Peddie Chronicle, Spring 2011

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Spring 2011

In thIS ISSue

Peddie music stands tall • What makes an innovative school? • Peddie’s Civil War founding

Students get some fresh air on the steps of Memorial Hall in 1935.

(Turn to inside back cover to see this photo updated.)

Spring 2011

2 3 5 8 12 14 16 19

Letters Meet the Trustees Four new faces join the board

Peddie’s War-time Birth Did the Civil War save the school?

Music-makers Students fill Swig with song

EXPlore! EXPeriment! EXPlain!

Science research program excites students

Center Campus Fairytales, sleeping-in and teaching lacrosse to monks

Innovation in Schools Peter Kraft goes back to schools

Aquaponics Sustainable gardening without the dirt

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Expeditions Updating the Campus Falcon Feats Solar Energy Bookmarks Class Notes

Chronicle Vol. 139, No. 2

On the Cover Peddie student body, 1893-1894.

Page 4.

Peddie School 201 South Main Street Hightstown, NJ 08520-3349

Executive Editor: Deanna K.G. Ferrante Editor: Wendi Patella Contributors: Doug Mariboe, Patricia O’Neill Design: Carter Halliday Associates Photography: Jim Inverso, Deanna K.G. Ferrante, Bob Handelman, Nick Kelsh Printing: Prism Color Corporation Tel: 609.944.7501 www.peddie.org/chronicle We welcome your input: editor@peddie.org

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Return to complete class notes I am the widow of Merle Lawrence ’34. He passed away three years ago and, fortunately, the Chronicle is still being sent to me. I did enjoy reading about his surviving classmates but now, the Class Notes go no further back than 1978.

Is there any reason that the Class Notes go no further back than that?

ROBERTA HARPER LAWRENCE

Editor’s Note: In 2009, the Chronicle began splitting up Class Notes into two groups — and mailing two versions of the Chronicle to alumni based on their year of graduation. Although the full Class Notes were available online, Roberta’s letter illustrates one of the many challenges of splitting the Class Notes. Roberta, we are happy to report that, beginning with this issue, all alumni and friends can now read about both the oldest alumni and the most recent grads.

Who is that handsome group of students?

I really enjoyed another great issue of the Peddie Chronicle. I did have one suggestion.

Could you please in the future identify who is on the front cover of the magazine?

The class had to be around the turn of the 20th century. Also, I would like to know the identity of the building on the inside back page of the magazine.

RAY DELZ ’71

Editor’s Note: Ray is correct; it was an oversight not to identify the photos. The distinguished-looking class pictured on our Fall 2010 cover is the student body of 1893-94. The photo on the inside back cover is of our gorgeous new pool attached to the recently-renovated Ian H. Graham ’50 Athletic Center.

The Chronicle welcomes your letters and comments on the stories we offer. We reserve the right to edit letters for space. Send your comments to editor@peddie.org or Chronicle Editor, Peddie School, 201 South Main Street, Hightstown, NJ 08520-3349.

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MEET the TRuSTEES Four new faces join the board

Meet Jeff Jeff Enslin ’84 has been a loyal supporter of Peddie, including serving as the 25th Reunion Class Chair in 2008-09. He served as junior and senior class president at Peddie, and as class secretary and class agent at Lehigh University, from which he graduated in 1988. After completing his undergraduate degree, he received an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Enslin began his career with the Bank of Maryland in a two-year training program to become a lending officer and soon after began working at Caxton Associates.

He is currently a partner and senior managing director at Caxton, an employeeowned hedge fund founded in 1983 and based in Princeton, New York, London and Sydney. Enslin is a portfolio manager at Caxton and focuses on macro themes/ strategies, particularly in emerging markets.

Enslin and his wife, Jennifer, live in New York City and Somerset County, New Jersey. Enslin has two sons, Matthew ’14 and Jeremy. The couple has a one-year-old daughter, Charlee.

‘‘

My Peddie experience was fantastic and set the stage for a successful college career. One area I will continue to focus on is trying to find ways to bring the ‘real world’ into the classroom and I think the best way to do this is to get alumni more actively involved with the students.

Meet Elizabeth

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One might say that Elizabeth Silverman P’03, P’10 likes to volunteer.

In addition to beginning a term on the board of trustees at Peddie, Silverman serves on the board of trustees at her high school alma mater, The Harpeth Hall School, in Nashville, Tenn.; is vice president of Cranbury Housing Associates; is on the major gifts committee for the Princeton HealthCare System Foundation; and is a member of the board of Planned Parenthood Association of the Mercer Area. She previously served as a trustee at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, is a former member of the Cranbury Township Board of Education and a former leader with the Girl Scouts of America.

A former writer for Fortune magazine, Silverman has been an active and supportive Peddie parent for more than a decade. She served as a member of the development committee for the Peddie Parents Association, as a class chair for the Peddie Fund and as the chair of the senior parent endowment fund and parent fund.

A native of Nashville, Silverman and her family have a long history at Vanderbilt University, from which she graduated in 1975. She also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

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She lives in Cranbury with her husband, Stephen, who is founder of Ironbound Capital Management. They have three daughters, Susannah ’03, Polly and Elinor ’10.

There were many times that both Susannah and Elinor achieved something that they didn’t think that they could because Peddie teachers believed in them and gave them encouragement and help outside of the classroom.

’’

continued on page 4 Spring 2011 3

MEET the TRuSTEES continued from page 3

Meet Winnie Living in Hong Kong doesn’t stop Winnie W.N. Pun P’11, P’14 from being a devoted and treasured Peddie parent. Pun leads the institutional business unit in Asia for BlackRock, the provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services around the world. She was previously employed by State Street Global Advisors in Hong Kong, where she was principal and director of investments.

Pun attended Maryknoll Sisters’ School in Hong Kong and the University of Melbourne in Australia and is married to Mark M.K. Yau. In addition to their daughters Melinda ’11 and Melissa ’14, the couple has a son Winston in middle school.

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Having lived in Australia for 8 years and now living in Hong Kong, I look forward to contributing an international perspective and thereby helping Peddie to realize its global vision.

’’

Meet Jacqueline When Jacqueline D. Reses ’88 served as president of her class at Peddie, she was already showing her entrepreneurial skills by starting small businesses. She would later graduate with honors from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and begin an impressive Wall Street career. Reses has been named one of the “40 under 40” to watch by The Deal magazine and was listed on Crain’s New York’s “100 Most Influential Women in NYC Business.”

The Atlantic City native recently left her position as head of the U.S. media group Apax Partners, where she led the $7.7 billion acquisition of Thomson Learning and Nelson Education. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs in Mergers and Acquisitions and the Principal Investment Group.

Reses is married to Matthew Apfel, a reality TV producer, and has three children, Emilia, Charlotte and Owen.

She is a member of the prestigious Trustees’ Council of Penn Women and also a member of the Investment Committee for the Brearley School.

‘‘

I am excited to execute upon Peddie’s vision of becoming a world-class learning institution.

The administration has done a fantastic job with academic success, and has high standards for leadership in the future.

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1864: A Nation at War and the Birth of a School

By David Martin, Ph.D.

2013-2014 marks the 150th anniversary of Peddie School’s founding. As the Peddie community begins its preparations for this momentous occasion, the Chronicle will explore various aspects of our school’s rich history.

With the opening of the Civil War exactly 150 years ago this year, this issue of the Chronicle considers Peddie School’s connections with this seminal event in our nation’s history. How leather satchels saved Peddie may surprise you.

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hen Peddie School was founded in 1864, our nation was in the midst of a Civil War, the outcome of which was still very much in doubt. The intense fighting had been going on for four years and both sides, North and South, were weary of the war and its long casualty lists. Our president, Abraham Lincoln, was so pessimistic about that year’s elections that he fully expected not to be returned to office.

And yet amid the tensions and pressures of that critical age, the original founders of Peddie chose to set up shop during this great national crisis. When they took that leap, they could have no way of knowing that the school ultimately might be saved by the war.

Hightstown in 1861 was a sleepy railroad town of just under 1,000 inhabitants when the Civil War started. A census of residents showed that there were 339 local men of the prime military age of between 18 and 45.

Many of them enlisted to serve and at least seventeen would die in battle or from disease.

Pictured above: Confederate and Union forces clash during the Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia (May 1862).

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“I have seen my comrades carried away by sickness and disease. I have seen them fall by my side on the battlefield. Yes, I have been spared and out of that youthful band that left Hightstown over two years ago but few, very few, remain, our company numbering only thirteen muskets.” — Corporal Elwood Pullen, 1864

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orporal Elwood Pullen was one of Hightstown’s young men who enlisted in 1861 to save the Union, but by 1864 he was totally worn down when he wrote a friend back home.

