18 was praised by the team for her passing, while Ariana Martino ’19 was a defensive stand-out.

Field Hockey

The girls varsity field hockey team posted a 7-11-1 record this year, and played into the quarterfinals of the Non-Public B Tournament before falling to a strong Kent Place team.

Katie Wright ’18 was named to the NJAC Liberty All-Conference Team for her solid play throughout the season. Offensively, the Crimson were led by Samantha Hutchinson ’19, Jenna Pych ’18, and co-captain Kelly Tatulli ’17, who earned the team’s Crimson Award for her spirit and effort. Goalie Mackenzie May ’17 anchored the defense, saving a total of 59 shots. Isabella Pompeo ’17 was named the team’s Most Improved Offensive Player while Leila Curtiss ’17 was the Most Improved Defensive Player. The Crimson were also led

by Jaime Sheppard ’17 (Unsung Hero Award),

Kathrine Brennan ’17 (Coach’s Award), and Avery Matilsky ’17 (Team Player Award).

Girls Tennis

The girls varsity tennis team finished the season with a stellar 11-5 record. As a team, the Crimson played into the semifinal round of the NJSIAA State Tournament. The second doubles team of freshmen Molly Michel ’20 and Louisa Randazzo ’20 played extremely well, advancing to the finals of the Prep Tournament and the semifinals of the Morris County Tournament. The doubles team of Louisa Randazzo and Molly Michel was named First Team All-NJAC Liberty Division, while Deirdre Passione ’17 and the doubles team of Blake Kernen ’18 and Grace Kellogg ’17 were named to the Second Team. Maddie Sit ’19 earned All-NJAC Honorable Mention. Olivia Land ’17 and Grace Kellogg earned Coach’s Awards, while Deirdre Passione received the Crimson Award for “her effort on the court and her positive, encouraging attitude off the court.”

Crimson Spring 2017 45

Powerfully prepared

By Steve Patchett

The success of our alumni is proof of the powerful impact a Beard School, Morristown School, and Morristown-Beard School education can have.

As the alumni in this issue demonstrate, our graduates are exceedingly well prepared for college, careers, and beyond.

Passionate, hardworking, and fueled by a desire to give back, these alumni are making meaningful contributions, and we are proud to be part of their journey.

DR. SHARON SOLOMON ’88

A Clear Vision Dr. Sharon Solomon ’88, a retina specialist and the Katharine M. Graham Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the renowned Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, had a clear vision of her career goals from an early age.

“I still have a 4th grade autobiography project that describes me performing the world’s first total brain transplant in the final chapter,” said Dr. Solomon, who also remembers “having a very naïve ‘eureka moment’ when I watched a television series called The Body Human. That set me on a path from which I would never deviate.”

Dr. Solomon was fortunate enough to study at a number of outstanding academic institutions including Harvard, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Stanford, and Johns Hopkins, where she remains on the faculty. She credits Morristown-Beard School with being the real foundation for her life’s work.

“I will never forget that Morristown-Beard School, with its small class size, committed faculty, challenging courses, and nurturing environment absolutely prepared me in every way. MBS taught me not to be afraid to take on new challenges and that through a combination of hard work, determination, and humor, you can achieve your goals,” she said. “The 46 Crimson Spring 2017

approach to learning at MBS has made all the difference in my personal and professional life.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Harvard University, she discovered a passion for ophthalmology in medical school at UCSF. “I found that ophthalmology—vitreoretinal surgery in particular— had the perfect combination of surgical intervention with innovative techniques as well as continuity of care in a clinic setting. I have patients whom I have followed for years and who are fond of reminding me that they were patients of mine even before I got married and had children,” said Dr. Solomon, who has two boys, Ian and Aidan.

As a retina specialist, Dr. Solomon has been able to make meaningful contributions through her clinical trials work, which has been published in numerous scientific journals, and she has presented her work to colleagues around the world.

In academic medicine, the tripartite mission is “research, teaching, and patient care,” and Dr. Solomon is heavily involved in all three on a daily basis.

“What continues to make me happiest is the satisfaction of helping one patient at a time,” said Dr. Solomon. “Many times when I am arriving at the hospital before sunrise or leaving close to midnight, as I’m walking down the halls, I take a deep breath and think, ‘I am really here. I really made it. I love what I do. I make a difference every day. I had a naïve dream, and I really made it come true.’”

They filmed the characters of Generation Startup for 17 months, watching them go on an emotional rollercoaster ride as they tried to build their companies. At the same time, Egan and Houser were experiencing many of the same uncertainties as a two-person startup.

“Ultimately, we weren’t sure if we would have a movie. We didn’t know if we would come away with cohesive storylines; we just had to stick with it,” Egan explained. “But we knew our characters were pushing themselves outside their comfort zones to achieve goals and we knew that would provide for interesting stories.”

BRIAN EGAN ’08

Learning To Fail Playing it safe is not an option for filmmaker Brian Egan ’08.

Egan recently served as producer for the acclaimed documentary Generation Startup, which follows the risks, challenges, and successes of six recent college graduates as they strive to build startups in Detroit. The film underscores the notion that failure and risk-taking are essential to individual growth and professional success. Egan’s personal journey certainly reflects his art.

After graduating from Fairfield University’s Film, TV and Media Arts program, he took an unpaid internship at a post-production facility in New York City. It was there that he met Cheryl Houser, co-Director and Producer of Generation Startup. Cheryl hired Egan as the first employee at Creative Breed, a fledgling production company that they built from the ground floor.

“When we started making the film, we were working from Cheryl’s kitchen table. I had no experience making feature documentaries, let alone any content on a professional level,” he recalled. “I was given tasks on a daily basis that I had never done before, but I tried to stay confident and not mess anything up. I trusted Cheryl and was excited about the opportunity.”

Egan’s hard work and optimism paid off. Generation Startup opened theatrically in New York, Los Angeles and Detroit last fall and has been screened at numerous film festivals including Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival. The White House invited Generation Startup to screen at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Palo Alto in June. After their theatrical release, Creative Breed chose to use a grassroots distribution model for Generation Startup. They built a team and brought the film straight to their audience through event screenings.

It’s been quite a journey for Egan, who traces his passion for filmmaking back to his sophomore year at MBS. “I took Digital Video Storytelling with Chris Finn, and I became obsessed with using a camera and an editing machine,” he recalled. “I then spent the rest of my high school years working with Mr. Finn on Independent Study projects and other courses. I made everything from a documentary about the Contemporary Music Workshop (CMW) to music videos starring my friend Teddy Magrane to promotional videos highlighting campus events. I applied to Fairfield University using all of the content that I made at MBS.” He said the supportive atmosphere at MBS not only helped to shape his career, but also his entire outlook on life. “I never really understood that I was choosing a risky and unconventional path because I received so much encouragement at MBS and at home,” Egan said. “Looking back, I realize the value in creating your own path in life and building something from the ground up, like I watched my father do. I now understand what it feels like to go to work everyday and be passionate about what you’re doing.”

In the future, Egan’s goals are to continue to challenge himself daily and to help Creative Breed grow as a successful production company. “We want to continue to tell emotionally engaging stories that inspire people to think, feel, and take action,” he said.

Generation Startup will be available on Netflix in April, 2017.

Crimson Spring 2017 47

Calling All Alumni!

To inspire MBS graduates to give back to this special School, a thoughtful, generous member of the alumni community has anonymously pledged

$72,000 O WN

T S I

-B

RD

MO R

R

EA

to match alumni gifts made through June 30, 2017 to the Morristown-Beard Fund. That's a remarkable way to help MBS increase alumni participation and dollars in the MB Fund!

