Pomfret Magazine - Spring 2015

SPRING 2015

MAGAZINE

SAVE THE DATES Celebrate Your Pomfret Connections LEADERSHIP DONOR RECEPTION

Thursday, September 24, 2015 Hear about Pomfret’s new learning environment from Head of School Tim Richards P ’15, Board of Trustees Chair Justin Klein ’65, and Mark Simon ’64, Partner at Centerbrook Architects & Planners The Penn Club, New York City FALL FAMILY WEEKEND

Fall Family Weekend & Grandparents Day Thursday through Saturday, October 29 – 31, 2015 Highlights include: parent-teacher conferences, School update, College Counseling presentation, Clark Memorial Chapel service, Performing Arts presentations, and our All-School Autumn Buffet Dinner A CONCERT WITH TEACHERS AND FRIENDS OF PATRICK WOOD ’01

Sunday, November 1, 2015 To benefit the Patrick Wood ’01 Memorial Prize Clark Chapel

WELCOME IN THE WINTER SEASON WITH OUR NEW YORK & BOSTON RECEPTIONS

Boston Holiday Reception at the Harvard Club Wednesday, December 2, 2015 New York City Holiday Reception at the Penn Club Tuesday, December 8, 2015 IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO PLAN FOR SIGNATURE ALUMNI EVENTS ON CAMPUS

Pomfret Alumni Career Exploration Series (PACES) — Career Expo 2016 Saturday, February 27, 2016 Alumni Reunion Weekend May 13 - 15, 2016

For updates on these events, please visit www.pomfretschool.org or call the Advancement Office at 860.963.6127

CONTENTS

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Digging In

by Head of School Tim Richards P ’15 The Right Thing To Do Board Transition We Welcome Four New Trustees SPRING 2015 Volume 42, Issue 3

LEADERS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

12 Lasell Visiting Alumnus: Fullness With a Purpose 14 It’s About Time

by Jamie Feild Baker

18 Leaders in Training

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DISTINCTIVE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

By Chip Lamb P ᾿09, ᾿11, Arts Department Chair and Theatre Director 30 Alumni Artists in Action 32 Alumni Athletes in Action 36 Spring 2015 Varsity Athletics Team Photos MEASUREMENT OF ACHIEVEMENT

38 Revolutionary Road: Blended, Adaptive, and Deep

An ongoing series on the innovations changing the face of learning on the Hilltop

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LONG-TERM SUCCESS

40 Reunion 2015 44 The Alumni Within:

AAEC Transition And Tradition

47 Strength in Numbers

By Melissa Bellanceau, Director of Advancement and Communications

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398 Pomfret Street • PO Box 128 Pomfret, CT 06258-0128 860-963-6100 www.pomfretschool.org

Editor

20 Commencement 2015 28 The Most Hidden Parts of Our Lives

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Pomfret School

Melissa Perkins Bellanceau mbellanceau@pomfretschool.org

Head Writer Betsy Walker P ’13

Contributing Writers Tim Richards P ’15 Melissa Perkins Bellanceau Jamie Feild Baker Chip Lamb, P ’09, ’11

Class Notes & Gatherings Editor Deb Thurston dthurston@pomfretschool.org

Contributing Photographers Bill Martin P ’05, ’08 Lindsay Lehmann Deb Thurston Betsy Walker P ’13 Photos by current students are credited by photo.

Designer Jordan Kempain

Class Notes

Pomfret Magazine is published by Pomfret’s Communications Office © 2015

64 Faculty/Staff News 64 Marriages 64 Births 65 Obituaries 68 Gatherings

We welcome letters from readers on subjects related to the School. We also welcome letters to the editor and suggestions for future articles. Submissions may be edited or shortened for publication. Please email submissions to: mbellanceau@pomfretschool.org.

Pomfret School does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, handicap, gender, sexual orientation, age, or national origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid, or other programs administered by the School.

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K.C. O’Hara ‘15 participates, with classmates, in bird banding with the Connecticut Audubon Society.

Digging In

by Head of School Tim Richards P ’15

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In a recent article published in Independent School Magazine entitled “What If…?,” educator and author Grant Lichtman summarized his findings from a fascinating, if non-empirical, survey he conducted of more than 1700 independent school constituents, from all over the country, including teachers, heads of school, other administrators, parents, students, and trustees. These individuals were asked to create questions (beginning with “What if…”) asking what they would “break, discard, or fundamentally change that The normal workload for faculty members currently exists at their schools.” The at a boarding school is significant. Our author was trying to get a sense of jobs require dedication on an aroundwhat independent schools should be the-clock basis, demanding expertise aspiring to do, not necessarily what in the classroom, on the playing field they were actually doing. In all, he or stage, and as counselors to legions of received more than 2,000 submissions, “I remain confident that adolescents — an age group known for and after he had synthesized the data, although technology will be their complex issues. We work late into he found that more than 70% of the an increasingly powerful tool the night, volunteer almost endlessly questions people crafted fit into 11 to help our students and our colleagues, specific categories that are at the heart in education, the best learning and frequently put organizational needs of what he — and many other experts happens in the presence of an above our own. This year, on top of all — believe to be the keys to improving of the predictable demands of working at schools. As I digested the data, I was exceptional teacher.” a boarding school, I asked our faculty to struck by the fact that in the past year go even further, to push themselves even alone at Pomfret we have been actively harder as we began the important work of turning the ideals of the addressing — not just discussing — most of these big, ambitious strategic plan into reality. Their reaction was remarkable, and the “What if…” questions as we work to redefine our own school. anticipated result will be demonstrable change that will enhance the experience of both our students and faculty. year and a half ago on the pages of this magazine I wrote about the sources of my inspiration. I concluded with these words: “Now on to the perspiration.” I knew at the time that hard work, growing pains, and challenge lay ahead, but in this issue of the Magazine, we celebrate the successful results of some of our initial perspiration. These successes did not materialize magically; they are the result of a willingness on the part of the adults in our community to really dig in.

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Included in those “top 11” categories from Lichtman’s crowd-sourced research are the following ambitious ideas: • • • • • • • • • • •

Breaking down silos in teaching and learning Student ownership of learning Student assessment Daily schedule Differentiated learning Professional development Annual calendar Role of the teacher Community integration Promote innovation Decrease/eliminate AP courses

With the advent of Project: Pomfret two years ago, we took a major step forward in breaking down teaching and learning silos. This winter innovation grants were offered through the Grauer Institute to teams of teachers from different departments to create new interdisciplinary courses for the coming school year. We will continue to work to “de-silo” our courses, offering greater opportunities for students to examine issues from multiple and divergent perspectives. To address student ownership of learning, this spring we offered our first student/ faculty co-designed and co-taught course that emerged from Project: Pomfret 2.0. Four seniors and three faculty members undertook this pioneering endeavor, creating what I hope will become a template for the development of future courses. For the upcoming Project: Pomfret 3.0, this past spring, students for the first time were directly involved in the generation of topics and will serve as consultants in the design and implementation of the projects to be offered this coming December.

We blew up our old daily schedule, introducing one that will feature long blocks addressing unhealthy pace and encouraging deep, more relevant learning. Students and faculty alike will

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have more time to truly reflect on their learning and to better understand their own meta-cognition (deeper self-awareness of how they learn). This schedule will also offer a closer parallel to what many students will experience in college. Differentiated learning will creep more conspicuously into our curriculum this fall. Our math department will introduce a new math sequence we are calling “Integrated Math I, II, and III.” This program should allow for students in algebra, geometry, and algebra II to move through these courses in a more individualized way.

Other departments are also exploring ways to allow students to move through material at their own pace, not at the uniform pace that has historically been imposed by the teacher that in many cases does not reflect the true pace at which different students learn. This approach should allow those students who are capable to move through material more quickly, while offering more time to those students who still need to wrestle with the topic at hand.

Our professional development has changed in both quality and quantity. Our time together as a professional community is more focused and outcome-oriented than it has been in the past.

This summer, Grauer Institute Director, Jamie Baker, offered a series of “summer institutes” to provide support and guidance to our faculty as we approach the new school year and the new structures we are putting in place. To enhance our professional growth, we are adopting Folio, a software program that offers “a comprehensive process that involves personal reflection, ongoing goals, classroom observation, and multidimensional feedback.” Every administrator and faculty member will use this program, which has been implemented successfully at a handful of excellent independent schools. Additionally, we have created more time in our weekly schedule for professional growth, and we have added three in-service professional development days for the upcoming school year.

I remain confident that although technology will be an increasingly powerful tool in education, the best learning happens in the presence of an exceptional teacher. We are examining the role of the teacher, cognizant that our previous

conception of the ideal educator as the dispenser of all “advanced” courses that will move students not toward success knowledge is increasingly anachronistic. Our teachers are on a test, but toward deeper appreciation and understanding of working more and more to find ways to move off of the stage, the applicability of material they will create. out of the limelight, and to let students be more active in the learning process. This represents significant change for many Looking at the list of what we undertook and accomplished this year, it is easy to see that we have all indeed had to perspire. of our teachers, but they are up to the challenge.

I am incredibly proud of and grateful to the faculty and my A recently re-energized and more deeply engaged Community administrative team for their dedication to supporting these Outreach program is one approach we have taken to increase institutional improvements; we all had a great deal with which community integration. In addition, this winter will showcase to contend, independent of these additional initiatives. But we the first step in a deeper and more global effort at engaging our are not done. On the table as we move forward is a careful evaluation of student assessment and how students more thoughtfully off we use the annual calendar. While all of campus. Our formal partnership these other changes have been underway, with the Council on International we also undertook a core campus master Educational Exchange (CIEE) “Our teachers are planning process that will provide a begins during Project: Pomfret working more and more to roadmap for facilities to complement the 3.0, as two faculty members and goals of the strategic plan. When complete fifteen sophomores will travel find ways to move off of the this fall, the master plan will furnish us to Costa Rica for two weeks as stage, out of the limelight, with a comprehensive look at how we can part of a year-long study of that and to let students be more continue to enhance learning and teaching at country’s history, political, social, Pomfret, and what steps need to be taken to and educational systems. active in the best support our students. learning process.”

This entire year has been about At an NAIS-sponsored summit I attended creating (or, it could be argued, in May on Neuroscience and 21st Century re-building) a Pomfret School Learning, Russ Whitehurst, Senior Fellow that promotes innovation. The advent of the Grauer Institute has been a major boon for us at the Center for Children and Families and Economic Studies as we have questioned established notions of what education at the Brookings Institute, spoke about the value of continuous should look like. We have challenged not just what must innovation, even though, in his words, “95% of innovations change, but have also explored how we can create more nimble fail.” Despite this, he suggested, we must try if we are to move change mindsets in our community. Continuous and ongoing toward a model of education that truly and effectively prepares growth and improvement will increasingly become a part of our students for the world they will enter. I am not a betting man, but if I were, I would bet that we will exceed that 5% success foundation as a leading independent school. rate when it comes to innovations at Pomfret. We won’t be Finally, and without tremendous fanfare, we decided that it was perfect, to be sure, but this year we have shown that when time to eliminate APs at Pomfret. I have outlined the reasons we dig in, when we challenge ourselves to make constructive, for this change previously, and so the academic year 2015-2016 meaningful, and promising change, we can do it. And so we will be our final year offering any AP classes. In their place, our can spend a brief moment celebrating, even as we prepare to faculty will design more engaging, germane, and interesting continue perspiring.

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“Rigor and Joy” DEPARTING BOARD CHAIR CHARLIE WILMERDING P ’11, ’14 LOOKS BACK — AND AHEAD — ON THE GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING HIS TENURE.

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n the spring of 2012 as Charlie Wilmerding was preparing to step into his new role as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, he was interviewed for the 2012 Spring Magazine. In no particular order he named what he saw as three crucial elements in readying young adults for college — and life.

Students, he said, “will need to be fearless in pursuing the information or whatever else they need in order to accomplish what they want to get done.” He also said they would “need to understand that integrity and character still matter.” And finally, he explained that he and his wife, Anne, were drawn to Pomfret because it provided students with “an experience based on a unique balance of rigor and joy.”

itself from other schools by leading into new territories of learning and teaching so that Pomfret graduates have clearly received an educational experience that gives them an advantage as they face challenges in college and beyond.

You also spoke about the importance of pushing ourselves to be bold without compromising the School’s core values. Do you think both legs are working in sync? Yes. As Gustav Mahler once said, “Tradition is not the worship of the ashes; it is the carrying on of the flame.” While it’s a challenge to actively preserve traditions in a rapidly changing world, I have no doubt that Pomfret is being bold without compromising the School’s core values. That same keen sense of community the School has always had, whereby no kid slips through the cracks, academically or otherwise, is as much or more a part of the school now as it was three years ago when we started the strategic planning process. I’m sure those values that make the school such a remarkable place will continue on as the plan continues to be rolled out and evolve over time.

How exciting has it been watching the Grauer Institute take root before your eyes? It’s clearly been one of the highlights of my time as a Pomfret Trustee in general, and as Chairman of the The changes Charlie has overseen in his three years as Board Board in particular. The Grauers are so impressive in every way. helmsman have gone deep. In his tenure he has successfully What they’ve done through their remarkable generosity is to overseen the creation and implementation of the Pomfret Purpose, give Pomfret the opportunity to become the recognized leader the School’s exciting new strategic plan. Implementing change among secondary schools in the areas of learning and teaching. at a boarding school requires the courage to be bold, while also The timing of the Institute’s founding couldn’t have been better being patient. The engineering of a fully formed strategic plan, in terms of coinciding with the rollout of our strategic plan. It’s work-ready, even more so: ushering it from thoughts on paper, exciting to see how quickly Pomfret has already made strides to outline, to process, to concrete plan, to the new normal is a forward in terms of its recognized leadership with the hiring of monumental task. Recognizing that, Tim and Charlie wasted no Jamie Baker as the Institute’s Director. I look forward to seeing time working together to package a dynamic and exciting cross- where it all goes. pollination of ideas, vision, and tradition, while sustaining the identity and integrity of the Hilltop.

As you pass the baton onto Justin Klein, is there something You saw a new strategic plan as “an opportunity to put you could tell him that you learned about Pomfret that you Pomfret in a position not only to survive, but to thrive.” Now hadn’t anticipated? There is nothing I could tell Justin that that the plan is in place, do you see those goals as more of a he doesn’t already know. Over the past few years, since we reality? I do feel that Pomfret is in a position not only to survive, both live in Philadelphia, he and I have had breakfast together but to thrive, though there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done. about once a month. Occasionally, we would get sidetracked The financial pressure on the traditional secondary school model onto such issues as mapping out the resurgence of the hapless continues to increase with every year that goes by. And while Tim Phillies. But for the most part, we would talk about all issues and the rest of the administrative team and faculty are still in the Pomfret – the exciting things going on at the School as well as process of implementing the strategic plan, only when certain parts the challenges it and other schools like it face in today’s world. of the program are actually put in place will we see the promise Justin loves Pomfret, as I do. But he comes at it with the added of financial sustainability become a reality. If and when that is perspective as an alumnus. His proven leadership, wisdom, and achieved, I’m confident that Pomfret will continue to distinguish thoughtful insight will be great for the School.

Leadership 8

“The Right Thing To Do” THE NURTURING TOUCHES FROM ADVISORS AND ROLE MODELS AT POMFRET BLOSSOMED INTO A LIFETIME OF SERVICE TO OTHERS

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Vision

Charlie Wilmerding, who was the father of and instrumental in preparing and adopting the bold and forward-looking Strategic Plan. With a vision always open to new ideas, but seen through a practiced eye, our new Chair appreciates what needs to be done.

One suspects he will know how to do the right thing.

ifty years after he graduated, Justin Klein is still getting a Pomfret In the next five years, what do you see as particular goals that education. When asked to will define and drive Pomfret? Continuing the strong commitment describe a favorite Pomfret to the Strategic Plan, pulling together our international program moment, the newly appointed initiative, and implementing the priorities of the Grauer Institute.

Board Chair zeroes in, not We also need to work on building up our endowment so these new on a defining episode from programs can thrive and succeed. Added to that will be the campus the nineteen sixties, but on master plan, which will guide us in redefining the campus and something that took place at his adapting the existing facilities for current needs. fiftieth reunion in May. Justin says he was particularly struck by an exchange during a VOICE Could you elaborate? The Strategic Plan is going in a great presentation between Andre Burgess ’75, who was active in the direction, and that is really a priority. I am excited to see that we Afro-Latin Society (the precursor of VOICE), former Headmaster are getting the international program off the ground. The students Jay Milnor, and Justin’s classmate John Irick, who was the first are going to Costa Rica in December. The master plan will reach African American student to graduate from Pomfret. Justin into every level of the School, from administration to facilities to recounted how, in the midst of a panel discussion on the half- culture, and become the blueprint for achieving our vision of the century of diversity at Pomfret, Andre asked Jay, now ninety-three, School five years from now. There is the potential for so much “why did you seek to enroll students of color?” Milnor’s response creative repurposing of our buildings (all of which were erected was simple, but like the clap of a chapel bell. “His answer,” Justin in the last century), such as last summer’s transformation of the said, “spoken in that same staccato kind of voice, was, ‘Because it du Pont Library. And the goal is to do it in an environmentally was the right thing to do.’ ” responsible and sustainable manner.

It was a 2015 epiphany about one of the many things Pomfret taught him, and upon which he based an adult life spent, whenever possible, in service to others. Announcing the Board Chair appointment in early June, Head of School Tim Richards said that “[Justin’s] decision to accept the position is a reflection of his lifelong commitment to Pomfret.”

Do you feel that the Strategic Plan is moving at a promising pace? Yes — very much so. But we have to keep at it — it’s a work in progress. It is always a challenge, with an ambitious and bold plan such as this, to maintain the momentum. What we need to do is make it a living, breathing document, and to continuously evaluate our progress to make sure it is meeting the needs of the School.

When asked to name a “favorite” characteristic or strength of the School, Justin talks about values. “One has to be true to one’s You are obviously a busy man, with plenty on your plate. Why values,” he says. “And you have to be in good ethical company.” did you decide to do this? A philanthropist’s job is never done. I He firmly believes “Pomfret teaches that in a variety of ways.” He love the School, I love the Board, and Tim is doing a phenomenal sees it in the chapel talks (“in the lessons they give”), and in the job. I made lifelong friends at Pomfret. We had a really great School leadership, which he feels “exudes authenticity — Tim turnout at reunion. We reconnected and renewed old friendships.

Richards and his predecessor, Brad Hastings, provide the moral We had a blast. and ethical compass which guide the School.” And with a lens of awareness that can go from small picture to big picture in the After graduating from the Hilltop, Justin went on to the University swing of a sentence, Justin sees that the basis of the Strategic Plan of Pennsylvania and subsequently to George Washington and Vision of the Pomfret Graduate still hangs on the example set University, where he earned his law degree. He is a partner in

by Jay Milnor: “He or she must know right from wrong.” the Business & Finance Department of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. Justin is married to Mary Klein and they have two Pomfret is at an exciting and pivotal moment in its timeline, and grown daughters.

Justin is enthused about taking the strategic plan baton from 9

We Welcome Four New Trustees Simon “Jimmy” Chan P ’17 Jimmy joined Walt Disney Imagineering four years ago as the director to support the development of the Shanghai Disney Resort. He is a dedicated mentor in the training of the younger generation of China. As a new member of the Pomfret Board, he serves on the Facilities and Governance Committees.

Jimmy has been an active volunteer of charitable organizations both in Hong Kong and China. He was a leader at St. John’s Ambulance, and contributed his professional expertise to helping the Hong Kong Heep Hong Society (an organization for children with physical and developmental disabilities) develop new standards and a better environment for over thirteen training centers. Fifteen years ago, he supported the Shanghai government in setting up an advanced children’s training program.

Martha Blake Linhares P ’14, ’16, ’18 Martha worked in the fashion industry for many years as an account executive for David Yurman Designs, Ralph Lauren Jewelry and Carolee Jewelry in New York City.

Throughout her career, she worked with such clients as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s. As a new member of the Pomfret Board, Martha serves on both the Engagement and Strategic Planning Committees.

In 2000, the Linhares relocated to San Francisco, where Martha worked on an array of philanthropic, community and academic endeavors in both public and private schools. She has been a member of the Edgewood Auxiliary, National Charity League An avid supporter of the arts, Jimmy founded the Hong Kong Artists and a supporter of the Cancer League of Oakland. She has served Guild and promoted art in different disciplines for crossover exchange. as a class representative at Katherine Delmar Burke School, a While in Shanghai, he participated in Art For Charity by helping leader of the Piedmont School’s annual giving campaigns and American sculptors promote their works in China while also donating Parcel Tax Campaign. Four years ago the Linhares relocated their art for the Shanghai Charity Foundation. to England, where Martha was an active parent at the ACS Jimmy earned his B.A. in Architectural Studies from the University of International School in Cobham. Their recent return to New Hong Kong, followed by a master’s degree in Architecture from the York City has enabled Martha to become more involved with University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After practicing as a professional Pomfret. Martha has been active with the School, working on architect for five years in the U.S. and Hong Kong, more than twenty- the Pomfret Fund and with the Admissions Office. She is also eight years ago Jimmy started his own practice as an architect and a Parent Director for Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. developer, and ventured into the China market. Subsequently, he earned an EMBA degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Martha has a B.A. in Art History from Marymount College in and pursued his career journey as a real estate developer.

