Millbrook, Spring/Summer 2014

a m ag a z i n e fo r a l u m n i , pa r e n t s a n d f r i e n d s o f m i l l b ro o k s c h o o l

131 Millbrook School Road, Millbrook, NY 12545 Address Service Required

S u m m er 2 0 14

Pursuing Our Passion for

Learning

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMag.indd 1

7/25/14 12:18:17 PM

Millbrook’s Mission Millbrook School educates its students to succeed and serve in college and beyond. In a community where everyone is known and needed, our curriculum instills • curiosity and a commitment to academic excellence; • respect for oneself and for others; • a moral framework based on personal integrity; • a commitment to serve as stewards of the natural world; • a readiness to use one’s knowledge and skills in service to others.

We promote the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, creative, and physical growth that will lead to a life satisfying to the individual and valuable to the greater good.

Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

{ not for oneself but for all }

Millbrook’s Annual Fund Ways To Give:

Online at

www.millbrook.org/annualfund, by phone at

845-677-6752 Or by mail using the enclosed giving envelope

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMag.indd 2

7/25/14 12:18:26 PM

a magazine for alumni, parents and friends of millbrook school

Summer 2014

Living the Tradition of Non Sibi Sed Cunctis up front 3 Introduction from Headmaster Drew Casertano

Millbrook Matters 4 Snapshots: A Year in Pictures

10 The Big Picture Forums, Academics, Arts and Student Life

20 Faculty News

Page

46

Features

34 It’s Academic

34 M ark Clizbe

38 M artha Clizbe

An Essay of Personal Conviction Explorations In Pre-Calculus: Statistical Measurements of The Wave and Other Practical Applications

42 Teachers as Students: Millbrook’s Sabbatical Program

46 Students as Teachers:

24 Athletics 26 Facilities

Alumni 58 Freedom Ambassador: Bringing Awareness to the Fight Against Human Trafficking

61 Educating the Whole Child 64 M illbrook Alumni Gatherings

69 Class Notes 82 In Memoriam On the Cover a m ag a z i n e fo r a l u m n i , pa r e n t s a n d f r i e n d s o f m i l l b ro o k s c h o o l

21st Century Stutors

54 Who Are Millbrook Students?

Pursuing Our Passion for

LEARNING

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 1

VI formers AJ Wallace and Charlotte Maguire review math problems with Math Department Chair Martha Clizbe.

1

7/25/14 12:23:18 PM

a m ag a z i n e fo r a l u m n i , pa r e n t s and friends of millbrook school

Director of Parent Programs

Honorary Trustees:

Barbara Gatski

Farnham Collins ’53 (GP ’17) Lucy P. Cutting (P ’77) David Holbrook ’56 (P ’82, ’83, GP ’11, ’12, ’14) Bruce Huber ’47 Thomas Lovejoy ’59 (P ’86) Bradford Mills ’44 (GP ’03, ’17) Oakleigh Thorne (P ’95)

Advancement Officer

Deborah Vanecek Events Coordinator

EDITOR

Betty Siegenthaler

Michelle Blayney

Research & Campaign Coordinator

DESIGN

Ginny Connolly

Proof Design

Gift Entry Manager & Administrative Assistant

CONTRIBUTORS

Michelle Blayney, Sam Brundrett ’08, Martha Clizbe, Mark Clizbe, Katherine Havard, Jane Meigs, David Osburn, Romy Solomon ’07

Melissa Pastre Administrative Assistant & Database Manager Class Notes Editor

Bonnie Lodevole

PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS

Michelle Blayney, Daniel Cohen ’86, Matt Dilley, John Dolan, Michael Gunselman, Cam Hardy, Meredith Heuer, Jonathan Lopez ‘02, Mary Ma ‘15, Sarah MacWright, Dave Osburn, Voith & Mactavish Architects, Kandice Zakarian

Director of Communications

Michelle Blayney Assistant Director of Communications

Dave Osburn Communications Assistant

Catherine Zeiser MILLBROOK is published by the Communications Office and Alumni & Development Office of Millbrook School for alumni, parents, and friends of the school. Contents may be reproduced

NON DISCRIMINATION Millbrook School adheres to a long-standing policy of admitting students of any race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its education policies, admission policies, financial aid program, or other school-administered programs.

Photography and Sports Information Coordinator

Kandice Zakarian

or reprinted only by permission of the editor.

Opinions expressed do not reflect the official position of Millbrook School.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Chairman

Millbrook School 131 Millbrook School Road Millbrook, NY 12545

William Menard ’78 (P ’09, ’12, ’12) Vice Chairman

Paul Solomon ’61 (P ’98)

Phone: 845-677-8261 Website: www.millbrook.org Follow Millbrook at your favorite social media sites: Facebook

Twitter

Linked in

YouTube

ALUMNI & DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Director of Advancement

Nancy Stahl Assistant to the Headmaster for External Affairs

Robert Anthony ‘65 Director of the Annual Fund & Alumni/ Constituent Relations

Cynthia McWilliams Assistant Director of Advancement

Robin Herow

2

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 2

ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Millbrook magazine is printed on Finch Fine Bright White Ultra Smooth 100 lb. cover and 80 lb. text. This paper is manufactured with 10% postconsumer fiber using on-site renewable power. It is FSC certified.

Secretary

Peter Chapman (P ’11, ’12) Treasurer

Rick Stuckey (P ‘00, ‘03, ‘09)

For this issue we reduce our carbon footprint the equivalent of...

20 trees preserved for the future

Headmaster

Drew Casertano

20,199 gal wastewater flow saved

Francisco Borges ’70 William L. Crossman ’74 (P ’09) Cynthia Gray (P ’07, ’11) Robert Hallett William R. Hettinger ’77 (P ’01, ’04) Christopher Holbrook ’82 (P ‘11, ‘12, ‘14) Robert Koenigsberger (P ’13, ’16) Christina Lang-Assael (P ’15) Tracy Merrill (P ’09, ’11, ’13) Gordon Pennoyer ’99 Anne Putnam ’95 Bradley Reifler (P ’08, ’10, ’14) Gilbert Schafer III ’80 Caroline Wamsler ’87 George Whalen III (P ’06, ’09, ’10, ’14)

5,180 lbs net greenhouse gases prevented

22,000,000 BTUs energy not consumed

Please Recycle this Magazine

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:23:19 PM

Introduction from

Headmaster Drew Casertano: Respect...Integrity...Stewardship...

Service...And Curiosity. These are the essence of our mission and the foundation of a Millbrook education. Each year we highlight one as our annual theme to strengthen our community’s understanding of and commitment to these core values. In 2012-13 it was curiosity, while in 2013-14 we focused on respect.

As I think about the richness of our program and Millbrook’s substantial progress, examples of which are highlighted in the pages that follow, I return to the singular importance of our annual theme and our ability to teach each value by weaving it in to all aspects of our community; from the training of student leaders, to our orientation for new students, to the speakers we bring to campus for forums, to discussions in class and in Human Development groups and in dorm meetings.

In 2014-15 our theme will be integrity. In this age of the instantaneous and superficial, I can think of nothing more important for Millbrook students to learn. The best teaching about the meaning and significance of integrity is sure to occur in those impromptu and sometimes difficult moments when a student has to decide what is right…what is good…“who he is when no one is looking.” In these moments our student leaders (community service heads, dorm leaders, peer counselors, prefects, team captains, and zoo curators, to name some), all trained for this purpose, will join the faculty and staff as effective teachers.

The result, as many of you know, is that a Millbrook education is so much more than preparation for college. It is transformational and enduring.

With every good wish,

Yours,

Drew Casertano Headmaster

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 3

3

7/25/14 12:23:21 PM

Snap

shots

A Year in Pictures 1

2

6

3 7

1. Alden Woolford ’14 works with children at the Deep Griha Society in India.

5

4

2. S abrina (Ackerman) Bluestone ’82 P ’15 ’16 and teacher Tom Brown lead a student group up Mt. Kilimanjaro.

3. D an Correia ’16, Rives Milbank ’16, and Evan Williams ’14 at Camp Jewell.

4. B ria Horsley ’14 and Kayla Schmalz ’14 sport their field game colors at Orientation 2013.

5. I II form students take their traditional first trek through the marshes.

6. E steemed author and educator Dr. Andrew Delbanco speaks at an all-school forum about the privilege and responsibilities of education.

7. I nternational students carry their countries’ flag during Convocation.

4

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 4

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:23:29 PM

1

4

2

5

8

6

1. R ichard Blanco shares personal stories and a selection of poems to students at an allschool forum.

2. S tudents enjoy a day of outdoor activities, games, and music at Fall Fest.

3

3. B ob Otter ’93 speaks about community service after Millbrook during a chapel talk.

4. S tudent artists visit New York City museums.

5. Almost, Maine playwright John Cariani workshops with cast and crew.

6. H eadmaster Drew Casertano, Dean of Faculty Kathy Havard, and Assistant Head of School Liz Morrison are best-dressed for Halloween.

7. S tudents get creative at the Halloween dance.

7

8. T he Engineering Club makes adjustments to their robot before competition.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 5

5

7/25/14 12:23:36 PM

1 3

2 7 4

8

1. Alessandro Buccellati ’16, Jack Bradley ’16, and Isabella Buccellati ’16 perform alongside their many talented peers at Arts Night.

5

2. S tudent choreographed numbers impress at Arts Night.

3. T he running club raises over $2,000 for a local food pantry.

4. J essie Ribera ’15 enjoys the Grandparents Day festivities with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Baker.

5. M ariani Carnevale gives a gallery talk about her exhibit, Convergence.

6. P erforming arts students travel to New York City to see a Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet.

6

7. Cast and crew go above and beyond with an excellent performance of the fall play, Almost, Maine.

8. C hris Joel ’88 speaks to students during a Veteran’s Day service about his life of service in the United States Marine Corps.

6

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 6

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:23:44 PM

1 5

2

6

3

1. P arents learn with their children during Parents Day. 2. S tudents face off against the faculty in a fundraising dodge ball game held by the Junior Breast Cancer Alliance.

4

3. T he Engineering Club takes third place in their first robotics competition at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

4. Beginning arts students showcase their first semester work in the Warner Gallery.

5. S tudents enjoy a favorite annual dance, the Snow Ball.

6. S tudents prepare for the traditional holiday Candlelight service.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 7

7

7/25/14 12:23:51 PM

9

3

4

2

5

Winter Weekend 1. I II formers from Prum and Guest House join forces on their quest for 1st place.

2. B urton boys let loose in the airband competition.

3. T he girls from Abbott Hall are well prepared for intense competition.

4. T he boys of Case kick off the pep rally.

5. A bbott Hall is the first all girls dorm to claim the Winter Weekend crown!

3

1

1. Michael Brown leads the Millbrook Gospel Choir during an unforgettable Martin Luther King Jr. memorial chapel service.

2

2. J en Frega ’15, Max Carty ’15, Danielle Tartaro ’15, and Academic Dean Jarratt Clarke participate in a conference about honor systems.

3. A rtist Alexander Shundi welcomes guests to his exhibit, Antenna.

8

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 8

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:23:59 PM

1

6

8

7 2

9

3

1. T alented musicians perform at Arts Night.

2. S ingers and dancers rock the audience in the winter musical, All Shook Up.

4

3. An Intersession group travels to Science House in New York City to learn from tech industry leaders about how to prosper in this booming industry.

4. T he Rock Band Intersession group performs to a full house in the Barn at Cabaret Night.

5. A n Intersession group visits the set of Farmhouse Rules and spends some time with its star, Nancy Fuller.

6. S tudent actors show off their skills with an improvisational performance at Arts Night.

7. A n Intersession group ascends a large rockclimbing wall to learn more about wilderness survival.

5

8. M ike Weber visits Millbrook to workshop with students about leadership responsibilities.

9. Students volunteer with Guatemalan children during Millbrook’s annual “Lax for Life” Intersession trip.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 9

9

7/25/14 12:24:06 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

THE BIG PICTURE Academics, Arts, and Student Life

Forums: This year’s forum series included guest speakers who have engaged the Millbrook community with testimony and interactive discussions stressing the empowerment of education and the individual responsibility of every human being towards bettering society on a global scale.

Esteemed author and educator Dr. Andrew Delbanco kicked off the series and in his presentation challenged the audience to experience lessons found in his new book College. Using two magazine covers, he illustrated that colleges are increasingly becoming more secluded with the rise of online courses. He stressed how critical it is for students to be in a collaborative environment with other people, in situations that allow for peer-to-peer learning, which can be as valuable as professorial lectures or independent research.

Morrison Theater. Later, over dinner with students in the Barn, he provided priceless insights and advice for Millbrook’s own fledgling authors, artists, and creative thinkers. The evening culminated with more questions, good conversation, and a dessert book-signing in Pulling House.

Millbrook’s first student-andfaculty-led forum of the year was a

reflective presentation of experiences from recent global service trips to India and Ghana, trips that embodied the Millbrook School motto, Non Sibi Sed Cunctis (not for oneself, but for all). Working alongside multiple organizations supporting better lives for children, including Hearts of the Fathers Outreach in Ghana and the Deep Griha Society in Pune, India, students had the opportunity to both teach and learn from children living in orphanages. Through the presenters’ images, music, and individually told stories, the community witnessed the collective impact these experiences and relationships have had.

This was particularly challenging, many said, since their feelings ran almost too deep for words.

Dr. Delbanco concluded with a reminder that colleges were originally created in the vein of public service, to support an informed society, and those attending college have an exceptional educational privilege that should be used to contribute to the educational system and to society. He is disappointed that education has drifted away from that mission and argued that it is time for systemic change.

A few weeks later, the community welcomed acclaimed poet Richard Blanco, who was honored to serve as President Barrack Obama’s Inaugural Poet. He shared many personal stories and read a selection of his poems in the Chelsea

10

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 10

• Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco signs copies of his book City of a Hundred Fires.

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:07 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

• Students and faculty recounted with deep insight their service learning experiences in India and Ghana.

Academics: While too many interesting lessons are taking place to report on all of them in this small space, following is a sampling of the work our students are pursuing across the curriculum.

In world languages students commit to language immersion in the classroom and learn as much about the culture of other countries through collaborative research and discussions on current topics. In AP French, led by new faculty member Eve Whitehouse, students are examining the themes of war and peace and then engaging in dialogues. After reading French texts on the economy, sociology, and politics in France, students debated the roles these topics play in war and peace. Exploring and using the French language by defending personal opinions on current topics in a foreign country is a learning experience that takes these students well beyond traditional book learning.

Math Department Chair Martha Clizbe likes her dual role in the history department and continues to teach a VI form history elective. The seniors in her psychology class have been very busy using

another boarding school resource—faculty children—to supplement their learning.

To augment their studies on developmental psychology, the students created and conducted multiple tests that examined the developing minds of our faculty’s young children. After analyzing their observations and test results, the students worked with local pre-schools to continue their developmental studies.

Combining elements of sociology, environmental studies, and economics, Comparative Economics is a relatively new course taught by Trip Powers. In this course VI form students consider Millbrook’s core value of environmental stewardship in the context of our current economic system and learn about traditional micro and macro economics through an ecological perspective. In a one-of-kind high school level program, students are learning how to approach global environmentalism in a tangible economical manner.

• Trip Powers finds powerful lessons in teaching economics through the lens of global environmentalism.

In English students continue to analyze themes and to write critical analyses of the author’s intentions and their own insights into the issues raised. A perfect example of this is the VI form focus on “The Big Questions,” contemporary issues in science and ethics including eugenics, social conditioning, cloning, and euthanasia (as covered in books including The Handmaid’s Tale, Never Let Me Go, Brave New World, and 1984). Students also read non-fiction selections and discuss and then write about race and justice.

Millbrook’s science curriculum is now in its third year of a major shift that began in the 2011-2012 school year. Fifth formers

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 11

11

7/25/14 12:24:10 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

THE BIG PICTURE

• Science Chair Matt Dilley works with III formers in Conceptual Physics

this year are the first to complete the new series—starting with physics, followed by chemistry and then biology. Along with a change in curriculum, the science faculty have also adopted a new pedagogy, or method of teaching, referred to as “modeling,” and they continue to flesh out the curriculum within the context of this pedagogical style, customizing the curriculum to Millbrook and its resources.

Rather than do a virtual analysis of the anatomy of various freshwater invertebrates,

for example, Millbrook students go into the marsh, collect samples, and analyze actual living specimens. The science department continues to innovate and integrate our local resources in meaningful ways into all of our science courses, and this will be perfectly evident in a new high-level independent research course that will be offered to upper form students in the fall. More on that in our next issue.

Unique learning opportunities also continue to happen outside of the

Academic Arts: Millbrook faculty are often making connections with professionals in fields relevant to our students’ courses of study and inviting them to campus to speak in class.

• Students were thrilled to interact with Lincoln Center Artistic Director André Bishop (center) on our own stage in the Chelsea Morrison Theater.

12

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 12

classroom. Intersession 2014, which took place March 2nd – 8th, allowed students to jump into a new area of interest including the arts, athletics, agriculture, food services, community service, environmental stewardship, wilderness survival, business, and technology. On the road and on campus, students explored novel topics and developed new skill sets. Some practiced glassblowing, whittling, quilting, or writing for children’s books. Others were intent on farm-to-table food experiences or crafting their own website using HTML. Still others got physical, whether ice climbing, bobsledding, or shooting with a bow and arrow. One group, LAX for Life, spent their Intersession week preparing for an annual service trip to Guatemala during the first week of spring break. In its 9th year, the trip brings Millbrook students together with young children whose families live in and scavenge from the Guatemala City dump; among other things, they provide help at Safe Passage, read to children in the after school program, and teach lacrosse skills to youngsters who don’t get to play games often enough.

In mid-December André Bishop P ’16, artistic director of the Lincoln Center Theater, visited campus and attended Millbrook’s performing arts classes. A winner of 11 “Best Production” Tony awards, Mr. Bishop was recently inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame and spoke to the students about his career. He related funny and moving anecdotes about his life in the theater and gave us a preview of Act One, which was still in rehearsal at the time of his visit. He answered many good questions and engaged students throughout the day, leaving us with a better understanding of the challenges involved in bringing a show to the stage.

In other arts classrooms several new courses were offered this year including Alternative Processes (exploring non-

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:11 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

THE BIG PICTURE traditional photographic techniques) and Digital Music (learning digital live recording techniques and the proper setup of musical equipment). For the fifth consecutive year, Mr. Hardy has also offered a unique art history course that provides our students unparalleled access to an artist’s foundation and work.

Students this year have been researching Frank Lloyd Wright’s career as an architect, designer and thinker; they have viewed his architecture at the Guggenheim in Manhattan and studied the philosophy of organic architecture. Some even worked directly with the staff at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin West, in Arizona during Intersession week, which provided opportunity for greater understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and ideas by examining the source of his inspiration. Their course of study culminates in May as the students curate an exhibit of his work to showcase in the Warner Gallery.

• V and VI form students at SUNY Purchase’s Portfolio Day

Lessons in the arts are also routinely reinforced in experiences outside of the classroom. Teachers continue to make use of the easy access to New York City and schedule numerous class visits to select galleries, museums, and performance spaces there. Select Vth and VIth form students also traveled south, to Westchester County, to attend

Portfolio Day at SUNY Purchase and meet artists from some of the top art schools in the United States and abroad.

Millbrook students who attended the event included a sculptor, a welder, two photographers, and a painter interested in fashion, and they left feeling inspired and excited to continue developing their portfolios.

• Photography students at one of the many museums they visited in New York City.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 13

13

7/25/14 12:24:15 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

THE BIG PICTURE Fine & Performing Arts The first performance of the year, Synesthesia, was the result of collaboration between the Playwriting, Advanced Scene Study, and Choreography classes. Each class created content for Synesthesia, a condition in which one sense is simultaneously perceived, as if by one or more additional senses, specific to their artistic medium and studies.

The joining together of classes, talents, and artistic mediums created a unique portrayal of synesthesia.

In October Millbrook’s fall play, Almost, Maine, gave the cast the amazing opportunity to workshop directly with the playwright, John Cariani. He came to Millbrook and ran through each scene of the play, helping the cast with timing, encouraging the actors not to be afraid of long pauses, and lending them suggestions for experimenting with the play’s story of love and loss. Cariani’s main focus was to encourage the actors to feel the full emotional range of each character,

which led to excellent performances enjoyed by the entire community.

In the depths of a cold and snowy winter, Millbrook’s performing artists warmed the hearts of the community with their musical performance of All Shook Up. Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and featuring music by Elvis Presley, the rock ‘n roll comedy told the story of a small town girl with big dreams and a guitar-playing

• The cast and crew of Almost, Maine

14

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 14

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:19 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

• The winter musical, All Shook Up, featured the sons of Elvis Presley and told the story of one small-town girl’s dream and a surprise visit from a mysterious leather-jacketed, guitar-playing stranger.

honors art students will once again exhibit their work in a spring exhibit opening Friday, May 2nd.

roustabout who changed everything when he drove into town with his motorcycle engine revving! Winter Arts Night, which showcased students in Millbrook’s musical, vocal, and performing arts classes, also brought the community in from the cold to enjoy very talented dancers, actors, musicians, and singers.

While many students performed, others created beautiful works of art to share with the community. Some of those pieces were displayed in the Beginning Arts Exhibit, which featured the work of Millbrook students in introductory arts classes including cut-paper constructions, ceramic masks, and silver prints made in the darkroom. Millbrook’s advanced and

• Painting by Devin Hardy ‘08 from her exhibit Resilience

Alongside these amazing student performances and exhibitions, the community enjoyed the works of various professional artists in the Warner Gallery.

Exhibits this school year included: Resilience, collages created with found objects and oil pants by alum Devin Hardy ’08; Gatherings, collected works of paintings by local artist Katharine Bontecou; Convergence, mixed media and found objects by Miani Carnevale; Namaste, photographs by Dan Mead and Sally Eagle; and Antenna, paintings by Alexander Shundi.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 15

15

7/25/14 12:24:22 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

THE BIG PICTURE Student Life Student-driven clubs have continued to be created or expanded upon, providing many choices for those who want to get involved or pursue a special interest on a regular basis.

• Students love getting dressed up for the annual Snow Ball

victory marked the first all-female dorm Winter Weekend champion at Millbrook!

Favorites this year included the Halloween celebrations (featuring a costume contest, hayride, haunted house, and dance), the winter Snow Ball, the “Rock Band” Intersession group’s performances at Cabaret, a Junior Breast Cancer Awareness Club faculty-versus-students dodge ball fundraiser game, a holiday sweater contest, and of course, Winter Weekend.

In contrast to the incredible clamor of Winter Weekend, Thursday evening chapel talks remained traditionally quiet and reflective. Under Chaplain Cameron Hardy’s leadership, the entire community enjoyed Millbrook’s robust chapel program, which featured a well-rounded mix of speakers including current students, alumni, and visiting professionals. Highlights of the year included visits from Bob Otter ’93, who spoke about continuing community service after Millbrook, and Chris Joel ’88, our Veteran’s Day guest, who spoke about how Millbrook’s core values shaped his life in the military. A returning guest for a special chapel talk was Michael Brown, who led an amazing Martin Luther King Jr. service that featured a gospel choir comprised of Millbrook faculty and students.

From broomball matches to air band performances, dorms rallied together during Winter Weekend to show their cooperative spirit and earn points towards their ultimate goal of claiming the Winter Weekend championship crown. Prum and Guest House paired up, as did Annex and Harris, to compete against Case, Clark, Abbott, and Burton. Despite steep competition, only one dorm ultimately claimed first place in Winter Weekend. This year’s overall finalists were Harris/Annex in third place, Burton in second place, and Abbott in first place. Abbott’s decisive

With many more classroom projects, student activities, and visiting speakers during the year, our students will continue to benefit from the unique opportunities Millbrook provides. As the year wraps up, some students will be moving forward to new adventures at college, while others will be returning to move forward in their Millbrook career.

