Nobles Spring 2017

NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOSTON MA PERMIT NO. 53825

NOBLES • SPRING 2017

Noble and Greenough School 10 Campus Drive Dedham, MA 02026-4099

Nobles THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL

SPRING 2017

Measure Twice THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL

Faculty member Bob Moore and Ami Nwaoha ’19 measure drywall while working at a school that never reopened after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Forty students and nine adults traveled to New Orleans during spring break to work on construction projects with SBP, whose mission is to “shrink time between disaster and recovery.”

The Bob Issue

PHOTO OF THE DAY January 10, 2017 Becca Gilmore ’17 takes the ice at Frozen Fenway. Read more on page 10.

PHOTO BY BEN HEIDER

contents SPRING 2017

IN EVERY ISSUE Letter from the Head

3 Reflections What Nobles folks are saying on campus and online

2

4

The Bulletin News and notes

14

Off the Shelf All about the books we read and write

17

By the Numbers Quantifying Bob

18 Sports Girls rule Achieve student Johan Toledo works alongside tutor Zachary Janfaza ’17.

FEATURES 28

Cover Story: Head of the Class Bob Henderson ’76 retires as head of school

44

A Decade of Achievement This is how we live our mission

48

Our Boys of Spring Nobles’ favorite pastime

Cover Photograph by Kathleen Dooher

20 Development Head of School Dinner at MFA-Boston 22 Perspectives The humanities and journaling: the case for committing 50

Graduate News Nobles graduate updates: what, when, where, why and how Nobles grads are doing

68 Archive Self-portrait of a young man

Nobles

letter from the head

SPRING 2017

The Last Time

Editor Heather Sullivan DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

ONE OF THE TRADITIONS OF MY HEADSHIP is that I

share remarks with the entire faculty and staff at a morning gathering in late August, as a prelude to the meetings that open a new school year. I try to set the tone and establish common purpose for the adults in our community. How effective I am is certainly an open question, but I do see the exercise, at a minimum, as an important element in the restoration of the school-year routine after the summer reverie. This past August, many people approached me and inquired, “How does it feel to be giving your last one of these speeches?” I responded honestly to the effect that it did not feel all that remarkable—with a long school year still ahead, closing out my time at Nobles did not yet seem particularly imminent. I also pointed out that everything during the year would be for the last time. For instance, it would soon be my last first Friday in September! It would be hard to wallow in nostalgia over things like that for 10 months.

I have, however, spent over a third of my life at Nobles, including three years as a student, one as a teaching fellow, and 17 as the head of school. Nobles has profoundly shaped my identity, provided me with inspiration and opportunity for an incredibly rewarding career in education, and honed my character and habits of mind in so many ways that I can hardly sort out which ideas and attitudes came from Nobles and which came from other sources. I spent two decades away from Nobles, teaching in California, Hawaii and Maine, yet even in those locales I found myself often seeking to bring the best elements of the Nobles experience to those schools. While I loved those communities and cultures for what they were, I suppose I was always a bit of an evangelist for 10 Campus Drive. To leave once again, then, is to turn away from something incredibly near and dear to my heart and intellect.

A few months ago, I exchanged emails with a college friend who asked about my retirement. I said that I was still trying to figure out exactly what I would do when I finally left high school. He quipped, “Go to college!” There is hidden truth to this. I learned at Nobles, sitting in classrooms with Dick Baker, Mary Wells Sargent, Bob Warner, GK Bird, John Paine and many others, how to be a lifelong student. I will walk away from Nobles on June 30 with the intent to continue learning, to take risks and try new adventures, and to care about my communities and give back. I am excited about those possibilities.

I will miss the rhythms of the school day, the banter of the classroom, the inspiration of morning assembly and my connections with amazing young people and educators. As the school year draws closer to the end, the last times for everything do start to strike me with greater power and poignancy. I try to live much more in the moment, to take it all in, and to discern the significance of the subtle and routine. At the same time, I am delighted to be “graduating” this spring, and I feel all the joy and anticipation that Class I experiences as they look ahead to bright futures away from this beautiful place. I depart Nobles with the deepest sense of gratitude and the hope that I have given back some modicum of the incredible gifts that have been given to me.

—ROBERT P. HENDERSON, JR. ’76, HEAD OF SCHOOL

3 Nobles SPRING 2017

Assistant Editors Kim Neal

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Ben Heider

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCER/WRITER

Alexis Sullivan

WRITER/CONTENT MANAGER

Design 2COMMUNIQUÉ WWW.2COMMUNIQUE.COM

Photography Tim Carey Michael Dwyer Kathleen Dooher Ben Heider Leah LaRiccia Kim Neal Risley Sports Photography The Editorial Committee Brooke Asnis ’90 Greg Croak ’06 John Gifford ’86 Tilesy Harrington Bill Kehlenbeck Nobles is published three times a year for graduates, past and current parents and grandparents, students and supporters of Noble and Greenough School. Nobles is a co-educational, non-sectarian day and five-day boarding school for students in grades seven (Class VI) through 12 (Class I).

Noble and Greenough School is a rigorous academic community that strives for excellence in its classroom teaching, intellectual growth in its students and commitment to the arts, athletics and service to others.

For further information and upto-the-minute graduate news, visit www.nobles.edu.

Letters and comments may be emailed to Heather_Sullivan@ nobles.edu. We also welcome old-fashioned mail sent c/o Noble and Greenough School, 10 Campus Drive, Dedham, MA 02026. The office may be reached at 781-320-7268. © Noble and Greenough School 2017

Who didn’t eat breakfast this morning? I have a sausage, egg and cheese for you.

—COMMUNITY SERVICE COORDINATOR LINDA HURLEY MAKING SURE EVERY MEMBER OF THE ASSEMBLY CROWD IS WELL-FED

It’s Thursday; you know what that means…

—SCHOOL LIFE COUNCIL MEMBERS DISMISSING ASSEMBLY EVERY THURSDAY THIS YEAR. (WE’RE STILL NOT SURE WHAT THAT MEANS.)

There is great certainty that within these programs, Nobles students will struggle with something, be it trying to teach English to a young person in Cambodia, putting shingles on a roof in New Orleans, or communicating with a host parent in Beijing.

Those ‘failures’ almost always lead to some sort of recovery and problem solving that in the long run builds critically important qualities of empathy, resilience and adaptability.

—“WHAT WOULD YOU DO?” BY DIRECTOR OF THE ANDERSON/CABOT CENTER FOR EXCEL BEN SNYDER, NOBLES PARENTS’ E-NEWSLETTER, FEBRUARY 2017

Don’t pressure your child into thinking only one school is the best for them. With the great Nobles education we have gotten, we can be successful and happy in many places.

—“ENCOURAGE, SUPPORT AND LOVE,”

BY DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING KATE RAMSDELL, QUOTING A CLASS I STUDENT, NOBLES PARENTS’ E-NEWSLETTER, FEBRUARY 2017

For me, the point of teaching high school history is not the mastery of information. In the age of the Internet and instantaneous access to information, the need to pound in details seems quaintly obsolete.

Instead, my goal as a history teacher is to impart broader understanding of the world and humanity.

—“WHAT MATTERS MOST,” BY HEAD OF SCHOOL BOB HENDERSON, NOBLES PARENTS’ E-NEWSLETTER, JANUARY 2017

FEB. 1, VIA INSTAGRAM: Nhung Truong (Performing Arts Faculty) leads the cast of this winter’s musical, Shrek the Musical, in vocal warmups before an Act I run-through.

FEB. 10, VIA INSTAGRAM: Zoe Carlson-Pietraszek and Caroline Ducharme (both Class V) play in the powder after a chilly Thursday snow day.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 4

the bulletin NEWS FROM OUR CAMPUS & COMMUNITY

J’adore la classe de français!

The Fun of Learning French “MY GOAL IS TO MAKE THEM LOVE FRENCH,”

Jody McQuillan says, as she begins her French A class for Sixies. The introductory middle school French class combines language learning with study skill practice, building students’

assembly highlights

confidence not just in French but throughout their academic lives.

McQuillan, who earned a doctorate in French from Brown University, is in her 10th year of teaching at Nobles.

Like all modern language teachers at

the school, she focuses on building “communicative competence,” the ability to speak a second language conversationally. McQuillan explains, “It’s great if the kids can fill out a worksheet, but that’s not going to help them

about the ubiquity of

shoulder—yeah, I see

story of Hanukkah and

to listening to Adam

code and described

you—that’s code.”

described favorite hol-

Sandler’s “Hanukkah

iday traditions, which

Song” on loop.

Cracking the Code

event, information

Nobles’ course offer-

For Computer Sci-

technology and

ings. He joked, “Those

Season of Light

ranged from lighting

ence Week and the

media teacher Andrew

Snapchat pictures

The Jewish Culture

the 12 menorahs in

annual “Hour of Code”

Shumway spoke

you all take over your

Club recounted the

one family’s collection

5 Nobles SPRING 2017

much if they’re in the middle of Paris.”

McQuillan has taught French to pre-kindergarten through college students, but says for middle school that there is a special “joy and a fascination to watching students learn the French language.” She explains the “épiphanie” her students experience when they realize that many French words are similar to their English counterparts. “It helps them appreciate difference across content areas.”

The middle school students learn French through a variety of games (“They don’t even realize they’re learning French,” McQuillan says) and through their ePortfolios, a language-learning tool that McQuillan and Nobles Spanish teacher Laura Yamartino are in their second year of piloting.

The ePortfolio, a collection of digital evidence created and curated by students, enables students to track their language study progress through their years at Nobles.

French A and Spanish A students regularly record themselves speaking their target language, write scripts for their recordings and then write reflections in English about their accomplishments and goals.

The teacher then includes her own remarks on each ePortfolio page.

“They can look back on these when they’re older and see how far they’ve come,” McQuillan explains. The ePortfolios provide continuity through years of language study, enabling communication from one teacher to the next.

They also encourage self-assessment and provide another study tool for new language learners.

Eventually, the French A students may go on to French B and through the upper school French courses, and

maybe up to McQuillan’s honors class, where they will read Molière and analyze World War II French propaganda posters.

However, they first need that love of the language. Using games like a fast, French version of “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and online tools like ePortfolio, McQuillan’s class teaches students the fun of learning French. As one student exclaims in her French language skit, “J’adore la classe de français!”

Cogito Jason Tang ’18 distributed the first issue of Cogito, the new journal published by the International Affairs Club in conjunction with the history and social science department. The journal features studentwritten articles pertaining to current international political issues as well as a collection of essays on a wide range of topics from American history. Paul Apostolicas and Jason Tang, both '18, cocreated the magazine with guidance from history faculty member Hannah Puckett.

Pieces in the issue covered the presidency of Venezuela's Nicholas Maduro, implications of the Korean War, and how The Challenger disaster changed NASA.

Absolute Value

Knowing that a num-

stressful situations.

Denna Strong

inspiring individuals,

the 2016 Women’s

Jill Radley ’18 exam-

ber’s absolute value is

“A refreshing way to

After screening

coaches Tom Resor

Winter Classic.

ined the mathematical

always positive, even

look at it would be to

Chevrolet’s new spot

and Marissa Gedman

“Denna Laing is the

concept of “absolute

if the number itself

say, ‘Take the absolute

featuring hockey

’10 described Laing’s

most resilient hockey

value,” the distance of

is negative, helps

value of that frown!’”

player Denna Laing ’10

courage since a

player I’ve ever

a number from zero.

Radley to reframe

for its ad series about

paralyzing injury at

known,” Resor said.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 6

the bulletin

Clockwise from top left: Co-deans of Diversity Initiatives Edgar De Leon ’04 (left) and Erica Pernell (right) with (left to right) Kevin McCarthy ’74, Lorna Lowe ’90 and Kasib Sabir ’03; De Leon and Sabir share a laugh; Lowe listens to Dineh Pandian ’17

Stories of Identity ON THE FIRST DAY of Black History Month,

three accomplished Nobles graduates of color shared their stories at assembly.

Co-deans of Diversity Edgar De Leon ’04 and Erica Pernell introduced Kevin McCarthy ’74, Kasib Sabir ’03 and Lorna Lowe ’90 P ’22, each of whom had been invited “to tell about an experience that helped them develop a sense of identity during their time at Nobles.” De Leon and Pernell have incorporated the storytelling theme throughout their first year as partners in Nobles’ diversity efforts.

As a psychotherapist and clinical social worker, McCarthy works to improve the lives of individuals living with mental illness and addiction. He recounted early-morning devotionals as a boarder with former Head of School

Eliot Putnam, whose faith in McCarthy’s character and work ethic kept him going. The most significant thing he learned about character at Nobles is “to be intentional about how you treat the people around you, because you have no idea what that person is going to mean to you five, 10, 15 or 20 years down the road. I thank Nobles for the core of my values that I keep close to my heart.”

Sabir now serves as program coordinator for the Boston Public Health Commission, addressing health disparities that impact Boston’s high school students and raising awareness about sexual health. He is also a performance and visual artist whose work centers on personal narratives and social issues.

He shared memories of growing up in

Boston, in a loving, devout Muslim family. At Nobles, he flourished in the arts program, and, like McCarthy, remembered the friendships with fellow boarders and faculty like the Harringtons.

Lowe is a Boston-based filmmaker and lawyer. Her legal practice represents children in the foster care system. Lowe expressed regret that the discriminatory experiences her own family members endured in the 1930s influenced her perception of classmates.

She viewed the school community through a lens of suspicion and fear, she said, and didn’t always give friendships a chance. Now she advocates “leaving those lenses at home and doing one’s best to view people with fresh eyes.”

—KIM NEAL

A Tribute to Dr. King

music and readings

was a way for our

Remembering Jane

two-month anniver-

her passing, Sandler

On January 17,

from his “Letter From

students to con-

Class III students

sary of her passing

painted a Winnie the

students honored

a Birmingham Jail.”

nect the civil rights

Liam Smith, Shirley

by sharing stories

Pooh figure with one

the legacy of Dr.

Co-Dean of Diver-

movement of the

Hu and Lev Sandler

about her creativity,

of his favorite quotes

Martin Luther King, Jr.

sity Erica Pernell

’60s to the issues our

remembered friend

intelligence, humor

in mind: “How lucky I

through narratives,

said, “This assembly

country faces today.”

Jane Song on the

and kindness. After

am to have something

7 Nobles SPRING 2017

WRITERS RETURN TO SPEAK “Rejection doesn’t mean anything about what will happen later.

As part of the Innovation Series, the Nobles Graduates Council It’s just about the right now.” Farizan offered another upside: hosted “Nobles Authors: A Discussion With Dick Baker” on “The great thing about being a writer is that you have to live a January 24. Writers Corey Ann Haydu ’01, Nina MacLaughlin lot to write.” ’97 and Sara Farizan ’03 spoke with longtime English faculty All three writers agreed that Nobles provides a great enviand former Head of School Dick Baker about their writing ronment for the cultivation of creative minds. Although Fariinspirations, struggles and joys. zan struggled with her sexuality throughout high school and As the authors introduced themselves, they described how waited until after graduation to come out, she said, “Everyone their identities influenced their work. Farizan introduced knows everyone here, and there are great relationships that herself to the crowd: “I am Iranian-American; hi. I am gay; hi.” helped build my confidence,” which she explained is necessary Farizan’s If You Could Be Mine and Tell Me Again How a Crush when facing the inevitable moments of rejection or doubt. “It Should Feel present characters with identities as complex as her own. Haydu’s OCD Love Story explores mental health issues was great to have people who got it.” Haydu said the Nobles habit of “saying yes, academically and creatively,” encouraged catalyzed by her own anxiety. MacLaughlin, author of Hammer her experimentation, as with the magical realism in her upcomHead: The Making of a Carpenter, described the desk job that ing novel The Careful Undressing of Love. MacLaughlin praised inspired her interest in carpentry: “All of the hours of my days the teachers who were open to learn from their students, the were spent in front of a computer screen, with the white noise teachers who “met you on your level.” of the Internet washing over me.” However, carpentry posed After discussing the challenges of writing, Baker asked, a new challenge to her identity: “In dirty, ripped and painted clothes, I had a hard time locating my femininity, and even real- “Where is the joy?” MacLaughlin described “the sheer joy of putting words together,” and Haydu told about those moments, izing that was something I wanted to hold on to.” about twice a year, where her drafting finally all makes sense.

Farizan began writing for three reasons: “1: To make myself feel better. 2: To create books that I would have wanted as a kid. “That moment of epiphany is just really beautiful. It’s thrilling to have those childlike moments as an adult.”

And 3: To challenge myself.” Echoing Farizan’s motives, Haydu described reading letters from people who have been helped in some way by her books.

“I try to hold on to that, like, that’s enough.

‘This was really hard for me; it was made easier for you somehow.’ That’s enough.”

The writers all agreed that self-doubt can be the greatest challenge for any writer. “The voice in my head is harder than voices of other people,” Haydu said. MacLaughlin agreed, saying that writing involves “this ongoing battle of crushing those voices down.”

When audience member Adrianna Brown Dick Baker—who taught many grads ’16 shared her interest in writing and asked to write—hosts three Nobles authors. for advice, Haydu shared her hard-won lesson:

that makes saying

Esther Lovett ’18 to

public speaking. She

that’s loyalty; risking

ketball player James

to achieve this; eight

goodbye so hard.”

leave contact sports,

urged, “Look out for

their future is not.”

Mortimer ’17 scored

Nobles girls have

she began

your teammates: If

his one thousandth

also reached this

Hard-Hitting News

raising awareness

someone takes a hard

Thousandth Point

point for the Bulldogs.

milestone.

After two grave

of post-concussion

hit or tells you about

On Saturday, January

He became the ninth

concussions forced

syndrome through

symptoms, speak up:

28 at Andover, bas-

boy in Nobles history

SPRING 2017 Nobles 8

the bulletin

Nicks’ films explore how America’s history has led to, as he says, “different narratives that are now in conflict.”

Groups such as middle-class white Americans, African Americans and immigrants have each risen up to tell their stories, and each group feels it has been marginalized. The issue, Nicks explains, is that “we’re not hearing each other.”

The conflict among those narratives intensifies with the introduction of force.

Soon after Nicks’ team began filming, unrest broke out in Ferguson, Missouri, after the killing of Michael Brown. The call to protest resonated in cities across the nation, but especially in Oakland—

the birthplace of the Black Panthers.

Oakland is a city of both hopes and challenges, as Nicks says, which reflects America in this tumultuous phase in our history. Our success confronting those challenges depends on how we “connect with this common identity of being American.” However, the bombardment of curated social media feeds and incomplete headlines makes it easier to simplify complex situations into right and wrong. “Meaningful discussion and meaningful compromise just don’t seem to exist,” he says.

Filming the clashes between police and their communities, Nicks understood that there were “stereotypes and two-dimensional portraits being created on both sides.” He explains, “People are more comfortable choosing a side. The protesters sing, ‘Whose side are you on?’ while the cops feel misunderstood and attacked and retreat into an ‘us vs. them’ mentality.”

The Force strives to “reflect a complexity, to enter a space that expands the dialogue.” Nicks’ team gained access to the police department with the goal, he says, to “go into that space, observe it, learn about it, and then reflect in a film that shows that environment as we experienced it.”

When all is said and done, the film presents an environment of moral ambiguity. At the start of the film, Police Chief Sean Whent warns recruits, “I don’t want bad cops here. … So much of what we do here is affected by our relationship with the community.” The film documents, in detail, how Whent’s actions reinforce

Unrest in America ON JANUARY 28, Peter Nicks ’86 won

Sundance’s U.S. Documentary Directing Award for his film The Force. Nicks’ film observes the reform efforts of the Oakland Police Department during the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The film is the second in a trilogy created under Nicks’ nonprofit Open’Hood.

It follows his 2012 film, The Waiting Room, a documentary about Oakland’s Highland Hospital. Nicks explains that Open’Hood films seek “to tell the grand narrative of an American city, examining issues of local concern that also reflect national discussions.”

Facing History

promoted policies that

who did not exercise

another thing to do it

returned for the first

to form bubbles that

Mr. Henderson

led to the Immigration

leadership for the pub-

empty of ethics.”

time since 2010

scorched the forearm

recently discovered

Restriction League. He

lic good, though they

with his stomach-

hair off math teacher

that three graduates

said, “Along with many

may have thought they

The Comeback

turning stunts, like

Eric Nguyen. Starr’s

from 1885 (Harvard

distinguished gradu-

were. It’s one thing to

Stevie Starr, a.k.a.

downing lighter

performance sparked

1889) aggressively

ates, we have some

offer leadership; it’s

“The Regurgitator,”

fluid and dish soap

disbelief and delight.

9 Nobles SPRING 2017

his words. Intense training replicates the split-second decisions required of city police every day on the job. Bringing that training to the street, young officer Joe Cairo defuses a situation with an accurately described “extremely confrontational” man. Neighbors record the interaction with their smartphones, while Cairo stands between the man and his would-be victim. At this point, the film evokes sympathy for a police force on the brink of successful reform.

Then tensions rise after a series of questionable police shootings and the news breaks of a network of OPD officers soliciting the services of an underage prostitute. The national news, which had once highlighted the department’s success, turns to its failure.