Arlington, Virginia. She and her husband Joe are the Parents of Jane ’14, Emily ’16, and Henry ’18. They currently live in He and his wife, Sherry, live in Shanghai, China. They are the parents New York City. of Daniel Zheng ᾿17.

2015-2016 TRUSTEES

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Mark W. Blodgett ’75 P ’04, ’06 , ’14 Daryle L. Bost ’89 Nancy Buck P ’08 Simon “Jimmy” Chan P ’17 Yunsik Chung P ’15 Mark A. Cohen ’82 *Malik S. Ducard ’91 M. Burch Tracy Ford

Michael Gary ’82 E. Clayton “Chip” Gengras III ’89 P ’18 Rebecca D. Henry P’13 Hye Kyung “Shelly” Hwang P ’17 Lisa Noble Kaneb ’86 Justin P. Klein ’65 Lindsay Larsen ’97 Martha Blake Linhares P ’14, ’16, ’18

Lin Lu “Lulin” P ’14 Gregory W. “Greg” Melville ’68 Monique Miles ’95 **Robert K. Mullarkey ’79, P ’10, ’19 Robert M. Olmsted ’59, P ’89 Lindsay Belew Paul P ’14, ’17 **Judson “Jud” P. Reis ’60, P ’98 James E. Rothman ’67

JoAnne Staten P ’13, ’15

Monique Miles ’95

JoAnne is a CPA who has been Monique is Deputy Director actively engaged with Pomfret of the Aspen Forum for as a volunteer at the highest Community Solutions and levels for the past several years.

Director of the Opportunity In addition to participating in Youth Incentive Fund (OYIF) various events and supporting at the Aspen Institute, where faculty and students throughout she oversees the vision and the years, JoAnne was a 2010 daily operations. She directs Pomfret Auction volunteer, the OYIF — a national multiCo-chair of the 2012 Pomfret million dollar initiative that seeks to disrupt generational poverty in twenty-two urban, rural and Auction and Chair of the 2014 Pomfret Auction. JoAnne and tribal communities across the country. The OYIF brings together her husband Jim were co-chairs of the 2015 Senior Parent Gift community leaders to design comprehensive reform aimed at Committee. As a new trustee JoAnne serves on the Audit and improving education and employment outcomes for youth who are Facilities Committees. out of school and work. In her newest role as a Pomfret trustee, she She worked in the New York City office of Pannell Kerr Forster serves on the Governance and Diversity Committees. in their Healthcare Consulting and Auditing Practice for six years Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Monique was Director, before becoming the Director of Finance at St. John’s Riverside Postsecondary Achievement, at the National Youth Employment Hospital in Yonkers, New York, where she worked for nine years.

Coalition. In this role, she oversaw the Postsecondary Success Initiative, a three-year national pilot program that supported From 2004 to 2007, JoAnne served on The Country School (TCS) community-based organizations across the country to design and Board of Trustees in Madison, Connecticut. TCS is a private implement postsecondary programming for students who were coeducational day school educating children from Pre-kindergarten disconnected from education. She also led state-level education through eighth grade. She served as the Chair of the Finance policy efforts, on behalf of disconnected youth, at the Commonwealth Committee and Co-chair of the Head of School search committee.

Corporation. Monique began her career in education reform working She has also been involved with a number of community boards as a Case Manager at Youth Opportunity Boston. and activities, including the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Committee.

At Pomfret, Monique played soccer, basketball and lacrosse. She was active in drama and participated in woodworking and ceramics.

In her junior year, She participated in a spring break Habitat for Humanity project. During her senior year, Monique served as a proctor and helped to lead the Black Student Association.

JoAnne earned her undergraduate degree in accounting from Seton Hall University in 1983, and became a certified public accountant shortly after. She and her husband, Jim, live in Madison, Connecticut, and have four sons: TJ, Miller ’13, Joey ’15, and Eddie ’15.

Monique earned her B.S. from Springfield College and her M.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She and her husband Elihu have a son Elijah, and a daughter Ella. They live in Washington, D.C.

JoAnne Staten P ’13, ’15 ’15 George “Jay” Wheatley III P ’12, ’15 William “Bill” F. Wiggins ’89 David M. Woodrow ’64 Robert “Buzz” J. Yudell ’65 George Santiago ’75, Ex-Officio Trustee Paul D. Fowler ’64, Ad Hoc Trustee Laura Keeler Pierce ’03, Ad Hoc Trustee

*Serving second consecutive term **Rejoining the board in 2015-16

HONORARY LIFE TRUSTEES

Vincent “Bindy” C. Banker ’49, P ’86, ’89 John “Jack” A. Bogardus ’45, P ’70 Sydney P. Clark ’47, P ’84 Frances Diaz P ’78, ’80, ’83, ’88 Edward B. du Pont ’52 Peter T. Grauer P ’02, ’10 Chester K. Lasell ’54 P ’82, ’86 George T. Shaw ’58, P ’90 Bradford P. Straus ’54 11

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Leaders in Learning and Teaching

“He got right down on the floor and joined us, as if he was one of us,” said Julia Gengras ’18. “He made us feel like we were in a band!”

Lasell Visiting Alumnus: Fullness With a Purpose

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ince graduating from Pomfret in 2000 and heading off to Middlebury College, Bennett Konesni has lived what could easily be considered one of the fullest, busiest, and most productive of lives. From the perspective of this rich existence, Bennett spent three days on campus, arriving one day ahead of Reunion Weekend, on Thursday, April 30, to begin his tenure this year’s Lasell Speaker.

He introduced himself as a farmer, but then quickly opened that door wide to bring in Bennett the accomplished musician, Bennett the artist, the educator, and lover and provider of food. He talked about his 2005 Watson Fellowship (“Mongolia, cows and camels and playing banjos in Kenya.”) He spoke about being a garlic farmer (“often I’m out in my garlic patch, singing”). He gave a brief history of worksongs, and about his grandfather, a teacher who lived in Pomfret, hearing the cows being called — sung — home from across Mashamoquet Brook. He also spoke about his stewardship of Sylvester Manor, the 360-year-old family farm at the northernmost tip of Long Island. He introduced his papercuts, executed with an X-ACTO knife. And he spoke about the culture of food, which is for him “the organizing principle as the way to explain me. Art, music, farm,” he said. “It is all connected.” To the teachers he said, “If I was in your class, I was inspired by you.” To the students: “Never stop figuring out what it is that

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grabs you, that something that makes you tick, that you can’t not do.” As he catalogued his experiences since graduating from Pomfret, what stood out with every step and every story was the element that drove him: Wonder. He is caught up in the wonder of it all.

But with the wonder, he told the students, comes great responsibility. There must be fullness with a purpose. “You’ve got to make it fun. You’ve got to flip the switch,” he said, but “you must also figure out how you can do that and still make a contribution to the world.” From Pomfret Bennett entered Middlebury, where he majored in music and environmental studies. Already passionate about food and farming, in 2002 he was one of the founders of the Middlebury College Farm and Food Project, now officially the Middlebury College Organic Farm, which is volunteer run and which provides a substantial amount of organic produce and poultry to the college’s dining program. Another passion is music. In 2005 he was awarded a Watson Fellowship for his project, “‘Haul Away, Joe’: Exploring Musical Labor of the Land and Sea,” which resulted in his 2007 documentary, Work/Song, and a blog site with the intro, “Welcome, hearty bellower of song!” He and his wife, musician and architect Edith Gawler, live in Maine and are prominent as beloved performers of “old-time fiddle, banjo…farmer’s ballads and hollers.”

“It interested me when Mr. Konesni worked with a variety of tools, such as music or paper cutting,” said Amy Son ’16. “Chasing a dream is important for me and he inspired me a lot.”

To the teachers he said, “If I was in your class, I was inspired by you.” To the students: “Never stop figuring out what it is that grabs you, that something that makes you tick, that you can’t not do.”

Bennett spoke with great joy about Sylvester Manor, the family plantation established eleven generations ago on Shelter Island, New York, by his mother’s forebears. The farm had been inherited in 1992 by his uncle, Eben Ostby, Supervising Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios, and a 1973 graduate of Pomfret. In 2009, Bennett and Eben founded the non-profit Sylvester Manor Educational Farm.

On Saturday, May 2, Bennett was among those honored with an Alumni Association Achievement Medal. One doubts if he ever slows down; leading such an active, involved life must be in his DNA. With the Mayflower on his mother’s side and Ellis Island on his father’s, he comes from a long line of high achievers. “I always liked the blend of cultures, “ he said, “immigrant and old school.” He also comes from a long line of tinkerers and innovators, among them a mid-nineteenth century uncle, a Harvard chemist who perfected a process for refining baking powder and making condensed milk.

Reflecting at one point on the influence of teachers who pushed him to imagine life’s possibilities, Bennett said, “I unfurled when I was here.” It appears that, during his visit, he may have stirred up a sea breeze or two of his own. “It was great opportunity for me to learn a different concept of art,” said Amy Son ’16, after he worked with JP Jacquet’s AP Art class. “It interested me when Mr. Konesni worked with a variety of tools, such as music or paper cutting. Chasing a dream is important for me,” she added, “and he inspired me a lot.” Bennett also sang with Charlie Houmard’s chorus. “He got right down on the floor and joined us, as if he was one of us,” said Julia Gengras ’18. “He sang along as we learned a new piece and contributed greatly by playing the guitar. Hearing ourselves singing, with him playing the guitar made us feel like we were in a band!”

And so this eleventh-generation scion of farmers and tinkerers (with, said The New York Times in a 2013 account of Sylvester Manor, “wisdom beyond his years”) is happy to continue on his mission: to celebrate and preserve the quality of the life lived, the songs sung, and the food eaten by his ancestors.

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he Lasell Visiting Alumnus Program was established in 2001 through a gift from Chester K. Lasell ’54. The purpose of this program is to each year invite an alumnus who has achieved a certain degree of success and/or distinction in his/her chosen profession to return to Pomfret School to work with faculty and students.

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It’s About Time

by Jamie Feild Baker

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he 2015-16 school year long, one teacher immediately wondered aloud, “How am I will open with a new daily going to lecture for 80 minutes?” Similarly, upon getting word schedule, one that reflects that class blocks would be 80 minutes, a group of students Pomfret’s commitment to came to my office to express their great concern about the wellness, deep relationships, torturous nature of 80-minute lectures. During our gatherings and engaged learning. Our new this spring in Connecticut and Massachusetts, parents also schedule re-shapes learning shared concerns about their sons and daughters sitting in rapt time, passing time between attention for 80 minutes. I was amused that all three factions classes, meeting time, club zeroed in on “the Lecture.” time, faculty-student office hours and advising time in Lecture is a time-honored form of instruction that has been a sane and intentional way immortalized in all types of books, TV, and movies. Two of that will change the pace and my favorite portrayals of lecture are the legendary Professor rhythm of the Pomfret day for the good (See Revamped Kingsfield by John Houseman in The Paper Chase and the Schedule, p. 16). The change of pace will create more time “Anyone, anyone” teacher by award-winning economist and for building relationships journalist Ben Stein in and lessen our constant Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. rushing to the next thing.

Lecture served learning well Time for learning will be for many years when the more concentrated and primary goal of teaching was better utilized. to disseminate information Passive Participatory and knowledge from one Teaching Teaching In the new schedule all generation to the next. Due to Lecture 5% Methods Methods class periods, or learning the current ubiquitous nature Reading 10% blocks, will be 80 minutes of information today, lecture in length, except on is not the powerful tool that it Audio Visual 20% Wednesdays, when they will has been in the past.

Demonstration 30% be 75 minutes, due to the early dismissal for athletic Lecture is a passive form of Group Discussion 50% contests. Longer blocks learning. Research conducted Practice by Doing 75% of time allow teachers a at the National Training Teaching Others 90% tremendous opportunity Laboratory for Applied to design different types Behavioral Science measures of learning activities and Image Based off of: National Training Laboratories for Applied that the long-term retention experiences for students, rate from lecture is only Behavioral Science in Bethel, Maine including debates, research about 5%. Reading as well excursions, and project work, all of which fall short in 45-minute as viewing audio-visual materials are also passive methods of segments. teaching. Both do, however, yield more long-term retention than straight stand-up lecture. More active and participatory types of The new schedule necessitates teaching and learning learning, which involve processing information collaboratively strategies that differ from how we have taught at Pomfret and reflectively, lead to much higher retention rates (See The up to now. Upon hearing that classes would be 80 minutes Learning Pyramid, above).

THE LEARNING PYRAMID

14

How and when teaching strategies are used matters greatly in designing learning. In conducting memory research, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that information presented first is stored in long-term memory most securely, information learned last is stored second most securely, and information presented in the middle tends to get lost or confused.

This positioning difference is called the primacy recency effect and informs both Alzheimer’s diagnosis and learning design. What it tells educators is that where a learning task is situated in the learning block matters. Dividing the 80-minute class time into three distinct parts (best, worst, second best) gives the teacher a good structure to work with in thinking about how to best utilize time.

immediate feedback from the teacher, and the last segment for student demonstration of understanding via quick, “check-in” type assessments that allow the teacher to adjust the learning objectives, practice targets, and class structure as students are forming their knowledge and understanding. Information gained from a quick assessment at the end of class helps the teacher adjust, if needed for some or for all, learning activities and sequences for the next class meeting.

“Due to the current ubiquitous nature of information today, lecture is not the powerful tool that it has been in the past.”

Many arrangements of learning segments exist. One possible learning block sequence is to use the first segment for learning new information, the middle for applying it with guidance and

Lecture could certainly be one of the tools a teacher would use to present new information, but the lecture might be 10 or 15 minutes in duration instead of for the whole class period.

A math class might need a completely difference sequence of time. As students learn math operations and work through problems, their segments might use time in shorter primacy sets (first - best, middle - least, last - second best) and a class block would include more of them.

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NEW SCHEDULE

80-minute learning blocks RED WEEK SCHEDULE

BLACK WEEK SCHEDULE MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

D

A

E

C

F

* Q.U.E.S.T

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:45

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 11:30

Chapel

All-school Meeting

D

Office

Chapel

10:00 - 10:40 10:00 - 10:40 9:55 - 11:10

B

E

10:50 - 12:10 10:50 - 12:10

F

C

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:45

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 11:30

Chapel

All-school Meeting

A

Office

Chapel

B

D

E

10:50 - 12:10 10:50 - 12:10

10:00 - 10:40 10:00 - 10:40

C

11:20 - 12:35

A

10:50 - 12:10 10:50 - 12:10

12:10 - 12:50

12:10 - 1:00

12:10 - 12:50

12:10 - 1:00

12:10 - 12:50

Clubs

Advisory

Office

1:00 - 1:40

Department Meetings

Advisory

12:50 - 1:40

Faculty Meetings

Faculty Meetings

Office

1:00 - 1:40

C

1:50 - 3:10

B

1:50 - 3:10

12:45 - 1:40

E

1:50 - 3:10

1:00 - 1:40

C

1:50 - 3:10

Advisee

* On scheduled Saturdays only. Check School Dinners website for upcoming weekend commitments. 6:00

Another possible learning sequence could include a test after some time is spent for review. Because we have 80-minute learning blocks, it does not mean that every test now has to be 80 minutes long.

Another sequence would be to test first, then go over the test, helping everyone understand the information tested before the class ends.

Pauses become extremely important in designing learning for our new schedule. A pause is an opportunity for the student to catch up on note-taking, to summarize and review notes, or to process material in another way such as a reflective writing exercise. For reflective writing the teacher might say: make some notes to yourself about how this information is related

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B

12:10 - 1:00

12:10 - 12:50

6:00

D

A

Sit Down Lunch

SATURDAY

A

10:00 - 10:40 10:00 - 10:40 9:55 - 11:10

10:50 - 12:10 10:50 - 12:10

FRIDAY

*Q.U.E.S.T

10:00 - 10:40 10:00 - 10:40

D

THURSDAY

Lunch

12:10 - 1:00

Advisee Dinners

WEDNESDAY

Lunch

Lunch

F

11:20 - 12:35

TUESDAY

Lunch

Lunch

1:50 - 3:10

F

MONDAY

12:50 - 1:40

F

1:50 - 3:10

Sit Down Lunch

Lunch

1:00 - 1:40

12:45 - 1:40

E

B

1:50 - 3:10

1:50 - 3:10

* On scheduled Saturdays only. Check School website for upcoming weekend commitments.

to what we talked about in the last class; or take a moment to review your notes and formulate any questions you might have. A pause is not a break. Letting the class break into the hallway to check email or get a drink completely takes students out of the learning mindset that has been established so far in the learning block. For this reason, one of our three guidelines in designing classes for the new schedule is “no breaks.” The other two are “use the whole period” and “make three learning mode changes in each class period.”

A mode change means the type of learning changes, which causes the brain to do something different. The mode could change from whole to small group work; from lecture to application; from role play to practice applying; from research to group discussion. These changes of mental,

“The mode could change from whole to small group work; from lecture to application; from role play to practice applying; from research to group discussion.

These changes of mental, physical, and socio-emotional states will keep students moving, stimulated, and engaged.”

LEARNING MODES 30 MINUTES

30 MINUTES

20 MINUTES

WARM-UP

NEW INFORMATION

ASSESS

NEW INFORMATION

APPLY

REVIEW HOMEWORK

APPLY

NEW INFORMATION

NEW INFORMATION

APPLY

APPLY

NEW INFORMATION

NEW INFORMATION

APPLY

APPLY

35 MINUTES physical, and socio-emotional states will keep students moving, stimulated, and engaged. Each teacher will be intentionally sequencing learning activities for this sort of active and impactful learning.

Through a host of Summer Institutes about designing and leading student learning, faculty members have refreshed and expanded their knowledge of the neuroscience behind how the brain learns, psycho-educational research on motivation and engagement, and teaching strategies used successfully by colleagues to create active learning and high levels of engagement with material as well as with fellow students. Pomfret teachers have considered with great attention and intention how to renew, reorganize, redevelop, and reimagine what and how they teach. Their hard work and the great opportunity the new schedule gives us in designing more active and engaging learning puts Pomfret one step closer to becoming the recognized leader in innovative learning practices for independent boarding schools. When other school leaders ask how, at Pomfret, we are creating such active learning and broadening teacher toolkits, I will simply smile and say, “It’s about time.”

ASSIGN HOMEWORK

25 MINUTES

WARM-UP NEW INFORMATION PAUSE NEW INFORMATION

35 MINUTES

20 MINUTES FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

APPLY WITH GUIDED PRACTICE ASSIGN HOMEWORK

50 MINUTES

WARM-UP REVIEW QUESTIONS GROUP DISCUSSION DISCUSS ANSWERS

ASSESSMENT / TEST

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Leaders in Training

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From May 30 – June 1, next year’s student leaders and members of the faculty (seventy-four and twenty, respectively) gathered on the campus for Leadership 2.0 — to assess, learn, and share expectations and aspirations about becoming effective leaders, and to determine what they will need to bring to their responsibilities when the school year begins in September.

their free time on the quad or in the library courtyard, not simply socializing, but rather expressing their visions and ideas for the next school year.”

The Student Leadership Training workshop was introduced as part of the reconfigured Student Life curriculum in the spring of 2014. It grew out of many things, primarily, the Strategic Plan and the Vision of the Pomfret Graduate. Yet from Dolph here are two quotes that I hold close to my heart as I grapple and his experiences as a senior prefect (“the fork in my life”) with my expanding role as an educator,” says Dolph Clinton ᾿92, that ultimately brought him to his educational philosophy, there reflecting on the relevance and growing traction of the emerged the understanding that leadership, the sum of intelligence School’s Student Leadership Training workshop. The first quote, plus character, must be in the DNA of Dr. King’s vision of a “true education.” This year, as last, the themes and says the Dean of Students, “is from a goals were based on the structure of effective speech by JFK that he was scheduled to leadership defined in the 1987 book (and deliver on the afternoon of the day he was now a website) The Leadership Challenge, killed. In it Kennedy said, ‘leadership and which presents essential rules of the road in education are indispensible to each other.’” its Five Fundamental Practices of Exemplary The second, Dolph goes on to say, “is by Leadership: Challenge the process. Inspire Martin Luther King, Jr., in which he says, a shared vision. Enable others to act. Model ‘Intelligence plus character, that is the goal the way. And always, always, encourage the of true education.’ ” heart. In ways major and minor, these Five Commandments have become the blueprint, Now in its second year, the Student not only for the student workshop, but for Leadership workshop has made its mark as defining the culture of the School. a sort of leadership boot camp for Pomfret’s student leaders. Scheduled to begin This year’s theme, The theme for 2.0: Leaders Eat Last. “Earlier immediately following final exams, the Leaders Eat Last, says this year I read a great book called Leaders incoming flock — from president, prefects, Dolph, “helps us get Eat Last by Simon Sinek,” Dolph explained. and deans’ assistants to key heads and heads away from the idea that of VOICE — remain on campus for three leadership has privileges “I was moved by the concept and thought that our students could benefit from that type of additional days. Their goal: to determine and moves us towards and define what goes into the making of a the idea that leading is a thinking as well.” The book, he says, “starts with a story about the military, and how the leader. Together and in moments of quiet privilege all its own.” leaders consistently eat last.” This year, in fact, reflection, this year the students (mentored and coached by faculty) worked on identifying the “indispensible” Dolph has arranged it so that the student leaders will take the first intertwining of education and character. In workshops they tackled rotation of waiting at sit-down meals. “It helps us get away from such topics as “Becoming my Best” and “The Man in the Mirror.” the idea that leadership has privileges,” he said, “and moves us Through the lens of leaders-in-training, they critiqued Toy Story 3. towards the idea that leading is a privilege all its own.”