Please join this alumni leader and make your gift today by using the enclosed envelope or by visiting www.mbs.net/support. Whether you're enjoying a reunion year (all classes ending in 2s and 7s) or youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re somewhere in between, celebrate your alumni pride with a gift today!

RI

W STO N- B

EA

RD

MO R

Thank you for your kind support!

Every dollar donated to the Morristown-Beard Fund supports the improvement of the student experience. Please accept our grateful thanks if you have made a gift this year. For more information about the MB Fund, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 973.532.7579.

48 Crimson Spring 2017

Class Notes Updates From the

Alumni Board Dear Friends, 2016 marked the end of our School’s 125th anniversary and in true Morristown-Beard School fashion—we celebrated the whole year through! The New York Yacht Club hosted MBS family and friends in early October before alumni enjoyed Homecoming and the Hall of Fame Awards later in the month.

Next, there was the Darkstar concert at the Wellmont Theater in November, and Thanksgiving Eve found MBS young alumni gathered in large numbers at the Grasshopper off the Green in Morristown for drinks with out of town friends. We capped things off in December with the hugely successful Morristown School’s 125th anniversary event. All great events—thanks to a great MBS Alumni community—and I want to thank all of you who attended!

Spring is here, and we look forward to our next major event— MBS Alumni Reunion 2017 on Friday, June 2nd and Saturday, June 3rd. Friday night, we will have our young alumni on campus enjoying our third annual Young Alumni Reunion Party (Y.A.R.P.), which is exclusively for MBS alumni who graduated between 2006 and 2016. This has been a very successful event and we once again invite all of our G.O.L.D. (graduates of the last decade) alumni to attend.

On Saturday, we continue the celebration with campus tours, an amazing barbecue, a performing arts presentation by our talented students, and then the Headmaster’s Cocktail Party in the evening.

I urge everyone to attend! MBS Alumni Reunion is for all Beard School, Morristown School and MBS alumnae and alumni, so even if you aren’t celebrating a milestone year, come and join us.

There are many ways to stay connected with the MBS Alumni Association. Please send in notes for Crimson and let us know what you’ve been up to; like our new Alumni Facebook page and send photos to post; follow us on Instagram; become a class agent; or maybe even join the Alumni Board.

These are just a few of the ways to be involved, and we look forward to hearing from all of you.

Go Crimson!

year 70th 1947 Nancy “Taz” Tasman Brower is looking Reunion

forward to her 70th reunion this spring and invites her classmates to join her.

“Can any classmates join me at reunion on June 3rd? I would be glad to put you up.”

Richard Palmer writes, “I sure do miss mingling with the alumni now that we are anchored in Florida. My wife and I have had the pleasure of putting cruises together for neighbors and friends, and had 52 joining us during the last week of January, 2017 on the Oasis, which has just been moved to Cape Canaveral. Living 10 minutes from Disney gives us the opportunity to see many friends when they come south!”

1948 Robert Greenberger still lives in

Leesburg, FL, where he enjoys flying his airplane. He is married with children, grandchildren, and now greatgrandchildren! “Hello to my classmates!”

1950 Carolyn Clarkson Markham

(CLASS AGENT) would love to hear any news from

her classmates. “I’ve had an amazing and interesting life since 1950 and am still living in the same home I moved into as a bride 61 years ago.” Her hobbies revolve around her horses, dogs (breeding, training and international competition), and cars (hill climb racing). She recently became active in boating and boating safety as an officer with the United States Power Squadrons. year 65th 1952 Jon R. Appel retired nine years ago after Reunion

Caroline (Elias) Turben ’87 President, MBS Alumni Board

Ready to Volunteer?

Need info about upcoming alumni events?

Please visit www.mbs.net/alumni or email alumni@mbs.net.

selling his startup company. He keeps busy serving as a Vet to Vet Hospice volunteer, golfing, hiking, skiing, and skating. He has four children and seven grandchildren.

“Mr. Wilkie and Mr. Burke gave me a great start!” he says.

1953

Joyce Bodig says, “As I’ve crossed an Crimson Spring 2017 49

CLASS NOTES incredible age border, it’s hard for me to believe that I’m still running the concerts at the wonderful Frick Collection. As an avocation, I was teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) until last fall. Life in New York City can be frenetic, but there are many wonderful places to slow down and smell the roses. I’m in regular touch (thank you, email) with Mimi Hamilton Kugushev, Mary Anne Meyers Anderson, and Sue Brewer Williams. Thanks to our 50th anniversary, I’m in occasional contact with others. My two sons, Christian and Paul, are well, but (darn them!) no grandchildren.”

old rail bridge in Poughkeepsie,” she writes. “It was a bonding moment for like-minded citizens of all genders and nationalities.”

Emily (Emmy Lou) Lehman Smith is living in New York City during the week and Connecticut on the weekends, and calls it “the best of both worlds!” She still serves on several nonprofit boards, and enjoys spending time with family and friends, visiting museums, and attending concerts and lectures (including the upcoming Lehman Lecture at MBS on May 9th).

Her husband Bob is still working as a lawyer.

Dick Stinson (CLASS AGENT), an Episcopal minister, recently retired for the third time after serving for a year and a half as a supply priest in a parish near his home in the Shenandoah Valley.

1957 Sandy Adam

1955 Bettie Francis Comas LaVallee

th year (CLASS AGENT) writes, “Hello Morristown School Class of 1957: Jim Hine, Bob Whitman, and I are reaching out to all classmates to join us for MBS Alumni Reunion, Saturday, June 3rd, 2017. Activities for our class will be similar to our 50th. Details to follow. You will not be disappointed!”

(CLASS AGENT)

60

Reunion

Barbara Davis Miller says, “See you for our 60th on June 3rd!”

shares some updates from her Beard Class of 1955 classmates. She is sad to report of the passing of Janet Blackwell Bent’s husband in April 2016. Additionally, Susan Meyers Barrett lost her battle with cancer in February 2017, but her classmate and dear friend Peggy Pattyson Greene kept Susan’s spirits lifted with her daily phone calls. Peggy and Susan were friends since third grade. Bettie is happy to report that she and her husband, Ron, have had the opportunity to visit numerous family members last year. They went to San Antonio and saw a cousin of hers that she hadn’t seen in 35 years. They also traveled to St. Louis and to Puerto Rico for the Christmas holiday and saw children and grandchildren. Bettie’s husband Ron celebrated his 80th birthday last year.

Brenda Pruden Winnewisser (CLASS AGENT) reports that “a few Beard classmates decided that it was a now or never to get a big inclusive group together for a good party. There will be a 60th reunion! In fact, we already have a block reservation for a hotel. As I learned at recent college reunions, we can talk about things today that we could not have dreamed of talking about decades ago. We look forward to reconnecting old friendships, seeing classmates in a new light, and finding new insights, not to mention having a good time.”

1956 Barbara Newberry Lindsley participated in

1958 Ken Phillips writes, “Since my graduation in

the Women’s March on January 21, 2017 to call attention to women’s rights, climate change, and many other issues. “Some 3,000 of us walked peacefully but with determination across the 50 Crimson Spring 2017

Email me at winnewisser.2@osu.edu for more information about our 60th!

1958, I have had two great marriages, first with Belinda Rinker (Beard ’58) and we’re still good friends – and now with Rebecca, my spouse of 27 years. We have three children and five

grandchildren, ages 11 to 16.” Ken’s work has always been with nonprofits, including Save the Children as fundraising director, Foster Parents Plan as executive director, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as head of organizational development. For the past 20 years, he has served as a consultant for NGOs in the United States and Eastern Europe, and is currently working with the Polish Ministry of Youth. He recently traveled to Ecuador and is planning a rafting trip down the Colorado River this summer. “Life is great! I attribute a lot of my success to my education and other learning at Morristown. I look forward to seeing everyone for our 60th reunion in 2018.”