“I have seen my comrades carried away by sickness and disease. I have seen them fall by my side on the battlefield.

Yes, I have been spared and out of that youthful band that left Hightstown over two years ago but few, very few, remain, our company numbering only thirteen muskets. But when that few return how will they be looked at? They will be the envy as well as the pride of every true patriot in Hightstown… I love my country as well as any other man alive but I will not reenlist (when) I finish serving my first three years.”

Such was the atmosphere in Hightstown when the state’s Baptist fathers met here in 1864 to set up a new school. In those days, there were not many public high schools, and if parents wanted their children to have anything above an elementary school education, they needed to send them to private schools. Most of these schools were run by different religious denominations: in New Jersey, the Presbyterians had established a school in Lawrenceville in 1810 and another in Blairstown in 1848, and the Methodists had founded one in Pennington in 1838. In order to keep up with their protestant rivals, the Baptists had been talking for some time about setting up their own school for their daughters.

A committee meeting in Bordentown in November 1863 — shortly before President Lincoln gave his famous address at Gettysburg — recommended that a Baptist school be set up as soon as $10,000 could be raised to fund it. Shortly thereafter, Hightstown was selected as the location because of its central location in the state, its access to the Camden & Amboy Railroad, and the presence of a strong Baptist congregation.

Accordingly, the Hightstown Female Seminary opened for business in the Old Baptist Meeting House on Main Street in Hightstown in May 1864, a month when General U.S. Grant’s Union army was fighting its way through central Virginia on its final drive to Richmond.

The school would reopen with the addition of male students just three months later under the name New Jersey Classical Institute, a title that became even more prepossessing the next year as The New Jersey Classical and Scientific Institute.

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hy the school was founded in the middle of a great war is not clear. The state’s Baptists had been planning to set up a school for some time, despite the monetary inflation that had struck the country due to the stresses of the war. The opening of the school in 1864 illustrates how civilian life continued on despite significant external events, just as construction of the first transcontinental railroad was begun in 1863 at the height of the Civil War, movies continued to be made during World War II, and television comedies continued to be produced during the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Despite the difficult times, America’s youth still needed to be educated, perhaps all the more so during the Civil War, when leaders and an educated citizenry would be needed all the more after the fighting ceased.

In reality, Peddie School was founded in the middle of the Civil War in spite of the fighting, not because of it. Local newspapers during that time included the paradox of war news printed side by side with short articles on activities at the new school. Advertisements for grain, farm animals and local tradesmen were lined up next to casualty lists from the great battles being fought in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia.

With no known Peddie students or faculty who fought in the Civil War, the school’s most significant connection to the war is through a Newark politician who served as mayor and was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly.

Thomas B. Peddie was the owner of a large and thriving luggage manufacturing business in Newark. At the start of the war, he quickly retooled in order to take on significant government contracts making knapsacks and other leather goods for the Union soldiers. His business became quite successful and his family grew more wealthy.

Peddie donated much of his money to philanthropic causes, including his beloved Baptist church in Newark. Among his causes was the fledgling Baptist school in Hightstown, which was undergoing such a severe financial crisis in the 1870s that it nearly went out of business.

Flush with funds from selling leather satchels to the Union Army, Peddie saved the school in 1872 by donating the stunning amount of $25,000 (the equivalent of $1 million in today’s money). So grateful were the school’s trustees, that they changed the name of the school — its fourth name in eight years.

The Peddie name remains today.

June 1864: A group of Union officers of the Army of the Potomac at Cold Harbor, Virginia

Thomas B. Peddie donated $25,000 to the then-struggling New Jersey Classical and Scientific Institute.

Thomas B. Peddie’s luggage company manufactured leather goods for Union soldiers during the war.

Confederate General James Longstreet was a cousin to Jonathan Longstreet, after which Longstreet Hall is named.

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Director of Music Alan Michaels conducts a rehearsal.

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Encore!

Peddie’s music program teaches lifelong skills of teamwork, leadership, and patience The recently-renovated rehearsal rooms in the lower level of the Swig Arts Center have no desks, no books and no computers. But the lessons and lifelong skills learned here are critical to the success that Peddie students strive for — no matter their plans for the future.

“Simply learning to play an instrument requires selfdiscipline, practice, practice, practice and — more often than not at Peddie — a public performance. In a culture of instant gratification, it’s important for our students to learn that really being good at something takes discipline, patience, and humility,” said Associate Head Catherine Rodrigue. “These are virtues perhaps better learned through experience than books.”

The instrumental and vocal music offerings at Peddie have grown tremendously in recent years, both because students are clamoring for a variety of experiences and because of the school’s commitment to the arts. This year, about 150 students formally participate in orchestra or chorus; many more pursue lessons on their own time or play in bands with other students.

Alan Michaels, director of music, and Marisa Green, director of vocal music, both insist those students are learning far more than clefs, chords and cadences.

“In all the studies I’ve seen, students who participate in performing arts do better academically and have higher grades,” Green said. She said music has become a safe haven for many students, serving as both a stress-reliever and a self-esteem booster. “This is something positive you can do. Something for which you can be proud of yourself.”

All Peddie students are required to take a Foundations of Music class in ninth grade. Afterward, music participation is student-driven. As more students pursue music, more opportunities are added. Music Theory and Advanced Placement Music Theory attract scores of students, while students continually rotate through Swig for time in practice rooms, at open pianos and for private lessons with any of 15 adjunct teachers.

“The students are speaking up by coming to our program,” Green said. “They want these things and we’re thrilled we’re able to provide them.”

All students may participate in the choir, while auditionbased opportunities exist for vocalists in the co-ed Peddie Singers, the all-girl Treblemakers, and the all-boys AcaFellas.

For instrumentalists, there is the Symphonic Orchestra, the

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Concert Band, the String Orchestra, the Guitar Ensemble and the Percussion Ensemble. Advanced musicians may also audition for The Pulse jazz ensemble and the Chamber Orchestra. Musicians also perform during theater productions in the Pit Band.

Michaels said the music program changes every year — even term to term — depending upon the desires, talents and levels of experience of the students. “Some of our students are coming in with advanced backgrounds so we have musicians of all levels,” he said. “Others are coming in with more diverse interests and experiences. They are coming with all manner of different instruments and we can use that experience to better enrich the program.”

Performance opportunities abound, both formal and casual.

Seasonal concerts, Vespers, Coffeehouse, and Falcon Follies all

Green also said she sees music as a way to teach good citizenship through something they do for fun. “In so many ways, choir is a metaphor for life,” she said. “I tell my students it is less important to sing perfectly than to do your best so you don’t let the group down.”

A native of Ohio, Green received an undergraduate degree in music and Latin from Harvard University, then studied conducting for a master’s degree from Yale. She is currently pursuing a doctor of musical arts degree from Louisiana State University.

Michaels, meanwhile, is the veteran of the music department with 14 years at the school. Beginning as a part-time percussion instructor, he became the school’s first full-time instrumental music director. The Brooklyn native, who holds a bachelor of music and a master’s degree from Mannes College of Music,

provide a place to show off talent, but also develop the social skills that come from performing.

Michaels said the camaraderie that develops between performers teaches teamwork and leadership, and encourages bonds that might not have otherwise developed. The music room is one of the few classrooms on campus, he noted, where students from all grade levels participate as equals.

“That benefits the older kids as much as the younger kids,” said Michaels.

Michaels said he is most proud of the music program for being accessible to all students. “We’re not a performing arts school, but we certainly have some students playing at a high level. At the same time, we’re not alienating those who play for fun,” he said.

remains active in professional performances. His recent credits include performing on Broadway in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, West Side Story, A Chorus Line, and in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Rodrigue said exposing Peddie students to performing arts both on and off campus, including the newly instituted Cultural Arts Series at the William Mount-Burke Theater, is important for all students.

“Cultural events contribute to the spirit and soul of the community. We see it in the energy generated around the winter musical or in the joyful way the students and faculty responded to the community meeting performance of the band of math teachers,” said Rodrigue. “Music makes an abiding impression on our community. We need to nurture it.”

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“In so many ways, choir is a metaphor for life.

I tell my students it is less important to sing perfectly than to do your best so you don’t let the group down.” — Director of Vocal Music Marisa Green

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EXP: A World-class Science Education When Preston Kung ’12 first walked into the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University to begin his work, the unfamiliar environment made him very nervous. The other researchers — even the equipment — scared him.

“It was very intimidating in the beginning. I felt so inadequate and small and felt that I did not fit in. But as I persevered day after day, I became bathed in the research ‘sauce’ and now feel quite comfortable interacting in the lab,” said Kung, one of nine Peddie juniors in the inaugural class of Peddie’s EXP program. The program places science-oriented students directly into professional laboratories for intensive, hands-on research.