Although Nicks and his team had stopped filming before the scandal’s revelation, they felt an obligation to pick their cameras back up and complete the story. By recording both sides of these events, The Force seeks “to create spaces for dialogue and understanding, and hold people accountable in ways that are meaningful.” As Nicks explains, “Fighting for justice cannot involve letting the truth take a backseat.”

In the final scenes, Oakland activists meet to discuss the same question posed by the film: Who can successfully reform a police department, and how?

A leader explains to the crowd that cops are inherently bad, but a community member disagrees from the back of the room. “If I’m thinking that there is no hope,” he says, “then why … am I here?”

The Joy of Basketball Members of Nobles’ girls varsity basketball team call the annual Nobles vs. Cotting School game the highlight of their season. The January 6 matchup between Nobles and the Cotting School, a private special-education day school in Lexington, Massachusetts, marked the 10th anniversary of the relationship.

Will Randle ’09, whose sister attended the Cotting School, made the original connection between the two teams. This year, the Cotting School traveled from Lexington for the annual game, which was held in the Rappaport Gymnasium on Nobles’ campus.

The evening included the unveiling of a Cotting banner in the gym, honoring the important relationship between the schools.

“The Cotting School game reminds us about the joy that exists in the game of basketball,” says head coach of Nobles’ girls varsity basketball team Alex Gallagher ’90. “Seeing the Cotting School’s commitment to the game of basketball, and to the kids who play it, and to the coaches who teach it, reminds us at all times that we have to play this game with smiles on our faces and a lot of joy.”

—ALEXIS SULLIVAN

impson accompanied

Salomon working it

"The Best Daddy

by violinist Dane

out to “Fergalicious;”

in the World," with

Fringeworthy

Jacobson, both ’17;

supersonic rap skills

Henry Dolgoff and

went down on bended

Highlights of Fringe

’18 dance trio Shi

from Sabrina Li Shen

Joe Harrington and

rable Nobleman an-

knee for a staged

Fest included ethereal

Williams, Magdalena

’17; and a twisted

directed by Wyatt

nouncements, known

proposal to dance

ballet dancer Ellie St-

Blaise and Matthew

Shel Silverstein skit,

Sullivan, all ’19.

Faux-posal

as occasions for

In what will certainly

practical jokes, math

go down in history as

teacher Chris Pratt ’10

one of the most memo-

PHOTO BY MICHAEL DWYER

teacher Anna Loveys.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 10

the bulletin Talking Sports

Frozen Fenway ON JANUARY 10, Nobles traveled 650

strong to see the girls varsity hockey team face off against Buckingham Browne & Nichols at Frozen Fenway.

Proceeds from the event benefited Denna Laing ’10, a former Nobles, Princeton University and Boston Pride hockey player who suffered a spinal cord injury at the 2016 Women’s Winter Classic.

Laing was playing a historic game for women’s hockey at Gillette Stadium when she lost her footing and crashed into the boards, sustaining major spinal cord injuries. Her recovery has been long and difficult, but her hopefulness has inspired many. She has won the National Women’s Hockey League Foundation Award and Perseverance Award, and, most recently, the Dana Reeve Hope Award.

11 Nobles SPRING 2017

One year after the accident, 13 buses carried Nobles students and faculty to support Laing at Frozen Fenway. Nobles’ all-female a cappella singing group, Greensleeves, performed the national anthem to a crowd of tightly bundledup supporters. Laing, announced as “an inspiration to all of us and the reason we are here today,” rolled onto the rink and dropped the puck to start the game. Both teams took to the rink wearing Laing’s Boston Pride number 24, each jersey labeled “Denna Strong.”

With a score by Bridget Doherty ’17, two scores by Becca Gilmore ’17, a score by Courtney Hyland ’19, and 22 saves by Nobles’ three goalies, Nobles earned a 4–1 win over BB&N for the exhibition game.

On January 18, legendary sportswriter Jackie “Mac” MacMullan spoke to students at long assembly. She recounted the moment her father told her to call the local newspaper editor and ask why girls’ sports weren’t covered. That conversation landed then-high-schooler MacMullan her first sportswriting gig.

A longtime Boston Globe sportswriter, MacMullan has also written for the NBA, ESPN.com and Sports Illustrated, in addition to being a sports correspondent for several networks and a panelist on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.” She shared tales about some of her favorite subjects (yes, that’s you, Larry Bird) and how accuracy is paramount, even in the age of social media. “It’s not about being first,” she said. “It’s about being right.”

DELICIOUS AND NUTRITIOUS FLIK, the longtime dining-service provider at Nobles, has earned a Center for Excellence designation from its parent company, Compass. Considered the best in their sectors, sites with the Center for Exellence designation are used for training and benchmarking, and as showcase accounts. “As far as the Nobles evaluation went, the score was almost perfect,” said Alice Correri from the Compass/Centers for Excellence team.

“All audits were over 95 percent. The team, led by Executive Director Matthew Burek, was passionate and engaged in serving Nobles’ students,” she said. The Nobles team is one of only two independent schools teams to earn this honor nationwide.

She Kills Monsters The Nobles Theatre Collective’s middle school production opened February 8. She Kills Monsters, by Qui Nguyen, starred Armaan Bhojwani ’22, Ellen Efstathiou ’21, Isabela Fitzgerald ’22, Adelaide Gifford ’21, Alex Halaby ’21, Norah Jankey ’22, Claire Mao ’22, Henry Patterson ’21, Zoe Sims Rhodes ’22 and Sophie Streeter ’22. The show

tells the story of high-schooler Agnes Evans and how she copes with the death of her younger sister, Tilly. When Agnes stumbles upon Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister’s refuge.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 12

the bulletin

Singing Shrek This winter’s Nobles Theatre Collective production, Shrek the Musical, featured a large cast in fantastical costumes singing and dancing to chipper tunes with talented accompaniment from the orchestra. The play follows Shrek’s adventures with a chatty pink donkey as he accidentally saves the land of Duloc.

At the beginning, Shrek’s existence avoiding confrontation from pitchfork-wielding villagers is disrupted when the knights of Duloc discard a collection of fairytale freaks in his swamp.

Shrek trudges to Duloc to demand Lord Farquaad vacate the unwilling intruders. However, seeing an opportunity in the oversized ogre, Lord Farquaad sends Shrek to rescue Princess Fiona from her brimstone-surrounded and dragon-protected tower.

While Shrek’s adventures prove he is as layered as an onion, sundown reveals the multiple dimensions of Princess Fiona, too.

Their unlikely love story won a standing ovation.

13 Nobles SPRING 2017

Pictured are Camille Fougere '17 as Donkey and Harrison Chisholm '17 as Shrek.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 14

off the shelf

Through the Trees AND AGAIN: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE HARVARD FOREST

BY JOHN HIRSCH

Harvard University Press In his first monograph, visual arts department chair John Hirsch chronicles the research, scientists and ephemera of the Harvard Forest—a 3,750-acre research forest in Petersham, Massachusetts. Essays by David Foster, Clarisse Hart and Margot Anne Kelley expand the scope of this exploration at the nexus of science and art.

Foster, who is director of the Harvard Forest, writes in the book’s introduction: “Harvard Forest operates under the aegis of Harvard University, and has 15 Nobles SPRING 2017

become a source of significant longrange data about New England’s changing ecosystems and climate.

The key product that the land now makes available is not organic; it is information and knowledge about the natural world. But just as the white pines transformed the value of the land in ways its owners could not have anticipated, the observations and experiments taking place at Harvard Forest offer us more than data.”

“John Hirsch’s photographs are one of those offerings. Hirsch opens this book with an epigraph from [botanist Hugh] Raup’s essay: ‘… and again the land did not change, except in terms of the human values of the

time.’ It’s a fabulous line—sonorous and pithy—and I think I understand Raup’s point,” writes Kelley. “Tracing the deforestation and reforestation of those acres, thinking about how it became valued within one economic order, only to lose that value, and then to become valued for very different attributes, it’s clear we humans have been inconstant, our commitment to the place shifting with circumstances.”

Through his photographs and the accompanying essay, Hirsch is attentive to both the quixotic and the beautiful, and he has created a body of work that is about a desire to understand, describe and predict the evolution of our surroundings, while showing reverence for

DESIGNED TO MOTIVATE, TEACH, INSPIRE INSPIRE ME!

BY PAUL AYOUB ’74 AND LIZZIE AYOUB ’12

(Humble Hue Press)

the possibility of sublime moments in a place. The forest here is a microcosm for the world in which we live, and this work helps us envision the future we may inhabit, making the book a useful and engaging vantage point from which to consider pressing issues of climate change, ecosystem resilience, and land and water use. The book is 136 pages, 10” x 8.25,” case-bound, and printed using environmentally friendly FSC-certified materials.

The monograph will be available through Harvard University Press. See more about the project at www.johnphirsch.com or email Hirsch at jhirsch@nobles.edu.

Inspire Me! is a compilation of inspiring quotes from world leaders, young bloggers and everyone in between.

The Ayoub father-daughter team is proud to have published this volume with the goal of inspiring others— and benefiting their favorite cause: All profits from this book will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

In their introduction to the book, the Ayoubs talk about what inspired them to collect and share such wisdom.

“We always have been passionate about quotations and the power they have to change attitudes, minds and lives,” they write. “Over the years, we have gathered dozens of quote books and inspirational sayings from various sources. They line our bookshelves, cover our walls and fill our notebooks. Why are we so enamored of quotations? Perhaps, as 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said, ‘The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations.’ In the words of 16th-century Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, quotations, at their core, are ‘short sentences drawn from long experiences.’”

The Ayoub family’s connection to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital began in 1957, when Joseph Ayoub, Paul’s father, met entertainer Danny Thomas and other first-generation Americans of Lebanese and Syrian heritage in Chicago. Thomas had a plan to build a hospital in Memphis for the sickest of children. Five years later, in 1962, the hospital opened with a mission of serving children whose families could not pay for their care.

ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is now among the largest nonprofit organizations in the United States. Today, St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

The Ayoub family’s support of and leadership at the hospital have continued for decades. Paul currently serves as the chair of the national board of directors of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Inspire Me! is available at amazon.com.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 16

my books...

READING HISTORY

BY NAHYON LEE AND HANNAH PUCKETT, HISTORY FACULTY MEMBERS

Bob Henderson has taught AP European History for 17 years at Nobles. In his class, he uses European history texts as a vehicle to challenge students’ worldviews, encouraging them to consider what they would have done—and why—if they had been alive to witness pivotal historical moments. In that spirit, here are five books that illustrate Henderson's contributions to the AP European History curriculum at Nobles, and his influence on how his colleagues teach the course.

THE PRINCE, BY NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI The Prince is a fun, vivid primary source that introduces students to political philosophy and the nature of human interaction within societies and political systems. Machiavelli has always featured prominently in the course, but having students read the text in its entirety gives them a much better sense of what was going on in 15th- and 16th-century Italy, which was in turmoil due to constant infighting between Italian states and attacks by other European kings. This context is essential to understanding why he asserts that “the ends justify the means” when it comes to effective leadership. Especially in a modern world, where political labels remain so impregnable, The Prince forces students to question why they believe what they believe about good leadership and governance.

IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS, BY ERIK LARSON A historical account with a narrative feel, In the Garden of Beasts follows William Dodd, the first U.S. ambassador to Hitler’s Germany.

Through the eyes of two Americans living in Berlin, we can come to some understanding of how Hitler’s takeover could have happened.

Why did people stop speaking up? How did Hitler use and exploit already-existing fear? The lessons of this book teach students that the atrocities of the Second World War could happen anywhere people no longer hold themselves accountable for the creation and sustainability of their own democratic institutions.

Bob’s classes emphasize the narrative arc of history, that civilization is steadily making progress, even as it also overcomes setbacks. He teaches his students that individuals influence and drive that progress; the individual plays an essential role in shaping his or her environment.

A WORLD LIT ONLY BY FIRE, BY WILLIAM MANCHESTER A World Lit Only by Fire is noteworthy for its depiction of the transition between the medieval and Renaissance worlds. Although many historians have challenged A World Lit Only by Fire's narrative of sudden and definitive transformation between the medieval and Renaissance worlds, the book still raises an important assertion

17 Nobles SPRING 2017

that the Renaissance was a pivotal moment, a shattering of an older worldview.

Bob loves historical characters. In this work, Bob uses the character of Magellan to teach about the power of the individual.

Magellan became a sailor and expert naval officer in Spain in the 16th century; 500 years later, he is a legend.

“THE ENGLISH BOURGEOIS REVOLUTION: A MARXIST INTERPRETATION,” BY CHRISTOPHER HILL, FROM ORIGINS OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR One of Bob’s most notable strengths as a teacher is his ability to gently challenge his students’ preconceived notions about how the world works. Christopher Hill’s article on the English Civil War broke ranks with traditional interpretations of 17th-century England. It examines the English Civil War as one of the first “class wars,” and thus an early Communist revolution of sorts. As a Marxist, Hill places this moment within a historically determined series of events throughout history to argue that this was but one step in the eventual, and inevitable, overthrow of the bourgeoisie. Analyzing events and actions in the 17th century as primarily economically motivated, Hill demonstrates that history is constantly evolving based on the lens through which the historian views the past.

KING LEOPOLD’S GHOST: A STORY OF GREED, TERROR, AND HEROISM IN COLONIAL AFRICA, BY ADAM HOCHSCHILD Texts such as King Leopold’s Ghost, another suggested reading from Bob, have helped steer the course away from an entirely Eurocentric understanding of the world to one that allows for criticism and skepticism of major events in the history of Europe.

This particular story, about the brutality with which King Leopold of Belgium colonized the Congo in the late 19th century’s “scramble for Africa,” reconsidered the narrative of European leaders as great “civilizers” with humanitarian missions to improve the lives of Africans. Texts such as Hochschild’s have pushed students to evaluate how remnants of colonialism remain present in the 21st century in different forms.

bob by the numbers

Number of times he’s broken his leg

<10

3

sick days in 17 years

~$100 MILLION

36.21%

added to the endowment during his tenure

Percentage of Bob's life spent at Nobles, from his soccer days to his parting moments as head of school

Number of building projects completed from 2000 to 2017

12

391 246

Times he’s led Monday morning assembly

Number of AP European History students that Bob has taught over the years

8-4 Boys soccer record when he coached in ’81

40

Alumni Prize (for excellence in History) awards given since he won it himself in 1976

SPRING 2017 Nobles 18

sports

On the Playing Fields ALPINE SKIING

All-League: James Mortimer and

Girls Overall Record: 31-3 (ISL Champions, 7th consecutive year); NEPSAC Class A Championship 8th Place Boys Overall Record: 21-25 (6th in ISL) NEPSAC Class A Championship 8th Place All-League: Reese Dickinson ’20, Izzy Kocher ’18 and Sophia Kocher ’17 Honorable Mention: Colby Conley ’17 All-Scholastic ISL: Izzy Kocher ’18 All-New England: Izzy Kocher ’18 Awards: James H. Bride Ski Bowl (for enthusiasm, spirit and sportsmanship): Colby Conley and Sophia Kocher, both ’17. Coaches’ Award (for selfless attitude and consistent effort): Sonia Lingos-Utley ’17, Rachel Nahirny ’17 and Patrick Stevenson ’18 2017 Captains: Dani Abouhamad, Izzy Kocher, Caroline Patterson and Patrick Stevenson, all ’18

Honorable Mention: Franklin Holgate ’17 Awards: Clarke Bowl (for contribution

BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL Overall Record: 17-9 ISL Record: 9-6, NEPSAC Class A

Tournament 7 Seed

Alijah Rue, both ’17

to team spirit): Max Keating ’17.

1983-’84 Basketball Award (for the player who best exemplifies the spirit, dedication, determination, attitude and improvement of the 1983-’84 team): Franklin Holgate ’17 2017 Captains: TBA GIRLS VARSITY BASKETBALL Overall Record: 23-3 ISL Record: 12-0 (ISL Champions, 14th

consecutive year); NEPSAC Champions (6th consecutive year, 1st for Class AA Tournament) All-League: Caroline Ducharme ’21, Amaya Finklea ’17 and Marnelle Garraud ’18 Honorable Mention: Ashley Ducharme and Charlotte MacDonald, both ’18 All-Scholastic ISL: Amaya Finklea ’17 All-New England: Caroline Ducharme ’21, Amaya Finklea ’17 and Marnelle Garraud ’18

Season Highlights

Colby Conley '17

NEPSAC MVP: Marnelle Garraud ’18 Awards: Seadale Bowl (given by the

Seadale family for overall contribution to the basketball program): Amaya Finklea ’17. Richard Nickerson Award (in honor of the long-time coach, awarded to a non-senior for courage and determination): Ashley Ducharme ’18 2017 Captains: Ashley Ducharme, Maya Keenan-Gallagher and Bridget Mussafer, all ’18 BOYS VARSITY HOCKEY Overall Record: 10-17 ISL Record: 4-8 All-League: Jerry Harding ’18 and

Patrick Moynihan ’19

Honorable Mention: Ryan Heath ’17 Awards: Terry Flaman Award (for the JV

player who demonstrates spirit, enthusiasm and love of hockey as exemplified by Terry Flaman): Ryan Cook and Jake Fogarty, both ’17. 1974 Award (for improvement in hockey): Ben Rice ’18.

Sziklas Hockey Trophy (for contribution to the team): Ryan Heath ’17 2017 Captains: TBA

For a fifth consecutive year, all of the girls varsity programs swept ISL championships.

GIRLS VARSITY HOCKEY ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■

GV squash won their fifth straight ISL championship.

GV hockey won their 18th straight ISL championship.

GV basketball won their 14th straight ISL championship and their 6th straight New England championship in the inaugural Super 4 Class AA tournament.

Girls alpine skiing won their seventh straight ISL championship.

Cam Camacho ’18 and David Yeh ’18 won Graves-Kelsey wrestling championships.

Amaya Finklea ’17 and James Mortimer ’17 each surpassed the 1,000-point milestone.

Gracie Doyle ’17 won the NEISA Girls’ A Division squash championship.

19 Nobles SPRING 2017

Overall Record: 24-5-1 ISL Record: 11-0-0 (ISL Champions,

18th consecutive year) All-League: Lily Farden ’19, Becca Gilmore ’17, Casey O’Brien ’20 and Katie Tresca ’18 Honorable Mention: Courtney Hyland ’19 and Stephanie Nomicos ’18 All-Scholastic ISL: Becca Gilmore ’17

David Yeh '18

Gracie Doyle '17

NEPSAC Division I First Team: Lily

Farden ’19 and Becca Gilmore ’17

NEPSAC Division I Second Team:

Casey O’Brien ’20 and Kelly Pickreign ’18

Boston Bruins John Carlton Award:

Becca Gilmore ’17 Awards: Anne Dudley Newell Hockey Cup (for dedication and excellence): Danielle Brown ’17, Tia Dawson ’17, Bridget Doherty ’17, Becca Gilmore ’17 2017 Captains: TBA BOYS VARSITY SQUASH Overall Record: 12-2 ISL Record: 8-1 (2nd in ISL); NEISA

Class A 3rd Place All-League: Reg Anderson ’17 and Patrick McElroy ’18 Honorable Mention: Luc White ’19, Cole Koeppel ’19, Ryan Santoro ’18 and Jackson Smith ’19 Awards: Cutler Cup (awarded to the member of the team who has shown the greatest devotion to the sport): Reg Anderson ’17 2017 Captains: Oliver Constable, Patrick McElroy and Ryan Santoro, all ’18 GIRLS VARSITY SQUASH Overall Record: 12-1 ISL Record: 7-0 (ISL Champions, fifth

consecutive year); NEISA Class A 3rd place; Division I Nationals semifinalists All-League: Jesse Brownell ’19, Gracie Doyle ’17, Sara Keene ’17 and Alexis Lazor ’17 Honorable Mention: Isabel Kelly ’19 and Elizabeth Paglione ’17 Awards: Cutler Cup (awarded to the

Girls varsity basketball celebrates their NEPSAC semifinal win over Tabor.

member of the team who has shown the greatest devotion to the sport): Gracie Doyle ’17. Holleran Trophy (awarded to the top girls player in New England, given in honor of Demer Holleran, one of the most dominant players in U.S. squash history): Gracie Doyle ’17 2017 Captains: TBA VARSITY WRESTLING Overall Record: 14-4 ISL Record: 9-3, 4th place team

at Graves-Kelsey Tournament All-League: Cam Camacho ’18 (GravesKelsey 1st place at 145 lbs) and David Yeh ’18 (Graves-Kelsey 1st place at 120 lbs) Honorable Mention: Bassam Qasrawi ’19 (Graves-Kelsey 3rd place at 160 lbs), Ethan Porter ’19 (Graves-Kelsey 3rd place at 113 lbs), Michael Welch ’18 (Graves-Kelsey 3rd place at 182 lbs)

and Ryan Flynn ’18 (Graves-Kelsey 3rd place at 152 lbs) Additional Graves-Kelsey Place Finishers:

Christopher Millay ’20 (6th place at 126 lbs), Ian Riley ’18 (5th place at 170 lbs) and Leighton Graham ’19 (5th place at 285 lbs) All-New England: Ethan Porter ’19 (6th), David Yeh ’18 (2nd), Cam Camacho ’18 (7th) and Bassam Qasrawi ’19 (8th) Awards: Warren E. Storer Award (for hard work and improvement): Ethan Porter ’19 and Cam Camacho ’18.