Wherever they are headed, the richness of this year’s Millbrook experience and self-empowerment gained through commitment to the core values will help propel them towards a successful life.

• The running club, here at the Fall Foliage 5K, has raised thousands of dollars for local charities

David Westcott ’15 founded Millbrook’s charity running club in September to provide a venue for runners to do what they love while supporting those in need; participating runners have raised over $3,000 for six different charities, just in the fall and winter alone. Lucy Papachristou ’14, founder and editor of The Yolk, a new monthly humor magazine, produces a 4-6 page publication that includes original submissions from students.

The Engineering Club has expanded to include robotics work. They created and programmed their very own robot using VEX robotics components and brought it to multiple regional competitions where they did exceptionally well, reaching the finals each time. These are just a few examples of the initiatives being taken by students.

Planned special events throughout the year, including dances, special holiday events, and competitions, provided some much needed recreation time for students.

16

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 16

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:23 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

THE BIG PICTURE Continental Travel:

Discovering, Serving, Connecting Merging the Millbrook traditions of respect, service, and experiential learning, Millbrook faculty took to the road in pursuit of opportunities to engage professionally and connect with people and organizations. Their experiences mirrored the breadth of destinations this year, ranging from a professional development trip to the Amazon to service trips to Guatemala, India, and New Orleans to visits with alumni and parents at receptions across the United States and the world.

Kyleen Parajon, animal care coordinator at the Trevor Zoo, spent two weeks this winter working with Project Piaba, a community-based organization established to facilitate an understanding of the ecological and socio-cultural systems of the middle Rio Negro basin, Amazonas, Brazil.

Their goal is to conserve and maintain

the live ornamental Cardinal Tetra fishery and other renewable resources at commercially feasible and ecologically sustainable levels.

Starting in Rio Negro, where the exporters are located, Parajon learned about the multitude of problems facing the ornamental fish and fisherman. Currently

the fishery is economically challenged because Asia is farming the same fish at a significantly lower cost. This is a pressing problem, as the Brazilian fishermen rely on these fish for their income. In Brazil, there is a “boom” period where the fishermen can harvest the fish for three months.

Then, the fishery is depleted and there is nothing to catch for the rest of the year.

Without income from harvesting the ornamental fish, many native fishermen have switched trades and moved into logging the Amazonian rainforests or even drug trading or prostitution. Project Piaba seeks to bring these Brazilian ornamental fish to the market at a competitive price and a sustainable rate. It is generally assumed that since the fish are farmed, they are more sustainable than wild caught fish, but the irregular cycle of harvesting and rehabilitating makes it quite difficult to create a reliable and competitive market. Working alongside Project Piaba,

• The first Millbrook group to ascend to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro: from left to right: Kelly Spector ‘15, Harrison Bluestone ‘15, Tom Brown, Sabrina Ackerman Bluestone ‘82, Archer Biggs-Chiropolos ‘15, and Liesje Bluestone ‘16.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 17

17

7/25/14 12:24:26 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

THE BIG PICTURE College Counseling Nancy Keller-Coffey, journeyed to India on a service trip to work primarily with a non-government organization called Deep Griha Society.

The group volunteered at City of Child, a rural “boarding school” that is located in Pune, India, a few hours east of Mumbai; the school houses 45 boys from difficult family circumstances. Living in one large bunkroom during their time there, the Millbrook group planted bamboo, fruit and coconut trees, taught crafts, sang songs, and tutored children at the local elementary school.

• Kyleen Parajon feeds a squirrel monkey in Brazil.

Parajon studied the fisheries practices, analyzed a vast array of data, and proposed suggestions that would improve the sustainability of their fishery and make it more competitive in the global market.

Her trip also inspired the addition of some Cardinal tetras from the Brazilian fishery for the Trevor Zoo’s Amazon tank, which features only sustainably sourced fish.

From the Amazon in South America to Tanzania in the East African mountains…

Over the summer, a group of four Millbrook students, led by alumna Sabrina Ackerman Bluestone ’82 P ’15 ’16 and faculty member Tom Brown, set out on Millbrook’s first adventure to the top of the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Carrying backpacks loaded with camping gear, warm clothing and food, they completed a five and a half day assent up the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. After a much quicker descent, the group went on a five-day safari and encountered amazing wildlife including lions, buffalo, rhinoceros, and leopards.

The group then visited a local school, where they donated various supplies and played soccer with the school children.

Also this past summer, a group of ten Millbrook students, accompanied by Chaplain Cam Hardy and Director of

18

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 18

• Ben Marr ’14 with students at the Deep Griha Society in India

More recently, during Intersession week in March, a group of students, led

by Headmaster Drew Casertano and Assistant Head of School Liz Morrison, traveled to Guatemala on their annual “LAX for Life” service trip. Working alongside Safe Passage, an organization dedicated to breaking the chain of poverty through educating the 600 children they serve, the Millbrook group worked with children on educational programs and taught lacrosse skills to a range of age groups, both boys and girls, using a bevy of new equipment that they brought along from Millbrook. As always, the “Lax for Life” Intersession proves to be a transformative experience for both Safe Passage and Millbrook students.

A new intersession tradition led

by Barbara Gatski, director of parent programs, brought seven current parents to New Orleans on a weeklong service trip to aid in the ongoing Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. Participating parents included Karen Reilly P ’15, ’17 Stephanie and Chris Ribera P ’15, Lorraine and Alan Strassler P ’15, ’17, Alex Kent P ’14, and Sabrina Bluestone ’82 P ’15, ’16. Their efforts began with preparing and serving

• Parents join faculty member Barbara Gatski on a weeklong service trip in New Orleans.

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:28 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

families were eager to learn more about the school today and the plans for its future. Our alumni and current parents in Asia are tremendous ambassadors for Millbrook, thus affording Linda the opportunity to also meet with many highly qualified candidates interested in traveling to the United States to attend Millbrook.

• Reconnecting with Millbrook friends in Hong Kong, Drew and Linda Casertano are joined by Jennifer Wang ’93, Evelyn Cheng ’03, Alvin Wong ’07, Chris Mo ’08, Jennifer’s Parents, Frank and Lucia Wang, and Jennifer’s Aunt, Mary.

over one hundred lunches daily for needy residents. Because many homeless were not able to reach the shelter for a hot meal, the group delivered food in several neighborhoods. The St. Bernard Project also benefited from their services, as the group helped rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. All found the trip to be a meaningful experience and an excellent way to share in Millbrook’s tradition of service. Because of its success, Gatski plans to continue developing this week of service in the future.

Headmaster Drew Casertano and his wife, Linda, associate director of admission, continued pursuit of their goal to connect with alumni, current families, and prospective families in Asia with a trip to Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, and Korea. Hosted by numerous current parents and alumni, the Casertanos enjoyed tremendous hospitality (including hosted tours and delicious traditional meals) during their visits to Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hanoi, and Seoul. Everywhere they went,

• Cindy and Rick McWilliams spent an afternoon in March catching up with Nick Roosevelt ’80 on his boat near Delray Beach, Florida.

Director of Alumni Relations Cindy McWilliams and Assistant to the Headmaster for External Affairs Bob Anthony ’65 have also been busy this year meeting with alumni and friends in numerous cities across the United States.

With stops in Winston Salem, Boston, Washington D.C., Denver, Reno, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Maryland, New York City, and many more, they enjoy one-on-one meetings for lunch as well as small and large gatherings providing opportunity to reconnect and catch up.

Of special interest during their travels were two Millbrook receptions, beginning with the annual New York City reception for alumni, parents, and friends at the Racquet & Tennis Club in November. Bob Anthony ’65 welcomed a record turnout, and Headmaster Drew Casertano provided an update on the state of Millbrook today. Drew was also thrilled to introduce Dan Lindley ’51 and his wife, Lucia, who announced their generous $1.5 million gift to the school. A great time was had by all, as stories were shared and old friends were reacquainted. Another gathering in November took place in Winston Salem, North Carolina, at a reception hosted by past parents Patty and Bill Wilson P ’06.

A great mix of past parents, alumni of 50+ years, and young alumni, who traveled from nearby Elon University and Queens College, attended.

Stay tuned for the next Millbrook event in your area – 2014-2015 is bound to be another busy year on the road!

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 19

19

7/25/14 12:24:30 PM

• From left to right, front row: Brian Krauss, Ryan Wagner, Jason Goodwin, Rafe Mattingly, Billy Thom, and Dave Osburn. Back row: Sarah Krauss ’95, Ellena Bethea, Lindsay Peterson, Anna Birnbaum, Michelle Moylan, Eve Whitehouse, Megan Butts ’09, Anzia Mayer

New Faculty Sarah ’95 & Brian Krauss

Ellena Bethea

Alumna Sarah Place Krauss ’95 is

Ellena is teaching basic and advanced chemistry. Prior to Millbrook she taught at Trinity School in New York City and was recognized for developing a laboratory rich and modeling based curriculum.

ENGLISH

teaching English III and IV and is also active in continuing Millbrook’s commitment to diversity, joining Millbrook’s Diversity Committee.

SCIENCE

Brian joined the English Department in January to teach English VI. He also draws on his years of baseball coaching experience with the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves in his work with Millbrook’s boys varsity baseball team.

20

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 20

RYAN WAGNER ATHLETICS

Meet Millbrook’s new athletic trainer.

Under his watch he has kept the Mustangs and visiting competitors

strong and healthy. Ryan has also strengthened Millbrook’s relationship with Marist College through continued mentoring of Marist students studying to become athletic trainers.

LINDSAY PETERSON HISTORY

Lindsay teaches Modern World and U.S. history. She focuses on much more than factual detail, helping students develop solid analytical and writing skills in the classroom. She is also a mentor for Millbrook’s softball players,

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:33 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

coaching them with experience gained as captain of Colby College’s softball team.

ANNA BIRNBAUM

MATHEMATICS & ADMISSIONS Anna plays a critical role in finding the best prospective candidates for the upcoming academic year, while simultaneously pushing her current pre-calculus students to produce their

RAFE MATTINGLY

MEGAN BUTTS ’09

Rafe comes to Millbrook from the Admissions Department at his alma mater, Hobart and William Smith College, where he was also a highly recognized lacrosse player during his time as a student. Rafe has applied both his work and athletic experiences at Millbrook, where he is the assistant coach of the boys varsity lacrosse team.

Megan has returned to Millbrook to work in the Trevor Zoo as an animal keeper and supervisor. She has years of experience at the zoo, as she participated in the zoo’s community service program, first as a zooie and later as a curator, during her years at Millbrook.

ADMISSIONS

TREVOR ZOO

best work.

EVE WHITEHOUSE JASON GOODWIN MATHEMATICS

With a degree in economics from Trinity College, Jason dove into his first year of teaching, bringing innovative ideas into

WORLD LANGUAGES Eve teaches French and lives with girls in The Annex. She engages her classes with unique projects that spark intense class debates, conducted completely in French.

his geometry and statistics classrooms.

He’s also keeping busy on the athletic fields, coaching 3rds soccer, boys JV basketball, and track.

MICHELLE MOYLAN HEALTH CENTER

Michelle joined the Miller Brown Health Center as an administrative assistant, helping to keep the space organized and playing an instrumental role in the daily care of our students.

BILLY THOM

WORLD LANGUAGES Billy Thom teaches Spanish, and he works daily to build confidence in our students. His classroom is always lively and active. The boys varsity basketball players would say the same thing about the practices that he runs—they had a great season in his first year as coach, as he focused them on getting better, playing to win, and making every play count.

ANZIA MAYER

WORLD LANGUAGES Anzia teaches multiple levels of Mandarin. In previous years Mandarin has been the only non-immersion world language offering, but Anzia is bringing the program ever closer to full immersion. She has also created a growing interest for the language, with current student enrollments and Millbrook graduates continuing their Mandarin education on the rise.

DAVID OSBURN

COMMUNICATIONS As the assistant director of communications, Dave brings skills developed previously as a professional video editor in Manhattan. Responsible for content creation on Millbrook’s website, he has applied his background in video production to help Millbrook expand video coverage of campus events.

Not pictured: Leighann Kowalsky, who now leads our dance program, is a professional dancer and choreographer with the D’Amby Project. Her students have created original choreography, staging performances and dancing at the fall, winter, and spring Performing Arts Nights.

Will Metcalf, a Culinary Institute of America trained chef, joined us partway through the year as the new food services director. He has used his immense culinary experience and

expertise to create many great meals each day. He has also collaborated with the student body to craft special foodcentered events.

As Millbrook’s director of physical plant, Ben Day oversees routine maintenance as well as the construction of new facilities on campus. He was extremely familiar with Millbrook’s campus, having worked on various projects here as a site manager for Kirchhoff-Consigli Construction Management.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 21

21

7/25/14 12:24:33 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Familiar Faculty in New Roles It is exciting whenever Millbrook faculty take on larger roles within the community. As the school continually adjusts to the rapidly changing world, Millbrook looks towards its talented faculty to lead the way forward.

Dr. Alan Tousignant

T

he success and growth of the Trevor Zoo has undeniably been due to the leadership of Jono Meigs ’65 for the past 40 years and the efforts of his righthand-man, Dr. Alan Tousignant. For over twenty years Dr. T., as he is fondly

known by students, has played an integral role in the development of the Trevor Zoo and its educational programming, and in July he became the zoo’s new director as Jono stepped into a part-time position at Millbrook focusing on carbon neutrality planning.

Assisting in the original design of the zoo education building, Dr. T. felt it was important to focus on bridging the zoo’s resources with the rest of Millbrook’s academic disciplines. Under Dr. T’s leadership today, the zoo continues to offer Millbrook students learning opportunities they simply cannot get anywhere else. A tremendous and unique resource for classes across the curriculum, the zoo is also now one of three rotating community service requirements for all incoming III formers.

While the zoo provides academic experiences for students in nearly all classes, two initiatives, in particular, strongly link scientific research and edification with the Trevor Zoo. They include the Animal Behavior class, which introduces students to a wide variety of sciences through a survey of animal behavior, and Culminating Experience for Seniors (CES) projects. This year, two student driven CES projects utilized the zoo as a research facility; one focused on bog turtle conservation and the other on the observation of blue heron nests (via hidden cameras) in the tall pine trees within the wallaby exhibit.

Of course the zoo influences many outside of the classroom, and Dr. Tousignant has recently set a goal of increasing interaction with other groups on campus, including development and admissions, and with the public; keys areas he is keen to develop are overall participation with the zoo and zoo funding. Dr. Tousignant is also committed to bettering zoo communications via an engaging social media presence, live-streaming of zoo babies, and coordinating activities for prospective students with the Admissions Office. The Trevor Zoo has a strong future under the guidance of its very dedicated leader.

22

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 22

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:39 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

The Reverend Cam Hardy

T

he Reverend Cam Hardy was appointed as the fulltime chaplain at Millbrook this year. Now, as she practices some of her other duties across various departments, projects, and initiatives, she brings an

overarching focus on developing Millbrook’s spiritual presence.

Students will still find her helping to coordinate the human development curriculum and counseling Vth and VIth formers in their college process, but Cam’s presence ultimately bolsters the sense of community and helps create a diverse, welcoming venue for student life in every capacity in which she serves. Committed to education, her focus on spirituality often manifests in helping students to explore why they are doing something, such as service or outreach projects. She believes that “the why” is paramount in creating lifetime habits of community involvement, rather than focusing on the success of a single event.

Mindful of this goal, she carefully selects chapel program speakers that provide perspective on Millbrook’s foundational core values. This year the community has enjoyed a variety of talented speakers including students, alumni, and visiting professionals. Cam hopes to continue to develop and improve upon the chapel program, which many older alumni might remember well. Held from 1930-1975, Chapel, a traditional service of readings, prayers, hymns, and a sermon, was held twice per week. The sermon or talk was given by a wide variety of guests, from a local rabbi to Eleanor Roosevelt to William Sloan Coffin.

Millbrook’s community is far richer, thanks to Cams’ leadership and guidance in developing the spiritual component of our students’ experiences, which provides a balanced foundation for the purposeful academic and competitive athletic development at the core of a Millbrook education.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 23

23

7/25/14 12:24:42 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

THE BIG PICTURE

Athletics:

Athletic Awards

Millbrook’s fall and winter athletic performances were nothing short of amazing, with historical achievements in cross-country, soccer, and hockey.

Athlete Achievements After two years of playing varsity hockey, Brett Supinski ’14 has turned his gutsy performances at center into a year of junior hockey play, after which he will join Union College’s Division I team.

Although the junior team he will play for is yet to be determined, it is clear that Brett will be an asset to the team’s success, as last year Brett totaled 44 points in 24 games (24 goals and 20 assists).

Mark Frega ’14 and Chris Saar ’14 both built upon successful years of varsity lacrosse at Millbrook and signed with strong college teams.

Mark will be joining • Mark Frega ’14 • Chris Saar ’14 Bellarmine’s Division I lacrosse program and Chris will be joining Pace’s Division II lacrosse program. Mark is a superb midfielder with a strong array of offensive and defensive plays. Chris has proven himself as a topnotch goalkeeper, consistently guarding his cage from opponent’s shots. Both look forward to playing essential roles in the success of their college teams.

• Caroline Whalen ’14 caps off her senior year with a scoring record in girls basketball.

24

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 24

This winter, Caroline Whalen ’14 broke the career scoring record for girls basketball at Millbrook with 659 career points, just passing Ivy Rivkin ’00.

Caroline is the recordbreaker in a true basketball family—a Whalen sister has played in all but two girls basketball games since 2002!

Caroline and her sisters (Sarah ’06 and Kathryn ’10) have played in a total of 215 games for Millbrook, and all three were captains and four-year starters.

FALL Field Hockey MIP – Patty Morel Defensive MVP – Caroline Whalen Offensive MVP – Jennifer Frega Coaches’ Award – Meggie Bromberg Captains Elect – Jennifer Frega and Cate MacKenzie

Girls Cross Country MVP – Isabel Seaborn MIP – Anna Waldschmidt Captains Elect – Charlotte Kasmin and Anna Waldschmidt

WINTER BV Basketball Coaches’ Award – Tondi Mushandu MIP – Mark Frega

Boys Cross Country

MVP – Will Rayman

MVP – Sheldon Freeman

Chairman of the Boards (rebounds per game) – Sheldon Freeman

MIP – Ben Marr and Arthur Xiao Freight Train – David Westcott Coaches’ Award – Alex Chalk Captains Elect – Tyler Schmaltz and David Westcott

GV Basketball MIP – Sarah Dietrich

BV Squash MIP – Christian Arntzen MVP – Colin Stuart

Girls Soccer MIP – Abby Sanford and Carly Weigold MVP – Melissa Sheeran Coaches’ Award – Gianna Muscari

Boys Soccer MIP – Rory Gagnon, Gib Mitchell, and Jacob Moreau Offensive MVP – Edward Opoku

GV Squash MIP – Bailey Summers MVP – Heidi Reiss Coach’s Award – Julia May

BV Hockey Coaches’ Award – AJ Wallace, Rory Gagnon MIP – John Buckley MVP – Brett Supinski

Defensive MVP – Max Carty Coaches’ Award – Baki Bawa and Jeremy Tenenbaum Captains Elect – Harrison Bluestone, Max Carty, and Edward Opoku

GV Hockey Coaches’ Award – Arianne Boisvert, Courtney Bolduc MVP – Melissa Sheeran

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:44 PM

On Campus

Team Achievements Cross Country Girls cross country had an exciting season, culminating in defense of their New England title with a dramatic victory in the championship meet at Marianapolis. The first five runners tied Chase Collegiate for first place, so the sixth runner, who normally doesn’t factor into the scoring, decided the race. Both the sixth and seventh runners for Millbrook finished before Chase’s sixth runner, sealing the victory for the Mustangs. IVth formers Isabel Seaborn (4th), Sarah Dietrich (10th), and Kelsey McEvoy (15th) all finished in the top twenty racers. With the introduction of new, young team members this year, there is a promise of further success to come!

Soccer For the third consecutive year, the boys varsity soccer team earned the New England title. This win was also the team’s fourth in five years, with a convincing 4-2 victory over Concord Academy in the championship game. After alternating wins and losses throughout the regular season, the boys entered the postseason battle-tested on the strength of a very challenging schedule. The most thrilling game of the tournament came in the semifinal, when the boys fought from behind late in the second half to beat Hebron 2-1. But the final game was all about teamwork, as four different Mustangs scored to complete their championship run.

Hockey Both boys and girls hockey teams had outstanding seasons, earning New England Tournament bids. The boys finished the regular season at 18-13-1, and were chosen as the #7 seed. They faced off against #2 seed Kimball Union in the first round. In what coach Vincent Sorriento ’96 called “the best game in his five year tenure as coach,” the boys battled into overtime before falling 5-4 to the eventual New England Champion.

The girls hockey team set a school record for wins and winning percentage with an overall record of 16-5-1. That record included a clean sweep of their three opponents (Kimball Union, Rivers, and Middlesex) at the Southfield Invitational Tournament. The team entered the New England Tournament as the #2 seed and started another playoff run with a quarterfinal victory over The Governor’s Academy. Unfortunately, Millbrook would fall to Brooks and their outstanding goaltender in the semifinal by a score of 2-1. Despite Millbrook’s loss, coaches in the division voted Melissa Sheeran ’14 as the New England Division II Player of the Year. Melissa will be playing hockey next year at SUNY Plattsburgh, where their women’s hockey team is a newly crowned national champion.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 25

25

7/25/14 12:24:47 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Many members of Millbrook’s community were inspired by GSA’s idea that schools and students must be active participants in a concerted effort to conserve energy and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve carbon neutrality.

Facilities:

Millbrook’s Path to Carbon Neutrality

By Jane Meigs

I

n the 2007-08 school year, after winning the Green Cup Challenge for lowering our electrical energy use by the greatest percentage, Millbrook acted boldly on

its environmental stewardship mission by joining the Green Schools Alliance. Soon after that and with board approval, we also became one of the GSA’s first climate champions by committing to reach carbon neutrality by 2020.

26

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 26

Millbrook and the GSA are not alone in pursuing this ambitious goal. Currently, 680 U.S. colleges and universities are working together through the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses. The ACUPCC was established with 12 founding members in late 2006 to bring together educational institutions committed to preparing students to understand and solve the sustainability challenges that face us. So, even as some resist the need to greatly reduce CO2 emissions and others say that carbon neutrality is a goal that cannot be reached, many leading schools, colleges, and universities, including Millbrook, are taking on the challenge to build a sustainable future based on a stable climate—a future where economic security, social equity, and sound ecological systems are the firm bedrocks of our global society.

What do we mean when we use the term carbon neutrality? Carbon neutrality is defined as having no net greenhouse gas emissions and is achieved by lowering our own greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible and then offsetting any of our remaining emissions by contributing to a guaranteed reduction of emissions elsewhere. At Millbrook, the Carbon Neutrality Planning Committee—consisting of Headmaster Drew Casertano, trustee Rick Stuckey P ’00, ’04, ’09, Chief Financial Officer Bob Connolly, and Jono ’65 and Jane Meigs— is developing an action plan for carbon neutrality that places a top priority on energy efficiency and conservation and switching to onsite renewable energy

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:49 PM

sources such as a solar photovoltaic power field, more geothermal heat pumps in new and existing buildings, and solar hot water systems. We have already compiled a list of over one hundred energy efficiency projects on campus—everything from lighting upgrades to insulation to replacing windows—which will lower our carbon emissions and our energy bill.

