Molly Farnsworth By Twee Haffner Since she arrived in 1995 as an apprentice teacher in my Kindergarten classroom and parent of Susanne, Mary, Martha and Peter, it has been a joy to work beside Molly for the past 18 years as a colleague and friend. I have treasured our time together and enjoyed sharing daily events each afternoon with giggles and laughter while we learned from each other. Molly has always built up others, listened and believed in collaboration. She was constantly working on perfecting her skills with a curiosity and passion for the young child. Her belief in experiential learning led her class on field trips to the garbage museum, the town mulch pile and the NCCS drainage system. Her sense of beauty always balanced these trips with an annual trip to the fabulous Lee azalea gardens as well as proper afternoon tea parties in her own backyard garden. Molly has all the qualities that make a great teacher: curiosity, confidence, compassion, keen intellect, grace and a vibrant personality.
Her abundant energy was obvious in the way she would always sled and skate with the children as well as finding many other ways to participate in their activities. The annual KF puppet show was a perfect example of Molly’s understanding of project-based learning and her ability to engage the children in designing their own learning experiences. Her classroom was always alive with a wide variety of activities: painting, weaving, sewing, block building, observing animals and creating projects during free choice time. Her sense of humor was always front and center, exemplified by the annual April Fool’s Day visit of substitute teacher Mrs. MacGilleycutty to the Kindergarten. Dressed as an older lady with a wig, glasses, heavy Southern accent and a dash of charm, Molly never ceased to surprise her students. I will always remember Molly’s warmth and caring way. Her witty presence brought joy to the Thacher community. In faculty meetings she was always available with a new idea, and her vision was instrumental in the Kindergarten full-day planning as a voice for preserving much of what was valuable about the program. I will miss her cheerful ways and pleasant camaraderie in the early mornings, particularly in these past few years when she has been so very supportive of me through a difficult time. Molly retires to spend more time with her husband, Peter, and their family. I am comforted to know that we will hear much more about Molly’s endeavors as she has a wonderful sense of life and purpose. Her grandchildren will be most fortunate to have much more of their grandma in their lives. In the words of Wordsworth, Molly will be remembered for “those little unremembered acts of kindness.” I will miss my friend Molly; she made me a better teacher and a better human being.
Carla Murphy By Terry Gumz, Director of Advancement, and Jackie Greiner, Associate Director of Advancement Since joining the Alumni and Advancement Office in May 2006, Carla Murphy has been a vital and key member of the team. Although hired as database manager and director of research, her actual titles merely skim the surface of the many roles she fulfilled during her years at Country School. With an affinity for problem-solving, it didn’t take long for Carla to become the school’s “go-to” person for all things database-related. The bane of existence to many of us, database or technology conundrums were simply entertainment to Carla. Finding solutions provided the excitement in her job. Whether loading class lists or course pages, sending email blasts or creating directories, entering gifts or managing the Parents’ Association auction database, nothing seemed beyond her realm of expertise. Although not our webmaster by title, she was certainly our “behind-thescenes” master, managing portals, address changes, family and business updates, online directories and event registrations. When she couldn’t find the answer to a problem, she invented it. 22
New Canaan Country School Bulletin s u m m e r 2 0 1 3
She was our data wizard extraordinaire. Undeterred by her 45-minute drive, she managed to deliver daughter Andrea to school in Ridgefield at sunrise and was still among the first to arrive at Country School each morning with daughters Eva ’13 (Grade 9) and Erin ’19 (Grade 8), and dog Greta, with harp in tow—while many of us were still at home eating breakfast. A tireless worker, Carla seemed to be on email day or night. Whether you needed a list, an answer or a solution to a problem, her response never took longer than an hour. Despite moving on to a new adventure mid-year, Carla’s commitment to Country School did not waver. She has continued to be a resource not only to the Advancement Office and Parents’ Association, but also to the Academic Records Office and the Technology Department. She will be missed both on campus and online; we wish her well in her new role at Sacred Heart University.