Wilbur F. Storer Award (for the most outstanding wrestler): David Yeh ’18.

Steve Toubman Award (for sportsmanship, leadership and dedication to wrestling, exemplified by Coach Toubman’s 36-year coaching career): Clay Mizgerd ’17 2017 Captains: Cam Camacho and David Yeh, both ’18

SPRING 2017 Nobles 20

development

Celebrating Another “Last Time” Head of School Robert P. Henderson ’76 and his wife, Ross, hosted the 42nd annual Head of School Dinner at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on April 8, 2017. The event was his last as a host, but his first as the guest of honor. Nearly 300 supporters attended the black-tie event. This year, the Hendersons were joined by their sons Paul ’13, and Patrick and David, both ’16, and by his parents Carol and Robert, brothers John ’78, Peter ’82 and Ted ’85 as well as many other family members.

THE EVENING FEATURED a preview of “Matisse in the Studio,” a rare international exhibition that examines the roles that objects from the artist’s personal collection played in his art.

Beth Reilly ’87, president of the board of trustees, opened the after-

20 Nobles SPRING 2017

dinner program with a welcome to graduates, parents and other guests and an announcement that the Arts Center—part of Henderson’s vision for the school—will now be named the Henderson Arts Center.

Longtime board member and

friend Ernie Parizeau H’15 feted Henderson with “Fog,” remarks which illustrated Henderson’s leadership.

“Bob Henderson is a one-man Swiss Army knife of leadership,” said Parizeau. “He made it look easy, and I know it’s not easy…My dear friend Bob Henderson is a hero.”

Bill Bussey, longtime Nobles provost, also honored Henderson. “Bob’s commitment to making Nobles a more diverse community has breathed a genuine intellectual, social and cultural energy in all areas of school life…But for my colleagues the true tale hallmark

HALL OF FAME Each spring, new members of the Hall of Fame are inducted at Reunion. The following athletes will be honored on May 13.

Bob Bland ’58 was a standout hockey goalie during the 1950s and an all-around great player, collecting a total of seven varsity letters during his Nobles tenure.

He was captain of the hockey team his Class I year when he made 265 saves, allowed only 20 goals, and carried an impressive 93 save percentage. Bland followed up his stellar hockey career at Nobles with four great years of play at Harvard. He led the Crimson to two Beanpot Championships in 1960 and 1962, and is a member of the Beanpot Hall of Fame.

Leanna Coskren ’07 was a nine-time varsity athlete

in her four years at Nobles, dominating her opponents no matter what sport she was playing. Her top sport, however, was hockey, where she played all four years on the varsity team, accumulating 41 goals and 66 assists over 91 games. She was captain of the hockey team her senior year and received the Shield Award upon graduation. Coskren also played three seasons of field hockey and two seasons of softball. She went on to play four years of hockey at Harvard.

of Bob’s legacy is his generosity toward others when they need it the most.”

Henderson also addressed the crowd and thanked them for their support. He thanked his parents, his predecessors Dick Baker and the late Ted Gleason—and he welcomed his successor, Catherine J. Hall, who also attended the event.

Henderson then acknowledged his wife, with whom he has shared the independent school journey since the early ’90s. “[Thank you to] my best friend and the love of my life, Ross,” he said.

Rob Owen ’07 is the all-time leading scorer in ISL boys lacrosse history. With 215 goals and 104 assists, Rob remains the best lacrosse player that the ISL has ever seen. He was a two-time All-American, two-time ISL Champion and five-time First Team All-ISL selection. In addition to lacrosse, Owen was the running back for the football team for three years, accumulating more than 2,100 yards and 20 touchdowns. Rob continued his lacrosse career at Princeton.

Tim Carey, a legendary classroom teacher, also commanded respect on the playing field as a coach. He was the boys varsity soccer coach from 1977 to 1984, racking up two ISL titles and making it further in the New England playoffs than any other ISL team had before them. He founded the squash program at Nobles in 1982 with Deb Harrison, building the foundation for the extremely successful program the school knows today.

His greatest coaching achievements, however, came when he helmed the girls varsity soccer team into the early ’90s and as an assistant in the 2010s, when he accumulated numerous ISL and New England titles.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 21

perspectives

The Crisis in the Humanities

A Self-Inflicted Wound? BY MIKE KALIN, HISTORY FACULTY MEMBER “I enjoy reading, but I hate reading books for English classes,” a student wrote on a survey at the beginning of school last year. This comment, conveying a sentiment that I’ve increasingly encountered from students, lends itself to a few interpretations. Maybe Facebook posts and tweets have replaced newspapers and books as sources of information, destroying students’ attention spans. Or maybe the dream of one day working at Google has made humanities courses seem irrelevant to job prospects. But these explanations, pervasive among commentators attempting to explain the record low number of humanities majors at universities across the country, are insufficient.

W

hile the allure of Silicon Valley undoubtedly attracts students, I’ve come to believe that the declining interest in the humanities at both the secondary and postsecondary levels is primarily a self-inflicted wound. Many educators, myself included, often employ teaching methods that alienate students and make them feel as though the only reason for reading literature or studying history is to earn an A on dreaded analytical essays.

Only by reexamining how and why we teach the humanities will students reaffirm their commitment to courses that have long played an integral part in a liberal arts education.

A brief turn to the history of literary criticism helps explain how we’ve arrived at the perceived crisis in the humanities. The type of analysis most commonly taught to middle and high school students emerged in the mid-20th century with the rise of New Criticism, 22 Nobles SPRING 2017

an interpretative approach that focuses solely on textual evidence and excludes any exploration of authorial intention or historical context. Primarily a group of elite intellectuals skeptical of mass media and pop culture, the original New Critics attempted to elevate literary criticism to the level of a science, focusing on the function of patterns, motifs, imagery and symbols that contribute to the structure of a text.

Many decades later, the New Criticism movement continues to influence how we teach literature. Here is a representative prompt from a recent AP English Literature and Composition test: “Select a novel or play, and focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole.”

Adhering to the New Criticism tradition, this prompt requires students to focus only on the text itself and disregard any observations about cultural context, authorial intent or historical relevance.

There is nothing inherently insidious about this prompt. To write an effective response, students must possess nuanced critical reading and writing skills and demonstrate knowledge of literary terms. The problem, however, is that when such prompts become our default method of assessment, we signal students that a sophisticated understanding of literature demands that they disregard their personal connections to a text or their curiosities about how a text might have influenced its readers.

These traditional academic prompts also obligate students to communicate their ideas in perplexing academic language that Gerald Graff in Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind describes as “Academese.” When we force students only to use formal literary terms in their essays, Graff suggests that we distort the world of academia “by making its ideas, problems, and ways of thinking look more opaque, narrowly specialized, and beyond normal learning capacities than they are or need to be.” If students believe that they must turn themselves into eggheads who communicate in an entirely foreign discourse, it is no surprise that many disengage from their humanities classes.

In order to reinvigorate the study of literature, and the humanities in general,

Mike Kalin leads discussion in senior elective Literature and Leadership.

we must acknowledge the shortcomings of the New Critics and recommit ourselves to the purpose of the liberal arts that the ancient Greeks proposed long ago: the cultivation of virtue, empathy and character. The philosopher Martha Nussbaum’s concept of “narrative imagination” helps to illustrate this idea. In her book Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education, Nussbaum argues that when students possess a narrative imagination, they demonstrate “the ability to think what it might be like to be in the shoes of a person different from oneself, to be an intelligent reader of that person’s story, and to understand the emotions and wishes and desires that someone so placed might have.”

Literature courses especially, Nussbaum proposes, equip students with these abilities. “Literary imagining both inspires intense concern with the fate of characters and defines those characters as containing a richer inner life, not all of which is open to view; in the process, the reader learns to have respect for the hidden concepts of the inner world,” Nussbaum writes. This framework prioritizes the development of empathy as a fundamental goal of humanistic inquiry.

What might this theoretical framework look like? In an American litera-

ture course, students would read The Great Gatsby not only to analyze the symbolism of the green light or the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg but also to explore questions about the role of wealth and money in our pursuit of the American dream. Students might discuss if money leads to happiness or the economic disparities between social classes in the Gilded Age and in today’s society. Educators might ask students to write from the perspective of one of the poor workers excluded from the glamorous world of Jay Gatsby. All of these exercises allow students to explore connections beyond the narrow confines of the text.

This approach can benefit students in other humanities disciplines as well. In history, teachers have traditionally felt pressure to cover extensive amounts of information, requiring students to memorize a disconnected series of historical figures, events and dates. In Why Don’t Students Like School?, Daniel Willingham notes that this practice undermines students’ interest in a discipline such as history “by making students miserable and by encouraging the belief that school is a place of boredom and drudgery, not excitement and discovery.” Rather than a pedagogy that demands rote memorization, a teaching approach in history that encourages students to make con-

nections between the past and present increases the likelihood that students will engage in the material.

In a middle school U.S. history course, for example, students would study the Civil Rights Movement not only to evaluate arguments about the causes and effects of protests in the 1950s and 1960s but also to discuss the efficacy of nonviolent resistance in the pursuit of social justice. They might compare the strategies of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to the tactics currently employed by the Black Lives Matter movement. Or students might write a speech from the perspective of Malcolm X that conveys how he would propose pursuing social change in the United States today.

Exercises such as these provide students the opportunity to make connections between historical developments and contemporary events. Students are also exposed to perspectives different from their own. Rather than requiring students to assume the role of detached observers who speak only in Academese, these exercises place the cultivation of character and virtue at the forefront of a humanities education.

Some educators express skepticism about this type of pedagogy. One objection is that teachers sacrifice academic rigor when they encourage students to make personal connections to texts or historical events. We have all witnessed student discussions in which every comment seems to begin with “This story reminds me of the time when…,” followed by a digression that feels totally irrelevant to a learning objective.

Admittedly, such moments can be frustrating. However, while it is tempting to blame students when these tangents occur, we need to assume responsibility for the success or failure of these discussions, especially when students are sharing their own experiences. “Like a fine tapestry, a productive discussion does not just happen; it results from SPRING 2017 Nobles 23

perspectives

planning and skilled craftsmanship,” write Beth Sattes and Jackie Walsh in Questioning for Classroom Discussion. With intentional techniques and strategies, including the use of protocols, teachers can ensure that students offer their personal connections to materials while remaining cognizant of the broader topic presented.

Finally, some educators caution that we reduce texts to a series of sound bites, self-help clichés and even political polemics when we emphasize how the humanities can inform one’s philosophical and moral convictions.

But this valid concern usually has more to do with the selection of the text or subject itself, rather than the choice of pedagogy. By choosing literary texts or historical dilemmas that lend themselves to complex examination, educators create a culture that invites dissent and multiple perspectives.

One would be naive to expect that the current drift away from the humanities will change overnight. New technological discoveries will only make Silicon Valley more attractive to students, and foundations will continue to pour money into STEM initiatives at both public and private institutions. These trends make it all the more imperative that we engage in the rigorous self-reflection that we expect of our students.

The current political and social climate in our country adds a layer of urgency to this work. As unprecedented levels of polarization sweep the nation, a rich humanities education can provide students with the habits of mind and disposition required to counter the prevailing divisiveness, including the ability to listen carefully to others, the willingness to embrace new perspectives, an appreciation of pluralism and a commitment to social justice. By integrating these capacities into our curricula, we will fulfill a critical responsibility—putting the “human” back into the humanities.

24 Nobles SPRING 2017

Leaving a Trace Just Take Five BY VICKY SEELEN, ENGLISH FACULTY

For more than 20 years, my English classes have begun: “Journals, please. Five minutes. Ready. Go.” I record daily.

Date. Time. Weather. Our transition. Our respite.

Our time for reflection. For privacy. For working it out.

F

ive minutes each day in my English classes adds up. Over days. Months. Semesters. Misha Kaufman ’08, writes, “Keeping a journal allowed a space to reflect and get out of my head. It took time for me to organize my thoughts and look back and reflect on past situations. I journal daily now as a way to compile my goals, study where I am, and collect nuggets from my day. I believe that a day doesn’t exist if you don’t write about it, because, as the years go by, it will become a blur. Journaling allowed me to capture moments in time that were wonderful.”

I introduce the journal by sharing some of my own and talking about the possibility of my students finding theirs in a box 10, 15, even 20 years from now. This becomes an artifact of their life of the mind. Alexis Shaak Wiggins ’95 writes, “It was one of the few assignments/activities I remember from high school. It had deep significance for me and is a lovely record of my youth. … I think it was a necessary outlet during the difficult teenage years and helped me make sense of it—love, loss, parents, frenemies and the general sense of ennui, hope and self-loathing that went with being 16.” Now a teacher in Saudi Arabia, Wiggins continues, “I have all three of them on my shelf with my favorite books. I cringe on every page. It gives me empathy for my own high school students. I was going through so many things in my life that no one knew anything about at school, and I try to keep this in mind when my students don’t reach their highest potential.” She then says, “I love the permanence of the journal.”

My own journal writing began long before I came to Nobles, but it was the Swayzes’ [former faculty Joe and Joanna] journals that inspired me to pick up the glue stick, scissors and colored pens, to give to my journals color and texture as well as words. Thus I began my inclass writing as well as my separate “at home” journals. The practice.

The meditation. The ritual. The leaving a trace.

What we discover in our writing, what impels us to write, what needs to be said, examined, grown. This is where we go in our sacred time of quiet. For the first five minutes of every class. Still.

FROM ANNOYANCE TO ELATION

BY E.B. BARTELS ’06

On that fateful day in September 2003, when Vicky Seelen first announced to my sophomore English class that we would be keeping journals as part of our course, I was annoyed. You would have thought I’d have been delighted—I had written in journals on and off since I had been able to write—but I had started writing in a journal daily in August 2001, the summer before I was in eighth grade. By the time I landed in Ms. Seelen’s class, I was already two years and a dozen volumes deep, and I didn’t like the idea of some teacher messing with my journaling system. At age 15, I had some elitist ideas about journals. I had decided that I wanted to be a writer, and that in order to be a writer, I needed to write every single day. To put it in the most pretentious of terms, journals were a place to practice my craft. I was suspicious of any journal that was assigned as part of a course. I had fallen for those English class “journals” before—teachers talked a big game

about how these class “journals” would be our space for reflection, but every time, teachers ended up forcing you to fill the page with written responses to Shakespeare plays. They were glorified homework notebooks, not journals.

But Ms. Seelen’s class was different. Each day I would arrive in English, and we would begin with five minutes of journaling. Ms. Seelen told us she didn’t care what we wrote about, if we used profanity, if we waxed poetic about our crushes, even if all we did was use the time to write about how much we hated writing in our journals, as long as we were quiet (going into the “cone of silence”) and as long as we were writing.

There was some resistance at first—that buoyant sophomoric energy was hard to harness—but after only a week, journaling had taken on a sacred atmosphere.

We came into Ms. Seelen’s class quietly, respectfully, like how one enters a church when a service is already in progress.

We would pick up our journals from the pile over by the window and get to work.

Ms. Seelen insisted on large 9”x12” black sketchbooks with thick, blank pages. No lines. Ms. Seelen showed us pages from her decades worth of journals—text written with colorful pens, lines of prose at intersecting angles, ticket stubs, scraps of paper and photos taped in as part of the design. Ms. Seelen encouraged us to keep a glue stick with our journals, to paste in things that we thought were unimportant now but would remind us later of our former selves.

Up until then, I had been plugging through volumes of journals, filling them up with scribbled words, dutifully following the lines on each page, unaware that there was more than one way to keep a journal. I was becoming a better writer, I thought. That was what I kept telling myself. But in Ms. Seelen’s class, I learned that a journal didn’t have to just be about the words—the whole thing SPRING 2017 Nobles 25

perspectives

could be a work of art, an artifact. And journaling didn’t have to be a chore— before Ms. Seelen’s class, I would dutifully write each night before bed, checking off a box on my to-do list. But those five minutes at the beginning of sophomore English changed my perspective on what the act of journaling was all about. As a teenager, my thoughts were racing constantly. I was preoccupied with crushes, friends’ depression, my own anxiety, and in classes, I was often only mentally present for about 10 percent of the time. I spent more time in Chem thinking about my chemistry with that boy that sat near me in assembly than about the periodic table. (Sorry, Ms. McElwee.)

I became so grateful to Ms. Seelen for giving us that time for ourselves. The pace of high school in general, but particularly Nobles, was blistering: going from class to class to class, rushing to grab half a bagel at lunch, and then trying to finish up last bits of homework, hurrying to afternoon program as soon as school ended, never stopping for anything, just go, go, go, go, from 7:30 in the morning to 6:30 at night.

The five minutes of journaling in Vicky’s class gave us a moment to catch our breath and to just be ourselves. I could scribble down my preoccupied thoughts— Well, I have a crush on so-and-so, but he has a crush on such-and-such, but she has a crush on—and I found that after getting all that out, having five minutes to pour myself onto the page, I was then a better English student. I could turn my attention to Macbeth after taking that time for me. In Ms. Seelen’s class, I realized that journaling wasn’t just something to check off my to-do list every day, but something I needed to do for my own sanity.

Journaling became a way for me to capture myself at a certain moment in time, to keep track of the things most important to me as a 15- and 16-year-old, and it was a way to find relief.

26 Nobles SPRING 2017

I ended up in Vicky’s classroom again my senior year, for her creative writing elective. She told the class that, once again, we would be journaling. This time I wasn’t annoyed—I was elated. I dug up my big journal from sophomore year, which was only about halfway full, and flipped it over, working from the back into the middle. Sometimes I would flip back to the sophomore section, amazed at how much I had grown over the course of only two years—the things I thought were important when I was 15 seemed silly to me now at newly 18. And I saw that my theory was true: I had become a better writer. Comparing my sophomoric ramblings to my senior entries, I could see a stark difference. I was more coherent, thoughtful, concise and clear. But even with all

that, I found that the most important part about journaling remained the same: Those few minutes each day I had at the beginning of Ms. Seelen’s class to write and reflect were sacred—especially in senior spring, when I was dealing with the ups and downs of the college admission process, figuring out what life might be like after Nobles. Journaling was perhaps the most important to me then than it had ever been in my life. It stabilized me.

Fresh out of college, I got a job as a teaching fellow at a small, nonprofit, tuition-free school in Dorchester. I was assigned to teach fifth and sixth grade English and literature, and, besides that, was given very little instruction on how to run my courses or even what to cover.

The freedom was exciting, but also com-

“ Journaling became a way for me to capture myself at a certain moment in time, to keep track of the things most important to me as a 15- and 16-year-old.” —E.B. BARTELS ’06

The journals of E.B. Bartels ’06 (at left) show the influence of her teacher Vicky Seelen (pages 24-25), who encouraged her students to break free from their lined notebooks and write with a gluestick at the ready.

pletely intimidating as a 22-year-old with no teaching experience. So I decided to start with the thing I knew how to do best—journaling. I told my students that we would begin each class with a “First Five”—five minutes to write and reflect in composition notebooks. Not all of my students loved it—one girl with severe ADD found it impossible to sit still, another girl much preferred drawing to writing—but several of my students took to it with fury. One wrote a poem each day, another wrote an ongoing novel, another wrote complaint letters to Mother Nature about the weather. The journals were a space for my students to be creative, to be free, and to be themselves. And it gave them a safe place to have privacy. I was more than happy to read any entries my students wanted to share with me, but any page they wanted to remain private, they could fold in half, and I wouldn’t touch it. Having a space just for yourself is crucial, especially during those childhood and teenage years, when you feel like you have no control over anything. Journals can be the one space that you own entirely.

When I started teaching Class IV English at Nobles, it wasn’t a question whether journaling would be part of my curriculum. I begin each class with five minutes when my students and I—modeling Vicky’s behavior of always journaling along with the class—can take a breath.

Of course, journaling isn’t for everyone. I know that many of my students, especially first period on Thursday, would prefer to put their heads on the desks for a five-minute nap instead. But for those who have taken to journaling, it seems they’ve been bitten by the bug: Jeff Serowik ’20: “I mainly like it because

it gives me time to collect my thoughts and reflect on the day. It is rare that we have time to reflect on our choices and actions, and it is sort of therapeutic to do this for me. I also like it because I know someday in the future I will want to look through my journal entries to remember how I was thinking and what was going on at this point in my life.”

Gyuhwan Choi ’20: “[Journaling] allows me to reflect upon what I am

feeling, how the day is going, and just about anything, and I think that is really important. … And I can write about anything because I can trust that no one will look into my journal.”

Drew Barry ’20: “It allows me to express myself, especially at … difficult and stressful time[s]. It is five minutes where I can contemplate some of the more important issues and highlights of my life.”

Becca Gill ’20: “I love journaling because

it gives me the freedom to express my thoughts that I would otherwise have a hard time explaining. I also love to journal because it’s a way to document memories that I can read later when I am older.”

Jack Freeman ’20: “I think that journaling is a great thing to do to get prepared and ready for class, and I think classmates would agree.”

Sakura Hinenoya ’20: “I like journaling because it helps me organize my thoughts and declutter my brain from all the stress that I have had that day.”