And soon, Millbrook will be harvesting enough solar energy through an on-site photovoltaic solar field to cover all of our current electrical energy needs. This solar field will lower our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and is a huge step towards carbon neutrality.

Millbrook’s solar project is arranged through a power purchase agreement (PPA), a financial arrangement in which a solar services provider and developer—in our case, Solar City—owns, operates, and maintains the photovoltaic (PV) system, and a host customer—Millbrook—sites the system on its land and purchases the system’s electric output for a set period and set cost per kilowatt hour. Millbrook’s PPA will stabilize our electricity pricing for twenty years, locking in the cost of electricity at a substantial discount to current and projected future rates. In the first year alone, the solar field will save the school $22,000-30,000—money that will be put in a green revolving fund to help pay for the energy efficiency projects that Millbrook must complete for carbon neutrality. Furthermore, because our PPA has no escalator clause and our local utility rates are expected to increase soon, we look forward to even greater energy savings that can be applied toward more energy upgrades on campus.

We’re very excited that work on the solar field will begin this spring and that we will be using solar-generated green electrons to cover all of our electrical usage by the fall of 2014. The solar field will cover approximately 7 acres of an 11acre field sited to the west of School Road

• A bird’s eye and section view of the new solar installation

• Millbrook’s Carbon Neutrality Planning Committee has identified over 100 energy-efficiency projects to undertake, some requiring minimal effort and others requiring substantial planning.

and adjacent to part of the cross country course. It will be a large 1.73 megawatt photovoltaic system that will produce 2.2 million kWh each year and will consist of 5,852 solar panels, safely enclosed behind

a fence and shielded from neighbors’ views by newly planted trees.

It is very clear that Millbrook would not be as far along on the path to carbon neutrality without the help and leadership

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 27

27

7/25/14 12:24:52 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

this process, overseeing the search for the best PPA deal is a tricky and technical endeavor requiring the solicitation and evaluation of proposals from several competing solar developers. Ted literally and figuratively held our hands during the PPA process, working over many months through the complex New York state grant process to secure a $1.25 million grant and getting the financial details and project framework accurately outlined in the solar project contract. We are so grateful to Ted and to his EcoMotion team for his expert guidance in this essential project.

• Ted Flanigan with daughters Sierra ’05 and Skye ’08

of Ted Flanigan, grandson of Founding Headmaster Edward Pulling and parent of Sierra ’05 and Skye ’08. Ted is the founder and director of his own energy consulting firm, EcoMotion, and has applied his deep knowledge of renewable energy and experience in energy efficiency to helping Millbrook. As we have learned through

The solar project is, of course, part of a larger plan, and other pieces of Millbrook’s carbon neutrality puzzle will fall into place going forward. The school plans to design and construct only the greenest, most energy efficient new buildings, increase energy conservation behavior, plant more trees on campus land, further develop our school garden and food production, and switch to more sustainable transportation options.

We will also buy a minimal purchase of renewable energy credits, which will help fund other renewable energy projects.

Concurrently, we will integrate our carbon neutrality goal—and solar project—into our curriculum. Faculty will be developing ways to get our students learning more in their classes through hands on projects. A first step in this direction is a major new climate change exhibit at the Trevor Zoo, which will be an educational and motivational tool for all of our students. Additionally, it will expand the experience of the 90 zooies who care for the animals as they learn how climate change threatens their survival.

The exhibit, designed by veteran science faculty members Jane and Jono Meigs ’65 and funded by Tim Richards ’76 and his family, is entitled, “The Heat’s On: Climate Change Impacts and Actions.” It focuses on climate change impacts in the northeast and on three animals from the Trevor Zoo’s collection: the red panda, the black and white ruffed lemur, and the snowy owl. The exhibit also considers the impact of climate change on coral reefs and on extreme weather. With assistance from Russ and Cristina Mittermeier P ’11, ’14, it will feature outstanding wildlife photography as well as an innovative teaching tool for science and social science classes: the iGlobe, a 30-inch lighted globe which projects compelling climate change datasets from NASA and NOAA. A large section of the exhibit highlights the many actions that both individuals and institutions need to take to deal with climate change…including, of course, the model of Millbrook’s path to carbon neutrality as a prime example of how schools must both educate and lead.

Because of our carbon neutrality goals and work, environmental stewardship at Millbrook is entering a new and more active phase in the life of our school, offering us a challenge to become ever more green and sustainable now and into the future.

28

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 28

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:24:54 PM

GET SOCIAL

Social media is about making connections.

Whether you’re an alum, parent, past parent, or part of the greater Millbrook community, we invite you to get involved and surf through our social media. www.facebook.com/millbrookschool

www.instagram.com/millbrookschool

Follow Millbrook’s Facebook fan page to see photos and videos of the many great things happening on campus.

We’re capturing and sharing beautiful and fun moments in the daily life of Millbrook students and faculty. Stop by to see what the buzz is all about.

www.twitter.com/millbrookschool Connect and get news and highlights in less than 140 characters. The beauty is in the brevity.

www.linkedin.com Join the Millbrook School Alumni Group to network with other alumni, track industry news, and start conversations about what’s important in your profession.

www.youtube.com/millbrookschoolny

Alumni Download Millbrook’s Alumni App Available on the App Store and on Google Play.

Enjoy a variety of current and archived videos, short and long format. Forty videos with more on the way!

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 29

29

7/25/14 12:25:24 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Facilities:

The Hoop House Garden –

Millbrook’s Newest Indoor-Outdoor Classroom Millbrook’s Roots in the Land Edward and Lucy Pulling founded Millbrook School in 1931 on a rolling tract of farmland in Dutchess County, New York, and from the school’s beginning a conservation of and a respect for the land itself and the natural

world have been one of the tenets of a Millbrook education.

30

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 30

This principle was grounded in another of Millbrook’s core values, community service. Millbrook’s founders believed that to learn responsibility, students had to be given real responsibility, and working on the school’s land provided many opportunities for real responsibility through important work that served the entire school community.

In 1940 a community service group led

by Mr. Henry Callard began reclaiming overgrown farmland and sowing oats and potatoes. The “farm squad,” as they were known then, planted 12 acres of oats and 1 acre of potatoes that spring.

The oats and potatoes grew beautifully over the summer, and Mr. Pulling actually declared a free day in September of 1940 so that the entire school could get out into the field to dig potatoes! Some of the more inexperienced harvesters were digging up pieces of potatoes with forks, causing quite a bit of damage to the crop,

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:25:28 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

• Students harvested potatoes in the fall of 1940 with the help of local farmer Mr. Leavitt.

until a good friend of the school and local farmer, Mr. Leavitt, very kindly offered to plow up the whole field. Students enjoyed their bounty of potatoes through Christmas, and there were enough oats to feed the horses on campus through most of the school year.

Coming Full Circle In an age when many schools and other institutions are just recently beginning to explore ways to become better stewards of the environment, Millbrook has, over these 83 years, remained true to its original roots, which have been deeply green all along. While we’ve continued to make great use of the campus land to instill in students an appreciation for nature and the importance of conservation, farming and community gardening at Millbrook went by the wayside until fairly recently.

In 2008 VI formers Andrew Fiore and Sam Augustine created Millbrook’s first community garden in many years, as they built raised beds for their Culminating Experience for Seniors (CES) project. At the time, faculty member Amy Manny jumped in to keep the gardens tended during the summer, and she became the faculty leader of a new gardening community service dubbed the “Green Team.” The Green Team worked not only in the community garden in the fall and spring, but they helped establish good composting habits,

educated the community about how to compost, and provided support to faculty in continuing to develop sustainable practices on campus.

As the school’s enrollment has grown, one focus has been on continuing to provide meaningful opportunities to all students during community service. In 2012 administrators conceived a new plan for all incoming III formers, providing them the opportunity to move through the three largest community services during

the year: the zoo, recycling, and general services. General Services was in the rotation for only the first year, as the growth of the community garden was planned and a grant application was submitted to the Edward E. Ford Foundation for the purpose of building our first movable hoop house garden. The foundation approved a $50,000 4-to-1 matching grant in July of 2013, and by the fall the construction of the “Rolling Thunder” hoop house garden was well underway, and students were hard at work preparing raised beds and sifting through soil. Truly going back to our roots at the beginning of this school year, the Green Team became the third rotation for all III form students, allowing them to plant, cultivate, grow, and harvest in a larger garden setting year-round.

Experiential learning for our III formers Current faculty member Lyuda Pope has taken on the responsibility of overseeing the

Will Conte ’17 In Napa, where I’m from, we do a lot of gardening and grow our own food at my dad’s house. Here, I’m learning how to take care of plants in a much bigger setting. In the hoop house we had to dig into the clay, then build the raised beds, and add the compost and soil. And we’ve planted so many things like Kale, arugula, radishes, and strawberries.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 31

31

7/25/14 12:25:29 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

hoop house and the Green Team community service, and she is extremely enthusiastic about the future of the program and the educational benefits to our students, especially our III formers. Twenty-five students are in the hoop house every day, and there they are learning what it means to plant and tend and harvest and eat their own food. They see and participate in the growing process from beginning to end, and this provides them a sense of where food comes from and how to eat healthily in addition to sparking their interest in gardening.

Will Conte is a III former who enjoyed working in the garden, not only during his community service rotation but in his free time after classes and on weekends.

One of a few student members of the school committee preparing for the construction of new dining hall, Will feels strongly about how the garden ties into the many other green initiatives on campus. He has also jumped into action as a member of SCAPE (Students Concerned About Planet Earth) and the Environmental Council, and he is excited to discuss the potential for other projects

including planting a lavender grove and bringing bees on campus to make honey.

Leadership and intensive study opportunities for VI formers A handful of VI formers were selected to take on new leadership roles this year within the Green Team community service. The student leader supervises three or four III formers, providing feedback to the students and nominating them for “Gardener of the Week” based on the work that they do during the community service period.

Eleni Katavolos ’14 became one of these leaders when a faculty member recommended her for the role. Eleni loves gardening, which has always been a part of her life. As a younger child, she helped to grow many vegetables like pumpkins, tomatoes, and cucumbers in her grandfather’s family garden, and she joined her mother at the Poughkeepsie Farm project during a summer program, helping them to expand gardening

Eleni Katavolos ’14 This winter was really rough. But our kale has been hearty, and we’ve been enjoying eating it.

During the winter, the plants release more glucose and they taste sweeter. In the late fall we had a couple of harvests of arugula, baby spinach, and radishes, and we were able to bring those back to the dining hall.

32

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 32

programs with Dutchess County schools.

Eleni shares this about the new Green Team experience:

The freshmen are really enjoying it. During the winter the group that I led worked in the small greenhouse, keeping plants well tended there during the winter months. We rearranged the smaller greenhouse outside the maintenance facilities in order to accommodate more plants, and we brought some plants, like ivy and spider plants, into zoo exhibits to fill out spaces nicely there.

The new garden is also providing opportunity for VI formers to explore food and farming in their academic endeavors.

One pair this year—Maddie Panzer and Arianne Boisvert—examined the feasibility of keeping chickens on campus just behind the hoop house. They completed a cost analysis and researched the idea in depth: the intricacies of keeping chickens, the labor required, types of coops that might be best, and what kind of feed would be best. They also explored the potential mandates should the school want to bring fresh eggs into the dining hall, and what kind of assistance would be needed during breaks from school.

Dean of Faculty Kathy Havard sees so much potential for other VI form CES projects and advanced science independent research projects tied into the science of farming and food production. Students will have the opportunity to research

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:25:31 PM

MILLBROOK MATTERS

hoop house through the coldest of the winter months. David Strathairn, parent of Ebbe ’05, kindly invited members of Millbrook’s faculty to his property in Pine Plains (the Winter Bounty Harvest), where, for five or six years now, they grow a bounty of vegetables all winter.

E stablishing a compost system.

We would like to make better use of the scraps and waste from the dining

• Students help filter soil as the beds are prepared

hall and the zoo. The current compost pile is down School Road and not easily accessible when students are mixing the soil. Time and personnel

and present on such topics as: Why are vegetables harvested after winter growth sweeter? What are the chemical processes that are taking place when plants are hibernating? How are plants crossbred, and to what purpose?

constraints limit what we can currently

While these projects could be based on direct research in the garden, other ideas might be generated based on an interest in food and community or any ancillary subject matter. How does access to fresh, locally grown produce affect the health of a population? How do fast-growing annual plants provide the basis for a perennial permanent food forest?

C reating a farm-to-table experience.

do. An improvement in our composting system will allow us to create less waste, streamline the manpower, and keep the students involved during the winter making good compost.

We will continue to think about how we can farm more of the land, possibly plant an orchard, bring in chickens and bees, and really create a genuine farm to table experience. The Hudson Valley is at the heart of organic farming in New York state, and there is huge potential for partnering with other farms and research institutions

Considerations for the future The construction of the hoop house

in the area (like the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies) to create additional educational programs for students.

garden is but one step in what could become an established farm program for Millbrook.

Many ideas are being considered including:

Adding a heat source.

Currently, there is no electricity in the garden and no source of heat during the winter. A larger vegetable crop could be produced during the winter if we moved to using a double layer covering, which allows a pillow of warm air in between the layers to warm the

While the school considers how the garden and any additional programs can most benefit the students, we have been and will continue to utilize the expertise of Millbrook alumni. Many Millbrook alumni are already doing brilliant work in education, science, and hands-on projects on farms. Bridget Meigs ’00 is teaching at Stonehill College and has been lauded for her great work managing The Farm at Stonehill.

Hillary Gifford ’03 is doing wonderful work in a local CSA (Community Supported

Agriculture), and Serena Whitridge ’06 and Peter Siegenthaler ’06 both worked on the newly established farm at Hotchkiss. These alumni and others can offer terrific insight into what programs work and why, and how Millbrook’s programs will be best structured moving forward.

The timing is perfect to think about the future, as we begin to develop plans for Millbrook’s new dining hall. Additional farming and food/land components of our program will need to be considered as the dining hall and kitchen spaces are designed. Looking at college and university examples too, like Middlebury and the University of Vermont will be important.

How do they use local ingredients effectively in their dining services?

The plan for the upcoming 2014-2015 school year is in place. Students will plant crops in September to harvest in the late autumn and early winter months.

Carrots, beets, garlic, potatoes, squash, watermelons, pumpkins, and kale will be part of this harvest. From January through March, students will maintain the garden by covering hibernating plants at night to protect them from excessively cold temperatures, but they will remove that frost-protecting layer during the day to expose the plants to as much sun as possible. They will also be preparing soil and seeding so that upon their return from spring break, seedlings will be ready to plant. Beginning in April, students will plant radish, lettuces, strawberries, scallions, kale, peas, flowers, and more, and after the summer harvest, the cycle will begin again.

It’s an exciting time to be a Millbrook student, and today, more than ever before, Millbrook’s youngest students have much in common with our earliest alumni. They are reaping extraordinary benefits from an education rooted in intellectual curiosity, community service, and environmental stewardship—an experience that is truly unmatched at any other school in the country.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 33

33

7/25/14 12:25:32 PM

T

HE BLAINE ESSAY PRIZE is awarded each year to a graduating senior who offers the best essay concerning an issue of contemporary or historical significance. It is presented in memory of Harrison Tweed

Blaine ’38, a United States Marine who died during World War II. Established

by Mr. Blaine’s parents, it was awarded through the mid-1960’s. The prize was reinstated in 1982 through the generosity of Douglas B. Ball ’57, and for the next 16 years a handful of seniors would submit a Blaine essay each year.

34

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 34

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:25:38 PM

It’s Academic

Mark Clizbe An

E ss a y of

Personal Conviction In the fall of 1998, Mark Clizbe came to Millbrook as the chair of the History Department, and by his second year, all seniors were writing a Blaine essay.

Why the shift? “Historians write stuff—history happens through research and writing.” So, by their VI form year, Millbrook students learn what it means to be an historian, to analyze and defend arguments, and to write a research paper. The Blaine is perhaps one of the most agonizing assignments our students complete, but also perhaps the most rewarding.

It’s all about the second Tuesday in May, at 6 p.m., in Pulling House.

Only about twenty people will be there, and the event itself receives very little fanfare, but for the members of the History Department, almost everything we do revolves around that single hour of the year. In many ways, the hour is a test and a challenge, but mostly it is a celebration of our most successful students.

In that hour, an outside reader—a college professor or esteemed secondary educator—discusses the handful of Blaine essays our department considers the best VI form work of the year and then announces the winner of the Blaine Essay Prize. The reader

considers the strengths and weaknesses of each paper in some depth, and in so doing, judges not only the work of the seniors in the room, but of the department itself, stretching all the way from the moment the students first arrive in our classrooms to the moment they graduate.

The papers under consideration at the Blaine Dinner cover a remarkable breadth of current and historical topics. Long before the recent spread of gay-equality legislation, Stafford McKay ’01 won the prize with his essay on the constitutional right to gay marriage. Sarah Whalen ’06 anticipated the furor over drone strikes with her argument against targeted killings conducted as continued next page

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 35

35

7/25/14 12:25:39 PM

An Essay of Personal Conviction

part of U.S. foreign policy. In 2009, Kallie Havens ’09 took issue with adults’ condemnation of teens’ immersion in an on-line world.

Finalists and winners have written on food libel laws (Rachel DeSimone ’10), voter registration (Parker Zanghi-Clark ’12), the nature of faith (Caroline Luke ’02), Prohibition-era social attitudes (Elli Case-Pethica ’13), coverage of Middle Eastern stereotypes in Time magazine (Abby Horwitt ’00), and the difference between female and male comedians (Summer Bottini ’10).

Every year, I leave the Blaine Dinner proud and energized. Our students’ work is impressive.

The project is far broader in scope, however, than just that one event. Every VI former in a history course writes a Blaine Essay, and some write two. Many of those essays represent the best work of their writers’ careers, even when they are not named finalists.

Not everyone puts his full attention into the essay, but most do. As Emma Merrill ’13 admitted, “I loved my Blaine, even though I said I hated it.”

We do it because we believe that being able to produce the written expression of one’s own point of view is among the most important things a student must learn to do. It lies at the center of civic engagement and personal responsibility. Arguing from conviction and fact together allows for innovation and restitution, engagement and individuation, personal growth and group identity. Personal positions matter, and information matters.

Not only that, but writing about something that interests you is enjoyable.

Our curriculum, therefore, is built around that belief. Beginning in the III form, we teach students how to distinguish fact from opinion, how to tell a story, and how to find the most reliable information. In the IV form Modern World History course, students conduct small-scale research assignments and begin to work with primary documents. By the V form, they must do more serious research and take more pointed, sophisticated positions.

For the teachers in the department, that broad involvement is at the heart of the endeavor. Presenting the prize and reading the top essays is rewarding, but no more so than working with the all the other people who have invested so much in the work.

For the faculty, beginning literally from their interview for the position, almost every day is dedicated to the question of how best to help students get to the point at which they can write a Blaine essay to make them proud. To call our focus “single-minded” is an exaggeration, but not by much.

I often refer in class to the essays written by John Zeiser ’01 and Arielle Watlington ’08, though they did not win the prize.

Max Kennedy ’06 and I still occasionally exchange opinions about hockey fights because of his essay.

Every year, at the first department meeting of the year, we talk about how to get our students to the second Tuesday in May. As of this writing, we don’t know who else will be there, but we know we will be, and we know we will leave proud of the students who brought us there.

• Seniors Casey Murray, Katja Galli, and George DeWitt discuss ideas they are researching for their Blaine essay.

36

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 36

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:25:42 PM

B l a i n e E ss a y E x cerpts

Stafford Mckay ’01

home for the American people. After the tragic events of

The Right of Marriage and the Constitution

September 11, 2001, President Bush set out to retaliate for the devastating actions. The question that ensues, therefore, is

The current legal classification of marriage in this

States has changed its mind about the practice of targeted

how to respond to this violence… The government of the United

country is recognized only between a man and a woman, not

killings and has quietly begun to employ them in its “war on

between two members of the same sex. Advocates of gay and

terror”. Information on these killings is extremely confidential,

lesbian rights have been lobbying to have this fact changed

and the Bush Administration has offered limited knowledge to

for years. It is the belief of these groups and others that the

the public, withholding numbers and names of most attempts,

United States not only has an obligation to recognize same-sex unions, but that lawmakers have not obeyed the fundamentals of the constitution and Supreme Court precedent by passing what is known as “The Defense of Marriage Act” in 1996. The damage that has already been done in Washington to the gay community is irreparable. The United States Supreme Court would have the ability to permit same-sex unions if

allowing little public debate. However, from the information available, it is clear that the United States’ use of targeted killing is an unwise decision in terms of its own foreign and domestic policy. It not only is contradictory of American values, but it violates international law and has been frowned upon by the worldwide community.

a related case ever reached the high court. The court could base its opinion favoring recognized union in the following

Kalli Havens ’09

arguments: A) Discrimination against same-sex marriage

The World of Digital Natives

is similar to certain state governments’ past restrictions on biracial marriage, which the United States Supreme Court found in violation of Equal Protection granted by the Fourteenth Amendment. B) The opinions of two State Supreme Court cases, Baehr v. Lewin (Hawaii), and Baker v. Vermont, clearly define the legal rights to gay marriage in each state. C) The relation of the Equal Protection Clause in each of the aforementioned states is akin to that of the United States Constitution. D) The Full Faith and Credit Clause of Article IV of the United States Constitution was clearly intended to protect the rights of a citizen granted by one state in every other. In light of these arguments, the Court easily could find that the ‘Defense of Marriage Act’, an attempt by Congress to stop legal recognition of same-sex unions, is unconstitutional.

The world wide web is a communication tool. Since the internet was introduced as a way for military units to communicate with one another, it has revolutionized the way we all communicate, learn, play, and even think. The echo of the baby boom created a generation of Digital Natives, a generation unlike any other because they were the first to grow up completely immersed in a digital world. We now spend more time using web services than we do running traditional software applications from the computer’s hardrive. The author of the book Grown Up Digital, Don Tapscott, wrote, “For the first time in history, children are more comfortable, knowledgeable, and literate than their parents with an innovation central to society. And it is through the use of the digital media that the [Digital Natives] will develop and superimpose its culture on the rest of society.” In a time when social networking sites,

Sarah Whalen ’06

chat rooms, IM-ing, video-sharing, online games, cell phones,

Targeted Killings: A Contradictory Approach to the ‘War on Terror’

and iPods are rudiments of Digital Native culture, it is hard

In 2006 one of the most prominent issues facing the

self-expression and forming connections.

to imagine life without them. These adolescents are not only developing and maturing in their offline world, but they are doing so surrounded by new mediums for communication,

many nations of the world is terrorism. Although this is no new concept, the threat to the national security of the United States has increased over the past few years and has become more immediate, as the effects have now reached close to

To read these papers, current papers, and more in their entirety, visit: www.millbrook.org/blaine

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 37

37

7/25/14 12:25:42 PM

38

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 38

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:25:47 PM

It’s Academic

Martha Clizbe

Explorations In Pre-Calculus: Statistical Measurements of The Wave and Other Practical Applications Martha Clizbe is the chair of the Math Department, a

Of all of the subjects still taught in high schools these days, math has probably changed the least. Students still study Euclidean Geometry, and Euclid, to the best of our knowledge, lived around 300 BC! However, the way math has been taught is constantly changing, and there are many different perspectives on how to best train students to be good at math: Drill and Kill? ( Assign so many problems that students who complete every problem will never forget how to find a common denominator again.)

Plug and Chug? ( Encourage students to memorize formulas and procedures without knowing why the process works.)

Math through Proof? ( Students don’t learn any procedure, formula, or rule without deriving where it came from.)

