Review 2018

SUMMER 2018

Global Perspective New exchange program offers students a unique view of the world

CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE

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FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

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SPOTLIGHT ON FACULTY/STAFF

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CAMPUS NEWS

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COMMENCEMENT 2018

FEATURES

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CARDINAL FIRST The Archbishop of Newark is the first Cardinal to celebrate Mass at Oak Knoll School

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GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE New Upper School exchange program provides students a unique view of the world

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: CONNELLY HALL Celebrating 60 Years of the ‘Senior School’

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HOME TURF Crews break ground on the new athletic field surface in Chatham

REVIEW is published once per year by the Marketing & Communications Department for alumnae/i, parents and friends of Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child.

Head of School Timothy J. Saburn EDITOR Meghan Hodgin Director of Marketing & Communications

ASSOCIATE EDITOR James McEvoy Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications EDITORIAL STAFF Cynthia Prewitt Director of Institutional Advancement Elizabeth O’Mara ’86 Associate Director of Institutional Advancement

Barbara Lindner Assistant Director of Institutional Advancement

David Snyder Jacqueline Snyder ’21 Peter Wallburg Studios

PHOTOGRAPHY Carlee Bennett Kevin Faughnan Jose Goncalves Highpoint Pictures Meghan Hodgin James McEvoy Andrew Miller Rebecca Nowalski Gabe Rhodes Timothy J. Saburn

DESIGN Abbie Moore Design PRINTING Action Graphics Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child 44 Blackburn Road Summit, NJ 07901 908-522-8109 www.oakknoll.org

Message from the Head of School “Be yourself ... only make that self all that God wants it to be.”

Cornelia Connelly, founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus

Dear Oak Knoll School Community, In August 1983, I landed in Copenhagen, Denmark, for a one-semester study abroad program. I had never flown internationally before and, in fact, a few trips to Canada from my northern New York college had been my only international experience. Back then, study abroad programs were just beginning to expand into the “global learning” opportunities of today. St. Lawrence University, my alma mater, was an early leader and I ended up choosing the Danish program because it was small and included college students from across the U.S. and Canada.

The Friday before I arrived in Copenhagen, I completed an internship on the institutional corporate bond trading desk at Prudential Bache Securities at 100 Gold St. I wore a suit and commuted each day from my hometown in Connecticut. I ended the summer and headed into senior year with a job offer with the firm. Less than one week later, I was sitting in a large auditorium waiting for my name to be called as my new Danish “family” came to pick me up to live with them from August until January.

Bjorn and Tove Thomsen had three teenage sons: Klaus, Rolf and Uffe, and two boxers. Bjorn was a veterinarian and Tove was an elementary school teacher. I was the first exchange student to live with them, but as they all had lived abroad (including Greenland, Indonesia, Israel and the U.S.) they had and still have many house guests from around the world. Their unique Danish and international world view opened the world to a kid from suburban New York City in a way that I could not have imagined.

Many nights, I would return home from studying at the University of Copenhagen and we would eat our meal, discuss our day and international politics and, then, go off to homework. It was a wonderful life and I began to look beyond the possibility of being a corporate bond trader as I heard their stories of travel and the lessons they learned. They also encouraged me to travel beyond Denmark.

I took their advice and traveled to Norway, Leningrad and Moscow in the old Soviet Union, West Berlin, Jutland and took numerous day trips. After the semester was completed, I traveled by myself to Austria, France and Ireland until the end of January. I have hundreds of stories of the people I met, the places I went and the lessons I learned. It changed me and the trajectory of my life as I realized education had opened these doors to me, and teaching could be a means of paying back that gift. Upon my return to St. Lawrence, I turned down the job offer on Wall Street and began working at Vermont Academy, where I taught History and English, coached football, skiing and baseball, lived in a dormitory (in the same dorm with the current Head of Morristown Beard School) and drove a school bus. It was a completely different life than I had imagined just one year before, and it was all the result of my “global learning” experience in Denmark with the Thomsen family. The experience changed my life and continues to have a significant impact on who I am today and how my wife and I have raised our children.

In August 2018, nearly 35 years later to the day, my wife and I will be boarding a plane to Copenhagen to attend the celebration of Tove’s 80th birthday. Bjorn and Tove live in the same house that I lived in with them and the boys. The “boys” all live with their wives and families within 10 minutes of the same house. In fact, several OKS alumnae have visited and had meals with the Thomsens over my years at OKS. They continue to educate young Americans and, as Bjorn will remind me, they continue to educate me. I try to return every other year as my “Danish parents” grow older and as I grow more and more aware of the impact that they had upon me all of those years ago during my global learning experience.

Enjoy this issue of Review and revel in the stories of OKS students, alumnae, and their own global learning experiences.

Facta non verba,

Timothy J. Saburn, Head of School

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

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CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

Cardinal First

His Eminence, Joseph W. Cardinal Tobin, archbishop of Newark, joined the Oak Knoll community as the celebrant for the school’s annual celebration of Advent on December 14, 2017.

It was the first time a Cardinal said Mass at Oak Knoll in the history of the school.

In his homily, Cardinal Tobin highlighted the importance of Advent, which he referred to as a season of dreaming – even for God. “Advent is such a wonderful season because it is the season of dreams. You dream of a White Christmas, some are dreaming of sugar plums that dance in their heads, some people are dreaming of Christmas vacation,” Cardinal Tobin said. “Do you suppose God dreams?

One answer is no because God doesn’t sleep … but God dreams and Advent talks about God’s dream.

“God’s dream is bigger than you can imagine,” he added. “It wasn’t about stuff, the weather or sugar plums. It was about Jesus.”

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

At the end of the Mass, Head of School Timothy J. Saburn presented Cardinal Tobin with a gift, including a donation in his name to the Casa Cornelia Law Center, a San Diegobased organization that provides free legal services to victims of human and civil rights violations. The center, Saburn noted, was founded by Holy Child Sister Ann M. Durst, a former prefect of Oak Knoll School.

Prior to Cardinal Tobin’s visit, Oak Knoll welcomed a 2014 visit from the Most Rev. Bernard A. Hebda, then-coadjutor archbishop of Newark, who celebrated the school’s Mass of the Holy Spirit.

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GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Over the past year, Oak Knoll unveiled a unique and historic learning opportunity in the Upper School, offering foreign language students in grades 10-12 the chance to gain firsthand experience of the world around them.

Dubbed the Global Learning initiative, students studying French and Spanish in level III or higher are offered the opportunity to visit and live in a foreign country for two weeks in exchange for similarly hosting a student from one of those countries back here in New Jersey.

As one of 11 member schools across the United States and 13 overseas in the Holy Child Network of Schools, Oak Knoll Head of School Timothy J. Saburn called the Global Learning initiative a perfect expansion of the school’s global vision. “We aim to provide our students with a global perspective on the world, and this program was a natural extension to make our classroom lessons come to life,” he said. “This program helps them understand that they’re part of something bigger than themselves.”

The program, offered through a partnership with Jesuïtes Sarrià Sant Ignasi and Jesuïtes Lleida Col-legi Claver Raimat in Spain, as well as Lycée Sacré Cœur in France, began in earnest when Oak Knoll families, as well as those from the Delbarton School and St. Peter’s Prep (as most Catholic Schools in Europe are coed) welcomed students from the two schools in September and October 2017.

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Students and faculty from Jesuïtes Sarrià Sant Ignasi and Jesuïtes Lleida Col-legi Claver Raimat, in Spain, arrived in September, staying with host families, attending Oak Knoll classes, learning about life in the United States and visiting New York City.

Two weeks later, in early October, students and faculty from the French School, Sacré Cœur - meaning the Sacred Heart - arrived at Oak Knoll. Like their Spanish counterparts, the students enjoyed learning both on Oak Knoll’s Summit campus, and also a special visit to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

In addition, the students from Sacré Cœur participated in Oak Knoll’s biannual Lego-building project — which on this occasion focused on the village of Le Chambon-SurLignon — a village just four towns away from the students’ school in Yssingeaux. Le Chambon is an isolated Huguenot town, which helped save 3,500 Jews during the Holocaust.

Le Chambon has become a staple of lessons on compassion and tolerance at both the Upper and Lower school levels.

During spring break in March 2018, Oak Knoll students and chaperones traveled to Barcelona and Lérida, Spain, and Yssingeaux, France, respectively.

In all, students attended classes, stayed with host families and became fully ingrained in the local culture. They were also able to visit famous sites such as the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, as well as the very same Le Chambon village they had learned so much about in class. Students were even able to meet the community’s deputy mayor, Denise Vallat, while students in Spain celebrated Easter Sunday Mass at the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona.

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FRA NCE

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GL O BAL P E R S P E CT I V E

spain

Paul Kutner, chair of the World Languages Department and director of Global Learning at Oak Knoll, touted the initiative as an ideal way to continue following the vision of Cornelia Connelly.

Oak Knoll will also continue its French exchange program during the 2019-20 school year.

“In our day and age, global learning and global citizenship are more important than ever. This initiative fits in well with our goal to offer a challenging and creative course of study that develops a love of learning and academic excellence.”

Above the academic lessons, Kutner pointed toward those pertaining to compassion and acceptance of other peoples.

“It is the opportunity to understand other cultures, promoting peace and appreciation for others, and it most certainly ‘meets the wants of the age’ by bringing people together at a time when we need more understanding of each other’s backgrounds,” he said.

Looking ahead to the 2018-19 school year, Oak Knoll will welcome Spanish students in the fall, and Oak Knoll students studying Spanish will travel to Barcelona and Lérida during spring 2019.

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EXCHANGE CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

LATIN THE

NOT-SO-DEAD LANGUAGE

In the summer of 2018, 10 students and two faculty members traveled to Italy in a trip that complemented classroom Latin lessons and allowed students a first-hand opportunity to experience the language’s still-relevant influence on the world.

Foreign Language Teacher Rebecca Mull and History Department Chair Zohra Ismail chaperoned the trip, which took place between June 14-22, 2018. Students saw Sorrento, Rome - including the Vatican - and Pompei, among other historic sites, including those specifically relating to the Latin language or Catholicism.

in the Roman Forum and exploring the Roman Catacombs, where one tour guide jokingly asked one of the Oak Knoll students not to vie for his job after she was able to answer several questions about the site.

Mull said her students delighted in being in areas where Latin was written, and discovered they were among the only people present who knew what the words meant.

“To be able to finally put Latin into practice was pretty amazing for them,” she said. “Everyone calls it a dead language, but the trip allowed the girls to see its importance first hand and its influence throughout this part of the world.”

I T A LY

Highlights included laying flowers at the burial site of Caesar at the Temple of Caesar

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F R O M

T H E

ARCHIVE S

CONNELLY HALL Sixty years ago this September, the building that is known today as Connelly Hall formally opened its doors to continue Oak Knoll’s then more than 30 year-long tradition of preparing young women of promise.

Often simply referred to as the “Senior School,” the building was borne out of a need to address the continuing growth of the school, as well as bridge the gap that existed between recently-constructed Bonaventura Hall – known then as the Junior School – and the rest of campus.

The building replaced what was described by Carol Mulvihill White ’59 as a “large, brown barn-like structure atop the hill,” which served as the school gym and had once housed Lower School classrooms before Bonaventura was erected.

White, a member of the first class to graduate from the new building, had spent her freshman through junior years studying in what is now known as Mulcahy Hall on Prospect Street.

the cornerstone of what would become the new Senior School – now known as Connelly Hall.

The “barn” was demolished on March 26, 1956, with a groundbreaking held the next month on April 18. During the ensuing construction, the school was without a gym, so gym class was not required for the time being.

White’s classmate and now school trustee, Mary Ellen Dundon, enjoyed reflecting on the fact that she was among the first graduating classes in both Bonaventura’s Junior School as well as the new Senior School.

“When the old building came down, the basketball team would walk down to nearby St. Teresa’s Chapel, across from the church, to practice,” White said. “The chapel was being used as a gymnasium. That seemed normal to us.”

“So much has changed,” Dundon said. “The year we graduated we had an Upper School enrollment of 109.”

Newark Archbishop Aloysius Boland was present at the laying of the school’s cornerstone in 1957 as well as the formal blessing of the new school building on September 27, 1958.

Once completed, the new school housed classrooms, a library and a gym that doubled as an auditorium – Tisdall Hall was decades away and the Mother Mary Campion Center for the Performing Arts wouldn’t exist as we know it today until 1995.

“Having spent the previous three years in what is now Mulcahy Hall, the new school was quite a change for us,” White said.

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In 1957, Msgr. John P. Lenihan, left, and Archbishop Thomas A. Boland, laid

This year’s Class of 2018 was 63 students alone, by comparison.

Progress would continue, as was described in a November 27, 1963 edition of the Vox, which outlined the addition of a new

CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

wing at the Senior School. Once completed, the additions included new separate biology and chemistry labs, an art studio, a cafeteria, lounge and several smaller rooms intended to serve as meeting spaces.

For White, who studied in Prospect Street House (what is now Mulcahy Hall) and even dined there (booths were set up for lunches in the basement), the new Senior School building was pleasant, but unfamiliar.

Like the building itself, the addition was designed to increase capacity to address anticipated increasing enrollment.

“It was nice to be in the new building, but there’s a lot of nostalgia for the old one,” she said. “It was very different from anybody else’s high school.”