SPRING 2017 Nobles 27

Head Class of the

BY B E N H E I D E R, KI M N E A L , A LEX I S SULLI VA N A ND HEAT HER SULLI VA N P ORTRA I T BY KAT H L E E N D O O HER

In 1973, a young Robert P. Henderson, Jr., of Wellesley, Massachusetts, arrived at 507 Bridge Street to spend his last three high school years at Noble and Greenough School. Forty-four years and countless Diet Cokes later, Henderson is finally graduating from Nobles. Here is a look at the legacy he leaves behind, in the words of those who know him best.

28 Nobles SPRING 2017

A JOURNEY THR OU GH TIME

1 95 8

Robert P. Henderson, Jr. ’76 born to Carol and Robert Henderson, Sr.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 29

IN THE BEGINNING

After graduating from Dartmouth in 1980, Henderson followed up a teaching fellowship at Nobles with a stint on the West Coast, and under Joe Wandke at the Stevenson School in California, Henderson began running a boarding program and teaching history. After receiving his master’s from Dartmouth and marrying Ross Thayer in 1991, he then worked for Tom Olverson, who remains a mentor and friend, at Seabury Hall in Maui, Hawaii.

“Tom loved creativity and inspiration and hiring funky faculty who were talented and also difficult,” Henderson says. “Then he hired me to manage them.”

In 1995, Henderson headed back east and assumed his first headship, at North Yarmouth Academy, in Maine, at the age of 35, an experience that Beth Reilly ’87, president of the board of trustees and former chair of the history department, says helped prepare him to accept the challenges of becoming head of Nobles in 2000. “Bob followed a period of time in which Nobles HERE AND T HERE was determined to change its Starting and ending at Nobles place in the market. Much of the strategy was driven by admission data and how we compared to peer schools. There had been an almost obsessive focus on the metrics.

“Bob came in and really liberated a lot of that inferiority complex, and he was able to bring in a perspective that said Nobles has arrived. Nobles should be really proud. Bob freed us up from an identity crisis and helped us to embrace what was uniquely Nobles and our mission.”

197 3

1 974

1 976

1980

Joins Nobles as a student

The first female Nobles students arrive on campus

Matriculates at Dartmouth College and graduates from Noble and Greenough School

Graduates from Dartmouth with a B.A. His dad advises him to talk to his former headmaster,

30 Nobles SPRING 2017

A HAITUS

“ Interns Mr. Henderson, Miss Lecompte, and Mr. Taylor are all departing.

Lecompte will teach at the Canterbury School, and Henderson will have a job teaching history at Robert Louis Stevenson, where Foster teaches.”

—DAN TARLIN ’83, NOBLEMAN 1981

Ted Gleason, for advice on pursuing a career in education.

Gleason’s advice: “Become a history

teaching fellow at Nobles,” thereupon launching a 37-year career in education

Henderson owes much to his predecessors. Former Head of School Rev. Ted Gleason, who read stories to students and whose remarks might be delivered as secular sermons, inspired the student body and faculty with his rhetoric, while Dick Baker upped the academic ante of the school but also evolved Nobles’ philosophies of community and kindness.

Henderson took the hard work of these men and built a school that rivaled any of Boston’s academic powerhouses.

In hindsight, his success as a visionary, manager, classroom teacher and fundraiser is a wonder to those who understand the complexity of a modern school. Take, for instance, his oversight of fundraising efforts alongside former Development Director Jeff Berndt and Chief Advancement Officer George Maley. Under Henderson’s leadership, the graduate giving rate is more than 50 percent, the debt is the lowest of any Independent School League institution, and the endowment has grown from $41 million to over $140 million.

Not all of Henderson’s decisions and initiatives have been met with unwavering support, but modern language and classics faculty member Dave Ulrich counts Henderson’s ability to manage criticism among his many talents. “It’s hard to slow down in the face of a lot of force—to take the criticism he knows is going to come from a lot of different places but to stand firm in what he believes will be good for the long term of the school.

I’ve seen him put off the short-term gratification of many for what is arguably the greater good of the institution.”

198 1

1 987

1991

Promoted rapidly to Stevenson’s dean of students

■ Receives

LEADERSHIP

■ Joins

the faculty of the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California, as a history

teacher and soccer coach

his master’s degree from Dartmouth College

Just as he commits to what he believes will ultimately benefit Nobles, he has a reputation as a manager who trusts his team to do likewise. “He lets people do their jobs,” says Alex Gallagher ’90, director of athletics.

Brooke Asnis ’90, acting director of admission, agrees that while Henderson is decisive, he also empowers people and guides them to come to decisions on their own. “He is decisive, and that speaks to his instincts and his institutional knowledge and his ability to listen to people.”

Aside from following his vision and helping others to follow theirs, part of the wonder of Henderson has been his codeswitching superpowers. From a board meeting to a disciplinary conversation to teaching AP European History to watching a soccer game, he consistently finds the right tone and words for the occasion.

He also held a full advisee group, writing their college recommendations and maintaining his open-door policy. In fact, Henderson signaled his accessibility early in his headship, relocating his office to the main hallway of Shattuck Schoolhouse.

1 9 92 ■ Marries

Ross Thayer, a teaching colleague at the Stevenson School

Moves to Maui, Hawaii, to head Seabury Hall’s Upper School

SPRING 2017 Nobles 31

PERS ONAL STORY

Bob Henderson, his wife, Ross, and their children, Paul ’13, Patrick and David, both ’16, have lived in Summe House since its completion in 2003.

When the children were little, their youthful antics provided Henderson with ample material for his Monday morning assembly talks. (Family lore includes a story about one of the boys peeing in his brother’s shoe, but no one could remember the moral of that one.) As the boys grew older, they became more aware of their unusual status in the community, and their father stopped using them as subjects for his talks.

“Our life has been school life,” Henderson says. “Ross and I met amidst school life. We raised our family amidst school life, the rhythms of it and the expectations. People ask my kids, for instance, ‘Was it hard to be the head’s kid?’ And, yeah, there are certainly some inconveniences, but their real answer is, ‘Well, we don’t know anything else.’”

Ross, who has taught math and science at Nobles since 2000, says that she appreciates the boundaries her husband created. “He tries to keep work at work,” she says. Even in the worst of times, the family simply saw Henderson working through the night, talking to his team about how to handle a challenging situation and emerging the morning after—calm, and with a clear plan. “He’s at his best when everyone else is at their worst,” Ross says.

19 94

1 995

1 997

20 0 0

Son Paul ’13 is born on Maui

Named headmaster of North Yarmouth Academy, in Maine

Twins Patrick and David, both ’16, are born in Portland, Maine

■ Bob

32 Nobles SPRING 2017

announced as one of three finalists for the head of school search

■ Unanimously

selected as Noble and Greenough’s sixth head of school

■ Bob

sends a questionnaire to the school community that identifies

AT HIS BEST

INSTALLATION CEREMONY

“ Henderson’s insistence on being located in close proximity to his students says a great deal about the way he runs the school, and the relationships he shares with his students. He truly cares about each member of the Nobles community.”

—LINDSEY MARSHALL ’01 QUOTED IN A NOBLEMAN ARTICLE BY ALEX SALTZMAN ’01

In the course of nearly any school year, a head of school manages disciplinary and employee issues; tone and culture challenges; and myriad questions demanding wisdom, kindness and speed.

“Bob is a caretaker for the members of this community. People’s lives are complicated. He is compassionate, absolutely. But he also offers real, pragmatic support. He finds ways for this institution to support good people when they are dealing with something,” says John Gifford ’86, assistant head of school and head of the middle school, who served with both Baker and Henderson.

Mark Spence, dean of students and former director of counseling, agrees, calling Henderson’s leadership “a source of strength and confidence.

“Bob has stood by faculty at their best and at their worst,” he says. “He also has always made it clear that he cares about ‘the whole’ student,” Spence says. During

his tenure, Henderson has increased staffing in counseling, college counseling and academic support, giving highperforming students deep resources wherever they might need it. In fact, Henderson reminds faculty members to persistently make choices that are student-centered—in the best interest of the students we serve.

But harder, less routine moments require a more extraordinary response: On 9/11, the school lost several community members, including a parent.

Henderson has also had to deliver sad news about graduates, faculty and staff, and even some students—each time, he has reassured those at Nobles to lean on one another.

“Bob just locks into what-to-do mode,” says Gifford. “He serves the school extraordinarily well in those moments.”

“I’ve been amazed at the compassion he has for people who are struggling,” says Michael Denning, upper school head.

2 001

increasing diversity as the school’s most pressing need.

■ In

the second week of his second academic year at Nobles, Henderson leads

an emotional 9/11 assembly contextualizing the events for Nobles students while

mourning the lives lost, including three within the greater Nobles community.

■ Dress

code liberalized to allow boys to wear shorts in season.

SLC president at

the time describes it as “the tipping point from one headmaster to another.”

SPRING 2017 Nobles 33

NEW TO ASSEMBLY

Considering that, like any student body, we are quick to point out areas that need improvement, Henderson has done a remarkable job of not giving us reason to complain. Well, there are two things.

At the start of assembly, he just does not ring the bell with enough gusto. Also, for years we have grown accustomed to hearing one phrase as we are dismissed from assembly. Henderson instead has dismissed us by saying “Class I and the faculty.” Please Hendo, learn the lingo, it’s “Faculty, First Class!”

—BY LULU MILLER ’01, NOBLEMAN, OCTOBER 6, 2000

TAKING THE WORK SERIOUSLY ( but not too seriously)

GO FOR GUSTO

When the mission statement was revised in 2009, the idea that the school exists to inspire leadership for the public good was fully embraced.

The idea that humor was important enough to officially be kept was not as clear but eventually prevailed. Levity is, in fact, key to the school’s culture.

“Bob has been able to use humor at times to bring perspective to tense moments and to make it okay for people

to laugh. He has also recognized the value of humor and its critical role in institutions like this, where stress can run high and where people can lose a little perspective,” says Reilly.

“Even when he’s not the joke teller, he has made it okay for people to take some risks with humor in a way that I think is fundamental to the happiness and the sense of community that we feel.”

2002

2 004

Afternoon program requirements loosened to allow credit for nonphysical options

34 Nobles SPRING 2017

such as tech theater and the spring musical; wellness and fitness options also allowed

■ One

Nobles campaign is launched; it’s the most ambitious capital campaign

On October 26, 2000, Bob Henderson’s installation ceremony included the traditional passing of the bell. As Alex Saltzman ‘01 wrote in the Nobleman, “On behalf of the faculty, [Senior Master Fred Sculco] handed the assembly bell, a mantel of authority and symbol of continuing tradition, to Henderson.”

20 0 6

in Nobles history, significantly exceeding its $86M goal by raising $101M.

■ New

Arts Center opens, set at the entryway to the school, transforming popular

perceptions about the prominence of visual and performing arts at Nobles.

RINGING THE BELL

BY G REG C ROA K ‘ 06 , D I R ECTO R O F G RA DUAT E A FFA I RS

AFTER MR. HENDERSON’S FIRST ASSEMBLY as the new head of school in the fall of 2000, a few members of Class I approached him with two suggestions for improvement. “You’re ringing the bell wrong,” one of them said. When calling attention at the beginning of our daily morning ritual, they informed him, the bell would ring with greater clarity if he rang it continuously with the bell facing downward instead of ringing it vertically and limiting the bell’s vibrations.

Their second suggestion had clearly come from a more personal place: He hadn’t dismissed them correctly. Anyone who has attended Nobles can recite the final words of every assembly: “Faculty, First Class.” There is a sort of ownership that goes with that dismissal in that the school’s leaders physically precede the rest of the community as we enter into Shattuck to begin the day’s work. When Mr. Henderson accidentally dismissed the entire community at once, he had not only created an inefficient egress from Lawrence Auditorium, but he had also delayed the class of 2001’s long-awaited coronation as the new leaders of the schoolhouse.

It’s hard to imagine that early misstep sticking with him for very long because I’d soon learn that Mr. Henderson does not hold a grudge. This was fortunate for me when I faced him in his office at the end of a disciplinary process as a member of Class V. He was positive, almost gleeful. Not that he took some sick pleasure in my demise, but he saw in that moment a tremendous opportunity for growth.

I felt like he could see my entire future and somehow knew I was going to turn out just fine.

That may have been why he hired me out of college as a teaching fellow eight years later and insisted I call him Bob. In a room full of rookie teachers, he told us, “Teachers don’t teach subjects, they teach themselves.” We cannot help but bring our own morality and worldview to the content we present to our students, and any effort to stifle it will come off as disingenuous, and the kids will always sniff it out. Our students, in Bob’s view, now have more information in their pocket than any of us could ever hope to relay in a lecture, but Nobles will have purpose for the next 100 years because their phones cannot build leaders.

These days, I often travel with Bob as we engage the graduate population on behalf of the Development and Graduate Affairs Office. From time to time, a graduate will attempt to challenge Bob on some aspect of the school. Bob’s calm responses reveal his vast knowledge on the subjects, but they also always end with the same refrain: Everything we do has to connect to the mission. He truly believes Nobles exists to create leaders for the public good, and every tuition dollar, curriculum decision and physical structure is carefully calibrated to meet that end.

That is why he isn’t fazed by an assembly faux pas.

That is why he doesn’t worry about teenagers making mistakes. That is why he doesn’t think technology is a threat to private education. That is why he wants graduates to challenge his decision-making.

By modeling that kind of leadership throughout his tenure, he has trusted the entire community, from new Sixies to senior administrators, to figure out how we get there in our own way: Use your best judgment and ring the bell however you see fit.

2 007 ■ Nobles’

Dawg Pound founded by two students to raise school spirit before athletic

competitions and other all-school events

■ Achieve,

a summer academic enrichment program for nonNobles middle

20 0 9

school students in underresourced schools, opens.

Academic coaching is also

provided to Achieve students throughout the school year at Nobles.

The new mission statement highlights leadership for the public good and service to others.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 35

THE TRAVEL COMPANION | “Bob and I have done a fair amount of traveling together. The man is a road warrior. He can pack a week’s worth of provisions in a suitcase the size of a chinchilla.

He is a master of in-flight entertainment but knows just the right attire (comfortable but professional) and proper hydration levels (significant, but not to the extent to warrant many visits to the WC from the middle seat) to ensure that he hits the ground running.

I fumble along, leaving a trail of papers, computer cords and clothes spilling out of my duffel bag. Bob shakes his head and asks me to hurry up.”

REL ATIONSHIP BEFORE TASK

—JOHN GIFFORD ’86, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL, HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

“Relationship before task” is a phrase often heard in the halls of Shattuck Schoolhouse. A platitude? Possibly— but one with substance.

Lauren Overzet, assistant to the head of school for more than seven years, remarks on Henderson’s egalitarian treatment of everyone from cleaning staff to trustees and parents. She also says that staff members have felt more valued with his thoughtful approach to staff benefits and little things, like half-day Fridays in the summer.

Henderson is the first to acknowledge that he inherited many great teachers, staff members and administrators from Baker and Gleason. But Henderson’s subsequent hires have also built reputations for competence and loyalty.

Gifford is impressed by the way Henderson was able to instill confidence in his staff: “‘You guys have to stop doubting yourselves and see what it is that you have here,’ he told us. And that provided a great deal of momentum for the institution.”

Reilly agrees that Henderson’s fresh perspective was pivotal. “Bob is a very visible, hands-on leader. But he also empowered a lot of administrators and professionals around the school who feel a sense of ownership for the institution and who are really well positioned to have collective leadership over the school in the coming years.”

“I’ve always believed really strongly that you want to hire people much smarter than you, and with greater specialized expertise, and let them do their jobs,” says Henderson. “And I’ve also been successful getting faculty and staff to collaborate with each other … to move the institution forward.”

Henderson says that the diversity of the community has also contributed to its health in recent decades, with much of that work begun by Baker. “It’s made the community closer and more inclusive over the long haul, with different kinds of people with different skill sets in a time when our culture externally is increasingly anxious and fractious.”

2010

2 01 1

■ Public

phase of Be Nobles Bold campaign is launched.

36 Nobles SPRING 2017

■ Nobles

Athletics Hall of Fame founded.

THE GRADUATE | “It can be

argued that high school is the most formative period in one’s life. Whether it be the experience of losing a loved one, coming to terms with my sexuality, or being accepted to college, Bob was right by my side throughout the entire roller coaster. He has experienced me at my lowest, and truly hoisted me to my highest. To have such a steadfast supporter really makes all the difference.”

— KIRK GULEZIAN ’14

The Class of ’56 Path, leading from the upper academic campus to the lower athletic

THE IT HERO | “Bob is unafraid to explore his inner techie. Usually by the time he arrives at Computer Street, he’s already tried a few things and has limited time to resolve the issue. In short, I need to earn my paycheck. I felt some pressure the first few encounters but came to look forward to his visits. He’s inquisitive about the solution and why what he’s tried hasn’t worked. Bob’s fearless approach to technology has empowered [CIO] Dan Weir to push boundaries and set Nobles on a solid technological foundation.”

—DEVAREAUX BROWN ’97, SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR

THE SIDELINE PAL

“ On countless fall afternoons since 2000, I’ve cheered for Nobles athletes while sharing Bob’s company on the football, field hockey and (most often) soccer sidelines.

He has generously shared his considerable soccer knowledge with me, but our conversations have also ranged from Nobles in the ‘old days’ to current national politics. I’ve often recalled watching him compete as a varsity player in 1975 and wondered where the years (and his flowing blond locks!) have gone. I’ll definitely miss those afternoons with him!”

— BILL KEHLENBECK, MATH FACULTY MEMBER

201 2

campus, is restored and rededicated.

Fred Wells ’56 says of the path, “We wanted our legacy

to be something that would really be used by students and faculty, forever and ever.”

The H.H. Richardson Castle, the first structure built on the former Nickerson estate,

ILLUSTRATIONTIONS BY ALDO CRUSHER

THE JESTER | “When Bob took over as head, he decided that our mission statement, which still contained words like “Friday floggings,” “imperially slim” and “lice-free,” warranted a vetting. Bob and others whittled the school’s “foundations of a vibrant intellectual community” down to three qualities: collaboration, honesty and respect for others.

And Bob, above all, dug in to keep a previously listed quality, the heart of that Nobles “special sauce,’ one that you won’t find in other schools’ mission statements: humor.”

THE PUPIL | “The other day, I saw Mr. Henderson sitting alone at a circular table in the

Castle. Without thinking, I grabbed a spoon for my yogurt and sped over to sit beside him. I couldn’t help it! He is the kind of person you always want to be around. He is the first person I tell good news, bad news and everything in between. I will miss his contagious joy and love for Nobles.” —AMAR SCHERZER ’19

— BILL BUSSEY, PROVOST

THE PURSE STRINGS | “I’ve had many conversations

with Bob over the years about various items in the budget. More than most heads, he has a great handle on the levers that make a school go. However, the one area where Bob has shown relentless financial backing is with support of employees. He knows that people are the most important component of the school, and he does everything in his power to support growth, development and opportunity for people at Nobles.”

—STEVE GINSBERG, CHIEF FINANCIAL AND OPERATING OFFICER

THE SPARRING PARTNER | “I was training new admission readers when Bob strolled out of his office looking like he wanted to chat. With papers in hand, I smacked him and told him, ‘Go away! We’re having a meeting!’

[Former faculty member] Ashley Bradley’s shocked face was priceless. My reaction was, ‘What?! We have work to do!’ What I appreciate about Bob is he let me be me. In my strange little way, I just always wanted him to know that he was an everyday person too, not just a job title.”

— CASSIE VELÁZQUEZ, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION

THE DOG SITTER | “My relationship with Bob stems from trust, empowerment and compassion. He entrusted me as the dog sitter, then I lost his dog. He empowered me to lead the middle school, then John [Gifford] returned six months later. He welcomed me to the board retreat, then left early to accompany me to the hospital. Through our unique experiences, we forged a bond founded on overcoming adversity, exceeding expectations and caring for others. I am forever grateful!”

THE ALLY | “In June 2007, my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. With one signature, the support of the board and a great deal of generous humanity, Bob ensured that I could spend the ensuing year caring for my wife and our two young daughters full-time without worrying about health care or income. I will never be able to express the value of this gift. He retires after 17 years at Nobles with my respect and gratitude.”

THE GATEKEEPER

“ While Bob always makes time for his advisees and AP European history students, everyone else is at my mercy; I am the keeper of his calendar. People will try just about anything to get time in front of Bob. At times it’s as if everyone is trying to sack the quarterback and I am the lone offensive lineman.

I’ve been yelled at, lied to, sworn at, chased, avoided, threatened, harassed, stopped in public, you name it. Oh, and you can always tell an impostor when they call looking to speak with their long-lost friend Robert. Or better yet, when they think I am Robert!”

—LAUREN OVERZET,

—COLETTE FINLEY,

—JENNY CARLSON,

ASSISTANT TO THE

ASSISTANT HEAD OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

HISTORY TEACHER

HEAD OF SCHOOL

201 3

is expanded, refurbished and modernized in terms of functionality and

faculty apartments, as well as brought up to code, thereby earning the highly coveted Gold

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

■ Beth

Reilly ’87 is named first female president of the board of trustees.