1960 After 41 years,

Hope Phillips Hazen (CLASS AGENT) and Terry Alfano Vance enjoyed a wonderful reunion lunch together in Morristown. “We spent the afternoon reminiscing about friends and crazy times at Beard in addition to catching up on each other’s lives. Truly amazing!” said Hope. “The welcome mat is always out at my house in New Vernon if any classmates are in our area. I would love to hear from anyone. Send me mention of any fun happenings in your lives. My email is Hopehazen@aol.com.” year 55th 1962 Peter Engler enjoys living with his wife, Carole, Reunion

in Belvedere, CA where he writes novels, career guides, and company histories for local firms, and visits his five children and 11 grandchildren. He is active in several veterans’ organizations, and also stays busy skiing and sailing.

marketing materials, and sit on the board of one of our concert bands. My favorite part of the day is nap time. I hope to see all of you at our 55th reunion!”

1965 Gregory Stuart is enjoying retirement with his Dr. Jeanie Hayes drove her horse carriage in the Christmas parade in Woodside, CA. Jeanie enjoys her many friendly and exotic hand-raised farm animals in the backyard of her country home in Marin County, CA. She sometimes uses her animals in her psychotherapy private practice to assist her clients in their therapeutic work.

Bill Phillips (CLASS AGENT), a graphic designer who created the logo and packaging for the York Peppermint Pattie and The Browning Arms Company among others, recently moved to the Pittsburgh area. “I have been missing my grandchildren’s growth both in school and in sports, so I thought it best to be near them,” he says. “Ian has two and a half years left in high school and Isabella is in the eighth grade. They are both 4.0 students and excellent athletes. All of my best to my Morristown Prep classmates of 1962 and to all those attending MorristownBeard School!”

Jim Rutgers says that retirement is exhausting! “Since I retired to the Hilton Head area in 2013, I have joined nine musical groups. I play bass trombone or tuba in three concert bands, three swing bands, two brass quintets, a brass ensemble, and a theater orchestra. I play golf twice a week with the Riverbend Men’s League and the Jersey Boys, maintain my own property, eat out at least three times a week, go to church, and have a date night with my wife Carol on Thursday nights. I do some real estate photography for a few agents, maintain four websites for some of our groups, do graphic design for our concert

wife of 45 years and their two children and three year-old granddaughter. “I’ve been devoting my time to staying active and healthy, making new friends, reconnecting with old ones, and driving my 1958 Corvette. I am taking adult education classes in conversational German and have planned trips to Germany each of the last four summers to visit with family friends. I’m looking forward to hearing from any classmates who might be in the Potomac, MD area.”

1966 Christine Cope Pence writes that members

of the Beard Class of 1966 got themselves organized, mainly through Facebook, email and telephone. “Maria Megaro Baris, Carrie Schultz Trooboff, Pam Theopolis Server, Chipi Morales, and Christine Cope Pence met up for the first time in 50 years in Miami for a couple of days doing what women do when on vacation… touring, eating, chatting, laughing, reminiscing, and even sharing a lovely bottle of champagne sent to us by Paula Colon Huessy Stahmer, who could not come at the last minute. Our classmate list is almost complete now, so we hope others we have missed will join in with us at least by mail.”

to a new home in 2006 with my mother whom I cared for until her death in 2014 at the age of 96. It was a joy and a privilege to care for her. I am still in the house that I share with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and a Basset Hound.

This year, it will be 40 years since I began doing psychic readings and psychotherapy. I started an AirBnB two years ago and have been busy ever since. I love being a host and meeting all sorts of interesting people. My door is always open to friends from the Class of 1966. Stop by if you ever find yourself in the Hudson Valley!”

1968 Craig Johnson and classmate Dave Dyer recently visited Uta Totton, the wife of MBS coaching legend Larry Totton. “Dave and I have very fond memories of Larry—his dedication, enthusiasm, and unwillingness to settle for second best have been instrumental and a mantra for both of us for the past 50 years.” Now retired, Craig and his wife of 42 years, Barbara, have two sons and two grandchildren. He has run 15 New York City Marathons, and also enjoys drawing, traveling, spending time with his grandchildren, and getting involved with marches and causes that he embraces. “Today’s global marches have officially energized me!” he writes.

1970 Delevan Barrett

(CLASS AGENT) writes, “Those that remember me always knew I was eccentric.

Now the inventive part of me is starting to pay off, as I have received a callback from the TV show Shark Tank. Too awesome for a blind guy! Anybody visiting near Asbury Park, stop by…I’m on the beach, where the action is.”

1977 Although he’s Lynn Walcutt has been living in New York’s Hudson Valley for the past 25 years, 16 of those on a horse farm where she still rides dressage.

She has been painting for 20 years and has had some of her work included in shows. “I moved

40th

Reunion

year

living in Southern California now, Jim Crouch (CLASS AGENT) hopes to return to campus this spring for his 40th reunion. He sends a photo that captures one of his “Southwest” parties.

Crimson Spring 2017 51

CLASS NOTES

1980 Warren Bobrow is excited to announce the

completion of his fifth book, The Craft Cocktail Compendium, which will be released in May, 2017. Warren is also working as a master mixologist and liquor brand ambassador on a global basis. Much of his work can be found on his website: www.cocktailwhisperer.com.

1985 Nolan Dionisio has been living and working in Orlando, FL since 1993. year 1987 Sandra Appet Pesso

30th

Reunion

(CLASS AGENT) says, “Party plans are underway to celebrate the Class of 1987’s 30th Reunion! Please save the date for Saturday, June 3rd and stay tuned for more information. If you are on Facebook, please join the group ‘MBS Class of 1987 Notes’ for up-to-date alumni information.” She sends a big thank you to MBS Alumni Board President Caroline Elias Turben (CLASS AGENT) and class reunion coordinators Kate Carlson Furer, Robert Warnock (CLASS AGENT), Suzanne Raved, Joe Lentini, David Hedley, Louise van der Does, Lisa Himmelwright Kein, Stuart Vorcheimer, and Alex Ewig.

1994 Greg Alkhas, who serves as Managing Director at Angle Advisors in Birmingham, Michigan, was recently named All Star Investment Banker of the Year by the Michigan Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG).

This prestigious award was based on providing exceptional advisory work and going above and beyond for clients.

Veronica Bazile recently celebrated 10 years with the City of Indian Harbour Beach Police Department in Florida as a Communications Officer/Records & Evidence Clerk. Her oldest daughter, Nayla Contreras (19), is studying Forensic Psychology at Faulkner University, and her youngest daughter, Jordyn Contreras (18), will be graduating from Satellite High School in Satellite Beach, FL this May. She also reports that her mother is healthy again after having a heart attack in October 2015. “Life is good in the sunshine,” she writes. “I pray all is well with my fellow alumni, former teachers and staff, as well as the current MBS family. God bless!”

year 25th 1992 Jeff Grace’s film, Folk Hero & Funny Guy, will Reunion

be released in theaters on May 12th. Jeff wrote and directed the movie, which made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Fest last April.

52 Crimson Spring 2017

with fellow 2002 alumna and mother of two, Emily Broeman Farnum for a play date with their sons Tommy and Henry in Rowayton, CT. Jackie is married to alumnus Daniel Pellenberg, and Emily’s husband is Henry Farnum.

I just had our first baby, Brynn Emery Lewis, born on 1/5/2017.”

2005 Tyler Mulvihill

recently moved to Darien, CT and “we are loving it!”

that she will be serving as Class Agent for the MBS Class of 1989. Lisa can be reached via email at lisatomh@gmail.com. She and her family are enjoying life in Connecticut.