The new building capped off a period of expansion that had begun with the acquisition of the Prospect Street property in addition to the completion of Bonaventura Hall in 1953, and culminated in the additions to the convent, now known as Grace Hall, which included a new chapel.

The Connelly Hall name was officially adopted in the late 1980s, following the 1987 Grace Hall renovations and the Bonaventura Hall rededication.

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SPOTLIGHT ON FACULTY/STAFF A look back at the many professional accomplishments and contributions our esteemed faculty and staff have made to education over the past year Cristina Iribarne Cristina Iribarne, Lower School Reading Specialist & Certified Yoga Instructor, ran a workshop called “Towards a Stronger You” at the Educational Forum for Intellectually Curious Students held at Oak Knoll in December 2017. She also presented on “Women in Science, the Importance of Mindful Teaching and Literacy for Diverse Learners,” at Columbia University in November 2017.

Cynthea Traverso

Kimberly Connolly Kimberly Connolly, Lower School Technology Integrator, ran a workshop called “The Magic of Modern Tinkering” at the Educational Forum for Intellectually Curious Students held at Oak Knoll in December 2017.

Cynthea Traverso, Upper School Math Teacher, ran a workshop called “3-D Printing” at the Educational Forum for Intellectually Curious Students held at Oak Knoll in December 2017.

A photo by

Jennifer Breitenstein, Upper School Photography Teacher, was selected to be featured in a juried exhibit at Studio Montclair Gallery from June-August 2018.

Alex Podchaski Alex Podchaski, Chief Technology Officer, was selected in May 2018 to participate as a member on the “Driving K-12 Innovation Advisory Board” through Consortium of School Networks. In June 2018, he became a Raspberry Pi certified educator through the Raspberry Pi Foundation. In April 2018, he presented “A Makerspace in 18 Months — Lessons Learned” at the Association for Technology Leaders in Independent Schools’ Annual Conference. In March 2018, he presented at the National Business Officers’ Association’s Annual Conference on “Leveraging Technology Leadership through Partner Relationships.” He taught three CoSN CETL Foundations Courses. Earlier in the year, he presented on “Technology in Education” at the Educational Forum for Intellectually Curious Students held at Oak Knoll in December 2017.

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John Petito John Petito, Upper School History Teacher, ran a workshop called “Creating a Virtual World” at the Educational Forum for Intellectually Curious Students held at Oak Knoll in December 2017. He is slated to speak at the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools’ Innovation Workshop on “Creating a Virtual World in the Classroom” in August 2018.

CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

James McEvoy

Elinor Takenaga Elinor Takenaga, Lower School Librarian and Media Specialist, taught English classes to middle and high school students at the Jesuïtes Lleida Col-legi Claver Raimat, a Jesuit-run school in the Catalan province of Lerida, Spain, during Oak Knoll’s Global Learning initiative and exchange.

James McEvoy, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications, won four national marketing awards in the 33rd annual Educational Advertising Awards competition in March 2018.

Meghan Hodgin Meghan Hodgin, Director of Marketing and Communications, received her master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Marist College in May 2018.

She also won four national marketing awards in the 33rd annual Educational Advertising Awards competition in March 2018.

Nicole Johnston Kelly Childs Kelly Childs, Athletic Director, received her Ph.D. in Education, Leadership, Management & Policy from Seton Hall University in May 2018.

Nicole Johnston, Upper School History Teacher, presented “Invisible Issues: Addressing Humanitarian Crises through Interdisciplinary Learning,” at the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools’ annual conference in June 2018.

Dr. Michele Dahl Dr. Michael Dahl, Lower School Religion Coordinator, presented on Jewish resistance in France during World War II as part of Seton Hall University’s Graduate Program in Jewish-Christian Studies’ Teacher Study Day in March 2018.

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

Jennifer Landis Jennifer Landis, Upper School Division Head, was accepted into the National Association of Independent Schools’ Aspiring Heads fellowship program for the 2018-19 cohort.

She also presented “Invisible Issues: Addressing Humanitarian Crises through Interdisciplinary Learning,” at the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools’ annual conference in June 2018.

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HOME TURF Crews break ground on new field surface at Chatham sports complex

Work officially began in June 2018 on the Oak Knoll Turf Project at the school’s sports complex in Chatham, where the upper field will receive a new playing surface and the drainage system will be upgraded.

In Summit, crews expect to break ground in August on replacing the existing turf field. Both projects, which are essential to the school’s ability to continue providing students with safe and competitive playing surfaces, are anticipated to be complete by the start of the fall 2018 season.

For more photos and videos that show the progress of the project, please visit www.oakknoll.org/fieldturf.

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ON CAMPUS A 2017-18 school year in review

Oak Knoll recognized as educational innovator by Cambridge University Oak Knoll was recognized alongside the world’s most prestigious institutions in the Cambridge University publication, Innovation 800, which told the story of eight centuries of innovative thinking. In its profile of Oak Knoll, Cambridge University highlighted the impact the school and its students have made, particularly on the world stage. It also touted the benefits of Oak Knoll’s spiritual atmosphere for school community members regardless of their individual faiths. Given its lineage with the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, which was founded in England, Oak Knoll was proud to be associated with an institution such as Cambridge University, which has pioneered educational innovation and excellence since its own founding in the early 13th century.

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Oak Knoll students, faculty experience ‘once in a lifetime’ Pallium Mass Three Oak Knoll students — accompanied by Head of School Timothy J. Saburn, Chair of the Upper School Theology Department Stephanie Almozara and Lower School Religion Coordinator Michele Dahl — attended the historic Pallium Mass for His Eminence, Joseph W. Cardinal Tobin, archbishop of Newark, on September 14, 2017. Sofia Pelayo ’20, Kaitlin Feit ’18 and Sabina Criqui ’19, were joined by a group from Oratory Prep, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, witnessing firsthand the honor bestowed on Cardinal Tobin, the sixth Archbishop of Newark.

The pallium is a special liturgical garment worn only by high-ranking members of the clergy – prelates – who preside over an ecclesiastical province. It was the first Mass of its kind to be celebrated at the Cathedral since Archbishop Thomas Boland, the second Archbishop of Newark, received his pallium on October 19, 1954.

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Students raise more than $700 for Hurricane Fund More than 40 Lower School students organized a bake sale in October 2017 that raised $725 for those impacted by hurricanes in Florida, Texas and portions of the Caribbean.

The Lower School’s Club 4 Change raised the funds with the help of other student volunteers and their families to support All Hands Volunteers’ U.S. Hurricane Fund.

All of the Lower School’s nearly 200 students attended the bake sale and purchased at least one item to show their support.

Students raise $14K, hold sleep-in to combat teen homelessness Nine Upper School students held a sleep-in inside the Tisdall Hall gymnasium in May 2018 to raise $14,000 to help Covenant House combat teen homelessness. During the evening, students also heard firsthand from a young woman who was living in one of the Covenant House shelters. They later had their own discussions about their takeaways from the presentation, including what other opportunities exist to support the organization to further combat teen homelessness. Student organizers hope to run supply drives and another sleep-out next year.

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Bestselling author, educational psychologist speaks at Oak Knoll To kickoff the Parents’ Association Speaker Series, Dr. Michele Borba, bestselling author and internationallyrecognized educational psychologist, discussed her book, “Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World” at Oak Knoll on October 16, 2017. She discussed how to help unlock the power of empathy in children and overcome the “Selfie Syndrome”— including a nine-step empathy-building program with tips to guide kids from birth through college, and beyond.

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ON CAMPUS Students place nationally in Catholic Math League competition Upper School math students Caroline Hall ’20 and Leticia Sefia ’21 placed second and fourth nationally during the annual Catholic Math League competition. Locally, as a team, Oak Knoll also won first place in the 15-school division for geometry and students received a special plaque recognizing their outstanding achievement. The team included Katrina Bergen ’20, of Cranford; Avery Donahue ’20, of Madison; Cara Feit ’20, of Chatham; Julianna Feit ’20, of Chatham; Hall, Mary Margaret Schroeder ’20, of Summit; Faith Bulan ’20, of New Providence; and Keelin Schlageter ’20, of Maplewood.

Paula Sefia ’22, of Irvington, and Cara Feit also finished in third place in pre-algebra and geometry, respectively.

Oak Knoll builds new Prayer Garden In April 2018, Oak Knoll unveiled a Prayer Garden to offer students, faculty and staff a place to meditate and pray among the hustle and bustle that may accompany the typical school day. The space, situated on the hill outside of Grace Hall’s Choral Music Room, features a wooden arbor and a pathway lined with greenery that leads to a circular patio.

“Everyone at Oak Knoll is so busy with schoolwork, practice and rehearsals, we often don’t take time to pray or reflect,” said Mary Hare ’17, now a rising sophomore at Notre Dame, who initially proposed the prayer garden in her senior year at Oak Knoll. “We thought that having a small outdoor space in the middle of campus would remind our students to put things into perspective and have some quiet time with God.” 16

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Interscholastic sailing team debuts at Oak Knoll’s Upper School

Students program robots to help bring biography reports to life Grade 2 students had some special helpers - Wonder Workshop robots Dot & Dash – to present their biography projects to friends and family in April 2018. While biography reports are not uncommon at the Lower School, this year’s presentation represented a special cross-curricular effort incorporating writing, social studies, library research and technology, allowing students to present their research in a whole new way. In addition to their traditional oral presentations designed to strengthen publicspeaking skills, students used block coding to program Dot & Dash to run along a special timeline to highlight major events in the lives of their respective biographical subjects.

Oak Knoll’s interscholastic sailing team made its historic debut during the Raritan Tuesday Series on April 24, 2018.

With two practices a week, the team competed once a week, setting off from Perth Amboy into the Raritan River. A seven-person squad, split between two ships – the Southport and the Spicy Chicken Sandwich II – included Celia Peri ’20, Anna Schwartz ’20, Caroline Maher ’21, Teresa Pollard ’21, Megan Wittmer ’21, Cameron Haarmann ’18, Angela Kenney ’18, Lauren Burke ’19, Mary Moriarty ’19 and Elizabeth Adelhelm ’19. Maher and Schwartz were the combined force behind the genesis of the team, as both had competitive sailing in their blood and have been competing since they were 8 years old.

Lower School students design virtual reality environments Grade 5 students in the Lower School IDEAS Lab designed their own virtual environments in February 2018 based on what they learned in their science and social studies classes. The students designed the environments, which included outer space and locales based on the Lewis and Clark expedition, using CoSpaces, a 3-D visualization tool that enables dynamic creation of virtual spaces. The IDEAS Lab is Oak Knoll’s makerspace, where students are encouraged to engage in all STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) fields.

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The March 2018 Upper School Musical performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”

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THE ARTS OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

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THE ARTS 1

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ACROSS, TOP to BOTTOM: 1) A photo titled “Double Vision” by Isabel Salas ’18.

2) The April 2018 US Dance Concert.

3) The May 2018 LS Instrumental Concert.

4) The October 2017 US Dramatica performance of “A Piece of My Heart.”

5) The May 2018 Grades 3-6 LS Spring Arts and Music Festival.

6) The March 2018 K-2 LS Spring Arts and Music Festival.

7) A collage titled “Apollo” by Sherry Gu ’18.

8) A photo titled “Sea Glass” by Claire Galvin ’18.

9) The May 2018 Upper School Spring Concert.

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SPORTS ROUNDUP Fall CROSS COUNTRY The varsity cross country team finished the 2017 season with a 5-3-8 record. The squad also scored a second-place finish in the Union County Divisional Championships in October. In addition, several members of the team were honored on the Union County Valley Conference first team, among other individual accolades.

FIELD HOCKEY The varsity field hockey program had a banner year in 2017 when they captured their second-ever Tournament of Champions title in November. Leading up to that historic win, the Royals also captured the Non-Public State Championship for the fifth time in six years and their ninth since 2006. Prior to that, the team won its sixth-consecutive state sectional title and its eighth-consecutive Union County title. The team finished with an undefeated record of 23-0-1.

SOCCER Coming off a historic 2016 season in which they won the first State Non-Public A Championship and the first Prep Championship in school history, the 2017 team contended with several injuries, but nonetheless posted an impressive

campaign that culminated in a 14-8-1 regular season record.

Among the Royals’ impressive victories was a 2-0 shutout over Blair Academy in the first round of the Prep A Tournament.

TENNIS Despite a 9-9 record, the Royals’ tennis team persevered and managed to advance to the North Non-Public A State Tournament semifinal after a tough victory over Immaculate Heart Academy. In addition to the team’s success and the bright future of the program, another major highlight was Maria Bambrick-Santoyo ’19 boasting a second-place county finish in singles and advancing to the third round of the individual singles state tournament.

VOLLEYBALL The varsity 2017 campaign was a historic one as the volleyball Royals captured their first-ever Prep Championship by defeating Rutgers Prep and Newark Academy in back-to-back matchups in October. The win built off the momentum created from the team’s strong 2016 campaign in which the squad finished with a 17-8 record, earned a second-place finish at the Villa Walsh Tournament and had a strong showing in the Union County Championship Tournament.

Winter BASKETBALL The Royals’ basketball team finished the 2017-18 season with a 15-9 record. The team had a strong showing in the NonPublic A Tournament before falling in the semifinal round.

Senior Emily Archer ’18 also enjoyed a strong final campaign of her high school career when she scored her 1,000th career point, joining a select group of Royal basketball standouts.

FENCING Oak Knoll’s varsity fencing team had a strong finish to its 2018 season with a second place finish at the Prep Tournament.