201 4 ■ NoblesCloud

takes the place of NoblesNet.

■ Goins

Dance Studio opens in January.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 37

Academic Inquiry Center

Construction Began: Fall 2016 Architect: William Rawn Associates Details: New 21,400-square-foot Putnam Library with meeting rooms, classrooms and offices Planned Completion: December 2017

Baker Science Building Renovation

Construction Began: Spring 2017 Architect: William Rawn Associates Details: A 3,600-square-foot addition of new entryway and classrooms, with 31,650-squarefoot renovation of classrooms, labs, workshops and project rooms Planned Completion: Fall 2017

Wiggins Dormitory

Completed: Fall 2004 Architect: Architectural Resources Cambridge Details: New 25,000-square-foot dormitory, with 48 student beds, study lounges, a common room and four faculty apartments

Morrison Athletic Center

Arts Center

Completed: Fall 2006 Architect: Architectural Resources Cambridge Details: A 59,800-square-foot Arts Center, including the 260-seat Vinik Theatre, workshop, Foster Gallery, painting studio, offices, music classrooms, practice rooms and recital hall, plus a new entrance and link to Shattuck Schoolhouse with renovations to Lawrence Auditorium and the admission office, and a rerouted entryway to campus

38 Nobles SPRING 2017

Goins Family Dance Studio

Completed: December 2013 Architect: Baker Design Group Details: Dance studio addition to the Arts Center featuring a multilayered dance floor of springs, hardwood and marley, changing rooms and audience seating, plus classrooms and offices on the upper level

Construction began under Dick Baker’s headship, and it was completed during Bob Henderson’s first year as head of school.

Completed: December 2000 Architect: Architectural Resources Cambridge Details: A 34,000-square-foot renovation to Richardson Gymnasium and fitness center, with a 60,000-square-foot addition of the Rappaport Gymnasium, locker rooms, squash courts and the Storer Wrestling Room, with new soccer, baseball and softball fields

A SENSE OF PLACE

The Castle Renovation

Completed: Fall 2012 Architect: Architerra Details: LEED Gold-certified 13,000-squarefoot addition of new dining hall, kitchen and servery, with 39,000-square-foot renovation to faculty apartments, library, study and the archives, plus reconstruction of the ’56 Path

“ Once spaces were created with the intent of the performing arts programs’ being in them, a lot more energy could just go into the actual work with the kids. I feel like [artists now] have a place in the community and they have community with each other.”

—DAN HALPERIN, PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT CHAIR

B OB THE BUILDER

OTHER RENOVATIONS

In addition to these major building projects, Henderson has also overseen the renovation of academic, administrative and athletic facilities, plus two residential construction projects: ■ Head

of school office relocation, 2000 ■ Bliss

Omni and Flood Rink renovation, 2001 ■ Summe

House construction, 2003 ■ Business

office addition to Lawson House, 2004 ■ Single-family

faculty residence construction, 2006 ■ Pratt

Middle School renovation, 2007 ■ Classrooms

below Gleason Hall renovation, 2013

One of the most tangible accomplishments of Henderson’s tenure is the changing face of campus. With guidance from the board of trustees and in conjunction with the One Nobles and Be Nobles Bold capital campaigns, Henderson has embarked on a series of construction projects to strengthen and support every aspect of the school.

Some of the most impressive projects include the expansion and renovation of the Castle in 2012, the Arts Building addition in 2006 and the in-progress Academic Inquiry Center project and renovation of the Baker Science Building.

Programmatic milestones include the creation of the Achieve program (see story, p. 44) and the introduction of the Experiential and Community Engaged Learning (EXCEL) program, which encompasses travel, community service and applied learning. Both programs embody Nobles’ mission to inspire leadership for the public good.

“The two things that I think have been most essential to the future health of the mission of the school are Achieve and EXCEL,” Henderson says. “I know they’ll evolve in directions that I can’t possibly anticipate at this point.”

201 4 (continued) ■ The

design and construction of a 21st-century Putnam library and a refitting

of the Baker Science Building to accommodate accelerated changes in all

SPRING 2017 Nobles 39

Ben Snyder, former upper school head and now director of EXCEL, says that Henderson brought a shift in mindset and a recognition of new opportunities to his role.

“Bob has been intentional about the idea of making space,” says faculty member David Ulrich. “He’s done that through the building projects, but also through looking at who comes here. He’s made space for arts, made space for scientists, and so many things that we want to see in our student body and in our faculty.”

“I think the school is actually in a position where the facilities can truly support the program and the vision for the program that the school’s had for the last generation,” Henderson says.

TEACHER, FRIEND AND COLLEAG UE

“ Leaving Nobles and paving the way for a new era in Nobles’ history, Henderson remarked on what will have had the biggest impact on him as he moves on.

‘I’ll cherish the endless stream of faces I’ve dealt with over a long period of time, and the little things,’ said Henderson….

Henderson wants to be remembered as a great classroom teacher, friend and colleague.”

—KIMMY SCHUSTER ’17, NOBLEMAN 2017

2014 (continued)

...the physical sciences are added to the goals of the 2010 Be Nobles Bold campaign,

40 Nobles SPRING 2017

2 01 6

which concludes in 2018.

■ Bob

Henderson announces his retirement for June 2017. The search for his

successor begins immediately. Beth Reilly ’87 and Scott Freeman ’81 named co-chairs

of the search committee.

■ Nobles

Night, the culminating event of the yearlong sesquicentennial anniversary,

HEAD TO HEAD

BY D I C K B A K E R , E N GL I S H FAC ULT Y A N D FO RMER HEA D O F SC H O O L

MY FAVORITE MEMORY OF BOB is an intensely personal

one. I had given up the role of headmaster in June of 2000 and departed quickly for London, where my son was working. Bob knew that I intended to teach part-time at some school in the area for a few years upon my return, and I asked that if he spoke with other heads around Boston, he could help me out by letting them know of my intent. Returning briefly at Christmas, I was summoned to a meeting with Bob, and he asked me if I would consider teaching at Nobles. That was a possibility that I had not considered, but I was very pleased to accept the offer.

Nobles was close by, I (kind of ) knew the ropes, and I loved the aesthetic of the school grounds. Done deal.

But what was behind Bob’s decision was less clear-cut. In order for him to hire me, hurdles had to be surmounted (or at least considered); after all, I was a former head of school, a man with all sorts of political entanglements among the adult constituencies, still a possible rival. As far as I could discern, many senior people (trustees, former heads, faculty) understandably advised against it.

Bob and I discussed the complications and agreed that I was to assume a quiet role, a position to which my heart and intuition naturally tended. I was to teach and remain “low-key”: I couldn’t have imagined a better scenario.

And that’s what I have done (or tried to do) for the past 15 years. But here’s the really magical part, the bit of serendipity from my perspective. Of the three essentially equal periods in my life at Nobles, 15-year segments each, this last one has been the most enjoyable. As a part-timer, I have had more time to lavish

celebrates the Henderson headship with appropriate pomp and circumstance.

In Their Voices,

by Joyce Leffler Eldridge, is presented to all guests.

■ Ground

broken for new Academic Inquiry Center to replace the Putnam Library.

■ Girls

on my students, and, while I loved my students in all three periods, 2001–17 has provided me with insights into what teaching can be, the meaning that the myriad relationships, shifting and changing daily, can provide to a life.

After he made the decision, essentially, to go against the gray-beards and hire me, he provided me with the support that he offers all teachers. I have come to think of the responsibility of a head as deflecting the slings and arrows that come the way of any school so that the teachers can get on with the productive task of teaching and nurturing. So I consider his decision to rehire me to have been generous (to me personally, without much benefit to him), courageous (if I had messed it up, the consequences would have fallen on him) and perceptive (in that he somehow knew that I could, quite easily, stay out of the daily business).

Bob has served in the role of head superbly for 17 years. His legacy may well stand on the extraordinary additions to the school during his tenure (physical, curricular, cultural), and he deserves that applause. I marvel in the transformation from 1971 to today, a transformation that has accelerated exponentially in the past 17 years.

But for me, his legacy is personal, his overture to me represents “the best portion of a good man’s life/ His little, nameless, unremembered acts/ Of kindness and of love.” I will deeply miss those acts and the daily brushing by his office, knowing that the business being conducted within is designed to benefit me.

varsity hockey wins its 17th consecutive ISL (Independent School League)

title, winning every year that Henderson has been head.

■ Girls

varsity basketball wins its 13th straight ISL title.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 41

THE LEG ACY

“We owe [Bob] a debt of gratitude for everything he has done for this school.

He has consistently put the interests of Nobles first,” says Overzet.

“I think I leave the school a healthier, stronger place than when I came, and that’s the responsibility of all heads,” says Henderson, who goes on to explain why he is ready for his next adventure as a consultant working with independent schools.

“I tell kids to take risks,” he says.

“I should too.”

Many in the community are grateful that Henderson’s good-bye will be gradual, as Ross will continue to teach math and marine biology. As with all leaders, one’s legacy is defined over time and by the generations to come. “We have been able to achieve a level of stability and create opportunity that allows us to define what we think is most important for the mission and best for the school, and that’s really exciting,” Reilly says.

Reilly notes one indisputable gift Henderson leaves the school: “Bob deserves tremendous credit for the healthy financial position in which Nobles finds itself today. That gives us a platform to do so many things in the next chapter of Nobles,” she says.

Henderson is measured when weighing the impact of his work.

“I think that Nobles is a happy and healthy place. That’s what’s most important.” N

2016 (continued) ■ Nobles

announces Henderson’s successor as Dr. Catherine Hall, presently

42 Nobles SPRING 2017

2 01 7

assistant head of the Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

■ Bob

Henderson prepares to retire in June, following a year of tributes and

celebrations across the country.

■ May

2017, the Graduates Council names Henderson a Distinguished Graduate. The

Arts Center is rededicated as Henderson Arts Center.

STUDENTS

2000: Nobles includes 527 students.

2017: The student body swells to 608.

TRAVEL

2000: 40 students participate in Nobles’ travel program.

2017: 193 students travel with Nobles’ EXCEL program.

DIVERSITY

NOBLES THEN AND NOW

2000: About 20% of students identify as people of color.

2017: 31% of students identify as people of color.

KEEPING PACE

Henderson with Cathy Hall, named Nobles’ seventh head of school

“ The real net effect of the energy and effort invested by the individuals in this community is that this is a happy, positive place. The pace in and of itself is not the virtue. Rather, to be in a place where so many people care so intensely about all that they are engaged in, this creates a virtuous community. This is what makes Nobles unusual and special compared to other schools. The gifted, ambitious people here distinguish Nobles, and the pace is the result.”

—BOB HENDERSON ’76, “KEEPING PACE,” MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL, THE BULLETIN WINTER 2001 SPRING 2017 Nobles 43

A DECADE OF

ACHIEVE

BYLIN E_FEAT UR E | P H OTOG RA P H Y BY L I N E _ F E AT URE

BY KI M N EA L

MENT Achieve partners with families to empower motivated students from underserved Boston communities to close the opportunity gap. Middle schoolers give up their summers and two Saturdays a month during their academic year. In exchange, they gain a mindset focused on accomplishment and the possibilities that lie ahead.

With programming and support through high school and college, Achieve provides transformative academic and enrichment experiences and enduring mentoring relationships that inspire confidence, learning, and joy.

This year marks Nobles’ 10th year with Achieve. Here, we look toward its future.

HOW IT BEGAN

Achieve was founded in 2007 as an embodiment of the Nobles mission. A life of “leadership for the public good” linked generations of graduates who sought to contribute to their communities and beyond. Head of School Bob Henderson, Dean of Enrollment Jennifer Hines and Director of EXCEL (Experiential and Community Engaged Learning) and former Head of the Upper School Ben Snyder saw potential in partnering with Boston schools whose students might benefit from Nobles’ resources and commitment.

Achieve was modeled on trailblazers like Boston’s Steppingstone Foundation and San Francisco’s Aim High. Summer classes include English, math and science, as well as enrichment activities such as dance, coding and Taekwondo. The rest of the year, Nobles student tutors provide academic support. Nobles’ launch of Upward Bound, a similar program for high school students from Lawrence, 16 years before Achieve, helped map its early course. Snyder says together, Upward Bound and Achieve demonstrate the school’s mission. “Nobles’ commitment to ‘the public good’ extends to creating long-lasting partnerships with schools, students and families who would not otherwise have access to the bounty of this place,” he said.

Achieve graduates receive continual support—the staff visits their schools and welcomes them back for subsequent tutoring. They also help match students with summer opportunities and assist with the college search and transition.

Starr Peteet ’94, a Nobles trustee, was teaching at Boston Trinity Academy when she helmed the Achieve committee from 2012 to 2016. “It was all about love for kids—taking the mission of Nobles to give them the boost they needed in the Boston Public Schools. It’s a happy byproduct that we have had so many Nobles students benefit from being involved, but it’s not why we established the program.”

SPRING 2017 Nobles 45

Achieve Director Nora DowleyLiebowitz connects with a student.

Top right: Achieve students in the chem lab take a new approach to roasting s’mores; Bottom right: Teacher Meg Jacobs gives students growing tips in E.G.’s Organic Garden next to the Castle.

THE TEAM

When Executive Director Nora DowleyLiebowitz arrived in 2013, previous director Connie Yépez and master teachers Eric Nguyen and Jodi McQuillan had already built an extraordinary program culture, but data measuring outcomes was lacking. Dowley-Liebowitz knew the program’s impact on academic performance and motivation was dramatic, so she collected the results to prove it.

She credits a devoted, experienced staff that includes Nguyen as its data specialist, Assistant Director Janim Sayles, Graduate Services Coordinator Meghan Kelleher and Development Officer Cat Kershaw. “Having an amazing group of people who are not only talented but on the same team for the same reasons has an incredible impact on our reach and success.”

Dowley-Liebowitz says, “I’ve been an educator for almost 15 years and worked with a lot of young people who’ve overcome amazing difficulties. But I’ve never worked with anyone like Achieve stu46 Nobles SPRING 2017

25

FACULTY MEMBERS AND 70 TUTORS AND VOLUNTEERS SERVE DURING THE SUMMER AND ACADEMIC YEAR SESSIONS

dents. It takes a very special 11-year-old to say, ‘I’d like to spend every other Saturday and the next three summers in school because I know it will change my life.’”

THE NUMBER STORY

Nobles donates facilities and technological and educational resources to Achieve.

The remaining funding comes from donors and the endowment. From two original gifts totaling $300,000, the annual budget has grown to $389,000. The first Achieve summer session in 2008 served 23 students; by 2016, it was 79. Overall, 98 percent are students of color, 89 percent are on the path to becoming first-generation college students, and 70 percent speak a second language at home (including Spanish, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Somali and Cape Verdean Creole). One hundred percent of Achieve families earn

at or below the federal poverty level.

Achieve’s results are remarkable. On average, its students gain three months in math and reading after just six weeks.

One hundred percent of its graduates are accepted into high-performing high schools, including a 91 percent placement rate at Boston’s prestigious exam schools.

Most encouraging are the findings of the Holistic Student Assessment: 90 percent of students report an increased interest in learning and academic motivation, and 86 percent report improved communication with adults and peers.

THE VOICES

Gigi Gabeau ’17 is an Achieve graduate and a third-year tutor. Gabeau’s Haitianborn parents researched educational options and advocated for their children to have access to the best. “Because my

32

dad was an immigrant...he was looking for the best of the best,” Gabeau says. Her mother runs a music program modeled on Achieve in Hyde Park, and her father now shares with other families in their community what he has learned through helping his own children.

“As an Achieve scholar, I remember classes so well because of my relationships with tutors and teachers. Everyone’s happy to be there. You can’t fake excitement. All these little things I do now, I started then—taking risks and meeting amazing people,” Gabeau says. More than 70 Nobles students are selected as Achieve tutors, and many

86

PERCENT OF STUDENTS REPORT IMPROVED COMMUNICATION WITH ADULTS AND PEERS

BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE REPRESENTED FROM ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, MATTAPAN, JAMAICA PLAIN, HYDE PARK, WEST ROXBURY, ROSLINDALE, CHARLESTOWN AND EAST BOSTON

more apply. As an Achieve graduate, Gabeau connects with the young people she tutors and has their trust. Gabeau will attend Wellesley College this fall.

Calvin Kinghorn ’17 is also a third-year tutor. “It’s exciting to be part of something where you can see change happening so quickly.” One Saturday, a student Kinghorn had tutored all fall for his SSAT test brought in his acceptance letter from Boston College High. “The time we had spent together paid off; it made a huge difference in his life.” Kinghorn isn’t sure what field he’ll pursue but says, “Teachers are everywhere, not just the classroom.

You can be a teacher in whatever you do by helping people improve themselves and improve the lives of others.”

Loris Toribio ’06, an early college coordinator for the Lawrence Public Schools, has spent two summers teaching at Achieve. It reenergized her as an educator and transformed her teaching.

The culture of the charter school where she worked was heavily focused on behavior management. “I learned from Achieve that that’s not always necessary if you establish a culture of trust and learning. Achieve creates social capital to build students up so they can be resources for each other. It connects them to everyday heroes [in Boston or at Nobles], not necessarily those in history books.”

Toribio continues: “Achieve is so inclusive, and teaches tolerance and the intrinsic value of a human being instead of whatever label society may impose on people. It does a really good job of building students up and giving them a voice.”

SECURING THE FUTURE

Kershaw has seen incredible growth in Achieve during her three years serving the program. “While in the past we’ve relied on individual donors almost entirely to support the budget, we’ve made great strides in terms of expanding our revenue sources so that they now

include grants from foundations as well as proceeds from events and initiatives.”

Nobles’ Chief Advancement Officer George Maley adds, “The endowment has grown to nearly $4 million in gifts and pledges and currently produces an income of $100,000. The Edgerley Family Foundation has issued a challenge: If Achieve supporters can raise $2.5 million by the end of June 2018, they will match it with $1.25 million to complete and permanently endow Achieve at a little more than $7 million total. This is an amazing time for the program and a rallying point for the entire community.” The match would generate exciting long-term possibilities for program development and staffing to meet students’ needs.

Trustee Mary Dunne P ’13, ’15, ’17, ’21 has been on the board since Achieve’s second year and now heads the committee.

She was impressed with the tutoring partnerships from day one. Dunne’s eldest, Alex ’13, has worked as an intern, and daughter Casey ’17 was a dedicated tutor until she unexpectedly passed away in 2015. The tutoring component of Achieve was renamed “The Casey Dunne Achieve Tutoring Program” in her honor, and her memorial fund inspired an influx of gifts and repeat donors. Dunne would love to expand the program to other schools.

“Now we’re turning students away, and it’s just heartbreaking,” she says.

Although she has served on other boards, her involvement with Achieve is deeply personal. “It’s a way to continue Casey’s legacy—I want to make sure it works.”

Head of School Bob Henderson has championed Achieve since its inception.

“Through Achieve, the school is finally living in a very true and real sense, its mission. It has an immense impact on the culture here.” N

To learn more about Achieve, please visit www.theachieveprogram.org.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 47

OUR BOYS OF SPRING A CENTURY (and more) AGO

BY MA RV I N PAV E

Nobles’ receipt for Volkmann School’s share of booking Fenway Park for $12.50 and the cost of baseballs $3.50.

48 Nobles SPRING 2017

ON MAY 21, 1917, a month after America’s entry into World War I, the Noble and Greenough School baseball team made the short trip by open streetcar from its Beacon Street campus in Boston to Dexter Field in Brookline.

There, it took on the Powder Point School of Duxbury and prevailed, 6–4. “The work of Jack Hooper, catcher, was high grade,” the Boston Globe reported of the Hingham native who would captain the 1918 team. “He caught two attempting to steal and drove home four of the six runs for Nobles.”

Four days after its win over Powder Point, Nobles concluded the season with a 5–4 loss to the Volkmann School at Fenway Park.

Although Dexter was Nobles’ home field during the early years of the 20th century, Nobles had the good fortune to also play at three of Boston’s major league parks.

They were the South End Grounds, owned by the National League’s Boston Braves (who moved to Milwaukee in 1953); the nearby Huntington Avenue American League Baseball Grounds, where the first World Series took place in 1903 between the Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates; and Fenway, built in 1912.

That era essentially ended in 1923, when Nobles moved to Dedham and started playing its home games there.

“The cherished occasion of Boston’s professional teams allowing high school teams to use their facilities is a timehonored local tradition,” said the Sports Museum’s curator, Richard Johnson. “Over the past 12 decades, Nobles athletes have enjoyed the privilege of lacing up their cleats and skates to compete on nearly every major league venue in town.”

In 1898, the Interpreparatory School League was founded by Nobles, Roxbury Latin, Milton Academy and Volkmann.

The latter merged with Noble and Greenough in the fall of 1917, ending a fierce rivalry on the diamond.

The Globe covered Nobles’ 6–2 victory over Volkmann at the South End Grounds in June of 1911, which secured them a second straight league title. The story was accompanied by a cartoon on which the faces of Volkmann fans were inscribed the words gloom, despair and sorrow.

The Nobles 1910 champs were led by senior first baseman and captain Leverett Saltonstall. The clincher was an 11–1 win over Volkmann at the Huntington Ave. Grounds, where Northeastern University’s Cabot Gym now stands.