The EXP program, so-called for its emphasis on exploring, experimenting and explaining, is a year-long curriculum of special lectures and coursework designed to prepare students for lab experiences. The program extends for five weeks into the summer, requiring 200 hours of lab work and weekly meetings with a Peddie science advisor.

“There is no substitute for hands-on laboratory experience and for being able to dedicate an entire day to a project,” explained Shani Peretz, Ph.D., chair of the science department.

“In the professional labs, you learn the real pace of science and how the full process works from start to finish. In the classroom, we’re limited by class periods.”

Peretz said it was important in developing the program to ensure that the students were not treated as interns incapable of performing actual research. Each student is responsible

for helping to identify a lab, communicating with leaders at the institution to make arrangements for working there, and developing a research proposal that they will work on while at the lab.

“Students must go in prepared in order to have a fulfilling experience. The students are excited to own their projects,” Peretz said.

Once at the labs, the students work with primary investigators and graduate students who will serve as role models and advocates. Students are working in a range of sciences including materials science, biochemistry, medicine, and animal evolution. They have secured placements at top academic research institutions such as the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Columbia University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

EXP is the logical “next step” in Peddie’s multi-year commitment to creating a world-class science education for students, said Peter Kraft, academic dean. Along with the completion of the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Science Center, a full-scale revision of the science curriculum and the targeted hiring of superb science faculty, the EXP program elevates science for those students most interested in science, technology and engineering.

“Our most talented kids want to see what university-level research really looks like, in part because they plan to major in the sciences and see themselves as budding researchers. EXP encourages this self-identification and gives kids a chance to dive in while they are still young,” Kraft said.

Junior Preston Kung works at a Princeton University lab.

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The Space Shuttle: the ultimate lab Robert Cenker P’96, ’97, ’03, who spent more than six days in space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, spoke about his NASA flight experience with students of the EXP program, sharing details of space travel and the many effects it has on both the mind and body.

Cenker, a systems engineer by trade, was selected as a payload specialist and approved by NASA to fly on a six-day mission in 1986. Ten days after he landed, the space shuttle Challenger disaster occurred, grounding the United States’ space program for nearly three years.

During his talk, Cenker explained how space missions serve as research labs studying topics such as how the human body adapts to being in zero gravity, as well as how it must re-adjust once back on Earth. Space Adaptation Syndrome, he told the students, is not simply “government speak for throwing up.” Unlike experiencing motion sickness on an airplane, he said, the most common effects of zero gravity are on other body systems, such as the cardiovascular and skeletal systems.

The space suit he wore to Peddie, for example, hangs long on his legs, he explained, because in space your spine relaxes and stretches more than an inch, making you taller.

The human heart is also accustomed to pumping blood to the head more vigorously, to counteract the effects of gravity which naturally pulls more of your blood flow to your feet. In space, he said, gravity has no such effect on the blood flow, but the heart continues to pump additional blood to the head — resulting in a swollen head until the body adapts. Upon return to the Earth’s atmosphere, Cenker said, dizziness and blackouts are common as the body slowly re-adapts back to gravity.

Shani Peretz (left) listens as Bob Cenker explains to EXP students how studies are conducted in space.

Cenker’s advice to the EXP students was to focus on a discipline that inspires them. Whether biology, engineering, astronomy or geography, those in space are chosen because they are experts at what they love. “I love engineering,” he said. “I like astronomy but I don’t love astronomy. Because I love engineering, I got to be good at it and that is the reason I got picked.”

Despite the need to be scientifically focused, Cenker said it is increasingly important to be culturally aware of other nations as well as fluent in other languages, as the space stations become more and more international. “You can’t deal with the head of the Russian or Chinese space program unless you understand where they’re coming from and know their culture,” he said.

During his space flight, Cenker performed a variety of physiological tests, observed the deployment of a satellite, and operated experiments using an infrared imaging camera. He traveled over 2.1 million miles in 96 Earth orbits and logged over 146 hours in space.

“Offering tantalizing science electives and programs like EXP puts the fire in the brain for students to pursue careers in science, technology and mathematics.”

— Catherine Rodrigue, associate head of school

Peddie’s Associate Head of School Catherine Rodrigue said enticing students to careers in science and technology is a challenge for all schools, as America is not producing an adequate number of scientists and mathematicians.

“The fixes the world needs — energy, food, housing, micro and macro infrastructure, healthcare — are often rooted in scientific research, not just law or politics or finance,” Rodrigue said. “Offering tantalizing science electives and programs like EXP puts the fire in the brain for students to pursue careers in science, technology and mathematics.”

Peretz said the EXP program was limited to nine students in its first year to ensure that lab placements could be secured.

Currently funded through a fee charged to the participating students, the EXP program pays a small fee to the labs to cover the costs of lab space and supplies and a stipend for the graduate students supervising the work of the Peddie students.

“Some labs were apprehensive when they realized we were talking about high school students. But our nine students will

serve as ambassadors for the program and we have nine labs who realize what an amazing gift it is to give a high school student the ability to direct their own research project.”

Kung, who was so eager for the lab experience that he began working in the Princeton lab of Dr. Joshua Shaevitz well ahead of the EXP program’s summer requirement, has been studying how cells employ different mechanisms to help them survive changes in the external environment. He says, however, that the lessons he is learning are applicable to more than just science.

“The experience helped me mature and be responsible for my part of the experiment and to converse with researchers on a weekly basis,” said Kung, who wants to pursue a career in medicine. “The classroom can only teach a limited amount of knowledge and stimulate me to think of various questions.

Those questions, however, can only be answered through working in a laboratory.”

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center campus Chinese Fairytale

Reminisce with us…

While some high school students dream of having their work published in a major periodical, Diku Rogers ’12 went so far as to do so in another language.

Senior class pranks have long provided relief to stressed-out Peddie students, morphing into one of the school’s strongest traditions.

Rogers, who is in her third year of Chinese instruction with Yiqun “Beverly” Jiang, Ph.D., submitted an essay to the Chinese newspaper, World Journal. It was immediately accepted for publication.

Some have been imaginative; others have lacked that certain creativity. Most have been harmless; a few have pushed the limits just a wee bit.

The Chinese III class was assigned the essay and Jiang said when she read Rogers’ work, she encouraged her to revise it until it was ready to be submitted to the newspaper, one of the nation’s top daily papers.

The story is a fairytale about a girl named Kimberly who lives in a town called “Rainy Town,” and wishes to see a sunset.

When she wishes upon a shooting star for the rain to stop on her birthday, she gets her wish and experiences a sunset for the first time. The next night, she searches for another shooting star to wish that all kids will get the chance to see a sunset on their birthday. “Because everyone deserves sunshine and happiness,” Rogers said.

“Hearing that my essay was going to be published really humbled me,” Rogers said. “I was just speechless that my work was going to be published.

This is my first time having something published, so I am just enjoying the moment.”

Rogers said three years ago she wasn’t excited about her decision to choose Chinese studies at Peddie. “Now, my Chinese language skills represent something more than just a class,” she said. “It’s a class I look forward to and have fun learning in. I feel that to enjoy a language you must incorporate yourself in it, and because I love to write, there was no better way to mix Chinese with my personal life then to write a story.”

Many of the high jinks have involved repurposing parts of campus — Memorial Hall became a parking spot for Dennis Hartzell’s very small car, the Caspersen History House fountain morphed into a bubble machine, and the top of the press box became a new vantage point for John Green’s chair.

The truly great shenanigans combine resourcefulness and research, inspiration and imagination. What was your class prank? Mark Gartner ’84, who now teaches math at Peddie, thinks his class had the prank of all pranks (see below).

Think your class did better?

The Peddie School 150th Anniversary Committee is compiling stories of all senior class tomfoolery through the years. If you fondly remember your class prank, share it with us by emailing your story to editor@peddie.org. If necessary, names can be withheld to protect the “not so-innocent.”

Certain members of the class turned “the pit” in the former student center into a fish pond...complete with many, many goldfish. The students went through great effort to find out the floor could support eight inches of water, they took the time and care to move everything out of the pit and to limit the water level to stay well below the electric sockets. For the old-time faculty still at Peddie, it is the prank against which all pranks are still measured. Even though I wasn’t involved, I’m still proud of my class and classmates for pulling this off!

— Mark Gartner ’84

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Sleeping-in “Wonderful Wednesdays” returned to campus this winter, giving Peddie students a bonus hour of sleep on predetermined Wednesdays throughout the darkest months, a benefit researchers say can help teenagers improve everything from their health and happiness to their concentration and creativity.