They heard “beyond Pomfret” narratives from recent graduates, and “Last Words” from just-graduated School President Rachel Before departing, students wrote self-assessments of their own expectations. Caelan felt it was a great head start, both personally Godfrey ᾿15 and Vice-President Nick Fulchino ᾿15. and for the School. “Overall, the leadership weekend this spring From where next year’s School Vice President Caelan Meggs ᾿16 got me excited for next year,” he said afterwards. “I believe the was sitting — literally and figuratively — everyone rose to the possibilities that this incredible group of selfless leaders can challenge. “In the first meeting,” said Caelan, “Mr. Clinton asked achieve are endless. The future is definitely bright.” the group what our fears for next year were. When the auditorium went quiet I was afraid that it would stay that way, that no one Determining the ongoing yin and yang of leadership and education is would feel comfortable sharing. I couldn’t have been more wrong.” a work in process. We are all, he says, leaders-in-training. “Leadership Instead, the “sharing and collaborating began almost immediately, is a relationship,” he says. “At the heart of a good leader is the and everyone set the tone for the weekend by being both engaged willingness to build strong relationships. Everyone has the ability to and vocal.” What Caelan and others might have thought would be lead,” he adds, “but great leaders work hard to develop that ability and nothing more than a three-day delay between the end of school and get the most out of it.” summer vacation was anything but. “I was even more thrilled to find that in between sessions,” he added, “groups of students spent

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19

PONTEFRACT

Distinctive Boarding School Experience

1

2

3

4

5 20

6

7 1. The Wendell D. Mansfield Cup — Abby Horst was selected by the faculty as the sixth-former who “best exemplifies the qualities of desire, drive, and determination.”

2. Class of 2015 Commencement Speaker Zander Chase — “We make choices every day of our lives. Some big, others small, but the cumulative effect of each decision makes us who we are.”

8

3. Commencement speaker Marna Parke Borgstrom — Never underestimate the power of authenticity, she told the students.

“The people who live their values and who are who they are because of their many different experiences — failures as well as successes: Those are the people who have your back. They are the ‘authentics’ who will probably be part of your life forever.”

4. The Founders Medal — Nick Fulchino was awarded the School’s highest honor, going to that member of the sixth form who, through deep engagement, “has given the most of him - or herself.”

5. Parent Support — Senior Class Gift Committee Co-chairs JoAnne Staten, D.R. Finley and Anne Finley presented the senior class parent gift of nearly $230,000, earmarked for faculty professional development, to Head of School Tim Richards.

6. Form Scholar Valedictorian — Yihe “Lankoo” Zhang, firstranked in the class of 2015.

9

7. Form Scholar Salutatorian — Xinwen “Coco” Zhang, secondranked in the class of 2015.

8. Julie Emond, Joe Robichaud’s mother, accepts Joe’s diploma as Board Chair Charlie Wilmerding greeted Joe’s father Richard Robichaud.

9. The Passing of the Gavel — Graduating School Vice President Nick Fulchino and President Rachel Godfrey passed the gavel of student government leadership to 2015 – 2016 President Sofie Melian-Morse and Vice President Caelan Meggs.

10. Senior Cup — At the Senior Awards dinner the previous night, retiring faculty member and college counseling advisor Rod Eaton was awarded the Senior Cup, which recognizes all he had given to the class.

10

21

Tim Richards P ’15 presents Summer Staff ’15 with the Joseph Mannas Memorial Drama Award.

Choice Dynamics Speaker tells Griffins, “be authentic”

With faculty, students, family, and friends gathered at the Sundial, the 111 members of the class of 2015 were honored on Sunday, May 24, at the School’s 121th Commencement.

In a day marked by pomp, circumstance, and good weather, the ceremony got underway with farewell remarks by senior Zander Chase. Following Zander and the presenting of the Commencement Awards, Marna Parke Borgstrom, President and CEO of Yale-New Haven Hospital and New Haven Health Systems, delivered the Commencement address.

F

Tim Richards P ’15 presents Tim off ie-Addo ’15 and Pelumi Onabanjo ’15 with the Community Service Award.

on. “That’s what makes this group here special,” he told them, “choosing to make the most out of every situation.”

(Joseph Robichaud, a second-year senior from Quebec, standout hockey player, and a beloved member of the school community, was killed in an automobile accident while at home for the October long weekend. His parents attended the ceremony and were presented with his diploma.)

For Marna Parke Borgstrom, who graduated from Stanford University in 1976 with a B.S. in Human Biology, the decision not to attend graduate school right after graduation evolved into one of the most important choices of her life. She described her first job: “I worked in ladies’ sportswear at Macy’s in the Stanford shopping center for minimum wage,” she said. “I operated the cash register and folded messed-up sweaters.” But, as she went on to explain, it was not at all a bad thing. “It never occurred to me that I wouldn’t have a career, that I wouldn’t have a future. I had a boyfriend, I learned to cook interesting things; I learned to love red wine. I bought a bicycle and explored the California foothills,” she said.

“Those are the things I remember.” After six months Borgstrom got a job as a secretary at the Stanford University Hospital. It was there, in the hospital environment assisting patients, that she discovered her calling.

rom either end of the graduation perspective, this year’s Commencement speakers examined the life-changing power of choices. “We make choices every day of our lives,” Zander began. “Some big, others small, but the cumulative effect of each decision,” he added, “makes us who we are.” Debriefing on a year marked as well by events they would never have chosen, Zander spoke about the loss, in October, of one of their own. “We She graduated from the Yale School of Public Health in 1979, and did not choose to have to say goodbye to Joe back in the fall,” has worked there ever since. In 2005, with the departure of her he said. “We thought we were going to have a perfect year, a mentor, she was appointed President and CEO of both Yale-New whitewater rafting trip full of fun and laughter.” In the aftermath, Haven Hospital and Yale-New Haven Health System. “The last “there were no rapids to carry us along, just a still river.” But as nine and a half years have been the hardest of my life,” she told a group, they regained their “balance,” kept strong, and carried the students, “but they have also been phenomenally rewarding.”

22

Members of the Class of 2014 gather with Form Dean and CFO, Arthur Diaz ’78 to celebrate the graduating class.

In part, Bergstrom explained, it is because she surrounds herself with people who embrace the same work (and play) ethic she does: “values, commitment to working effectively with others, and having a sense of humor.”

The Many Ways We Celebrate Success THE FOLLOWING AWARDS WERE PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL FACULTY DINNER ON FRIDAY, JUNE 5.

In the end, Bergstrom offered one more gem — which, while aimed at the students, undoubtedly made a safe landing in the hearts of everyone present. Don’t fret, she said, about what your classmates will write in their 25th reunion book biographies. Be who you are; be authentic. What should make the difference on your page, she told them, will be those with whom you have spent your lives and careers: “the people who live their values and who are who they are because of their many different experiences — failures as well as successes: Those are the people who have your back,” she said. “They are the ‘authentics’ who will probably be part of your life — forever.”

Chemistry teacher Sharon Geyer was honored with The Prize for Teaching Excellence, “given to a current faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding teaching excellence for the year in the areas of math, science, or foreign languages.”

Following Bergstrom’s address, Tim Richards P ’15 and Chair of the Board of Trustees Charles T. Wilmerding P ’11, ’14 awarded the diplomas. The ceremony concluded with the traditional Passing of the Gavel, in which 2014 - 2015 School President Rachel Godfrey and Vice President Nick Fulchino officially handed over the leadership responsibilities to 2015 - 2016 President-elect Sofie Melian-Morse and Vice President-elect Caelan Meggs.

Departing Digital Arts department chair Chris Atwood, leaving the Hilltop after 32 years, received The Sooho Cho ’74 Award. Given “in honor of loyal alumnus and dedicated trustee, Sooho Cho ’74, this award recognizes a faculty member (of at least five years of service to Pomfret School) who has demonstrated particular dedication to his/ her work and who has been noteworthy in his/her dedication to the development of Pomfret students.”

Four awards were presented at Commencement. Nick received the Founder’s Medal. The Wendell D. Mansfield Cup went to Abby Horst. Class Valedictorian was Lankoo Zhang, and Salutatorian was Coco Zhang. The remaining student prizes, and one faculty prize, were presented the evening before at the annual Senior Awards Dinner.

History department chair Patrick Burke received The William “Terry” Murbach Award, “given annually to a member of the faculty who best exemplifies a sincere interest in students, a commitment to scholarship, and a sense of humor — three qualities for which Terry is so fondly remembered.”

History teacher Katie Wells was honored with The David A. Brush Award, recognizing “the work of a devoted and innovative teacher in the Social Sciences or Humanities who routinely goes beyond the required to help students grow in scholarship and who is also a highly regarded member of the school community because of his or her commitment and service to students.”

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The ClassOf 2015 Ross Wesley Ackeifi Abdulla Ahmed Alharmoodi Caed William Anthony-Jones Gabriella Marcella Araya Jeffrey Turner Austin* Elisabeth Qing Rose Bartkus Matthew Jacob Bonavita* Bailey Mae Bone Jonathan Gerard Bray Colby Scott Breault Ian Corbett Porcel Buckley Nicholas Richard Burdick-Chapel Abigail Whitney Byrnes Brandon Jay Caffrey Emanuel Harry Calmar Jake Ellwood Canepari Alexander Stark Chase* Daniel Wonkee Chung Sophia Helen Clarke Matthew Harrison Clayton James Morrison Collins William Scurlock Collins Kailey Anne Cox Taylor Hepworth Crompton Maguire Daniel Crouse Chelsea Emily Cutler Rider Arthur Daily Nicole Lynn Derosier*

Carl Marsh Ellerkamp Madeline Elizabeth Ferrara Alexandra Rulon Finley India Belmont Finley Devin Marie Frisby It Fufuengsin Nickolas Frederic Fulchino* Austin Reinhardt Galusza Joshua William Genovese Cameron Michael Giles Rachel Kula Godfrey Talia Austin Gulino Abbey Meredith Haggerty Sarah Lianne Hatfield* Cassandra Lyn Hayward Edwin Paul Chase Hollingsworth Abigail Keaney Horst Emily Ann Hupalo Evan Jaccodine Christopher William Jackson Henry John Karmen-Tuohy Christopher Raymond Kattak Grace Erin Keenan* Amanda Catherine Kewer Rohan Khatu Genevieve Olinda LaBeef Chérie Elise Langlois Lawand Dana Lateef

Juliette Lawless Seungwoo Lee Joshua Scott Liebhaber Jeremiah Joseph Lim* Wil J. Loughborough Olivia Violet Lyon Andres Eduardo Mannil Paolini Isabella J. McCarthy Cameron John McGuire William Luke McNabola Mary-Louise Adams Mellon Melanie Jill Murphy* Makenna Nicole Newkirk Weston Jems Nolan Keith Cocozza O’Hara* Shawn Patrick O’Loughlin Timothy Oduro Offei-Addo Obim Marlvin Okeke Pelumi Solomon Onabanjo Matthew Francis Ouellet Poojan Pankaj Patel* Tyler Russell Phipps Pavel S. Pylaev Christopher J. Rackey* Victoria Wheaton Read Lucy Dunbar Richards Joseph Robichaud Harrison Duffield Robinson

John Paul Ross Molly McDermott Schroder Nana Afua Sekyere Connor Jonathan Shea Caroline Taylor Shehan Anneka Caroline Sheppard* Darren Ismael Singh-Estrada Kyra Naurice Smith Joshua Solomon Summer LeRette Staff Edward James Staten Joseph James Staten John Carter Sullivan Peter Scott Tallas Kant Tantasathien Carlin Daniel Testa Lizardo Jose Vargas Pacheco Dorian De’Arlo Mervin Weekes Zackery Dowgin Weimer* Madeleine J. West* John Robert Weston Thomas Dodge Wheatley Spencer Copeland Whitmire Caitlin Grant Wood Bryant Hadden Xiao Xinwen Zhang* Yihe Zhang*

*Cum Laude Society

Matriculation Amherst College 2 Assumption College 1 Bates College 1 Baylor University 1 Becker College 1 Bentley University 1 Boston College 3 Brandeis University 1 Brown University 1 Bryant University 1 Bucknell University 1 Clark University 1 Colby-Sawyer College 1 College of Charleston 5 College of the Holy Cross 1 College of Wooster 1 Connecticut College 1 DePauw University 1 Dickinson College 1 Elon University 6 24

Emerson College 1 Emory University 1 Emory University-Oxford College 1 Georgetown University 1 Gettysburg College 4 Hamilton College - New York 2 High Point University 1 Hobart and William Smith 1 Ithaca College 1 Keene State College 1 Lake Forest College 1 Lewis & Clark College 1 Loyola Marymount University 1 Loyola University Maryland 1 Michigan State University 1 Mount Saint Mary’s University 1 New York University 2 Northwestern University 1 Occidental College 1 Parsons The New School for Design 2

Paul Smith’s College 1 Pennsylvania State University 1 Rhode Island School of Design 1 Rhodes College 1 Rochester Institute of Technology 1 Roger Williams University 2 Rollins College 3 Sacred Heart University 1 Saint Anselm College 1 Saint Louis University 1 Santa Clara University 1 St. Lawrence University 4 State University of New York-Albany 1 Trinity College 1 Tufts University 1 Union College 2 Universidad Anahuac 1 Universidad de Navarra 1 University of Connecticut 1 University of Connecticut-Avery Point 1

University of Florida 1 University of Hartford 1 University of Miami 3 University of Minnesota 1 University of New Hampshire 1 University of Notre Dame 1 University of Richmond 2 University of Rochester 1 University of Vermont 1 University of Wisconsin 1 Vanderbilt University 1 Villanova University 1 Virginia Tech 1 Wake Forest University 2 Warren Wilson College 1 Wellesley College 1 Wesleyan University 5

Commencement Awards Winners Awarded at Graduation, Sunday, May 24 Form Scholars #2 Salutatorian Xiwen Zhang #1 Valedictorian Yihe Zhang The Wendell D. Mansfield Cup Abigail K. Horst The Founders Medal Nickolas F. Fulchino Given at the Senior Awards Dinner, Saturday, May 23 The Chick Cole Cup Amanda C. Kewer, Edwin P. Hollingsworth The Halleck Lefferts Award Thomas D. Wheatley The Edward E. Kelley Award Kyra N. Smith The Pomfret Bowl Makenna N. Newkirk, Alexander S. Chase The Richard H. Randall, Jr. ’44 Award Keith C. O’Hara The Paul M. Rosenfield ’67 Award Rachel K. Godfrey The Community Service Award Pelumi S. Onabanjo, Timothy O. Offei-Addo Faculty Awards Timothy O. Offei-Addo, Nicole L. Derosier, Afia A. Sekyere, Pelumi S. Onabanjo, Zackery D. Weimer The Senior Cup (to a member of the faculty) J. Roderick Eaton The Digital Arts Award India B. Finley, Jeremiah Lim Sixth Form English Award Madeleine J. West The Prize in Creative Writing Matthew J. Bonavita

Sixth Form Ceramics Award Elisabeth Q. R. Bartkus Sixth Form Dance Award Emily Hupalo Sixth Form Music Award Ross W. Ackeifi Sixth Form Theatre Award Yihe Zhang Sixth Form Painting & Drawing Award India B. Finley, Alexandra R. Finley Sixth Form Photography Award Keith C. O’Hara Sixth Form Sculpture Award Wil J. Loughborough The Joseph Mannas Memorial Drama Award Summer L. Staff Sixth Form History Award Zackery D. Weimer David A. Brush History Award Nickolas F. Fulchino Sixth Form Spanish Award Melanie J. Murphy Sixth Form French Award Zackery D. Weimer The C. Russell Stringer Award Yihe Zhang The Marshall Eaton’70 Calculus Award It Fufuengsin Statistics Award Madeleine J. West Sixth Form Religion Award Lawand D. Lateef

The David A. Wilson III ’01 Memorial Prize Ross W. Ackeifi Cum Laude Society Inductees Jeffrey T. Austin Matthew J. Bonavita Nickolas F. Fulchino Sarah L. Hatfield Grace Keenan Jeremiah J. Lim Melanie J. Murphy Keith C. O’Hara Poojan P. Patel Christopher J. Rackey Zackery D. Weimer Madeleine J. West Inducted at Convocation, September 2014 Alexand er S. Chase Yihe Zhang Xinwen Zhang Nicole L. Derosier Anneka C. Sheppard Athletics Department Awards At the spring sports awards assembly on May 19, three seniors and one member of the faculty were honored Edward A. Benoit Manager of the Year Award Josh Liebhaber The Cowperthwait Award Makenna Newkirk, Shawn O’Loughlin The Eccleston Award J. Roderick Eaton, Faculty

Sixth Form VI Science Award Tyler R. Phipps Science Exploration Award William S. Collins

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Snapshots of Spring

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Spring Dance Performance Brittany Cameron ᾿16, India Finley ᾿15, Colin LeSage ᾿18, Hassan Makiya ᾿16, Nick Mazzerella ᾿16, Maggie Peng ᾿17, and Jadan Villaruel ᾿16.

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Songs of Heroes

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n May 7 - 9 2015, Pomfret Theatre presented Songs of Heroes, an original script by Alex Finley ’15. Alex wrote the play in our playwriting course during the winter term and then worked on rewrites during our spring break. Set in a small medieval village, Songs of Heroes is about a young boy who must rise to the challenge of a mysterious quest to save himself and his town from tyranny and evil. Whimsical, silly, and surprising, Alex’s play put a unique spin on a familiar storybook conceit, with hilarious results. Part satire and part homage, the play gave our school community lots to laugh about while transporting us to a simpler time when the spinning of a good story is all we needed to captivate and delight us.

Visit Pomfret’s Off-Campus Art Gallery at Silver Circle Art Center in Putnam, Connecticut.

For more info visit www.pomfretschool.org

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It goes without saying that there are as many definitions of the Pomfret experience as there are Pomfret alumni. Elsewhere on the pages of this magazine retiring Alumni Association President Paul Fowler ’64 is quoted as saying, “I use the skills I learned at Pomfret today, and I would not have gotten through without the help and advice of several faculty. All of us were touched by faculty members who unleashed our excitement about something, or helped us through a challenging period in our lives.”

possible turn. He remembers his first visit to the Hilltop, and the School Building being full of student artwork — “as many things as the walls could hold. There were professional-caliber student paintings throughout the offices on the ground floor,” Peter recalls, “which were readily visible to visitors and prospective students. It was what helped sell me on Pomfret School.” At the time there was a “handsome open staircase” at the western end of the building, “lined with student paintings from the ground to the fourth floor level, and it was always a treat going up or down those stairs on the way to class or the library. It was Pomfret’s version of the Guggenheim Museum.”

His Own Personal Guggenheim

An alumnus nurtured and educated here makes a connection to the “golden age of painting and sculpture” on the Hilltop

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or Peter Borgemeister ’69, who found his comfort zone under the nurturing help and advice of an attentive and gifted faculty, the “unleashing” came to him through art.

And for Peter, now a Providence, Rhode Island-based architect, it was not only the faculty who made the difference, but also a school culture that embraced and celebrated the arts at every

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Upon graduation busy years intervened, but the connection Peter still feels to Pomfret is based in part on that spirit, nurtured by such “visionary” school heads as David Twichell and Jay Milnor, and art teachers Chick Cole and Alice Dunbar.

Alice, in particular, had an impact. “Daily in my work,” he says, “I think about the many lessons she taught us — about form, light, space, movement, grace — and penury.” (The last he attributes to another of her students, John McLaughlin ’67.) Yet for Peter there is also the distinction of a “beyond Pomfret” link. In 1991, he was commissioned to design a small addition to what was known as Ben Morgan’s house, which sits opposite Robinson House on Paradise Road.

And there is even more to it than that. During a visit in 2013 he went in search of, and was thrilled to discover, three works he created as a student are still on display. A marble bas-relief of a head and a painting are in the du Pont Library; and a wide-eyed mosaic owl can be found mounted on the wall outside Centennial Auditorium. Peter might be the the School’s most-exhibited alumnus. “All of this makes all the more special,” he says, “the fact that my artwork — from that ‘golden age’ of Pomfret painting and sculpture, when Chick Cole and Alice Dunbar were teaching — is still on display and apparently continues to be enjoyed.”