An épée team comprising Christina Nguyen ’18, Kelly Fitzpatrick ’20, Grace McCaghey ’21 and Olivia Gaston ’20, earned a second-place finish. Another team comprising Leticia Sefia ’21, Yahaira Torres ’18 and Elizabeth Mencke ’18 finished third in the team foil competition. A third team, featuring Grace Sanders ’18, Kaela Basmajian ’18, Ana Bui-Martinez ’19 and Faith Bulan ’20 also earned a third-place nod in the team saber competition.

Sefia and Torres also had strong showings in the women’s individual foil, while Sanders and Basmajian similarly competed admirably in the women’s saber. Earlier in the season, Bulan and Fitzpatrick both won a Silver Medal at the Montclair Frosh/Soph Fencing Invitational.

ICE HOCKEY The team scored a victory over the higher ranked Kent Place in the first round of the 2018 Prep Tournament before falling 22

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SPORTS ROUNDUP COLLEGE BOUND STUDENT-ATHLETES

GABRIELLE ANDRETTA

EMILY DOLAN

JORDAN MCGINLEY

Princeton University, Field Hockey

Lehigh University, Track & Field

Villanova University, Field Hockey

EMILY ARCHER Carnegie Mellon University, Basketball

MARY ISABELLA BROSIE Villanova University, Field Hockey

LINDSAY CRIQUI Colgate University, Swimming

ELIZABETH DENEHY Harvard University, Field Hockey

CLAIRE GALVIN University of Michigan, Lacrosse

CAMERON HAARMANN Cornell University, Field Hockey

OLIVIA HINDY Williams College, Volleyball

KATHERINE KELLY Columbia University, Lacrosse

JULI PORTO Stanford University, Field Hockey

GRACE SANDERS Fordham University, Diving

RYAN SCHLAGETER Columbia University, Lacrosse

ANNABELLE ZEBROWSKI Georgetown University, Lacrosse

ALISON MCCARTHY Princeton University, Field Hockey

Pictured, in the top row, from left: Jordan McGinley, Emily Dolan, Emily Archer and Ryan Schlageter.

In the middle row, from left: Juli Porto, Annabelle Zebrowski, Olivia Hindy and Lindsay Criqui.

In the front row, from left: Elizabeth Denehy, Katherine Kelly, Alison McCarthy, Claire Galvin and Gabrielle Andretta.

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CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

to eventual tournament runner-up Princeton Day School.

Oak Knoll seniors Cameron Haarmann ’18 and Juli Porto ’18, along with junior Caroline Ramsey ’19 were also selected to play in New Jersey’s first-ever High School Girls Ice Hockey All-Star game.

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD The 2017-18 season included tremendous team and individual efforts for the indoor track and field squad, including the team finishing second in the Group Championships in February. In addition, four athletes, Emma Leuthner ’18, Cara Feit ’20, Annalise Cavaliere ’19 and Mary Kelly Doherty ’20, were able to break the school’s 4x400-meter relay record at the Meet of Champions on February 24, 2018. Earlier in the season, Morgan Spies ’18 set a school record of her own in shot put with a 28’11” throw.

Title since 2005 and came off the heels of the team winning the State Sectional and Prep A championships, respectively.

SOFTBALL With a record of 13-8, the Royals’ softball team finished with a record above .500 for the first time since moving up to the Union County Conference Valley Division after the 2016 season. The record was also good for third place in the division.

In addition, the team scored twice as many runs as the season before.

VARSITY SWIMMING Oak Knoll’s varsity team made a splash in 2018, earning second place honors at the Prep Championships, during which Lindsay Criqui ’18, finished first in the 200 medley and 100 fly. In addition, Ariana Russo ’18 finished third in the 100 backstroke.

Two relay teams comprised of Criqui, Russo, Kayleigh Massengill ’19 and Annie Keenan ’19 also earned a second place and third place finish in the 200 medley and 400 free relays, respectively.

The effort came after Criqui finished first in the 100-yard backstroke at the Union County Championship at Rutgers University. Criqui, a Colgate University commit, finished with a time of 58.27 to earn her third-consecutive backstroke title.

Spring GOLF For the first time in school history, the varsity golf team qualified for the State Tournament. With a regular season record of 8-4, the Royals went on to place 10th out of 16 teams at the NJSIAA North State Sectionals, finishing above tough competition such as Villa Walsh and Madison.

The team also finished second at the conference championships.

LACROSSE The 2018 squad, though falling just short of their annual goal to win the Tournament Champions, had a phenomenal season. Boasting a 21-3 regular season record, the Royals earned a berth in the TOC for the fourth-consecutive season after defeating Pingry to win the Group 1 State Championship in June at Kean University. It was the team’s seventh Group

SPRING TRACK For the second year in a row, the varsity spring track team won the Union County Conference Valley Division Championship. It was also the second year in a row that multiple school individual and team records were broken.

Among these records were discus throws by Emily Dolan ’18 at the county championship, breaking her own school record set the previous week at the UCIAC Championships. Dolan, her sister Catherine Dolan ’20 and Morgan Spies ’18, also broke the school’s team record in shot put. The Dolan sisters, along with Julianna Feit ’20 also set the school’s team javelin record. Emily Dolan, Spies and Laura Borys ’18 also topped the school’s team discus record.

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

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COMMENCEMENT 2018 Oak Knoll Graduates 63 Young Women of Promise

26

The Upper School Class of 2018 was graduated on June 10, 2018, during Oak Knoll’s 90th commencement ceremony.

CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

Class of 2018 Lifers Oak Knoll “lifers” are students who have attended Oak Knoll since kindergarten. Pictured, on Commencement Day, are lifers from Oak Knoll’s Class of 2018. Back row, from left: Antonia Sylva, Isabelle Kenny, Angela Kenney and Kaela Basmajian. Front row, from left: Emma Leuthner, Katherine Kelly, Asher-Marie Coates and Christina Maurizi.

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

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VALEDICTORY Antonia Clare Sylva ’18 We may not be remembered for our victories. It’s true that among our ranks are girls who have won awards, who have written novels, who have starred in musicals, who have won sports field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse championships, who have designed stained glass windows, who have broken track records, and who have done a multitude of other fantastic things. Even so, all of that will fade. Records get broken, and stories are replaced or forgotten. But it doesn’t matter. When people think of our class, I hope they remember the traits that allowed us to pull each other over that 20-foot wall on that hot September day during Junior Retreat Day. I hope they think of us as a group of people who supported one another through victory and defeat, who went to each other’s dance concerts and field hockey and lacrosse games, who cheered extra loudly during Ensemble performances. I hope our legacy will be our willingness to plug away, to fight for whatever successes have captured our imaginations, and to pick ourselves up and go again when we have been beaten down by defeat.

“I hope our legacy will be our willingness to plug away, to fight for whatever successes have captured our imaginations, and to pick ourselves up and go again when we have been beaten down by defeat.”

After all, it’s those traits — the mental toughness, grit, and penchant for cooperation fostered in us during our time at Oak Knoll — that will allow us to finally summit mountains. We were never going to reach the top during our time here, but our various successes and failures are largely irrelevant, because high school is not really about what we have achieved or where we have fallen short. We weren’t meant to make our mark on the world — not yet, not during these last four years.

All of that will come later. Instead, we have spent this time collecting the tools — the lessons, the skills, the confidence — we will need when we do want to chisel out a path for ourselves. We’re ready; I could not be more certain. We’ve been taught how to face every obstacle as a wall that can be scaled and how to pull others up along with us. *Excerpts of speech

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COMMENCEMENT SUMMER 2018

COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS Elisabeth Egan ’91 “Be yourself. Be brave. Have faith.

Speak up. Ask questions. Call home.

Do something. You are well prepared and beloved. Your intelligence and the pride in this room are a jet pack you will strap on your back, and it will let you spread your wings and fly.”

Ladies, wherever you’re going next year, I can guarantee that it will seem big compared to Oak Knoll. Huge, even. Your school, your classes, your library, your adventures, even your circle of friends — they’ll all exist on a slightly grander scale than what you’ve known here. You might be electrified by the magnitude of it; you might be overwhelmed. Chances are, you’ll be a little bit of both.

But you will do what Holy Child women have done since the days when Cornelia Connelly roamed this earth: you’ll build your community. You’ll sign up. Get involved. You’ll write for the school newspaper, or volunteer to become a Big Sister, or read to a blind woman, or get a job frying pizza pockets at the late-night grill. (Actually, I wouldn’t recommend this job.)

You’ll put in your two cents in class, and you’ll be surprised by how many people don’t. You’ll visit your professors during office hours. They might not become family like the teachers you’ve had here, but they will be interested in what you have to say and they’ll be impressed with your writing.

And one day, right around the time the Oak Knoll girls are beginning rehearsals for their Christmas concert, you’ll look around and you’ll realize, you’ve built a life for yourself in this new place. Whether or not you realize it, you’ve started weaving the fabric of that life right here in this building, and it’s already shot through with silver threads of wisdom.

Just like your class and Oak Knoll, these bits of wisdom are small but mighty. Just like you, and this school, they’re full of sparkle and easy to remember. Here are a few:

Elisabeth Egan is a 1991 graduate of Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child.

She is the books editor for “Glamour” magazine and author of “A Window Opens.” Her work has been published in “Self,” “People,” “O,” “Real Simple,” “Refinery29,” “The New York Times,” “The LA Times” and “The Washington Post.” Prior to commencement, she returned to Oak Knoll in 2016 to talk to students about her career and the school’s influence on her journey to becoming an author. Egan is a graduate of Middlebury College.

Be yourself. Be brave. Have faith. Speak up. Ask questions.

Call home. Do something. You are well prepared and beloved.

Your intelligence and the pride in this room are a jet pack you will strap on your back, and it will let you spread your wings and fly. *Excerpts of speech

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COMMENCEMENT AWARDS Gabrielle Andretta

Oluwatosin Famakinwa

Emma McGee

Isabel Sangimino

Athlete of the Year Award

Arts Leadership Award (Ensemble) Arts Service/Dedication Award (Musical - Production) Dr. Shirley A. Jackson Award for Excellence in Science

AP Scholar Arts Service/Dedication Award (Untucked) Spanish Honor Society

Kaitlin Feit

Spanish Honor Society

Elizabeth Mencke

AP Scholar with Honor Arts Leadership Award (Musical - Production) Computer Science Department Award Cum Laude Society National Merit Commended Student Spanish Honor Society

Hope Memorial Library Annual Book Lover’s Award

Meghan Schlageter

Kaela G. Basmajian AP Scholar Cum Laude Society National Merit Commended Student Spanish Honor Society

Julia Benton Arts Service/Dedication Award (Photo Club) Cum Laude Society

Grace Carnevale Theology Department Award

Elena Carolan Spanish Honor Society

Audrey Carrion French Honor Society

Lindsay Criqui AP Scholar National Merit Commended Student Spanish Honor Society

Mariel Czerniecki AP Scholar Arts Leadership Award - (Dancers) Latin Honor Society

Elizabeth Denehy AP Scholar Cum Laude Society National Merit Commended Student Salutatorian Scholar Athlete Award Spanish Honor Society

Julia DeSantis

AP Scholar Cum Laude Society Latin Honor Society National Merit Commended Student

Stacy Fortes Spanish Honor Society

Haley Georgen French Honor Society

Xinyu “Sherry” Gu AP Scholar Arts Outstanding Achievement Award (Aquila) Math Department Award National Merit Commended Student

Cameron Haarmann AP Scholar Spanish Honor Society

Lindley Hall AP Scholar Cum Laude Society Spanish Honor Society

Erin Harvey Latin Honor Society

Olivia Hindy Latin Honor Society

Augusta Imperatore

Jordan McGinley

Christina Nguyen AP Scholar Arts Leadership Award (Scribes) Cum Laude Society National Merit Commended Student The Rita Kentz Award Salutatorian Spanish Honor Society

Creative Arts Department Award (Art) Spanish Honor Society

Ryan Schlageter AP Scholar Cum Laude Society Latin Honor Society National Merit Commended Student

Valerie Nieves

Emma Shirkey

Spanish Honor Society

AP Scholar Arts Service/Dedication Award (Freestyle) Latin Honor Society

Juli Porto AP Scholar Arts Outstanding Achievement Award (Untucked) Cum Laude Society National Merit Commended Student Spanish Honor Society Women in Sports Day Award

Maeve Quinn AP Scholar Arts Leadership Award (Freestyle) English Department Award Foreign Language Educators of NJ Award Latin Honor Society

Morgan Spies Spanish Honor Society

Curran Stockton Spanish Honor Society

Antonia Sylva AP Scholar Arts Leadership Award (Untucked) Cum Laude Society History Department Award Latin Honor Society National Merit Commended Student Science Department Award Valedictorian

AP Scholar Cum Laude Society Latin Honor Society

Katherine Riggin

Kelly E. Durkin Award Spanish Honor Society

Katherine Kelly

Anne Donohue

Angela Kenney

Arts Leadership Award (Chamber Orchestra) Music Department Award

AP Scholar with Honor Spanish Honor Society

AP Scholar Spanish Honor Society

Ariana Russo AP Scholar

Katherine Watt

Julia Dunn

Emma Leuthner

Emma Saheed

AP Scholar Latin Honor Society

Spanish Honor Society

Spanish Honor Society

Madison Dyer

Brenda Liang

Cum Laude Society Latin Honor Society

Annabelle Zebrowski

AP Scholar Arts Leadership Award (Musical - Production) Cum Laude Society Spanish Honor Society