Reunion

2004 Andrew Lewis writes, “My wife Elizabeth and

1988 Alyssa Tierney Angelbeck and her family

1989 Lisa Kaugher Humphreys is happy to report

year 15th 2002 New mom Jackie Grant Pellenberg got together

1998 Sean Downey is excited to announce that he

and Julie McClain were married on August 27th, 2016 at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange. “We were thrilled to have Ed Forbes join us as a groomsman.” Sean works in Manchester, NH as a consultant managing client campaigns for Hilltop Public Solutions, a Washington-based public affairs and political consulting firm. Mrs. Downey served as the New Hampshire communications director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Concord, NH.

(CLASS AGENT) is engaged to his high school sweetheart, Sarah Stout.

“She is from Basking Ridge, where John Ellis introduced us,” he writes. Tyler accepted a new position at the world’s leading blockchain company, ConsenSys, as a director focusing on enterprise Fortune 500 clients. “Samantha Wynn ’10 also started at the same company and we ran into each other in the office not knowing we were both graduates of MBS!”

2006 Ben Joelson writes, “Last summer marked 10 years in uniform for me and the birth of our first child. After finishing my last active duty

assignment with the Air Force in Italy, I accepted a job with the Chertoff Group, a global risk advisory consulting firm in Washington, D.C. My wife Ashley and I, along with our daughter Sophia, currently live in Alexandria, VA. It’s a bit weird being out of the military, but we are enjoying the stability of civilian life, and always look forward to connecting with MBS classmates and alumni!”

Jake Lewis played three years of Junior ‘A’ ice hockey before playing NCAA ice hockey at Skidmore College, where he earned a degree in business.

After college, he played professionally with the Montpellier Vipers of the French Division 1 Hockey League for one season. He and his father are opening a fitness studio called Orangetheory Fitness in Eastchester, NY. “I’m so glad (and not surprised) to see Morristown-Beard flourishing the way it is,” he writes.

Kirsten Stainer ’14 A World of Opportunities

T

o say that Kirsten Stainer ’14 is gaining real-world experience while pursuing a degree at NYU is an understatement.

Stainer, a junior majoring in International Economics and Global Marketing Strategy, has worked in the fashion industry for The Donna Karan Company and J. Mendel, served as Executive Director of The Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation, and recently joined Merrill Lynch as a Client Associate.

Eriqah Williams Vincent was selected as one of 15 members out of a nationwide pool of over 300 nominees to join the inaugural Youth Perspectives on Climate Justice Workgroup of the Environmental Protection Agency’s historic National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

The workgroup is comprised of young people ages 18 to 29 at the forefront of the fight against climate change. They will assist the EPA in developing strategies and finding opportunities to combat climate change and empower other young people to take on the challenge.

“Balancing all of this with my academic schedule at NYU has indeed been a test, but a worthwhile one,” she says.

2007 Matt Engel

One of her most exciting opportunities came last summer when she was asked to serve as Executive Director of The Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation (FEHSF), which provides immediate assistance to federal agent families in crisis. “My dear friend and founder of the foundation asked me to spearhead new initiatives and apply my marketing skills to the role. It was an opportunity I jumped at instantly,” she said. “Families that we served reached out to me regularly with gratitude beyond compare. It was an incredibly rewarding feeling for me that, in the wake of an emergency, a huge burden was being lifted thanks to FEHSF’s work.”

Reunion

year

(CLASS AGENT) began working

10th

at CIT Group in July in Livingston as an Assistant Vice President.

He recently got engaged to Adnana Adjkunic of West Orange. They currently live together in South Orange and are planning a trip to Europe later this year. Matt also recently joined the MBS Alumni Board and is excited to see all of his classmates at their upcoming 10th reunion.

Daniel Greco graduated from Pace Law School in 2014 with a J.D. and Certificate in International Law, and passed both the New Jersey and New York Bar Exams. After graduating, he began working with

Stainer has also spent considerable time studying abroad through NYU’s reciprocal agreement with the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3. “Having spent almost two years in Paris, I have become wellversed in studying consumer behavior and interacting with clients in both France and the U.S.,” she said.

This winter, Stainer joined Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management as a

Client Associate. “This new chapter is undoubtedly the largest in my professional career,” she said. “With this, I hope to explore other realms of business involving even higher risk and challenges, primarily venture capital.”

Stainer said that her MBS education has taught her to be open to new possibilities and has prepared her to succeed in a multitude of fields. “I credit so much of my character, work ethic, and well-rounded background to the Morristown-Beard School curriculum,” she said. “Entering NYU, one of the most diverse universities in the world, I was ready to intellectually engage with others from a spectrum of backgrounds. I entered my college years as a true critical thinker.”

She is grateful for the guidance of numerous MBS faculty members, especially Joanne Goldberg. “I had the privilege of being her history student for two years. Since day one, she pushed me to reach my potential and eventually surpass it,” said Stainer.

Crimson Spring 2017 53

CLASS NOTES the Morgan Stanley Global Financial Crimes AML Investigations Team and recently received a promotion to Manager.

John McHale recently completed his first year as a full-time live stream operator for ABC News. He writes, “Things were extremely busy during that time as we dealt with the primaries, the debates, the election, and the inauguration.

All this coupled with the ever-growing possibility of breaking news. In the spring, we hope to launch a live streaming product focusing not only on the news of the day, but also on fun things that are going in world so we’ll need all the content we can get. Have an idea for a stream? Send it my way.”

Corey Schneider tells us that his startup, the New York Adventure Club, recently surpassed 6,000 members. The club offers unique special-access tours with a focus on history and storytelling.

2008 Adam Dubov is a financial services professional in New York City. He left his associate role at a large insurance company for a position as a junior partner at a new firm in the Financial District. He resides in Manhattan’s Upper West Side with his fiancé and is scheduled to get married in 2018.

Henry Ingber, a professional audio engineer, writes, “Unfortunately, my home caught fire this past Thanksgiving and I was unable to recover many of my belongings including those with which I make my living. I have received a lot of support from those around me.”

He is currently writing his honors thesis and is looking forward to graduating in May.

2010 Jason Shatz has made a major career switch to

the IT sector. Last summer, he developed and launched an app, JUST Where They Stand, which provided a repository for information on the 2016 presidential candidates’ positions on pertinent issues. To create the app, he learned quite a few languages (HTML, CSS, Javascript, Ruby on Rails, and more) and is currently studying other languages including Python and Java. In his spare time, he enjoys completing the Sunday crossword puzzles in the New York Times.

2011 Caroline Bouillon has enrolled in paramedics

Nick Ferry and Travis Nardin ’14 recently had a mini-Morristown-Beard School reunion when they ran into Coach John Sheppard at the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Convention in Anaheim, CA this past January.

school and hopes to save countless lives.

Madeline Boyle raised more than $4,000 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society after completing the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon this past November.

Samantha Stathis graduated from Sotheby’s Institute of Art with her masters degree in American Fine and Decorative Art. year 5th 2012 2014 Doran McManus graduated from Bates College Bryair Alston is an athletic training student Reunion

Stay in Touch with MBS! Send us your news for the Fall issue of Crimson!

Keep the MBS community updated on your latest personal, professional, and civic achievements.

To be included in the next issue, please email us at alumni@mbs.net

by Friday, August 18.

54 Crimson Spring 2017

with a degree in politics.

2013 Breyton Croom is the vice president of

Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting, finance and management information systems honor society at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has played in the pit orchestra for four FDU musicals: Merrily We Roll Along, She Loves Me, Cabaret, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Last summer, he played at WAMFEST, Fairleigh Dickinson’s arts and music festival, where he got to meet Ice-T and the band SisterMonk. Breyton is featured on SisterMonk’s album, playing his bass clarinet.

at the University of Miami. Along with her wide receiver position group, she enjoyed the Hurricanes’ Russell Athletic Bowl win over West Virginia University.