A distinguished career enlivened by a passion for writing and the great outdoors.

Harry’s novels include Wing Walking, which was published in 2007. After that, in 2011, came a “delightfully witty” (in the words of one reviewer) Stieg Larsson parody, The Girl Who Fished with a Worm. His most recent book, Thirty Below, published in 2012, is a story of romance, self-discovery, and survival in the wilds of Alaska during an uncompromising winter. (The book jacket hen Harry Groome graduated from Pomfret in 1956, says the author “spends every night he can sleeping in a lean-to in he already knew he wanted to be a writer. “I was the the Adirondack Mountains with his canine literary advisors;” for sports editor of The Pontefract,” he says, “and thanks Harry it’s usually a two-dog night.) to Bill Parquette, my English teacher and football coach, many of my heroes were writers.”

Harry not only uses nature as a backdrop for his writing, he has long been an ardent advocate of the great outdoors. Among other From Pomfret, Harry received an honors degree in English titles, he is a Governor Emeritus of The Nature Conservancy.

Literature from the University of Pennsylvania and went on to And, he continues to live the writer’s life. He is Director of the spend a long and distinguished career in the pharmaceutical Bryn Mawr Film Institute. And, perhaps in tribute to the spark industry. He is the retired chairman of SmithKline Beecham ignited years ago on the Hilltop by Bill Parquette, Harry is also Consumer Healthcare. But his muse always beckoned: after paying it forward. He is Director of Mighty Writers, “a superb retiring, he received an MFA in writing from the Vermont College program,” he says, “that teaches Philadelphia kids how to think of Fine Arts. Since then his short stories, poems, and articles have and write.” Currently he’s putting the finishing touches on appeared in a spectrum of publications, from Gray’s Sporting Celebrity Cast, a wilderness thriller that takes place on Russia’s Journal and Field and Stream to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. remote Kola Peninsula.

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Alumni Athletes in Action Spring 2015

Felice Mueller ’08 once again is setting her sights on a gold single season GAA in Yale history. Jaimie also earned the medal in rowing. On Saturday, April 25 in Princeton, New team’s Richard H. Brodhead ᾿68 Award, given to the player Jersey, Felice and her women’s pair partner Elle Logan beat “who has contributed significantly to the success of the team five other boats to come in at the top of the first round of the while excelling academically.”

National Selection Regatta (NSR) series. The regatta was the first round in determining which five crews would race for the United States, and possibly at the 2015 World Championships Nick Ellis ’13, a goaltender on the Providence College men’s in Aiguebelette, France, August 28 – Sept 6. If successful this hockey team, celebrated the team’s victory over Boston summer on the Lac d’ Aiguebelette, Felice and Elle will be one University to capture its first ever NCAA Championship on April 11, 2015. In addition to the championship, Nick has also step closer to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. earned Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week and Hockey East Weekly Honor Roll honors this past season.

Eric David ’09 signed a professional hockey contract with a team in Nantes, France. Eric is coming off a highly successful academic and hockey career at Elmira College, where he Jordan Lipson ’13, a member of the women’s hockey team at SUNY/Plattsburgh, helped the team toward winning their captained the hockey team in his junior and senior seasons. second straight NCAA Division III National Championship in March 2015.

Lilah Fones ’11 and Ray Zeek ’11 were named to the 2015 NESCAC Winter All-Academic Team on March 12, 2015. To be honored, an individual must have earned a varsity letter John Cunningham ’13, a member of the Connecticut College with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35. Lilah men’s lacrosse team, was named to the 2015 NESCAC Spring was a member of the women’s ice hockey team at Wesleyan All-Sportsmanship Team.

University, and Ray was a captain and member of the men’s ice hockey team at Colby College.

Katherine Pearson ’14 is a freshman on the Lady Vol rowing team at the University of Tennessee. The team placed third Jaimie Leonoff ’11, senior goaltender on the Yale University at the Big Twelve Conference Rowing Championships in women’s hockey team, was named MVP for the third year in a Tennessee, May 16-17, 2015; she was a member of the third row on April 14, 2015 at the annual team banquet. Recording varsity eight that finished sixth in the grand finals with a time thirteen wins this past season, she tied for second place of 7 minutes and 47.04 seconds. on Yale’s single-season record list. She received honorable mention in the All-Ivy League selection and posted the best goals-against average of her career (2.41), and the sixth-best

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Nick Ellis ’13 (left) with his teammates

(l-r): Max King ’13, John Cunningham ’13, and Tucker Mscisz ’14 are teammates on the Connecticut College men’s lacrosse team

Pomfret Alumni Playing College Athletics Andrew Aikins ’14 – Baseball at Skidmore College Jay Barry ’14 – Baseball at Hamilton College Bridget Bohan ’14 – Lacrosse at Salve Regina University Rachel Covey ’14 – Rowing at Stetson University Mae Hanson ’14 – Rowing at University of Connecticut Joe Kelly ’14 – Lacrosse at University of Richmond Nate Kremer ’14 – Golf at Hamilton College Tucker Mscisz ’14 – Lacrosse at Connecticut College Lauren Paneyko ’14 – Lacrosse at Rollins College Katherine Pearson ’14 – Rowing at University of Tennessee Elizabeth Rathjen ’14 – Rowing at Marist College Noah van Dyke ’14 – Rowing at Dartmouth College

AJ Bourdon ’12 – Lacrosse at Elmira College (Captain) Sid Looney ’12 – Lacrosse at Washington College Jon Pate ’12 – Golf at Hobart College Sam Zuckerman ’12 – Rowing at Hobart College Zak Kennedy ’11 – Golf at Gettysburg College Ryan Lawler ’11 – Lacrosse at Quinnipiac University Dave St. Lawrence ’11 – Baseball at Brown University Jaclyn Tules ’11 – Rowing at Bucknell University

John Cunningham ’13 – Lacrosse at Connecticut College Jay Farrell ’13 – Baseball at Ursinus College Tim Haggerty ’13 – Baseball at Keene State College Alison Horst ’13 – Lacrosse at Union College Max King ’13 – Lacrosse at Connecticut College Ben Murphy ’13 – Baseball at Skidmore College L’or Iman Puymartin ’13 – Track at Sewanee, University of the South

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du Pont winners James Collins ’15, Zack Weimer ’15, Jack Sullivan ’15 (coxswain), Jared Taintor ’16, and Evan Jaccodine ’15. “Not only was the team good,” said Coach Greg Rossolimo, “but we’ve also had tremendous alumni, parent, and past parent support.”

Spring Sports Season Highlights The Joy of Coaching “The sport can be demanding but you have all had a chance to experience the joy of rowing well — and that’s the elixir that can get inside you in a good way.”— Girls Varsity Crew Coach Katie Wells, after the season final at the May 23rd NEIRAs Both the boys’ and girls’ crew programs finished an outstanding 2015 season with the top two boats from each team qualifying for the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championship on May 23. Two weeks earlier, in what Coach Greg Rossolimo called “a really close race that came down to the final strokes,” the boys’ boat won the du Pont Cup for the first time since 2000. “Not only was the team good,” said Greg, “but we’ve also had tremendous alumni, parent, and past parent support.”

Two weeks later, the teams had more chances to shine: The two top boats from Greg’s boys’ and Katie Wells’ girls’ squad were at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the NEIRA Championship Regatta. In the morning heat the boys, rowing hard in an “intense charge to the finish line,” came in third behind Groton and Choate, earning a spot in the afternoon’s Petite Final against Berkshire — which they won, by a thrilling half-second. The girls 34

did not qualify for the afternoon run, which, as Coach Katie Wells pointed out, was no reflection on their capabilities. “To get to this level of racing — to even be invited,” she said afterward, “meant that our V1 and V2 boats had to be faster than eight other crews in our league, and we were! That’s an accomplishment, in and of itself.”

Maybe not a glorious, hoped-for end to the day, but certainly a glorious end to an outstanding and often joyous season. Competing in what Greg says is “a league that has become incredibly competitive and deep.” Part of the excitement for both coaches was the fact that Pomfret’s crew program has evolved into a force to be reckoned with. “The endurance these guys showed in race after race came not only from the long afternoons on the lake this spring,” said Greg. “It also came from the chemistry, character, and closeness of the five members of the team, who had such fun together racing and learning how to make their boat go fast.”

Katie was undaunted. “After a season with limited water time,” she said, “We have much to be thankful for: supportive and resourceful parents rank highest on that list. The sport can be demanding,” she told the girls at the end, “but you have all had a chance to experience the joy of rowing well — and that’s the elixir that can get inside you in a good way.”

Shawn O’Loughlin ᾿15

Shawn O’Loughlin ’15

Lorena Madahuar-Farias ᾿16

Lorena Madahuar-Farias ’16

Seventh NLI signing for the Class of 2015

A true team player, undefeated on the courts

And then there were seven: On May 7, Shawn O’Loughlin, a threeyear varsity lacrosse player and US Lacrosse All-American, signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play lacrosse next year for the Michigan State University Spartans. In addition to playing lacrosse, Shawn was a three-year member of the varsity football team. He captained both teams in his senior year, and football as a junior.

With the NLI signing, Shawn joined Jake Canepari, Devin Frisby, Cam Giles, Juliette Lawless, Makenna Newkirk, and Kyra Smith, making him the seventh member of his class to be recruited by the NCAA. MSU’s sports program was recently rated by CBS Sports as being Number Two in the nation, saying it “has become a model of consistency, and its teams have proven capable of winning big and graduating players.”

This year’s Adrienne Taylor Biggert Tennis Award went to Lorena Madahuar-Farias ’16, who finished the season undefeated.

Lorena accomplished what no other player in (at least) the recent history of our girls’ tennis program has been able to: play an entire season without ever losing a single set, much less a match. She earned a perfect winning record in her singles and doubles match play.”

It is truly in the spirit of this award that she made our whole team better in significant ways. Many other players of her caliber would and do separate themselves from their high school teammates in order to train exclusively with special coaches or hitting partners, but she was always in the middle of our team experience. Lorena demonstrated the best of competitive tennis.

She was the player who demonstrated time and again that she is a spirited leader, fierce competitor, and gracious winner. We actually never got to see her lose, but I’m sure she is gracious in that experience, too!

— Bobby Fisher, Dean of Faculty, School Chaplain, and Girls Varsity Tennis Coach

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Spring 2014 -2015

Varsity Athletics Team Photos

BASEBALL

Season Record: 6-9

Head Coach: Richard Dempsey Assistant Coach: Matthew Goethals Captains: Johnny Bray ’15, Jeff Austin ’15

BOYS CREW

Season Record: 22-10 Winner of the 2015 du Pont Cup NEIRA 2015 Finals: First Place, Petite Final, 7th in New England

Head Coach: Greg Rossolimo Captains: Evan Jaccodine ’15, Jared Taintor ’16, Jack Sullivan ’15

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SOFTBALL

Season Record: 4-5

Head Coach: Dolph Clinton ‘92 Assistant Coach: Laura Chandler Co-head Coach: Katie Watkins Captain: Makenna Newkirk ’15

GIRLS CREW

Season Record: 6-26 First boat -19th in New England overall, Second boat - 17th in New England overall

Head Coach: Katie Wells Captains: Tory Read ’15, Molly Schroder ’15

BOYS LACROSSE

Season Record: 9-6

Head Coach: Jon Sheehan Assistant Coach: J. Roderick Eaton Captains: Jake Canepari ’15, Weston Nolan ’15, Shawn O’Loughlin ’15, Jack Weston ’15

BOYS TENNIS

Season Record: 7-6

Head Coach: Tad Chase Captains: Zander Chase ’15, Spencer Whitmire ’15

GOLF

GIRLS LACROSSE

Season Record: 7-8-0

Head Coach: Quinn Brueggemann Assistant Coach: Rebecca Zavisza Captains: Abby Horst ’15, Amanda Kewer ’15, Caitlin Wood ‘15

GIRLS TENNIS

Season Record: 10-3

Head Coach: Bobby Fisher Captain: Talia Gulino ’15

Season Record: 8-6

Head Coach: Brian Rice Assistant Coach: Carson Roy Captains: Cam Giles ’15, Chase Hollingsworth ’15

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CRATIA DEI MECUM

Measurement of Achievement

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

AN ONGOING SERIES ON THE INNOVATIONS CHANGING THE FACE OF LEARNING ON THE HILLTOP

BLENDED, ADAPTIVE, AND DEEP

BLENDED

From Dustin Pedroia’s Louisville Slugger to August Wilson’s “We blew up our old daily schedule. In its place we are introducing Pulitzer Prizewinning Fences ‘roomier’ long blocks of learning time meant to eliminate the unhealthy speeding from class to class, and encourage deeper, more At the annual meeting of the National Association of Independent relevant learning.”

Schools (NAIS), held February 25 – 27 in Boston, the theme, Design —Tim Richards, “Digging In” the Revolution: Blended Learning, Leading and Innovation brought independent school educators together from around the country to im has a story he likes to tell to illustrate this need for less discuss and share scenarios of how schools are redefining curricula speed. The story is from last fall when Grauer Institute in ways that completely re-landscape the learning experience.

Director Jamie Baker arranged to spend a school day Everything came under the microscope, from the “blending” of shadowing a student. From breakfast to evening study hall, Jamie web-based information sources, tools and technologies with the followed her subject, a senior AP honors student, from class to class, more traditional classroom material to its equally as innovative from meals to sports to meetings. At the end of it all Jamie asked the counterpart, adaptive learning. girl what she had learned that day. The response: “I have no idea.”

According to Tim, This student said to Jamie, ‘I just take notes. I On Wednesday, February 25, Tim, Jamie, and Susan Droke (one of will spend the weekend memorizing them.’ Jamie continued to Jamie’s former colleagues) presented A Leader’s Guide to Designing probe, asking the student about how much she remembered from a School Culture Capable of Innovating. Tim’s report: “Jamie and all the memorizing she had done for last year’s AP tests. Again, her I discussed the steps it takes for a school to move to become more response was, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” innovative. We spoke about how to lay the groundwork for school culture shifts, and presented the group with a diagnostic instrument What this story describes is what Jamie calls a “pump and dump.” A for gauging the readiness of their schools to implement change.” student pumps his or her brain full of information hand-fed by the They also addressed “the importance of sometimes just putting a teacher and dumps the information as soon as the test is finished. stake in the ground, as Pomfret has done, and making decisions.”

Tim has told this story over the past year at Pomfret gatherings, group discussions, and faculty meetings. It’s been a light-bulb On Friday, February 27, English teacher Mitch Pinkowski and Jamie moment. Pump and dump is not good, lasting or “sticky” learning. Baker presented How to Revolutionize Academic Courses for Deeper, It makes a powerful argument for the adjusted schedule, but more Engaged Learning. To a standing-room-only crowd of about 250 than that, it invites a closer look at the innovations transforming the colleagues, they gave an overview of Mitch’s senior-level Lifelong other academic piece of the story: How, with the freedom — and Reading course, which he first offered as an elective in winter term challenge — of roomier teaching blocks, will we maximize that of 2013. Seeking “to make reading a joy and not a burden,” Mitch time? explained how he introduced the blending of information resources (access to websites and blogs that could inspire and reinforce Welcome to the education umbrella of blended, adaptive, and deep. understanding) and individualized curricula that allow students to Much of what will change this year is already a work in process. “read what they want, read at their own pace, and at their own level.”

Numerous innovative approaches have been introduced already, and factored into the many ways the new eighty-minute blocks of Depth comes as well, he told the group, when students are able to class time, with less classes per day, will re-shape the way Pomfret independently discover what he calls their individual “thread of teaches, and the way its students learn. curiosity.” The thread, he said “represents the pathway of learning, and the process of research and discovery [becomes] a joyful quest.”

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ADAPTIVE

he said, needs “teachers who have transitioned from the role as ‘sage on the stage’ and demonstrators of technique to coaches and It’s time to do away with the sage on the stage. facilitators who think critically about student growth, performance, But, according to Jamie, working on blending alone is like preparing and problem-solving mastery.” a soufflé without sticking it in the oven. “The blended part, the use of technology,” she says, “is just the tool.” In a position paper he DEEP wrote in the spring on “The Future of Mathematics Education,” Math How the technical gets personal.

Department Chair Brian Rice took apart an outmoded curriculum that relies on what he called “old world” teaching techniques and skills In Pomfret’s science classrooms, Mathematica rules—at least when it and outlined a variety of ways math could be taught with greater comes to problem-solving and real-life application. No secret weapon, effectiveness. “We are well aware that every student brings to the Mathematica is a technical computing and information powerhouse classroom a unique learning style and individual processing speed,” which is, according to its developers, “the principal computation he said. “What today’s students need is a mathematics curriculum environment for millions of innovators, educators, students, and that acknowledges student differences, one that gives students some others around the world.” According to Science Department Chair ownership of learning expectations and an opportunity to have some Josh Lake, the physics and chemistry faculty “have transitioned students from calculators and solving problems by hand to using control over the individual pace of mastery.”

Mathematica.” The program runs with a notebook format, he explains, The math department has already introduced into its classrooms “that allows students to type notes, set up problems with variables, and a “tool” called ALEKS (easier to say than its formal title, which is solve them — instantly!”

Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces). ALEKS fits all of the adaptive criteria, right down to Jamie’s goal of “sticky learning.” Josh is a huge fan, and as far as fitting Jamie’s model for the goal ALEKS is a web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning of adaptive technology, Mathematica, like its technical counterpart system that uses “adaptive questioning” to accurately determine what ALEKS, meets her criteria for letting technology do the busy work so a student knows and doesn’t know. It then instructs the student on the the students can really jump into the subject matter. “Using it to crank topics he or she is most ready to learn. As a student works through the numbers accurately is much closer to the way real scientists work,” a course, ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to ensure that Josh says. “Real scientists do the heavy thinking of setting up problems topics learned are also retained. In other words, ALEKS knows each and creating models of physical situations with variables and allow computers to do the heavy computational lifting.” He added that, at student’s learning level, and presents problems in their range. first, some students find the powerful program intimidating. “We see Across the curriculum, no matter what the subject, the adaptive it as our job to ease the learning curve,” he explains, “much as you strategies and goals being carved out all lead to the same point on would teach someone to use a complex power tool or construction the educational horizon. The adaptive approach is crucial to whatever vehicle.” As the year goes on, Josh says that students begin to information is at hand. “It customizes the learning path and pace appreciate and utilize the power and ease Mathematica affords them. based on each individual student,” Jamie explains. “It won’t let them Before long, the training wheels come off, and they are doing all of advance until they demonstrate mastery at the current level, which their lab reports and written assessments within the program. develops a sounder foundation. Blended and adaptive both increase No matter what the academic subjects, the goals are the same. The student engagement and ownership.” blueprint for a more student-centered learning experience via a Mitch says the same thing, but with a bit more poetry: “The joy blended, adaptive, more collaborative approach is falling into place. of the literature becomes the centerpiece of the class,” he says, It is abundantly clear that all the ingredients for this great academic “and students long to share their experiences.” Brian is a bit more soufflé are completely assembled, and ready for their eighty minutes formulaic, but they all agree: “The math learning environment,” in the oven, with constant checking for doneness.

THE “THREAD OF CURIOSITY”

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n interest in Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, for example, could progress from research on how baseball bats are made and the species of tree used (primarily ash, according to Google), to deforestation, and find its way to a discovery of famous American naturalists. Or, same topic, different road taken: from Pedroia to Bernard Malamud’s The Natural to Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s Casey at the Bat to playwright August Wilson’s Fences. “Every piece of literature,” Mitch said, “converses with another.”

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Alumni Reunion 2015 Based on Then, a Gift for Now With an Eye to the Future

“There are many exciting and challenging initiatives that will position Pomfret as a leader in education innovation.”

— Jim Seymour, 50th Reunion Committee

50 YEARS IN, THE LESSONS AND REWARDS OF A POMFRET EDUCATION HAVE STOOD THE TEST OF TIME

“We have just experienced a wonderful 50th,” wrote committee member Jim Seymour at the close of the Class of 1965’s weekend celebration on May 1 – 3. The weather was “superb,” and the turnout of twenty-eight of his classmates (nearly sixty percent of the class) earned the group the Spirit Award. According to Jim, all were “inspired by the direction that Tim Richards is leading the School, and the many exciting and challenging initiatives that will position Pomfret as a leader in education innovation.”

They also heard about two historically bold directions for the School, fifty years apart, underscoring Pomfret’s strong tradition of innovation. At a VOICE presentation on the history of diversity at the School, former Headmaster Jay Milnor and John Irick ᾿65, the first student of color to graduate from Pomfret, shared memories of the experience. Jay referred to his decision in 1964 to recruit students of color as “the right thing to do.” Afterwards, both Jim and new Board Chair Justin Klein remarked on how, in 2015, that decision continues to resonate and educate. At the opposite end of the timeline the class heard from Grauer Institute Director Jamie Baker on the many new initiatives sparked by the strategic plan and enabled by the Grauer momentum — among them Project: Pomfret (now a colloquial 3.0), and the international experience partnership with the Council for International Educational Exchange (CIEE).