Spanish Honor Society

Spanish Honor Society

Emily Dolan

Spanish Honor Society

Grace Lynch AP Scholar

Christina Maurizi AP Scholar Spanish Honor Society

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Spanish Honor Society

Sophia Ruberti

Isabel Salas AP Scholar Arts Leadership Award (Photo Club) Arts Outstanding Achievement Award (Freestyle) Creative Arts Department Award (Photography)

Yahaira Torres AP Scholar Arts Outstanding Achievement Award (Dancers) Creative Arts Department Award (Dance)

AP Scholar Cum Laude Society Spanish Honor Society

COMMENCEMENT SUMMER 2018

MATRICULATION Class of 2018

Gabrielle Andretta Princeton University

Julia DeSantis Quinnipiac University

Lindley Hall Emory University

Emma McGee University of California, Los Angeles

Grace Sanders Fordham University

Emily Archer Carnegie Mellon University

Emily Dolan Lehigh University

Erin Harvey Fairfield University

Jordan McGinley Villanova University

Isabel Sangimino Washington University in St. Louis

Kaela Basmajian Duke University

Anne Donohue University of Notre Dame

Olivia Hindy Williams College

Elizabeth Mencke Skidmore College

Meghan Schlageter Boston College

Julia Benton Olin College of Engineering

Julia Dunn Boston College

Augusta Imperatore Boston College

Christina Nguyen University of Notre Dame

Ryan Schlageter Columbia University

Laura Borys Indiana University

Madison Dyer Georgetown University

Katherine Kelly Columbia University

Valerie Nieves Lafayette College

Emma Shirkey University of Georgia

Mary Isabella Brosie Villanova University

Oluwatosin Famakinwa Drexel University

Angela Kenney Boston College

Mary Papantonis Trinity College

Morgan Spies Stetson University

Grace Carnevale University of Maryland

Kaitlin Feit University of Southern California

Isabelle Kenny University of Richmond

Juli Porto Stanford University

Curran Stockton Lafayette College

Elena Carolan Bucknell University

Stacy Fortes Kean University

Emma Leuthner Texas Christian University

Maeve Quinn University of Virginia

Antonia Sylva University of Notre Dame

Audrey Carrion Syracuse University

Claire Galvin University of Michigan

Brenda Liang New York University

Katherine Riggin Santa Clara University

Yahaira Torres The George Washington University

Asher-Marie Coates Dickinson College

Haley Georgen Providence College

Grace Lynch College of the Holy Cross

Sophia Ruberti Fordham University

Katherine Watt Colgate University

Lindsay Criqui Colgate University

NikkiAnn Grogan Villanova University

Christina Maurizi Tulane University

Ariana Russo Georgetown University

Annabelle Zebrowski Georgetown University

Mariel Czerniecki Reed College

Xinyu “Sherry� Gu Washington and Lee University

Alison McCarthy Princeton University

Emma Saheed The University of Edinburgh

Elizabeth Denehy Harvard University

Cameron Haarmann Cornell University

Molly McCarthy Providence College

Isabel Salas New York University

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FAMILY CONNECTIONS 1

2

3

5

6

4

8

9

7

(1) Julia Benton ’18 and sister Maria ’16 (2) Katherine Kelly ’18 with brothers John (with the LS class of ’19) and Steve (3) Christina Maurizi ’18 with brother Vincent (LS) ’18, sister Elsa ’20 and Rudy (LS) ’17 (4) Claire Galvin ’18 and sister Shannon ’12 (5) Lindsay Criqui ’18 and sister Greta ’21 (6) Graduates and cousins Meghan Schlageter ’18 and Ryan Schlageter ’18, with Ryan’s sister Keelin ’20 and Meghan’s sister Elle ’16 (7) Ariana Russo ’18 and sister Hope ’25 (8) Yahaira Torres ’18 and sister Katherine ’13 (9) Isabelle Kenny ’18 with brother Hayden (LS) ’15, sister Tess (Elizabeth) ’30 and brother Quinn (LS) ’17

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COMMENCEMENT SUMMER 2018

Oak Knoll’s history is built on generations of family. Here, we celebrate those ties to the Class of 2018 through pictures of those who were present and opted to be photographed on Commencement Day.

10

11

13

12

14

15

18 16

17

(10) Lindley Hall ’18 and sister Caroline ’20 (11) Katherine Watt ’18 with sisters Caroline ’14 and Julia ’16 (12) Emma McGee ’18 and sister Kelsey ’15 (13) Christina Nguyen ’18 with brother Jonathan (LS) ’14 and sister Katie ’23 (14) Emma Leuthner ’18 with sister Gabriella ’15 and brother Stanton (LS) ’13 (15) Gabrielle Andretta ’18 and sister Caroline ’15 (16) Alison McCarthy ’18 and sister Ryan ’14 (17) Kaela Basmajian ’18 with cousins Faith Bulan ’20 and Evan Bulan (with the LS class of ’17) (18) Stacy Fortes ’18 and sister Stephanie ’11

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FAMILY CONNECTIONS 19

22

20

21

23

26

24

25

27

(19) Angela Kenney ’18 with sisters Mary Margaret ’14, Evelyn ’14 and Grace ’14, and brother John (LS) ’08 (20) Laura Borys ’18 and sister Sarah ’21 (21) Julia Dunn ’18 with sisters Catherine ’17 and Melissa ’15 (22) Cameron Haarmann ’18 and sister Sara ’15 (23) Elizabeth Denehy ’18 with cousins Charlotte Smith ’17 and Ghislaine Smith ’08 (24) Brenda Liang ’18 and sister Clara ’22 (25) Antonia Sylva ’18 with brother Damien (LS) ’14 and sisters Josefina ’27, Lucia ’24 and Eliana ’22 (26) Oluwatosin Famakinwa ’18 and sister Opeyemi ’15 (27) Juli Porto ’18 with brother Joseph (LS) ’16 and sister Jodi ’20

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COMMENCEMENT SUMMER 2018

MILESTONES

1

2

3

1 Kindergarten Graduation

2 Moving-Up Ceremony

3 Lower School Graduation

20 Oak Knoll kindergartners were graduated Tuesday, June 5, 2018, during a special ceremony in Bonaventura Hall Chapel that perfectly encapsulated the year of growth they have each experienced. Students, who received diplomas from Head of School Timothy J. Saburn and Lower School Division Head Christine Spies, sang several songs and acted out the parable of the Mustard Seed to reflect their ongoing spiritual and educational journeys that will continue next year in the first grade.

Oak Knoll eighth graders formally marked their transition from the middle school years into high school on June 7, 2018, during the school’s annual Moving-Up Ceremony in the Grace Hall Chapel. With a beautiful theme of “Sisters by Chance, Friends by Choice,” the ceremony included poignant remarks from Upper School Division Head Jennifer Landis and members of the Class of 2022, as well as a special performance by the eighth-grade concert choir.

Thirty-five young men and women were graduated from Oak Knoll’s Lower School on June 6, 2018, ready to meet the challenges ahead of them in the seventh grade. During the graduation Mass, students performed a dramatic interpretation of the Parable of the Sower, which was a meaningful callback to the themes raised at their kindergarten graduation just six years ago. The performance, apart from being a touching callback, also provided the students an opportunity to proclaim that no matter where their educational and spiritual lives continue to grow, they know their roots will always extend back to the fruitful soil of Oak Knoll.

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ALL-SCHOOL AWARDS CONNELLY SCHOLAR AWARD Elisabeth Keenan ’22, Samantha Petrucco ’22 and Katie White ’22

were awarded the Connelly Scholar Award, which is given to eighth graders who will be entering Oak Knoll’s freshman class and have demonstrated fine scholarship and exemplary personal qualities. No more than 10 percent of the class may receive this distinction, maintained during the four high school years.

KATIE MACMASTER AWARD Sarah Jordan ’22 was awarded the Katie MacMaster Award, given

each year to a student who has embraced all aspects of school life and exhibited personal integrity and a “joyful spirit.” Katie MacMaster ’07 was a young woman who used her gifts fully in the classroom, in the arts and in athletics, and genuinely welcomed others to her friendship.

BRIGID GIBBONS AWARD Recognized for a spirit reflecting the award’s namesake, Emma McTague ’19 was the recipient of the Brigid Gibbons Award, which was initiated in the 1978-79 school year as a unanimous response to the inspiration of service and courage created by Oak Knoll student, Brigid Gibbons.

STUDENT COUNCIL AWARD The Student Council Award was given to Emma Saheed ’18.

The Student Council Award is given each year in recognition and appreciation for the leadership given by a member of the Student Council who contributed significantly throughout the year.

HOLY CHILD SPIRIT AWARD Audrey Carrion ’18 was awarded the Holy Child Spirit Award for

exemplifying a quiet spirit of self-direction in right action and a positive yet subtle influence upon her peers, which helps the group to be most productive. The recipient is a caring, thoughtful individual whose concern for the community frequently causes her to keep her own needs as secondary to those of the common good.

SR. ELIZABETH BARBER AWARD Mariel Czerniecki ’18 was awarded the Sr. Elizabeth Barber Award

thanks to her personifying the Holy Child founder’s maxim, “Actions, not words” that was also exemplified by the late Sr. Elizabeth Barber, an Oak Knoll alumna and member of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.

The senior who receives this award is a young woman who has assumed responsibility, solved problems, anticipated the needs of others and of the school community, and acted as both an example to and a support for others.

DR. YVONNE IMBLEAU AWARD Emily Archer ’18 was named the recipient of the Dr. Yvonne Imbleau

Award for exemplifying the Holy Child Spirit in the vein of the award’s namesake – an Oak Knoll alumna who offered her gifts as a medical doctor in Kenya and in Appalachia. Her generous and dedicated life of service is the inspiration for this award. Dr. Imbleau took to heart the maxim of Mother Cornelia Connelly, “Let us never say that we have done enough,” faithfully serving those who needed her. This recognition is the highest honor given to a student in the Upper School.

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CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

REMEMBERING David Bogert

Oak Knoll’s ‘gentle giant’ security officer The Oak Knoll School community mourns the loss of longtime Security Officer David Bogert, who passed away on January 3, 2018.

Bogert began working at Oak Knoll in 2005, shortly after his retirement as a police sergeant with the Berkeley Heights Police Department, where he served for more than a quarter century.

“We will all remember Dave for his gentle demeanor, his kindness, his love for the Giants and Yankees, and how much he loved to share his Christmas hats with the entire community,” said Head of School Timothy J. Saburn. “He loved to make the students, in particular, smile at the special time of year that is Advent and Christmas at Oak Knoll.

He was a good man who loved Oak Knoll and his job here.

He will be sorely missed by all of the community.”

Bogert’s impact on his co-workers has been evident through an outpouring of fond remembrances in the days following his passing.

Fellow Security Officer Jim Monticello, who also knew Bogert from their days as police officers, called him the foundation of the school’s security team who helped craft Oak Knoll’s security policies and procedures.

“Dave was, to some degree, modest,” Monticello said. “I say that because as much as I hope everyone here at Oak Knoll feels our security officers are doing a good job, it was Dave who was the foundation of our security team. I hope everyone, especially his family, knows that Dave’s work ethic was second to none, and his concern for the safety of our students was truly his number one priority.”

Bogert was also well-known for his love of sports, with Upper School Science Teacher Sean Melican remembering many an afternoon speaking about their dueling teams – the Giants and Eagles.

Bogert is survived by a son, Christopher, of Howell; a daughter, Stephanie, of North Bennington, Vermont; and a brother, Richard, of Florida.

Bogert was born in East Orange and lived in Edison for 25 years.

The Oak Knoll community gathered on Wednesday, January 10, 2018, for a special Mass for the repose of Bogert’s soul.

Faculty and staff reflect on Dave’s legacy “From my first day here at Oak Knoll School, Dave always made me feel like we were a team. We were on the same page from day one and worked well together. He was never too busy to help out.”

- Security Officer Jim Monticello “It is so very bittersweet that he died around the holidays, as I can’t possibly think about Dave without a Christmas hat upon his head.”

- Norma Delepine, Upper School director of student support “I will remember Dave for his kind and gentle demeanor. He always had a smile ready for anyone, especially the children. He made sure to greet me and wish me a good day no matter how busy he was.”

- Annabela Svorinich, Lower School Spanish teacher “He was a wonderful person and, if you were lucky enough to have lunch with him, you learned how much he loved his family and how funny he was. He touched everyone in this community and reminded us all to smile. We tend to take things for granted, like seeing wonderful people every day when we go to work. Dave’s loss is keenly felt today as I imagine it will be for a long time.”

- Michele Proia, academic dean and Upper School foreign language teacher

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

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where young women lead With everything we do, we prepare students to make an impact on society.

Our graduates think globally, lead with conviction and make the world a better place.

Join us.