The Globe proclaimed “Noble & Greenough Made Good,” while giving credit to Saltonstall and head coach William Appleton Lawrence for their 10–2 record and eight straight victories to close the season.

Private and public school baseball was covered in depth by the Globe in the early 20th century. In May 1900, a headline that read “Runs Scarce” prefaced a story about Nobles’ 1–0 win against eventual league champ Roxbury Latin.

“Both pitchers were on their mettle,” the newspaper reported. Nobles leadoff hitter Henry Vose Greenough, a cousin of the school’s partner James Greenough, drove in the lone run with a single.

In 1913, Nobles second baseman George Abbot was a Globe second-team All-Interscholastic selection, the only non-public school honoree among 24 first- and second-team players. Although his hitting was affected by injury, team captain Abbot was described as “a natural second baseman and very quick in double plays.”

After a losing season a century ago, Nobles bounced back the following year with a 6–3 mark under Head Coach Dick Lewis. That 1918 season began with a 2–0 loss to the alumni, whose lineup included Lewis, who had three hits, and pitcher Ken Pillsbury, Volkmann’s captain in 1917, who allowed one hit—to Jack Hooper. The season ended with a 4–1 victory over Country Day, which was celebrated by the Nobleman as a “complete triumph,” since Nobles also defeated Country Day in football, track, tennis and hockey, “thus leaving them no source of consolation.”

In its editorial of June 1918, the Nobleman praised the 6-foot-6 Hooper, also

an exceptional hockey player and sailor.

“Captain Hooper cannot be complimented too highly on his splendid work and leadership,” the Nobleman stated.

“Always watchful for the good of the team and playing a strong, steady game, he made an ideal captain for the others to follow.”

Hooper left Nobles after his junior year to join the Navy, according to his daughter, Dorothy Dean, and grandson, John Ho John Hooper Dean, oper both of Hingham. “He was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, where he caught the Spanish Flu, and doctors saved his life by inserting a tube in his lungs,” his grandson said. A salesman after returning from the service, Hooper died at age 29, shortly after Dorothy was born. He passed on his athletic genes to his grandson, who at age 62 plays in an adult hockey league on the South Shore.

“He won many sailing trophies,” John recalled, “and I use one of them as a silver serving dish. What we didn’t know was how good a baseball player he was at Noble and Greenough, but that was a long time ago, and he died while still a young man.” N

THE ROSTER Leverett Saltonstall was later Governor of Massachusetts (1939–1945) and a U.S. Senator (1945–1967). He was a multisport athlete at Harvard and scored a dramatic overtime goal in 1914 to beat the legendary Hobey Baker’s Princeton hockey team.

“Appy” Lawrence, a distinguished graduate of Nobles, became an overseer of Harvard University and Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

Henry Greenough was a three-sport athlete at Harvard and a textile executive who served as president of the North Bennett Street Industrial Union, a settlement house in Boston.

George Abbot was also on the Nobles track team, was the first editor-in-chief of the Nobleman, and was on the committee that established Nobles’ first Class Book.

He was a banker and financier.

Dick Lewis, who also coached football and track and taught history and geography, retired from Nobles in 1953.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 49

graduate news NOTES & ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLASSMATES

Graduate Notes Policy:

■■ Send graduate updates and photographs to your class

correspondents if you have one.

■■ Digital photographs must be high-resolution JPEG images (1MB+) to appear in print.

■■ Editorial staff reserves the right to edit, format and select all materials for publication, to accommodate eight decades of classes in the magazine.

■■ For more information, please visit the Graduate Notes submission page on our website at www.nobles.edu/gradnotes.

■■ Contact us if you’re interested in becoming a class correspondent, to collect and compile news of your classmates to share.

1950 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED

1951 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Galt Grant 781-383-0854 galtgra@gmail.com

1952 & 1953 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

1940 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Percy Nelson 617-244-4126 percylnelson@comcast.net

1942 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Putty McDowell 781-320-1960 pbmcd2@verizon.net

1946 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Gregg Bemis 505-983-7094 gbemis@swcp.com We are down to five class members and are in touch with all. Wedding bells for Baker and Bemis: Each has two grandkids getting married this coming year. However, I am one great-

50 Nobles SPRING 2017

grandchild ahead of Phil, but the race is on. Dick Lucas reports from Marion that all is well, but he is headed to the Southwest (it is a secret where) to last out the winter weather, whereas Stew Clifford is enduring the winter climes in Palm Beach. Not too shabby. Talked with Beezer Almy, who is still somewhat hobbled with two replacement knees. However, he has a phone handy, 781-320-7812, if you have a moment to chat with him.

1948 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Bill Bliss 781-326-1062 wlbliss@comcast.net

1949 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

John Guilbert 520-887-0628

Winston “Hooley” Perry perrydise@tampabay.rr.com It goes without saying that this past presidential election year has been one of the most momentous and surprising, unexpected and unusual, divisive and contentious (for some), and amazing (for others) that we have ever experienced. Therefore, following one of my mother’s “lessons of life” about getting along with others, which stresses that you “should not speak in a crowd, or at a party, about politics or religion,” for fear of sparking a heated discussion among the politically inclined or “basket of deplorables,” I will say no more.

Personally, the highlight of this year for Andrea and me was venturing to Santa Barbara, California (the La La Land of the West), to bear witness to my son Matthew’s wedding, which was a spectacular and enjoyable affair, and finally brings closure to

my days as father of the groom.

So life is extremely good, and let the grandchildren multiply.

Around Christmastime, instead of sending out Christmas cards, I took the easy route of personally telephoning a number of my ’52 & ’53 classmates to find what was going on in their lives. I found that Don Atwell ’53 is living happily and comfortably in a retirement home in Fryeburg, Maine, and has recently decided to give up driving, and to “leave the driving to others,” which certainly makes a lot of sense. Of course, driving in the deep snow (which, of late, Fryeburg has an abundance) was never one of my favorite and/or safest pastimes, so Don, that sounds like a good move on your part.

When I talked to Peter “Benuche” Bennett ’52, he and Nancy were on their way to the local Amtrak station that ships you and your car to Florida, where they planned to continue on to Naples for their annual pilgrimage to the “Sunshine State” to work on their tans.

After receiving and enjoying Wink Childs’ ’52 rambling Christmas cards with his usual “Igor the Unworthy” yuletide blessings, it was quite amazing to read how far afield his and Peg’s offspring have gravitated throughout the world in various successful endeavors.

Also, I was fortunate enough to catch Wink between his usual rounds of golf and was able to find out what his summer travel plans were so that I could plan

our Plymouth luncheon dates around his being in New England.

I also talked to Hal Knapp ’52 as he and Carol were getting ready to attend Chatham’s New Year’s Eve “First Night” festivities, which include various acts and performances around town, ending with fireworks on Chatham Bay. “Hollywood Hal” and Carol also attended the premiere of “The Finest Hours,” which he and his antique Willy’s Jeep Wagon appeared in. Hal and Carol were also planning their usual two-month winter visit to Florida’s Longboat Key to enjoy its sunshine and warm weather, plus a long weekend of his officiating at the yearly Naples Antique Car Show.

Terry and David Horton ’52 are finally settling into their new “Mainstone Farms” condo in Wayland, and according to their “picture perfect” Christmas card, many of their offspring have gravitated out west to the Rockies, which gives “Scroot” and Terry a good reason to travel west on occasion for a little bit of mountain climbing.

“Round Room” buddy “Prascho” is totally and completely retired, my phone call interrupted his doing crossword puzzles while periodically looking out of his iceframed windows at the beautiful snowbound world beyond.

Over the last few years, I have had the distinct pleasure of being in regular email contact with Stanley Johnson ’53 and his wife, Thora, discussing, among other things, their growing family and his being the longtime headmaster of the Friends School and all that entails.

Since Nobles gifted a supercomfortable Under Armour sweatshirt to me and to many other of last year’s Plymouth Luncheon attendees, we also discussed Baltimore’s very successful Under Armour company and its interesting founder, Kevin Plank. It goes without saying that Baltimore’s good versus bad local political scenery, and what is happening just down the road in Washington, D.C., is food for discussion. So Stanley, let’s stay in touch, especially as it

leg fatigue, but our roving goodwill ambassador Peter Hallett ’52 and his wife, Carol, drive back and forth from New Hampshire to Florida like it’s just another weekly Sunday stroll. If they time it right (which they mostly do) they will either spend a night with Peg and Wink Childs in Amelia Island, Florida, or stop and spend a night with Stanton “Lee” Burgess ’52 and his wife, Gail, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lee is retired after his many successful years with the Xerox Corp. and is just enjoying life while relaxing, which we all do to one extent or another, whether we have or have not completed our “Honey Do” list.

I spoke to our “El Presidente” Bob Cumings ’52 and his lovely wife, Carolyn, to catch up on their numerous activities. Over the past few years, Bob has corralled an exclusive bunch of Boston’s movers and shakers, which they call “The Squirrel Club,” who convene an exclusive monthly luncheon where they solve all of Boston’s

Hollywood Hal [Knapp ’52] and Carol also attended the premiere of “The Finest Hours,” which he and his antique Willy’s Jeep Wagon appeared in.” —WINSTON “HOOLEY” PERRY ’53 Carolyn and Bob Prasch ’53 are still confirmed “Northern Kingdom” Vermonters, living on the snow-filled northern end of Lake Champlain, and because my

relates to our wondering what the future brings with our new White House resident couple.

Recently, I have cut back on my long-distance driving due to

political and “whatever” problems (more or less). Their Golden Poodle “Shadow” still rules their household whenever and however he desires.

Jean and John Childs ’53 have finally settled into their North Hill Retirement Community apartment, which I am sure is a big adjustment from their previous Wellesley Hills large-home living. And personally knowing what amount of “stuff” you can acquire in a large home over many years, I’m amazed that they were able to downsize and both decide “what to take” and “what to get rid of.”

I periodically talk to David Thibodeau ’53 to see how he likes bachelor living, and how his Nobles gift-giving efforts are bearing fruit, and note that this past year he had a 100 percent participation from the class of ’53. So, way to go, Tib, and life is good.

I also exchange various entertaining emails with Ben Taylor ’52, who between fishing adventures and retirement home living somehow finds the time to keep in touch with everybody while spreading cheer within the Class of ’52.

Periodically, I trade emails with Galen Clough ’53, who is successfully battling some health issues (as probably a few of us are). Knowing that Galen is a good story writer, a while back he viewed some foxes playing in his backyard, which reminded me many years ago of my reading a childhood book about “Skinny the Gray Fox,” so I encouraged Galen to write his own backyard foxes book. So Galen, I’m still waiting for my first-edition signed copy of your “Backyard Foxes” to add to my library.

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graduate news

Also, while spreading more Christmas cheer to everyone before December 25, I made a number of unanswered telephone calls to Peter Summers ’52, Joan and Sam Bartlett ’53, Sally and Dicky Flood ’53, and Grace and Evan Geilich ’53, and left “Christmas best wishes” messages to hopefully brighten everyone’s holidays.

So, my many oldest and best friend classmates, I apologize if I left anyone out of my 2017 spring Nobles magazine ramblings. Please remember that green grass, warm weather and sunshiny days are just around the corner, so enjoy your (plus or minus) eighth decade of life, and remember: “Time flies when you are having fun.” So have some fun, and I love y’all.

1954 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Peter Partridge 508-548-9418 ppart767@comcast.net Robert Foster writes, “Just finished writing my second book, Cadet, about the zany life of a young naval aviator. My first book was about a grown-up ex-naval aviator as he learns the ropes

I fondly remember Mr. Reese for his instruction and inspiration.”

1955 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Bob Chellis 781-237-9436 bchellis@campuscontinuum.com Congratulations to Susie and Wally Stimpson for yet another outstanding Christmas card! Two pictures of the family group—all smiling on the card’s front—all joking on the inside.

A radiant extended family indeed.

Last year, Wally’s “Stimpmeter Instruction” card was also a saver— with Wally demonstrating his dad’s ingenious contribution to golf to the younger generations. If you don’t know the Stimpmeter, check Wikipedia. It’s admired, endorsed by the USGA, and widely used!

Dave Fisher writes, “Still greatly enjoying the cultural cornucopia of San Francisco: opera, symphony, excellent senior educational programs at the University of San Francisco and San Francisco State, interesting presentations at the Commonwealth Club, Mechanics Institute, Jewish Community Center, book presentations and clubs, etc. Trying to forestall gallop-

ing students several hours a week in the San Francisco Public Schools system. Forgive my rodomontade regarding my sons, both of whom spent a valuable Class III at Nobles: One is an anesthesiologist, as is his wife, practicing in the Napa Valley wine country. The other lives in the city and is president of an I.T. company (this electronically challenged person still doesn’t quite discern what he actually does), and his wife has developed an online interior design company, which had a feature article in the Wall Street Journal. I am still waiting to take any of my classmates and their wives or significant others to dinner at one of our renowned San Francisco restaurants. This offer expires when I do, so get with it fellows!”

Bob Chellis and Sandy are just back from the Bahamas. “We liked the little Westwind Club so much 37 years ago that we went back again the next year, got married in the post office, and have been back every year since. Trust me—you didn’t really need all those bridesmaids and ushers!”

If anyone has good ideas for a super 80th birthday party, it would be a blessing to share them. We’re mostly in the same boat here!

How do we make such a milestone

I look back to my English classes and I fondly remember Mr. Reese for his instruction and inspiration.” —ROBERT FOSTER ’54 on Madison Avenue. Ad Man: True Stories From the Golden Age of Advertising is a series of belly laughs about what really went on there during the ’60s. I look back to my English classes, and

52 Nobles SPRING 2017

ing decrepitude by exercising two to three times a week at a gym. I’m often the token male struggling to keep up with 25 or so senior ladies at Jazzercise. I’ve found a rewarding and enriching second career tutor-

upbeat and celebratory? Maybe even fun?

Don’t forget Reunion Weekend in May—Friday night cocktails and dinner in the glamorized castle.

Help us fill a ’55 table. Wives, wid-

ows, significant others and even children can be honored guests. It will be Friday, May 12, with sports the next day.

Best wishes to all. Write when you get work or have news or can get together.

1956 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Gren “Rocky” Whitman 410-639-7551 grenwhitman@verizon.net After 40 years as chair of his Harvard class committee, Newell Flather writes that he has stepped down to “give some of the younger fellas a chance at responsibility. It seems they were happy to see me go, as they held a dinner for me and a couple of others after The Game last November. The 45 or so classmate attendees were Radcliffe and Harvard, and my greatest satisfaction is that we worked hard at being one class, and mostly succeeded. Nice!”

Tim Leland reports that he and his wife, Julie, have co-authored a book about their many biking adventures, here and abroad.

Entitled Thirty Years on Two Wheels: A Biking Odyssey, it is based on the articles they wrote for the Boston Globe’s travel section after each trip. “Hopefully it captures the joys of traveling by bicycle in foreign lands,” Tim writes. “The things you experience as you pedal down little vineyard lanes, far removed from the air-conditioned tour buses that keep you away from the real thing.” Tim invites anyone who is interested in bike touring—and even those who aren’t—to check his book out on Amazon.

“I sold my dear little vintage car to a good home and am through with that long chapter of my life,” writes Dave Carroll. “I now spend three to six hours a day with my wife, Babs, in her memory care center, and steadily face such obstacles as getting her a National ID or Social Security card. Dealing with just these two bureaucracies has been disheartening—meaning they have no heart.

“I think back on losing her to another in 1960, getting her back in 2008, and losing her again to dementia, and hearing much about Alzheimer’s research but little about dementia. For us, it’s a heartbreaking condition.

Babs is locked away forever on a hall with people with all kinds of disconcerting symptoms. She sometimes realizes she’ll never see her home again, or her cat, or her earrings, etc., and can’t understand why. When she does understand, it’s even worse. I can only thank God for the six good years we had after reuniting.

“I’m shocked and saddened at having Trump in power and can only hope the country and the Constitution will survive, not to mention individual freedom.

“I miss New England terribly but can’t come back now. My prayers are with you all, and especially our classmate Brad Snow.”

“I have started a firearms safety group in my rural Maryland county,” says Rocky Whitman, “and penned a haiku on the subject: ‘Firearms safety/Has nothing to do with the/Second Amendment.’ Terse and to the point, my ditty passed muster with our sheriff, but what would our favorite English teacher, Sid Eaton, think?”

Robert Macleod ’57 has been exploring the world for the past several years with tour company Bicycle Adventures. This shot is from his latest trip through Death Valley.

1957 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

John Valentine 413-256-6676 jvalj1@yahoo.com Robert McElwain is “trying to recover from Trump’s nomination.”

Robert Macleod writes, “Don’t know whether my latest gig meets your criteria or high standards, but I had a great trip to Arizona (Saguaro National Park—two parts) and California, with the high point being celebrating Election Day riding into Death Valley, a national park I was fascinated to visit on two wheels. We bicycled into the park, staying at Furnace Creek, near the site of the Borax 20-mule team, as well as Bad Water Creek, lowest point in the country, 252

feet below sea level. I was desperate to memorialize in pictures, which might be an attention-getter for ’57. Happy and healthy New Year.” (His latest adventure was his seventh with Bicycle Adventures.

Among other destinations, he has visited Hawaii and New Zealand.)

David Woods writes, “We are headed to Peterborough, New Hampshire, the next town over from Jaffrey, which the class has visited once or twice. We are going to move into a place called RiverMead, which has an established memory unit that Eleanor will enter. I will live independently in an apartment. My older sister, Kit, is already living there (independently), and my next two younger sisters (Carol and Heather) live nearby in their own homes in Jaffrey.”

Loring Conant says, “The axis

of the universe is precariously tipped in anticipation of Obama’s successor. The Golden Rule seems to be fulfilled: He who has the gold, rules! The thought of Trump choosing between tweeting or pressing the button chills me to the marrow.

Where to find hope or encouragement when you ponder the political situation or friends dealing with progressive illnesses? Yes, grandchildren help. We are spending more time on the West Coast with son David in the San Francisco area and daughter Molly in Seattle. Louise and I are still able to enjoy our ornithological interests. My music is both vocal in our church choir and instrumental, continuing quite earnestly the violin with a glorious teacher, age 89, whose teacher was Toscanini’s concert master. Maine remains an important oasis for us.”

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Eliot Putnam reports, “Time flies when you’re having fun, and time has certainly flown by in bringing us to the 60th anniversary of our graduation from Nobles.

Over that time, we have, each of us, belonged to and identified ourselves with many groups of people, associated with the many personal and professional adventures, endeavors and successes that have characterized our lives. At the top of that list for me, second only to my family, is the Noble and Greenough School Class of 1957.

Many of you remain my greatest friends. All of your names bring back memories rich in anecdote and image, the more poignant and vivid for their being lodged only in my mind, rather than on Facebook or YouTube or one of those other newfangled repositories of trivia.

Whether of classroom antics, successes and failures on mat or court or playing field, extracurricular activities, or class gatherings then or since, those memories are as vivid today as they ever were and never fail to bring me great joy.

we were special, yes? I think so. I celebrate those years together, and always will.”

Lance Grandone writes, “Limited news from Nokomis, Florida.

Glad the holidays are over. Have been spending the lion’s share of my time as primary caregiver for my wife, Karin, who has a bevy of health issues including a carcinoid lung tumor, pulmonary embolism, thyroid issues and some autoimmune disorders, to name only the most critical. Mr. Mom has been acting as chauffeur and chief cook and bottle washer. It seems all we do is visit different medical specialists and laboratories. Yours truly is still mobile and has most of his faculties. We are in the process of upgrading our home with such low-cost items as a new roof, pool resurfacing, new landscaping, exterior and interior painting, replumbing, electrical work, etc. I don’t know which is worse: our getting old or house repairs. Thankfully, we have a good PPO healthcare plan with minimal out-of-pocket. Our daughter was here for the holidays,

to this horrendous weather. It’s 80 degrees here and sunny as I write this. I am planning on coming to the 60th Nobles reunion, but I doubt if Karin will be able to join me. My best regards to all.”

As I write this, it is Martin Luther King Day. In four days, Donald John Trump will, presumably, be inaugurated as President of the United States. I doubt there is a satirist in the country who has missed the irony this week presents. A strange emptiness of language seems to cover the land. The ubiquitous world of electronic information has enabled Trump to take the air out of the room (as they say about certain megastars in my profession).

Humor and wit lie gasping on the floor. Cartoons have withered, and good humor is a veneer.

A class note with updates about engagements, marriages, newborns and social get-togethers seems to pale in the shadow of immediate events. So, briefly, I can report, thankfully, all Valentines and members of the extended clan persevere

All of your names bring back memories rich in anecdote and image, the more poignant and vivid for their being lodged only in my mind, rather than on Facebook or YouTube or one of those other newfangled repositories of trivia.” —ELIOT PUTNAM ’57 “We were a small group then.

Sadly, we are even smaller now. In comparison with the large, diverse, dynamic classes of today’s Nobles, perhaps we look a tad anachronistic in the rearview mirror—all male, all white, in our blazers and ties, and only 29 of us at our fullest. But

54 Nobles SPRING 2017

in between shuttling between Toronto and Brisbane with her traveling Maine Coon Cat. Our son was here before the holidays and is commuting between Morrison, Colorado, and Illinois. My heart goes out to all classmates and their families who have been subjected

and focus on good things. Friends are bearing up and going forward.