In December, thanks to this forward-thinking partnership, fifteen members of the sophomore class enrolled in a year-long history course entitled “Global and Sustainable Development” will travel to

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Costa Rica where the students will be able to come face to face with the issues of energy, conservation, agriculture, and urbanization in this developing Latin American country.

But as impressed as they all might have been with the continuum of new directions, more impressive was their show of support for the School, and the vote of confidence in the Vision of the Pomfret Graduate. Part of their reunion class gift, which totaled just over $3 Million (and represented sixty-three percent participation), has been earmarked for the Class of 1965 Endowment Fund, intended to support the Grauer Institute, Project: Pomfret, and the international experience. “The endowment,” said Jim, “is a permanent endowment, reflecting the generosity and commitment to the advancement of education at Pomfret School.”

A tremendous tribute to the School and its legacy, this is a gift far greater than the sum of its parts. It also reflects the lasting impact of thoughts, words, and deeds that have kept alumni connected to each other and to Pomfret over the years. It keeps them current; as much a part of the future of the School as they are linked to its past. With this gift, the Class of 1965, have established a vital connection, not only to the Pomfret that was then, but also to the Pomfret that is now, with a clear line of sight on the future.

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Head of School Tim Richards and outgoing Alumni Association President Paul Fowler ’64 presented Alumni Association awards at reunion weekend on the evening of Saturday, May 2, 2015.

(1) Ari Confesor ’00, (2) Heather Farrell ’00, and (3) Laura Dunn ’05 were inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame (4) Ben Bensen ’70 received the S. Prescott Clement Cup. (5) Bennett Konesni ’00 and David Gulden ’90 were the recipients of the Alumni Association Achievement Medal. (6) Derek Pratt ’90 accepted an Alumni Association Achievement Medal on behalf of David Gulden ’90. (7) Robert “Buzz” Yudell ’65 was the recipient of the Alumni Award. (8) Justin Klein ’65 was the recipient of the William Beach Olmsted Distinguished Service Award. (9) Paul Fowler ’64 accepted a gift in gratitude for his five years of service as Alumni Association President. (10) Mark Blodgett ’75, Brooks Robbins ’55, and Ralph Koehring ’90 received Reunion “spirit” awards 41

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Alumni Reunion Weekend May 1-3, 2015

1. (l-r): Class of 2005 mates Tyler Calabrese, David Still, Chris Martin, Stephen Feathers 2. (l-r): Hilary Gerson ’00, Molly (Graham) Hanson ’00, Esezele (Iseghohi) Payne ’00 3. Having fun with Ann Hinchman P ’81, ’83 (far left) are (l-r): MaryMcLean (Bancroft) Jones ’80, Elke Muller ’80, Monique (Lowery) Foster ’80 4. Former headmaster Jay Milnor reunites with Ethel “Smoke” Twichell, widow of former headmaster David Twichell 5. Enjoying a spot in the sun are (l-r): Nikki (Horne) White ’90, former faculty member Ginny Eaton, and Hardin Gray ’90 6. Pomfret alumni and students participated in the second annual Friends of Pomfret Gay Straight Alliance flipped panel discussion

42

LONG-TERM SUCCESS

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Sharing a laugh are Annie Dickson ’05 (left) and former faculty member Anne Miller P ’04, ’06, ’09 (l-r): Buttons and Ridgie Barton ’65 with Mark Hildebrand ’65 and his wife Nosipho Sithole-Hildebrand Former headmaster Jay Milnor was honored with a diversity award

by John Irick ’65, VOICE Vice President Pelumi Onabanjo ’15, and Pomfret Director of Diversity and Community Relations Steve Davis Sean Sullivan ’80 celebrates his 35th reunion with his daughter Kaitlin (Sullivan) Seaward ’05, who was celebrating her 10th reunion Siblings Tim Deary ’05 and Mackenzie Deary ’10 celebrated their 10th and 5th reunions, respectively Faculty member Anne Richards P ’15 with former faculty member Bill Mees

43

The Alumni Within: AAEC TRANSITION AND TRADITION

I

n early June, leadership of the 116-year-old Alumni Association changed hands, for the fifty-eighth time, from one remarkable alumnus to another. Following decades of involvement at various levels, and serving the longest tenure as president, Paul Fowler ’64 handed the gavel over to a similarly committed George Santiago ’75.

Included in that mantle for George will also be the leadership of the thirty-six member Alumni Association Executive Council (AAEC) and more than 400 Reunion Committee and Class Agent volunteers.

Throughout the summer we were able to talk with Mssrs. Fifty-eight and Fifty-nine, respectively, about the dynamics of an engaged (4500 and growing) alumni community, and how the many programs, activities, and strong relationships with our alumni base both define and drive the success of the School.

This may arguably be one of from Pomfret knowing that he would always be one to give back. the most exciting times in the “For an only child from a rural farming community I arrived at school’s history, but there is Pomfret,” he says, “and instantly had two hundred brothers and two the sense that this is just the sisters. It was like being a kid in a candy store.” To this day, he says, beginning. “when I arrive on the campus, it feels like home.” Looking ahead, — Paul Fowler ’64, Alumni he says, only leads to more enthusiasm about where the strategic Association President, 2010-2015 plan is taking the Pomfret, and its students — who will, inevitably, become alumni. “This is a very exciting time to be involved with aul Fowler ᾿64 stepped Pomfret,” he says, “as our great school leads educational change.” into his role as the fiftyeighth president of the Alumni How and when did you first get involved in the Alumni Association in 2010. In his Association? Do you recall your first alumni activity? five-year tenure he has brought In 1969 I came back for a winter reunion on campus and got the only to his beloved organization speeding ticket that I ever had to pay. I had a blast playing ping pong a trademark enthusiasm in the headmaster’s house (now Robinson House), just the way we and conviction of the power of the alumni community to make had done at the cast parties after plays. I was excited to see everyone definitive changes in the culture of the School. Paul’s impact was again. The fifty members of my class have stayed connected over fifty transformational. Under his direction, the AAEC added more years, thanks to the effort of Peter Clement (Class Secretary), and we outreach to its agenda and introduced innovative programs for enjoyed each other. connecting with young alumni, including an extensive Career Networking initiative and the Pomfret Alumni Career Exploration I was involved in our Class Reunion Committee several times. In Series, or PACES, which brings alumni onto the campus to share 2001, Geoff Liggett asked me to become a Free Agent, which I their perspectives with Pomfret juniors and seniors. “We now offer a accepted. I gave a tennis court to the School as part of the “Priorities variety of programs,” he says, “that not only provide but encourage for Pomfret Campaign,” (I always wanted my own tennis court. I and nurture lifelong — meaningful — involvement with the Pomfret just never realized it would be on someone else’s property.) I became community. “ a member of the Headmaster’s Council in 2008. I was elected Vice President of the Alumni Association for Development in 2009, Devoted alumni don’t materialize from out of nowhere. The level became Interim President to replace Michael Farina ᾿93 in 2010, of Paul’s commitment is the product of meaningful experiences in and was elected President in 2011 for a four-year term. I will stay on classrooms, on the playing fields, and in the dining hall. “The key as Vice President and lead the Engagement Committee for 2015-16. skills I use today were learned at Pomfret,” he says. Paul graduated

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44

Alumni

What do you think are the major accomplishments of your term? What made this time so special?

There is a whole new sense of fun and excitement about the school So many things came together all at once. The appointment of and renewed pride about being a Pomfret alumnus. We launched a Tim Richards as Head of School four years ago marked a time focus on creating connections through our careers, establishing our of increased excitement on the campus. It built on the wonderful signature event Career Expo (year five is coming up), and witnessed school that our fellow alumnus Brad Hastings ’68 had led the expansion to career networking events, establishing of the for so many years, coupled with Peter Grauer’s leadership as mentoring page on the Pomfret website. A number of internships, Board President. Charlie Wilmerding created heightened Board jobs, interviews and networking experiences are emerging that engagement with the school and all its constituents with the help students and alumni. There has been an increase in attendance Strategic Plan, The Pomfret Purpose, and encouraged broad at major events such as Reunion Weekend, which has set records collaboration to make that plan come alive. This also signaled two years in a row. Local events have expanded, hosted by alumni the promotion and hiring of exciting senior leadership at the and parents. Many of these have become traditions. Social media school: Dean of Students Dolph Clinton ’92, Dean of Faculty access has expanded to a variety of formats that meet specific and Chaplain Bobby Fisher, and Director of Advancement and needs: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, coupled with Communications Melissa Bellanceau; along with Director of the Pomfret App. If you don’t have it, get it. There is renewed Admissions Carson Roy, Grauer Institute Director Jamie Baker, engagement with individual classmates by four hundred Reunion Assistant Head of School for Student Life Rich Dempsey, and Committee volunteers and two hundred class agents. The enhanced Director of Diversity and Community Relations Steve Davis. programs are the product of a wonderful collaboration with the great The AAEC and the entire alumni body stepped up with a whole Advancement team. I leave my position with a whole new energized new level of engagement. This may arguably be one of the most AAEC of experienced people in leadership positions. George is a exciting times in the School’s history, but there is the sense that prime example of this exceptional team. this is just the beginning.

Last year, your class’s fiftieth reunion gift was the landscaped Faculty have an important role at the School. Your thoughts? terraces that link Clark Chapel and the Main House. This year All of us were touched by faculty members who unleashed our the Class of 1965 made a gift in support of the Grauer Institute. excitement about something, or helped us through a challenging The idea of “themed” reunion giving seems to be a great way to period in our lives. I use the skills I learned at Pomfret today, and power up alumni support. Comments?

I would not have gotten through the School without the help and Beginning in 2008, with the class of 1958, a number of classes advice of several faculty. I learned to write (surprise, Hagop Merjian: have rallied around their 50th Reunion to run a great party and to all your hard work actually paid off). I learned to be comfortable support our school. Ours was a great party. We have learned from performing in public, whether it was taking Jay Milnor’s public other classes that it is a great time to “thank the School” for the speaking class, performing in Peter “Cap” Marble’s plays or great education we got. We helped add to the beauty of the campus singing in Warren “Goose” Geissinger’s Glee Club. And I learned with the work of our “Five Architects” — ten percent of our class — to compete. It is never too early to express our appreciation to those with the creation and funding for The Terraces in front of the dining who gave us this wonderful start on life. They created the wonderful hall and leading to the Chapel. This year the Class of ’65 made a environment and culture at Pomfret that is an important element of major commitment of $3 million, which largely goes to support Pomfret today. We owe them for the people we became. the exciting innovation that the Grauer Institute and Jamie Baker are bringing to our school. This is an important initiative behind the education that Pomfret will provide to students of the future — future Pomfret alumni.

Association

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I see an AAEC that is bigger and even more central to the Pomfret experience.

— George Santiago Alumni Association President 2015 - Present

F

or George Santiago, the die of his alumni involvement was cast during his earliest exposure to life on the Hilltop.

George entered Pomfret in the fall of 1972 as a scholarship student from the Bronx. Coming from what he calls “humble beginnings,” the School did not so much change as rearrange his life. “My Pomfret experience broadened my horizons and showed me possibilities I hadn’t dreamt of,” he says. “I had mentors like Mr. Merjian and Mr. Woodruff, for whom I will forever be indebted.

Their guidance shaped my future and set me on a path I wouldn’t have otherwise taken.”

That future included a B.A. in English from Columbia University, and a career in advertising sales at publishers such as Better Homes and Gardens and Amazon, to his current position as a Senior Account Executive at Acxiom, the world’s biggest data company. From the start George was a loyal and connected alumnus, generous with his time and support. It may have taken a few years, but his relationship to Pomfret evolved from one of gratitude and appreciation into one of gratitude and leadership. When Tim Richards arrived as the new Head of School in 2011, George’s involvement entered a new level.

“More recently,” he said, “I was excited about the fresh perspective Tim brought as Head of School. I wanted to contribute to meeting the challenges ahead of us.”

Earlier in the summer we had a chance to tap into a bit of our new AAEC president’s time and perspective to ask him about his new role.

46

What kept you connected?

It was the physical pull the campus has had on me since graduation; a reminder, if you will, of my time as a student. Subsequently it was the interaction with the administration that evolved into my relationship with Pomfret today.

What do you see as the most valuable message the AAEC can deliver to its younger alumni?

To stay connected to your classmates and to the School. The Pomfret experience includes a lifelong bond that provides meaningful social and professional benefits, and also a support network that can be tapped into again and again. It also includes a lot of fun!

What do you see as the Alumni Association’s role in the School?

Primarily I see our role as connectors, on many levels: to each other as alumni, to the student body, the faculty, and administration, and also as ambassadors for the School. I’m focused on bringing energy, excitement, and enthusiasm to all that we do but in a thoughtful manner that helps to advance Pomfret’s goals. I’m also focused on participation: that is, to have alumni, from the young to the young at heart, participate in events and on committees, so that we can take advantage of a wide perspective and complementary points of view.

What are you most looking forward to?

Building upon an already great foundation laid by Paul Fowler ᾿64, the AAEC, and the School, I am excited at the prospect of connecting even more alumni with Pomfret and each other, having them participate in helping Pomfret achieve its goals, working with our great committee members and chairs, and having a lot of fun along the way.

Looking ahead five years: what do you see?

I see a school well into its transformation, both physically and educationally. I see an AAEC that is bigger and even more central to the Pomfret experience. And I see someone much younger than me taking over the reins as AAEC President.

Strength in Numbers

By Melissa Bellanceau, Director of Advancement and Communications

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omfret is making powerful strides toward becoming a recognized leader in boarding school education.

The change in daily schedule, advanced course offerings, project based learning opportunities, and the new Q.U.E.S.T. program are bringing an intentionality to what Pomfret has always done — prepare students for the future. This work, these changes, would not be possible without the generosity of the Pomfret community. This year, thanks to the support of trustees, alumni, parents (past and present), grandparents, students, faculty, and friends, the Pomfret Fund surged 12% ahead of the prior year ending at $2,259,347. As a school community, we are deeply grateful to all those who participated.

The Fund’s success can be attributed to a number of successful new fundraising initiatives, but most importantly to all of the volunteers who worked on the School’s behalf. Parents of the class of 2015 rallied behind Pomfret’s faculty and led a successful senior parent gift initiative that brought in over $300,000 of the total. Legions of reunion volunteers celebrated important graduation milestones by increasing their own contributions and inspired many of their classmates to do the same. Expanded outreach by the Alumni Association has strengthened alumni connections and networking opportunities resulting in a more engaged constituency base.

Giving to Pomfret’s capital and endowment needs was equally strong, with the Grauer Institute and Health and Wellness being two of the School’s top priorities. Total giving was nearly $6,000,000 including new pledges and estate gifts. The class of 1965 set an unprecedented record of $3,028,732 raised to honor their 50th reunion, of which just over $700,000 was directed to the innovative academic work taking place under the leadership of the Grauer Institute.

Looking forward, the finalization of Pomfret’s master plan and continued focus on annual giving will shape emerging fundraising priorities. Each dollar raised strengthens the School and moves Pomfret closer to the fulfillment of The Pomfret Purpose. It is an exciting time to be part of Pomfret. There is vision, there is progress, and there is momentum.

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Class Notes

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lass notes featured in this issue were received prior to June 15, 2015.

Notes received after this date will be published in the Fall 2015 issue.

Class notes are appreciated and may be submitted via your Class Agent, the Pomfret School website, or by e-mail to: Deb Thurston, Class Notes Editor, at dthurston@pomfretschool.org We encourage and welcome appropriate news items and photographs from all alumni/ae and friends. Please note that not all submissions are guaranteed to appear based upon subject matter, photo reproduction quality, and space availability. Also, we reserve the right to edit for consistency and style but we will give every consideration to each author’s individual writing style.

Class Secretary: Makes social contacts, gathers news for Class Notes

1935

1942

1946

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

CLASS AGENT:

1936

1943

1947

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

CLASS AGENT:

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

1937

Jay Powell reported that he and Rod Perkins, with his wife Susie, attended the memorial service on April 18, 2015 in Lenox, MA for Stuart Bartle, who died on March 26. Rod and Susie traveled by bus from New York City, and Jay traveled from Shelburne, VT. “To my knowledge, the only other Pomfret alumnus there was Dick Jackson ’61, who knew Stu as a fellow Lenox resident, and whom I met by chance when he spotted my Pomfret bow tie! I last saw Rod when we both attended a gathering in Mystic, CT when classmate Wye Garfield died last summer.”

1948

1944

Tony LaPalme would like to get in touch with Lyman Allen – please call Tony with an updated phone number.

CLASS AGENT:

Seth B. French, Jr.

1938 No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

1939 CLASS AGENT:

William P. Rowland, mickrow@comcast.net

1940

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

1941 CLASS AGENTS:

Francis O. Lathrop, Jr. Paul F. Perkins, perkins.paul.mary@gmail.com

48

Class Agent: Solicits financial support for the School, keeps classmates up-to-date with Pomfret events and news, gathers news for Class Notes

CLASS NOTES

Junius L. Powell, Jr., jaywakerobin@gmail.com

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

1945

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

Robert A. Brunker, brunkerranch@fire2wire.com

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

1949 CLASS AGENTS:

Stuart J. Bracken, bjsjb@comcast.net Winslow M. Cady, suecady@sunflower.com CLASS SECRETARY:

Tony LaPalme, 207-967-4582

Roger Chappelka and his wife Anne are planning to move into a condo … They also took a trip in June, touring Canada with their grandchild.

Steve Heartt and his wife Cathy headed back to France on vacation during the summer of 2015.

Janet and Win Carrick traveled from Texas to Boothbay, Maine to enjoy some lobster.

Several members of the Class of 1949 have celebrated their birthdays in the past months: Lyman Allen, Morgan Gilbert, and Dick Kennedy celebrated their birthdays in March; Terry Hoyt celebrated in April, and Jeremy Burnham in May. June saw Joe Lorenz, Win Cady, and Steve Heartt pass another year, and George Monks in July. Best wishes to all of you!

1950 CLASS AGENT:

William O. Sumner, sumnerb27@cox.net

Bert Welling reported, “[My wife] Louise and I enjoyed a trip from Lindblad Expeditions/ National Geographic to Holland and Belgium in early May 2015 to see the old cities and the tulip fields – tip-toeing through the tulip fields … Most amazing and a beautiful garden was the Keukenhof, which is open to the public in April and May. The trip ended by sailing up the Thames in the very early AM under London Bridge – fascinating to see it rise to allow our ship to pass underneath.”

1951 CLASS AGENT:

Rolfe Floyd III, rolfe@plaidpajamas.com

1952 CLASS AGENT:

Charles V. Henry III, henry@henrybeaver.com

Don Nelson wrote, “I put together tours for retired doctors and other medical personnel of Scott & White Hospital and Clinic (now Baylor Scott & White). This spring our trip was a cruise in the Netherlands and Belgium. Our fall trip will be to the Pacific Northwest – Seattle to San Francisco. The windmills and tulips in the spring are truly something to be seen. The cruise meant no daily packing and unpacking which is indeed a joy! My oldest granddaughter graduated from the University of Pennsylvania last June [2014] and is teaching at an inner New York City elementary school this and next year.

She then plans to go back to college to work on a degree that might lead to neurosurgery.

She babysat for some pediatric neurosurgeons in Philadelphia and got to actually observe a surgery, so her interest is a little more than just a ‘be nice’ to do. Time will tell. Her younger sister graduated from Princeton (NJ) High School last

1955 — Celebrating their 60th reunion, the Class of 1955 are front row (l-r): former headmaster Jay Milnor, Charlie Hudson, Michael Hard, Will Stewart; back row (l-r): Tom Langman, Hardy Eshbaugh, Ferruccio Turek, John Huss, Gordon Fales, Brooks Robbins. Missing from photo: Tony Pratt

year and is at Kings College in London. She’d like to work in international business. Their youngest sister is a junior at Princeton High and also works in a business preparing crepes.

She’s looking at colleges now, probably in the US. Their mother, a graduate of Hotchkiss and Yale, teaches landscape architecture at Rutgers and runs a private garden design business in the NJ-NY area. Their dad is an architect who has his own firm.”

1953

1956 No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

Bill Huffer wrote, “My wife and I are planning to come celebrate the 60th reunion next year and I hope many of the 1956 class can make it to Pomfret. In the meantime, we are planning to go to Belgium to visit relatives, then visit Corsica where I have never been, and then a week of sailing off La Rochelle in September. Best regards to the Pomfret family.”