Catholic, independent, all-girls’ middle/high school from grades 7-12 44 Blackburn Road, Summit, NJ 07901 www.oakknoll.org

SUMMER 2018

A LUMNAE /I N EW S

Planting Seeds Oak Knoll’s partnership with NJ SEEDS helps provide educational access

S. Hackensack, NJ Permit No. 79

PAID Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

CONTENTS ALUMNAE/I NEWS 1A

FIRST YEAR CHECK-IN

15A

CRACKING THE CODE Susan Murray ’08 studies potential links between obesity and Alzheimer’s

16A

CLASS NOTES

21A

REUNION

FEATURES

2A

PLANTING SEEDS Oak Knoll’s partnership with NJ SEEDS helps provide educational access for students

4A

DIVING IN Elle Schlageter ’16 sails from Australia to Africa during semester at sea

10A

GOING THE DISTANCE Lauren Babb ’14 becomes Barnard College’s first woman of color with BA in chemical physics

12A

FINDING HERSELF IN CAMEROON Excerpts from the blog of Naji Thompson ’15, during 5-month study abroad in West Africa

44 Blackburn Road Summit, NJ 07901 REVIEW is published once per year by the Marketing & Communications Department for alumnae/i, parents and friends of Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child.

Head of School Timothy J. Saburn EDITOR Meghan Hodgin Director of Marketing & Communications

ASSOCIATE EDITOR James McEvoy Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications EDITORIAL STAFF Cynthia Prewitt Director of Institutional Advancement Elizabeth O’Mara ’86 Associate Director of Institutional Advancement

Change service requested

Barbara Lindner Assistant Director of Institutional Advancement

David Snyder Jacqueline Snyder ’21 Peter Wallburg Studios

PHOTOGRAPHY Carlee Bennett Kevin Faughnan Jose Goncalves Highpoint Pictures Meghan Hodgin James McEvoy Andrew Miller Rebecca Nowalski Gabe Rhodes Timothy J. Saburn

DESIGN Abbie Moore Design PRINTING Action Graphics Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child 44 Blackburn Road Summit, NJ 07901 908-522-8109 www.oakknoll.org

FIRST YEAR CHECK-IN Allison Palmeri ’17 FIRST YEAR CHECK-IN offers advice and an inside view of

what our most recent graduates may expect during their first year away at college. This year, we caught up with Allison Palmeri ’17 on her first year at Villanova University. Allison talks about making friends, getting involved, giving back and how Oak Knoll prepared her for college.

Q: Did you have any hesitations or fears before you

headed off to school last summer?

A: Definitely! Coming from a class of 68, I was nervous to be one of 1,700 freshmen and around 7,000 undergraduate students. I was really worried about the fact that I wouldn’t know anyone, and I was concerned about feeling lost in this huge sea of new people.

Q: Was it easy to make friends?

A: I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it definitely wasn’t impossi-

ble. It’s really stressful and nerve wracking to put yourself out there and to be open to meeting everyone. I found, though, that it’s important to get involved with anything you are even slightly interested in. That’s where you’ll get to meet new people with whom you’ll have common interests. Besides that, it was comforting to come to Villanova with four other Oak Knoll girls. With Lily, Jenn, Steph, and Emma there, I was able to see a familiar face while still constantly meeting new people.

Q: Have you chosen a major?

A: I am currently a Psychology major.

Q: Are you involved in any activities/organizations at

Villanova?

A: Yes! Most important to me would definitely be Special Olympics. Villanova holds the largest student-run Special Olympics event in the world, called Fall Fest, and I first got involved this past fall when I was a Local Program Host (LPH). As an LPH, I was the bridge between the Villanova community and the athletes. For this upcoming Fall Fest, I am on the Special Olympics committee as one of the three people training and mentoring the incoming LPHs. Besides Special Olympics, I am also a member of the fundraising committee of both Villanova’s Habitat for Humanity and She’s The First chapters, as well as a founding member and event coordinator of the first Villanova Photography Club.

Q: How is the college experience different from high

school?

A: In college, you have much more freedom than in high school. However, that also means that you have a much more responsibility, not only for your successes but also for your failures and shortcomings. Also, in college, time management is more crucial than it was in high school. Since everyone has their own path, you have to be on top of how you are managing your time rather than just following the lead of a friend.

Q: It was only one year ago when you were in the same

position as our current seniors – getting ready to leave OKS for college. What sort of advice would you give to them as they prepare to leave home?

A: Get involved! You don’t have to be 100 percent devoted to a club or organization’s mission to try it out and see how you feel about it. Getting involved not only introduces you to new people, but it also helps you get a feel for the environment and culture on campus. Also, go out of your comfort zone. College is a fresh start. It’s the time when you can do something you’ve never done before without worrying about what people may think.

Q: Looking back, how do you think Oak Knoll prepared

you for Villanova?

A: At Oak Knoll, teachers held us to a high standard, and that made me hold myself to a very high standard as well. My time at Villanova, so far, has shown me that because of my high school teachers, I felt prepared for the challenges that came along with college.

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

1A

PLANTING

SEEDS

Esther Clovis ’08, a litigation associate at Holland & Knight LLP, a New York City-based law firm, believes her success in the legal field would not have been possible without the partnership between two educational institutions – Oak Knoll and New Jersey SEEDS.

sociology in 2012. In 2017, she received a juris doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

A daughter of Haitian immigrants, Clovis was inspired by her parents’ “profound understanding of the role of education and its potential impact on one’s successes” despite the fact they never themselves attended school beyond fifth grade or high school.

“My family and I wanted me to have the chance to attend a school that was academically rigorous and simultaneously nurturing, and SEEDS turned out to be the best opportunity to help me realize that goal,” she said. “Because of SEEDS and Oak Knoll, the daughter of a factory worker and a taxi driver, and the granddaughter of farmers and migrant workers, has had the opportunity to become an Ivy League-educated attorney,” she added.

NJ SEEDS has enjoyed a special connection with Oak Knoll for almost 25 years - with the Class of 2004 being the first Oak Knoll graduating class to feature NJ SEEDS alumnae.

Oak Knoll’s Head of School Timothy J. Saburn also previously served on the NJ SEEDS Board of Trustees.

NJ SEEDS – which stands for Scholars, Educators, Excellence, Dedication, Success – is a nonprofit that provides educational access to high-achieving, low-income students. More than 60 students have attended Oak Knoll through the NJ SEEDS program since the two institutions began their partnership in 1994. Many students, like Clovis, go on to graduate from prestigious colleges and universities with an eye to making their mark on the world.

“I could not possibly capture the impact that SEEDS and Oak Knoll have had on me in words, because the magnitude of that impact is so profound,” Clovis said. “SEEDS and Oak Knoll drastically altered the trajectory of my life and paved the way for me to attend some of this nation’s most prestigious institutions, travel to different ends of the Earth, work at a top-100 law firm and so much more.”

After graduating from Oak Knoll in 2008, Clovis attended Princeton University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 2A

“Oak Knoll School has been a friend and partner to NJ SEEDS from our earliest days more than a quarter-century ago,” said NJ SEEDS Executive Director John F. Castano. “For many years, (Oak Knoll’s) beautiful campus provided our young scholars with an idyllic summer home for their first independent school experience. The opportunity and access afforded these young people by the Oak Knoll community dramatically changed their trajectory for the better.”

Oak Knoll rising senior Joanne Novembre ’19, of Newark, said she learned of NJ SEEDS through her former school’s principal.

After attending a summer session and exploring her options, she began attending Oak Knoll through the program in ninth grade.

“I can proudly say NJ SEEDS has impacted me immensely,” Novembre said. “I have found lasting friendships and am able to finish my last year of high school at a school I am so grateful to attend.

“Oak Knoll has provided me with opportunities I probably would not have if I did not attend a private school,” she added.

“I have been given access to pursue my artistic abilities with never-ending support, and can express my true self.”

CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

Esther Clovis ’08, a litigation associate at Holland & Knight LLP.

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DIVING IN

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Elle Schlageter ’16 sails from Australia to Africa during semester at sea

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By Elle Schlageter ’16 I’ve always had “itchy feet” when it comes to exploring the world around me, and when I learned about the “Sea|mester” program from the study abroad office at the University of Colorado, Boulder, I knew I needed to apply for the next voyage.

So there I was, on September 13, 2017, jumping on a plane to travel for two days to Darwin, Australia, for a 90-day voyage that would take me from Australia to South Africa.

In total, there were 30 people aboard the 112-foot Argo, including a captain, first mate, second mate, marine biology teacher, oceanography teacher, program director and a dive instructor – the rest of the crew was made up of students somewhere between a gap year and senior year of college.

What was really cool was that some people had loads of sailing experience and were on board to try and earn their

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DIVING IN

captain’s license – including me – while others had never been sailing, but wanted to learn more about oceanography or earn their dive certifications.

Diving In After leaving Darwin, we sailed throughout Indonesia, stopping in Kupang, Komodo, Gili Air and Bali. This first portion of our trip was focused on diving and, while I’d been diving before and am certified, I was absolutely blown away by how diverse and vibrant the underwater world is.

A lot of the conversation surrounding conservation can be pretty heartbreaking – we see statistics about how much harm has already been done to our environment – but here we were, breathing underwater in this amazing and beautiful environment, and it was so motivating.

When I looked around and saw all of this life, it shifted my perspective on environmental advocacy. We still have incredible beauty on the planet – things that are worth fighting for and protecting. I really believe that we can do it.

Two-Week Voyage After Indonesia, we sailed to two small islands — Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling. Up to this point, most of our sails had been two to four days long, but after saying farewell to Cocos Keeling we prepared for a 14-day sail across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. A two-week voyage is no small task, and I am incredibly thankful for the crew with which I was able to accomplish such a feat.

Even without land there was always something to do: cooking, studying, research projects, cleaning, sail handling, navigation practice, boat and engine room checks – and one of my favorite things was learning about celestial navigation.

This was one example of how Oak Knoll impacted me.

During my senior year I took Mrs. Casie Molinari’s class on nature and writing. It was a fantastic course, and one of my big takeaways was how exciting it can be to read about the way other people see the natural world.

Looking to the Stars While we were sailing, I started reading two books with my good friend Jack: “A Voyage for Madmen,” which tells the true story of the nine men who set out to win the first single-handed ’round the world sailing race and another called “Sextant,”

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which is part history, part personal narrative and part scientific explanation of the development of celestial navigation.

Before the trip, learning to sail by the stars was a huge dream of mine, and reading these books was even more motivating.

Since celestial navigation wasn’t covered in any of our courses, Jack and I spent most of our free time on deck with the captain and mate learning how to take sights or down below trying to teach ourselves the calculations and science behind using the angle between you, the horizon and a celestial body to figure out where you were in the world.

It was a lot of work, but one of my favorite memories from the trip. It showed me the ways the skills you learn in school really can come alive. Sometimes those skills directly flow into the career that you want, and other times it creeps into your life in different ways. Having that foundational understanding of physics or math or English opens so many doors for you to find your own ways to apply the theories.

Adventures in Mauritius After the long sail, we made it to Mauritius. Mauritius was absolutely beautiful, and if I could go back anywhere it would probably be there. There are insane volcanic peaks, and the hiking and climbing were highlights for me.

and rewarding experience. I was so fortunate to meet some of the most amazing people along the way and summit with my best friend by my side.

Homeward Bound On December 22, 2017, I flew home to New Jersey from the Kilimanjaro Airport and, after three months, got to see my family again.

Since I’ve been back, a lot of people have asked what it’s like to go back to “regular” or “dull” life now, but I really think that that is much more of a choice in attitude than place. For those three months, I wasn’t able to ski or ice climb or even go to the library, so being back home is a new kind of adventure.

And it’s still my same, one life, so I try not to make any room for “dull,” especially since that’s mostly perspective. Life is what you make it.

Elle Schlageter ’16 is a rising junior and member of the Class of 2020 at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is now a licensed international sailboat captain for boats up to 200 tons.

We hiked, swam, swung, sailed, climbed, skydived, paraglided, ate great food, ate really, really weird food, learned about countries we’d never heard of, challenged ourselves, learned more about what it meant to be part of a team, and met some of the most incredible people.

Journey’s End After Mauritius we had another two-week sail to South Africa.

Our first stop was Richard’s Bay, then East London and, finally, in early December, Cape Town! Sailing into Cape Town provided one of the biggest senses of accomplishment I’ve ever felt. It meant that we had successfully sailed 7,000 nautical miles – something that at the beginning of the trip was so hard to even conceptualize. But, we did it!

After saying goodbye to the people we’d been living with for three months, Jack and I spent a long night flying from Cape Town, South Africa, to Moshi, Tanzania, and then packing up to start a week-long climb up Mount Kilimanjaro the next morning.

The climb was hands down the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done, and going from sea level to nearly 20,000 feet in seven days is a pretty wild challenge, but it was the most beautiful

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THE WATER PROJECT Victoria Garceran ’16 follows her passion to bring clean drinking water to Ghana During summer 2018, Victorian Garceran ’16 will travel halfway across the globe to help provide one of the most basic human needs – clean drinking water – to people in Ghana through an internship with Saha Global, a Ghanaian nonprofit based in the West African country.

Speaking to Oak Knoll while she was away studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Garceran – a rising junior politics major at New York University – said she sought the Ghanaian internship due to her interest in social justice rights, particularly those surrounding women’s empowerment, human rights and environmental sustainability.

“Saha Global focuses on all of these issues,” Garceran said. “I felt that it was something completely aligned with my passions, that I would be truly blessed to be a part of and something I definitely wanted to do. I also felt strongly that I could contribute extremely positively to this job, as it’s something I’m so passionate about.”

She was accepted after a rigorous process that included several rounds of interviews.