Sarah Lust ’99

Peddie piloted Wonderful Wednesdays during the winter of 2010 by starting classes at 9:00 a.m. — a full hour later than usual — and encouraging the students to spend that time in the middle of a week by “sleeping in.” The tradition continued this winter.

Catherine Rodrigue, associate head of school, said school officials were looking for ways to reduce student stress during the winter term, one of the most stressful times of year for many students. “The days are shorter, it’s darker in winter and our kids just need it,” she said.

In recent years, research has emerged showing that biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for sleeping and waking during adolescence, making it biologically impossible for some teens to fall asleep before 11:00 p.m. In the winter, those rhythms are further disrupted due to shorter daylight hours.

According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), more than one quarter of high school students fall asleep in class, but that plenty of sleep will improve overall health, foster a more positive mood and strengthen performance in everything from academics to athletics. Scientists believe teens need between 8½ to 9¼ hours of sleep each night to perform at their best.

The research has led many pediatric experts to advocate for later school start times. Across the country, some schools have changed their schedules to accommodate later start times. In some high schools, however, classes still begin before 7:00 a.m.

Sarah Lust ’99, a health psychologist studying preventative health behaviors, applauded the school’s decision to offer Wonderful Wednesdays and for its attention to the issue of teen sleep deprivation. “Sleep deprivation acts like a withdrawal from a bank,” she said, adding that the latest research shows that catching up on sleep on weekends or on a day off can replenish that “debt.”

“It’s important to know that we are going to lose some sleep now and then but we should make getting enough sleep a priority in order to keep our brains and our bodies a top priority,” said Lust, who admits her own poor sleeping habits and self-imposed pressure to rise at 5:00 a.m. at Peddie often had her falling asleep in class.

Lust worked in an infant sleep lab while at the University of Connecticut and while attending Brown University for her master’s degree, she was an intern at one of the nation’s forerunners in adolescent sleep research.

Medicine, Buddhism and…Lacrosse?

“I could talk about this for days,” Rory Gale ’11 gushes as he begins describing his trip to Tibet this past summer. “I know it sounds cliché, but it was an unbelievably life-changing experience.”

Cliché? Maybe. Life-changing? Definitely.

Gale spent just over two weeks this summer living in a Buddhist monastery in Dharamsala, India, home to the 14th Dalai Lama. The reason for his trip was to study the effects of the decrease in biodiversity on Tibetan medicine; as it turned out, the breadth of his experience was far greater.

It wasn’t until just a couple of weeks before his trip that the project took on a new dimension. In talking with a lacrosse equipment business owner, Gale came up with the idea to teach the sport he loves to the monks with whom he’d be staying. The store owner donated equipment, which was shipped to India.

“I wasn’t sure how the idea would be received at the monastery,” Gale explained, who connected with the monastery through Tibet House in New York City. “I knew the monks followed a pretty strict daily regimen. But once I spent just a little bit of time there, I realized that they were kids, the same as you’d find anywhere in the world, and they loved learning a new sport. It turned out to be a great way to get to know them, and I made some life-long friends.”

Gale’s days began to fall into a pattern: After observing morning prayers and working in the kitchen, he would teach English and lacrosse. Afternoons would be spent at the Central Council of Tibetan Medicine, where he would meet with the Dalai Lama’s personal physicians, help to tend medicinal herb gardens, and learn about the impact of overpopulation and misuse of land resources on the biodiversity that Tibetan medicine depends upon.

From the moment he stepped off the plane into the chaotic streets of Delhi, India, Gale knew he was in for an incredible journey. “The driver of our bus made a u-turn right into oncoming traffic on the highway to get us to our hotel,” he described. “People, cars and rickshaws were everywhere.

The amazing thing was that none of the drivers seemed frustrated or angry.”

Being among people who were able to maintain this sense of peace amidst chaos; the humbling experience of being in the minority; and living, albeit temporarily, in a third-world country all had a tremendous impact on Gale.

“The people I met were the most welcoming, kind, generous and peaceful people I have ever met,” he shared. “Despite the chaos of the streets and the turmoil surrounding their displacement from their native land, they are able to maintain a truly peaceful existence.”

Spring 2011 15

Peter Kraft, history teacher and academic dean, spent a trimester on sabbatical in search of the qualities that make for an innovative school. While visiting 11 top independent schools from coast to coast, Kraft took a careful approach to identifying the commonalities among them. In his new role as academic dean, Kraft has brought his sabbatical experience and research back to Peddie, where it helps guide him in his work.

Kraft, who joined the faculty in 1995, presented his research findings at a national conference on school best practices late last year.

The Secret Sauce of Innovation: Eight Qualities of Innovative Schools

By Peter A. Kraft

One of the ironies of independent schools is that while most want to be “innovative,” very few are willing to go through the painful process of reinvention.

But to remain competitive, all schools — Peddie included — must continually adapt to the changing nature of information, the forces of globalization, and a rapidly changing marketplace in which fewer families may be willing and able to pay the steep tuitions that independent schools charge.

Change at schools like ours is hard for many reasons, including the conservative nature of institutions that are familial in their structures and relationships; financial challenges; and the sheer difficulty of getting any organization to change deeply-ingrained habits.

There is another irony of school change. During a time when all schools must be self-critical and willing to innovate, it is equally clear that there are few truly unique programs in independent education. Indeed, even the most forwardlooking schools’ programs have their cousins (if not identical twins) at other top institutions. Thus, while schools search for distinctives that will differentiate them from other schools in the marketplace, it is more useful to focus on the practices and cultures of innovative schools.

The qualities of innovative schools identified here are not a checklist or recipe book for innovation; Rather, they are a recognition of shared characteristics among our nation’s top schools.

While the absence of one or more of these characteristics in no way prohibits innovation, these qualities demonstrate some ways in which schools become — and remain — truly outstanding institutions:

16 Peddie Chronicle

1 Innovative schools have dynamic, trusted heads who are not afraid to initiate top-down directives for change

While heads of school are often reluctant to admit the extent to which they initiated key changes at their school, dynamic programming doesn’t occur without a clear directive from the top. While many good changes emanate from strategic planning and campus-wide discussions, the head’s calls for and support of innovation are critical elements of success.

2 Innovative schools have spent considerable time polishing their core curricula before embarking on change

Concentrating on the core curriculum leads to a school-wide discussion of teaching and learning that becomes the foundation for later innovation. As one school official noted, “once we had our p’s and q’s in order, we could tap into the long-running discussion of what and how we teach to put out some more exotic ideas.”

3 Innovative schools have made performance-based learning and extended time on task a key part of their programming

Grounding their changes in real-world applications and engagement with the larger community, innovative schools are comfortable making content-acquisition secondary to the development of habits of mind for students in their flagship programs. This is not to say that content is not important; in high-level STEM research programs, for example, foundational knowledge is critical to students’ success in laboratory settings.

Kraft: Performance-based learning and extended time on task are a key to innovative schools.

However, successful schools acknowledge that content for older students should take on a less linear form and instead become more targeted and research-focused.

Examples included xerascaping grassy areas to preserve water as part of a larger sustainability effort and harvesting potatoes from the school farm to serve in the campus dining hall.

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Community engagement and a new definition of service to others is an important element of school innovation

Innovative schools build on preexisting programs — particularly senior independent study programs — to broaden and deepen learning while being careful not to cannibalize existing electives

A large number of innovative schools have revisited their community service programs in recent years, stressing collaboration rather than a paternalistic sense of “serving the less fortunate.” While sometimes embedded in service-learning courses, innovative schools are also experimenting with the idea of teaching students philanthropy and non-profit financial skills in order to help students become life-long activists and advocates. This new approach stresses long-term work with non-profit organizations, rather than a “one and done” approach. Other schools promote service to one’s own school community that goes beyond traditional, mundane work jobs.

Faculty leadership in designing new programs is key, and innovative schools are able to energize faculty around new programs and approaches without making such programs feel like undue threats to existing courses. Although difficult decisions regarding resources must ultimately be made, minimizing unnecessary conflicts between new and existing programs is critical. One way to do this is by stressing inter-/multi-disciplinary approaches, thus breaking teachers and students out of silos and requiring faculty and students to work with teachers from other departments.

Spring 2011 17

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Innovative schools are willing to restructure their administrative apparatus and provide key leadership opportunities for classroom teachers

Innovative schools foster a culture of acceptable failure and rigorous self-examination

Several schools have created “centers” or “institutes” under which a host of programs — academic programs, community service, fund-raising, etc. — are housed. In addition to sending the message that such projects are part of a larger whole, it also provides structure to make programs more coherent and connected. At the same time, many of the schools identified talented classroom teachers to run constituent programs within the larger structure, rather than farming out the leadership to existing deans or division directors. Allowing science teachers to run the research science program or entrusting global learning programs to history teachers is a way to retain talented faculty while not taking them out of the classroom.

