The Lamp
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 6 Winter 2011
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A Feeling of Family
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t the annual Alumnae Weekend three years ago, my husband and I entertained the class of 1983 at our house – 25 years since they graduated from this all-girls school. Though we had seen these young women several times at previous reunions, for some reason, it really struck us how connected we both felt to so many of them. They had been boarding students at Oldfields, where I have worked since 1980. Many of them had been in my French or Western Civilization classes, had accompanied me to France or had taken my husband’s “History of Rock and Ansley Smithwick Roll” class, had been in one of my dorms, had shared the stage in a play with my husband, had babysat our oldest son, had been one of our advisees, or had sat at “the Smithwick table,” Table #7, for dinner. On weekends, we most assuredly had chaperoned them at a “mixer,” taken them for ice cream or to the movies or to a play downtown, or canoed down the Gunpowder River with them. It was extremely rewarding and gratifying to see these women, who have become loving mothers and successful career women, and to realize that I might have had a little something to do with how they all turned out.
(left to right) White Spirit Ashley Carroll ’13, White Captain Amira Lockhart ’12, Green Captain Christina Rock ’12, and Green Spirit Louise Chapman ’13
I have heard from many of our alumnae – who come back to their 40th, 50th and even 60th reunions – that the friends they made at boarding school are their oldest and dearest, and those that have lasted a lifetime. Teachers, who have taught in both boarding and day schools, also recount that the relationships established with students in the boarding school environment can be stronger because they were created in so many different settings.
What makes teaching and living at a boarding school so special is the relationships formed there. Living in a boarding school is very much like living in a family. It encompasses all the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and all the joys and sorrows of familial life. After all, boarding school becomes the students’ “home away from home” for nine months of each continued on page 2
Inside
Fall Athletics Wrap-Up, All-Stars, & Awards • Fall Riding at Oldfields • Oldfields School Concert Series • Largo Core Profile • Alumnae Weekend Preview
A Feeling of Family continued from cover
year. We eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the students. We cheer them on at their sporting events and settle them down in the evening to do their
wholesome, more authentic, sort of like being away at summer camp, but all the time. Opportunities to be active – to be involved – always arose.
Varsity Field Hockey celebrates a goal.
homework. We tuck them in at night, and have to show them how to clean their rooms and do their laundry. Consequently, I have seen students at their very best and at their most vulnerable. I have congratulated them at dinner after they scored the winning goal, helped them put on their make-up and pick out what they were going to wear to their first big dance, taken them out for pizza after they finished their first SATs, and cried as they delivered their senior presentations.
Whether it was taking part in a dance concert, a music recital or a school play, or playing in a serendipitous basketball game or whooshing down Graduation Hill on a sled, my kids were involved with the students as well as the other faculty children. Much of the wholesome authentic feeling is created by
living in a boarding school that is almost 150 years old and is steeped in tradition. The Senior New Girl picnic, Free Days, the Junior-Senior Picnic, Garden Party, and Graduation are all rites of passage that honor the very best from the past and help shape our very best for the future. One of my favorites, “Green and White Night,” always takes place at the start of school. After a delicious meal, the entire community, including faculty families, heads across campus for an extraordinary ceremony. There, under the veil of candle light and in total silence, each new student and new faculty member becomes a member of either the Green or White Team, once called “Gentleness” and “Courtesy.” After this evening, which concludes with everyone singing the alma mater, there are no more “new girls” or “new teachers.” Everyone has become part of the family. Ansley Smithwick, Dean of Academics, has been a member of the Oldfields School family since 1980. Reprinted with permission from The Association of Boarding Schools © 2011 TABS NowBoarding® Magazine
(left to right) Natalia Salido Vives ’16, Daniela Merikanskas Kozlovsky ’13, Isabel Salazar Couttolenc ’16, Mayalen Leon ’15
While working at a boarding school for the past 30 years, I have had the honor and privilege of teaching students who hail from all over the world. Exposure to international students benefited my children as well. They have had babysitters from Jordan, have played after-dinner soccer with students from Mexico and El Salvador, and have eaten authentic meals cooked by girls from China. For my children, being raised on a boarding school campus somehow seemed more
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www.OldfieldsSchool.org