2015 Alexa Rojek is currently in the cast of a

new play, Welcome to Claradise, at Santa Clara University. The show was written using interviews from members of the SCU community in the style of documentary theatre pioneered by actor Anna Deveare Smith. Alexa and the rest of the cast have been working with Smith throughout the process in a master class format during rehearsals.

In Memoriam Alexandra “Sandy” Linen Halsey ’52, September 7, 2016, age 82. The name Linen and the history of our Schools are inseparable. After a 1953 fire destroyed Beard’s main academic building, Sandy’s father John Schuyler Linen became a crucial member of the Board of Trustees. Sister Emma Joy Linen Dana ’49 was a trustee in the early, challenging days of the merger; Sandy, too, was a former MBS trustee; and Ann Linen Probert ’56, as with her older sisters, has long been active in alumni affairs.

Emma Joy, Ann, and the oldest Linen sister, Mary Alice Linen Warner ’47, survive her as do her four children, Wendy Halsey, Linda Halsey Bonadies, Anthony P. Halsey, Jr., and William Halsey ’85; a son in law; two daughters in law; and seven grandchildren. After Beard, Sandy graduated in 1956 from Skidmore College, where she later served as class agent, class president, and a reunion chair. The college awarded her their Outstanding Service Award for her alumnae work. In 1957, while working at Oxford University Press, Sandy met her late husband, Tony. The couple and their growing family lived in Summit, NJ until 1985, and then moved to Mystic, Connecticut. In Summit, Sandy was active with the Summit Speech School, where she served as president of the board; the Junior League of Summit; and the Summit Garden Club. In her beloved Mystic, Sandy volunteered with the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, Mystic Seaport, Mystic Garden Club, Mystic Art Association, and Mystic Congregational Church. Sandy loved to garden, play golf, walk her dog, sail, travel, and spend time with her family and friends.

Susan “Susie” Meyers Barrett ’55, February 7, 2017, age 78. Born in Orange, New Jersey, Susie attended Miss Beard’s School beginning in early childhood; she had happy memories of sitting on Miss Beard’s lap to hear stories. After Beard, Susie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Connecticut College. She is survived by three children, six grandchildren, her sister Mary Anne Anderson ’53, a brother, and nieces and nephews. Her husband, Charles Barrett III, died in 2005. Susie excelled in real estate sales in Texas (where she won many awards as a top selling agent), New Jersey, and more briefly in Jefferson City, Missouri where she lived at the time of her death. Susie was an active volunteer and member of the Cathedral of St. Joseph, the Rotary Club in Missouri and New Jersey, The Cole County Historical Society and the Junior League of New Jersey and Texas. A lifelong Republican, she was a Missouri Delegate to the 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida.

Elaine C. Scurtis ’55, October 23, 2016. At Beard, Elaine was known for her talents in music and drama, serving as Glee Club President. After Beard, Elaine graduated from Douglass College and developed her musical skills into a long career as a music educator in Springfield, New Jersey. A long time resident of West Orange, New Jersey, Elaine retired to Miami, Florida.

She was interred at the historic Rosedale Cemetery in Orange, New Jersey. Her brother John Scurtis, two nieces, a nephew, nine great nieces and nephews, and other family members survive her.

Brian Cooper Kent ’58, November 9, 2016, age 78. Born and raised in Watkins Glen, New York, Brian lived in Neptune, New Jersey until his death.

After graduating from The Morristown School, he became a career U.S. Army soldier, retiring as a master sergeant in 1974. Brian then began his own business, Kentronix Test Equipment, and ran it for more than 40 years. Brian loved golf and traveled the world to scuba dive and sightsee.

Brian’s wife, daughter, son, sister, stepdaughter, stepson, and grandson survive him.

Stephen Howard Cocks ’59, July 23, 2016, age 75. Stephen was devoted to his family, country, and veterans. First enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve, Stephen later joined the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, which he served until retiring in 1996. In 1979 Steve founded Resource Conservation Group and served as president until his death. Steve was known for collecting classic cars. His four daughters, three grandchildren, brother, sister, nephews, and other family survive him.

Adeline Pinckney Barnes, former trustee, November 1, 2016. Born in St. Matthews, South Carolina, Adeline lived in Randolph, New Jersey until her passing. Her three children Taryn Barnes Peppo ’86, Loryn Barnes Clark ’88, and Tyrone J. Barnes II; their spouses; her five grandchildren; two sisters and many cousins and nieces and nephews survive her. Her husband of 48 years predeceased her. A 1993 graduate of Rutgers University, Adeline was a parishioner at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in Randolph. She was an active volunteer in her children’s activities and sports both at MBS and in her community.

Corrections to the 2015-2016 Annual Report of Donors In our most recent Annual Report, Mark and Melissa Simon should have been included in the list of donors who contributed to the Matthew Giaquinto Scholarship Fund. They were incorrectly omitted from this list.

In addition, the Urbano Family was incorrectly recognized as “Mr. and Mrs. John Urbano” instead of “John and Jacqueline Urbano” in the Annual Report.

We sincerely apologize to both families for these errors.

Please accept our special gratitude for all of your kind support during the 2015-2016 school year.

Crimson Spring 2017 55

Class Agents Needed

for the MBS Alumni Association!

We need your help! The Alumni Association is dedicated to bringing you—our treasured alumni—exciting programs and events like Reunion, Homecoming, and more. Help us help you by joining the Class Agent program and representing your class!

How do Class Agents make a difference? The Class Agent’s primary role is to keep their classmates connected to MBS. Using group emails and texts, social media, and phone calls, Class Agents pass along information provided by MBS to encourage their class to attend events and to contribute class notes. During special reunion years (5th reunion, 10th reunion, etc.), Class Agents help to organize reunion-related activities both on and off campus. Simply put, by volunteering a little bit of your time, you can make a positive impact for your class.

Please note that Class Agents do not need to live near MBS (or even within New Jersey or New York City). The marvels of modern communication enable alumni across the country to serve MBS effectively in this role, regardless of physical location.

Please see the list below and consider volunteering to be a Class Agent. As the Alumni Association strives to maintain 1-5 Class Agents per class, please know that there is always room for your participation. To volunteer, please email alumni@mbs.net with your name, class year, contact information, and, of course, why you cherish MBS! Nancy “Taz” (Tasman) Brower ’47 tazbrower@yahoo.com