7 Innovative schools explicitly connect changes to their mission, history and traditions

Any school leader would recognize the need to align change with the institution’s mission. But innovative schools take the next step and tell the story of innovation by hearkening back to the school’s history and traditions. Leaders were able to connect the changes going on in their schools to the history of their institutions.

18 Peddie Chronicle

Just as it is difficult for adolescents to truly embrace the concept of not getting it right, so, too, is it challenging for schools to confront the possibility that their changes may not work. But truly innovative schools must be willing and ready to admit failure — or what is at least traditionally viewed as failure. Great schools create a safe environment for innovation and innovators by being willing to take a leap of faith. Said one administrator, “What we have tried to create here is a climate similar to that of Silicon Valley: we expect you to work hard; we expect you to contribute to the larger enterprise and to share your ideas; but we do NOT expect you to ‘get it right’ all the time. In fact, we don’t want that, because it does not model what learning and schools are all about.”

Kraft moves on after 15 years Peter Kraft, Peddie’s academic dean, has been named the associate head of school for academic affairs at Park Tudor, a premier K-12 independent school in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In announcing Kraft’s move to Park Tudor, Head of School John Green applauded him for more than 15 years of dedication to Peddie. “Peter has been a valued member of our community as a teacher, administrator, coach, mentor, and friend,” Green said. Associate Head of School Catherine Rodrigue said, “Peter has positively and permanently influenced every facet of the Peddie community. He is, first and foremost, a superb classroom teacher and, perhaps more importantly, has also made his colleagues better teachers.”

Aquaponics brings fresh veggies to campus It began with a few dishes filled with water, stones and seeds outside of a dorm room window. Soon the windowsills in the lounge were filled with young, growing plants, and Blaze Cartusciello’11 would be bending over the dishes, gently tending the seedlings, fiddling with the oxygen pump, beginning her first explorations into the field of hydroponics.

“I’ve loved gardening ever since I was little,” explained Cartusciello. “I’ve always been fascinated with the natural world; it just seems so magical to me that a plant can produce a sweet cherry tomato or a luscious purple eggplant from nothing more than light, air and soil.”

A method of growing plants using a nutrient solution instead of soil, hydroponic techniques are advantageous in that plants require less time and space to grow. Exploring hydroponics soon led Cartusciello to discover a more intriguing project, however, and those first small dishes of seedlings have since developed into a far more complex endeavor.

As a participant in Peddie’s Signature Experience and with a passionate commitment to sustainable living, Cartusciello has single-handedly created a thriving aquaponic environment in the greenhouse of the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Science Center.

Aquaponics, a working model of sustainable food production, is a biointegrated system that links hydroponics with aquaculture, or fish cultivation.

The wastewater from the fish fertilizes the plant growth and the plants clean the water for the fish, forming a symbiotic relationship that results in a selfsustaining food source.

“The idea of developing an aquaponics system actually came from reading an article in the New York Times.

It talked about the environmental benefits of aquaponics over traditional agriculture and aquaculture growing methods, and also about the great amounts of fish and produce the system produced and how easy it was to maintain,” Cartusciello said. “The idea of growing plants without soil just fascinated me.”

Blaze Cartusciello and the magic of hydroponics

Knowing that Peddie had a greenhouse where an aquaponics system could thrive convinced Cartusciello that this was an ideal project for her and one from which the Peddie community could benefit. After spending much of her summer volunteering on an aquaponic farm, Cabbage Hill farm in New York, she asked Head of School John Green for permission to set up her own system in the science center.

He enthusiastically agreed. Her friends at Cabbage Hill donated the tilapia to get her started.

Of course, no endeavor is without its particular challenges. One of the earliest for Cartusciello was the logistics of transporting her 100-gallon tank, fish and plants from her home in North Jersey to Peddie’s campus. Once that was successfully accomplished, she organized a group of students to maintain the system: feeding the fish, checking levels and harvesting vegetables.

Rather than using fertilizers and pesticides not found in the natural environment, Cartusciello researches organic fixes. For example, rather than spraying the plants with organic pesticides to fight occasional plant pests, she is introducing a few praying mantises to take care of the job. Even in the grow trays, algae eaters and snails are used to clean up settled solids rather than constantly washing out the trays.

The use of organisms to maintain the system helps ensure a self-regulating environment.

“Aquaponics uses less than two percent of the amount of water used with traditional growing methods, and the system is very stable and self-regulating, so it is relatively easy to maintain,” she said.

The biggest setback occurred in January, when the single electrical outlet used to power the heaters, aerators and pumps short circuited, and most of the fish died as a result.

“It was a nightmare, but like all scientists, farmers and engineers, we learned from this mistake,” explained Cartusciello. “We talked with building services, they provided us with a backup generator for future emergencies, and we distributed our outlet use.”

Cartusciello hopes to see the hydroponic system become a permanent fixture at Peddie, and is doing what she can to ensure that.

Those seedlings outside her dorm room window have grown into dozens of varieties including basil, beans, tomatoes and peppers. The herbs and some of the vegetables are being enjoyed

by Peddie students and faculty families.

In theory — though not yet in practice — the fish could also be harvested for food.

“My goal coming into the project remains the same: to teach the Peddie community about the benefits of aquaponics and to help Peddie in its efforts to become increasingly environmentally friendly,” she said.

Spring 2011 19

Expeditions Peddie students and faculty travel the globe

Left to right: Bryan Fiori, Cori-Lynn Cubberley, Melissa Sanchez and Alex Cettina

Student Leaders in India The four seniors who represented Peddie at the Community Development and Leadership Summit (CDLS) in India in November said the conference was a life-changing experience.

Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and India.

Alex Cettina ’11, Cori-Lynn Cubberley ’11, Bryan Fiori ’11 and Melissa Sanchez ’11 said living in New Delhi for two weeks was far less comfortable than life on the Peddie campus, but each said they returned home with invaluable lessons.

The girls, meanwhile, soon discovered the inequity in having to be mindful that walking around in the foreign city with their ankles exposed would bring picture-snapping and unwanted attention.

The CDLS was hosted by New Delhi’s Modern School, where students from 24 schools representing 18 countries studied global education and cooperation. Peddie and the Modern School have had a sister school partnership since 2010.

“Being a woman there, I feel I got a vastly difference experience,” said Cubberley. Still, she added, the opportunity to learn about international issues requires going beyond your comfort zone. “It’s easy to sit back in America in our classroom and talk about global issues and then go to the lunchroom and forget about it,” she said. “A trip like this you can’t forget.”

“You can’t teach what India is actually like,” said Fiori, who was struck by the masses of people, the poverty and the pollution. “You can read that but you don’t understand it unless you see it.” Fiori said the day the students spent touring New Delhi was “one of the most interesting days I ever had.”

Cettina said he left the conference with friends all over the globe. “You get to know these kids and you learn what they do at home and what their country is like, and it’s amazing,” he said. He said communal living with 40 boys taught him how much they all had in common. Games of bowling with empty water bottles and spontaneous soccer games in the hallways brought the multinational students closer.

The Peddie students were joined by other American high school students as well as those from Canada, China, Peddie students attending the Community Development and Leadership Summit had a surprise visit by Head of School John Green. Green was in India as part of his fall visit to Asia, where he met with parents of Peddie students and alumni.

Art and Science in Israel Nine students selected for their achievements as young artists and scientists spent spring break at the Israel Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem.

Students interacted with Israeli students in the classroom, studios and labs and also participated in community service.

On their final night, the Peddie visitors attended a celebration of Purim, a festival holiday rooted in the Book of Esther that is celebrated by wearing costumes.

Day trips took the Peddie students to the Dead Sea and Massada, the Old City in Jerusalem, and Tel-Aviv.

“The over-arching goal was to foster academic and cultural relationships with Israeli students who share the same passion and interests in art and science as our students,” said Eric Drotch of the arts department, who chaperoned the trip along with science chair Shani Peretz, Ph.D. Drotch, who studied Hebrew and Israeli studies at college and worked on kibbutzes afterward, said his own passion for Israel came when he took two trips there himself as a teenager.

Drotch said he hopes the students, who have already begun communicating via email and other electronic methods, begin friendships that will grow into further cultural exchanges.

The traveling students were Tara Adames ’12, Krysten Craig ’11, Albert Han ’11, Isaac Kim ’11, Brooke Kuminski ’12, Grace Lloyd ’12, Alec Mitchell ’12, Sarah Narburgh ’11 and Megan Zuckerman ’12.