This is far from the first time we have had to stand in the wings and wait upon events.

Fortunately, we have learned, almost from ground zero, Spes sibi quisque. Excelsior!

1958 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Chris Morss knossos@aol.com Peter Norstrand writes, “Kathy and I are off January 19 to visit Fran and Bob MacPhail in Nevada. My term as president of the board of the Brookline Community Mental Health Center ended in September, but I remain on the board and continue to serve on the executive and finance committees.”

Mike Whitman writes, “Still in Lyme, New Hampshire (since 1974), active in community service and town committees, and still in touch with Gordon Grant twice yearly since our birthdays are exactly six months apart. I’m starting to wind down my woodworking, which I ramped up after retirement eight years ago. Details if you Google my name and town.”

Bill Danielson writes, “Danielson, Daloz, Gallagher, Horton and Norstrand (plus Henkels via vibrations we all sensed) recently got together on email to reminisce about our hike through New Hampshire’s Presidential Range, 60 years ago this June. We’re happy to report that everyone has nearly recovered from that odyssey and that we’re now working on an official history for its 100th anniversary. Daloz has already written a first draft.”

Chris Morss writes, “Bob Bland, Richard Whiteley and I journeyed early in January to Middleton, Massachusetts, to visit with Elaine and Dick Gallagher.

Over sandwiches we reminisced about our times at Nobles and Richard read some of his poetry.

Bill Russell writes, “Jan and I moved from Wellesley in December to the Charleston, South Carolina, area and expect to split our time between there and our house in Maine. We expect the Wellesley house to go on the market the second or third week in January.”

1959 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Whit Bond whit.bond@verizon.net Buzz Gagnebin bgagnebin@mac.com John Gibson jgib1963@aol.com

1960 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Albert Vandam arvandam2@comcast.net

1961 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jim Newell 802-467-3555 newell43@gmail.com From John Merrill: “As some classmates may recall, the Merrill family has owned property on Squirrel Island, Maine, since the late 19th century; we are now on our sixth generation of residence.

This summer, my nephew David Merrill ’92, son of my late brother Stephen ’67, rented a cottage that once belonged to an old family friend. Among the memorabilia they discovered there was the stuffed head of a fox. They were curious as to the significance of

this seemingly anomalous artifact.

“That unfortunate creature, as it turns out, met his demise on our Weston, Massachusetts, property during the winter of ’59-’60, that is, our Nobles Class II year. At the time, our classmate Arthur Boynton Glidden III was teaching himself the art of taxidermy and offered to perfect his skills on the fox. The result was a bit lopsided, but nevertheless recognizable, and for years the stuffed head inhabited our Weston house. How it found its way to Squirrel Island is a story lost in history, but the owner of the cottage where it now resides was a great friend of my father’s and fellow member of the world-renowned Hennessy Five-Star orchestra. Members were legendary pranksters, and evidently the fox played a role in one of their stunts.

“David’s young children, Sylvia and Elias (N’?), have nicknamed the fox ‘Boyntie’ in honor of its creator. So, Boyntie, your reputation lives on on a cottage wall at Squirrel Island.”

1962

Stew Young ’69, center, with his son, Alex, and soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Alison McGrath

1965

1969

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jim Summers jimsummers@post.harvard.edu

Peter Pach 860-267-9701 pbp06456@sbcglobal.net

1966 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED

Ned Reece ned4047@sbcglobal.net

1963

1967

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jim Lehan 508-520-1373 jblehan@aol.com

Drew Sullivan 781-461-1477 drewsull49@aol.com

1964

1968

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Ned Bigelow 781-704-4304 moe9817@aol.com

Andy Lord 617-899-3948 ajliii@hotmail.com

Fairly quiet as far as class news goes. Perhaps everyone’s resting from what seemed like a tumultuous year.

Stew Young reports that his son Alex is engaged to Alison McGrath. He writes, “They were classmates in graduate school and both have Psy.D.s in clinical psychology. I imagine that some of our classmates could use their help. …

Seriously, this is a wonderful, lifechanging event with the prospect of grandchildren.”

Baird Brightman sent me greetings from the West Coast.

“Happy New Year, Peter. We’re going through the ’60s again!”

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For my part, outside of work, my major undertaking has been hand-splitting a large ash tree that fell in the yard in late summer for firewood. I think of it as part of my exercise regimen. Whether you are splitting wood or atoms, drop me a note.

John Dewey jrdewey@usa.net

1970

The latest news, hearsay and innuendo from the ’71 class correspondents: In December, George Parker became director of individual giving at Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research. We wish George well in his new position and hope that the institute can provide good advice to our new President! We have also heard that Jim Rosen is currently executive advisor to the St. Maarten Ministry of Health, Social Development and Labor.

“Mr. Jim Rosen, who has a financial background, has been contracted as a consultant for a symbolic guilder per year to act as the minister’s right hand throughout his tenure, providing the team with guidance and expertise.” The minister, Emil Lee, was quoted as saying, “Jim Rosen is my senior specialist who has done a great job, particularly when it comes to financial analysis.” The ministry is currently focused on health care for the island and is working to put in place an affordable National Health Insurance Plan. They have already put in place an insurance plan that covers the uninsured for three dollars a day. Pretty impressive! Maybe Jim should also be providing advice and guidance to President Trump!

Several members of the class recently reconnected with two classmates who did not make it

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Levy Byrd 781-449-7555 levbyrd@comcast.net From Jim Martinez: “I stepped away from my position as director of mental health services and into retirement last fall following more than 38 years of service with the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. I’m happy to report that it’s been a really nice change. I’m now doing some part-time consulting with the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, and I’m enjoying very much just being around the house, puttering around, and getting a few more of our chores done. The love of my life, Kathleen, and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this year, and we continue to enjoy visiting with our families, our summer trips to Maine, spur-of-the-moment picnics looking out over the water somewhere, and much more. I guess I am as busy as ever, and I’m a pretty lucky man.”

1971 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Harry Blackman HBlackma@skadden.com

56 Nobles SPRING 2017

Nick Mittell nmittell@artexfas.com Win Perkins wperkins@airportappraisals.com

all the way to graduation with us, but who will always be in our hearts and minds and be members of our class. Welcome back to Steve Gardner and DG Wheeler!

Steve is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Tulsa. Steve reports, “I’ve been out here in Indian Territory— Oklahoma—for 17 years now, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Tulsa. Tulsa’s about a one-day drive equally from Santa Fe, Chicago and New Orleans. Remote. TU is right on Route 66. Out here you have to get used to driving 600 miles to get anywhere. But it’s not so bad, because driving through New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah, for example, is stunning.

The American road trip. Truth is, I love the West. A very different experience than the East Coast.

The geography and geology make up for the culture shock. Oklahoma picks up interest out around the panhandle. There’s also West Texas. New Mexico is Shangri-La.” DG, after a career at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, is now a pickleball ambassador and competitor. Now some of you may be asking, “What is this pickleball?”

According to Wikipedia, the game started during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, at the home of State Representative Joel Pritchard. He returned from golf and found his family bored. He attempted to set up a badminton game but couldn’t find the shuttlecocks, so they lowered the net and used Wiffle balls. The game is alleged to have gotten its name from Pritchard’s family dog, Pickles. Really? Well, we can’t really say, but it is a sport growing

in popularity from school phys. ed. classes to college sports programs and senior citizen community centers. DG says, “It’s easy to learn, there’s plenty of action, and that’s what people like.” DG is a fourtime national pickleball champion!

That’s all, folks!

1972 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED

1973 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Craig Sanger 917-705-7556 craig.w.sanger@gmail.com

1974 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kevin McCarthy 617-480-6344 kmac56@gmail.com

1975 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Andrea Pape Truitt 609-646-5361 apape57@gmail.com Jed Dawson 508-735-9663 Jeddawson711@gmail.com Doug Floyd 781-788-0020 doug_floyd@yahoo.com

1976 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Tom Bartlett +44 1908 647196 tom_bartlett58@hotmail.com

Rob Piana 617-491-7499 robert.piana@vanderbilt.edu

1977 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Linda Rheingold licorh@comcast.net

1978 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Christopher Reynolds Cell: 800-444-0004 Home: 508-358-7757 chreynolds@comcast.net

1979 Dan Rodgers 212-423-0374 drodgers@wfw.com

1980 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Rob Capone 781-326-7142 robcapwest@comcast.net Greetings, class of 1980 classmates! I have been terribly inconsistent in performing my class correspondent duties. But with my daughter Mariel now in Class IV at Nobles, I am pledging to get much better at filling you all in with the latest news and eliminating further embarrassment.

One of the great things about not doing the notes for a time is that I received some very nice responses.

Peter Marcello, who is an all-around happy person, wrote in and told me, “Life is great.” How about that? He is currently the

Kevin O’Marah ’80 at the Stanford Global Supply Chain Forum with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

chair of colon and rectal surgery at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, Massachusetts. In his role, he teaches residents innovative new procedures, which, given the anatomy that we are talking about, is definitely a good thing. In the past year, Peter traveled all over the world—France, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and Taiwan—to lecture.

He has a summer home in Scituate, Massachusetts, near fellow classmate Tim Nash, and in the winter he heads up to ski at Sugarloaf. Peter has a daughter, Bianca, who is now a freshman at UCLA. I also heard from Deb Smith, who is now in her 17th year of teaching at the Fay School, currently as an eighth- and ninth-grade English teacher. She continues to love what she does and loves living on campus. Her son, Nathaniel, is in the eighth grade at the Carroll School and is looking ahead to next year somewhere else—probably boarding. I chimed in with an email exchange about how my oldest, my son Michael, is currently a junior

boarding at the Kent’s Hill School in Maine, and he is really enjoying it. But Deb is an old pro with boarding, as is Nathaniel, having grown up at a boarding school, so no worries. They had an amazing summer of travel in California and Arizona, with the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon as some of the highlights of the trip.

Lastly, she reminded me that she was about to turn 55 years young—a number that is hard for her (and me) and probably the rest of you to believe is actually happening to us all.

Then I received a really great note from Kevin O’Marah. Aside from being gracious enough to host our Friday night prereunion parties at his home in Dedham, Kevin has been quite busy in the business world, and he told me that 2016 was a big year on that front. After he and his colleagues spent the past five years building a research business in London called SCM World, they sold the company to Gartner, a

$3 billion public company here in the United States. This is the same acquirer who bought the last company he worked for, AMR Research, back in 2010.

Kevin’s kids have grown. His oldest, Peter, 23, is finishing up at the Berklee College of Music.

Greta, 21 (Nobles ’14), is a junior in Barcelona on a year abroad from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Svenja, 18, is entering her senior year at Norfolk County Agricultural High School. Kevin is still married to Katrin and affectionately calls her the perfect wife after almost 30 years together.

Thank goodness for me that Martha Kittredge Rowley is a fairly present fixture at Nobles these days and provides me sage advice on navigating the evolving dynamics of the Nobles environment today versus the Nobles of some 35-plus years ago. She and her husband, Dan, live happily in Dedham. Their oldest, son Sam, graduated from Nobles in 2016, and he is now a freshman

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at Hamilton College. Daughter Susan is Class III at Nobles, playing soccer and lacrosse.

And although this was not a direct write-in, I am going to add that Martha recently saw Kris Koehler Normandin at a JV hockey game at Nobles. Kris has a daughter who is a sophomore at St. Mark’s, and her son, Blake, graduated from St. Mark’s in 2015 and is now at the University of Richmond.

That is all of the news for now.

I hope to hear from even more of you the next time around.

line in April 2016 as quirky (like me) New England Cable News began morphing into mainstream (unlike me) NBC Boston. Thankfully, I’ve landed in a magnificent new place as senior advisor for Denterlein, a superb 24-person Boston public affairs/communications consulting shop where I’m applying Globe, NECN, Nobleman and Baker/Carey/Gleason/ Swayze–honed writing skills and experience in a job that’s as much business strategy as PR. Can’t wait to see you at our 35th.”

Pete Nicks ’86 behind the camera on his new film, The Force

1981

1983

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kim Rossi Stagliano 203-610-1750 krstagliano@charter.net

Nancy Sarkis Corcoran Home: 508-785-0886 Fax: 508-785-0887 NLSC3@me.com

1982 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

1984

Holly Malkasian Staudinger 914-925-2340 hmalkasian@verizon.net

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Mark DeAngelis writes, “My two oldest sons graduated from Nobles in 2013 (Matt) and 2015 (Tommy), and they are now at Hamilton College and Trinity College. Life is good! I sold my print/promo agency to Smart Source LLC two years ago, and my earn-out is killing it. We were up 50 percent last year! The pressure is off, and I’m having fun writing/ producing movies with John Stimpson ’79, among other things.

I look forward to catching up with you at our 35th.”

Peter Howe says, “My 30-year run in journalism launched by the Nobleman reached a finish

1985

58 Nobles SPRING 2017

Christine Todd christinetodd@me.com

CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED

1986 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Heather Markey Zink 508-359-9553 hjzink@mac.com Jessica Tyler 781-934-6321 jessicaytyler@gmail.com Eliza Kelly Beaulac 703-476-4442 embeaulac@verizon.net

Alicia Hesse Cleary writes, “Our youngest daughter, a junior at Milton Academy, is battling a hereditary cancer tumor syndrome called pheochromocytomaparaganglioma and mitochondrial disease. Anyone studying genetic mutations and cures related to adrenal and mitochondrial disease, I would love to connect. Our oldest daughter is in her freshman year at the University of Virginia in the Architecture School, focusing on design thinking. I’m raising funds to launch phase two of my company, Arts2You. Still living in historic Concord and enjoying seeing Jim Boyle’s lovely family at church, and Jim staying true to his green mission by walking to the train. I’d like to report he has the most wellbehaved children in church I’ve ever seen. We just returned from visiting Germany for Christmas and researching our Hesse family lost history from their late 1880 emigration to the United States. Happy New Year to the class of 1986.”

We are wishing you and your family the best, Alicia, and hope that someone out there reading this can connect with you.

Pete Nicks reports that his new film The Force premieres at the Sundance Film Festival next week.

For more information, you can go to www.theforcefilm.com. Rolling Stone called the film one of the 25 movies they can’t wait to see at Sundance 2017. Way to go, Pete!

(Editor’s note: See p. 8) The research of Stephanie Hartwell was recently featured in an Elle magazine article about how grieving mothers cope with the loss of their murdered children.

You can read it online at http:// www.elle.com/life-love/a41527/ mindfulness-murdered-children. I highly recommend checking it out.

I am pleased to say that life in Duxbury is happy, healthy and relatively uneventful. My son Sam is a 6-foot-5 sophomore, and his football team just won the state championships, which were held at Gillette Stadium in December. It was a thrill watching his team play on

the turf at Foxboro. I switched real estate firms in June and am happily ensconced at Coldwell Banker in Duxbury. My commute takes two minutes, and I get to do what I love.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to 2017!

—Jessica

1987 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Emily Gallagher Byrne 781-721-4444 egbyrne@verizon.net Elise Gustafson elise_gustafson@yahoo.com Kyle Hublitz is enjoying life in Fairfield, Connecticut, with his wife, Ellen, and two boys, Finn and

1987

Luke. This winter he’s coaching a new youth hockey league called the OHL, Outdoor Hockey League, trying to simplify travel hockey by bringing it back to the outdoors in a “Winter Classic”–type setting.

The league has been highlighted in the local TV news and can be followed on their web site: www.

NEWhalers.com. When not on the ice, the family enjoys boating, golf and summers traveling to Ellen’s native Spain.

CJ Sturtevant is in Newport, Rhode Island, with wife Krista, son Hyland and daughter Ella. CJ has been a financial adviser with Essex Financial for more than 10 years, while Krista works at the St. George’s School development office. The family enjoys winters full of skiing and summers full of

boating and surfing. CJ especially enjoys long morning walks on the beach with his twin cockapoo dogs, Lilly and Loppy.

Brendan Herlihy lives in Holden, Massachusetts, with wife Amy and their two sons. Brendan runs an independent financial-planning business and coaches both boys with their travel hockey teams.

Dana Gershengorn and her husband, Andy, continue to live in Sharon, Massachusetts, with their two children, Sayer (15) and Mason (11). They look forward to celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this summer in Europe. With two very active kids, Andy’s job as an assistant U.S. attorney, and Dana’s job as a judge in Brockton, “there are not enough hours in the day!”

West Lockhart and family have now been in London for six years, and all is well, other than the very special weather that graces the island that is soon to be separate from the European Union. He enjoyed seeing John Gifford ’86 and George Maley last month at the Nobles reception in London, and catching up on the developments on campus.

Elise Plunkett Gustafson and her sister Meredith Plunkett Ellman ’92 recently hosted a Nobles West Coast reception in Manhattan Beach, California. The event was attended by graduates ranging from the class of ’70 to ’07! We were delighted to have Dick Baker in attendance. As a fitting tribute, Meredith developed a “Bakertini” cocktail in his honor.

Left to right: Dick Baker is joined by Elise Plunkett Gustafson ’87 (left) and Meredith Plunkett Ellman ’92 (right), who hosted the Nobles Southern California alumni reception at Elise’s home in Manhattan Beach. Kyle Hublitz ’87, along with his two sons, celebrate the NHL’s Winter Classic, New Year’s Day 2016, at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro. Classmates from 1987, Kyle Hublitz, Chris Keys and Marco Luigi Buchbinder, enjoy a little holiday cheer.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 59

graduate news

1988 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED

1989 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Rachel Spencer 917-921-5916 spencerw@georgetown.edu rachelwspencer@yahoo.com

1990 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED

1991 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kelly Doherty Laferriere kellylaferriere@icloud.com

1992 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Lynne Dumas Davis 703-623-4211 LynneDumas@aol.com

1993 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Sam Jackson 978-409-9444 sambjackson@hotmail.com Hello, Class of 1993: Hope everyone is well and starting to gear up for our 25th Reunion in 2018! In the meantime, here are some classmate updates: From Ian Lundgren: “I took

a new job with NOAA Fisheries, focused on protection of Essential Fish Habitat throughout the Pacific Islands Region (Marianas, American Samoa, Hawaii and the Monuments). Also, I randomly spent New Year’s Eve camped next to a Hawaiian monk seal that had hauled out to rest on the beach.”

Tyler Barrett writes, “I took over the position as medical director for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as of January 1. I continue to work as one of the team emergency physicians for the NHL Nashville Predators. Please let me know if you ever visit Nashville.”

Nim Shah adds, “After over 12 years in California, my wife, baby and I relocated from San Diego to Cambridge. I have left the world of venture capital and joined one of my portfolio companies, Fractyl Labs, as an executive. It has been a lot of fun. We’ve quickly gotten settled in and hope this winter is a mild one! Now that we’re local to Nobles again, we would love to hear from others in the area.”

If anyone has anything to add for the next bulletin, please feel free to email me.

1995

Alex Slawsby ads@alumni.brown.edu

wife, Heydi, whom I married in 2013, and my daughter, CeCe, who will turn two in August. I’m completing a dual master’s in social work and business from Boston College in May and continuing my career in substance abuse and mental health.”

Mike O’Donnell states, “We welcomed our second daughter, Nessa, in July.”

1997

1999

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Bobbi Oldfield Wegner 617-980-1412 bobbiwegner@gmail.com

Stephanie Trussell Driscoll stephdriscoll32@gmail.com

1994

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kelly Flaman kflaman@gmail.com

1996 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jessie Sandell Achterhof 781-990-3353 jessie.achterhof@gmail.com Kristen Willoughby writes, “I’m happy to report for the class notes that I made another person this past year—we welcomed Peter Malcolm Willoughby to the family on July 27, 2016. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion!”

Kim Blois and her husband, Joe, welcomed Grace Blois in June 2016.

1998

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Dave Klivans dave.liquid@gmail.com

Annie Stephenson Murphy 415-377-4466 annie_stephenson@yahoo.com

Justin Cambria says, “On my end, I’m most happy about my

2000 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Lisa Marx Corn lisamarx@gmail.com Jill (Urbanus) Pitino writes, “We welcomed Zoe Grace Pitino on August 6, 2016. She joins big sister Ava and big brother Jack.”

Josh and I welcomed a daughter, Sarah Tova Corn, on August 19, 2016.

2001 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

I randomly spent New Year’s Eve camped next to a Hawaiian monk seal.” —IAN LUNDGREN ’93 60 Nobles SPRING 2017

Gabi Herman writes, “Wanted to send news on the birth of my daughter, Mia Herman Evans, born June 30, 2016.”

Lauren Kenney Murphy Lauren.kenney1@gmail.com Gabe Abromovitz writes, “I have been in Turkey for one year now, working on Syria programming with the U.S. Department of State.

I really like Turkey, and it’s been

their daughter, Judith Marin Horvitz, into the world on November 20, 2016.

2005 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Saul Gorman 617-447-3444 saul.gorman@gmail.com

2006 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

E.B. Bartels ebandersenbartels@gmail.com

Top: While Andrew Fine ’05 and his husband, David Andersson, were in the middle of an around-the-world trip, Sarah Cantin ’05 met them for 10 days in South Africa.

