Pomfret Magazine Winter 2014-15

WINTER 2014-2015

MAGAZINE

Photo By: Evan Jaccodine ’15

Celebrate POMFRET Celebrate YOU

Alumni/ae Reunion Weekend

May 1-3, 2015

All alumni/ae are invited to return to the Hilltop to celebrate great memories, connect with classmates, faculty, and students, and participate in the many activities we have planned, including our All-Alumni/ae Reception, Dinner, and Awards Program.

Special celebrations are being organized for milestone reunion classes: 1945, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 For details, pricing, and to register online, visit www.pomfretschool.org/Reunion or call Debby Thurston at 860.963.6129

Upcoming Events Wadsworth Atheneum Tour Museum tour led by Anne Rice P ’17, including special exhibits and first Thursday activities Hartford, CT April 2, 2015 InterPrep 2015 Multi-school networking event at The Scholars, Boston, MA April 7, 2015 Pomfret Women Connect Dinner & Presentation Light dinner & presentation at Rockefeller University, NYC: “The Origins of Morality: How Biology and Culture Shape Us” Hosted by Trustee Claudia Fleming P ’13 April 15, 2015

Commencement 2015 May 24, 2015 Pomfret Women Connect Glass House Tour Private tour of The Philip Johnson Glass House New Canaan, CT Hosted by Andrea Borden P ’09, ’13, ’14 June 6, 2015 2nd Annual New York City Career Networking Event Alumni/ae networking event hosted by Christina Galanti Dickson ’02 and Jo Anna Galanti Fellon ’02 June 11, 2015

To RSVP for these events, please contact Judith Wong P ’11, ’14 at jmwong@pomfretschool.org or 860.963.5994

ContentS feature

4

A Pivotal Moment for Pomfret

by Head of School Tim Richards P ’15

8

LEADERS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

8 2015 Schwartz Fellow: The “Unlikely Artist”

Award-winning playwright Cheryl L. West visits Pomfret

10 Project: Pomfret 2.0

When Learning Happens: in the Students’ Words

15 No Turning Back Now

by Jamie Feild Baker, Director of the Grauer Institute

18 Observations from the Pulpit (Setting Sights from 41° N, 71° W) 2015 State of the School address by Rachel Godfrey ’15

20

DISTINCTIVE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

22 Bringing Structure, Reinforcing a Vision, Sharing Lessons Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Celebrations

Arts 26 Winter Theatre: WORKING

A musical based on the 1974 best-seller by Studs Terkel

28 P.S. ART Gallery winter exhibits

Athletics 30 Alumni/ae Athletes in Action 32 Fall 2014 Varsity Athletics Team Photos

34

MEASUREMENT OF ACHIEVEMENT

34 To Technology and Beyond!

Exciting discoveries, independent thinking, and thoughts about the future from the computer lab 37 Digging into the Past 38 A Country Becomes a Classroom

40

LONG-TERM SUCCESS

40 The Tremendous Impact of Giving Back

Pomfret Alumni/ae Career Exploration Series (PACES): Making Connections & Gaining Ground 41 High Praise for Pomfret’s Culture of Extra Help Alumni/ae return to the Hilltop to share their experiences in science and engineering

42 46

Generosity In Action 42 Exercises in Gratitude: Why alumni/ae support Pomfret

Class Notes 55 Faculty/Staff News 55 Marriages 56 Births 57 Obituaries 58 Gatherings

Winter 2014-2015 Volume 42, Issue 2 Pomfret School 398 Pomfret Street • PO Box 128 Pomfret, CT 06258-0128 860-963-6100 www.pomfretschool.org

Editor Melissa Perkins Bellanceau mbellanceau@pomfretschool.org

Head Writer Betsy Walker P ’13

Contributing Writers Tim Richards P ’15 Jamie Feild Baker Chip Lamb, P ’09, ’11 Tammie LaBonte P ’05 Deb Thurston

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

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

Designer Jordan Kempain Pomfret Magazine is published by Pomfret’s Marketing and Communications Office © 2015 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.