20 Peddie Chronicle

“We are living in an era of rapid change, one in which understanding the societies, histories and cultures of other nations is a prerequisite, not a privilege, of a first class education.”

— Peter Kraft, introduction of visiting EFZ students and faculty to Peddie community, Ayer Memorial Chapel, December 6, 2010

Andrew Caglieris and Yiquin “Beverly” Chang

EFZ Update

Helping Others

Just months after the Peddie community hosted thirteen students and their teacher from our Shanghai sister school Number 2 High School of East China Normal University (EFZ), faculty members Andrew Caglieris, Ph.D. of the math department and Yiqun “Beverly” Jiang, Ph.D. of the language department journeyed to Shanghai to broaden and strengthen the relationship between the two schools. In the fourth year of the sister school partnership, EFZ and Peddie continue to delve into one another’s culture, educational practices and lifestyles, developing strong friendships and deep ties.

The 42 Peddie students who spent their spring break working with children in a Dominican Republic orphanage were motivated to pack light. The fewer personal items or clothing they brought for themselves, the more toys, books and school supplies they could cram into their suitcases and leave behind for the children of the Caribbean island.

“Through face-to-face interaction with faculty members, students and administrators, I hope to learn about EFZ’s educational philosophy, discover how they prepare students for the challenges they face, compare the similarities and differences between the two schools and discover how the culture and society of China impacts education,” said Jiang just before her month-long trip.

More specifically, Jiang observed English language and Chinese classes and presented to EFZ’s foreign language department, sharing her teaching practices and methods.

She also spent some time sitting in on history and political science classes and got involved in some of the students’ extra-curricular activities.

Caglieris, meanwhile, observed classes in mathematical modeling, taught integral calculus lessons and participated in a forum with EFZ’s mathematics department to share teaching ideas.

“Having lived most of my life in Western Europe and North America, and with limited travel to Central America, this trip was an opportunity to experience significant personal growth in terms of my own life experiences,” said Caglieris of his first trip to Asia.

In the remote village of Jaibon on the northwestern edge of the Dominican Republic just a few miles from the Haitian border, the students and six faculty members taught and played with the young children and helped with construction projects at an orphanage.

In addition to teaching English to the schoolchildren, the Peddie students worked on projects ranging from construction, sorting donations, and agriculture to building dorms for future volunteers and picking up litter.

Before leaving the Dominican Republic, the Peddie travelers trekked to Dajabon, a town on the Haitian border that on Mondays and Fridays becomes a frenzied marketplace with Haitians selling used clothing, shoes and house-wares while Dominicans go to market with their locally-grown produce.

A hike to the beach concluded their trip. “It was definitely a hard-earned day after a week of working at the orphanage and in our classes,” said Michael Mirelman of the language department, who helped organize the trip.

Prior to their trip, students enlisted their classmates to help in collecting clothing, toys and other donations which they brought with them to donate to the orphanage.

Caglieris, who serves as the international student advisor, said the trip gave him a more complete perspective on the cultural background of those students in our community who come from China and make Peddie their home away from home.

“The more knowledgeable we are of other cultures,” said Caglieris, “the better positioned we are to create a welcoming environment for all members of our community.”

Spring 2011 21

Can you spot the campus changes?

Then

Artist Carol Sprout, wife of John Sprout ’42, first illustrated the Peddie campus in the early 1990s. Through the marriage of technology and her watercolors, the campus map has been updated several times as changes were made on campus. There are five differences to the campus maps above and below. Can you spot them all?

(Answers at bottom of page.)

Now Campus changes: athletic center expansion, blue kick wall torn down, smokestack removed, new traffic pattern at main entryway, construction of the science building.

22 Peddie Chronicle

Falcon Feats / Peddie athletes in college action Bowdoin College

Columbia University

Elon University

Men’s basketball

Men’s basketball

Women’s golf

Max Staiger ’09 – The 6’10” sophomore center is thriving on the hardwood for the Polar Bears, shooting over 60 percent from the floor. In a win over Colby-Sawyer, Staiger scored 19 points and made nine of 10 shots in only 19 minutes of play.

Noruwa Agho ’07 – A four-year starter, Agho went over the 1,000 mark for his career with 16 points against Dartmouth on Jan. 29.

Steve Frankoski ’10 – Frankoski drilled 92 three-pointers to lead the Falcons to the Prep A title and hasn’t lost a beat in college, as he topped all Lion shooters from behind the arc in his rookie season.

Lauren Lebak ’07 – Red-shirted as a freshman, Lebak played nine rounds in three tournaments for Phoenix during the 2010 fall season, averaging 78.22 strokes. In Sept. 2009, she carded a low round of 73 to tie for 13th place at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate. Lebak won the girls’ prep state golf tournament her last two years at Peddie.

Cornell University

Gettysburg College

Men’s lightweight crew

Football

Ben Perry ’08 – A two-time most outstanding rower for Peddie, Perry is called the “workhorse” of the Big Red team.

Chris Douthett ’08 – Playing eight games at linebacker, Douthett registered 19 solo and 10 assisted tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery for the 6-4 Bullets.

Women’s soccer, lacrosse Carolyn Gorajek ’09 – A two-sport standout, Gorajek defends on the soccer pitch and switches to attack as one of the top point producers on the lacrosse team. At Peddie, she received the 2009 Winant Cup as an outstanding female scholar-athlete.

Bucknell University Women’s soccer Caitlin Holtz ’07 – Earning All-Patriot League honors for the third time, Holtz has been one of the league’s best twoway players over the last four seasons.

She began her career on the backline, and for the last two seasons excelled in the midfield. Holtz has started all but one game over the last four years, and in 2010 set career highs for goals (4) and points (11). She had three assists this season, giving her 17 in her career and ranking fourth in program history.

Casey Crowley ’08 – Crowley was named the team’s Rookie of the Year in 2008. Playing at both back and outside midfield, Crowley has started 41 of 56 games. She served as Peddie team captain in 2007 and received the Coach’s Award.

Colby College Women’s soccer Su-Lin Del Guercio ’07 – The senior defender and captain earned first team New England Small College Athletic Conference after making the second team the previous two years. From her sweeper position, Del Guercio helped the Mules allow just 18 goals in 14 games this year.

Davidson College Football Jelani Doeman ’09 – Doeman moved from running back to outside linebacker for the 2010 campaign and played in nine games. Doeman was named an AP Scholar for receiving grades of 3.0 or higher on three or more exams.

Duke University Wrestling Christopher Piccolella ’08 – A four-year letter winner and third-place finisher at Prep Nationals his senior year at Peddie, Piccolella wrestles primarily at 149 pounds for the Blue Devils. He earned fifth place with a 3-2 record at the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia.

Women’s basketball Bridgette Mitchell ’06 – Mitchell, a 2010 Duke graduate, signed a three-year deal with Villeneuve of the Women’s Euroleague. The 22-year-old shooting guard/small forward played her first professional season, averaging 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

She finished her four-year run at Peddie with 1,482 points and was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year.

Hamilton College Football Dylan Isenberg ’08 – During the 2010 campaign, Isenberg rushed for 263 yards, averaged 24.2 yards per kick returns and was second on the team in all-purpose yards with 511. On the defensive side of the ball, Isenberg recorded 16 solo tackles and one interception. At the 2007 Peddie Fall Sports Banquet, the three-sport standout received the Howard Clark Memorial Award for good citizenship, loyalty and consistency in contributing to the spirit of the football team.

Hartwick College Football Halley Gartner ’10 – In his freshman season for the Hawks, Gartner played in eight games at defensive back, recording eight tackles and one fumble recovery. Gartner received the Howard Clark Memorial Award at the 2009 Peddie Fall Sports Banquet. (continued on page 24)

Spring 2011 23

Falcon Feats / Peddie athletes in college action (continued from page 23)

Haverford College

Navy

Trinity University

Men’s soccer

Women’s soccer

Women’s swimming and diving

Dan Garfing ’09 – Starting 16 of 33 games at midfield over two seasons, Garfing has recorded one goal and three assists for the Centennial Conference member.

Shelly Moeller ’06 – Named this past October to the Naval Academy’s Athletic Hall of Fame, Moeller is featured on the cover of the Patriot League’s 2011 Women in Sports magazine in celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, held Feb. 2.

Gabriella Caglieris ’10 – A four-year diver for Peddie, Caglieris was a perennial top-ten finisher at Easterns and continues her craft for the Trinity Tigers, a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Kenyon College Women’s swimming Kati Meirs ’07 – Named the North Coast Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Week in Nov. 2010, Meirs holds the 500-yard freestyle record and won the 1650 free at NCAA Division III Championships as a freshman in 2008.