Fall Athletics The Oldfields Athletic department had a great fall season, starting with pre-season in August and continuing through to the league tournaments. Having graduated a number of key players in June, our goal for this season was to rebuild our teams. The new students that came to Oldfields this year brought a great deal of Rukiya Mansuri ’13 athletic ability to the fields and courts that surpassed our expectations. Every team improved throughout the season as a result of this talent, as well as the talents of our new athletic trainer, Claire Mueller. Ms. Mueller’s specialized care in tending to injuries enabled our athletes to return quickly to their squads. In the end, Jia Ping “Winny” Shen ’13, the biggest obstacle to the Most Improved Rider, on season was the weather, with New Hope “Liam.” rain that often kept us off the fields and placed our game schedules in a constant state of flux. All the coaches and athletes did a fantastic job of being flexible and dedicated to their teams, despite the challenging schedules. Varsity Cross Country A few highlights of the season were the improvements of our cross country and field hockey programs. We had more proficient runners this year who were able to compete at a higher level. Freshman Bibi McGill now holds our School record with a 5K time of 22:08. Our Field Hockey team, under the leadership of Coaches Caroline Blaum and Beta Eaton, improved their record from 1-13 last year to 5-9 this fall. All the other teams, with the help of more structured programs and coaching, improved their play and stayed competitive within the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland league. Varsity Volleyball
Ashley Carroll ’13
www.OldfieldsSchool.org
OLDFIELDS SCHOOL FALL SEASON 2011 Rukiya Mansuri ’13 Varsity Soccer Most Valuable Player
Brittany Souder ’14 Varsity Volleyball Most Improved Player
Christina Rock ’12 Varsity Soccer Leadership Award
Emily Dobbs ’15 JV Volleyball Most Improved Player
Natalia Salido Vives ’16 Middle School Soccer Leadership Award
Asantewaah Ofosuhene ’15 JV Volleyball Coaches’ Award
Hanyun Tang ’16 Middle School Soccer Most Improved Player
Katharine Kronheim ’14 Riding Most Valuable Rider
Caroline Murphy ’13 Varsity Field Hockey Most Improved Player
Jia Ping “Winny” Shen ’13 Riding Most Improved Rider
Natalia Bokoum ’14 Varsity Field Hockey Coaches’ Award
Cabria Perry ’17 Theatre Most Improved Actress
Lingyu “Becca” Du ’12 Varsity Tennis Most Valuable Player
Alani Harris ’15 Theatre Most Valuable Stage Manager
Weiyao “Serena” Zhang ’13 Varsity Tennis Most Valuable Player
Wanqing “Alice” Pan ’14 Dance Best New Dancer
Tiffany Peart ’14 JV Tennis Most Valuable Player
Gabrielle Schmidt ’15 Dance Most Improved Dancer
Young Louise Goodyear ’12 JV Tennis Team Spirit Award
Ashley Carroll ’13 Varsity Cross Country Most Improved Runner
Min Kyung “Erica” Kim ’12 Varsity Volleyball Most Valuable Player
Brittany “Bibi” McGill ’15 Varsity Cross Country Coaches’ Award
IAAM “C” Conference All-Stars Volleyball
Min Kyung “Erica” Kim ’12
Field Hockey
Anastasia Araviakis ’14 Louise Chapman ’13
Soccer
Rukiya Mansuri ’13
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Fall Riding at Oldfields
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n the heels of a full fall riding season and a horse show schedule, the Oldfields riding program is off to a great start! We had 41 riders, 26% of the student body, participate in the fall riding season. Over 21 of these riders were new students and all of them jumped into the season, with earnest, to learn as much as possible about our program and our horses. Many of these new students, as well as our returning students, spent much of their free time at the barn helping with chores, grooming horses, and spending time with the four legged critters.
er ’12, ft to right) Liz Palm IEA Team Riders (le ’12 k loc Bil ine rol d Ca Grace Camut ’12, an
Our September IEA team tryouts were full with 20 anxious riders vying for a spot on the IEA team. Rachel Mering ’04, Zoe Wybourne, and I soon found ourselves looking forward to Friday afternoon practices with this eager team and, in no time, we were off to our first IEA horse show where the team earned second place! Just four horse shows into the season, we already had three girls qualify for the IEA regionals this spring and several others were only several points away from qualifying. Since summer, we have made improvements to our facility and program. In August, our upper outdoor arena was completely re-leveled and redone with new footing and a perimeter fence. The arena is beautiful and has quickly become a favorite space for many of the students to ride. Additionally, throughout the summer and fall we added eleven new horses to our program. These horses have already taught our students important riding skills, responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment with each lesson and ride. Finally, this school year our students have benefited from our new stable manager, Emily Franch, and two new grooms, who have been eager to teach the riders about horse management and care before and after their afternoon rides. One of the highlights of our fall season was the hosting of the annual Oldfields IEA show on November 6. Our horses and students were shining stars! Throughout the day we received compliments about the quality of our horses, which performed so well throughout the show. Our team ended the day tied for Reserve Champion. It was a fun day shared by many of our Oldfields community members. We kicked off the winter season with an IEA show and several riders enjoyed a full morning at the Elkridge-Harford Pony Club Hunter Trials. The weekend was full of successes and we are excited about the winter riding season! The riders are looking forward to riding in our beautiful indoor facility. Amy Roden Phillips, Director of Riding