Carolyn (Clarkson) Markham ’50 cmredfox3@gmail.com

Fred Greenberg ’55 fgwindswept@aol.com

Bettie (Francis-Lajara) LaVallee ’55 manjimget@gmail.com

Dr. Richard L. Stinson ’56 kb3kbc@gmail.com

Bruce "Sandy" Adam’57 peaba@comcast.net

Brenda (Pruden) Winnewisser ’57

winnewisser.2@osu.edu

Hope (Phillips) Hazen ’60 hopehazen@aol.com

Loretta (Porter) James ’62 lorettapjames@aol.com

Bill Phillips, Jr. ’62 swike7ct@comcast.net

Carol Selman ’64 caselman28@aol.com

Paul Tversky ’64 ptversky@aol.com

Pamela (Norman) Apito ’65 pnorman.bes@gmail.com

Martha (Root) Brody ’65 marwdhnd@stny.rr.com

56 Crimson Spring 2017

Michael Esposito ’66

Stephanie (Gowski) Bush ’91 stephaniebush@verizon.net

jennifer.lynn.conway@gmail.com

Delevan Barrett ’70

Sallie (Oakes) O'Connor ’91

Matthew Engel ’07

meme1015@yahoo.com

del_barrett@yahoo.com

Jim Crouch ’77

oakessal@yahoo.com

Chip Rollinson ’91

Jennifer Conway ’06 engelmattc@gmail.com

Katie Apolinario ’09

jamesccrouch@gmail.com

chip.rollinson@gmail.com

katie.apolinario@gmail.com

Amy (Chaiken) Wolffe ’78

Mary (Milanesi) Koenig ’92

Zach Borker ’10

Steve “Peach” Fusco ’79

Whitney (Brusman) Shelton ’94

Rebecca Lerner ’10

amywolffe1@gmail.com steve@obrienyacht.com

David Moretti ’85

proskomedia@gmail.com

Sefton Stallard ’85 seftones@gmail.com

William “Bill” Trimble ’85 billtrimble901@gmail.com

Gail (Kaltenbacher) Kurz ’86 gail@setonco.com

Herman Kurz ’86 hkurz@setonco.com

mem3297@aol.com

wbrusman@yahoo.com

Dr. Christina (Toth) Breen ’95 cnt1978@gmail.com

Hugh Leoni ’97

staggart19@gmail.com

Ridgely W. Harrison, IV ’99

annacballiet@gmail.com

hugh.leoni@wellsfargo.com ridgelyiv@gmail.com

Darnell Parker ’00

Sandy (Appet) Pesso ’87

tashiammartin@yahoo.com

Caroline (Elias) Turben ’87

suedriscoll32@gmail.com

Robert Warnock ’87

tyler.g.mulvihill@gmail.com

Lisa (Kaugher) Humphreys ’89

gwilliams@mbs.net

caroline@extravagantgardens.com robwarnock69@gmail.com lisatomh@gmail.com

Lynne (Saliba) Moronski ’90 lynnemoronski@gmail.com

emar2cello@gmail.com

Maggie Ranger ’10

maggie.ranger1@gmail.com

Jackie (Jonnard) Landre ’86 spesso01@aol.com

lerner.rebecca@gmail.com

Emily Martuscello ’10

Peter Hedley ’97

phedley01@gmail.com

darnell.t.parker@gmail.com

jrgriffith2000@yahoo.com

zborker@gmail.com

Tashia Martin ’01 Sue Driscoll ’02

Tyler Mulvihill ’05

Sam Taggart ’10

Anna Balliet ’11

Lauren Capo ’11 lcapo93@gmail.com

Ali Shulman ’11

alixshulman1@gmail.com

Zach Gray ’12 zach@strivr.com

Brette Brier ’13

bhbrier@gmail.com

Ashley Young ’14

Greg Williams ’05

Ashyoung88@gmail.com

Lee (Grant) Bogaert ’06

Tbaptiste96@gmail.com

lee.bogaert@gmail.com

Trevor Baptiste ’14

SAVE the DATES Young Alumni Event

Pilsener Haus & Biergarten Hoboken, NJ

Thursday, April 20, 2017 7:00 - 9:00 PM For more information, contact Maggie Ranger ’10, Young Alumni Associate at 973.539.3032 or email mranger@mbs.net

2017

MBS HOMECOMING 2017

Lehman Lecture

Friday, October 13, 2017

FROM FAILURE TO FORTUNE:

Alumni Tailgate Athletic Hall Of Fame Friday Night Lights Football Game

The Battle to Save and Develop a National Historic Landmark Wednesday, May 3, 2017 6:30 PM Wilkie Hall, MBS Campus 70 Whippany Road, Morristown, NJ 07960 For more information, contact Monya Taylor Davis ’88, Associate Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving, at 973.532.7578 or email alumni@mbs.net.

ALUMNI MOMENTS

Back on the Ice: Alumni Gather for Hockey Events In December, former and current hockey players came together, dropped the puck, and hit the ice!

There was plenty of fast-paced excitement as more than 20 MBS players and alumnae united for the annual alumnae hockey game at Twin Oaks on December 23nd. The enthusiastic alumnae at the event included players from the first ever MBS Girls’ Ice Hockey team to the most recent.

Players included Allie Aiello ’13, Devin Blanchard ’16, Carolyn Chambers ’14, Katherine Chester ’13, Kendall Cornine ’15, Christina D’Alessandro ’15, Kelly Dolan ’14, Brittany Doyle ’06, Jenny Evans ’06, 58 Crimson Spring 2017

Julia Hunter ’03, Gina Maffei ’09, Charlotte McAuley ’10, Kathleen McNamara ’15, and Maggie O'Connell ’16. Returning alumni who attended but did not play included: Whitney Driver-Crimmins ’04, Meghan Evans ’08, Maggie Ranger ’10, Ashley Wilson ’05, Justine Wnek ’11, and Zoe Zisis ’11.

A small but spirited group of boys’ hockey alumni played an informal scrimmage at Twin Oaks Rink on December 30th. Players included: Greg Alberti ’06, Peter Connor ’94, Tim Connor ’09, Alex Ranger ’13, and Pat Yannotta ’06. Alumni interested in participating next winter should contact Maggie Ranger ’10, Young Alumni Associate at mranger@mbs.net.

The Alumni Concert On January 5th, 10 talented MBS alumni performed in Founders Hall at the School’s annual Alumni concert. From jazz to folk to Broadway, the various musical selections highlighted a wide range of talent and interests. The concert featured Pooja Aggarwal ’14, Ashley Aracena ’13, Samantha Cocuzza ’12, Breyton Croom ’13, Ryan Fisher ’16, Grace

Fleming ’13, Mitch Green ’13, Arielle Moss ’16, Rachel Moss ’14, and Alexa Rojek ’15. Steve Karbachinskiy ’16 served as master of ceremonies. Jack Collins ’16, Ray Namar ’16, and Carina Steficek ’15 worked behind-the-scenes to help make the performances shine.

Baptiste ’14 Selected to Team USA for Lacrosse

Congratulations to Morristown-Beard School alumnus Trevor Baptiste ’14, who has been named to the U.S. Men’s National Team for lacrosse. Baptiste, a faceoff specialist who is a junior at the University of Denver, is one of seven players on the 30-player USA Team roster who made their national team debut in an exhibition game against the University of Notre Dame at the annual Team USA Spring Premiere in Bradenton, FL on January 15th.

Baptiste is a two-time USILA First Team All-America selection and was fourth in the country in faceoff winning percentage a year ago after winning the statistical title in his rookie season in 2015.

A two-time Tewaaraton Award nominee, Baptiste was first in the country in 2016 in ground balls/ game with 10.19.

In his freshman year, Baptiste helped lead the Denver Pioneers to a National Championship. The team went 13-3 in 2016, winning their third consecutive Big East Regular Season Championship.

Crimson Spring 2017 59

ALUMNI MOMENTS

Morristown School Alumni Celebrate 125 Years On December 9, 2016, Morristown School alumni celebrated 125 years of MBS with a special event held in the Crimson Room at Twin Oaks Ice Rink in Morristown.

Alumni from four decades rekindled friendships and made new connections while enjoying dinner and drinks. The Crimson Room provided a skybox view of the ice rink, and the Morristown men in attendance were treated to a thrilling 3-1 victory by the current MBS boys ice hockey varsity team over La Salle College High School of Wyndmoor, PA. A short program, including hockey memories from Jon Wort ’64 and special recognition of Fred Greenberg ’55 (for his work on the event), took place during the second intermission.