Ashlynn Soellner ’10 – Soellner scored four game-winners for Navy in her frosh season and was named the team’s MVP.

Stanford University Men’s swimming

Rachel Flinn ’10 – All-prep in the 200 IM last year, Flinn specializes in the 200 backstroke at Kenyon. At the NCAC Relays, she joined her teammates to topple an eight-year-old record in the 200 backstroke relay.

Josh Charnin-Aker ’07 – For the Cardinal record books, Charnin-Aker is closing out his career as the fourth fastest all-time in the 200-yard individual medley (1:44.45) and seventh all-time in the 400IM (3:45.18).

Lafayette College

Susquehanna University

Women’s soccer

Field Hockey

Lauren Smedley ’09 – Earning first team All-Patriot League and Goalkeeper of the Year, Smedley already owns a school-record 11 career shutouts after blanking a program-best eight opponents this season. She played every minute of 18 contests, posting 0.83 goals-against average.

Heather Moore ’08 – A junior forward, Moore has started 15 of 34 games the past two seasons with five goals and two helpers. She received the Outstanding Player Award her senior year at Peddie.

SPORTS

University of Chicago Women’s soccer Kate Manuelli ’07 – Playing in 72 games with 32 starting assignments at midfield, scored six goals on 67 shots and dished out five assists. During her senior year, the Maroons clinched their first-ever University Athletic Association championship. Manuelli earned two UAA All-Academic Recognition awards.

University of Richmond Women’s basketball Crystal Goring ’05 – Honored as a McDonald’s and Parade Magazine All-American, Goring ended her Peddie career with 1,201 points. During her senior year for the Richmond Spiders, she averaged nearly 10 points and 10 rebounds per game.

The Peddie Sports Hall of Fame will celebrate individual student athletes and distinguished teams during its induction ceremony on June 4 at 10:00 a.m. in Annenberg Library. All Peddie friends and alumni are invited.

The following teams and athletes will be honored:

HALL OF FAME

24 Peddie Chronicle

Margo Diamond ’96, Swimming Greg Lesher ’86, Golf Garret Miller ’56, Soccer (posthumously) Fall 1939 & 1940 Cross Country Teams 2001 Baseball Team

Sarah Crider will head girls’ basketball Sarah Crider was named the Falcons new head girls’ basketball coach. Crider joined the Peddie science department in September, 2010 and served as an assistant coach this past season.

“Sarah jumped right in this season as the assistant coach, and I was impressed by her ability to teach the players the game and relate to them as individuals,” said Sue Cabot, athletic director. “With her distinguished educational background, impressive collegiate basketball career and strong value system, we are fortunate to have Sarah as a member of our community.”

A 2005 graduate of Randolph-Macon College, Crider played in all 114 games over her four-year career for the Yellow Jackets women’s basketball program and served as team captain during her junior and senior seasons. She was selected the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2000-2001 and ended her career with 901 points and 431 rebounds. Crider helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a pair of ODAC titles and a runner-up finish at the 2005 NCAA Division III Championships with a school-record 30-2 mark.

“I am both honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead the Peddie girls’ basketball program,” said Crider. “I look forward to continuing working with the team and continuing to build on Peddie’s rich tradition of excellence both on and off the court.”

Falcon boys soar to victory Holding a slim nine-point lead over Germantown Academy heading into the final individual event of the two-day meet, the Peddie 100-yard breaststroke trio of Ron Tsui ’11, Dan Fine ’11 and Forrest Davis ’12 stormed to a 1-2-3 finish to secure the boys’ team title at the 111th annual Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships.

The Falcons racked up 473 points, beating out runner-up Germantown by 66 points, at the competition, held at La Salle University’s Kirk Natatorium in Philadelphia.

“This was a great meet for us from top to bottom,” said head coach Greg Wriede ’95. “The team spirit and performance were beyond expectations. This will be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Easterns wins for our team. I couldn’t be more proud of their fight and will to hold on in the end.”

On the final evening, junior Jeremy Wong delivered the gold in the 100 free against the two top seeds from Mercersburg and senior Brendan Walsh led wire-to-wire to capture first-place honors in the 100 backstroke. The boys put an exclamation point on the championship by winning the 400 free relay fueled by the all-junior quartet of Wong Max Wilde, Cal Rohde and Ryan Signorin.

The Peddie girls, last year’s Easterns champs, finished in second place with 462 points behind Germantown (602).

Carol Fittin ’11 was the only individual double-winner for both squads, claiming victories in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 free. In the final event of the first day, the girls’ 200 free relay team of Fittin, Molly Mucciarone ’12, Julian Liwacz ’11 and Kendy Nangle ’12 sprinted to victory in 1:34.16.

Spring 2011 25

Capturing Energy on Campus Peddie School entered a greener era this winter by producing solar energy for the first time, an initiative that could save the school about $100,000 each year in energy costs.

The roof of the Ian H. Graham ’50 Athletic Center is now blanketed with solar panels while ground-mount panels have also been constructed over a campus detention basin.

The project is expected to produce one million kilowatt hours per year, nearly 25 percent of the energy consumed by Peddie annualy.

Unlike other institutions that have started solar projects, Peddie worked to develop a project that would not require a huge capital investment. Rather, the school is reaping the benefits of solar energy without any capital outlay.

Under a power purchase agreement with Evolution Energies, the Spring Lake, N.J.-based company has purchased and installed the solar panels. The school, in turn, will purchase all of the energy produced by those panels at a cost that is significantly lower than the rate currently paid to Jersey Central Power & Light Co. The detention basin portion of the solar project was designed to prevent any interference with water collection and is among the first in New Jersey to install panels over a detention basin rather than disrupting otherwise usable or protected land.

Head of School John Green said the project continues the school’s multi-year commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.

“Not only do we challenge our students to reduce their impact on our environment, but as an institution we lead by example.

There are sound environmental practices we can implement as a school, but the real change comes from educating our students about the choices they make and how they affect their school, their community and the globe,” Green said.

An added bonus, Green said, is that lessons learned through the campus’ solar project will enter the classroom.

Students at Peddie study the use of solar and other alternative energies as part of the physics curriculum, said Nick Guilbert of the science department. Having the solar project on campus, including digital readouts on display in various campus buildings for the students to observe, enhances that teaching.

As they study energy, students explore both the scientific and societal aspects of energy production and use. During a class assignment in which Guilbert anoints them “Energy Sovereign” for the U.S., the students are tasked with crafting energy policy for the country for the next 100 years. “They need to keep an eye on both the benefits of each energy source, like how much of it we have, or how clean or renewable it is, as well as its drawbacks such as cost and pollution,” he said.

Solar is always an area of interest by the students, he said, and students were excited to learn that the school has taken that step.

“Just knowing that as a school we are reducing our carbon footprint will inspire others to help out the environment even more,” said Kaitlyn Swingle ’12. “Becoming a more energy-efficient school will not only reduce our carbon footprint to help the environment, but also make the Peddie community feel better about their role in dealing with the world’s energy crisis.”

Green said the solar panels are among the initiatives the school considers to be “green2,” meaning they should lead to a greener environment and also aim to save money.

Other such practices include eliminating the use of serving trays in the dining hall, which once washed over 600 trays after every meal and has resulted in less food waste, and utilizing zero-emissions electric cars for the campus security and maintenance departments.

Evolution Energies has been at the center of some of the largest solar projects in the region, including a three megawatt, 25-acre solar farm at the Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania, making the sports facility one of the biggest producers of solar energy in the country. Evolution Energies was also the energy contractor for the panels installed at the New York Jets headquarters and training facility in Florham Park, N.J. That project is producing 750,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy each year.

The company subcontracted with Pro-Tech Energy Solutions to perform the installation on the Peddie campus, with engineering services provided by Birdsall Services Group.

“Not only do we challenge our students to reduce their impact on our environment, but as an institution we lead by example.” — John Green 26 Peddie Chronicle

Wicked Philadelphia

BOOKMARKS

By Thomas H. Keels ’72 The History Press, 2010

Prim and proper Philadelphia has been rocked by the clash between excessive vice and social virtue since its citizens burned the city’s biggest brothel in 1800. With tales of grave robbers in South Philadelphia and harlots in Franklin Square, Wicked Philadelphia reveals the shocking underbelly of the City of Brotherly Love. In one notorious scam, a washerwoman masqueraded as the fictional Spanish countess Anita de Bettencourt for two decades, bilking millions from victims and even fooling the government of Spain. From the 1843 media frenzy that ensued after an aristocrat abducted a young girl, to a churchyard transformed into a brothel (complete with a carousel), author Thomas H. Keels ’72 unearths Philadelphia’s most scintillating scandals and corrupt characters in his rollicking history.