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Amy Roden Phillips
www.OldfieldsSchool.org
Oldfields School Concert Series This year International Humanities, Inc. sponsored the Oldfields School Concert Series, comprised of free concerts and cultural events for Oldfields and the local community. This fall the School hosted three concerts and additional performances are being planned for the spring. Singer Stanley Wayne Mathis entertained the community with tales of auditions and songs gleaned from his many musical performances. He has been featured on Broadway in Wonderful Town, Kiss Me Kate, and Jelly’s Last Jam. In 1997, Mathis appeared in the original Broadway cast of The Lion King, a musical adaptation of the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name. He is probably best known for his portrayal of the character Schroeder in the 1999 revival of Clark Gesner’s You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. He has performed in regional houses around the country and has also been seen on Law & Order, Criminal Intent, in films like “Brother to Brother,” in television commercials, and heard in voiceovers. Mathis has tap danced with some of the best in the business, including Gregory Hines and Savion Glover, and, in Stanley Wayne Mathis addition to the concert, led a master class for the Oldfields dance students. The Maryland State Boychoir, Maryland’s Goodwill Ambassadors, a group of talented young men ages 10 to 21, performed both morning and evening concerts in The David Niven Theatre. The boys, who represent a wide range of ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds, come from nine Maryland counties, Baltimore City, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The MSB performs over 60 times each year. They have performed throughout Maryland, in The Maryland State Boychoir surrounding states, and on tours that have taken them to Ireland, Wales, England, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Canada, and more than thirty states in the U.S. The Maryland State Boychoir delighted the Oldfields audience by performing a range of musical pieces, including Armenian folksongs, Italian classics, and gospel favorites. The Old City String Quartet, which will perform on Friday, December 9 at 7:00 p.m., has won the praise of some of the greatest chamber musicians of our time. Formed at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2008, the ensemble draws from the musical lineage of both the Vermeer and Guarneri String Quartets, but brings a youthful enthusiasm and musical conviction to the repertoire that is truly its own.
The Old City String Quartet
Joseph Silverstein said of the group, “The Old City String Quartet is one of the finest string quartets I have ever heard. I expect to see the ensemble reach international acclaim.” The ensemble’s recording of the Mendelssohn and Debussy quartets, released last spring by the audiophile label Unipheye Music, was awarded the Blue Moon award by the highly respected audiophile website 6moons.com.
The Old City String Quartet was named Gold Medalist and Grand Prize Winner of the 2010 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, was awarded second prize in the 2009 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and as an ensemble has attended music festivals such as Artosphere and La Jolla SummerFest. The ensemble worked intensively at the Curtis Institute with such renowned chamber musicians as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Arnold Steinhardt, Joseph Silverstein, and Peter Wiley. More details about upcoming concerts will be posted on our website. www.OldfieldsSchool.org
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Largo Core Profile: Ann Anderson Hickok Warner ’54 “Andy” Hickok Warner ’54 was a proud member of the White team for four years, and always had a smile for everybody. She rode horses and was the Riding Club Secretary. She was known for her beautiful voice and was a member of the chorus, as well as its president her senior year. Andy remembered that, at Oldfields, “You could always be whatever you wanted to be.” She played Varsity Basketball, was a Fire Lieutenant, and joined the drama and camera clubs. “Girls should have boarding school presented to them as an exciting adventure,” she had once said, and Andy certainly embraced the adventure. Her friends at the time said, “She never stays in one place.” In 1997 Andy called the Development Office to ask how she could name Oldfields in her will. “It’s quite easy,” was the reply, “simply place a codicil in your will.” Andy firmly believed that Oldfields would always continue to survive because of the good people at the School. “The strength of the School,” she said, “is in the faculty, the wonderful teachers who are always so supportive and offer that nurturing feeling. Oldfields, absolutely, was one of the best things that ever happened to me.” Joining the Largo Core Society was an affirmation of that belief.
Ann Hickok Warner
When Andy died last year, she left $182,000 to Oldfields School. It is one of the largest Largo Core gifts the School has ever received. Through her vision, Andy ensures that Oldfields will continue to provide our students and faculty with the resources they need for each girl’s success.
“Once a friend, always a friend” is how Andy was described in the 1954 Rarebit, and Oldfields School couldn’t agree more.