Math by Discovery? ( Students are not given any explicit facts

member of the History Department (teaching psychology,

from the teacher. Students and teacher

one of the VI form history electives), a coach, an advisor, a

formulas and rules for the math.)

current parent, and a dorm parent. Known fondly on campus as “Mama Cliz” for her warm leadership in the girls dorm Clark Hall and the delicious fresh bread and baked goods she so often shares, she is also highly regarded by students for her ability to make complex math concepts in pre-calculus, calculus, and statistics approachable and enjoyable. Here she shares one of her students’ favorite exercises. While they are engrossed in the process, they might not even realize how she is leading them to think critically, work both independently and collaboratively, and express abstract expressions in very concrete and practical ways.

work together to come up with the

Problem-Based Learning? ( Students approach the curriculum through complex problems, which require a wide variety of math skills to answer.)

Most math teachers are familiar with all of these approaches and probably rely on a combination of these techniques during any given school year.

One method we employ in the Millbrook math department is called Exploration.

Though not exclusively, the Exploration technique is used predominately in pre-calculus. In our math curriculum, continued next page

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 39

39

7/25/14 12:25:47 PM

Explorations In Pre-Calculus

pros and cons of the regression function in terms of modeling the relationship under study.

The complicated lingo of variables, scatterplots, regressions and modeling can undoubtedly only be appreciated by our readers who are math aficionados or current advanced math students. To make this process come alive for everyone else, following is a description of one of my favorite Explorations: The Wave.

Introduction With A Whoo!

Algebra II covers advanced algebra skills in preparation for calculus. Pre-calculus, the bridge course between Algebra II and Calculus, focuses on helping students make the connection between the abstract algebraic expressions, the graphs that correspond with those expressions, and finally, the real world relationships that the graphs model. To that end, our precalculus curriculum includes a weekly activity called “Explorations.”

An Exploration in Pre-calculus is a long period activity that asks students to consider the relationship between two variables. They are first asked to classify the variables as “independent” or “dependent.” Next, they must determine what shape the data would take and then what function might model the data. After the predictions are complete, materials are distributed and students are sent to gather data. Once a set of good data has been obtained, students then make a scatterplot of their data on graphing calculators. They examine the shape of the data points and decide what type of regression would best fit the data and/ or model the relationship the best. Once regressions have been found, students answer a series of questions about the

40

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 40

At the beginning of the school year, I introduce the Exploration procedure: “We are going to do the wave in class today.

We will begin with a one-person wave.

Ben will stand up, fully extending his legs and arms, say “Whoo,” and sit back down. We will time how long it takes for Ben to go from sitting, up with extended arms, and back to sitting. Then we will add Emma. Emma may not stand up until Ben is seated. Then she must stand up, fully extending her legs and arms, say “Whoo,” then sit back down. Our first data value will be Ben’s time. Our second data value will be the time it takes for both Ben and Emma to complete the wave. We will continue to add students in order around the room until everyone has been a part of the wave.”

The Question of Function Generates Disagreement Once everyone is clear on the experiment, I ask students to discuss with their neighbors what the variables are (ANSWER: the number of people and the time to complete the wave), and what type of function would best model this relationship. The first thing we agree on is that the function will be increasing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a student say differently. The type of

function is usually pretty obvious to the students, but sometimes there is some variety. Most students will argue that the function should be linear. When asked to defend their hypothesis, they say things like: “it has a constant rate of change— each person should take roughly the same amount of time to stand up and sit down; therefore, it will be linear.”

Dissenters will counter with ideas like, “Not everyone will stand up and sit down at exactly the same pace.” Supporters of the linear hypothesis will again pipe up, “Right, but it is unlikely that every person in succession will take longer and longer or shorter and shorter. Times will increase and decrease randomly.”

At this point, very few students have ever needed more convincing that the relationship is probably linear, but the discussion among the students has been valuable.

Data Gathering is Fun We then move on to the data gathering phase. This is fun because students will do weird things when it is their turn— weirdness breaks up the monotony. As long as they follow the basic rules of full extension and are not standing before their neighbor sits, any utterances or flourishes are welcome and, frankly, encouraged.

ANALYSIS OF SCATTERPLOTS AND REGRESSION EQUATIONS After the class has the data gathered, they learn how to enter it into the calculator, create a scatterplot, adjust the viewing window, and find a regression.

(What is a regression? It’s statistical measure that attempts to determine the strength of the relationship between one dependent variable and a series of other changing variables.) Once we all have our regression, we discuss how the characteristics of our regression equation

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:25:48 PM

Explorations In Pre-Calculus

(such as domain, range, slope, intercepts, etc.) compare to our actual data. We discuss whether or not our regression could be used to make predictions and, if so, what flaws might we need to be wary of.

INDEPENDENT AND CRITICAL THINKING After students understand the basic structure of the Exploration, the task becomes more independent. Students are paired off and only allowed to work with their partner. (This promotes grit; they can’t rely on the “smartest” kid in the class to answer their questions.) Each pair of students gathers their own data, and often the class will compare the regressions from each pair to determine what might make one different from another. For example, in one Exploration students compare the drop height of a ball with the bounce height of the ball. The relationship is linear (up to a point), but the slopes

of each regression typically vary widely.

Students realize that the variation in slopes is due to the varying elasticity of the different balls used. (Golf, lacrosse, tennis, soccer, squash, super, and ping pong balls have all been compared!) By the end of the year, students are asked (and able) to bring in their own relationship to study, and it is from this exercise that many of my Exploration ideas have emerged!

STUDENT IDEAS FOR EXPLORATIONS • Compare the number of cups on the bottom row of a cup-stacking “pyramid” with the time it took to complete the pyramid. (Quadratic function) • Boil water and compare the temperature of the water to time elapsed.

(Logistic function) • See how many goldfish one can toss into a cup in relation to how far away the cup was placed. (Logistic function)

• Determine how many push-ups someone can do in 1-minute increments.

(Exponential decay)

LESSONS LEARNED Students whom I have taught have routinely complained about Explorations when they are toiling over a tricky one during class (or after I hand back an Exploration quiz). However, every long period (90-minute classes) those same students are the ones who ask: “Are we doing an Exploration today?” And they are also the same students who miss them once they’ve moved beyond pre-calculus.

Do they make our students better math students? Hopefully. Do they make our students better problem solvers?

Probably. Do they do get students speaking (and sometimes arguing) with each other in the language of math? YES! And that is certainly a good thing.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 41

41

7/25/14 12:25:51 PM

Teachers as Students:

Millbrook’s

S a Program bbatical 2013-14 is the seventh anniversary of Millbrook School’s sabbatical program, and therefore an especially appropriate time to assess the ways it has enriched members of our faculty and shaped the school.

by Dean of Faculty Katherine Havard

‘And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made’… Hence, the Sabbath. The seventh day, during which God took what most of us—I trust—would consider a well-earned rest. Hence, too, the word sabbatical, and as many of you know, I am returned from a one-year sabbatical, a year of rest ‘from the work which I had made.’

So Walker Zeiser, chair of Millbrook’s English department, began his chapel talk in the fall of 2010, upon his return from a year-long sabbatical. Each faculty member who returns shares a chapel talk with the community in early fall, a tradition that students and faculty love and to which they often respond with a standing ovation. Walker further explained that the sabbatical year likely originated in an agricultural practice by the ancient Israelites. The previously nomadic tribe committed—every seven years—to allowing the lands they had conquered and settled around the Jordan River to lie uncultivated and unharvested in order to enhance the land’s fertility for future generations.

42

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 42

Such nourishment and replenishment is perhaps nowhere more necessary than among boarding school teachers. Not only do Millbrook’s faculty teach, coach, and serve as dorm parents and advisors, they model Millbrook’s mission in their daily lives and seek out moments to teach it everywhere, because the students are always watching. For those who make their careers digging into such work, the opportunity to “lie fallow” and replenish is a great gift. Seven years ago, thanks to a generous donation from former parents Joe and Nikki Gregory, the school initiated a formal sabbatical program.

Art teacher and long-time soccer coach Rick McWilliams was the first of six faculty members to be granted a sabbatical through the program thus far. Rick created a template for the sabbaticals that have followed; he worked on his professional growth as a digital and darkroom photographer, and he took time to reflect on his life as an artist and educator on his beloved Cape Cod. His chapel talk upon return, and the thoughtful gallery exhibit he curated, featuring his photography alongside drawings and cartoons by his father and several pieces by his son Trevor ’01, have also become mainstays of the sabbatical experience at Millbrook.

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:25:52 PM

According to the program’s mission statement:

The school recognizes that being a faculty member at Millbrook requires energy and courage, self-knowledge, an abiding passion for learning, and a joy in working with adolescents. Therefore, Millbrook offers the yearlong sabbatical program, designed to provide faculty members with the opportunity to replenish themselves personally and professionally, by returning to the wellspring of inspiration that brought them to the education profession.

As is a common feature of such programs, Millbrook offers the faculty member his or her full salary for the year, as well as a small housing stipend if the faculty member leaves his or her campus housing. While many urban and suburban independent schools offer half-year sabbaticals, because they are able to draw from a ready pool of teachers in their areas to fill in, Millbrook’s rural location and the idiosyncratic nature of individual faculty members’ jobs makes the full-year option more viable for us.

More important, sabbatical recipients report that a full year away from schoolwork—work that is so intensely tied to the seasons, rituals, and cycle of a calendar year—is especially renewing. Since uprooting for a year is cost-prohibitive for some faculty members, particularly for those whose spouse works at Millbrook, the program also offers a generous summer travel grant in lieu of the full-year

sabbatical. The most significant feature of Millbrook’s program, however, is that it takes shape for each individual faculty member, without requiring a tangible or work-related result, recognizing that genuine renewal takes many forms and sometimes happens in surprising ways. Faculty recipients have pursued a variety adventures within themselves as well as out in the world, from which the school has benefitted directly and indirectly.

Impacts on Millbrook’s Program When Bill Hardy, then chair of the Art Department, took his sabbatical in 2008-09, his plan was to paint, paint, and paint, as well as to provide family support while his wife, Cameron Hardy, completed her divinity degree.

Bill produced a fascinating body of work, which he subsequently exhibited at a number of institutions including Millbrook’s own Warner Gallery. With his support Cam completed her degree from Yale Divinity School; she now serves as Millbrook School’s chaplain.

Also during that year, Bill began to explore a bold new teaching idea: partnering with the Willem de Kooning Foundation in order to teach an art history course that would focus on de Kooning’s oeuvre and his philosophical, aesthetic, and cultural contexts. It would culminate in a gallery exhibition of de Kooning’s work, planned and curated by the students themselves. Art foundations had not partnered with high school students in this way before, but Bill found the de Kooning Foundation tremendously receptive.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 43

43

7/25/14 12:25:54 PM

Teachers as Students

Millbrook’s Sabbatical Program

Now entering its sixth incarnation and focused on a new artist or movement each year, Millbrook’s art history course has become a centerpiece of the school’s program in the arts. A bold idea, born in the renewing time apart.

In lieu of a sabbatical, long-time Latin teacher and head of the IIIrd form boys’ dormitory John Siegenthaler chose a summer travel grant. He and his wife, Betty, spread their travels out over two summers and combined personal exploration with John’s fascination with all things Roman.

During their first summer they walked a 16-mile section of Hadrian’s Wall, which marks the original border between England and Scotland and features remarkable ruins of Roman forts and evidence of ancient Roman life in Britain. They spent a week in

44

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 44

London’s museums and the Roman baths at Bath. The Siegenthalers also made a pilgrimage to John’s ancestral city of Berne, Switzerland, and sailed on the Queen Mary home to New York, along the route that John’s ancestors had traveled to America in the 1890’s. The second summer took them to Italy, where they explored Rome in depth, as well as Naples, Sorriento, Pompei, and a remarkable twoweek adventure around Sicily with trustee Bill Menard and his wife Suzy, former parents and rabid Italophiles. John brought these firsthand experiences back to his Latin classes, which may have inspired some of his advanced Latin scholars, especially Laurel Stine ’14, to propose this year’s Intersession/spring break trip to Italy with the Siegenthalers. The trip “could not have gone better,” John reports, allowing him to bring history to life through ancient Rome and Ostia to medieval Assisi, to renaissance Florence. Betty adds that their summer travels gave them the courage to undertake such a trip with Millbrook students. Musing now about where the next trip will take them – how about a faculty-alumni excursion to hike Hadrian’s Wall? - John and Betty have clearly found traveling and teaching an energizing and sustaining combination.

Returning to the Wellspring At the heart of the yearlong sabbatical is the idea that by being apart one may contemplate the intense communal life in which one has been immersed and thereby understand it, and oneself, anew.

Both Walker Zeiser and Eileen Jeffreys, head of nursing at Millbrook who took her sabbatical in 2012-13, spent much of their sabbatical years in contemplation. Each spent time in beauty and quiet, had long talks with loved ones, and engaged deeply in reading and thinking. In his chapel talk, Walker revealed that he didn’t have a grand plan for his sabbatical, and that fact gave him pause. Would he regret having squandered a remarkable opportunity? Halfway through his year, however, reading voraciously and thinking about what he read in a dedicated, rigorous way, he made a discovery. “I had established a simple and uncluttered framework for allowing me to do that which, deep down, I most desired,” Walker said. Just because his year was restful does not mean it was easy, for reflection can be hard work, leading one down maddening detours and forcing one to confront painful truths. But for him, living an examined life, a life dedicated to “the nourishment of the soul,” needed dedicated time and quiet.

Such was the sustaining gift of his sabbatical.

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:25:57 PM

The plan conceived by Todd Feitelson, long-time math teacher and coach at Millbrook, and this year’s sabbatical recipient, could not be more different on its face. Todd’s great love is teaching math, so spending a year away from it hardly seemed a gift to him.

But separating from the Millbrook community, where he has spent his entire teaching career, in order to gain both perspective and fresh inspiration, was appealing. Why not turn to that endless source of inspiration and reinvention just 90 miles to the south?

Anyone who has been to New York City with Todd— from watching games at City Field and Madison Square Garden to biking around Manhattan on a faculty outing a year ago—has witnessed that skip in his step which we rarely see on the country paths at Millbrook. It turned out that with some planning, teaching math in NYC for the year was attainable and affordable through the sabbatical program.

Since September, Todd has been teaching math to 7th-12th grade girls at Nightingale-Bamford School, living in a walk-up in the East Village and riding a CitiBike to every home Rangers game. Restful?

Well, perhaps not, or not in the same way that Walker and Eileen experienced. But Todd says that this year has allowed him to focus closely on his teaching, while being the “new kid” at a school with a distinctive culture. One of his discoveries has been the joy of collaborating. At Nightingale, teachers of the same course move through the material together, with the exact same homework assignments and assessments, a reality Todd wasn’t used to. He has found this restricting at times (though he also teaches two courses totally on his own), but he has reveled in the chance to discuss rich material and pedagogy with an experienced and dedicated cadre of teachers. “I have the ability to ask [them] genuine questions based on experience—not leading questions, not questions out of ignorance, but out of genuinely wanting to know,” Todd says. “So, I’m learning, and when others can’t answer, that’s when I’ve been helpful to Nightingale.” He has loved the math confidence he’s seen in the girls at Nightingale (culturally, “I can’t do math” is verboten), as well as the traditions that connect the elementary and junior high girls with older students. His students have appreciated his fresh perspective on them as thinkers, without the preconceptions of teachers who’ve known them for years. Monitoring the rooftop playground and kindergarten lunch has been a source of endless surprise and humor, and witnessing institutional politics from the vantage point of a disentangled outsider has given him perspective and serenity.

The streets of Manhattan, with their endless distractions, do not seem as appropriate a setting for a contemplative year as, say, the coast of Maine in winter where both Walker and Eileen spent time. Yet Todd reminds us that he lives most of his life in his head anyway, (full disclosure: being married to Todd, this writer confirms this is true). The milieu for contemplation is simply what’s going on out in the street, rather than between the covers of

a book. Todd has found that people in NYC “are totally as friendly as anywhere on earth…You just don’t have to say hello to people on the street,” and that anonymity can be thought-provoking and invigorating. As he approaches the end of his sabbatical year…

“People from Nightingale ask me, ‘Am I going to be sad to leave?’ People from Millbrook ask me ‘Am I looking forward to coming back?’ …I’m not thinking about either of those things…In these questions is an implied one: which school is better? That’s not a question I’m interested in. Both schools have talented faculty who care deeply about their students. I’m doing this now…”

Todd’s conclusion from his sabbatical year seems not so different from what Walker shared with the community after his sabbatical. An old proverb reads, “Bloom where you are planted.”

A sabbatical can give educators the perspective and the energy to keep experiencing the world in this immediate and thoughtful way after they return and inspire others to do the same.

For, of course, going forth on sabbatical necessitates coming home. The returner is changed by the experience, and the place has, of course, changed in his or her absence. Eileen Jeffreys, long-time head nurse at Millbrook, knew that she was going to encounter such change upon her return, and so her leaving and returning took particular courage. Millbrook’s health center would be in a new place, and health services would be administrated in a different way. Such change is always difficult, but all who work with Eileen marvel at how she has re-inhabited her role with optimism and grace that has come from a replenished place inside her. This may be the greatest gift a sabbatical can give to committed educators in our changing world. 2014-15 will be a re-grouping year for the sabbatical program, in which we will identify and plan for the next group of residential teachers to receive this benefit. The sabbatical program is a central pillar in the professional development, compensation, and retirement planning upon which we are embarking for Millbrook’s most precious resource, its faculty.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 45

45

7/25/14 12:25:58 PM

46

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 46

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:04 PM

Students as Teachers:

21st CENTURY

Stutors J

ust before 8 p.m. on a Monday evening, lights flicker on in the Harris Kenan Language Center. Eight students amble into Madrid, one of the Spanish

classrooms, slip their laptops from their backpacks, and, while simultaneously opening electronic documents and pulling notebooks from their bags, proceed to converse on a variety of topics. The stutors (student tutors) have had to get their own homework done during the day—either during a free period or in between sports practice, dinner, and study hall. Now, they appreciate a few minutes of idle chitchat around the empty grouped tables as they wait to be matched up with a student who needs their help.

• (Left) Millbrook’s student tutors gather just before the start of a Monday night session.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 47

47

7/25/14 12:26:07 PM

Students as Teachers

21st Century Stutors

D

own time is rare for these students, and they are about to spend the next two hours focused on other students’ work, helping to make sense of what is currently incomprehensible. They will sometimes get frustrated, and they will sometimes get impatient. But they will always marvel at the incredible feeling that arises when they’ve broken the barrier and really taught something to another student.

A Student Initiative: Student-led and Faculty Supported Dean of Faculty Kathy Havard is present, as well—she’s not running the show but making sure the process goes smoothly. As the current faculty advisor to the Stutors, she keeps track of the volunteer tutors and helps get them paired up with students at the start of the Monday evening sessions. Ms. Havard facilitates a program that has been active since 2002, when her brother, Mr. John Havard, agreed to be the first faculty

advisor to the program proposed that year

by Elizabeth Thomas ’05.

The proposal prepared in 2002 advocated for regularly scheduled tutoring sessions that allowed for both tutors and students seeking help to be able to plan in advance. From the original proposal, “We believe that a regular open tutoring session where a number of tutors in different subjects were available would be helpful to students and would be used effectively.

[A faculty] proctor would need to keep this an interactive study environment but not a social session.”

While a faculty member oversees and monitors the process, it’s the students who are doing the real work. Besides the obvious—stutors taking time to work with students who are need extra guidance on topics and special projects— all new stutors must train on how to tutor. Every spring and fall, experienced student tutors help train new volunteers.

Their focus is on how to give help in a particular subject without doing the work themselves.

Guiding, Not Doing All novice volunteer student tutors attend a training session conducted by the student tutor service. Ancillary to this is reviewing best practices for planning well and getting organized, skills that the stutors will work to instill in often disorganized IIIrd and IVth formers.

Stutors will have students take out their planners, talk through their week, what they’re most worried about completing, and how they’re going to get their work done. Once organized, tutors

Stutor

Sylvia Tan ’15 Classes: English Honors U.S. History AP Calculus AB Advanced Physics Honors Advanced Chemistry Honors Honors Ceramics Activities: Zoo Curator Theater Tech Community Service, Head Engineering Club

48

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 48

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:11 PM

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 49

49

7/25/14 12:26:14 PM

Students as Teachers

21st Century Stutors can begin to help them with subjectspecific material and special projects, including best ways to approach writing, how to research and take notes, and how to organize their thoughts for a paper.

If You Build It, They Will Come.

Cookies are a bonus.

If it is made known that Ms. Havard will be bringing a few batches of her fresh-made cookies, students may come in droves. Otherwise, there can be anywhere from 10-20 students who seek the help of the stutors on any given Monday night.

While attendance at the Monday night stutor sessions might fluctuate throughout the year, there are times when the tutors can plan for a crowd. Kids tend to flock in right before the end of a grading period or

when major tests are happening or projects are due. Special singular-focus sessions also garner attendees who know they need to bone up on specific skills in English or math. One night earlier this year, the group just worked on SQUIDS, an assignment given by Millbrook’s English teachers that asks the students to Select a Quotation, Identify, and Discuss the Significance. It’s a standard piece of writing, and all of the stutors have themselves had to write many SQUIDS. Students seeking help brought in a piece of writing with feedback, or one that they were just beginning to work on. Drill & Kill has also been a popular themed-night as the tutors review math worksheets covering order of operations and other basic math principles that make advanced math concepts that much more easy to grasp.

Really good PR also increases numbers of attendees. That could be a funny announcement in assembly or the voiced recommendation of a personable student who regularly attends Student Tutors and knows firsthand the benefits. Teachers also do some urging, but ultimately some students will simply go because their friends are going.

Sylvia Tan ’15, a first-year stutor, believes getting over the inertia and going in for the first time is the hardest part for most students: “The kids that come the first time, they will come again. The first step is the hardest. But then they come to appreciate the environment—people doing work.”

Emma Garschagen ’15, who joined Student Tutors at the end of her IV form year, echoes this sentiment, “People are there because they want to do their work well—so it’s a nice group to be in. It’s an environment where everyone’s focused on figuring things out. I leave there charged up—it’s exciting when everyone’s getting it, the students and the tutors.”

The advent of the Academic Center, which is now in its fifth year and is run by a highly trained and professional staff, has taken some traffic away from the Student Tutors; but it cannot match some clear benefits that this program offers.

Arthur Xiao ’15 elucidates how peerto-peer tutoring can sometimes be more effective: “My peers might not understand [material] in class, but my attention can be helpful. Peer tutoring can be easier because we adolescents lean more towards each other than towards our teachers. We can joke about it too, make it lighter.”

Emma concurs, “In the middle of a class, some students really can’t vocalize when they don’t get it, it can be awkward.

But they can feel free to express what they don’t get when they’re in student tutors.”

50

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 50

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:17 PM

Students as Teachers

21st Century Stutors A Commitment Beyond Single Weekly Sessions The deadline for major projects doesn’t ever fall neatly on a Tuesday following a Monday night stutor session. III formers working on complicated physics presentations or V formers needing guidance on history term papers might not have prepared well in advance and often call on the help of the student tutors outside the regular Monday evening period.

Additionally, tutors who find they are particularly effective working regularly with one or two students will often volunteer their time on other nights during the week.

Mondays during study hall were chosen as the best night for Student Tutors to meet due to the great number other activities happening other evenings, but younger students are not necessarily in a place on Mondays where they are thinking farther ahead in the week. So, often tutors

will volunteer their time to work with the younger students during specific periods built into the academic day.

Emma and Arthur both spent their free time during III Form Study Skills, which meets 2x/week, to work on physics problems and presentations. Assisting the faculty member, Anzia Mayer, who leads the two weekly 45-minute study skills sessions, Emma and Arthur are in effect acting as teaching assistants.