CLASS AGENTS:

Frederick K. Gaston III, fgaston@optonline.net Edward K. McCagg, tedmccagg@earthlink.net

1957 CLASS AGENT:

1954

Horace H. Work, hwork3@gmail.com

CLASS AGENTS:

David Unsworth wrote, “The Golden Age Team from CT is going to Omaha in August 2015 to compete in the National Veterans Golden Age Games. There will be about a dozen members going. I will be competing in several track events: javelin and discus, swimming 25 and 50 meter back stroke, and possibly 1/2 mile bike. I managed to win some medals in the last several years in Hawaii, St Louis, Buffalo, and Fayetteville AR. By the way, my granddaughter, Lane, was the fifth seat in the first Andover boat that won the women’s eight of the [New England] Interscholastics at Worcester on May 23rd – fifty-eight (that’s 58) years after I won in the fours.”

Chester K. Lasell, cklasell@aol.com William H. O’Brien III, obrienwilliam930@gmail.com

1955 CLASS AGENTS:

John J. Huss, johnandsallyhuss@verizon.net William A.W. Stewart III, williamstewart325@gmail.com CLASS SECRETARY:

E. Brooks Robbins, ebrrob@comcast.net

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 1955 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 60th reunion.

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1958 CLASS AGENT:

Galen N. Griffin, Gnbayern@aol.com

Tony Call wrote, “I’m still stealing money narrating documentaries, particularly on the History Channel, National Geographic, all the Discovery channels, and PBS. I seem to have been type cast as the voice of doom, my latest upcoming series being “A Haunting” and “Alaska Haunting,” both I think on Destination America. I was also in the process of rewriting a play I began several years ago when, after rereading it, I realized it would serve far better as fertilizer. My great passion for the last few years has been studying jazz piano with the world famous jazz and classical pianist, Amina Figarova – but, man, it’s hard. Next time I’ll study something easy, like rocket science.

Love to all.”

Galen Griffin reported, “Patty and I traveled to both Myanmar and then Cuba in February and April of 2015. Myanmar was a real eye-opener – a fabulous country to visit with the Bagan archaeological zone rivaling or surpassing any of the temple complexes throughout south and southeast Asia. As long as things remain relatively peaceful in central and western Myanmar, you should go! Our ‘cultural’ tour to Cuba (call it the “singing, dancing, and art tour” with a top U.S. travel company) was a mixed bag and left us feeling we hadn’t really gotten a sense of how everyday Cubans live and think.”

Dave Sage wrote, “I continue writing; two books are out and another was ready in May. I’m also 80% finished with a book on the Barbary Coast pirates in 1630. Monty Lewis is helping me try to get the Museum of Natural History in New York City to publish my father’s daily journal of the 1934 Sage West China Expedition to procure a giant panda group for the museum.”

Dave Allan wrote, “[In early spring 2015] I was contacted by folks involved with the History Channel to see if I would add expertise to the recovery of gold coins from the Republic, which was sunk off Nantucket in 1909 due to the New Jersey T-boning it in a dense fog. (An ignoble demise if there ever was one.) She was the sister ship of the Titanic, and had the same design flaw: the ‘watertight’ bulkheads did not extend up to the main deck level. Anyway, it is rumored that the Czar of Russia had gotten a loan of $150M from the US, and this ship was taking it to the Mediterranean. Speculations abound as to why it’s not on the manifest. No word yet as to whether this salvage will go forward.”

Ed Johnson wrote, “Nothing dramatic to report. Winter was tough in this New England 50

CLASS NOTES

area, but we weren’t as badly affected as Boston. Kim and I are hoping to do less volunteer work and more traveling in the next several months, visiting family and friends in the process. Our daughter, Lacy, has joined a start-up company in New London that specializes in mentoring for children with special needs, including autism.”

1959 CLASS AGENT:

Jeb N. Embree, jeb.embree@essexfinancialservices.com

1960 CLASS AGENT:

Benjamin A. Fairbank, Jr., baf@texas.net

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 1960 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 55th reunion.

1961 CLASS AGENT:

George M. Walker, gwalker1942@comcast.net

1962 CLASS AGENT:

I. Howell Mallory, ihmallory@gmail.com CLASS SECRETARY:

Toby Condliffe, toby@condliffe.net

1963 CLASS AGENTS:

Charles W. Fleischmann, cfleischmann@baipollock.com Anthony C. Lame, aclame@info-unlimited.com CLASS SECRETARY:

Charles W. Fleischmann cfleischmann@baipollock.com

1964

1964 — Barbara Lazear Ascher and Strobe Talbott were married in February 2015 secretary of state. He has written 12 books, including The Great Experiment: The Story of Ancient Empires, Modern States, and the Quest for a Global Nation. Barbara and Strobe divide their time equally between New York City and Washington, DC. Mark Constantian reported, “I received the Clinician of the Year award from the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the oldest plastic surgical organization in the world, at its annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ on April 12, 2015. I was absolutely stunned. When the president called me and told me that it was his honor to select the Clinician of the Year, my first thought was that he was going to run some names by me and ask my advice.

What is unusual in my case is that most of the clinicians have been in full-time academic positions, not private practice with only adjunct teaching appointments, and almost none perform primarily aesthetic surgery. I sit up here in New Hampshire writing my papers at the kitchen table, and never know if anyone reads them. Obviously they do!”

Peter W. Clement, pipersdad@comcast.net John A. Dix, jpalmfrond@gmail.com Charles W. Findlay III, cwfindlay3@gmail.com Paul D. Fowler, paulfowlercms@aol.com

Vip van Voorhees was off to Teamwork Ministries’ City of Hope in Tanzania, Africa in June 2015. Along with his daughter, an architect, they are working on the design of new high school building, with a cost estimate of $150,000. Imagine if the cost of a US high school could be that low!

Congratulations to Barbara Lazear Ascher, who was married to Strobe Talbott on the evening of February 28, 2015 at the New York Society Library. Barbara is a New York-based freelance writer and the author of four books.

Until last year, she was also a board member of the Academy of American Poets in New York. Strobe is the president of the Brookings Institution in Washington and the chairman of the State Department Foreign Affairs Policy Board. From 1994 to 2001, he was the deputy

Paul Fowler contributed the following summary of events from the spring: “At this year’s Alumni Reunion, past 1964 classmates who moved to ’65 were well represented.

Ridgie Barton came in from California and appeared in person, along with Dean Moss, who was also in fine form. Terk Williams appeared in the 1965 50th Reunion Bio Book with some of the motorcycle, airplane and other photos of daring do that he shared with us a year ago. Bill Mees also appeared – he is in great form and

CLASS AGENTS:

1964 — Vip van Voorhees ’64 with Mariam, a young lady Vip and his wife sponsor at City of Hope in Tanzania, Africa, sporting Pomfret Class of 1964 hats sporting a top of the line Jeep Grand Cherokee, vs. the tricked out GTO of the 60’s that raced along the road behind the dorms. Bill has initiated a number of faculty reunions from the 50-60’s - Geissinger, Rindfleish, Twichell, Milnor..., one of which was featured in a recent Pomfret Magazine. Charlie Potts joined me for the David Twichell Tree Dedication.

Charlie was in Pomfret seeing his grandson play lacrosse at Rectory – potential for Pomfret Class of 2019-20. The Twichell tree is just down the path from the Geissinger’s tree.

In February about 30 alumni returned to campus for the 4th Annual Career Expo to share their career experience and insights with juniors and seniors. Joining me were Charlotte

1964 — (l-r): Paul Fowler ’64, Charlotte & Mark Constantian ’64, Jim Seymour ’64, and Mark Simon ’64 at Pomfret’s Career Expo in February 2015 and Mark Constantian, Jim Seymour ’65 and Mark Simon. Both Marks got a lot of attention during one-on-one networking after the formal class sessions, and were big hits with the students during their sessions.

Mark Simon made an exciting presentation on the Master Plan to the Board in April. This is a critical initiative to update and align the school’s facilities with the needs outlined in the Strategic Plan - The Pomfret Purpose.

Dave Woodrow heads the Board’s Facilities Committee. Woody and Mark are collaborating on this project, having emerged from a dry run in teamwork working on ‘The Terraces’.”

1965 CLASS AGENT:

William A. Hastings, wah99@verizon.net

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 1965 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 50th reunion.

Jim Seymour reported, on behalf of the Class of 1965 Reunion Committee: We experienced a wonderful 50th Reunion on campus. The weather was superb, our classmates were spirited, and reveled in the company of each other after such a long separation. We were inspired by the direction that Tim Richards is leading Pomfret School and the many

1965 — Celebrating their 50th reunion, the Class of 1965 are front row seated (l-r): Jim Seymour, Matt Matthews, John Irick; (middle row, l-r) James King, Barry Bobrick, Dean Moss, Buzz Yudell, Bill Saunders, Don Robinson, Bill Whipple, Donald Gibbs, Tom LeVeen, Justin Klein, Toby Richardson, Ridgie Barton, Michael Glick, Skip Hastings; back row (l-r): Seaver Leslie, Peter Murkett, Derry Allen, Bill Cotter, Mark Hildebrand, Rick Findlay, Bob Orr, Murph Henkel, Rob Whitman, Chris Moffitt, Steve Crane. Missing from photo: Jeff Brainerd 51

1966 — Michael Schwartz ’66 (right) with Augusto Trindade ’66 and his wife Carmela exciting and challenging initiatives that will position our School as a leader in education innovation. There were 28 of our classmates at the reunion (59% of the class) which earned us the “spirit” award and a glass of champagne each at the awards dinner on Saturday evening.

It is with great pleasure that we also inform you that Buzz Yudell was the recipient of the 2015 Pomfret School Alumni Award and that Justin Klein received the 2015 William Beach Olmsted Distinguished Service Award.

Several of us attended (and participated in) a few of the classes on Friday. The style of education and teaching has definitely changed since our time. And of course the students have changed as well. The Class of 1965 received a special one-hour presentation by Jamie Feild Baker, the Director of the newly established Grauer Institute for Excellence in Innovation and Education. She elaborated on the different initiatives of the Institute, including the further development of Project: Pomfret, now entering its third year, and the new pilot International Experience which will enable 15 students to study aspects of the history, economy, culture, health, and education in Costa Rica in the Fall of 2015, spend two weeks in Costa Rica between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and continue their study upon returning to campus.

Our Class of 1965 Gift has been a major factor in funding the launch of the Institute that was initially funded by Peter Grauer.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the VOICE program that included a very candid conversation among John Irick, [former headmaster] Jay Milnor, and a group of current students. John and Jay discussed the dynamic that led to John joining our class in 1964 and what it meant to each of them. Another key event was the Friends of Pomfret GSA flipped panel discussion among alumni and students.

On Saturday, we presented a symbolic check for $2,858,381 representing the contributions of cash, pledges, and legacy gifts to all the funds at Pomfret School this fiscal year. Of

52

CLASS NOTES

that amount, $693,616 is devoted to the Class of 1965 Endowment that will support the operations of the Grauer Institute, Project: Pomfret, and the International Experience.

The Class of 1965 Endowment is a permanent endowment reflecting the generosity and commitment of the class to the advancement of education at Pomfret School. We look forward to seeing you at our 55th in 2020, five short years away.

1966

No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

Bob Off wrote, “For a long time I have been considering doing a roombox about Fitz Hugh Lane, a well-known maritime painter who lived in Gloucester, MA in the mid-1800s. While doing my research I learned he spent time during the summers in Castine, Maine where I go every year for an international workshop on miniatures. Lane painted several paintings while staying in Castine in 1850 and 1851. His host and friend, Joseph Stevens, was very active in the art world at the time. My roombox reflects what I imagined rooms in Stevens’ home to have looked like in 1850. I envisioned a masculine space in the Federalist-style, simple, wellfurnished and elegant with an adjoining lightfilled room for his friends to use as a temporary studio. While in Castine, Lane created a picture of the Stevens home as it looked in 1850 which serves as the window view from the studio room of my roombox. He also painted a panorama picture of the Castine harbor which serves as the view from the window in the main room of my roombox. I had great fun creating this box, and I lectured about it in a talk I gave to the Castine Historical Society on the afternoon of June 15, 2015 in Castine. I have already started my next rooombox inspired by the well-known photographer of Native Americans, Edward Curtis. The roombox will be my vision of what

1967 — (l-r): Class of 1967 mates Kenyon Clark, Corbin Eissler, and Michael Petty at Corbin’s home in Lorton, VA. Kenyon and his wife were biking in the region and Michael was kayaking in Pohick Bay. his Seattle store and photographic studio may have looked like in 1910.”

Michael Schwartz had a reunion lunch with Augusto “Gusto” Trindade and his wife, Carmela, in Washington, DC in May 2015. Augusto and Carmela were in town for lectures he gave at Washington College of Law, American University. Augusto is a leading international jurist and currently one of fifteen judges of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Previously he served as President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica among other posts. No doubt it was his senior year at Pomfret that contributed to his future accomplishments!

1967 CLASS AGENT:

Michael S. Petty, sundancepetty@gmail.com

Tom Downing wrote, “I’ve retired after 37 years as an attorney, 35 years as a personal injury lawyer. I’m a captain with Yarmouth, Maine Fire/Rescue working as a firefighter and EMT. As I tell people, ‘I not only chase ambulances, I drive them and work in the back.’ I am currently enrolled in paramedic school.”

1968 CLASS AGENTS:

Gregory W. Melville, greg476melville@gmail.com Robert R. Rich, robertrrich@gmail.com

1969 CLASS AGENT:

Richard G. Levin, rlevin99@charter.net

1970 — Celebrating their 45th reunion, the Class of 1970 are front row, (l-r): Peter Smoluchowski, Tom Arnold, Helen (Pollari) Howell, John Bogardus, Joe Crary, Steve Howard; back row, (l-r): Joe Keiffer, David Jones, Tom Boyd, Carter Hinckley, Mark Lipman, Marshall Eaton, Ben Bensen.

1970 — (l-r): Marshall ’70 & Ginny Eaton visited with Harold & Shirley Bost, parents of trustee Daryle Bost ’89, in Williamstown, MA in June

good deal more recognition! 1970 and Pomfret were very lucky to have him. Best news of all, we still do!”

Joe Keiffer had an exhibition of 33 oil paintings at Jane Roberts’ Gallery on Faubourg St. Honoré in Paris, France from June 3-July 10, 2015.

1971 CLASS AGENT:

Jacques P. Bailhé, jbailhe@verizon.net

1972 CLASS AGENTS:

James M. Bergantz, jbergantz@verizon.net Milton L. Butts, Jr., ml_jr@lycos.com

1970 — Celebrating their 40th reunion, the Class of 1975 are front row, (l-r): Charlie Cole, Sheila Killeen, Amy Cohen, Ed Chow, Ann ( Jones) Fisher, Teo Henriquez, Mark Blodgett with son Max Blodgett; back row, (l-r): Haskell Simpkins, George Santiago, Andre Burgess, Phil Rettger, Don Williams, Howard Sutherland, Chris Boak. Missing from photo: Neil McDonough

1970 CLASS AGENTS:

Richard A. Bensen, boopx2@gmail.com Gilbert H. Judson, gjudson@jmj.com

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 1970 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 45th reunion.

Gil Judson reported, “Tinker, Katie and I headed back to the USA in May after two years living in Singapore and working all over Asia Pacific.

Two very interesting years. We are having slight ‘movers remorse’ but we are excited. We

are spending the summer at our lake cottage in Michigan while we decide on our permanent home (famous last words from us…). My email remains the same (gjudson@jmj.com) and my new phone (mobile) is 512-915-7210. Sorry to have missed the 45th Reunion but will be at the 50th.”

Ben Bensen wrote, “It was good to see so many of us at the 45th reunion, and to see Marshall [Eaton] off duty (at last!). Still wondering what to do with my [award], and want everyone to know that Carter Hinckley deserved it more.

His thirty years as Class Secretary and four as President of the Alumni Association warrant a

1973 CLASS AGENT:

David A. Rosen, rosend@rcbhsc.wvu.edu

1974 CLASS AGENT:

David D. Dixon, David.D.Dixon@wellsfargo.com

1975 CLASS AGENTS:

Andre B. Burgess, Burgess797@aol.com Timothy S. Matthews, tbmatthews@md.metrocast.net

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 1975 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 40th reunion.

53

1976 — Alex Blodgett ’76 (right) with his oldest son, Christopher (middle), and friend Mike Katz did a series of bike races in and around Girona, Spain

1979 — Amy Salerno ’79 and Glenn DeGruchy were married on May 9, 2015

1979 — Hammy Mullarkey ᾿19, son of Bobby Mullarkey ’79, enjoying a Father’s Day fishing trip and first tuna of the season

1976

1979

CLASS AGENTS:

CLASS AGENT:

Richard S. Cody, richcody@hotmail.com Michael R. Nelson, mike55nelson@gmail.com

Robert K. Mullarkey, rkmullarkey@gmail.com

1977

CLASS SECRETARY:

blessed that the two girls will now have a father.

Glenn wrote and recited commitment vows to the girls as part of our wedding ceremony. I have taken Glenn’s name as part of my complete willingness to merge lives with him. My new name is Amy Salerno DeGruchy. Glenn works for the United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit as an IT Analyst. I continue in my work as a physician with the Latino and immigrant communities. I am Site Leader for the Zufall Health Center in West Orange, NJ.”

CLASS AGENTS:

John B. Leeming II, john_leeming@msn.com Elwood E. Leonard III, elwoodleonard3@gmail.com

1978 CLASS AGENT:

Mark S. Breen, wxmanbreen@gmail.com

Arthur Diaz wrote, “After 10 years as Pomfret’s CFO, I left Pomfret at the end of June 2015 to start a similar job at Groton School in Massachusetts. Groton recently put themselves at the forefront of the financial sustainability movement among independent schools by announcing a three-year tuition freeze, and part of my job will involve figuring out how to keep the budget balanced with that element of revenue fixed for the next three years. I also hope to eventually get involved in coaching, teaching, and other aspects of school life, similar to my work at Pomfret.”

54

CLASS NOTES

Bradley R. Painter, bpainter@macdonnellandpainterlandscape.com

Andy Beall reported, “It was tough for me to be objective and let my son Charlie shop for his new school this past year, and not impose my feeling for Pomfret on him. Hut and I were so thrilled, when the process was drawing to a close and Charlie said to us, ‘I really want to go to Pomfret.’ Then a few weeks later, we got a letter from Carson Roy accepting Charlie to the Pomfret class of 2019. If I was capable, I would have done cart wheels across our front yard! I love Pomfret so much, and am so thrilled to be starting a new relationship with the school, as a parent. Hut and I know Charlie with thrive at Pomfret. We could not be happier. One of the highlights of the whole experience was when Charlie looked at me, with a twinkle in his eye, and said, ‘Dad, I’ll go to Pomfret if you promise not to reminisce endlessly about when you were at Pomfret with Todd [Gattoni]!’”

Amy Salerno announced, “Glenn Charles DeGruchy and I exchanged marital vows for the first time in our lives on Saturday May 9, 2015 at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Bedford, NY. I have raised my two daughters, Francesca and Dorsey-Camila, as a single mother since their birth in Guatemala. We feel particularly

Bobby Mullarkey enjoyed a Father’s Day fishing trip in New Jersey with his son, Hammy, who will be coming to Pomfret this fall.

“Hammy is excited for Pomfret and I’m over the moon!” he said.

1980 CLASS AGENT:

Linnea Corwin Elrington, linneaelrington@hotmail.com CLASS SECRETARY:

Martha K. Murphy, M2Murphy@aol.com

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 1980 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 35th reunion.

1980 — Celebrating their 35th reunion, the Class of 1980 are front row (l-r): Ann (Potter) Murray, Mary-McLean (Bancroft) Jones, Elke Muller, Monique (Lowery) Foster, Jeff Wong; middle row (l-r): Bill Taylor, Peter Alworth, former faculty Jake Reynolds, Jeff Schimmel, Martha Murphy, Kim (Carlson) Benner, Brian Clark; back row (l-r): Paul Tucker, Billy Cole ’81, Henry Ijams, Andy Faulkner, John Read, Peter Howard, Jamie Jacobus, Jay Marshall, Sean Sullivan. Missing from photo: Steve Mandell, Linc Turner

1981 CLASS AGENT:

Eric L. Foster, eric.lindh.foster@gmail.com CLASS SECRETARY:

Sarah Armstrong Scheide, rscheide@comcast.net

1982 CLASS AGENTS:

Luis Cruz, lcruzesq@gmail.com Johanna M. Moffitt, JMMoffitt@aol.com

1983 CLASS AGENTS:

Wendy Reeder Enelow, enelow1@sbcglobal.net Timothy T. Robinson, t.t.robinson@cox.net

Peter Southam wrote, “It’s been a busy year for us. Our daughter Samantha graduated from Boston University this spring and our son, Max, graduated from Gould Academy.

Max will attend Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR and Samantha is going to take a job at the Nike corporate headquarters, in Beaverton, OR. Even though we are emptying the nest this year, at least both kids will be in the same place. Last summer Max and I rode

the Tour Divide, a 2700 mile, self-supported mountain bike ‘race’ from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, NM. It took 35 days and the route climbed 200,000 feet, mostly on dirt roads and trails. We sold our bicycle shop, which we started six years ago, and so my dream of having a bike shop in our town without actually having to own it came true. I am the science department chairman at Gould Academy, so that keeps me busy, and I am also the head cycling coach with about 40 kids on the teams in the fall and spring seasons. I pretty much look forward to summer as only a teacher can. I’m not sure what Sarah and I will do with ourselves now that the kids will be gone, but I’m guessing that multiple trips to Oregon are in our not-so-distant future.”