Keels is the author of five published books on Philadelphia, including Forgotten Philadelphia: Lost Architecture of the Quaker City City, Philadelphia Graveyards and Cemeteries and Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. He is currently working on two additional books, Rainbow Cities: Philadelphia’s Three World’s Fairs and Philadelphia’s Golden Age of Retail, both of which are due to be published in 2012.

Keels is a lecturer, tour guide, writer, and radio commentator specializing in Philadelphia history and architecture.

Author, Author!

If you have recently written a book and would like it to appear in the Bookmarks section, please send a copy of the book along with a cover letter including your name and contact information to the Chronicle, Peddie School, 201 South Main Street, Hightstown, N.J. 08520. Also, please send any pertinent press material or reviews and, if you wish, a recent photo of yourself. Books will appear at the editor’s discretion and as space allows.

“We can’t put a price on our Peddie experience — but by contributing to the Peddie Fund we can make it possible for future students to enjoy the opportunities we had.”

Senior Class Gift Committee Members: (Left to right) Daniel Fine ’11 Tatham Dilks ’11 J.R. Rodrigo ’11 Brian Tedeschi ’11

Continue the Tradition Every gift counts. All gifts make a difference.

Give online at www.peddie.org/give Spring 2011 27

June 3-4, 2011 www.peddie.org/reunion 1.800.322.1864 Spring 2011 49

OBITUARIES

Gerard “Jerry” Hart Gerard “Jerry” Hart ’69, Peddie faculty member and educator who served as director of office computing and director of major gifts and projects, died September 19 at his Hightstown home after a long illness. He was 59.

An U.S. Army aviator and parachutist for 20 years, Hart retired in 1994 with the rank of lieutenant colonel and arrived at Peddie in the fall of the same year to join the alumni and development office. In addition to his director-level positions, he developed and taught computer courses to students and trained school staff on various information technologies.

“I will miss Jerry — his dedication, his smile and his unyielding sense of optimism and spirit,” Head of School John Green said. “Next to his wife, Jackie, and his children, Jeremy and Jenna, Peddie may have been Jerry’s second love.”

As director of major projects, Hart will be remembered for his efforts to build a memorial track in honor of his beloved track and cross country coach, Robert Lawson.

A former Peddie record-holder in the mile and the top runner on the cross country team, Hart coached cross country and track at his alma mater for 15 years. During that time, he helped develop champions at the county, Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL), and state levels and several nationally recognized runners, as well as introducing many new studentathletes to a lifetime sport. Twice named “Mercer County Coach of the Year,” Hart enjoyed the camaraderie and competition among long-distance runners and often went on training runs with his teams.

Hart earned a B.A. degree in English at the University of Virginia, where he ran Division I cross country and track all four years. He did graduate work at Virginia’s Curry School of Education. During his career, he obtained master’s degrees in management and aeronautical science, and completed postgraduate work in several disciplines.

“I believe that by the force of his example he may have taught us as much about life in the past several months as he taught students over sixteen years,” Green added, “In the words of one of his closest colleagues, ‘Jerry Hart lived as hard as he could for as a long as he could.’”

He is survived by his wife, Jackie, and two children; Jeremy ’10 and Jenna ’14.

In September, the Peddie community remembered Hart at a celebration of his life at the Ayer Memorial Chapel. His cross country athletes wore armbands in honor of Hart during their fall season and in a testament to his impact upon athletes both on and off the Peddie campus, Hart was honored at the annual Lawrenceville-Peddie Day. Under the banner “A Fight against Cancer,” athletes in all sports in both schools raised funds for cancer awareness and research.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Wellness Community of Central New Jersey, which supports families dealing with cancer or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Jerry Hart (center) proudly poses with his 2008 MAPL girls cross country championship team.

50 Peddie Chronicle

Richie Starcher

Jeanne Thompson, School Nurse

Longtime food service employee Richard “Richie” L. Starcher, 63, passed away suddenly on Feb. 2 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton. Calling Peddie his second home, Starcher arrived for his first day of work in 1967 at the Wilson Hall dining room and retired 43 years later from the Caspersen Campus Center.

Jeanne Thompson, longtime school nurse, passed away December 3 at her home in Hutchinson Island, Florida.

She was 92.

Putting smiles on students’ faces for decades, Starcher especially enjoyed the spirit of alumni day and the scores of visitors who stopped by to say hello. A lifelong resident of the Hightstown area, he is survived by his mother, Thelma E. “Sparkie” Conard Starcher of Hightstown and his sister, Paula McGrath, of Hamilton.

He was a member of the Cranbury Golden Age Club and enjoyed bowling.

Thompson served as school nurse for 22 years.

She was the widow of William “Bill” Thompson ’35 who was a Peddie teacher, coach and athletic administrator. Jeanne is survived by her three children, William “Buck” ’62, Peter ’66 and Mark ’71. High school sweethearts, the Thompsons were married for 65 years and retired from Peddie in 1984 and moved to Florida.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association.

Memorial contributions may be made in Richard’s name to the East Windsor Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 30, Hightstown, NJ 08520 or the First Baptist Church of Hightstown, 125 S. Main St., Hightstown, NJ 08520.

DEATHS Gordon Chalmers ’21

Frank E. Masland ’40

David W. Sykes ’48

H. R. Mueller ’61

Ralph H. McMahon ’33

Robert M. McElfresh ’ 40

Kenneth E. Eiker ’49

Robert J. Lindley ’62

Curtis W. Lafey ’36

James J. Davidson ’41

Philip H. Palamountain ’49

Ralph Copleman ’63

Richard F. Hanley ’37

Charles Fredericks ’43

Kenyon D. Riley ’52

Gerard J. Hart ’69

Charles S. Williams ’37

Gregory L. McCoy ’43

Garrett Miller ’56

Christopher H. Shipley ’71

Warren L. Allen ’38

Barton L. Lawrence ’45

Lee M. Miller ’56

Linda J. Kenahan ’72

Richard L. Quigg ’38

Boris Stasiuk ’45

Marvin O. Euler ’57

Thomas J. Banfield ’39

Huston S. Baker ’48

James D. Sweet ’57

Tom W. Judge ’40

W. Richard Fry ’48

Ronald Rizzolo ’59

Spring 2011 51

Summertime As our school motto so often reminds us, “When we finish our work, we start new work.”

So, too, it seems the activity on campus never stops — even after the students finish their spring classes, pack up and go home.

From the soccer fields to the classrooms to the dorms, the Peddie campus is an active place for much of the summer as thousands of kids of all ages come to learn, train and play. Peddie-sponsored camps are noted in blue. All other programs are operated by private organizations.

Registration information is available online at www.peddie.com/summerprograms Week of June 27 Peddie Golf Camp (entering grades 2–10) Peddie Field Hockey Camp (girls entering grades 3–8) Peddie Technique Swim Camp (ages 8–18) Peddie Summer Day School (completed grades 6–12) Sean Casey Basketball Skills Camp (entering grades 4–8) Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy (girls ages 12–18) Week of July 5 Peddie Summer Day School (completed grades 6–12) Week of July 11 Peddie Golf Camp (entering grades 2–4) Green Apple Theater Camp (ages 8–11) Summer Theater Camp (ages 12–15) Peddie Summer Day School (completed grades 6–12) Hot Shots Lacrosse Camp (entering grades 3–8) Week of July 18 Peddie Golf Camp (entering grades 2–10) Green Apple Theater Camp (ages 8–11) Summer Theater Camp (ages 12–15) Peddie Summer Day School (completed grades 6–12) Resolute Rowing Camp (entering grades 9–12) Nike Tennis Camp (ages 9–18) Sean Casey Basketball Skills Camp (entering grades 1–3, 7–9) Week of July 25 Peddie Golf Camp (entering grades 2–10) Peddie Basketball School (boys ages 10–15) Peddie Girls Soccer Academy (girls entering grades 4–9) Green Apple Theater Camp (ages 8–11) Summer Theater Camp (ages 12–15) Peddie Summer Day School (completed grades 6–12) Nike Tennis Camp (ages 9–18) Week of August 1 Peddie Basketball School (boys ages 10–15) Green Apple Theater Camp (ages 8–11) Summer Theater Camp (ages 12–15) Peddie Summer Day School (completed grades 6–12) Resolute Rowing Camp (entering grades 9–12) Nike Tennis Camp (ages 9–18) Week of August 8 Nike Tennis Camp (ages 9–18) 52 Peddie Chronicle

Students get some fresh air on the steps of Annenberg Hall, formerly Memorial Hall, in 2011 (Turn to inside front cover to see the original photo from 1935.)

PEDDIE SCHOOL 201 South Main Street Hightstown, NJ 08520-3349

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