Andrew and Sarah are pictured. Bottom: Who knew E.B. Bartels and Janna Herman (both ’06) would ever choose to wear baseball caps unironically? Here they are in December looking kind of athletic at the Sun Gate above Machu Picchu.

a great experience to try to have some positive involvement related to the ongoing crisis in Syria. Looking forward to hopefully a more peaceful 2017 in the world.”

Lauren (Kenney) Murphy and her husband, Patrick, welcomed twins Emma Blair and Parker William on December 21, 2016.

2002 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

William N. Duffey III 617-893-1040 williamduffey@gmail.com

2003 CLASS CORRESPONDENT NEEDED

2004 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Carolyn Sheehan Wintner 781-801-3742 carolyn.sheehan@post.harvard.edu Sarah Banco was wed to Mark Dutmers on September 9, 2016, in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Elizabeth (MacLeod) Horvitz and her husband, Matt, welcomed

First, shout-out to Rachael Plitch, who graduated from MIT Sloan this spring. Post-MBA, Rachael took a job in Sonoma, California, in brand management for, get this, wine. Right? Way to live your best life, Rachael. I’m going to come visit you and drink all the chardonnay. (That’s a wine, right? Sorry, I know more about beer.)

Second, congratulations to Lindsay Oliver, who is now Lindsay Shores. She married her man, Dan Shores, this past July on Cape Cod. Turn to page 66 for a lovely photo of the couple! Total babes. Lindsay writes: “Dan is a lawyer with his own law firm based out of Boston and D.C., and I just launched a Paris-inspired fashion and lifestyle blog called Paris, Meet Boston (www.parismeetboston.com).”

Third, I know you all are just dying for an update on my trip to Peru with Janna Herman. Don’t worry, we didn’t get lost in the Andes.

Also, don’t worry, because Nobles alumni are everywhere. Apparently we were mere steps away from Seth Priebatsch ’07 at all times during our trip. According to Facebook, we

were in Ollantaytambo the same day, and we didn’t see each other.

How? It’s not a big place! Seth is usually wearing orange! He is easy to spot! Seth, if you’re reading this, I hope you enjoyed the Sacred Valley as much as Janna and I did, though I think we may have had slightly different experiences. Rumor has it that Seth ran a 5K up the mountain to Machu Picchu. Janna and I took an air-conditioned bus. However, Janna and I did hike all the way up to the Sun Gate—a precarious mile along the side of a mountain, ascending over a thousand feet in the process, which was no 5K, but still, we laughed in the face of our unathletic, indoor kid, 2004 Calliopé-editor selves. Check out a photo of us looking sporty at left!

My, do things change.

But some things don’t change.

While I know you all read these updates for my dry wit and sardonic humor, I’m going to take a minute to be 100 percent earnest and embarrass Janna. On December 24, while we were in the Lima airport, waiting for our flight to Miami, my bag with my passport, wallet, camera and journal was stolen. This was devastating for many reasons: 1) I could no longer get on the plane to go home, 2) I would miss Christmas with my family because the U.S. Embassy wouldn’t reopen until the 27th, 3) I was trapped in Lima with no cash or credit cards, 4) all of my photos from Peru were gone, along with my beloved Nikon D70 (Joe and Joanna Swayze will understand just how terrible this was), 5) my journal, which is basically part of my soul (seriously, it’s a Harry Potter horcrux situation), was gone forever. (To read more about how

SPRING 2017 Nobles 61

graduate news

2009

Clockwise from top left: Julie Daniels shared a photo of a girls’ trip to Denver, Colorado, with Andrea Holland, Hanna Atwood, Brooke Hammer, Maddy Cohen and Donna Farizan this fall; Jennifer Rappaport Coassin, Tom Southworth, Liz Rappaport and Leanna Coskren; Friends from the class of 2009 gathered the night before Thanksgiving. Top row: Brooke Hammer, Hanna Atwood, Will Randle, Maddy Cohen, Donna Farizan, Scott Prozeller, Eddie O’Connor and Henry Mauck. Bottom row: Philip Hession ’11, Devan Luster, Liz Rappaport, Alexandra Conigliaro, Danny Biega (fiancé of Alexandra Conigliaro), Bobby Kelly, Jamie Shulman, Will Kiplinger, Ben Knott, Peter Owen, Mike Aibel, Lauren Martin, Suzanne Sullivan and Dylan Conway. Front row: Maddy Petrini, Curt Nichols, Julie Daniels, Tommy Kelly; Friends from the class of 2009: Bobby Kelly, Alexandra Conigliaro, Claire Hickey, Hanna Atwood, Andrea Holland, Donna Farizan and Scott Prozeller.

62 Nobles SPRING 2017

crazy I am about journals, turn to the piece I wrote with Vicky Seelen on page 24.) Well, thank God for Janna Herman. While I was still in shock, trying to comprehend that my bag was really, actually gone, Janna immediately got on the phone with American Airlines to change her flight so she could stay with me. She argued with airport employees in Spanish to get our checked bags back (which would have made her former advisor, Dave Ulrich, very proud), helped me file a report with the tourist police, got us a cab and a hotel room, and proceeded to spend the next four days shuttling my empty shell of a self around the city, buying me food and beer and new passport photos, and walking me through the wonderfully bureaucratic process of getting an emergency passport at the U.S. Embassy and a new entry stamp at Peruvian Immigration Services. In short, Janna was the absolute best friend someone could ask for in that situation, and I feel so lucky that I have been able to call her one of my best friends for half my life now, ever since we bonded over having that 10:30 a.m. lunch period in fall 2002. Thanks for being such a reliable, consistent and supportive friend for so long, Janna! I never thought that one day we would be spending Christmas together in a hotel room in Lima, eating sour cream and onion Pringles. Thanks, Nobles, for really fostering those lifelong friendships!

But now, finally, I must end this update with some tragic news. It has come to my attention (via Erin Greene’s post on Brad Caswell’s Facebook wall) that the Route 1 Chili’s has closed its doors after

two and a half decades. “We’ve had a 25-year relationship with Dedham. We’re not happy to be leaving,” stated Sean Leonard, the Chili’s manager, in an interview about the closure. Well, we are not happy you’re leaving either, Sean.

Caroline Harrison reacted first with a startled “WHAT?!” and Rachael Plitch could only muster a “But. But…” Some members of the class of 2006 wanted to cobble together a last-minute reunion dinner before the restaurant closed on January 17, but it fell through. Jay Kelly said he would try to go there for dinner one night after work: “Potentially at the bar by myself,” he said. “Will have to throw straw paper balls into my own strawberry lemonade, I guess.”

Brad Caswell took the news especially hard: “I’m going through the stages of grief right now and will have a better response when I get to acceptance.” He quickly added, “NO THERE IS NO ACCEPTING THIS. THAT CHILI’S DEFINES MY HIGH SCHOOL CAREER MORE THAN NOBLES ITSELF!!!” Truer words have never been spoken.

Though Caroline Holland perhaps said it best with a simple, “WHAT THE F***.” We will miss you, Route 1 Chili’s. Thanks for being there for some formative years and tolerating large tables of obnoxious teenagers who tipped poorly. We never knew how good we had it. RIP.

2007 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kat Sargent katharine.sargent@gmail.com Surrounded by family and friends, including a crew from Nobles, Brianna (Sanders) Cormos mar-

ried Bogdan Cormos on July 24, 2016 (see photo on page 66).

2008 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Aditya Mukerjee 212-935-5637 aditya.mukerjee@gmail.com

2009 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Liz Rappaport 617-413-6070 lizrap@gwmail.gwu.edu Claire Hickey is engaged to Kevin Gramza from Buffalo, New York.

They met through friends at the University of Pennsylvania and have been together ever since.

They are living in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Claire is in the second year of her graduate program in nurse anesthesia at Northeastern University. Kevin works as an associate for Raymond James Investment Bank. The two will wed this August on Cape Cod. Brooke Hammer, Maddy Petrini and Peter Owen all live in Washington, D.C., where Brooke and Maddy are roommates.

Maddy writes that many

members of the Class of 2009 gathered on the night before Thanksgiving. “Even though it has been such a long time since high school, when we all get back together, it feels like nothing has changed, and we have started our own tradition of gathering before the Nobles event.”

Carey Favaloro writes, “I am still in Colorado, enjoying life in the mountains! I spent the summer teaching biology at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) in Carbondale, Colorado. Every summer, CRMS recruits disadvantaged students from cities across the country for five weeks of math, science, writing enrichment and exposure to the big world of outdoor recreation. This winter, I hope to join the ski patrol in Aspen, giving me an opportunity to improve my medical, avalanche safety and skiing skills. If ever you find yourself in Aspen, let me know.…”

Donna Farizan is living in New York City and working for the Today show, specifically for Kathie Lee and Hoda.

Casey Griffin Giudicelli met her husband, Bryan, at Dartmouth College in 2011, and they have been together ever since. They got married in Newport, Rhode

Island, on August 26, 2016, and now live and work in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.

One of my favorite fall events that always reunites Nobles graduates is the annual Harvard– Yale Football Game. And last summer, I got to celebrate my sister, Jennifer Rappaport Coassin ’08, as she married Lawrence Coassin Jr. on August 27, 2016.

2010 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Holly Foster 508-404-4616 hatherly.a.foster@dartmouth.edu

2011 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Katie Puccio 508-446-0726 krpooch@gmail.com

2012 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Coco Woeltz woeltz@bc.edu

2013–2016 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS NEEDED

Want to hear more from your classmates?

Follow Noble and Greenough Grads on Facebook and @NoblesGrads on Twitter.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 63

graduate news memoriam A EULOGY FOR JANE SONG ’19

FAREWELL, DEAR JANE

DELIVERED AT HER FUNERAL ON DECEMBER 6, 2016, BY BILL KEHLENBECK, MATH FACULTY MEMBER

I am deeply honored and humbled to have been asked by Jane’s parents to offer these memories of their beloved daughter. For those of you who don’t know me, I was Jane’s teacher last year in Honors Geometry during her first year at Noble and Greenough School, and this year I had the privilege to serve as her school advisor, a role I cherished and hoped to maintain right through her graduation in 2019. Based on the all-too-brief 15 months I knew Jane personally, I believed that Jane was destined to make a huge and positive difference in the world in what I expected would be her long, happy and successful life. Now, like all of you, I am at a complete loss in trying to understand why that promising life ended so suddenly, unexpectedly and tragically last week.

When I received my class roster for Honors Geometry in early September of last year, I was utterly delighted to find the name “Jane Song” on it. I have been a singer and lover of songs since I was a young boy, but never had I taught a student with such a musical name as “Song.” I soon discovered that she was both a serious and extremely talented violinist, and an extraordinarily diligent, bright and eager math student. I felt as though I’d just won the lottery. By midsemester in late October, I’d learned that five other Nobles teachers shared my amazement and delight in having Jane as a student.

The maturity of both her own writing and her analysis of literature thrilled her English teacher, Mr. Cluff. In history, Ms. Lee described Jane as “helping to set a strong tone in class” with an impressive presentation on Syrian refugees. Based on optional independent summer work that Jane had undertaken, she jumped directly into a Chinese III section, where she earned the raves of Ms. Sun for her natural pronunciation and tones, as well as her beautifully written hanzi characters. In biology, Jane impressed Ms. Tonge with her willingness to ask questions whenever she was the least bit unsure about something. And in orchestra, Director Kate Kayaian described Jane as “a wonderful addition to the group” who brought a high level of “dedication and focus to each rehearsal.” With a superb grade-point average and multiple commendations for effort, Jane was off to what would become a stellar academic performance over the course of the entire year, and right on into the fall semester of this academic year.

During her second semester last winter and spring, Jane added a course in ceramics under Ms. Bourdeau, where the same artistic care and skill she’d been demonstrating in geometric diagrams, biology lab reports, and Chinese hanzi characters were evident in her

64 Nobles SPRING 2017

creative and exacting work with clay. Additionally, she undertook an independent Latin I class with Mr. Blake, during which she covered the full-year syllabus in just four and a half months. Jane also took the plunge and joined the JV girls crew program as a coxswain, which might have been her first-ever foray into competitive athletics.

But ninth grade last year did include at least one brief bump in the road for Jane, to which she alluded in a beautiful thank-you note she wrote me in June. The event in question occurred in our Honors Geometry class. For perhaps the first time in her entire academic life, Jane had struggled last winter on one particularly challenging math test, and she seemed initially devastated. I immediately assured her that nearly every honors math student I have ever taught at Nobles had struggled on at least one of my tests. But I reminded Jane of my retest policy and scheduled time with her to go over her mistakes and clear up her confusion. Predictably, she bounced back with flying colors the following week on that first and, for her, only retest of the year.

Soon thereafter, early last spring, several of Jane’s teachers remarked that she had become more relaxed in class, smiling and laughing with classmates and volunteering even more comfortably and willingly during class discussions. All in all, Jane’s first year at Nobles was hugely successful, culminating in her enthusiastic participation in June on a school-sponsored trip to Montréal by the String Ensemble and Chamber Singers for several memorable concert performances and workshops. This fall, Jane continued to excel academically in Honors Algebra II, Honors Chemistry, English III, U.S. History, Latin II, and Chinese IV, along with orchestra.

Her chemistry teacher, Sheila McElwee, had been Jane’s Nobles admission interviewer two years ago, and in late October wrote in Jane’s midsemester chemistry comment: “It seems like just yesterday that I interviewed you and started hoping you would attend Nobles. Now, it is my good fortune to teach you this year.”

Mr. Bryant described Jane this fall as “fast becoming one of the leaders” in his U.S. History section. In Latin II, Mr. Blake was thrilled at the prospect of having Jane in his classroom for a full year. On top of her heavy academic load and various musical commitments both in and out of school, Jane was making time to offer Peer-Help tutoring to a freshman geometry student, performing on her violin at a Dorchester school on several afternoons in recent weeks, and eagerly planning to revive a dormant Nobles student science magazine. She had a great deal on her

academic and extracurricular plate, and yet she seemed to every one of us who knew and worked with her to be happy being involved in so many courses and activities she genuinely loved.

During more than 20 years of admission-committee work at Nobles, I have read essay responses from at least 6,000 applicants for our ninth grade. None have ever reflected the depth and maturity of those composed by Jane. I have been a teacher long enough not to be embarrassed by admitting when I don’t immediately have the answer to a student’s question in math class. And I certainly don’t have the answer to the question that haunts each of us today—why didn’t Jane reach out for our help last week? The source of her pain and feeling of helplessness might very well remain a mystery to us

forever. Perhaps those of you here whose religious faith is stronger than mine will find your answers and your hope in your faith. As a parent, grandparent and teacher who has spent an entire adult life working with and enjoying the company of adolescent students, musicians, artists and athletes, I implore all of the young people present here today: Remember how this feels and how grief-stricken we are at losing Jane. Please, please seek help if you or a friend is ever hurting badly enough to think that your, or his or her, life is not worth living any longer. As the authors of a book I read this past weekend remind us: Death is a permanent result; problems are temporary. Over time, we will all try to remember Jane at her happy best, but we also know that her best and happiest were yet to come.

John Thayer Hemenway ’42 passed away on December 21, 2016, at his home in Strafford, Vermont, at age 92. At Nobles, he was on the varsity football, track and baseball teams and participated in student council, the Glee Club and the Nobleman.

A Milton native, he weathered the hurricane of 1938 in his dorm room in the Castle.

An Army veteran and member of the Class of 1946 at Harvard College, he embarked on a financial career with the securities firm of Jackson and Curtis.

While working in Boston’s financial district, he met Harris J. Reynolds, then-director of the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF), a non-profit organization founded in 1944 that pioneered practical and

George Webb Lawrence ’72 of South Portland, Maine, passed away peacefully on December 10, 2016, at age 62. At Nobles, he played varsity soccer and hockey and junior varsity football. He also took part in the school’s musical, Oklahoma, and was a gracious host for out-oftown classmates at his home in Westwood, Massachusetts.

Lawrence graduated from the University of Vermont in 1977 with a degree in art education and moved to Yarmouth, Maine, where he raised his family and worked in the real estate business in the Portland area.

Known for his volunteerism, love for the outdoors and living each day to its fullest, Lawrence founded the Yarmouth Colts, a non-profit youth soccer club, and led its U-14 team on many trips to Ireland.

economic forest management for private owners.

Encouraged by Reynolds, he joined the board of the Massachusetts Forest and Park Association in 1950 and was named NEFF treasurer the following year. After Reynolds’ death in 1953, he became the organization’s director.

A lifelong tennis enthusiast, he joined the Badminton and Tennis Club in Boston and was its president in the 1980s.

A longtime resident of Canton, Mass., Hemenway was a member and treasurer at the First Parish (Unitarian) Church in Milton.

Hemenway is survived by his daughters, Phoebe and Lucy; his sons, Nathaniel ’72 and John, and two grandchildren. His father, Lawrence Hemenway, was a 1908 Nobles graduate.

According to his family, Lawrence was a relentlessly positive force in the lives of countless people—as a friend, father, coach, colleague or sponsor—and his can-do attitude was infectious.

Lawrence’s expertise was valued by fellow members of real estate boards in Franklin and Cumberland Counties.

A trailblazer in every sense of the word, he was also a member of the Maine Huts & Trails board for which he joyfully led expeditions on volunteer days through Maine’s western mountains.

He is survived by his wife, Diane, and her children, Ryland and Jenny; his former wife, Margaret, and their children, Caleb, Sam and Todd; his parents, Robert and Patricia; his brothers, Rob and Jeff, and his sister, Fran.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 65

graduate news

Claire Hickey ’09 and Kevin Gramza will wed this August on Cape Cod

The Nobles crew at the wedding of Brianna (Sanders) Cormos and her husband, Bogdan. Front row (L to R): Muji Muhammad ’01, Maria Montes ’09, Miriam Rodriguez Aubert ’07, Brianna Cormos ’07, Bogdan Cormos, Jen Lawrence ’07 and Marzuq Muhammad ’01. Back row: Wadi Muhammad ’04

Liz Rappaport with her sister, Jennifer Rappaport, at Jen’s wedding in August 2016

Casey Griffin Giudicelli ’09 and husband Bryan on their wedding day

Lindsay Oliver Shores ’06 and her husband, Dan

announcements Engagements

Marriages

Claire Hickey ’09 is engaged to Kevin Gramza from Buffalo, New York. They will wed this August on Cape Cod.

Sarah Banco ’04 was wed to Mark Dutmers on September 9, 2016, in Falmouth, Massachusetts; Lindsay (Oliver) Shores ’06 wed Dan Shores on July 16, 2016 on Cape Cod; Brianna (Sanders) Cormos ’07

66 Nobles SPRING 2017

wed Bogdan Cormos in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, on July 24, 2016; Jennifer Rappaport Coassin ’08 married Lawrence Coassin Jr. on August 27, 2016; Casey Griffin Giudicelli ’09 and Bryan Giudicelli were wed in Newport, Rhode Island, on August 26, 2016.

Grace Blois, daughter of Kim Blois ’97 and husband Joe Peter Malcolm Willoughby, son of Kristen Willoughby ’97, was born July 27, 2016

Gabi Herman ’99 and her husband, Tyson Evans, with daughter Mia

Sarah Tova Corn, daughter of Lisa (Marx) Corn ’00 and husband Josh

Judith Marin Horvitz, daughter of Elizabeth (MacLeod) Horvitz ’04 and her husband, Matt

New Arrivals Kim Blois ’97 and husband Joe welcomed Grace Blois in June 2016; Kristen Willoughby ’97 had a son, Peter Malcolm Willoughby, on July 27, 2016; Mike O’Donnell ’98 and wife Ryan had their

Lauren Kenney Murphy ’01 welcomed twins Parker and Emma

second daughter, Nessa, in July 2016; Gabi Herman ’99 and husband Tyson Evans welcomed daughter Mia Herman Evans on June 30, 2016; Lisa (Marx) Corn ’00 and husband Josh had a daughter, Sarah Tova Corn, on August 19, 2016; Jill (Urbanus) Pitino ’00 and husband Richard welcomed

daughter Zoe Grace Pitino on August 6, 2016; Lauren (Kenney) Murphy ’01 and husband Patrick welcomed twins Emma Blair and Parker William on December 21, 2016; Elizabeth (MacLeod) Horvitz ’04 and her husband, Matt, had a daughter, Judith Marin Horvitz, on November 20, 2016.

SPRING 2017 Nobles 67

archive

SELF-PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN Sixteen-year-old Bob Henderson, a Photo I student of the legendary Joe Swayze, captured this early “selfie” circa 1975.

68 Nobles SPRING 2017

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See what develops when you make a gift to the Annual Nobles Fund.

Visit nobles.edu/giveonline or contact Director of Annual Giving Allie Trainor at Allie_Trainor@nobles.edu or 781-320-7005.

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NOBLES • SPRING 2017

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Nobles THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL

SPRING 2017

Measure Twice THE MAGAZINE OF NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL

Faculty member Bob Moore and Ami Nwaoha ’19 measure drywall while working at a school that never reopened after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Forty students and nine adults traveled to New Orleans during spring break to work on construction projects with SBP, whose mission is to “shrink time between disaster and recovery.”

The Bob Issue