Alex McLean wrote, “Rose and I have moved to Akron, OH where I am a minister at the New Covenant Community Church. We really enjoy it here and if you are ever in the area please stop by.”

Tim Eustis is enjoying life in the Berkshires with his wife and two boys. He works at their family-owned hotel, The Red Lion Inn, in Stockbridge, MA. On June 1, 2015 they opened another hotel called Hotel on North in Pittsfield, MA, right in the heart of the Berkshires, close to Tanglewood. If you are in the area please come visit.

Al Washco reported, “Our son, Albert, was selected to participate in the USA Hockey National Camp for players born in 1999. He was one of nine forwards selected from the Atlantic District, and only 100 total players are invited to the camp from the entire country. A team of 20 players will be selected from the camp to represent the US in an international tournament in August 2015. Also, our daughter Nicole completed her freshman year at Salve Regina University (Newport, RI) where she is studying environmental biology.”

Wendy Reeder Enelow wishes “a happy 50th birthday to all! Here’s to 50 more years of health and happiness!”

1984 CLASS AGENTS:

Jeffrey P. Curran, jeff@curranonline.com Alexis Rosenthal Proceller, lexieproceller@gmail.com Nathaniel S. Reeder

1985 CLASS AGENT:

Heather Julian, HJulian@alumni.princeton.edu

55

1989 — (l-r): Alison Raney and Daryle Bost ’89 with his parents, Harold and Shirley Bost, in Williamstown, MA

1990 — Celebrating the wedding of Derek Pratt ’90 are front row (l-r): Jeremy Button ’91, Courtney Hallock McGinnis ’91, Samantha Jones O’Brien ’91, Neil Peter ’90; back row (l-r): Zach Harvey ’90, Alexander Wilmerding ’92, Mimi Gary ’91, Derek Pratt ’90, Warner Hotchkiss ’90, Scott Brown ’90

1990 — Celebrating their 25th reunion, the Class of 1990 are front row (l-r): Jonathan Gengras, Katie Ettinger, Luci (Day) Scott, Jon Eggert, Nikki (Horne) White, David Kell; middle row (l-r): Derek Pratt, Jen Patenaude, Rachel Baime, Sarah (Bartholomew) Wilkinson, Hallie Ziesmer, Kim Cutter, Christina Paumgarten; back row, (l-r): Paul DeNapoli, Marcus Acheson, Ralph Koehring. Missing from photo: Hardin Gray, John Scheffler

1986

1988

1990

CLASS AGENTS:

CLASS AGENT:

CLASS AGENTS:

Jeffrey H. Connor, jconnorman@aol.com David R. Salomon, dsalomon@eastendadvisors.com

Elizabeth Tilt Weiner, etweiner@aol.com

1987

Marcus W. Acheson, kidach2000@msn.com Rachel Baime, racheldavisbaimeesq@gmail.com Laura H. Cowperthwait, lacowp@yahoo.com Jonathan G. Gengras, jonathan@gengras.net

CLASS AGENTS:

CLASS AGENTS:

Katharine B. Cowperthwait, kcowperthwait@aol.com Jonathan L. Hart, jonohart@earthlink.net

56

CLASS NOTES

1989 Nathaniel M. Peirce, NMPeirce@yahoo.com K. Kelsey Hubbard Rollinson, kelshubbard@yahoo.com Catherine Moriarty Whittier, whittier@virginia.edu

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 1990 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 25th reunion.

1994 — Nate Russell ’94 with his newborn daughter, Natasha Russell Bernstein

Derek Pratt announced, “I married Diana Pulling on January 24, 2015. Pomfret alumni in attendance were Neil Peter, Scott Brown, Warner Hotchkiss, Zach Harvey, Samantha (Jones) O’Brien ’91, Courtney (Hallock) McGinnis ’91, Jeremy Button ’91, Mimi Gary ’91 and Alexander Wilmerding ’92.”

Ralph Koehring checked in from Cairo, Egypt where he is serving with USAID in the Foreign Service with his wife, Maryanna, and three children - Josephine, Louisa, and Gideon.

He has served over 16 years in the U.S. Government, primarily in the Foreign Service, and has been posted in Bolivia, Zambia, Afghanistan, and now Egypt. As many know, serving overseas is almost a family tradition for Ralph, as his parents were also in the Foreign Service in Sudan, Kenya, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Paris, and Congo Brazzaville. Ralph and his family would love to host any Pomfret alumni or friends who might be interested in visiting the ancient wonders of Egypt. Please feel free to contact him at rkoehring@usaid.gov.

1997 — Rick Portuguez ’97 with his wife Penelope and their son Nicolas

1992

1995

CLASS AGENTS:

CLASS AGENTS:

Diana Heide Fredericks, dhfredericks@gmail.com Samuel L. Goldworm David Wyatt Wartels, wyattwartels@gmail.com

Carson T. Baker, carsonbaker@pepsihv.com Whitney A. Cook, whitcook@gmail.com Nicholas D. Mettler, nick@nomoredirt.com Allison Glasmann Reiner, allison1176@yahoo.com Robert E. Thebault, rthebault@gmail.com Daniel J. Thompson, dthompson7@gmail.com

1993 CLASS AGENTS:

Michael G. Farina, michaelgfarina@gmail.com Sarah M. Flournoy, sarahflournoy@gmail.com

1991

Jack Howard-Potter wrote, “I have been very busy installing new sculptures in Georgia, Virginia, Kansas, Florida and Massachusetts, with Chicago, Long Island City and Colorado joining the list. I participated in Open Studios as part of LIC Arts Open on May 15 and 16, 2015 at my studio in Long Island City, NY. I opened my studio to give people an idea about where and how I work … the raw materials, tools and practices I use in creating my sculptures. My work was also included in a group show called “Shangri-La in LIC” that ran May 15-June 15.

CLASS AGENTS:

1994

Laurence N. Hale, lhale@weissandhale.com Abigail Gardiner Silk, agsilk72@gmail.com CLASS SECRETARY:

Caroline E. Waterlow, waterlow@mindspring.com

Malik Ducard has written a book entitled, Henry’s Big Win, published in April 2015

by Fifth Floor Press. He is currently on the content team at YouTube where he gets to enjoy great storytelling on video.

CLASS AGENTS:

Karrie M. Amsler, karriemamsler@hotmail.com David Levin, levin.daniel@gmail.com Edward W. Wartels, EWartels@cresa.com Timothy L. Whipple, tim.whipple@gmail.com

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 1995 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 20th reunion.

1996 CLASS AGENTS:

M. Anderson Bottomy, anderson@bottomy.com Hillary Lewis Fryer, hillaryhlewis@gmail.com Michael A. Newton, manjr17@gmail.com Rebecca Holt Squires, rebecca.squires@gmail.com

Dagmar Noll reported, “In September [2014], I traveled to my ancestral home of Denmark and, over four weeks, improvised a 900-mile solo bicycle journey across the country beginning at the northernmost town of Skagen, travelling south across Jutland, moving southeast over the Danish archipelago, and, finally, pedaling north again to the ending point in Copenhagen.

I overnighted in hostels, primitive camping shelters, campgrounds, my tent, and in the homes of various Danish hosts I met along the way.”

Nate Russell announced, “I am doing well and living in Boston working in the biotech industry.

Johanna Bernstein and I became proud parents of Natasha Russell Bernstein on April 18, 2015.

We’re excited to welcome her to the world.”

57

2000 — Celebrating their 15th reunion, the Class of 2000 are front row (l-r): Hilary Gerson, Kristin (Brush) Vincent, Esezele (Iseghohi) Payne, Molly (Graham) Hanson, Molly Shriver-Blake; back row (l-r): Ari Confesor, Becky Castle, Heather Farrell, Tim Peck, Debra (Harper) de Rosset, Ben Fash, Bennett Konesni. Missing from photo: Kristine (Russell) Pierce, Jess (Saunders) Poulin, Brem Stoner, Joy (Losee) Vacca

1999

1997

CLASS AGENTS:

CLASS AGENTS:

Lindsey Boardman Duerr, lasduerr@gmail.com Timothy A. Patrick, Jr., tpatrickjr@gmail.com Alysa Hill Paul, apaul@beautifulme.com Katrin I. Urban, katrin.urban@comcast.net Kelly L. Wentworth, wentworth.kelly@gmail.com

Miriam Jamron Baskies, baskies@me.com Joanna Kontoudakis, jkontoudakis@gmail.com Lindsay R. Larsen, Lindsay.Ruth.Larsen@gmail.com Hadley Weiss Rosen, hadley.rosen@gmail.com CLASS SECRETARIES:

2000

Wheeler Simmons Griffith, wsimmons@ellisonandcompany.com Maurice P. Kane, powerskane@gmail.com Kyle V. Ritchie, kritchie@24hrsinc.com

CLASS AGENTS:

Hilary M. Gerson, hilary.gerson@gmail.com Susannah Miragliuolo, spmiragliuolo@bcps.k12.md.us

1998 CLASS AGENTS:

John E. Evans III, johne@adaptivearizona.com Christopher F. Hale, kiphale@gmail.com Stacy Durbin Nieuwoudt, stacy_nieuwoudt@yahoo.com Livia Skelly-Dorn Roustan, liviaroustan@gmail.com Sarah L. Welch, sarahlwelch29@gmail.com

58

CLASS NOTES

1999 — Marcella Sardelli-Scionti, daughter of Antonio & Carla Sardelli-Scionti ’99

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 2000 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 15th reunion.

Congratulations to Heather Farrell and former faculty member Patty Ilzarbe on the birth of their son, Oliver Ilzarbe Farrell, on March 26, 2015. Heather and Patty returned to campus for Alumni Reunion Weekend 2015 with baby Oliver and really enjoyed being back on the hilltop!

2002 — Oliver Ilzarbe Farrell, son of Heather Farrell ’00 and former faculty member Patty Ilzarbe

2002 — (l-r): Class of 2000 mates Ben Shore, Graham Boardman (with daughter Eliza in a Pomfret shirt), and Doug Park got together over Memorial Day weekend for a barbecue at Graham’s home in Baltimore, MD.

2002 — Benjamin Albert Bayless, son of Stephanie Schuetz ’00 and her husband Jonathan Bayless

Mike Morrison wrote, “This past year I moved to Bahrain to teach third grade at an international school. It’s been an amazing experience so far. Life here in Bahrain is nice and easy going. The people and Middle Eastern culture are great, and I have many amazing travel options from here. Hope everyone is well and enjoying life.”

2002 — Margot Rose Rogerino, daughter of Devin & Mariana Black Rogerino ’02, was born on March 3, 2015 Stephanie Schuetz and her husband, Jonathan Bayless, welcomed a son on April 23, 2015.

Benjamin Albert Bayless arrived seven weeks early, weighing just 5 pounds, 1 ounce, but after a short stay in the hospital, he came home and has been doing wonderfully.

2001 CLASS AGENTS:

Alexandra T. Arguimbau, alexandra.todd@gmail.com Andrew C. Brown, dsb914@yahoo.com Caitlin Rogers Connelly, rogers.caitlin@gmail.com Wendell Smith Scarisbrick, wendellscarisbrick@gmail.com

2002 CLASS AGENTS:

Samuel A. Appleton, Smapple84@yahoo.com Christina Galanti Dickson, christina.dickson@bayer.com Jo Anna Galanti Fellon, jfellon@friedmanllp.com Michael J. Krents, mkrents@gmail.com John P. Lindsey, jlin845818@gmail.com William E. Walker II, will.e.walker@gmail.com Christopher J. Watkins, christopher.watkins@resourcepro.com.cn William R. Wentworth, williamwentworth3@gmail.com

Devin and Mariana Black Rogerino welcomed a baby girl, Margot Rose Rogerino, on March 3, 2015.

2003 CLASS AGENTS:

Muhammed-Saleem R. Ahmed, Saleem.Ahmed17@gmail.com Chelsea Weiss Baum, chelseaweissbaum@gmail.com Edward D. Kunhardt Peyton A. Ladt, peytonladt@gmail.com Laura Keeler Pierce, laurakeelerpierce@gmail.com Christopher G. Pike, cpike10@gmail.com MacLean Pilsbury Spadaccini, mkspadaccini@gmail.com Kendra Seaward Sumner, ksumner@marianapolis.org Suparatch Watchara-Amphaiwan, suparatch@hotmail.com

2003 — Lion Vazquez and his baby sister Lucie, children of Sarah ’03 and Etienne Vazquez ’04

Congratulations to Sarah Ortiz-Elejalde Vazquez and Etienne Vazquez ’04 on the birth of their second child. Lucie Celina Vazquez was born on Friday, February 13, 2015. Their son, Lion, was two years old in July.

Also congratulations go to Mary Babcock and her fiancé Michael Roy on the birth of their son, Jackson Charles Roy, on May 10, 2015.

2003 — Jackson Charles Roy, newborn son of Mary Babcock ’03 and Michael Roy 59

2005 — Celebrating their 10th reunion, the Class of 2005 are front row (l-r): Form Dean Anne Miller, Annie Dickson, Camille Byars, Corey Holt, Laura Dunn, Sarah Sweet, Ally Ruschp, Megan Danyliw, Kaitlin (Sullivan) Seaward; middle row (l-r): Winnie Goodrich, Pete Abernethy, Becky Dash, Liz Poulos, Lily Barrett, Mallory Jaffe, Liz Sadler, Mike Albert, Richard Callahan, Steve Lanzit, Andrew Elenbaas; back row (l-r): Andrew McGloine, Jess Magnuson, Whitney Miller, Stephen Feathers, Tim Deary, David Still, Andy Wombold, Patrick Welch, Charles Park. Missing from photo: Tyler Calabrese, Iris Choi, Colin Cummings, Alysia LaBonte-Campbell, Chris Martin, Brian Menna, Brittany (Durand) Ritter

2004 CLASS AGENTS:

Sung Min Choo, lctusmc@gmail.com Christian T. Ford, christian.t.ford@gmail.com Robert M. Saunders, rsaunders@togrp.com Etienne J. Vazquez, Etienne.j.vazquez@gmail.com

Congratulations to Tricia Starr and Robert Dudley, who were married on June 6, 2015 at the Roaring Fork Club in Basalt, CO. Tricia is the senior manager of public relations and marketing for Lela Rose, a women’s clothing designer in New York. Robert is a senior vice president of Stifel Nicolaus also in New York.

Mark Abroms graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in May 2015. He begins his psychiatry residency at Mount Sinai St. LukesRoosevelt in Manhattan in July 2015.

Kim Peck Lamoureux was thrilled to announce her new appointment to the Board of Directors of The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Boston. The NATS serves the needs of professional voice teachers and their students across the country. In her new position with NATS Boston, Kim will be training under the current chair of SongFest, and will take over that role in 2016. The SongFest is an annual competition for students of NATS members.

2006 — Leah Keim & Bates Parsons ’06 were married April 18, 2015

60

CLASS NOTES

2005 CLASS AGENTS:

Davinia G. Buckley, dgbuckley09@gmail.com Timothy J. Deary, tdeary@pomfretschool.org Laura F. Dunn, laurafdunn@gmail.com Alysia LaBonte-Campbell, alabonte@rectoryschool.org Joshua W. Rich, jrich@woolrich.com Hyun-Yi Yoo, bona.h.yoo@gmail.com

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 2005 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 10th reunion.

2006 CLASS AGENTS:

Michelle Gilmore Castiglione, gilmorem37@gmail.com Hillary Ross Charalambous, hillaryeross@gmail.com Caroline McLoughlin Davis, ccm014@gmail.com Olivia T. Gray, olivia.t.e.gray@gmail.com Young Hoon Hahn, hahnyounghoon@gmail.com Maryam A. Hayatu-Deen, mahayatudeen@gmail.com Gregory E. Jones, Greg.jones.jr@gmail.com Katherine Winogradow Munno, kwinogradow@mac.com Caitlin M. Neiduski, cmneiduski@gmail.com Kathryn S. Nelson, nelson.kathryn.scott@gmail.com James E. Pinkham, jpinkham87@gmail.com Erin A. Wolchesky, erinwolchesky@gmail.com

Emily Humes Durst reported, “I graduated from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (CA) on May 16, 2015 with a Master’s in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). I have accepted a position as a Lecturer in the English Dept. of Women’s College - Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. My husband Zach (Woodstock Academy ᾿06) and I will leave for Riyadh in August. We are driving cross country towards the end of the summer, and leaving from CT.” Rachel Rapoza announced, “After several years together, I will be getting married in November 2015 to Ashley Lagasse Almon.”

Nic Birdsall currently lives in North Hollywood working in the film industry as a second assistant director and has spent time on some great sets with some interesting actors, most recently with Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots, as he made his acting debut.

Mike Sullivan moved from the Boston area to Rochester, MN where he is on air as a reporter with KTTC, an NBC affiliate station. He splits his time between news and sports.

James Pinkham reported, “I have really enjoyed my transition to admissions work last year, and despite missing the classroom and coaching, I have found a lot to do with all the travel I do for my job. In April 2015 I was at a school fair hosted by Eaglebrook and after the fair a few alumni found each other – we realized we had [people] in attendance who had been students at Pomfret. I was joined by JD Rogers ’98 [Marianapolis], Karl Koenigsbauer ’02 [Eaglebrook], Greg Osborne ’03 [Pomfret], Mike Polsonetti ’03 [Canterbury], and Kayla Sheehan ’10 [Hyde].

Pete Wisotzkey lives in Bristol, RI and works as the Director of the East Bay Sailing Foundation in Bristol.

Chantelle LaMountain received UMass Medical School’s Community Service Award for her ongoing work with inter-professional education.

Bates Parsons announced, “Leah Keim and I were married the afternoon of April 18, 2015

by Rev. Jered Weber-Johnson in St. John’s the Evangelist Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. It is actually the same church in which my parents were married in August of 1982, which made it even more special for me. Leah’s mother’s family and my mother’s family are all originally from the St. Paul area, so St. Paul is a place that has always been special to both of us and we couldn’t have chosen a better place to be married. The weekend was truly magical and more than we could have ever imagined. Parker Cook ’06 and my two sisters, Alex Parsons Andrews ’07 and Jessie Parsons ’09, were all in the wedding party. Steve Cook ’64, Pete D’Agostino ’07, and Jamie Cushing ’03 were in attendance as well.

2007

Elise Fargnoli tought her own class this summer at Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education called “The Power of Pattern.” Elise is a painter and textile designer who has shown her work in Miami, London, Los Angeles and New York. In 2010 she launched Francesca Joy, a luxury clothing/accessories collection based on a series of her abstract paintings. By 2012, she started printing her own silk blend fabric, and turned her popular, preppy, lifestyle brand motifs into printed production, starting with sandals, dresses and men’s neckties. In 2013, she worked with Clotho Productions to launch the Francesca Joy Greek Licensed Sorority Collection, for which she designed 24 exclusive prints for sororities. She continues to license her designs to various brands for collaborations and products. She is currently developing a line of Francesca Joy scarves, set to launch in Fall 2016.