As part of her internship, Garceran – along with a group of interns – had to raise $3,500 that would cover the costs of starting a water-supply business in Ghana. Her group will work to introduce the business to address the poor quality of drinking water in a village two hours outside of Tamale, the capital city of the Northern Region of Ghana.

“The water there is filled with dirt and mud, and is a dark-brown color,” she lamented. “They don’t have access to clean water.”

Garceran and her team will be learning how to treat the water to make it drinkable, build a business model catered to the village, build the business structure itself and then ensure its sustainability by interviewing and employing residents for the business.

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Garceran said she is looking forward to gaining valuable work experience during the internship, but she is most looking forward to actually bringing about real change to a real community of people.

“I hope to obtain good experience in my field – nonprofit work surrounding women’s rights and human rights,” she said.

“And I hope to really bring my skills to the table and to be a leader within my small team … to truly make a definite difference within this community.

“I also hope to hone my skills, make friendships in these communities and further explore the world, as I will be in a country I’ve never been in before,” she added.

As part of her application process for the internship, Garceran provided written reflections about work she contributed while she was studying abroad in Argentina earlier this year.

Like her upcoming internship in Ghana, which will begin a scant five days after she departs Argentina, Garceran said her experiences in Buenos Aires were priceless.

“I wanted to learn Spanish, and I wanted to be in Latin America,” she said, the former being achieved through an intensive Spanish course she took at New York University prior to departing the states.

In addition, she felt herself growing closer to God, during the internship, which included an amazing experience hiking in Peru at Machu Picchu.

“My relationship with God and my spirituality has strengthened intensely since being here,” she said. “I think my connection to myself, to the Earth, to others and to God has strengthened with this year of service, so I am extremely thankful for that.”

CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

RE-ENTER STAGE LEFT

Spring Musical features Oak Knoll reunion for Andrew Pulver ’14 Andrew Pulver ’14, a budding singer and actor, embraced the stage as a second home early in life, making his Carnegie Hall debut performing “Ave Maria” when he was only a fifth grader at Oak Knoll.

Pulver, now a rising junior at Newark Academy, came back to Oak Knoll’s Mother Mary Campion Center for the Performing Arts this spring to assume the role of the prince in the Upper School musical performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”

For Pulver, it was a homecoming both as a student and performer.

“It’s great to come back to Oak Knoll School, where I feel at home and have many wonderful memories. I really enjoyed performing here with my former classmates and in front of my former teachers,” Pulver said.

Though the musical was the first in which he performed, he said he was ready for the challenge and enjoyed that it had brought him back to Oak Knoll.

“While I was at Oak Knoll, I was very active in the performing arts,” Pulver said. “I often sang at Oak Knoll assemblies, and my teachers and classmates were incredibly supportive. I really appreciated that when the Lower School Principal Mrs. Joanne Ainsworth retired, I sang at her goodbye assembly. It was such an honor.”

The school’s support continued when Christine Spies became Lower School division head, he said, allowing him to work with his teachers to complete his studies despite missing class time after being offered a role at the Metropolitan Opera.

During his years at Oak Knoll, Pulver also sang in the New Jersey Youth Choir and studied piano and voice privately, which he continues to do now.

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Going the

Distance It’s a rare feat to trailblaze a path in the sciences simply by graduating from college, but that’s just what Lauren Babb ’14 did on May 16, 2018, when she became the first woman of color to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemical physics from Barnard College at Columbia University.

“Educators need to rally to make knowledge accessible, so that everyone gets a fair shot. Diversity only serves to better our communities, our future, and we need to encourage it,” Babb said. “Every little girl or boy growing up can believe his or her dreams are possible. We need to give all future children hope and show them that we have reached a time where history will reflect equality — not just in my own anecdote, but in the statistics.”

“While it was not my motivation, it is not lost on me at my own college that I am the first black chemical physics major,” she said. “While I am proud to have blazed this trail, it honestly shocked me that in 2018 I would be putting pen to paper and sealing my name on this little piece of history.”

Her father, an ophthalmologist, studied molecular biology in college, while her mother studied psychology. Her grandfather was also a mathematician who worked for British Airways in the 1950s.

Babb, who comes from an Indo-Caribbean family, is proud of her heritage and believes it’s unfortunate that society hasn’t reached a level of equality and diversity throughout all fields, including the sciences.

As proud as she is of her ethnic heritage, she also maintains immense pride in her family’s influence on her love of science, which she has had since she was a child.

“It was clear to most from a very early age I would be doing something in science,” Babb said. “As a child, I lugged around an encyclopedia of the human body. I couldn’t even read half the words in it to be honest, but I naturally gravitated toward those images and ideas even as a little kid.”

What began as childhood curiosity has led Babb to the physics doctorate program at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, where she will begin her studies in Belgium in the fall. The program is taught entirely in French, of which Babb is fortunately fluent.

In addition to her studies, she is also about to become a published author, as she has contributed to a piece submitted to the American Chemical Society about the structural and functional properties of an organometallic nanoparticle that will catalyze the reaction of sustainable wood-residue based biofuels.

These studies accentuate her youthful curiosity to know what things are, as well as why things are.

“I was interested in more than just a simple answer — it was the proof, the deeper explanation I sought. Now, later in my life, I crave to understand things from their fundamentals, and that is why I continued to study science into adulthood,” she said.

This natural curiosity was something that she believes was fostered at Oak Knoll, in addition to providing a grounding

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on which she could build a stable educational foundation and support her spiritual growth.

“Oak Knoll gave me so much more than just a top-tier education,” she said. “Oak Knoll grounded me spiritually, and I am eternally grateful to have attended an institution that connected me to my faith at such an important and transformative time in my life.

“I needed that stability for the next phase of life because, as we all know, college is not a place that breeds stability. Oak Knoll showed me who I was, and what I was capable of. Without those tools, I would not have made it through the uphill battle that college has been.”

Unsurprisingly, when looking ahead of herself, Babb doesn’t see one path, but many that include the common theme of paying it forward and giving back.

“I see myself becoming a mother, a scientist, an inventor, a professor, a teacher, a doctor or, perhaps, a combination of a few of those things all rolled into one five-foot-two body,” she said.

“Ultimately, I just want to do something that excites me and gives me joy,” she added. “Whatever I do, it is my desire to give just as much as I get – even more if I can by making sure that the women who are eager follow a path into science, engineering or technology have the resources and the encouragement they need to go the distance.”

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Finding Herself in

Cameroon

During the spring semester of her junior year, Dickinson College student Naji Thompson ’15, majoring in African Studies and Anthropology, joined a classmate to document their experiences studying abroad in the African nation of Cameroon.

no matter how strong the urge, I should resist the temptation to bathe in lakes with the locals.

Below, we’ve collected snippets of some of Thompson’s ruminations from the blog she maintained during her roughly five-month stay, which featured ups and downs (including that one time she got malaria), as well as her road to self-discovery. In the capital city of Yaoundé and other Cameroonian cities, she discusses adapting to an unfamiliar environment, warming up to her host family and finding strength along the way.

I had not even left the country yet and Cameroon was already bringing change into my life. However, now that I am here I’ve begun to realize this change will run even deeper than daily medication and adjusting to a new time zone. I don’t feel any different yet, but I guess, I hope, by the end of these five months there will be something new, discovered or created.”

We’re Going Abroad!

January 29, 2018 “When I told the infectious diseases doctor I was going to be studying in Cameroon, he nodded and said, ‘Rural, right?

There aren’t many cities there.’ I tried to correct him, pointing out that I would be staying in the capital, Yaoundé, a city growing by the day. He brushed off my remarks. And with a set image of Africa in his mind he informed me that I should expect to come home with no fewer than three parasites, and

After receiving my anti-malaria medication, I left the office feeling a bit disheartened. Even though I didn’t have to deal with that doctor ever again, his mentality has become a constant in my life. Both my majors have shown me the myths, misconceptions and gross generalizations surrounding the continent of Africa, however, it wasn’t until September 2017, when I first applied to the program, that I felt the weight of these issues become ever present in my life.

That One Time Naji Got Malaria February 10, 2018 “It would be a lie to say my first two weeks in Yaoundé were easy. I am beginning to realize that there is really only so much change you can fully prepare for and that it is the small changes, the parts of life so routine, so simple, so unnoticeable that you forget can be incredibly different. And those little things tend to add up to a great deal. However, it was a fairly large problem that I had prepared and planned for that completely threw my entire two weeks off – I got malaria.

I am OK. I got treated. I am better now.

I’m part of the malaria epidemic statistics for 2018 now, which is odd. One of the people who got malaria in Cameroon in 2018. An American who got malaria in 2018. A person who got malaria and lived.

Getting malaria made me seriously think about my decision to study abroad in Cameroon. However, even before I got sick I was struggling with my choice to come here. Yaoundé has not been the easiest city to adapt to. Even now as I write this there are parts of me that doubt I will be able to spend five months here.

Most people here think I’m Cameroonian, but sometimes I can tell they know [otherwise]. They look at the way I dress,

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the way I move through the streets, unsteady and unsure of the next right step, they hear my accented English, or worse, my broken French, and they know. It feels like I will never blend in the city, know it or move in it freely. Five months is a lifetime when there is nowhere to go but school and home and no one to talk to, but the few people you already know.

Even home has been a source of stress for me. I underestimated the struggle of finding a place inside [my host] family that had been functioning perfectly without me for years. An added barrier is our inability to fully speak each other’s languages, and while my language skills are improving, my comfort is not.

In a surprising twist, getting malaria helped to ease my transition with my host family. When I came home sick, my host mom and host grandmother quickly set to work. They checked my temperature regularly, made me eat and drink, woke me from my sleep to give me fever medicine, pressed their hands against my forehand and neck and cheeks the way my mother always did when I was sick.

When I woke, there was a new understanding between us built from them having no choice but to care for me and me having no choice but to trust them deeply.”

Kribi: A Seaside Reflection February 25, 2018 “So much has been important to me here in Cameroon. But I think more than anything our field trip to Kribi will be something I remember forever. There was an oil rig off the shore. It rested right on the horizon, where the sun and sea met.

I’ve had very few moments in my life as powerful as this one. I looked off at the tiny dot in the distance and wondered if that’s how small slave ships looked. If I had been there when they sailed, could I have seen them from where I stood? Would they have looked like that oil rig, so aloof from this shore, but carrying large complexities I could never comprehend? Complexities and pain. Pain simple, raw and real. I was standing on the coast, in the water, that my ancestors touched for the last time before they set foot in a new world never to come home again.

Growing up I knew about African-Americans’ connection to Africa, and West Africa in particular. I learned about West African dances, stories, food and religions, and their influence on the cultures African-Americans have today. But, it wasn’t until our trip to Kribi that I felt that connection. That I truly recognized the creation of me and of everything I will one day create started on the coast, on the land that lead to it and on the ships that left it. Part of what was formed from that pain, that suffering, that resistance, power and courage, was me.

There is no way to pay back such a sacrifice but, in 2018, nearly 600 years later, I swam in the water that carried their sorrow and was surrounded by joy.”

I’m Really Here: 2-Month Update March 25, 2018 “Sometimes I stop and think, ‘Wow, I’m in Africa.’ Usually this thought comes to me as I make my daily walk down my hill to

meet my neighbor so we can taxi to school together. As I trek down, especially on clear days, the city of Yaoundé, comes fully into my view. A giant city I am just starting to know. Motorbikes and taxis, regular sized, speed by me slightly too close for comfort, their horns and music blasting.

Dust stirs around my ankles. I’m already sweating because even at 8 in the morning, the African sun is hot. It’s times like this where I have to stop and take it all in. I am in Africa.

I have never taken so many bucket showers in my life and probably never will again. I think about it then, being here, really living here, and again as I fall asleep under my mosquito net.

The grocery store is also a big reminder. The shelves are filled with all sorts of chips and cookies all foreign to me, with names I can’t pronounce. No Oreos. No Doritos. Everything is paid for in francs, Cameroonian currency (I can’t lie though, Cameroonian snacks are lit). I buy fresh fruit on the side of the road, pineapple, watermelon, the sweetest fruit I’ve ever tasted, and nearly everything else I eat comes from the market.

I drink exclusively from water bottles. Tap water is only good for tea. Sunrise and sunset bring mosquitos. Trace Africa, a TV station, fills my house with African music.

This is Cameroon. Cameroon is different.

A Cameroonian Routine April 4, 2018 “I came to Cameroon to escape routine, but it seems I’ve just stumbled into a new one. Wake up at 07:00. Dress, use bathroom, brush teeth, pack bag. Eat breakfast at 07:30. Leave house by 08:00. Meet Meaghan for taxi at 08:15. First class at 09:00. Then lunch between 11:30 and 14:00. Then maybe

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Finding Herself in Cameroon another class. Then back home by 17:30. Dinner by 20:00. And I’m in bed by 22:00. I feel like I do the same things with the same people in the same places over and over again.

Time moves differently here too. Each day passes slowly. The weeks seem to ooze by like molasses. But then suddenly I look up and I’m nearly half way done with my time in Cameroon.

I can tell how many days are left in the program by the number of anti-malaria pills I have. I started with three full pill bottles.

Now the biggest is empty and the two smallest contain about four months’ worth of pills combined. I can tell the days of the week by if we have dance class, Tuesdays and Fridays, or by if my classmates go drinking at the local bar after class, which they only do on Wednesdays.

It’s Saturday or Sunday if I sleep past 09:00 or I don’t leave my house all day.