Kathy Havard hope to see more of initiatives like this as the Student Tutors program continues.

How to be patient Patience requires practice, and the student tutors are valuable because they actively recognize the importance of patience and practice it every week.

Sylvia T. – “In math, I get it, it’s so easy, and sometimes it can be frustrating trying to explain concepts that seem so easy. I’m developing my patience. The younger kids especially just want the answer. I have to slowly work them towards the answer, but I can’t do the work for them.”

How to slow down the process

Learning by Teaching

Tutors are trained on how to go through

Student tutors find that in giving help, they learn as much as the students who are there to get help. While when they first join, new tutors are trained

by Ms. Havard and a returning student tutor, they continue to learn and develop important skills throughout the year, skills that many will apply in college and in careers down the road.

the steps, down to the minutia, which allows them to identify where the student is going off the rails.

Emma G. – “You have to break it down

into easier steps, which is hard to do when it’s second nature to you.”

Sylvia T. – “I try to create my own example—a simple example—and then

Stutor

Arthur Xiao ’15 Classes: Advanced Biology Honors Advanced Chemistry Honors English Honors Latin III U.S. History AP Calculus BC Activities: Debate Club (founder) Robotics/Engineering Club Model UN Basketball Cross Country Tennis

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 51

51

7/25/14 12:26:18 PM

Students as Teachers

21st Century Stutors work up to a problem that the teacher has given. I have to look at it from a different perspective—I have to break it down completely by steps. It can be hard, especially to try and understand what they’re thinking and how they see it.”

How Reviewing Reinforces Skills Since the stutors are covering concepts and material that they have learned previously—sometimes two or even three years ago—they will often quickly review the material themselves before digging into it with the student. That process of reviewing and then teaching is beneficial not only to the student getting help, but to the stutor providing help.

Emma G. – “I had to reteach myself and

remember something I had forgotten.

When I teach a concept to someone else, I understand it better.”

Arthur X. – “I am understanding how

to articulate what I’ve learned in the past, recalling information, which may

be vague at first. But the process of remembering will make me re-learn— and a lot of learning is re-learning.”

Why volunteer?

So why do these students, who are often taking the hardest classes, have the most work, have major writing assignments of their own (including essays for college applications), and usually have other major time commitments as student leaders on campus (dorm leaders, peer counselors, zoo curators, etc.) volunteer their precious time during study hall to work through another student’s conundrum?

Why do they take late lights in the dorm at night to finish their work, when they could have focused on their own work during study hall and left the “helping” to faculty members or the Academic Center staff?

They like to set a good example, not only on how to manage a particular subject and class material, but how to stay organized and manage time in the most

productive way. They like to help other kids figure it out. As Emma G. says, “I love it when that happens—that ‘eureka’ moment when that connection happens.”

Sylvia considers her time as a stutor as paying it forward, “Spending one to two hours and getting someone to understand a concept—it’s such a great feeling. I managed to do what Mrs. Clizbe had done for me.”

Student tutors realize that kids have a different way of communicating, of explaining, and that sometimes they can explain something in a way that other kids understand, in a way that a teacher cannot.

And while they clearly understand how the program benefits the students getting help, the student tutors also recognize how much they benefit—whether it’s the extra review of material on which they will build in an advanced class or the development of skills they might employ someday in their profession. Each of the stutors has his or her own reasons for volunteering, but ultimately they are all motivated by the desire to truly live Non Sibi Sed Cunctis, not for oneself but for all.

Stutor

Emma Garschagen ’15 Classes: Advanced Physics Honors English Honors Pre-calculus Honors Spanish V Pre-AP U.S. History Honors Photo & Painting Activities: Zoo Curator Softball Ice Hockey Theater

52

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 52

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:20 PM

Students as Teachers

Education as a Transforming Factor in Society—

The Technology Advantage

Yixin (Arthur) Xiao ’15 spent the nine months of his IV form year at Millbrook learning in classrooms via interactive smart boards and tablets, downloading and reviewing homework and notes via his laptop, and researching and writing papers using a high-speed Internet connection and the latest in computer technology.

Shortly after leaving Millbrook’s idyllic campus last June, he headed to another school, this one in a rural area of Chongqing, China, a two-hour plane ride (1,700 km) from his home in Shenzhen. His purpose: to explore how education can be a transformative factor for students. He imagined that the schools here were “outdated and backward-minded.”

He quickly figured out that while outdated could certainly describe their technology, the students, teachers, and administrators were anything but backward-minded.

Despite the fact that this is one of the poorest school in that region of China, the students and teachers at Tongguanyi Primary School were very curious, generous, and hospitable.

Lessons were composed of standard primary school subject matter, and reading was incorporated in their daily schedule.

It became clear to Arthur that what they lacked was money— money to invest in technology, which would make a world of difference for the 50 students in the classroom where he was volunteering his time.

The school principal, Mr. Tong, had begged administrators in his district for used computers, 2nd and 3rd generation machines, and his efforts were finally rewarded. Arthur,

every night with water from the fountain down the hall.

who had connected with Mr. Tong through a family friend,

Every evening a kind faculty member took Arthur to have

recognized an opportunity to learn more about his own

dinner with her family at their home in Tongguanyizhen. The

country while trying to make a bit of a difference, “City

town, situated on the Yangtze River, was at one time quite

children like myself already have everything they need. I can

prosperous, but today most of the townspeople survive by

use my experience with technology—that will be my main

working in a local chemical factory. Education here is as good

focus as I proceed to interact with students at Tongguanyi.

as it can be based on the resources that are available.

While I am learning from them, I am an observer as well, trying to figure out how I can help.”

For the last two weeks in June, Arthur worked mostly with

Is the education at Tongguanyi Primary School transforming students’ lives? With extremely limited resources, they certainly do not enjoy the advantages that

5th and 6th graders at the school, listening and observing

students in urban areas take for granted. But if Arthur has

while attending their classes and eventually teaching an

anything to do about it, he will be a voice and a force to truly

English class. For these two weeks, he lived in an old office

make education a transforming experience for all students in

on the 3rd floor above the kindergarten classroom, bathing

China, regardless of their geographic location.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 53

53

7/25/14 12:26:22 PM

Who are Millbrook students?

Soon to be marine biologists, poets and publishers, linguists and actors, engineers, and so much more...

HOOKED ON SHARKS

I

n the fall of 2010, John Norfleet ’14

realized without a doubt that he wanted to attend the semester program at the Island School. A chapel talk given

by Mickey Mittermeier ’11 convinced him that this was an incredibly unique learning opportunity right up his alley. Growing up visiting the Maritime Museum in Norwalk, CT, John knew he wanted more hands-on experience with aquatic animals, and as a III former he recognized that this was the

program that could provide it. One of 500 students to complete a dense application including three essays, John was one of only 48 to be selected for the spring 2013 semester program. One-hundred days of hands-on research in marine ecology, human ecology and anthropology along with literature and statistics required 1-3 hours of class time per subject, six days of the week, plus three hours of homework each night. It was an intense and rewarding academic experience, but it was

• John Norfleet, far left, became hooked on sharks at the Island School before returning to Millbrook and turning his attention to nesting great blue herons.

the research class focusing on the longline capture of sharks that really hooked John and fueled his continuing desire to pursue in-depth studies in marine biology.

The long-line capture of fish involves a mile-long line with over 2,000 hooks that is lowered into the water; this has been banned in many parts of the world as it indiscriminately catches whatever happens to swim up and get hooked. Sharks that are caught have 2-feet of line with which to swim, and as they frantically try to extract themselves, they often choke to death as they get completely wrapped up in the line; or, they die due to their inability to swim at all. John and seven other students in his group worked daily on their own long lines, researching bio-chemical reactions like increasing CO2 levels and blood glucose levels in sharks who have been hooked for various amounts of time. Their research also studied behavioral differences (sharks who swam vigorously vs. those who moved far less) and species of shark (nurse shark vs. reef shark) and how these factors also affected bio-chemical changes.

Their completed research was included in a presentation made to the Bahamian government and scientists and conservationists from around the world who gathered at a symposium on eight separate topics. (Other groups presented research on turtles, baby lionfish, adult lionfish, flats ecology, bonefish ecology, hatch reef, and conch.) Experts in attendance analyzed the student data that was presented with the goal of using it to support recommendations for local and international fishing and conservation practices.

Set a world apart from Millbrook and the verdant hills of Dutchess County, NY, the Island School certainly offered some unique experiences for John.

Deep sea diving, swimming with nurse sharks, and living without Internet access were just a few of these. But the schools share similarities as well.

54

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 54

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:23 PM

Conservation of the natural world and a core service component are integral to both experiences. Long blocks, long study halls, and a dedicated period for sustained physical activity are standard six days per week. And thoughtful, intensive research involving both independent and collaborative work are the standard for students who are invested in making science an integral part of their life.

As John’s plans are set for his next adventure—he’ll be studying marine biology at Eckerd College—he is finishing up his time at Millbrook actively involved with animals of the two- and fourfooted kind. John has been spending considerable time working on his CES (Culminating Experience for Seniors) project: a live-streaming video of two great blue herons, nesting 90 feet above the Trevor Zoo’s Australia exhibit. The live video stream is the result of a month-long collaboration between John, the zoo staff, and alumnus Dan Cohen ’86 and was born out of his interest in citizen science and conservation.

Young Writers Conference held at Middlebury College in May of 2013.

The writer’s conference provided the perfect opportunity to get feedback from a respected writer. Working with an incredibly diverse group of students under the guidance of a professional poet/ mentor, Laura workshopped and wrote for three days before meeting with her mentor in a personal conference. She took advantage of individual workshops to learn about food writing and crafted a final poem along with the nine other students in her group—they felt like a family by the end of the conference and wanted to present a poem that they had written together, rather than selecting one individual’s piece of work to share.

While Laura has submitted her work here to The Mill and The Brook (two student-published literary magazine that are printed annually in the spring), she’s not keen on publishing anything out in

the world just yet. “There’s so much more to do with my work… and I need an idea, something to share. The point of poetry is to teach and to show. If I’m just throwing words around that sound nice together, that’s pointless. I need something to say.

I’m trying to find something to say…”

As she contemplates unique ideas to share in her written work, Laura reads voraciously, devouring books, short stories, and poetry from both the required reading in her AP English class and her own lengthy list. In English class Crime & Punishment has inspired many epic discussions and in-depth analysis. Carrying this beyond the classroom, Laura has started a book club at Millbrook that meets every two to three weeks and offers students from all grades the opportunity to discuss and analyze a wide variety of literature. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Divergent, and a series of short stories by David Sedaris are just some of the pieces they read this year, and she

• Laura has a way with words and is now focusing her energy on college and possible internships in the world of publishing.

POETIC LICENSE

L

aura Mezzanotte ’14 has a way with

words—she’s just not sure that she has something to say… yet. Her poetry is a work in progress, a continually developing interest that she first recognized at a young age, when she organized Poetry Day for 2nd-5th graders in her school.

Years later, as a III former at Millbrook, she was encouraged by Ms. Clarke, her English teacher that year, to submit her poetry for Millbrook’s annual Poetry Prize.

Although not a winner then, she persisted and won that prize her IV form year. After submitting her portfolio of work again as a V former, Laura was chosen by the faculty in Millbrook’s English Department as a candidate for the Breadloaf Writer’s contest. Her single page poetry submission then earned her a spot at the New England

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 55

55

7/25/14 12:26:25 PM

will continue to lead discussions on other pieces until graduation in May. NYU will be Laura’s next stop, where she will read and write and craft her ideas into poetic musings as she figures out where she ultimately wants to land.

Her dream job would be to get paid to read all day, and the publishing industry is high on her list. Writing and teaching are also considerations, the latter an inspiration courtesy of Mr. Zeiser. Perhaps an internship over the next couple of years will help steer her in the right direction.

Right now, she’s excited about the possibilities and the opportunities that college will bring to mature and perfect her skills. The road ahead is wide open and full of words to read and to share.

SCHOLARLY PURSUITS

T

ahrieq Koonce ’17 has his sights set on MIT and a degree in aeronautical engineering. Back in 7th grade, his teacher at MS 180 in the Bronx recognized almost immediately Tahrieq’s drive and perseverance, and she felt he could go to the moon and back with the help of the Oliver Scholars, a selective scholarship program that helps prepare AfricanAmerican and Latino students from New York City for success at leading independent schools and prestigious colleges. Tahrieq has since forged his path to Millbrook, where he is taking advantage of every opportunity to be involved and to work towards his ambitious goals.

students, less than ten percent of those who originally applied, were chosen for the program, and Tahrieq hit the ground running upon learning of his acceptance.

That summer after 7th grade, while most children his age were enjoying summer camp, traveling on a family vacation, or simply hanging out with friends, Tahrieq was working more diligently than ever before. Attending the first of two of Oliver’s four-week Summer Immersion Programs (SIP I), he traveled on public transportation every day for three weeks from the Bronx to Lamont Preparatory School across from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. After putting in a full day (8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) on academic courses, he would commute back home to spend another 3-4 hours every evening on homework assignments.

On top of the regular academic work, there were nights when he had to write essays for his independent school applications, which kept him busy until 1 a.m. Other nights he was preparing questions to ask of

independent school admissions counselors, who came to sit on weekly panels. “[These weeks] were when the real nit and grit happened.” SIP I ended with a full week of classes and activities at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire, where the scholars had their first real taste of life at a boarding school.

After completing the independent school admission process in 8th grade and being accepted to Millbrook, Tahrieq completed part two of the Oliver Summer Immersion Program (SIP II) the summer before his III form year. In another fiveweek program, he jumped into English, history, and geometry, getting a head start on the academic courses he would be taking at Millbrook. He also took a course called New Scholar Seminar, a how-to guide on surviving at a boarding school, in which he practiced time management skills, study skills, proof reading, and more and spent his final week at another boarding school, Pomfret this time.

• Tahrieq works with his lab partner during his favorite class this year - Computational Physics.

The idea of attending a boarding school seemed like something straight out of Harry Potter, but Tahrieq was completely open to something new. A student in the Gifted and Talented Program at his middle school, he was one of 600 students across the five boroughs to be recommended to the Oliver Scholars Program in the fall of 2011. Three-hundred students were invited to apply, and only 150 of those were brought in for interviews. Fifty

56

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 56

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:28 PM

Prepared from top to bottom for the rigors of boarding school, Tahrieq has transitioned seamlessly into life at Millbrook. The combination of his intellectual curiosity, perseverance, thorough preparation, and willingness to join in many activities on campus has served him well thus far, and the sky is the limit. With the finest engineering school in the country in his sights, Tahrieq is enjoying physics and already looking forward to taking Advanced Physics when the time is right. In the meantime, he’ll continue to focus on putting his all into everything he does – whether that’s here at Millbrook or as a volunteer with the Oliver Scholars program, helping other young students achieve their dreams.

ARABIC AND ACTING

I

t was the advent of the Arab Spring

in 2010-2011 that completely engrossed Mary McCartney ’15 in all things Arabic. As a 2nd grader, Mary had picked out a library book because the cover had an illustration of the beautiful Cleopatra—that eventually led to the thought that someday she would like to become an archaeologist and study the pyramids. Many years later, it wasn’t a dreamy romantic notion but rather revolutionary demonstrations and protests that actually renewed her desire to learn Arabic and study the culture of the people living in the Middle East.

An intensive language program with the Middlebury Monterey Language Academy last summer provided Mary her first foray into the study of Arabic. She entered the month-long program knowing no Arabic and came out loving it, committed to becoming, at the very least, a semi-fluent speaker by the end of college. She has just over five years to go, and one-onone tutoring in the fall combined with an independent study this spring are providing her the perfect opportunity to advance more quickly and progress

• Mary, here in All Shook Up, is a performer at heart who thrives on academic challenges.

into the beginning of an advancedintermediate college-level program by the end of her senior year at Millbrook.

Mary did not want to lose any momentum upon her return from her summer intensive. By September her parents had arranged for private lessons in Arabic with a Vassar professor who hails from Jordan. Meeting weekly on Sundays, Mary reviewed lessons for an hour; with two hours of homework per week, she was completing the same college-level work as her professor’s beginning Arabic students. Buckling down in an approved semester-long independent course at Millbrook starting in January, Mary’s studies are now overseen by both her professor and Language Department Chair Barbara Gatski. She has increased her pace while focusing on the hardest part of the language—the grammar. Learning Modern Standard Arabic to start, Mary hopes to eventually also learn the Shami (Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian) and Masri (Egyptian) dialects as well as Jordanian Arabic. Study abroad in college is definitely part of her plan, and Jordan is high on her list.

The college to which Mary matriculates will likely dictate her further path to the Middle East. An extremely multi-faceted student, Mary is also extremely passionate about the theater and performing arts and has every intention of somehow combining her two chief interests. There’s one scenario she’s already entertaining: eventually working with teens in Syria using theater as an outlet for their emotions. One way or another, she’s determined to make it work. “I don’t necessarily live, eat, and breathe theater. I’m always thinking I need something else to occupy my time, and Arabic is so hard, but it’s so rewarding.”

So for now, she loves the puzzle, and she’ll continue putting the pieces together. She’ll practice her monologue for Spring Arts Night, and later that night she’ll listen to Al Jazeera in order to hear the language that she loves to learn. If you happen to spot Mary in MASC following one of her science or math classes, ask her to read the sign therein that is written in Arabic. She practices reading it every time she’s in the building.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 57

57

7/25/14 12:26:29 PM

Alumni/AE

Romy Solomon came to Millbrook as a III former in the fall of 2003. Her involvement in the community service program spurred her to volunteer in Thailand during the summer between her Vth and VIth form years. Suddenly, at the age of 16, her eyes were opened to the horrors of human trafficking when she witnessed young girls, her own age, working as prostitutes. The experience shook her world. Fast forward three years to the University of Maryland College Park, where Romy watched a documentary about child sex slaves in Asia. In the film young girls and boys as young as 5- and 6-yearsold were being sold in brothels to tourists for sex. She left the documentary in tears, called her father right then and told him, “I know what I want to do with my life: I want to help stop slavery.”

FREEDOM AMBASSADOR: Bringing Awareness to the Fight Against Human Trafficking

by Romy Solomon ’07 Realization turned into action, and Romy pursued opportunities to get more involved in international development programs. When the Peace Corps called and offered her a spot in Moldova, she didn’t hesitate.

Here, we are happy to share Romy’s story, the story of one Millbrook graduate who is using her wit, her skills, her education, and her perseverance to make a difference for those who might not realize how they could be the victims of human trafficking.

58

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 58

W

hen people hear the words Peace Corps, many envision a hygienechallenged person living in a tent in the middle of a barren landscape with no heat, electricity, or water, forced to hunt and gather food. Similar experiences definitely do exist, but not all Peace Corps services are like this. In fact, there is such a wide range of different site placements—with different resources and amenities— that no two Peace Corps experiences are exactly alike.

I’m currently serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Moldova, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe that was generally not on the international radar until the political situation intensified in neighboring Ukraine this year. I live in a two-story house with three televisions, wifi, electricity, and an indoor toilet and shower, and I wash my hands in a sink, not in a bucket. There is an abundance of food and wine at every meal, something that is very important in Moldovan culture.

It is impossible to go hungry living with a Moldovan host family, as they pride themselves on trying to fatten-up their guest volunteers. (Doesn’t sound too different from life in Millbrook’s dorms and dining hall, does it?)

I didn’t know much (anything, really) about Moldova before I arrived in this country; thus, I didn’t pick it as my top choice of places to serve. However, I want to emphasize that although Moldova—and all Eastern Europe for that matter—was not my preferred choice, I have grown to love the culture, people, and work that are unique to this country. Peace Corps offers a wide array of different placements, and I encourage anyone thinking about applying to be open to the many unexpected opportunities that will come your way, as they will often times prove to be the most rewarding.

Through my experience in Moldova I’ve been able to pursue my passion for anti-human trafficking work. Human

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:30 PM

Alumni/AE

trafficking, in its simplest form, is modern day slavery. It is the trade in, and exploitation of, people through force, fraud, or deception. It involves the buying and selling of human beings and includes sexual and economic exploitation among men, women, and children. Not all slaves are trafficked, but all trafficking victims are enslaved.

Of all the countries where I could have been placed, Moldova has one of the highest rates of human trafficking victims in all of Europe. It is a harsh reality of life here, especially since the country is relatively small (just over 3.5 million inhabitants), and at its root is poverty and a lack of economic and professional opportunities. Since Moldova is considered the poorest country in Europe, it makes sense that it is a major source country for victims in Europe. A report recently published by the organization Walk Free claims Moldova ranks number six in the world of countries with the highest prevalence of modern day slavery. It’s extremely devastating and pervasive, yet hidden. It still surprises me when I ask Moldovan youth if they think human trafficking is a problem here, and the usual response is, “No.” They are just as surprised when confronted with the facts and statistics about human trafficking, which demonstrate just how prevalent it is in Moldova.

My focus in Moldova is to prevent human trafficking by raising awareness among vulnerable groups and addressing the root causes.

Working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), I conduct training and seminars and craft lesson plans for youth that focus on non-formal education techniques. We aim to make the training interesting, engaging, interactive and fun. This component is generally missing from the scene; there is a ‘think inside the box’ mentality here, a learned trait that was instilled during the Soviet Union era, which continues to linger in the educational system today.

The preponderance of typical lesson plans are structured as lectures that neither engage the students nor encourage them to participate or think critically. My personal goal has been to excite and empower youth to become trainers within their own communities and to support them in raising awareness among their peers.

recognized by a renowned international anti-human trafficking NGO, The No Project. They created national trafficking hotline awareness materials using images of our artwork, an exciting and encouraging recognition of the youths’ talents and efforts.

We have also just recently launched a new “Freedom Ambassadors” initiative that enables youth to become leaders and provides them with skills and training to organize anti-human trafficking programs and events around the country. Other events I’ve helped organize include documentary screenings and “Dance for Freedom” nights to raise awareness and funds for human trafficking prevention work in Moldova.

It’s hard to sit by and watch the lack of funding for prevention programs dictate the lack of knowledge about the subject. There is a major trend taking place worldwide in which funding is shifting towards victim assistance and rehabilitation and moving away from prevention work. While victim assistance is extremely important, we should not simply be providing help after exploitation has taken place. We need to stop human trafficking before it begins and people are irreparably damaged. This is what motivates me every day.

In addition to raising awareness about human trafficking and the dangers that may come with traveling and working abroad, it is also important that we offer opportunities for youth to develop professionally and increase their economic potential. You can’t advise a population not to go abroad for work because of the threat of human trafficking and then not offer them possibilities to make money in their own country. I believe that professional development trainings, internship programs, and career centers are vitally important, and I am working to make them more accessible and common throughout Moldova. continued next page

• Romy works with Moldovan girls to raise awareness of human trafficking.

As the director of Peace Corps Moldova’s volunteer initiative Moldova Anti-Trafficking in Persons (ATIP), I am constantly exploring novel ways to prevent human trafficking. In October I launched a nation-wide art competition for Moldovan students aged 11-18 years old that had a public exhibition in Chisinau (pronounced Key-she-now,) the capital of Moldova. The art juxtaposed the beauty of the lives of Moldovan men, women, and children and how human trafficking destroys that beauty. The event included activities in which participants could vote for their favorite artwork, make freedom bracelets, put their fingerprint on a pledge to spread awareness about human trafficking, brainstorm ideas of how to increase prevention work, evaluate typical profiles of victims and traffickers, and take quizzes to identify their level of protection against trafficking. The artwork was posted on Facebook and

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 59

59

7/25/14 12:26:33 PM

Alumni/AE

For such an enormous global problem (human trafficking is a $32 billion annual industry, and there are approximately 29 million people enslaved in the world each day), there is only a small group of activists involved in the fight against it. I am proud to be one of those few in Moldova, and I know I have found my life’s purpose. I can’t help but feel how lucky I am to work everyday on something I am extremely passionate about; however, I hope that one day this type of work will no longer need to exist.