Parent Volunteers Raise Annual Fund Dollars Through Phone-a-Thon We held a Phone-a-Thon for the Oldfields 2011-12 Annual Fund and several parents volunteered to make calls after the Parent Association meeting on Monday, November 7th. With the help of volunteer callers Cindy Gissendanner (Alyssa Gissendanner ’14), Susan Mayer (Elizabeth Mayer ’15), Kelly Meltzer (Jenn Meltzer ’17), Joan Jermakian ’81 (Claire Jermakian ’15) and Pam Crowder-Thompson ’85 (Alyson Thompson ’12), we raised over $10,000 from 22 current parents and another 17 committed to give an unspecified amount. The evening moved us closer to our goal of 100% parent participation in the Fund. The parents want to match the faculty and staff who have all contributed to the 2011-12 Annual Fund. To date, 45% of the parents have donated or pledged to this year’s Annual Fund. Thank you callers and donors! The Fund helps bridge the gap between tuition and operating expenses, which allows the School to continue to provide the unique quality of an Oldfields education. The percentage of giving among our constituencies also makes a difference when the School applies for grant monies. Foundations want to support schools with strong constituent participation rates in their annual funds. So, every size gift makes a difference! You can go to our website at www.OldfieldsSchool.org and give online or call our office at 443-662-1016.
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Alumnae Weekend Preview Dear fellow alumnae,
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s we begin to prepare for Alumnae Weekend 2012, my thoughts turn to all the friends I have made because of my relationship with Oldfields. Some of my friends I made while I was a student, others I have made because I was involved as an alumna. These gals have been in my life for over 30 years! One of my pals I text almost every single day! At Alumnae Weekend 2009, I was reunited with some of my dear school friends that I had not seen in years. Celebrating at an Oldfields Reunion is always a guaranteed good time. This year we have moved the entire weekend’s date to the more traditional last weekend of April for two reasons. One, we hope the weather will be picture perfect; there is nothing like Glencoe in the spring. Two, we want our horse lovers to be able to attend the Maryland Hunt Cup, which happens on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully, this year we can organize a crew to go together and watch the afternoon races.
Stay tuned for more information on this exciting event.
Oldfields, this year we are celebrating with the 2s and 7s!
Alumnae Weekend April 27-29, 2012 will take place on campus. We hope you will come and spend the school day with us on Friday. We want to share all of our wonderful students with you. Come check out classes and enjoy the alumnae/student concert we will be showcasing. Be sure to plan to watch the school play, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, over the weekend.
Finding my friends on Facebook allows me to keep in touch with my Oldfields sisters from near and far. You can “Like Oldfields” on Facebook to stay in the know with other Oldfields fans.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith will be hosting a Friday afternoon Happy Hour at their home. Plan to join us for fun and conversation. Saturday morning we will have our Alumnae Golden Breakfast, Alumnae Association meeting and Candlelight Memorial Service at Immanuel Church. We hope you can attend all these important events. On Saturday afternoon we will have our family country picnic and conclude the day with our fabulous Reunion Celebration. While every year is a reunion year at
For those of you not on Facebook we would still love to hear from you. The Oldfields Magazine class notes section is a great way to reach out to everyone in our community. We especially enjoy hearing from former teachers and staff. You can easily upload a photo on our Oldfields website to be shared in the magazine. Please update us on your life and be sure we have your current contact information! Hope to see you in April! Joan Carter Jermakian ’81, P’15 JermakianJ@OldfieldsSchool.org
save the date for alumnae weekend
April 27-29, 2012
e its 50th reunion! The Class of 1962 will celebrat www.OldfieldsSchool.org
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Upcoming Events
PHONE: (410) 472-4800 FAX: (410) 472-3141 E-MAIL: BroaddusE@OldfieldsSchool.org FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/Oldfields.School Editor: Eliza Broaddus www.OldfieldsSchool.org
Winter Break ends – Students return Admission Open House Winter Play – The Secret Garden at 7:00 p.m. Winter Play – The Secret Garden at 7:00 p.m. Winter Play – The Secret Garden at 2:00 p.m.
February 3 Mid-winter Break begins at 3:00 p.m. 3 Atlanta, GA Gathering, 6:30-8:30 p.m. R.S.V.P. JermakianJ@OldfieldsSchool.org 7 Mid-winter Break ends - Students return 9 Sophomore Field Trip to Washington, D.C. 13 Spring Sports/Activities begin 15 Winter Sports Awards at 7:00 p.m. 22-24 Term II Exams 27 Arts Week begins / Term III begins 29 Winter Music Recital at 10:05 a.m. March
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100 Nights ’Til Graduation Dinner for Seniors Spring Break begins at 1:00 p.m. Spring Break ends – Students return U.S. History Field Trip to Washington, D.C. Global Awareness Day
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1500 Glencoe Road Sparks Glencoe, MD 21152
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1500 Glencoe Road Sparks Glencoe, MD 21152
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