I’m having a good time and, more importantly, a valuable one. My days, as routine as they are, are filled with new jokes, lessons, and growth. The strict routine leaves tons of time for thinking. Thinking about senior year and what will come after that. Thinking about campus and home and all the things I want to do and people I want to see when I get back to the states. I reflect about myself, too. Who am I now? Who am I becoming? Who do I want to be? I journal and read a lot. And then I think some more. I like the reflecting. It’s been important to me; having to time to make and remake goals, imagine and reinvent futures.

In 8 Weeks: 3-Month Update April 23, 2018 “I am finished with more than three months of my time abroad. That means in two months it will be time to leave Yaoundé.

After I entered April, time started to whirl by me as fast and as uncontrolled as a Cameroonian taxi speeding through center city. In the beginning, the thought of spending five months here seemed impossible. Each day, each week, felt like an eternity. I thought of my mom, friends, family and Dickinson, endlessly. More than anything I just wanted to go home.

Now, I couldn’t imagine not being here, in this place, in this moment, with these people. It feels as if I’ve never lived in a country where I was surrounded by a language I can understand. Here the TV, the music, the side conversations, everything is in French. And the English, when I hear any, is accented. The sound of America is fading from my ears.

Yaoundé has become my new normal. I find comfort in it and the people I am spending time with. Sometimes, it feels like I’ve lived here forever. My life in the United States feels like a made-up story more than my real life.

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Right now, I don’t want to be anywhere else. Right now, here is good.”

Today I Hate Cameroon May 12, 2018 “Today, I woke up hating Cameroon. I woke up irritable and homesick. I woke up wanting to brush my teeth with tap water, eat six or seven slices of pizza, binge-watch Netflix, be surrounded by people speaking English (with an American accent), hug my mom. I wanted a hot shower and air conditioning or, better yet, winter and a snowstorm. Today, I woke up angry at Yaoundé, Cameroon, because it wasn’t the United States and, worse, it wasn’t home.

Somedays are like this. Somedays every bit of this place rubs me the wrong way. My patience for understanding cultural differences grows thinner and thinner. My frustration with not being able to fully express or defend myself in French multiplies.

This is a hard program. One of the hardest, no doubt. While Yaoundé is lovely and beautiful and wonderful, there are times when being here is trying. And even though I’d love to go on forever describing my surroundings and my time here in gentle airy details that is in no way the full story. The full story is every day here is new and some days are harder and heavier than others. The truth is sometimes I’ll talk to my mom or watch a friend’s snapchat and all I want to do is go home. In all honesty today, I woke up hating Cameroon, but I know that feeling, just like the struggles that cause it, will pass.”

Final Countdown: What’s Next?

June 2, 2018 “For me, the impending departure from Yaoundé doesn’t feel like an end. It feels similar to the way I felt four months ago when this all began, two weeks away from flying out of JFK to start my time here. This doesn’t feel like the end because I’m only about two-thirds of the way done with my time studying abroad. I’m not headed back to the states. Instead, I’m boarding a Kenyan Airlines flight to Tanzania to complete a Dickinson summer program there.

Leaving Cameroon means the beginning of new adventures, friendships and lessons. I am not in the mindset of reflection or wanting more time. I’m sure as my flight date approaches I’ll start to cling to the normalcy of this city and its people.

I’m sure I’ll start reflecting on my time here, all the lessons I learned and the ways I’ve changed. Right now, all I feel is lucky for having done what I have done, blessed to have met the people I met and ready to start my next adventure on the other side of the continent.

Thompson has since arrived in Tanzania and expects to be there through the end of July, 2018.

To read the full experiences of Thompson and her classmate’s five-month Cameroonian odyssey, visit www.njsansfrontiers.wordpress.com

CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

CRACKING THE CODE

Susan Murray ’08 studies potential links between obesity and Alzheimer’s Susan Murray ’08 can vividly remember when she first truly became equated with the concept of psychology – the study of human behavior and emotions – in a classroom at Oak Knoll.

“I remember instantly knowing that’s what I wanted to pursue,” she said.

Since graduating Oak Knoll, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the subject from Fordham and Temple University.

incarcerated and adolescents with eating disorders,” she said.

“Though I continue to be interested in better understanding and treating eating disorders from a clinical perspective, research has evolved over time to focus on the relationship between diet and cognition,” she said.

Ultimately, she said in addition to her interest in psychology, Oak Knoll played a massive role in her being able to embrace a full love of the sciences.

“I remember a chemistry teacher, Magdalena Reyes, who was a formative influence on me,” she said. “I was never a strong

Murray, who’s also pursuing dual doctorates from Temple in clinical psychology and neuroscience, is now studying the potential correlation between diet and memory impairments through a three-year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship she was awarded last year.

Specifically, Murray is testing the effects that magnesium may have on improving memory issues potentially caused by a high-fat diet.

“There is some evidence suggesting that high-fat diets reduce what’s known as the brain-derived neurotrophic factor – key for the brain’s plasticity and memory – in brain areas involved in memory,” she said, noting that magnesium appears to help increase BDNF. “Therefore, magnesium may be able to prevent or rescue memory impairments that may result from lower BDNF due to poor diet,” she said.

Murray first became aware of the potential correlation while working in a Princeton lab studying eating disorders and obesity after receiving her bachelor’s degree.

“I became fascinated and have focused specifically on how diet might affect memory,” she said.

Her experiences in the lab – both in Princeton and the New York State Psychiatric Institute affiliated with Columbia University – have opened her eyes to a world of psychological research.

“I worked with rats testing different learning paradigms as well as a broad range of clinical populations, including children who had lost a parent in 9/11, children whose parents were

math student and I was under the illusion that aptitude for math and science ran together, so I thought science wouldn’t be an area in which I excelled.

“However, Ms. Reyes inspired me by her own interest in the material and supported my burgeoning interest as well,” she added. “I think this gave me confidence in my ability to go on to study neuroscience in addition to psychology.”

Murray also lauded the support of English faculty members who helped her obtain the tools needed to effectively communicate her findings.

“I have also come to really appreciate the benefits of being educated in an all-girls’ school where I was not shy about asking questions and believed in what I might have to offer intellectually in a way that continues to inform how I am in the classroom and as a scientist.”

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CLASS NOTES Lower School

’10

Brendan Lawlor ’10 and Tommy McCabe ’10 enjoyed an impromptu

Lower School reunion following a September 2017 soccer game between Boston College and Notre Dame.

Lawlor and McCabe attend the two schools, respectively, with McCabe playing the midfield position for the Notre Dame soccer team.

Pictured, from left, are Charlie Smith ’14, Damien Sylva ’14, Dominick Commesso ’14, Andrew Pulver ’14, Tyler Cmaylo ’14, Owen McCann ’14 and Jonathan Nguyen ’14.

’12

’14

the Delbarton School’s June 3, 2018 commencement had plenty of Oak Knoll flavor, as the alumni celebrated an educational journey that began when they were kindergartners at Oak Knoll!

School reunion at Oak Knoll’s musical performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” in which Pulver played the prince. Read the full story on page 7A.

Stephen Jagoe ’12, William Schroeder ’12, James Visceglia ’12, Niko Restifo ’12, Jack Hariri ’12 and Matthew Clark ’12 ensured

Pictured are Brendan Lawlor ’10, left, and Tommy McCabe ’10.

Charlie Smith ’14, Damien Sylva ’14, Dominick Commesso ’14, Andrew Pulver ’14, Tyler Cmaylo ’14, Owen McCann and Jonathan Nguyen ’14 had a special Lower

Pictured are Stephen Jagoe ’12, William Schroeder ’12, James Visceglia ’12, Niko Restifo ’12 and Jack Hariri ’12.

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ALUMNAE/I NEWS SUMMER 2018

Upper School

’96

’55

published a book of poems, “A Forest Almost.” The collection, which Countryman described as an autobiographical effort, was published November 15, 2017, by Subito Press. Countryman is an assistant professor in the English Language and Literature College of Arts and Sciences Department at the University of South Carolina.

Elizabeth Countryman ’96

Pat Richel ’55 published her third

children’s book, “Patsy the Seagull Visits Ellis Island,” in the spring.

With the help of granddaughter and illustrator, Faith Turnbach, Richel’s stories emphasize the need for compassion and understanding. Her fourth book is already in the works.

’80

’02

Amalia Duarte ’80 was elected to

the Mendham Township Committee in November 2017. Duarte studied journalism and political science at New York University where she earned a bachelor’s degree. She wrote for numerous publications including the Bergen Record, the Los Angeles Times and People Magazine before transitioning into the field of corporate communications and marketing.

Katie Pesce Magnum ’02 and her Elizabeth Countryman ’96 published a book of poems, “A Forest Almost,” in November 2017.

July 2018 issue. Adams, who has previously served as a board member of the Oak Knoll Alumnae/i Association, has practiced dentistry for more than 25 years. She has been recognized by NJ Monthly as a Top Dentist for eight years in a row.

husband William Lyons Magnum welcomed son Finn William Magnum into the world on October 6, 2017.

Big sister Mollie is thrilled with the new arrival!

’91

Rita Abboud ’91, a registered nurse

Amalia Duarte ’80 was elected to the Mendham Township Committee in November 2017.

’81

Dr. Allison Adams ’81, who main-

tains a dental practice, Adams Dental, in Madison, was once again chosen as one of the Top 2 Dentists of 2018

by New Jersey Monthly Magazine in its

working as a school nurse and schoolbased health center coordinator for a small college prep boarding school for Native American students in New Mexico, recently began pursuing a master’s degree with the hopes of becoming a family nurse practitioner.

She previously earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and John Hopkins University, respectively.

Abboud currently resides in Farmington, New Mexico, with her family. Her daughter, Renee, is attending an early college charter high school, and son Eric, is about to start the seventh grade at a local Catholic elementary school.

OAK KNOLL SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD REVIEW

Katie Pesce Magnum ’02 and husband William are pictured with daughter Mollie and son Finn.

’03

Katie Cummings ’03 married Kyle

Siegfried on September 30, 2017, in Nantucket, Massachusetts, at the Nantucket Yacht Club. Joining Cummings on her special day were Laura Sumas Barry ’03, Laura Hefferan ’03, Kaitlin Hespos ’03, Taylor DiGiacomo Plastiras ’03, Mary Cummings ’07, Jackie Bertolini

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CLASS NOTES ’06

Wynne Dillon ’06 married Marshall Nevins in January 2017 in New York City. Joining Dillon on her special day was a bevy of fellow Oak Knoll graduates.

Alexandra Hellmuth ’06 married

Nelson Way on July 8, 2017 in Philadelphia. Hellmuth, a Holy Child Spirit Award recipient and consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, has worked to create a better life for people living in Africa.

’07

Lauren Dolecki ’07 married

Darcy Clayton Newell ’05 married

Michael Kober on June 10, 2017 at the Church of Christ the King in New Vernon. The couple met as students at Georgetown University.

Joining the couple on their special day were Chiara Connor ’07 and Catherine Stewart ’07, who served as a bridesmaid and reader, respectively.

Dolecki is a litigation association at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York.

Joining Hellmuth on her special day were several fellow Oak Knoll alumnae/i. Pictured, from left, are Molly Moriarty ’06, Lizzy Nolan ’06, Carla Gargiulo ’06, Lara Gibbons ’06, Kelsey Quick ’06, Lauren Featherston ’06, Steve Hardin ’00, Meaghan Murphy ’06 and Josefa Palma (with the Class ’06.)

Lauren Dolecki ’07 married Michael Kober on June 10, 2017 in New Vernon.

Katie Cummings ’03 with her OKS crew on her September 30, 2017 wedding day in Nantucket.

Chase ’03, Kate Burgess Sondossi ’03, Katherine Giaccio Mooney ’03, Katherine Schaumburg Gargiulo ’03 (married to Peter Gargiulo ’00 (LS)) and Genny LaPaglia ’03.

Sonoma, California. Newell, senior director and head of verbal branding at Prophet Brand Strategy, is also an alumna of Vanderbilt where she graduated cum laude.

Alexander Muñoz on May 5, 2018, in

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CAMPUS NEWS SUMMER 2018

To be included in future Class Notes on the web or in Review, email Cynthia Prewitt, director of Institutional Advancement, at cynthia.prewitt@oakknoll.org or visit www.oakknoll.org/page/ alumnaei to submit your update online!

Pictured, from left, are Kaitlin (Vinci) Bierce ’06, Caitlin McGovern ’06, Wynne (Dillon) Nevins ’06, Alyson (Young) De Soto ’06, Caroline Dillon ’13, Charlotte (Dillon) Anderson ’08 and Amanda Brinkerhoff ’06.

Championships held in July 2017 in New Orleans. She later competed at the World Championships and is currently training for the North American Nationals, which will take place June 30 through July 4, 2018, in Orlando, Florida.

Drew, a 2016 graduate of Rutgers University, is currently a doctoral candidate at the university’s physical therapy program. She also performed for Oak Knoll’s Lower School this spring with current students as part of a Culture Club presentation.

Brielle Hunt ’07 married Alex Maffett on October 14, 2017 in Richmond, Virginia.

Brielle Hunt ’07 married Alex

Maffett on October 14, 2017 in Richmond, Virginia. Fellow alumna and sister Aubrey Hunt ’11 was in the wedding, while classmates Jacqueline Gabela ’07 and Lauren Masini ’07 were also in attendance.