The experience I am getting right now is incomparable, and the benefits include the flexibility and freedom to select projects in which I want to get involved. On any given day I can be facilitating a high school internship program, leading anti-human trafficking trainings for my colleagues, visiting a Roma youth democracy club, writing a new strategic plan for an NGO, or organizing fun Halloween parties for victims of domestic violence. Every day is different, and the nature of the Peace Corps structure allows me to define my own experience.

Social integration activities are considered just as important as the jobs listed above. Thus, I have enjoyed going on cultural excursions with my host family, learning how to make Moldovan food and wine, attending traditional Moldovan weddings, and selling parsley and other herbs with my host mom at the piata centrala (local market).

I reflect every day about how lucky I am to have been born in the United States. When I explain my work to Moldovans and tell them how little I get paid (asking people what they earn is, surprisingly, not considered impolite in Moldovan culture, so I get asked that question a lot) they really have a hard time understanding why I would choose this experience over a higher-paying job in the U.S. I think about how different my life would be if I had been born in Moldova. I certainly would not have many choices in terms of professional work, and my chances of becoming a victim of domestic violence or human trafficking would increase exponentially. In Moldova the concept of finding something you are passionate about and turning it into a profession doesn’t exist the way it does in America.

Any work is good work. Work abroad is great work. This is the reality of life in Europe’s poorest country.

While Peace Corps has been an extremely rewarding experience, it also has been very challenging. My time in Moldova has made me more aware of my gender than any other experience in my 24 years.

I often feel stereotyped, placed in a box, or disrespected because of my gender but have learned to pick my battles and

60

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 60

• These freedom ambassadors carry signs that read, “I am a free person.”

recognize that a lot of this is culturally based. It’s a rare occasion when people ask me questions about the work I am doing in Moldova, what I studied at university, what I want to do when I finish Peace Corps, or anything about my professional experience. Mostly, I am asked if I am married or have children, as that is perhaps the most important attribute of a woman in Moldova. Fortunately, I’ve been able to turn my frustrations into motivation and have been working with NGOs to launch The Everyday Sexism Project in Moldova to provide a platform and give a voice to the Moldovan women that daily feel discriminated against because of their gender.

The good news is that while working this summer at the Summer School of Leadership (a program sponsored by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe that brings girls together from both banks of the Dniestr/Nistru River), I found a group of friends here that break the stereotypes about gender relations. Working together with these Moldovan counselors, we facilitated workshops on human trafficking, domestic violence, self-esteem, communication, team building, resume writing, business plan development, presentation skills, etc. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my service so far and has ignited in me a passion for women’s issues and spurred me to become an advocate for young girls who are too often undervalued and disrespected.

Millbrook gifted me an incredible foundation for caring about others: our motto, after all, is Non Sibi Sed Cunctis.

The most memorable moment for me of all, however, was when one girl came up to me after my human trafficking presentation and shared her gratitude that I was dedicating my time to be a volunteer in Moldova. My eyes filled with tears as she told me that I had inspired her to be more involved in the cause and lead seminars

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:35 PM

Alumni/AE

of her own. Volunteer work often goes unnoticed, and as Peace Corps Volunteers we are told that the results of our work are often only visible long after we leave the country. To be acknowledged and appreciated by this girl meant the world to me. That single interaction was all I needed to consider my service in Moldova successful.

When people ask me what made me want to join the Peace Corps, I often tell them about the summer before my senior year of high school when I volunteered for community service in Thailand and lived with a family that didn’t speak a word of English. That summer changed my life and made me realize my passion for traveling, international development, and cultural immersion. Up until now I actually hadn’t thought much about how or why I decided at the age of sixteen to spend a summer in Thailand dedicating my time to international development projects. It’s only recently that I recognized how much Millbrook had to do with my decision to engage in volunteer work abroad.

The emphasis on community service Millbrook School provides its students—and even incorporates into the daily schedule—is a special element of the curriculum that I’m not sure I completely appreciated while I was there. Millbrook gifted me an incredible foundation for caring about others: our motto, after all, is Non Sibi Sed Cunctis. I recognize now that my passion for international development stemmed from the opportunities Millbrook provided me. As a high school student I was able to volunteer in Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina during Intersession Week

and then later make a summer trip down to the same community. I also participated in Outreach’s Midnight Runs to New York City to hand out food, clothing, and blankets to the homeless. I’m not sure I would have chosen to take community service to the next level in Thailand, and eventually in Moldova, had I not had those prior experiences at Millbrook.

It is very hard to compare the education I received in the U.S. to that which I see in Moldova. I’m grateful for the foundation Millbrook offered and cannot believe it has been ten years since I first entered Millbrook as a III former. Thankfully, I am no longer that shy and insecure young girl graced with braces and an untamable afro in my yearbook photo. My experience at Millbrook and everything that came after has changed me for the better.

As my Peace Corps service in Moldova is quickly coming to a close, I am excited about the next chapter I will begin in the fall. I have been rewarded a Fulbright Scholarship to research human trafficking prevention methods in Romania, and my goal is to focus on the diverse awareness methods used by Romanian NGOs and to collaborate with these NGOs to develop approaches to assessing program effectiveness. Although human trafficking has no easy solution, each individual can take simple steps to help make a difference. We can each start with awareness raising and spreading information! If you are interested in learning more about human trafficking in Moldova or the U.S., feel free to contact me at moldova.atip@gmail.com or ‘Like’ Moldova ATIP on Facebook.

EDUCATING the WHOLE CHILD

by Sam Brundrett ’08

Sam Brundrett graduated from Millbrook in 2008 and then Gettysburg College in 2012. In December of 2013, he was invited to work in Bihar, India with the educational non-profit, SEEKHO, founded by one of his close friends. Currently in Bihar, Sam is working to prove how organizations like SEEKHO can, through a balanced education, truly make a difference in the lives of some of the

Sam shares here his passion for serving these communities. You’ll see how his experiences teaching in the poorest parts of India are inspired by his own educational experience at Millbrook, where an empowering education prepares students to success in college and in life and includes not only rigorous academics but the cultivation of curiosity, creativity, self-confidence, and resilience.

I

f you were to conduct a survey of randomly selected people in the United States and ask them if they thought education was important, there would undoubtedly be little variance in their responses. They would reply quickly and resoundingly, “YES.” But if you were to follow up with the question, “What type

world’s poorest children and young adults.

continued next page

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 61

61

7/25/14 12:26:36 PM

Alumni/AE

of education is valuable?” you would receive a variety of responses, the vast majority placing the highest value on an education based on “hard” skills—reading, writing, math and science, test-proven through the advanced college level. A smaller group would assert that schools need to have a more balanced approach and that traditional academic coursework needs to be supported by the development of skills such as effective communication, creativity, confidence, collaboration, conscientiousness, and good decisionmaking.

It is understandable, from a historical perspective, why many academic institutions are focused on purely academic skills; skills that are easily measurable and are backed by years of data are the easiest to address and the first to be implemented. Tangible skills appeal to governments, schools, and students alike because of their obvious and almost immediate effect. Yet, in the rush to obtain statistics, the student actually gets left behind. A student’s success is measured by grades and exams, and it is assumed that this measure of academic success means he/she is well equipped to overcome all of life’s obstacles. Fortunately though, there is a growing paradigm shift in education towards understanding and focusing on those non-cognitive skills that were once thought to be impossible to measure and, therefore, to teach.

While Millbrook School was founded in 1931 as a collegepreparatory school that also instilled character and prepared students to succeed not only in college but in life, in recent years other schools like the Geelong Grammar School in Australia and KIPP Charter Schools in the U.S. have begun to champion a curriculum that includes lessons in character, self-control, optimism, social intelligence, and gratitude. But they are not alone. Today many other educational institutions are engaging in the same paradigm shift, resulting in a growing number of students that are actively learning concepts such as curiosity and resilience within a rigorous academic curriculum. This combination has been shown to be critical to the success of students.

In fact, studies by Martin Seligman (2011, University of Pennsylvania) and Carol Dweck (2012, Stanford University) have found that students whose education includes character development consistently outperform their peers who have focused solely on traditional academic work. By the end of 8th grade, for example, 96% of KIPP classes outperform their local districts in reading; 92% do so in math.

Personally, the importance of an education based on both academics and character education never seemed so obvious than when I came to India in December of 2013. For the next year I will be working with the educational non-profit SEEKHO, which is located in the drastically underserved town of Bishanpur, Bihar, India. For years, Bihar has exhibited some of the lowest national percentages in literacy rates and human development, and while the statistics are revealing, they only paint half of the picture. SEEKHO is an organization born out of a community’s need to combat the psychological oppression and violence that their children were

62

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 62

facing in school. Its mission is to provide positive support at all stages in a child’s development by focusing on essential skills such as literacy and numeracy while improving psychological well-being.

To that end, SEEKHO incorporates a contextualized well-being curriculum, developed by PhD students from the University of Pennsylvania, designed to empower students with the confidence to take advantage of the services within their community.

The problem in India is by no means the lack of schools (there is a school within one kilometer of every child in the nation); rather, it is the quality of the schools. The problem stems from teachers that serve only to reinforce social structures, such as the caste system, and an ineffective educational system that cares only about the student long enough to mark their attendance, teach them that 1+1=2 and how to write their name. (This is basically the criteria for being literate or numerate in the particular region where I am living.)

As a result, children within this community experience an incredible amount of social discrimination, ultimately influencing how they view their own abilities. We have found time and time

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:40 PM

Alumni/AE

again that students do not come to school because they do not think they are capable of learning. When we ask children if they want to learn to write their name, bystanders and, frequently, even their own teachers respond unemotionally with, “Don’t waste your time, they won’t be able to.” This psychological abuse is then reinforced as they begin attending school. Children that are born into lower castes are assumed to be “unteachable.” Even those that have had the good fortune to be born into a somewhat higher caste are taught by apathetic teachers, in the off chance the teachers show up, that enforce rote learning with yes or no, right or wrong answers.

While in the classroom, students are discouraged from asking questions, often being beaten with a bamboo rod for wrong answers or “acting out.” The school system has one objective: yearly input improvements such as the number of facilities or attendance rates.

Unfortunately, this has resulted in incredibly pervasive corruption in the form of bribery and statistical inflation, effectively eliminating the potential for aid to reach the children who need it most. It is naïve to assume that character development and curiosity will be taught at home, where in many underserved communities the parents are not as present in their children’s education, or that focusing on them in school is a waste of time. Instead, it is more important than ever that we as educators address the psychological barriers that prevent children from learning and develop programs that effectively foster non-cognitive skills in our students.

reflecting, with new found appreciation, on my own experiences in school, which developed these very skills within the context of interactive and engaging lesson plans. To date, my attempts at integration have been met with relentless resistance. However, it has been this resistance that has allowed me to gain real insight into the problem. What’s more, the progress that my students do make, however small, elicits that much more excitement and seems that much more significant and lasting.

Living in this community, I have begun to realize exactly how much of my own education I had taken for granted. I have been fortunate enough to attend schools where a premium is placed on these underappreciated non-cognitive, character skills. During high school at Millbrook and then in college, I found myself exposed to an almost overwhelming amount of resources and information. I was immersed in environments where the importance of asking questions was never in doubt, and where I was able to develop in ways I have only recently begun to realize and appreciate. For me, school was a place where I was encouraged at every corner to seek out the help of amazingly patient, compassionate, and knowledgeable teachers. Teachers who found endless ways of sparking my interest and keeping me engaged and attentive, at times when I was almost certainly being a stubborn and obnoxious adolescent. Ultimately, my education has engendered an invaluable sense of curiosity and confidence within me that has manifested itself in the decision to spend a year in rural India. For this opportunity I am eternally grateful.

My role within the organization is to teach English, to analyze A good education is transformative. So we, as educators, program impact, and to manage the organization’s finances. I teach parents, family members, and citizens of the world, need English to two groups of students, ages 10-17, whose knowledge to demand a better education for our youth, which starts by of English ranges from nothing to basic sentences. As a teacher, addressing the psychological factors preventing children from I adapt curriculum provided to us by third party educational reaching their full potential. This problem is not an isolated one, institutions as well as develop my own. From my first few days in and by no means is it specific to rural India. Simply providing Bishanpur, the absence of certain skills in many of my students children with an education has been alarming. They is not enough. We must not only lack the confidence prepare our students to face to express themselves and an ever-changing world the resilience to try again with a rapidly growing after failing, they lack a population. To do this sense of curiosity, which though, children need to I had previously believed be well equipped with all of to be innate. I am now in the necessary skills that will the process of identifying allow them to take advantage ways of removing their of the opportunities fear of punishment, that come their way. The embarrassment, or shame evidence is in front of us and that they have always felt in there is little reason not to the classroom. I have been act on it. The movement has trying to integrate activities started, and it is now our that focus on developing For this opportunity I am responsibility to take the confidence, creativity, eternally grateful. torch and fan the flames. and critical thinking while

Ultimately, my education has engendered an invaluable sense of curiosity and confidence within me that has manifested itself in the decision to spend a year in rural India.

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 63

63

7/25/14 12:26:40 PM

Alumni/AE

Millbrook Alumni

G a the r i n g s Boston

Katonah

New Orleans

North Carolina

New York City

Washington, D.C.

Alumni Winter Games

Alumni returned for some friendly competition on the ice during this year’s Alumni Winter Games.

1

New Orleans John Dalsheim ‘83 and Sabrina (Ackerman) Bluestone ‘82 catch up at Trevor Colhoun’s ‘95 Windsor Court Hotel.

64

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 64

2

North Carolina 1. At a reception in Winston Salem, hosted by Patty and Bill Wilson P ’06: Jason Rossetti ’09, Sarah Anthony ’12, Emma Merrill ’12, Amber Koenigsberger ’13, Ali Holbrook ’12, and Jamie Buckley ’12 2. Cynthia McWilliams snapped this photo of Anna Ingersoll Creissen ’87 while visiting at Anna’s new home in Chapel Hill.

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:48 PM

Alumni/AE Millbrook Alumni 1

2

G athering s

Katonah 1. Jeanine Wendel ’89 and Rebecca Tomczyk Valentino ’92 2. Drew Casertano and hosts Rob Brevetti ’89 and his wife, Marlo (far right), with Melissa Shaw Fleming ’81 and her daughters, Charlotte and Andrea 3. Sean Gilbride ’89 with his wife, Christine, Rob and Marlo Brevetti, and Cindy McWilliams 4. Tony Spaeth ’51, Bob Anthony ’65, and Denny Haight ’54

3

Washington, D.c.

3

1

2

3

4

1. Jae Hwa Lee ’09 and Ashlyn Kang ’13 2. Gavin Bennett ’06 and Stuyve Pierrepont ’07 3. Jim ’71 and Lucy Cannon with John Barnum ’46 4. Bob Anthony ’65 with Sarah Podmaniczky ’04 and Andrew Hughes ’10

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 65

65

7/25/14 12:26:53 PM

Alumni/AE Millbrook Alumni

G athering s 1

2

3

New York City 1. D rew Casertano addresses alumni, parents, and friends at the annual New York City reception at the Racquet and Tennis Club 2. A nne Detwiler P ’17, Mark Rosenberg ’17, and Lauren Buccellati P ’16 at the New York City reception in the fall.

3. B rooke Cavanaugh ’04, Emily Hottensen ’06, Lulu Carter ’07, and Allie Cavanaugh ’08 4. H arold Chang ’02, Anna Martucci ’92, Jenny Zirinsky ’94, Carter Berg ’92, Kathryn Seidenstein ’94, Sam Berg ’94, and Chris Trago ’92

4

1

2

February Face-off gathering: 1. F orest Mas ’07, Mimi Anthony ’08, Molly Zimnoch ’08, Nick Weaver ’07, Alex Pinsky ’06, and Ceci Weaver ’08 2. K atrina Cox ’04, Eileen Jeffreys, Andrew Heath ’00, Nick Hoagland ’02, and Jessie Smith ’05

66

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 66

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:26:58 PM

Alumni/AE

Millbrook Takes Gold in the February Face-off

Bigger isn’t always better, except when bigger is the number of young alumni supporting the Annual Fund. In this month long competition, Millbrook’s alumni in the classes of 1994-2013 came together to make their donations to the Annual Fund, generating more participation than Avon, Berkshire, Gunnery, Hotchkiss, Salisbury, Taft, Trinity Pawling, Westminster, and Williston! Some alumni felt that the challenge was so important, they gave a second gift in February, having already made a gift earlier in the year.

Millbrook finished the competition with 27.5% of young alums participating Taft was our next closest rival at only 16.2%!

• At the February Face-off gathering in

F ebruary F ace - off

Boston, Ben Ross ’06 and Hayden Bird ’05

Millbrook pride, determination, and teamwork won the day in our first February Face-off.

Along the way, we enjoyed gathering with alumni at three February Faceoff events—the first at Hill Country BBQ in Washington D.C., the second at Houndstooth Pub in New York City, and the third at The Fours in Boston.

Our thanks In the end, Millbrook classes were vying against each other to win the coveted first place spot for the most participation.

Class totals ended as follows:

2003: 34 2000: 30 2013: 28 2004: 24

2006: 24 2007: 20 2010: 20 1999: 18

2012: 17 2001: 15 2009: 13 2005: 13

1998: 12 2008: 11 1996: 10 2011: 9

2002: 9 1997: 7 1995: 4 1994: 2

to all of our young alumni who helped make this huge win possible. We’re already looking forward to next year’s competition and continuing our winning ways!

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 67

67

7/25/14 12:27:01 PM

MILLBROOK.ORG

KEEPS YOU IN THE LOOP www.millbrook.org

www.millbrook.org/keepintouch

Visit our website for daily news about academic

Write a class note, update us on your recent

programs, athletic competitions, arts events and

engagement or marriage, or share the news

gallery openings, and so much more. The website

of the birth of your beautiful new baby.

is also rich with video showcasing current students and events – take some time and stay awhile!

We would love to hear from you!

Login to the school website to be instantly connected to all other Millbrook alumni through the searchable directory and the alumni class pages.

68

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 68

• Summer 2014

7/25/14 12:27:02 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Class of ’42 Karl Connell tells us daughter Gioia ’85 is earning her PhD from Drexel University. Karl spends the month of August at his home in the Catskills and will be busy attending book signings for his new book, Burr, Clinton and the Falls of General Benjamin Hovey.

Class of ’44 70th Reunion Hoyt Ecker writes, “Great School and Super Zoo.” Bradford Mills spent a wonderful winter in South Carolina chasing the wily quail and avoiding all the snow and ice up north – it’s great being 87!

Class of ’45 Frederick Hamilton was honored as the 2014 Citizen of the West on January 13, 2014 at the National Western Events Center in Denver.

A longtime Denver resident, Fred helped to spearhead the construction of the Denver Art Museum wing, which bears his name.

Peter Herman is still active. His wife, Eileen, died in December of 2012, and he misses her greatly but is still happy and still curious about the world!

Class of ’48 David Wray keeps busy with duplicate bridge, investment management, crossword puzzles and reading of hard cover books of fiction (no electronic gadgets and toys in his family).

These activities help keep the cobwebs away.

Class of ’52 Alexander H. Clay retired from general

surgical practice in 2000 and moved with his wife to Southern California. He is working for various nonprofit organizations and also spending time painting and woodworking. Several years ago, he started writing fiction, and his first novel, Ultimate Malpractice, was published as an e-book.

His second book, Time to Die, deals with a timely topic: end-of-life issues. He is currently editing a third novel, which should be out in late spring, and is most pleased that his grammar lessons at Millbrook and the decision to major in English at Yale have borne fruit. Alexander has a website at: clayalexanderbooks.com.

Molly, married 50 years, lives with John in Lincoln, NE. They moved in 2001 after both of their daughters settled there. Molly is a choir director/church organist at an Episcopal church there. When John became an Episcopalian in 1974, he was surprised that he knew the hymns rather well. Then he remembered that Millbrook students sang from that Episcopal hymnal at the morning assemblies during the week and at the chapel service on Sunday. He stopped teaching in 2010 but continues to do some writing about agricultural land issues. John finds it rather difficult to avoid abiding by the strict grammatical standards imposed by English teachers Alan Grove, Edward Williams, and Edward Pulling. His family finds it amusing that he still often wears khakis, a shirt, tie, and sports coat, the combination that was the uniform during his years at Millbrook.

Class of ’53

Class of ’57

J. Michael Miller is doing what he loves to do. He is still working six, sometimes more, days a week. It now takes him six or more days to do what he used to do in two.

His career has really been one good fortune after another. He has never made any money but has always landed on his feet doing exactly what he needed to be doing.

He gives great credit to Edward Pulling for always believing in him and taking care of him in ways that he did not understand at the time. Mike still thinks often of his classmates: Tim Keeler, PM Robinson, Farnham Collins, Malcolm Barlow, and Chris Magee Jr. At that stage where he cannot remember names when he calls upon an image, Mike wants his classmates to know that, “each and every one of you is on my mind today. You helped me become me. My best love to you all.”

Class of ’56 John Esseks greatly enjoys learning through this publication about his 1956 classmates and those other fellows who he knew at Millbrook from 1952-1956. His wife,

Peter Savage saw Andrew Supplee ’57 over the Christmas holidays, getting together for an annual lunch half way between Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Peter is now in both the Bach choir and The Baltimore Choral Arts choir, singing Carmina Burana, Mass in B Minor, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the St. John Passion, and the Mozart Requiem. He volunteers with the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s and Memory Research Center.

Their task at the Patient-Family Advisory Council is to brief caretakers who have just discovered that their ward has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. They really don’t know what to expect, and Peter and the other volunteers have been, or are, currently caretakers so they can guide the families through elder care and insurance and tell them what to expect. Peter plays a lot of tennis to stay in shape, and his wife complains that she bought damaged goods because he has had a new shoulder, a new knee, new teeth, and soon will have additional surgery—no tennis for one month. He will probably catch up on some reading and recommends After the Music

Summer 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 69

69

7/25/14 12:27:02 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Stops by Alan S. Blinder about the Great Recession and what measures were taken by the government and the Fed to contain the damage. His wife, Deborah, now heads the Baltimore City Emerging Technology Centers, which serve as an incubator for some 90 start-up companies supported in part by the city. Organizing, coaching and seeking funding, she puts in long hours, and he tags along and helps with glad handing and introductions. Peter sends his best to all, and he invites you to stop and visit if you are near Baltimore.

Class of ’58 Charles Evans, after three years of writing, has finished and published his novel, Terror on the Bay. It is the story of a young American Afghanistan war veteran who returns home after two years of convalescence at the Walter Reed Medical Center. In the peace and quiet of the Chesapeake Bay Waterman’s Community on Tilghman Island, he tries to recover from his physical and psychological wounds, only to find himself embroiled in another terrorist battle - right here at home - in America. He wrote the book because he had a story to tell about how ill-prepared we are to defend our nation against another terrorist attack of the

magnitude and ferosity of 9/11. On a parallel course he chose to tell that story by focusing on the character and soul of the Chesapeake Bay Waterman - his independence - his work ethic - and his courage. The book is available on Amazon.com and on Kindle. Charles’ website is http://authorcharlesevansjr.com.

Osterville, Massachusetts. His daughter and son were both married last year - his daughter in Portland, Oregon and his son in Charleston, South Carolina.

Rud Platt has just published his latest book, Reclaiming American Cities: The Struggle for People, Place, and Nature Since 1900 (University of Massachusetts Press, 2014).