2008 CLASS AGENTS:

Alexandra D’Agostino, alidagostino@gmail.com Joanna A. Gaube, joanna.gaube@maine.edu Steven A. Harkey, steven.a.harkey@gmail.com Georgina L. Heasman, gheasman@gmail.com Emily F. Johnson, johnson.emily6@gmail.com Nicole A. Shirley, nicoleshirley717@gmail.com Charles H. Sullivan, charles.sullivan@me.com Sophia G. Welch, sophiawelch814@gmail.com

2009 CLASS AGENTS:

Thomas M. Atwood, tom.atwood@gmail.com Molly K. Downey, mollykathryndowney@gmail.com Zachary J. Golden, zgolden1@babson.edu Kathryn M. Kramer, katiekrames@gmail.com Haley A. Mitchell, 8hm12@queensu.ca Edward T. Ross, eddieross13@gmail.com Rebecca M. Smith, rmsmith.2291@gmail.com Samantha L. St. Lawrence, sam.stlawrence@gmail.com

CLASS AGENTS:

Emily H. Detmer, edetmer46@gmail.com Julia D. Field, juliadfield@gmail.com Meredith E. Gagnon, meredith.gagnon@gmail.com Christopher P. Golden, chrisgolden07@gmail.com Holly A. Lorms, lorms.holly@gmail.com Shawn P. McCloud, shawnmccloud20@yahoo.com Nathaniel H. Proctor, nathaniel.h.proctor@gmail.com Else S. Ross, else.ross@gmail.com Darren A. Small, darren.allan.small@gmail.com Melissa A. Stuart, melissa.a.stuart16@gmail.com

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2010 — Celebrating their 5th reunion, the Class of 2010 are front row (l-r): Charlotte Kamford, Katie Peverada, Emily Warne, Amy Diaz, Mitch White, Clara Chisholm, Nelle Herrick, Dana Halsey-McGuire; middle row (l-r): Jay Williams, Dalton Weinstein, Meg Hecker, Jack Cornell, Maura Hall, Sarah Brandt, Mackenzie Deary, Hilary Jones, Brittany Zulkiewicz, Sam Slotnick, Tucker Brenizer, Jack Goldstein, Nina Grauer; back row (l-r): Sam Dutra, Conor Barrett, Sam Paige, Will Simonds, Tyler Costantino, Elyse Taylor, Evan Lozier, Emily Mooney, Kayla Sheehan, Holden Spivak, Ryan Johnson. Missing from photo: Beckam Cela

2010

2011

CLASS AGENTS:

CLASS AGENTS:

Gabriella W. Bucci, buccig92@gmail.com Mackenzie C. Deary, mackenzie.deary@gmail.com Maura J. Hall, maura.j.hall@gmail.com Ryan C. Johnson, ryanjohnsonc@outlook.com Kathryn G. Sheehan, kayla.sheehan22@gmail.com Samantha A. Slotnick, saslotnick@gmail.com Ryan C. Wainwright, rcw59@georgetown.edu

Muhammed-Jamil R. Ahmed, jjahmed.12@gmail.com Matthew D. Bourdeau, bourdea_matt@bentley.edu Carlos H. Ferre, kenriferre@gmail.com Lilah T. Fones, lilahfones@gmail.com Czarina N. Hutchins, chutchin@providence.edu Hannah P. Leo, hannahpleo@gmail.com Aidan P. McGloine, aidan.mcgloine@gmail.com Hamilton G. Morley, morley.hamilton@gmail.com Daniel R. Palumbo, dpalumbo@bowdoin.edu Margaret H. Thompson, mhthompson413@gmail.com Raymond R. Zeek III, rrzeek@colby.edu

Pomfret would like to thank the members of the Class of 2010 for coming back to campus to celebrate their 5th reunion.

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CLASS NOTES

Congratulations to Nic Lane, who graduated from Colgate University on May 17, 2015 with a B.A. in English, and to Brian Mullen, who graduated from Connecticut College with a B.A. in biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology.

Natasha PeĂąa graduated from Swarthmore College on May 31, 2015 with a major in studio art and a double minor in English and education. She will begin working as a second grade assistant teacher at Collegiate School in New York City in September.

Amanda Pierog graduated from Bates College in May 2015 with a triple major in Chinese, Japanese and Economics, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society. She is excited to begin a job as a Commercial Strategy Analyst at Delta Air Lines, Inc.

2011 — Bill Wong ’14 (left) with his sister, Reanne Wong ’11, at her graduation from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in May 2015

Hannah Leo graduated from Yale University on May 18, 2015. Her next step is medical school at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Over the summer she is taking a month-long class called “Mobilising Research,” part of the International Alliance of Research Universities Global Summer Program held at the Australian National University in Canbarra.

Congratulations to Reanne Wong, who graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts on May 19, 2015 with a BFA in drama and a minor in computer science.

Lilah Fones is working as a research technician at Burke Medical Research Institute in White Plains, NY. It is a two year job in a molecular neuroscience lab that studies neuronal specification.

2012 CLASS AGENTS:

Elizabeth A. Bohan, alliebo@live.unc.edu Ian J. Crouse, ijc2zt@virginia.edu Helen E. Day Sean P. Fitzpatrick, spfitzpa@colby.edu Caroline N. Hayssen, ceci.hayssen@richmond.edu Margaret Juna Kim, junakim@umich.edu Moira M. MacArthur, moiramacarthur6@gmail.com Jack W. Nicholson, jack.nicholson@richmond.edu Georgia W. Paige, georgiapaige@gwu.edu Sagar A. Patel, sap229@cornell.edu Sorrel M. Perka, perkasm@dukes.jmu.edu Biying Zhang, zhangbiying1992@gmail.com

2014 — Faculty member Rod Eaton connected with Rachel Covey ’14 at Stetson University during his visit there in March 2015

Zach Bonavita was inducted into Gamma Sigma Alpha, the national academic Greek honor society, at St. Lawrence University in May 2015. Zach is a member of the Class of 2016 and is majoring in biology.

2013 CLASS AGENTS:

Alexandra R. Adams, aadams@millworkone.com Lindsay M. Barber, lindsaybarber@comcast.net Roxane J. Barbera, Roxybarbera@gmail.com Alyson J. Chase, chasealyson@gmail.com Hayden M. Clarkin, hayden.clarkin@uconn.edu Jordan P. Ginsberg, jordan.p.ginsberg@uconn.edu Alexis Gulino, acg104@georgetown.edu Daniel D. Kellaway, dkellawa@hamilton.edu Maximillian P. King, mpking93@gmail.com William F. Mackie, willmackie13@gmail.com Dylan G. O’Hara, Dylan.O’Hara@conncoll.edu Izabel M. Tropnasse, itropnasse@gmail.com

John Cunningham ’13, a member of the Connecticut College men’s lacrosse team, was named to the 2015 NESCAC Spring AllSportsmanship Team.

2014 CLASS AGENTS:

Bridget D. Bohan, bridgetbohan@gmail.com Gabriella M. Criscuolo, gabbycriscuolo@gmail.com Isaiah Henderson, isaiahhenderson95@aol.com Ryan S. Jackson, ryanjackson971@hotmail.com Hallie L. Leo, leoh@dickinson.edu Meghan J. MacArthur, x2014fxm@stfx.ca Annie J. E. Zalon, ajzalon@umich.edu Elise M. Zender, elisemariazender@gmail.com

Katherine Pearson is a freshman on the Lady Vol rowing team at the University of Tennessee. The team placed third at the Big Twelve Conference Rowing Championships in Tennessee, May 16-17, 2015; she was a member of the third varsity eight that finished sixth in the grand finals with a time of 7 minutes and 47.04 seconds.

Congratulations to Kelli Mackey as she joins the Union College hockey team as a freshman forward for the 2015-16 season!

2015 CLASS AGENTS:

Kailey A. Cox, kailey.cox@uconn.edu Nickolas F. Fulchino, n.fulchino@yahoo.com Rachel K. Godfrey, rgodfrey1414@gmail.com Keith C. O’Hara, kohara.15@gmail.com Thomas D. Wheatley, thomaswheatley@mac.com

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Faculty/Staff News

Marriages

Congratulations to Rachel Frenkil [Spanish, 2012 – present] and Sharon Geyer [Science, 2006 – present] for completing the Providence Rhode Races Marathon on Sunday, May 3, 2015 in Providence, RI. Not only did they finish the race, but both ran fast enough to qualify for next year’s Boston Marathon. Congratulations also go to Jillian Forgue [Spanish, 2011 – present] for running the half-marathon and setting a new personal record and to Melissa Bellanceau [Director of Advancement] for completing her first half-marathon.

Strobe Talbott & Barbara Lazear Ascher ’64 February 28, 2015

Former faculty member Patty Ilzarbe [Dean of Students/Spanish, 1991 – 2007] and Heather Farrell ’00 welcomed their son, Oliver Ilzarbe Farrell, on March 26, 2015. Patty and Heather returned to campus for Alumni Reunion Weekend 2015 with baby Oliver and really enjoyed being back on the Hilltop!

Glenn DeGruchy & Amy Salerno ’79 May 9, 2015 Diana Pulling & Derek Pratt ’90 January 2015 Robert Dudley & Tricia Starr ’04 June 6, 2015 Leah Keim & Bates Parsons ’06 April 18, 2015 Leonard Averill & former staff nurse Deborah Merl P ’06 May 22, 2015

Congratulations to Deborah Merl P ’06 [Health Center Nurse, 2000-2014] and Dr. Leonard Averill, who were married on May 22, 2015 in Clark Memorial Chapel.

Births Johanna Bernstein & Nate Russell ’94 Natasha Russell Bernstein April 18, 2015 Former Faculty Patty Ilzarbe & Heather Farrell ’00 Oliver Ilzarbe Farrell March 26, 2015 Jonathan Bayless & Stephanie Schuetz ’00 Benjamin Albert Bayless April 23, 2015 Devin & Mariana Black Rogerino ’02 Margot Rose Rogerino March 3, 2015 Michael Roy & Mary Babcock ’03 Jackson Charles Roy May 10, 2015 Sarah Ortiz-Elejalde Vazquez ’03 & Etienne Vazquez ’04 Lucie Celina Vazquez February 13, 2015

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CLASS NOTES

Obituaries

Visit our website at www.pomfretschool.org/Obituaries for detailed tributes.

Remembering those members of the Pomfret community who have passed

To request a printed copy, call the Advancement Office at 860-963-6129.

Frederick B. Seggerman ’39 May 14, 2015

Frederick B. Hard, Jr. ’51 February 15, 2015

Stuart H. Bartle ’43 March 26, 2015

John F. Bryan ’48 March 20, 2015

Gervais W. McAuliffe ’51 February 28, 2015

Howard S. Bergman ’56 November 4, 2014

Benjamin P. Harris III ’54 June 28, 2015 We were saddened to learn that Benjamin Harris ’54, loyal alumnus and former trustee, passed away on June 28, 2015. Ben was always a dedicated and cheerful supporter of Pomfret. He served as class secretary from 1959-1964 and on Pomfret’s Board of Trustees from 1978-1999, becoming an honorary life trustee in 2001. He was also the Providence area chairman for the Campaign for Pomfret from 1986-1989. In 2004, Ben was the recipient of the William Beach Olmsted Distinguished Service Award to recognize and honor his distinguished, sustained, and dedicated service to Pomfret School. Ben is survived by his wife of 52 years, Anne, two children, and four grandchildren.

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“Arthur has been Mr. Everything to Pomfret School.”

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rthur Diaz ’78, P ‘10, ‘12, ‘14 Pomfret CFO, is heading to the same position at Groton School.

regarding Pomfret’s financial position. He was forthright — always the realist, but also an abiding optimist. Absent his succinct and insightful tutorials, I can safely say that my understanding of our financial situation would have been slow in coming.

But anyone who knows Arthur also knows that his contributions I had heard quite a bit about to Pomfret went so far beyond financial management. He is truly Arthur Diaz before Anne and uncanny. A CFO who also coached soccer and softball, taught an I moved to the Quiet Corner elective, and constantly volunteered to serve as a form dean is not four years ago. “Wizard,” your average CFO. With grace, kindness, and humility, Arthur did “magician,” and “genius” it all and more at Pomfret: student, alumnus, trustee, parent, teacher, were words that had been coach, and administrator, Arthur has been Mr. Everything to Pomfret used by any number of people to describe the CFO I would inherit School. His contributions are too many to enumerate. His impact as a new head of school. I was, people informed me countless and influence on our school will be lasting and unforgettable. times, unbelievably lucky to have Arthur as the financial Arthur now takes his skills, his wonderful family, and his passion mastermind behind the scenes at Pomfret. for all things Boston Red Sox up to the Groton School, where he From the first time I met Arthur, I was impressed by his candor, his will bring his talents and warmth to bear in an exciting new chapter unparalleled dedication to Pomfret School, and his congenial way. in his life. Arthur would argue the words I used to characterize him He was, and always has been, the consummate straight shooter. His at the top of this piece, but it would be hard to underestimate how willingness to embrace an inexperienced head of school and show significant his impact has been on this school. We will all miss him me the financial ropes was both impressive and extensive. In my and the entire Diaz family. very first conversation with him, Arthur shared with me (for the Good luck and Godspeed, Arthur. And thank you. first time, but certainly not the last), the good, the bad, and the ugly —Tim Richards

Faculty Farewells “Simply One of a Kind”

J

ohn Roderick “Hot Rod” Eaton, Associate Director of College Counseling, at Pomfret since 1998, is retiring

Rod Eaton is simply oneof-a-kind. Passionate about all he does, a devoted family man, teammate extraordinaire, Hot Rod has been a positive influence on thousands of lives during a secondary school career beginning soon after the Vietnam War ended. Talking, running, writing, 66

teaching, driving, occasionally raising his voice at a lacrosse referee or complaining about the bureaucracy of the NCAA, Rod hums with energy. Any community would be incredibly fortunate to have this sparkplug in its midst, especially one who puts others first as often as Rod does.

Rod’s way with words is one of his greatest strengths. College admissions reps worldwide will miss his lyrical evaluations, in which Rod elegantly captured the essence of each counselee. Having read approximately three hundred of Rod’s evaluations during our nine years together, I can say with complete conviction that Rod was put on this earth to describe high school seniors.

Take the opening paragraph from what Rod humbly called “one of the best evaluations I have ever written”: “As faculty, dorm parents, coaches, advisors, etc., we all root for Toby (not his real name) every day. We have come to appreciate his intellect, to enjoy his honesty and humor, and above all to admire his courage and determination as he negotiates a school structure not designed with him in mind. We know his path has not been an easy one. Yet we root for him. Hard! We enjoy him immensely, and we really, really want him to succeed.”

Chris Atwood, Digital Arts Chair, is retiring after thirty-five years on the Hilltop

U

On a personal note, I am in denial about Rod leaving our team. I will miss his collegiality, his love of music, his knowledge of movie lines (Animal House in particular) and of every person in Rhode Island, his love of lacrosse, his inability to have a clean desk. There are people who can and will do parts of what Rod has done for seventeen years at Pomfret, but no one will do it all with his flair.

— Bruce Wolanin, Director of College Counseling

Chris is the yin in our yang. Chris is the person we look to when we’ve forgotten to ask for a projector or screen. Chris is the man we go to when we’ve lost our dongle. Chris is the person who will proactively ask if we have all the computers, desks, projectors, cords and software we MAY need for our classes. Chris is the person who prints our photos to decorate our classroom, and the person who offers to print posters for our presidential candidates. He doesn’t do it because “it’s his job to do it.” He does it because he cares.

pon my high school graduation, in 1995, a movie was released, Mr. Holland’s Opus. This movie drove me into education, because I ultimately wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. Upon arriving at We will miss you Chris, but we wish you so much love and happiness Pomfret, I met this quiet in the new chapter of your opus. And so, because this will be the man named Chris. He only time in life I can probably cite this favorite, famous quote from walked slightly crooked, my favorite, awesome movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus, I will take the two large, slow dogs in opportunity share it. I paraphrase: tow. It made me smile every time I saw them coming or going across the campus. On occasion he arrived to work from across ‘Mr. Atwood had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of the street in his yellow recumbent bike, little flag waving, missing lives I know…Mr. Atwood isn’t rich and he isn’t famous, at least only a little bell to announce his arrival. As I got to know him, I not outside of our little school…I think that he’s achieved a success recognized many similarities between him and my favorite movie far beyond riches and fame. Look around you, Chris. There is not a character Glenn Holland. Glenn, a simple teacher, plugged away life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better daily, teaching the notes and music to his students, never expecting person because of you. Pomfret is your symphony Mr. Atwood. We less then excellence, never boasting or expecting applause for how are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life.’ he changed student lives.

To me, Chris Atwood has always been my Glenn Holland.

Good luck, much love, and Godspeed

— Lindsay Lehmann

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Gatherings

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Global Network

April 11-22, 2015

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n April 2015, Head of School Tim Richards, his wife Anne, and Director of Advancement and Communications Melissa Bellanceau traveled to China, South Korea, Singapore, and Viet Nam to visit with Pomfret alumni, parents, and newly accepted families.

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1. A gathering of parents in Beijing, China with front row (l-r): trustee Lulin Lin Lu P ’14, Head of School Tim Richards and Anne Richards P ’15, Director of Advancement and Communications Melissa Bellanceau; middle row (l-r): Qian Li P ’16, Violet Cheng P ’17, Tao Ji P ’19, Wu Wang and Daqi Chen P ’16, Lixia Cao P ’19, standing, rear (l-r): Wen Liao P ’17 and Arrietty Ji ’19 2.

Dinner in Shanghai, China with (l-r): Melissa Bellanceau, Tiejun Yang P ’18, Tim and Anne Richards P ’15, Zhiwei Wang P ’18, and their translator

3. A gathering with current parents and parents of newly accepted students was held in Shanghai, China

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4.

Dinner in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with (l-r): Vietnamese translator, educational consultant Rich Sherwood, Nhat Vu P ’16, Hong Long Le P ’18, Nhat Hoang and Linh Lam P ’14 with their younger daughter (rear), new student Nhu Vo ’19 and her sister, Anne Richards P ’15, Director of Advancement and Communications Melissa Bellanceau, Thi Bich Thuy P ’19, Duy Diep, and Head of School Tim Richards P ’15

5. A luncheon in Seoul, South Korea with (l-r): Head of School Tim Richards P ’15, Kelly Jiye, Eun Young Yeo P ’16, Anne Richards P ’15, Director of Advancement and Communications Melissa Bellanceau, and Seong Hwan Hong P ’16 6. A gathering of alumni and parents in Seoul, South Korea with front row (l-r): Ji Eun Kim P ’14, Director of Advancement and Communications Melissa Bellanceau, Head of School Tim Richards and Anne Richards P ’15, Min Hyung Kim ’04, Mi Hee Moon P ’11; back row (l-r): Sung Min Choo ’04, Seung-Un Ham ’05, Jae Hyun Yoon ’03, trustee Yungsik Chung P ’15, Kyung Jin Na Kim P ’04, Dae Woong Choo ’99, Myungwon Kim, Yongmoo Lee P ’16, and Young Ju Hwang P ’15

Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum Tour

April 2, 2015

Front row, (l-r): Buffy Cech P ’17, Anne Rice P ’17 (host), Jean Miles ’81, Susan McKechnie ’79, Megan Danyliw ’05, Sarah Hambrick ’78, Louisa Jones P ’04; Back row, (l-r): Mark and Marylyn Nolan P ’88, Denise and Steve Woodruff ’77. Missing from photo: James King ’65 and Brian Lawler ’11.

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New Canaan, CT: The Philip Johnson Glass House Tour June 6, 2015

1. (l-r): Amy Ramirez, Henry Enelow ’16, Jim Enelow ’83, Wendy Reeder Enelow ’83, Jill Cavanagh, Aditi & Lalan Shrikam ’93, Andrea Borden P ’09, ’13, ’14, Judith Wong P ’11, ’14, Sheryl & George Santiago ’75, Michael Roy, and Mary Babcock ’03 2. (l-r): Susan & Jim Shehan P ’15, ’17, Desi DelValle ’85, Alexis Quinlan, Chip Lamb P ’09, ’11, Peter Smoluchowski ’70, Andrea Borden P ’09, ’13, ’14, Andrew ’67 and Joan Sereysky, Doug Baldwin ’67, Ellen & Jeff Oppenheim ’69, Robert Shasha ’69

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New York, NY: Business Social & Networking Event

June 11, 2015

3. Front row (l-r): Hallie Ziesmer ’90, Carrie Gallaway ’94, Kerri Salvietti Osborne ’95, Charlotte Kamford ’10, Sarah Brandt ’10, Mackenzie Deary ’10; middle row (l-r): Tim Dickson, Darren Small ’07, Ibrahim Adamu ’95, Jo Anna Galanti Fellon ’02, Christina Galanti Dickson ’02, Kevin West ’03, Adam Carpenter ’84, Mac Bayly ’99; back row (l-r): Lewis Merl ’06, David Still ’05, Ian Crouse ’12, Cavan Pohlschroeder ’97, George Santiago ’75, Chris Boak ’75, Ronnie Wilson ’86, Brian Fellon, Gregory Jones ’06, Julian Malakorn ’09 (hidden), Michael Galanti, Sebastian Pedraza ’07. Missing from photo: Marco Cipriano ’94, Allison Gallaway ’02, Mackie Pilsbury Spadaccini ’03, Howard Sutherland ’75

Washington, DC Area Gathering June 14, 2015 4.

Pomfret alumni and friends had a wonderful time at their annual gathering in Silver Spring, MD. (l-r): Director of Diversity & Community Relations Steve Davis, Beverly Hutton, Neil Hutton, Ginny Eaton P ’91, James Snyder ’82, Brooke Toni ’86, trustee Bill Wiggins ’89, Elena Irick ’12, Brianna Davis, Jeffrey Dennis ’82, Samuel Davis, Michael Davis ’81 (rear), Michael Dennis, and Marshall Eaton ’70.

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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

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398 Pomfret Street PO Box 128 Pomfret CT 06258- 0128 www.pomfretschool.org

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Notice: Postal regulations require the school to pay 57 cents for every copy not deliverable as addressed. Please notify us of any change of address, giving both the new and the old addresses.

Pomfret

Because the most important thing your child will take to college is high school.

Learning is student-centered, relevant, meaningful Students become active, “responsible partners” in managing their own education A school culture that emphasizes diversity in thought, perspective, and expression

BOARDING STUDENT INFORMATION SESSION Saturday, November 7, 2015 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

DAY STUDENT INFORMATION SESSION Thursday, October 8, 2015 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

To arrange for a tour and an interview, contact our Admissions Office at 860.963. 6120.

POMFRET MAGAZINE

SPRING 2015