Hunt and Maffett both attended the University of Richmond and reside in Virginia’s capital city with their golden retriever, Paisley. Hunt is a medical malpractice attorney while Maffett is a financial advisor.

’12

Teresa Drew ’12 finished fifth

among ladies 22 and over in the North American Irish Dance

Teresa Drew ’12, second from right, placed fifth among ladies 22 and over in the North American Irish Dance Championships in July 2017.

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REMEMBERING Maureen Ellinwood Pluvinage ’99 ‘A natural leader, compassionate friend’

The Oak Knoll School community was shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Maureen Pluvinage ’99 on Monday, September 25, 2017, at University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland.

A tragic life cut short, Maureen was just 36 when she succumbed to injuries sustained in a cycling accident.

Maureen, who was also a graduate of Dartmouth College and Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, most recently served as vice president of UBS in Zurich, Switzerland.

“As an alumna of Oak Knoll, Maureen embodied the best of us in all she did in her too short life,” said Cynthia Prewitt, Oak Knoll’s director of Institutional Advancement.

“She was a natural leader, a compassionate friend and a person with a joyful spirit who always put the needs of others before her own.”

Prewitt called Maureen an embodiment of Cornelia Connelly’s maxim, “Actions, not words.”

“Maureen set a goal for herself, whether it was at Oak Knoll, Dartmouth, Trinity or in her professional life, and achieved the goal with zeal and determination,” Prewitt said.

coach. “Maureen was smart, driven and an amazing athlete, and we wanted to honor her memory.”

Cummings organized the spin class with Kristin (McIver) Albarelli ’02, varsity swimming coach, both of whom attended Oak Knoll with Maureen and her sister Catherine (Ellinwood) Nettleton ’00.

The close-knit nature of the Oak Knoll community was on full display, not only through the class itself, but by the fact that Maureen’s mother, Rosemary Ellinwood, attended the December cycling event and shared mementos with current Oak Knoll students, including Maureen’s varsity letters and old photo albums.

The Maureen Ellinwood Pluvinage ’99 Scholarship Fund is designed to allow other students of Maureen’s enthusiasm, intelligence and limitless potential the gift of a one-of-akind education at Oak Knoll.

Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Maureen is survived by her husband, Mathieu Pluvinage of Zurich, Switzerland; her parents, Rosemary and Charles R. Ellinwood of Short Hills; her sister, Catherine (Charles) Nettleton of Rye, and her brother, Charles M. Ellinwood of Hoboken.

She is also survived by her nephew and godson, D. Scott Nettleton, as well as her niece, Caroline Nettleton, both of Rye. In addition, she is survived by her grandfather, Richard Ellinwood of Palm Harbor, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

An avid lover of swimming, a sport she excelled at both the high school and collegiate levels, Maureen was honored

by Oak Knoll swimming and basketball teams just before Christmas with a special charity spin class that raised $600 for the recently-established Maureen Ellinwood Pluvinage ’99 Scholarship Fund.

“Maureen exemplified everything that Oak Knoll stands for and I think it’s so important that our current students remember such an amazing person,” said Katie Cummings ’03, varsity basketball

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Oak Knoll swimming and basketball teams organized a charity spin class in December 2017 that raised $600 for the Maureen Ellinwood Pluvinage ‘99 Scholarship Fund.

REUNION SUMMER 2018

REUNION 2018 Alumnae from the classes ending in 3s and 8s reunited during Reunion Weekend on April 20 and 21.

To kick off the weekend, members of the Cachet Club, alumnae celebrating their 50th reunion and above, enjoyed a prayer service with their fourth-grade pen pals as well as a luncheon. On Saturday afternoon, the community cheered on the lacrosse and softball teams while celebrating Homecoming at the Chatham Fields. An enthusiastic group of alumnae returned to campus to take part in the traditional reunion activities Saturday evening, including Mass, cocktails and dinner. We invite you to join us as we relive the members of Reunion Weekend 2018!

1968

CLASS OF

Congratulations, Class of 1968, on your 50th Reunion!

Joan Anne Maher ’68 returns to campus on Reunion Day. Here she is pictured with her pen pal, Oak Knoll fourthgrader Scarlett Mahoney ’26! Not Pictured: Kathy Keating Catano ’68.

CACHET CLUB 50th Reunion Class Meets Pen Pals

Members of the Cachet Club, alumnae who are celebrating their 50th reunion and above, joined their grades 3 and 4 pen pals for a special prayer service and a Q&A on the Friday morning of Reunion Weekend 2018.

During the Q&A, students asked the alumnae about what sports they played, what kind of food was served in the cafeteria and what their uniforms looked like.

Current students and alumnae alike took delight in discovering the similarities and differences of their respective Oak Knoll experiences.

ENJOY SOME EXCERPTS FROM THEIR LETTERS: “I loved Oak Knoll. I continue my friendship with many of my classmates, even at age 77. I am thankful that Oak Knoll taught me to think for myself and to be interested in people and events around the world.”

“I have so many fond memories of Oak Knoll … meeting so many friends, learning so much in my classes, singing in the choir, playing field hockey and cheering on the girls’ basketball team. I was also married in the chapel at Oak Knoll in 1974!”

“Oak Knoll was a lot smaller when I was there. Most of our classes were in the same house. The sisters were very helpful.

I was particularly fond of Mother Quentin. I have wonderful memories of the time I spent with my classmates, particularly of the time spent during our free period in the library and of practicing for a play or concert.”

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REUNION 2018

1973

CLASS OF

Pictured from left: Susan (O’Connor) McKay and Rita Lynch.

1978

CLASS OF

Pictured is Motria Ukrainskyj.

1988

CLASS OF

1983

CLASS OF

Pictured from left: Wendiann Sethi and Odarka (Polansky)j Stockert

1993

CLASS OF

Back row, from left: Beryl (Esser) Stocker, Jenna Jackson, Lesley (Elkas) DiMarco and Anu Narayanan. Center, from left: Erin Morahan Egan, Kate (Barrett) McGinty, Anne (Murphy) Parker, Nancy (Fernandez) Fallow and Jen (McHale) Smith.

Front row, from left: Shannon Marshall, Meghan Farrelly, Molly Lyons and Noel Bischoff Sweeney.

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Back row, from left: Kate Ingrassia, Beth (Rainville) Sanchez, Laura (Neumann) Hess and Erin (Donnelly) Saulnier. Center row, from left: Alysia (Marron) Cline, Gina Mendola, Margie (Agliozzo) Chapman, Kate (McAneny) Heffernan and Kate (Maguire) Grubert. Front row, from left: Mary Hoskins-Clark, Kelly Oakes Quinn, Meghan (Davis) Gruchacz, Stephanie (Tursini) O’Callaghan and Colleen (Dangler) Chambers.

1998

CLASS OF

Back row, from left: Hannah (Temple) LeClair, Kerrin Black, Samantha (Werres) Melworm and Libby (Keneally) Freisen. Middle row: Amy (Curtin) Pini. Front row, from left: Katie (O’Keefe) Schroeder, Cheryl (Kulesz) Lanni, Mary (Kokie) McNaugher and Michele (Dedyo) Whalen. Not Pictured: Kathryn Slonaker Hammit.

REUNION SUMMER 2018

CLASS OF THE YEAR Class of 1988 Crowned Alumnae Class of the Year!

The Oak Knoll Alumnae Class of the Year Award is given to the reunion class with the highest percentage of annual fund participation.

This year, the Class of 1988 led the competition with the top participation.

1988

CLASS OF

Queens for the day, the Class of 1988 celebrates being named Alumnae Class of the Year.

2003

CLASS OF

From left: Laura (Sumas) Barry, Laura Hefferan, Katie (Cummings) Siegfried and Stephanie Pinto-Favorito.

2013

CLASS OF

2008

CLASS OF

Back row, from left: Claire Borzner, Caitlin DiPasquale, Elizabeth Ramsey and Charlotte (Dillon) Anderson. Front row, from left: Betsy Eckhardt, Kelly Mousseau and Lindsey Wojtowicz.

Back row, from left: Ginny Whitman, Kerri Moran, Emily Corn and Hannah Smith.

Third row, from left: Gabrielle Hanlon, Kiera Rosen, Brittany Ferrara and Kelsey Schroeder. Second row, from left: Deirdre Walsh, Hayley Shaffer, Catherine Chambers, Kerry Caufield, and Alison Ricciardi. Front row, from left: Caroline Dillon, Allison Kopacz, Paige Tralka, Clare Piasio and Kelly McAloon.

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REUNION 2018

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REUNION SUMMER 2018

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2018 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS AWARD Robert McCann ’81

The Distinguished Alumnae/i Award, which was presented for the first time in 1986, recognizes alumnae/i who have shown a continuing love of Oak Knoll and who, through their personal and/or professional lives, have made outstanding contributions that exemplify the Holy Child spirit of excellence and devotion to others.

It gave us great pleasure to recognize Robert McCann, a member of the Lower School Class of 1981, for his selfless work in helping people at risk. In fact, he has been committed to serving others since his college years and has made a difference both locally and internationally. A graduate of Fairfield University, Rob was awarded the St. Ignatius medal at graduation.

The St. Ignatius Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Alumni Association, is given to a senior who exemplifies the true spirit of a Jesuit education through his high academic standards and substantial involvement in community service. Rob was recognized for being an outstanding scholar, activist and fierce advocate for social justice. His community service record is impressive.

Rob spent two years as a Jesuit Volunteer in Oregon and Mexico, and later served in East Los Angeles as a Youth Advocate in Gang Alternative programming. For several years, he was a program evaluator with Catholic Relief Services’ Harvest of Hope Program, traveling to Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo. He also lived in India and worked and learned from Mother Teresa.

Rob joined Catholic Charities of Spokane, Washington, in 2000, and has served as its executive director since 26A

2005. Catholic Charities is the largest sectarian socialservice provider between Seattle and Minneapolis. It has more than 8,000 volunteers and 220 staff members. In addition to the challenges of his position, Rob also sits on several boards, including: Providence Health Care; SHMC Foundation; Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest; Nazareth Guild and Spokane County United Way. He sits on the National Board of Catholic Charities USA and was previously on The Council of Bishops. An exciting new project underway now from Catholic Charities is an apartment complex under construction in northwest Spokane providing new homes for children and their parents living on the streets. This is one of Catholic Charities latest housing projects to end homelessness in Spokane. If any one person is a good example of Cornelia Connelly’s phrase “Actions Not Words” it is Rob McCann.

Rob’s own words define his life’s work: “Everyone is a child of God and deserves unconditional love and dignity. As a civilization, we will not be judged by the money in our banks, our technology, or the number of skyscrapers, but, by how we treat the weakest people among us. In my read of Catholicism, we are called to serve people in need, if we are to walk the path Christ walked.”

REUNION SUMMER 2018

GERALD P. BUTLER ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME Kelly Oakes Quinn ’88 In celebration of the achievements and contributions of our student athletes, the alumnae/i association formed the Oak Knoll Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.

This program recognizes coaches, teams or athletes who have made significant contributions to athletics at Oak Knoll. In 2016, the Athletic Hall of Fame was renamed the Gerald P. Butler Athletic Hall of Fame, in honor of retiring athletic director Jerry Butler’s contributions and leadership of the athletic program for more than 43 years.

This year, we honored Kelly Oakes Quinn, a member of the Class of 1988, who celebrated her 30th reunion. We recognized Kelly for her athletic accomplishments and her leadership skills as a member of the field hockey, basketball and lacrosse teams. She even managed to be standout member of the varsity softball team during her freshman and sophomore years, having two undefeated back-to-back seasons on those teams.

“My years at Oak Knoll were some of my happiest times. Friendships I made and the life lessons I learned through the Oak Knoll community helped make me the person I am today. These lessons were not just taught in the classroom but also on the playing fields and courts.”

“My daughter Colleen is now a freshman here at Oak Knoll. She plays field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. It has been great watching her play and seeing how much of what I experienced at Oak Knoll is still going on today. The fields are much nicer, the gym much bigger and the girls are much better, but the important lessons are still being instilled in the “young women of promise” today! The fact that two of her field hockey coaches, Ali Good and Christina Sumas, and her basketball coach Katie Cummings, are Oak Knoll alumnae just reiterates what a special place Oak Knoll is. So many of us come back. I can only hope that Colleen will make as many good friends and make as many wonderful memories as I did – it seems she is off to a good start!”

Kelly made her mark at Oak Knoll as an exceptional athlete. When she joined the varsity basketball team in her freshman year, under Coach Jerry Butler, the team racked up an incredible record of 14-2. They were first place in the private school division and won the State Prep Division A Championship. Also during her freshman year, softball recorded a 21-win record with only one loss. And, field hockey that year was the most successful for the school in its athletic history.

In her sophomore year, Kelly continued to be a standout.

Basketball finished with a 13-2 loss record and was the top seed in the Prep Playoffs, Division A. Softball was undefeated in its regular season. And, in her junior year, she continued to make an impact on field hockey, basketball and now lacrosse under Coach Jean Hoffman.

In her senior year, Kelly continued to lead the varsity field hockey, lacrosse and basketball teams as a co-captain and their seasons were marked with great highs and superb records.

Kelly consistently demonstrated athleticism, leadership and sportsmanship whenever she played on a team. She became a role model for her teammates and the younger players.

We applaud her dedication, commitment and fair play. She epitomizes the best of us and the outstanding traits an Oak Knoll athlete should possess.

- Kelly Oakes Quinn ’88

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