This book traces the roots and branches of “humane urbanism”—grassroots efforts to make urban places at all scales greener, healthier, more equitable, and more peoplefriendly. Rud has given many public talks on this topic. For more information visit: www. humanemetropolis.org.

John Rutter and his wife, Suzin, are very pleased to announce that their son, John III, will be married on August 23,2014 to Elizabeth R. Galietto in Cooperstown, NY. At the wedding will be brother Charles ’66, who is Johnny’s godfather, and Lawrence Schmidlapp ’63. They are looking forward to this beautiful event.

Class of ’61 Paul M. Solomon and his wife, Kathy, welcomed their second grandchild, born April 18, 2013 at 9:09 a.m. Noah Gregory Solomon was born weighing 7 lbs.,14 oz. “with a 3 h’cap!” Congratulations to dad, Joshua Solomon, his wife, Sarah, and uncle Zachary Solomon ’98!

Ross Jones has moved, but he is still living in the Gulf Stream area in Florida and in

Class of ’62

Class of ’63 Michael N. Trevor has retired after 29.5 years in aviation with Airline of the Marshall Islands. Following his parents, Jan and Frank, he has returned to the classroom, teaching Environmental Science at the local college, College of the Marshall Islands.

Class of ’65 Eric Kocher is still splitting his time between Alaska and Atlanta, practicing law and guiding kayak trips.

Class of ’59 Tom Lovejoy traveled to Alaska recently, taken by the notion of seeing the Northern Lights and doing an overnight dogsled trip. He talked some friends into joining him and shared photos and this about the trip, “Serious cold, but the Arctic Oven tents were warm if one kept feeding the stove. It was a fivehour journey into the wind on Friday; the return was better at three hours even though snowing and drifting. The dogs were/are amazing. You only live once!”

70

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 70

• Spring 2014

7/25/14 12:27:04 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Class of ’71 James Cannon IV is retiring from the Navy Reserve but will continue to work as a civilian at Naval Facilities Engineering Command at the Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C., for probably another 3-5 years.

Class of ’72 Lloyd Johnson, step-son of Bill Shaw ’37, the 12th graduate from Millbrook School, first visited Millbrook when he was 10-years-old and was impressed by Bill’s name engraved on the old study hall benches in Schoolhouse. Currently living in Sarasota, Florida, Lloyd enjoyed receiving the zoo DVD, Across the Pond, and the Millbrook magazine and is particularly interested in learning more about the new dorm that is being built and hopes to come this way to visit at some point. Lloyd uses the Millbrook app and has been impressed with the ease of obtaining current contact information for his old classmates.

Thomas Kellogg and his wife, June, are looking forward to the wedding of their second (of three) daughters this August.

Class of ’74 40th Reunion Marion D. Percy is now working on creating and placing a memorial to Connecticut resident Varian Fry, one of the United States’ unsung heroes of WWII, in Fairfield County, where Varian lived.

Marion’s beautiful granddaughter just turned two in January. Being a grandma is one of life’s great delights! Marion is still in Stamford, Connecticut, and welcomes anyone to get in touch.

Class of ’75 Thomas “Tom” Kallman ’75 is a longtime insurance professional, public servant and civic activist in the City of Weston and Broward County. He was elected to the City of Weston CommissionDistrict 2 in 2012 after serving as chair of the city’s Business Tax Board. In 2006 he was appointed by the Florida Bar to a three-year term on the 17th Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee, which investigates possible lawyer misconduct and makes recommendations on discipline. He was one of three non-lawyers on the committee. A proud member of the Rotary Club of Weston since 1998, he created and

produced a major fundraising event called “Free Concert in the Park”, which has grown into one of the largest free outdoor concerts in all of Broward County.

In his professional life, Kallman is principal and president of Kallman Insurance Agency, Inc., a company he started four years after moving to Weston in 1994; he has been a featured speaker at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference and FEMA’s National Hurricane Conference and is a go-to source for media reports on insurance issues. Kallman has been in the commercial insurance business since 1980, after earning his degree from Ithaca College in New York. Right after college, he worked as an adjuster in Miami but then moved back to his hometown of Poughkeepsie, NY to join his family’s insurance agency. He returned to South Florida in 1986 to accept a position as an officer with a well-known agency and ten years later started Kallman Insurance, which brokers property and casualty insurance for businesses and individuals.

Tom is the proud father of two adult children, one of whom, Alison, works at Kallman Insurance as an agent. Both of his children attended public schools in Weston and participated in local youth sports.

Class of ’83 Oliver Davis reports that the Seattle Seahawks “12th Man” flag was flying proudly in the wind (along with the Stars and Stripes) outside the windows of the Washington State Supreme Court when he recently argued two cases before the justices.

When not at the Bar, he coaches the UW Naval ROTC offshore sailing team, and every June he trains the Ensign sailing instructors at the US Naval Academy in preparation for plebe summer.

Class of ’86 Kata Lovejoy Petty visited campus recently with her father, Tom ’59, and daughter, who was touring campus prior to applying for the 2014-2015 school year. No visit to campus could be complete without a long stop at the zoo to visit with friends Jono Meigs ’65 and current Zoo Director Alan Tousignant.

Spring 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 71

71

7/25/14 12:27:05 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Class of ’80 Tjark Aldeborgh moved to Martha’s Vineyard after 25 years in Vermont. Tjark has spent 30 years in advertising and outdoor sports and, most recently, as director of communications for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Embracing the island lifestyle, he established a real estate agency, Homes on Martha’s Vineyard, to help others realize this dream. The company specializes in sales, vacation rentals, and property management services. Now that his oldest son has left for college at the Citadel, he and his wife are beginning to feel the onset of empty nest syndrome. With only a few more years before the others begin college, they enjoy watching them grow up.

Class of ’83 Melissa Shaw Fleming has had the pleasure this year of getting to Millbrook twice after many years of sadly not being on campus.

Her two younger children, Charlotte (9th grade) and Rory (8th grade), are looking at boarding schools, including Millbrook.

They were all delighted with the school and appreciate how well – in every aspect Millbrook seems to be doing. Melissa writes, “The campus looks fabulous - so impressive!

And the feel of the school is just as caring and nurturing as I remember it. Well done Drew, Bob, Cindy, Jon - and everyone else up there!”

Class of ’84 30th Reunion Pels Matthews retired in 2013 from 25 years of financial services work to start a second career in real estate. Together with his wife they have purchased the Washington Depot office of William Raveis Real Estate to form The Matthews Group @ William Raveis.

Stacey has been a very successful agent selling luxury weekend properties, and now they have 17 agents covering the entirety of Litchfield County. Pels has been very busy moving the office and running the business and starting an art gallery on the side. Their twins have applied to area schools, having decided on day school options only at this point. Pels hopes to see everyone at the 30th reunion this summer.

Walter Mutter is enjoying time with his family in Boston. He has two boys, Colin and Liam, ages 8 and 11. Walter and his wife are physicians, and he specializes in kidney disease (nephrology). They frequently stop by campus and visit the zoo on trips back to visit his mother, who lives in Poughkeepsie.

Class of ’85 Gioia Connell Chilton is preparing to graduate from Drexel University with a PhD in creative arts therapies and a concentration in art therapy. Her dissertation is on an arts-based research study into the creative expression of positive emotions. Working as an adjunct faculty at the George Washington University’s Graduate Art Therapy Program and teaching and lecturing nationally, she has also recently cofounded a business training burnt-out caregivers new happiness and resilience strategies. She and her family, including Forrest, Tabitha and Annabel, enjoy living in Alexandria, VA, just outside Washington, D.C. Her favorite Millbrook alum, her dad, Karl Connell ’42, is well and enjoying retirement with her mom in Naples, FL. Connect with Gioia via Linked-In or visit her website at www.CreativeWellbeingWorkshops.com.

Class of ’86 Sandra Holbrook James competed in an Ironman on September 22, 2013 in Tahoe, CA, finishing after 14 1/2 hours. She was one of 140+ women in her age bracket.

Class of ’88 Chris Joel joined students and faculty on campus in November to help honor our veterans with a special Veterans Day service. Chris is currently living with his family and working at Philips Academy as their director of business services. In his chapel talk he shared stories about both his Millbrook and his military experiences. These experiences at Millbrook, he told the students, gave him both the confidence and fortitude to dedicate his life to service. He shared a few stories from boot camp and his deployment in the first Gulf War while stressing that the most important experience of his career in the Marines was building upon the core values of honor, courage, and commitment.

72

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 72

Class of ’91 John Berkey ’91 shares that happy little Hartley Buchanan Berkey can’t wait to visit the zoo!

• Spring 2014

7/25/14 12:27:07 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Class of ’88 James Eagen writes, “Keep up the fabulous work. Millbrook continues to be the launch point to service with compassion for so many students. I would not be where I am without the education I received at Millbrook. I let everyone know.”

Karla Held spent time in Laos working with the eco-tourism company, Green Discovery, and for the daily paper, The Vientiane Times, and recently moved back to her college town of Claremont, CA. You can see some of her Vientiane Times articles on their website: http://vientianetimes.org.

Elizabeth Lewis is living in St. Louis with her husband of 18 years, their two children, Andrew (13) and Claire (11), and super cute golden doodle named Patrick. If there is no Arch or Gateway to the West in your hometown, she invites you to come visit theirs!

Class of ’89 25th Reunion Alexander Kotchoubey sends his greetings from Geneva, Switzerland, where he is often grateful for the bucolic surroundings while being involved in the rough & tumble world of Swiss banking with an emphasis on the Russian

and CIS region. A few years ago, after several trips to the Crimean battlefields dating from the 1850s, he conceived of an idea with fellow history ‘buffs’ to make a movie/TV mini-series.

While they secured some initial financing from the BBC, they hit a number of obstacles, not the least of which was the viewing public’s lack of awareness of the Crimean region. Alex is actively re-starting the project. On another enjoyable note, Alex and his wife are raising two children who howl in protest at the mere suggestion of a cultural outing; but, they love school, skiing, and sailing.

Class of ’93 Robin Taylor and Javier Dzul established Dzul Dance in 2013 and celebrated their company’s 10-year anniversary last year.

The company fuses multiple dance forms and circus arts to communicate preHispanic, Mexican, and Latino culture; they have performed throughout the world.

In 2007 they created a youth outreach program, and since its inception, they have performed for over 7,000 young people with little to no access to the performing arts in six different countries. Robin and Javier were married in 2005, and they live in New York City. She will always be grateful to Millbrook for introducing her to dance.

Class of ’96 Eli Klein announced the opening of the new location of Eli Klein Fine Arts on January 9, 2014 at 525 West 22nd Street in New York City.

Class of ’97 Calder Greenwood is continuing to work and live in Los Angeles. After some of his outdoor papier-mâché installations were featured in the Los Angeles Times, Calder and his artistic partner, Wild Life, were interviewed for a film, Wild Life in Downtown LA, which is now a semi-finalist in a short film contest sponsored by GE. The film is being shown in “art house” theaters before the main feature and can also be viewed on Vimeo.

Tim Healy has been busier than ever. He and his wife welcomed their second beautiful girl, Bridget May Healy, on April 15, 2013. Tim also took a new job at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL, which is the leading residential education sports academy in the world and the former Bollettieri Tennis Academy. He is the director of campus life, handling anything that doesn’t happen in the classroom, on the courts, or on the fields. To add to the excitement, after living in a dorm for the better part of the last decade, Tim and his family bought a house —so plenty of room for visitors! Somehow

Class of ’97 Hannah Petri is now the docent and interpretation coordinator at the Saint Louis Zoo. In September she met up with Trevor Zoo Director of Programs Jessica Bennett and Zoo Director Dr. Alan Tousignant at the annual Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference in Kansas City.

Class of ’99 Tyler Watson married Dr. Kathryn McNamara Watson, emergency room doctor in Syracuse, and their daughter, Riley, was born July 25, 2013. Tyler has started up his own new design consulting firm, Lakedesign, after 10 years with Chasedesign.

Spring 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 73

73

7/25/14 12:27:09 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes they even found time to organize a special tribute to Rick McWilliams during Alumni Weekend 2013. Tim was on hand to toast McWilly on his 300th win!

John Place was in the Navy and achieved rank of E5 on board the USS George Washington. He took part in Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch.

John’s sister, Sarah Place Krauss ’95, shared this good news upon joining Millbrook’s faculty this year.

Class of ’98 Frances Green, grandparent of Andy Craighill ’98 and Sunnie Craighill Salvia ’00 (Justin ’00) shares that “It’s been a hectic year for our family. We took our annual trip to Cancun in February and March this year extending it to six weeks. Sunnie, Justin and their two boys (4 and 2 years) joined us for the last week of our time, and it was great fun. Sunnie announced they were expecting another baby, and we were thrilled. Little did any of us know that she was going to have two babies, both girls. The twins arrived in September, healthy and beautiful. We were all so excited to have girls in the family. Justin got orders to the Navy Yard and will be staying in the area for another three years.”

Class of ’99 15th Reunion Tad O’Had recently became the assistant coach of the Florida Everblades, joining head Greg Poss to lead the team to victory.

After graduating from Millbrook in 1999, Tad carried his talents on to Connecticut College, where he became the hockey team captain. In the years following college, he became a founding member and head coach of the Florida Jr. Blades, a junior league hockey team. Under O’Had’s leadership, the Jr. Blades competed in two USA Hockey Nationals and took home two regular season championships. Eighteen of O’Had’s Jr. Blades have advanced to play in the NCAA, USHL, NAHL, and QMJHL. Matthew Tomik sent his congratulations to McWilly on last year’s Western New England Preparatory School Soccer Association (WNEPSSA) championship.

He writes to Millbrook that he is also very glad to see the engineering club has taken off.

Class of ’00 Amelia Gomez Cortez married Carlos Cortez on July 27, 2013. She and her

husband reside in Orange County CA, where they met. Amelia has been living in the OC for three years as director of development for the Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar.

Class of ’01 Charles Gulick and his brother, Jake ’05, are in business together with another brother and Charlie’s wife making organic juice in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Mike Madill took over last summer as the general manager/head coach of the Las Vegas Wranglers, where he had been a player for five of the past six years. He left for one year to play in Japan for the Nippon Paper Cranes and was there during the 2011 tsunami. On July 2, 2011 Mike married Autumn, who is a professional singer in Las Vegas. Autumn has been a part of several shows, including American Superstars, where she was the Lady Gaga impersonator.

They welcomed their first child, Grace, on February 22, 2014.

Class of ’02 Molly Ogden is still living in Wiesbaden, Germany and teaching first grade at the Frankfurt International School. The past

Class of ’00 Garrett Meigs shares that life is good in Oregon! He has been immersed in his research of forest fires and insect outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest, and he is on track to finish his PhD in forest ecology this summer.

Garrett and his wife, Cassie, have managed to acquire a mini-zoo (cat, salamander, two rabbits, and two tortoises!), and they’ve enjoyed some great recent trips exploring the wild west coast.

74

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 74

Class of ’01 Lucas Madill lives with wife Christine in Toronto, where he teaches and coaches at The Hill Academy. While he and Christine were visiting Las Vegas during the Christmas holidays, Lucas, pictured on the right, helped his brother, Mike, coach during a Wranglers home game.

Class of ’05 Norman Bird ’69 and son Hayden ’05 on campus at Alumni Reunion 2013. Norman biked from his home in Barkhamsted, CT to Millbrook School that day!

• Spring 2014

7/25/14 12:27:10 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes year was full of exciting travel as Molly and her boyfriend, Sebastien, visited Vietnam, went home to the U.S., and then headed back east to Thailand and Laos. They also spent a week in Tuscany and four days in London and Hamburg! She is very happy living in Germany in an apartment close to the meeting point of the Main and Rhein rivers, and she often enjoys running or biking along the river.

Class of ’04 10th Reunion Meredith Casale Roll is going into her sixth year of teaching in Mitchell, Indiana. She and her husband are doing well and keeping busy!

Nick Pandolfi graciously toured a group of Millbrook students during Millbrook’s 2014 Intersession. Nick welcomed the Tech Titans & Entrepreneurship group to Google’s New York City offices, where Nick is working in sales.

He provided an in-depth review of Google’s businesses, including new acquisitions and projects currently under development, and toured the group through the main office space, which takes up an entire city-block.

While students were awed by the enormous lego-building station and scooters in use inside the building, they were most impressed

by Nick’s very engaging presentation and

knowledge of the tech industry and up-andcoming players in New York’s Silicon Alley.

Class of ’06 J’nelle Agee completed her master of science in sports management at Columbia University’s School of Continuing Studies in December 2013. She will be a member of the commencement ceremony at the prestigious university in May 2014. J’nelle previously received her bachelor of arts in economics from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA in 2010.

First Lieutenant Peter Smith lives in Washington, D.C. He now flies UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters in the Maryland National Guard and works at Deloitte Consulting.

Priscilla Hermann is pursuing a master of public policy degree at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and will be coming back to Columbia University to continue her studies.

Corina Katz-Samuels is an assistant planner, programmatic buying at Ogilvy & Mather, the global advertising agency, after graduating with honors with a bachelor of arts in sociology from Hamilton College and earning a master of arts in sociology

from Columbia University. She is involved in digital marketing in the social media practice. She lives in New York and spends weekends in the country riding her horse.

Class of ’07 Louise “Lulu” Carter, currently working as an associate strategist for CBX, a brand agency in New York City, is a 2011 graduate of Denison College and was recently honored to find out that she had been named to the North Coast Atlantic Conference’s All-Decade team for women’s lacrosse.

Lulu was a two-time first-team All-NCAC selection in 2010 and 2011. She appeared in 55 games for the Big Red, scoring 47 goals and 21 assists. As a senior she led the NCAC in ground balls per game (3.85), and caused turnovers per game (1.77). Carter left Denison ranked fourth in career caused turnovers (55), fifth in draw controls (81) and seventh in ground balls (115).

Jonathan A. Kross has been the director of operations for the Amsterdam Mohawks, a summer collegiate baseball team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in Amsterdam, NY for two years now, winning back-to-back championships, and 5 out of the last 6, and influencing record-breaking

Class of ’06

Class of ’08

Xavier Van Meerbeek hosted

Maarten Naeff graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering and decided to take a big trip before heading into the work force or continuing with his education. Initially planning a backpack-style trip across the U.S., he ended up traveling instead on a Kawasaki KLR 650. Starting out in October from Philadelphia, he reached Chicago and headed south from there towards New Orleans, then to Los Angeles and across the border in El Paso, Texas.

He rode through Mexico and continued his journey into Central America through Guatemala, covering all of Central America except for Belize. To enter into South America he had to take his bike aboard a 60-foot sailboat across the Caribbean sea and into the port of Cartagena, Colombia. (Via boat or air is the only possible way to get into South America from Panama because the Darien Gap is still a dense and dangerous jungle that has no roads connecting the two continents.) Throughout January and February Maarten traveled through the beautiful and diverse countries of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. As of March he is in Lima, Peru from where he will be heading towards Machu Picchu. Over the next four months he will continue his trip through Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina before ending in Uruguay. A quick flight back home to The Netherlands, and Maarten will start his search for career options or post-graduate studies.

a group of six Millbrook students and two faculty members during Intersession week.

Xavier and his business partners, Chuong Nguyen-Thanh and Timothy Adams, shared a wealth of information on technology start-ups and online marketing, which is the focus of their young company, The Vaan Group. Xavier welcomed students to their Brooklyn office and also traveled to Millbrook with his partners for an afternoon Shark Tank session where, as “sharks,” they questioned young Millbrook entrepreneurs and identified strengths in their presentations.

Spring 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 75

75

7/25/14 12:27:12 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes attendance with over 42,000 fans through the gates in two months. Since this position is seasonal, Jonathan has also returned to his home town (Kingston, NY) with his fiancée to own and operate JK’s Wine and Liquor, a 30,000 square foot wine and liquor store in the historic stockade district and first capital of New York state. Jonathan is a co-owner of this thriving business along with brother Jared Kross ’03.

Daniel Mascoveta studied anthropology and writing at the University of Vermont and played on their club hockey team; he captained the team his senior year. After graduation from UVM, he hitchhiked around and across the U.S. and Canada, traveling from Alaska to San Diego and Central America before heading home to Vermont. He now is timber framing in Bozeman, Montana.

Alexander Cox is living happily in Chicago.

He just recently landed a job at a marketing firm and is playing music with Helium Ravings in the Chicagoland area.

Stuyve Pierrepont recently moved to Washington D.C. to join Farr, Miller, & Washington LLC as a vice president of business development. He is looking forward to connecting with the Millbrook alumni in the area.

Class of ’08

Class of ’09

Bryant Doerrsam was playing in the Southern Professional Hockey League and, after working for his family’s business this summer, will be heading back to Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada in the fall to finish up his degree in economics.

Zachary Fuller graduated from Washington College in May 2013 with a degree in math and was commissioned to the U.S. Marine Corp as a Second Lieutenant. He is in training to be a field artillery officer and will be stationed at Camp Lejeune starting in August.

Nick Farrell was recently named to Denison University’s North Atlantic Conference All-Decade team. A four-year starter on defense, Nick earned consecutive USILA All-America honors in 2011 and 2012. In each of those seasons Farrell was a first-team All-NCAC selection. As a sophomore in 2010, he was named to the All-NCAC second-team. Farrell appeared in 53 career games and logged 105 ground balls and 51 caused turnovers while playing on two NCAA Quarterfinal squads.

JJ Katz-Samuels is a second-year PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor after graduating with a BA in mathematics and philosophy with honors from the University of Chicago. He is also studying computer science and working on a large research project on the economic impact of U.S. universities. He continues to play basketball in his spare time.

Class of ’10 Nell Burdis saw nice success with the Boston University Terriers this year in field hockey.

Nell appeared in all 20 games, started in 14, and scored her first career goal at UConn in October. She added another goal in a 2-0 victory over Bucknell and registered the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win against Northeastern. Her team finished the season at 13-7 in the Patriot League title game in November. Nell is now focused on lacrosse, as the Terriers have played six games, and Nell has started in each one. While she’s quickly adding up her number of caused turnovers this season, as a junior she was one of only two Terriers to start all 16 games, and she finished the 2013 spring season second on the team with 31 ground balls.

Caroline Collins will graduate from the School of Education at Boston University in May. She hopes to teach school, any age

Class of ’09 Graham Derby shares his incredible experiences in Southern Chile, where he has learned how to speak Spanish and manage cultural differences. He has obtained a work visa and in the winter months coached for a Chilean free skiing club on Villarrica Volcano. He also worked for one of the better recognized tourism agencies (Kayak Chile) in the town of Pucon this past summer season. There, he learned the tourism industry, handled and diffused various situations in Spanish, had his marketing work published in a Chilean magazine and on the internet, and helped MTV film an episode for a reality TV show called The Challenge.

76

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 76

• Spring 2014

7/25/14 12:27:13 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes from pre-k to 2nd grade, in the Boston area.

She continues to work as a Fenway Park tour guide, a job she has held for almost three years.

She sees fellow Millbrook classmates and BU students Laurel Greenfield and Rachel DeSimone all the time, now that they have returned from their semester in Australia!

Peter Fox has had an unbelievable college experience at Elon University and hopes that more Millbrook students will be able to call Elon home. He graduates in May with a major in finance and minor in accounting.

Peter has also been involved in campus activities ranging from club golf to attending numerous sporting events and working at football games for the Phoenix Club (the athletic fundraising group). Following commencement, he will be starting with Credit Suisse Investment Banking, working in Raleigh and focusing on corporate strategy and capital markets advisory. Peter has remained friends with many fellow Millbrook alumni, both at Elon, in the U.S., and abroad.