Alumni received a framed replica Morristown School varsity letter and enjoyed viewing vintage memorabilia such as yearbooks, hats, and uniforms. Morristown School alumni attendees included: Philip Showell,

60 Crimson Spring 2017

Jr. ’48, Robert Smith ’53, John Perry ’54, Richard Seabury ’54, Fred Greenberg ’55, Robb Thompson ’55, Bruce “Sandy” Adam ’57, Jonathan Wort ’64, Joseph B. Baker ’65, Michael Esposito ’66, William “Bill” Fisher ’69, Tom Grant, Jr. ’69, Dave Kramer ’69, James “Jim” Bellis, Jr. ’71, Dave Cary ’71, Doug Kramer ’71, John Carlson ’72, and Daniel “Danny” Gonnella ’72. The event was also attended by MBS boys ice hockey alumni Peter Vacca ’75, Steve “Peach” Fusco ’79, Herman Kurz ’86, and Jake Lewis ’06, as well as MBS girls ice hockey coaches Bruce Driver and Dave Reiley and current MBS Board President Mike Ranger.

Thanksgiving Eve Young Alumni Gathering Last November, more than 30 young alumni gathered at the Grasshopper Off The Green in Morristown for the first annual Thanksgiving Eve event. The Grasshopper was buzzing with excitement as young alumni

reconnected with one another. Alumni in attendance received a special MBS gift. Join us for another gathering around Thanksgiving next year!

Smith â&#x20AC;&#x2122;15 Performs with A Cappella Group

The MBS community was treated to a special musical performance at Morning Meeting on Tuesday, January 10th as alumnus Tyler Smith â&#x20AC;&#x2122;15 returned to the Founders Hall stage along with his a cappella group, The Stereotypes. They sang a wide variety of popular songs by artists ranging from Simon & Garfunkel to Kesha. They even closed their set with an energetic rendition of the Pokemon theme song.

Smith is currently a sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis, where he performs as part of the 14-member singing group. When he is not performing with The Stereotypes, Smith serves as the group's business manager. In the classroom, he is busy working towards a double major in mechanical engineering and entrepreneurship.

At MBS, Smith was a member of the New Jersey All-State Chorus, sang with the MBS a cappella group, The Crimsingers, and had leading roles in numerous productions on the Founders Hall stage including Anything Goes, Peter Pan, and Bye Bye Birdie. He was inducted into the Cum Laude Society during his senior year, and was also a recipient of the French Award and the William H. McBride Prize. Smith also served as president of the Quiz Bowl team.

Crimson Spring 2017 61

HOMECOMING 2016

Alumni Gather at Homecoming Celebration

Despite the chilly weather, an enthusiastic crowd turned out to celebrate MBS Homecoming 2016 on October 22nd and to cheer on the Crimson football team.

The evening provided a great opportunity for alumni to reunite with old friends and classmates, enjoy some food and drink, and watch the Crimson varsity football team compete against Montclair Kimberley Academy.

Before the football game, the Morristown-Beard School community welcomed new inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame.

Alumni who didn't want to brave the elements enjoyed a live feed of the football game from the warm confines of the Wilkie Hall “skybox.”

During halftime of the football game, a large group of participants turned out to run the 24th annual Kirby Mile. Cross Country Coach Steve Monteleone was the first runner to cross the finish line in a blazing time of 5:13, while Alex D’Alessandro ’19 was the first place student in 5:17.

62 Crimson Spring 2017

Alumni and friends at the 2016 Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Crimson varsity football takes the field during Homecoming 2016.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Senior Nightâ&#x20AC;? ceremony honors seniors during halftime

24th annual running of the Kirby Mile

Crimson Spring 2017 63

Athletic Hall of Fame Welcomes New Members As part of Morristown-Beard School’s Homecoming celebration on October 22nd, these exceptional athletes—Harold Hathaway Weekes 1899, Football (posthumous); Andrew Becker ’86, Football & Baseball; and the Morristown-Beard School 1996 Boys Prep B State Championship Soccer Team—were inducted into the MBS Athletic Hall of Fame.

The inductees were honored at the Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony in Kirby Chapel and were also recognized during halftime of the Homecoming football game.

HAROLD HATHAWAY WEEKES 1899 Harold Hathaway Weekes, who graduated from The Morristown School in 1899, played a pivotal role in the Morristown School football team’s success in the late 1890s. He went on to star for the football team at Columbia University. Weekes was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. After graduating, Weekes returned to Columbia to work as an assistant coach for the football team. Weekes died in 1950 at the age of 70.

64 Crimson Spring 2017

HOMECOMING 2016

ANDREW BECKER ’86 Andrew Becker ’86 excelled in football, basketball, and baseball during his years at Morristown-Beard School. His athletic highlights include being named “Most Valuable Player” in football, “Most Improved Player” in basketball, winning the Sportsmanship Award during his senior year, and being named captain of the football team. After graduating from MBS, Andrew continued his athletics career at Muhlenberg College. He played varsity football all four years at Muhlenberg. Andrew received Centennial All-Conference honors in his junior and senior years, and served as captain during his senior year.

1996 BOYS VARSITY SOCCER TEAM The 1996 boys varsity soccer team captured the NJ Prep B State Championship for the first time since 1972. Under the guidance of new head coach Andy Roderick as well as assistant coach Dr. Alan Cooper, the Crimson defeated Montclair Kimberley, 2-0, for the title. Goalie Mike

Criscola came up with nine saves for the shutout, while John Ainslie and Matt Grandis scored goals for MBS. The Crimson defense was outstanding all season long, allowing just 14 goals. On offense, John Ainslie led the team in scoring, with 19 goals. MBS finished the year with a stellar 15-2-2 record.

Crimson Spring 2017 65

Social Climbing…No Social Networking…Maybe

Socializing…Yes!

Let’s be Social!

Choose How to Keep in Touch

@morristown.beard.alumni

mbsalumni

mbs.net/alumni

alumni@mbs.net

Find out what old classmates are up to!

By emailing us with your updated contact information, we can keep you all connected!

Simply email alumni@mbs.net with your cell phone number, email, name, and class year by June 15, 2017 to receive a free MBS magnet. A dozen names will be drawn from the responses, and those selected will receive an MBS hat!

66 Crimson Spring 2017

MBS Alumni & Friends 2nd Annual Cocktail Party

NEW YORK

YACHT CLUB

Please join us in the renowned Model Room.

10.4.17

37 West 44th Street, New York, NY

For more information, contact Monya Taylor Davis â&#x20AC;&#x2122;88, Associate Director of Alumni Relations at alumni@mbs.net or 973.532.7578.

NEW ADDITIONS

Alumni Board Welcomes New Members MBS is happy to announce the appointment of five new board members. In true MBS fashion, these people bring to our community the unity, spirit and dedication coveted among our past and present MBS families.

Appet Pesso ’87

Martin ’01

Sandra Appet Pesso ’87

Matthew Engel ’07

Sandra works as a Human Resources professional at Selective Insurance. One of the things she loves most about her job is leading the company’s employee engagement group, helping to make Selective one of the best place to work in northern New Jersey.

A certified public accountant, Matt currently works at CIT Group as an Assistant Vice President in Bank Reporting. Prior to his time at CIT, Matt spent five years at KPMG LLP, concluding his tenure at the firm as a Senior Audit Associate.

Sandi received her undergraduate degree from Ramapo College and her Masters of Business Administration from Centenary University, where she taught business classes as an adjunct faculty member for their undergraduate degree program. A proud member of the Morristown-Beard School Class of 1987, Sandi is busy working as a Class Agent to help rally her classmates back to campus in June for their 30th Reunion. As an Alumni Board member, Sandi looks forward to sharing her enthusiasm for all things MBS with the larger alumni community.

Matt received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Minor in Psychology as well as a Masters of Science in Accounting and Concentration of Information Systems from Fairfield University. He, too, looks forward to contributing to the Alumni Board.