Adi Fracchia spent the summer of 2013 studying the rising power of the Golden Dawn, a political group holding just 7% of the popular vote in Greece; her project was funded by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College. Adi became aware of the group when she was in Greece during the summer of 2012,

assisting in an archaeological excavation and producing topological maps of the site on the island of Crete. Adi’s interest in anthropology spurred her to research the Golden Dawn in order to understand what triggered their growth in popular support and whether or not the organization will continue to grow in the future. Adi’s research was featured this year in an article in Hudson Valley Magazine.

Maddie Fuller is graduating from Roanoke College in May. She will spend the summer studying for her CPA exam and will be living and working as a staff auditor in Alexandria, Virginia.

Alex Harvey is a senior at Trinity College.

He has had a great experience at Trinity, where he played varsity soccer all four years, and is looking forward to entering the work force after graduation.

Jay Livermore will graduate from Bowdoin College in May with a bachelor of arts degree in economics. While at Bowdoin Jay played both lacrosse and hockey, and as a four-year teammate and current co-captain of the Polar Bears ice hockey team, he had much to celebrate recently. Jay led his team to win the NESCAC championship in double OT against Amherst, which brought Bowdoin to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Class of ’11 Gabriella Alziari is in her third year of college and has shared how profoundly Millbrook shaped the core of who she is. She believes her four-year experience instilled her with so much confidence and compassion for those around her, as well as for the environment and the world at large. Gabby spent her first two years on the campus at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, meeting amazing friends, declaring her major in English, tutoring children at the local juvenile detention center, continuing her Spanish studies, and even picking up soccer again.

She is currently studying abroad at The University of Oxford for a year, pursuing her English major and getting back to her roots (since her family is British). Her father accepted a job with the shipping, oil and gas company A.P. Møller-Mærsk last year, which led their family to move to Copenhagen, Denmark. She is enjoying the beauty of the city and its ease of navigation.

She is also traveling whenever possible, visiting Morocco and South Africa, and is always reminded of how special it is to meet people from all over the world, and what an education it is to be able to do so.

Class of ’10 Taylor Nelson will graduate from the University of New Hampshire in May with a bachelor’s degree and double major in communications and ecogastronomy (the study of sustainable food and agriculture). She spent the fall semester of her senior year living and studying in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, where she worked on and toured local organic farms and vineyards while taking classes to study Italian culture and language.

She was fortunate enough to visit Bill ’78 and Suzy Menard at their beautiful villa outside of Perugia, Italy, where she learned so much about local food (and, particularly, truffles) from Bill, Suzy, and their local friends and guests in just a short weekend. Taylor’s travels continued into her spring semester as she spent her spring break woofing at the Loquillo Farm Sanctuary in Puerto Rico, volunteering to clear land and prepare soil for planting at this organic farm focused on educating adults and children about permaculture and healthy eating.

Class of ’10 Meg Ahern ’13 and Olivia Farrell ’10 met twice on the ice this year at the Russell Sage Rink in Clinton, NY, where Meg is a freshman at Hamilton College. The first game ended in a tie, but Olivia’s Connecticut College Camels came up victorious in the 2nd match. Photo courtesy of Tom Honan.

Spring 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 77

77

7/25/14 12:27:14 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Marston Garceau is a communications major at Wittenberg University, where he also leads the Crossfit club he started there. He is spending the spring semester of his junior year in Australia at Griffith University, along with one of his Millbrook comrades, Mickey Mittermeier!

Class of ’12 Carl Belizario, a first-year defensemen at Hobart, was selected for the ECAC Wests’ all-rookie team. Throughout the regular season Carl posted five goals and 10 assists for 15 points. He was tied for third in the league in defensemen scoring and tied for fourth in overall first-year scoring. He played a key role in the Statesmen’s defensive unit, limiting opponents to 2.84 goals per game, and earned recognition as the ECAC West Rookie of the Week during the season, ultimately resulting in his selection for the all-rookie team.

Chloe Gbai was recently recommended by the dean of the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study to participate in NYU’s 1st annual World Leadership Summit held in Abu Dhabi in January.

Class of ’12 Tyler Albrecht & TJ Sanders faced off on the lacrosse field in an early season game in February.

Tyler scored his first career hat trick for Loyola Men’s Lacrosse and helped seal a victory (12-11) over fellow alum TJ Sanders and the Nittany Lions.

TJ has brought his own magic to the lacrosse field, however, as he is a leading scorer for Penn State, recently scoring a game-high four goals against Dartmouth.

78

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 78

She was one of 32 students chosen to travel to Abu Dhabi and spend four days developing leadership skills and gleaning wisdom from various leaders in an assortment of fields including business, the arts, science and politics. Chloe spent her spring semester abroad to continue her study of documentary film at NYU’s campus in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Zoë Wilson is in her 2nd year at Elon University, on the dean’s list, taking a very full class schedule, and managing her time well. She is also working 25-35 hours a week doing cultural programs events for Elon as their lighting designer and theatrical lighting electrician, having been the assistant lighting designer under a visiting professional for Ragtime: the Musical. She was also a lighting designer for Dancing in the Black Box, the fall dance concert at Elon, and is currently the assistant lighting designer for the spring dance concert. Zoë was recently accepted into the Elon in NYC program for this summer and hopes to have an internship either with a firm that designs the holiday windows for department stores or with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company doing lighting design. She will be living at the New School in New York City and

taking a 4-credit upper level class on the finance, communications/marketing, and theatre districts of the city. She is on schedule to graduate from Elon in only three years, by May 2015. It’s a somewhat scary proposition, but she is up for the challenge!

Class of ’13 Mat Livermore is doing well in his freshman year at Bard College. Bard’s men’s lacrosse program is extremely young, only in their second competitive season, and Mat is a rising star on their team. In the Bard Raptors’ first game of the season, Mat scored four goals, securing not only the first win of the season, but the first win in their lacrosse program’s history.

Engagements Abigail H. Kunhardt ’02 is newly engaged, reports her brother George.

Weddings Sarah Whalen ’06 married David Morin in January 2014.

Class of ’12 Cora Mackenzie is studying athletic training at the University of Vermont, currently working on the clinical portion of her degree and her general medicine rotation. She has been riding along with the Burlington Fire and Rescue department in one of their ambulances, shadowing the EMTs as they do everything from transporting the sick and elderly to the local hospital to dealing with fire situations.

She is also working in the Emergency Department at Fletcher Allen Hospital, conducting emergency research studies there, and observing treatments at both a local chiropractic office and at the Student Health Center at UVM. Somehow between all of her academic activities, she also found time to play on UVM’s Division 1 ice hockey club team. Back in the fall, Cora’s father, faculty member and alum Gordie MacKenzie ’72, headed to Burlington to watch his former player and Cora’s teammate, Morgan Davis ’13, play soccer, as UVM matched up against Colgate, where Morgan is a scholar-athlete.

Gordon Pennoyer ’99 is engaged to Andrea Smith.

The wedding is planned for November 22nd in Hillsboro Beach, FL. Gordon continues as a member of Millbrook’s board of trustees and is currently working for Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma City.

• Spring 2014

7/25/14 12:27:15 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes

Classes of 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, & 2013 Classes of 1988 & 1990 George Sayan ’88 and Caroline Bozorth Sayan ’90 are living in China at present. They are pictured here at The Great Wall with their sons, Crosby, Leland, and Hunter.

From left to right, Celia Manny ’10, Eleanor Manny ’06, Lena Hardy ’13, Claire Manny ’12, Cam Hardy, Devin Hardy ’08, and Liz Morrison ran together in San Francisco to raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as part of the Team in Training. Cam, Devin, Lena, and Liz all regrouped for round two in Washington D.C. in April, running again for the same purpose.

Classes of 1998, 2001, & 2002

Classes of 2011 & 2013

In February Headmaster Drew Casertano enjoyed a reunion with the Drever clan – Lauren ’98, Galen ’01, Noah ’02 and their father, Maxwell, a former trustee, at the family home in Tiburon, CA. Unfortunately, Isabelle ’05 was unable to join them. As evidence of the lasting influence of Noah’s years of involvement at the Trevor Zoo, he used the headmaster’s left arm as a perch for his hawk, Cadence.

L-R: Ms. Jieun Kim, mother of Joon Hwang ’13, Ki Woung “Nick” Nam ’11, Linda and Drew Casertano, Yong Moon Hwang, father of Joon ’13, and Joon Hwang ’13. This photo followed a wonderful lunch with Nick, Joon and Joon’s parents, who were exceptional hosts for the Casertano’s during their visits to Seoul in 2012 and 2013.

Spring 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 79

79

7/25/14 12:27:18 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes

Sibyl Stevens Fenwick ’96 and Wixon Adler Greenwood ’96, son of Millbrook faculty member David Greenwood and his wife, Nan, were married Saturday, October 13, 2013 in California. Katie Schoonmaker Jenkins ’96 was Sibyl’s matron of honor, and Calder Greenwood ’97 was Wixon’s best man. Maya Myers ’96 was the photographer at the wedding. All of the reception tables were named after dorms at Millbrook!

Hans Jorg Fiebiger ’97 was married to Dr. Ines Butenschon in September in Vienna, Austria joined by his brother, Karsten ’91, and his wife, and Millbrook friends Morgan Conrad ’99, Gordon Pennoyer ’99, and Marko Guzijan ’99, as well as their girlfriends. The reception was held at Palais Ferstel.

Amelia Gomez ’00 married Carlos Cortez on July 27, 2013 in Dutchess County where Amelia grew up. It was a beautiful day filled with love and laughter! In attendance were long time dear friends and Millbrook alums - Emily Rice Carney ’99, Ethan Dubow ’00, Deborah Muller Fisher ’01, Megan Maroney ‘01, and Jeremy Kross ’01.

Morgan Pratt ’00 was married to Cooper Arvisais on June 15, 2013 in Millbrook School’s Flagler Memorial Chapel. Reverend Cameron Hardy presided over the service. Group photo, front row from left to right: Jane Pfeffer ’10, Xan Duhoski ’10, Nikeyu Callaway ’10, Meredith Pratt ’10, Cooper and Morgan ’00 Arvivais, Tory Pratt ’06, Sunny Craighill Salvia ’00; Second row from left to right: Kim Butwell P’13, Antonia Butwell ’13, Marc Scheurer ’00, Shawn Pratt P’00, ’06, ’10, Maya Myers ’96, Reverend Cameron Hardy P’92’08’13’, Korky Podmaniczky P’04, Erin Stuckey ’00, Justin Salvia ’00; Third row from left to right: Justin Butwell P’13, Peter Charlap, P’00’10’06, Liz Morrison P’10’14, Cindy and Rick McWilliams P’01’05, Bill Hardy P’92’08’13, Sandy Podmaniczky ’72 P’04

80

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 80

• Spring 2014

7/25/14 12:27:22 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes

Lucas Madill ’01 married Christine Hartnoll on July 1, 2012.

Stafford McKay ’01 was married in California in December 2013 to his long time partner, Fernando Romero, from Argentina.

Jen Cavanaugh ’03 married Greg Moroney on November 9, 2013 at Christ Chapel in Jupiter Island, FL with a reception at the Jupiter Island Club. Her sisters, Brooke ’04 and Allie ’08, were the maids of honor; Emily Cruice Casey ’03 was also a bridesmaid. Jen & Greg went to Africa on their honeymoon and now live in NYC.

Charlie Hettinger ’04 married Jen Caron in Florida on March 8, 2014. Millbrook was well represented, as eight of the guests/wedding party were Millbrook alumni! From left to right: Luke Stuckey ’09, Paul Stuckey ’03, Charlie and Jen, Bill Hettinger ’77, Caroline Hettinger Foss ’01, Andrew Robbins ’77, Bill Menard ’78, Jim Hettinger ’81, and Patrick Lowsley-Williams ’78

George Kunhardt ’05 and Jacquelyn Michelle Phillips were married Saturday, September 7th, 2013 at St. James Episcopal Church in North Salem, NY. Alice Bergen ’05 married Captain David M. Phillips of the United States Marine Corps on June 8th, 2013. Several Millbrook classmates were in attendance.

Pictured from left to right are Owen Murphy ’05, Sarah Thaler ’05, Alice Bergen Phillips, Shelton Lindsay ’05, and Sophia Pellicoro ’05. Alice’s sister, Molly Bergen ’02, was one of the maids of honor.

Front row: Abby Kunhardt ’02, Megan Hearst ’07, Mr. and Mrs. George Kunhardt, Eileen Jeffreys, Teddy Kunhardt ’04 Second row: Toby Gerard ’05, Sierra Flanigan ’05, Sophia Pellicoro ’05, Sarah Thaler ’05, Victoria Leeds ’07, Peter Kunhardt ’01, Hayden Bird ’05, Caragh Fisher ’05 Back row: Goh Tomura ’05, Owen Murphy ’05, Joe Savino ’05, and Xavier Van Meerbeek ’06

Spring 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 81

81

7/25/14 12:27:26 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Births Katherine Schoonmaker Jenkins ’96 and her husband, Brady, welcomed Chase Amour Jenkins into the world on June 28, 2012.

Matthew Stack ’99 and his wife welcomed new baby Bryce Hobey Stack on August 15, 2013. Born at Stamford Hospital at 8 lbs., 3 oz. and 20” long.

Tyler Watson ’99 and wife Dr. Kathryn McNamara Watson welcomed their first child, baby girl Riley McNamara Watson, born July 25, 2013.

Mike Madill ’01 and wife Autumn welcomed baby Grace on February 22, 2014.

In Memoriam We offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of all Millbrook alumni, parents, past parents, and friends who have passed away recently.

Class of 1943 Philip Caryl Jessup died August 28, 2013.

He was stepfather to Lucinda Cook ’77 and cousin to Timothy Bray ’47 and William

Jessup ’68. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, graduate of Yale University and 1952 graduate of Harvard Law School.

He was secretary-general counsel of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and secretary and general counsel for International Nickel Company (Inco) of Canada.

over his father’s boat yard as owner and manager for 20 years. He also was deputy sheriff in Edgartown, going into law enforcement and serving with the Tisbury Police Department.

John Hemphill Jr. died on June 9, 2013 in Victoria British Columbia, Canada, where he lived for 41 years. Originally from New York City, John grew up in Princeton, NJ and graduated from Princeton with a degree in biology after a time in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He worked in many fields during his life. He is survived by his wife, Wenche, and sons, Chris and Tybring, along with grandchildren and devoted family members.

Robert McMath died November 13, 2013.

He is survived by wife, Jean, and children, Robert Jr., Valerie, Scott, and Dorothy. Bob was a product marketing research expert who wrote the book, What Were They Thinking? that documented some of the major reasons why so many new products fail. He was well known nationally and internationally, and he appeared on NBC’s Today Show several times.

Class of 1945 Ian Marshall died in August 2013.

Class of 1946 Henry Burt died on May 8, 2013. A World War II U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he returned to attend business school and worked in the food processing industry.

He lived on Vineyard Haven and took

Peachy Willingham Beard ’94, husband John, and big brother Johnny proudly welcomed Virginia Elizabeth Beard on June 20th, 2013. Baby weighed 7 lbs, 9.9 oz. and measured 20.5” long.

82

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 82

Class of 1950

Class of 1951 George “Doc” Phelps Spencer Jr. died on July 25, 2011 at his home in Fulton, NY. After graduating from Millbrook, Doc attended Yale University and then served in the Korean War. He then went to lumber inspection school in Memphis, TN and realized his childhood dream of being a logger and running his own successful business as the top logger in upstate New York. Doc’s other interests in life included drawing, painting, and reading and

Jon Downs ’98, Millbrook’s director of admission, and wife Erin welcomed new baby Aurora Teresa Downs born on January 17, 2014 at 4:10 a.m. Joining her brother, Atticus, she is perfectly beautiful and beautifully perfect!

• Spring 2014

7/25/14 12:27:27 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes chatting about current events or politics over a good cup of coffee. Many of his paintings were displayed at Fulton arts shows. Doc was also an active volunteer at the Salvation Army.

Class of 1952 Dennis G. Collins died on March 15, 2014 leaving wife, Pam, brothers Farnham ’53 and Toby ’60, sister, Ann, his son, Keith and daughters, Blair and Laura, and grandchildren. His career began in insurance, but he spent the last 30+ years in land management and preservation. As the director of the Berks County Conservancy and Wildlands Conservancy in PA, Dennis personally helped to conserve over 40,000 acres of land and was involved in finding space for community gardens, sponsoring beautification programs for communities, and educating local populations about land care and land preservation. In 2003 he returned to Norfolk, CT and served local land trusts and organizations with his knowledge and passion for the outdoors.

Class of 1954 Edward Gaylor Bourne ’54 died on August 16, 2013. He was a resident of New York City

and North Cornwall, CT. He graduated from Union College and then served as a Naval aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps. He leaves his son, James, daughter, Charlotte, sisters, Susan Brinkama and Margaret Pedersen, and brother, James.

Class of 1973 James G. Lovell died tragically on Sunday morning, December 2, 2013 in a MetroNorth train derailment in New York City.

He was a staffer at NBC’s Today Show for over 20 years and was on his way to work to prepare for the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony. He leaves his wife, Nancy Montgomery, ex-wife, Pat Lovell, children, Hudson, Jack, Finn, Brooke and brother Chris Lovell ’61.

Obituaries - Other Herbert Abelow, father of Hawley Abelow ’89 and husband of wife, Betsy P ’95, ’97, died August 23, 2013.

Magdelaine Salvage Anthony, mother of Robert W. Anthony ’65 (Ann) and grandmother of Arthur ’07, Magdelaine ’08, and Sarah ’12, died June 9, 2013.

David Demaine, former faculty died on December 5, 2013. Having taught, along with his wife, Gail Carter Demaine, at Millbrook from 1983-1989, David was recruited to Northfield Mt. Hermon School, where he taught for the next 24 years. As a teacher of classics, he travelled many times to Italy and Greece and received several fellowships including a Fulbright. He was known as a serious teacher with a great sense of humor and a ready smile. He is survived by his son, Daniel Demaine (Theresa); grandchildren, Max, Nora, and Howie; and his sister. His son, Matthew Demaine, and wife Gail both predeceased him.

Frederick Dolan, grandparent of John Dolan ’15 and Olivia Dolan ’13, died on June 14, 2013.

David Flatau, father of Tyler Flatau ’11, died on April 29, 2013. He was the successful owner of a well-known bridge and fence construction company and a well-respected member of the local business community in Sherman, CT. David is survived by his mother, his son, Tyler, and sisters Jane Ross of New York City and Alison Flatau of Potomac, Maryland, Linda Mittel, and his love Nancy Stein and dear friends Bill ’77 and Corinna Hettinger.

Melissa Ruiter ‘00 and partner Patrick Arid welcomed daughter Camille, born May 2013.

Camille joins brother Alexandre, who was born August 2011.

Lindsay Domas Edison ’00 welcomed new son, Fulton James Edison. Fulton was born on January 6, 2014, weighing 8 lbs., 15 oz. and measuring 20.25” long. He joins his 3-yearold brother, William ‘Walker’ Edison.

Faculty members Ryan and Kristin Tolfree welcomed Penelope Mae Tolfree, born August 1, 2013 weighing 8 lbs. 10 oz.

Sunnie Craighill Salvia ’00 and Justin Salvia ’00 welcomed twin girls, Audrey and Brooke, in September 2013. They join their two brothers, Conner and Mason, ages 2 and 4 years.

Spring 2014 •

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 83

83

7/25/14 12:27:29 PM

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Mark Frega, father of Mark Jr. ’14 and Jennifer ’15, died suddenly on March 5, 2014. Mark grew up in Westfield, CT and was a graduate of Westfield High School and then Syracuse University. He became the owner and operator of his own business, Landmark Management.

In addition to Mark Jr. and Jennifer, Mark is survived by three other children, Katherine, Kevin, and John, his wife, Christina, his parents, two sisters, one brother, and many nieces and nephews.

Dirk-Jan Rosse, grandfather of Jan Rosse ’16 and father of Peter Rosse ’84, died on February 17, 2014.

Somerset and Wieska Waters welcomed new grandson, Luke, born in Poland on July 30, 2013.

Kevin Shanley, father of Katy Shanley Scott ’91 and husband of Maudie, died on October 8, 2013.

Past Faculty News

Edith Hornor, mother of Gurdon W. Hornor ’77, died on May 29, 2013.

Current Faculty & Staff News

Edwin M. Lavitt, father of Jed Lavitt ’73 (Paula) and grandfather of Mariah ’10 and Tate ’10 died on June 24, 2013.

Jean Liefer, grandmother of Trevor Liefer ’14, died on December 9, 2013.

James C. Manny, grandfather of Celia ’10, Claire ’12, Eleanor ’06, and Nicholas ’05 and father of Walter Manny (Amy), former faculty, died on February 26, 2014.

Richard O’Neill, grandfather of Olivia May ’17, died on October 15, 2013.

Laura DeMyer Williamson, mother of USMC Captain Andrew Williamson ’05 and wife of Stephen Williamson, died on March 7, 2014.

Ed and Emily Allen welcomed new baby girl, Tatum Egan Allen, on December 30, 2013.

Robin Herow P ’09, ’12, assistant director of advancement, and Robert Cuddeback eloped on December 31, 2013 at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Mark Merritt and his wife, Donna, celebrated the marriage of their son, Brian, to his new bride, Bailey. The ceremony was held in the Flagler Memorial Chapel on August 24, 2013.

Reed C. Martin, son of former faculty Bob and Pat Martin, writes in, “It is always such a thrill to see the good things that are happening at Millbrook. As a faculty brat, Millbrook holds a special place in my heart; it was truly a wonderful place to grow up!”

Del Shilkret, father of Lori Shilkret Parsons ’86 (C. Duncan Parsons ’86), shares the he and wife Ellen are enjoying their second wind now that they are retired and working part-time at Favarh (The Association of Retarded Citizens) in the Business Office. Del continues to head the Friends of the Granby Public Library and the Chatsworth Village Homeowners’ Association. Lori and Duncan and three granddaughters are not too far away and are a joy to be with.

Do you have a long-term relationship that was first cultivated at Millbrook? If you’re married to another Millbrook alum, or you remain dear friends with former classmates, we’d love to share the story about how your relationship has grown even stronger over the years.

Please get in touch with Director of Communications Michelle Blayney at mblayney@millbrook.org.

Alumni photos are welcome! Digital photos, saved as 300 dpi .jpg files, are accepted, as well as print photos.

To submit a photo, e-mail it to mblaney@millbrook.org or mail it to Millbrook School, 131 Millbrook School Road, Millbrook, NY 12545. Photos will be returned upon request. Only acceptable photos will be published.

84

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMagPAGES.indd 84

• Spring 2014

7/25/14 12:27:34 PM

Millbrook’s Mission Millbrook School educates its students to succeed and serve in college and beyond. In a community where everyone is known and needed, our curriculum instills • curiosity and a commitment to academic excellence; • respect for oneself and for others; • a moral framework based on personal integrity; • a commitment to serve as stewards of the natural world; • a readiness to use one’s knowledge and skills in service to others.

We promote the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, creative, and physical growth that will lead to a life satisfying to the individual and valuable to the greater good.

Non Sibi Sed Cunctis

{ not for oneself but for all }

Millbrook’s Annual Fund Ways To Give:

Online at

www.millbrook.org/annualfund, by phone at

845-677-6752 Or by mail using the enclosed giving envelope

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMag.indd 2

7/25/14 12:18:26 PM

a m ag a z i n e fo r a l u m n i , pa r e n t s a n d f r i e n d s o f m i l l b ro o k s c h o o l

131 Millbrook School Road, Millbrook, NY 12545 Address Service Required

S u m m er 2 0 14

Pursuing Our Passion for

Learning

7_24_PROOF_MillbrookMag.indd 1

7/25/14 12:18:17 PM