Tashia Martin ’01

Engel ’07

McCann ’09

Griffith ’14

68 Crimson Spring 2017

Tashia currently serves as the Special Assistant in the Office of Student Support Services for the Newark Public School system, where she trains and develops district and school leaders. Tashia has over 10 years of experience with child welfare, behavioral healthcare, and education systems.

Tashia received her undergraduate degree from Temple University and her Masters of Social Work from Rutgers. Prior to serving on the Alumni Board, Tashia began volunteered as a Class Agent to help rally her classmates to attend their 15th Reunion in June 2016.

A proud MBS alumna, Tashia says, “I have always admired MBS’s approach to developing independent, self-actualized students.” Her goal in joining the Alumni Board is “to work alongside other MorristownBeard School alumni to contribute to the experiences of fellow graduates, and to create opportunities for current and prospective students.”

Maddy McCann ’09 Excited to join the Alumni Board, Maddy currently resides in New York City. Her recent work experience includes serving as an Associate Brand Manager in Global Brand Development at Bliss World, LLC, and as an Associate in the Strategy Department at Teneo Holdings.

Maddy earned her undergraduate degree from Bucknell University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Education. She also was inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society and the Sigma Tau Delta (English) Honors Society. While at Bucknell, Maddy was Vice President of Member Development for Pi Beta Phi Sorority and Member of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Jillian A. Griffith ’14 Jillian currently studies at Drew University, where she is on track to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

At Drew, Jillian is a Civic Scholar, President of the Drew Economics and Business Society, President of the Student Philanthropy Ambassadors, and a Research Assistant in the Department of Economics and Business.

In addition to her activities at Drew, Jillian also serves as an Assistant at the Royal Bank of Canada office in Parsippany. She is extremely excited to be a part of the Morristown-Beard School Alumni Board.

If you are interested in volunteering for the Alumni Board or to help with a specific event, please contact Monya Taylor Davis ’88, Associate Director of Alumni Relations at alumni@mbs.net or call 973-532-7578.

One of the

Family

Melissa Hedley ’90 returns to MBS as Alumni Relations Associate – Special Projects

In our continued efforts to build and strengthen relationships with alumni, the Office of Institutional Advancement proudly welcomes Melissa Hedley ’90 as the newest member of the team. Hedley joins the office as Alumni Relations Associate working on a special project to reconnect with alumni from the late 1980s through the late 1990s.

A 1994 graduate of Pine Manor College, Hedley graduated with a B.A. in English and a Minor in Visual Arts. After graduation, she worked in Boston at Fidelity’s in-house Marketing Department and in 1996 joined Young & Rubicam’s Account Management on the U.S. Army Be All You Can Be and Citibank accounts. Hedley moved to San Francisco in 1999 where she worked for several years in local marketing for Peet’s Coffee.

Hedley is mother of two, Christian (13) and Eve (10), and lives in Morristown.

Since retiring from the corporate world, she has volunteered countless hours for various projects and organizations near and dear to her heart within, and outside, the Morris County area. Hedley has been a long-time volunteer for the Women’s Association of Morristown Memorial Hospital’s Mansion in May, the Summit Speech School’s Annual Spring Benefit, and a board member of the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust. She has also been very active at The Peck School, where both of her children attend, serving as a class mother and chair of numerous events.

Joining Morristown-Beard School in the 7th grade, Hedley played sports, which included field hockey, basketball, softball and lacrosse. Her favorite classes were English and Latin and she enjoyed writing as well as photography. “Being back on campus at MBS not only evokes such fond memories of my time here,” Hedley reflects, “but continues to broaden my appreciation for the community around us. Having middle school aged children of my own, I value even more the enormous strides the School has made, not just aesthetically, but more importantly academically—keeping the students engaged, excited and happy to learn. MBS is truly an extraordinary “one-of-a-kind” school that I feel privileged to be able to contribute to.”

Melissa Hedley ’90 is part of quite a long family legacy at MBS. Her father David V. H. Hedley ’64 graduated from the Morristown School and served as a trustee of MBS from 1979-1990, serving as President from 1985-1988, and in 1993 became an Honorary Trustee. Melissa’s brothers have also significantly contributed to the MBS community post graduation. Her brother David V. H. Hedley III ’87 served as a trustee of the School from 1999-2003, serving as President from 2001-2003.

Younger brother Peter C. Hedley ’97 has been a long-standing Alumni Board Member since 2009 and served as Vice President from 2013-2016.

Crimson Spring 2017 69

See You At Reunion!

Celebrating special reunion classes ending in 2 or 7

All alumni are invited!

Friday, June 2 Y.A.R.P. – Young Alumni Reunion Party Members of the Classes of 2006 through 2016 7:00 – 9:00 PM

Saturday, June 3 Alumni Bar-B-Que 12:00 – 2:00 PM

Headmaster’s Cocktail Party 5:00 – 7:00 PM

To register, visit www.mbs.net/reunion.

For more reunion information, contact Monya Taylor Davis ’88, Associate Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving, at 973.532.7578 or email alumni@mbs.net. For more Y.A.R.P. information, contact Maggie Ranger ’10, Young Alumni Associate at 973.539.3032 or email mranger@mbs.net.

Crimson Spring 2017 71

RI

W STO N- B EA RD

MO R

How Can You Help Transform the Future of Morristown-Beard School?

Support the Fund First!

The Morristown-Beard Fund (our Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual fund) exists for one reason only: to improve the MBS student experience. The impact of your kind support is immediate and significant. Every dollar donated goes directly toward improving the academic and extracurricular experience for every talented student who proudly calls MBS home.

If you made a gift to the MB Fund last year, please donate again this year!

If you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support the MB Fund last year, please make a gift this year!

Your gift to the MB Fund counts towards supporting the Transforming Our Future campaign!

Transforming Our Future

MI L L I ON

Consider an Additional Gift

The Campaign for Morristown-Beard School

After you have made your gift to the MB Fund, please consider making an additional gift to the campaign by supporting either Capital Projects or Scholarship and Endowment. Your additional gift, along with your gift to the MB Fund, also counts towards supporting the Transforming Our Future campaign!

Capital Projects

Scholarship and Endowment

Gifts designated to Capital Projects will be used to help finance the cost of construction and renovations on campus. These projects include the new, state-of-the-art math and science building, renovations to the Simon Athletic Center and future renovations to the existing classroom space below the Dining Hall.

Gifts designated to Scholarship and Endowment will help support deserving students with demonstrated financial need, and will help support the long-term financial health of the School.

Every Gift to MBS Supports the Transforming Our Future Campaign!

Thank You

for your kind support of Morristown-Beard School.

72 Crimson Spring 2017

Don’t Delay—Double Your Gift Today

$1.25 MILLION CHALLENGE for the Transforming Our Future campaign!

Transforming Our Future

MI L L I ON

The Campaign for Morristown-Beard School

To inspire the MBS community to support this historic campaign, an alumnus, a former parent, and a current grandparent each have generously pledged to match— dollar for dollar—every gift to the Transforming Our Future campaign made between November 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017 up to the following amounts: Gifts From

ALUMNI up to

$500,000

Gifts From

Gifts From

PARENTS GRANDPARENTS up to

$500,000

up to

$250,000

Simply make a gift, a pledge, or a multi-year pledge using the envelope enclosed in this issue of Crimson magazine, or by calling 973.532.7517 with a credit card, and our generous supporters will match your gift to MBS. For more information on the $1.25 Million Challenge in support of the Transforming Our Future campaign, please call 973.532.7517 or email bpatterson@mbs.net.

Thank You!

Morristown-Beard School

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Office of Institutional Advancement 70 Whippany Road Morristown, NJ 07960 www.mbs.net ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Building Bright Futures Be Part Of It