“Plan for your future because that is where you are going to spend the rest of your life.” — Mark Twain

4

A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR POMFRET

A Pivotal Moment for Pomfret

by Head of School Tim Richards P ’15

I

n his January 23 chapel talk, senior Lixo Vargas talked about how life is not remembered in a linear sequence with each detail sharing the same weight. Instead, he said, life is remembered in moments. For Lixo, leaving Pomfret and heading into the unknown of life-after-Pomfret will be a pivotal moment. Sitting in the quiet of the chapel, enjoying the stillness of our students as they listened, I couldn’t help but connect the reverence Lixo was sharing for this significant marking of time in his life to the work that fills my days. I believe Pomfret, too, is enjoying a pivotal moment, one that will mark time for years to come.

The original purpose of an independent school education was the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next. Master teachers, always the center of attention as they delivered lectures, imparted knowledge of their beloved discipline to orderly rows of obedient students. Teachers were the founts of wisdom; students, the passive recipients of information. The relationship between the two was defined by power, authority, and deference. Success in this rigid model was irrefutably equated with success in the world beyond the hallowed halls of education. This formula worked — until the world changed so dramatically. Today, with the scope and potential of human knowledge doubling almost every year, it is no longer possible for schools to provide students with all the knowledge they will need to go out into the world to be leaders.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 75% of the jobs our students will hold haven’t even been created yet. Students in school today need new skills to thrive in a very different, everchanging world.

our past practices but keeping our eyes wide open toward our students’ futures. The sea change at Pomfret began some twenty months ago with the adoption of our Strategic Plan, The Pomfret Purpose. We have gained momentum and significant traction through the establishment of the Grauer Institute and the hiring of its inaugural Director, Jamie Baker. I can proudly say that as a school, we are focused on doing rather than just discussing, and our progress of late has been remarkable.

The Vision of the Pomfret Graduate at the core of our Strategic Plan is not only ambitious, it requires that we take a new approach to preparing students for both college and the world beyond. We are seeking to create students who are: • Disciplined and Multifaceted Learners • Collaborative and Empathic Leaders • Critical Thinkers • Creative Problem-Solvers • Effective Communicators, and • Respectful and Ethical Citizens To help students move toward this vision, the Plan articulates a set of Learning Principles to ensure that learning at Pomfret: • Is student-centered, relevant, and meaningful • Values diversity in thought, perspective, and expression • Engages not just the mind, but the heart and the spirit • Happens within a variety of contexts and through multiple instructional approaches and requires appropriate levels of rigor and challenge to foster growth and develop mastery

At Pomfret, we have been working diligently to define and implement a modern learning environment, honoring the best of 5

Informed by our Strategic Plan, faculty discussions this past fall have focused on the pace of life at Pomfret; the differences between the needs of past students and our “Millennials”; and leading practices in learning and teaching. Our takeaways have been informative and unequivocal. First, the pace we maintain at Pomfret is unhealthy and counter-productive for students and faculty alike. Second, the goals, starting points, skills, learning styles, and needs of our students are not the same as they were for Baby Boomers, or even the Gen X and Gen Y students of more recent years. And finally, some of what was once considered best practice in the classroom is now considered anachronistic and not characteristic of the student-centered approaches we believe will better engage students and increase meaningful learning.

in September 2015, the School would follow a new schedule, one that allows for greater reflection, synthesis, deep consideration of ideas, and more scheduled down time. Longer class blocks will allow for more profound exploration of topics, more opportunities for students to apply information as they are learning it, and more active learning strategies. This new schedule matches our values, and sets a more humane pace where authentic relationships can grow to serve as the foundation for learning and as the cornerstone of one’s experience at Pomfret.

Another goal of the new schedule is to give Pomfret the tools and the opportunities to create a new and distinctive student life experience. “The Pomfret Academy” is the working title for our ambitious goal of creating a comprehensive student life curriculum to increase the overall health and wellness of our community and With these pivotal conclusions help students succeed as they in mind, we have chosen to take prepare for college — and for life. action, setting a course for our This student-centered program will The college admission officers we extraordinary School to become happen on those Saturdays where a recognized innovation leader in academic classes presently take consulted reminded us that they are the field of education. As a school place. The Pomfret Academy will looking for students who take their school’s culture, we are changing, growing, be a spiraling, cross-pollinated, and reaching to add value to the and sequenced program focusing most rigorous courses, not students who Pomfret experience for students on four major pillars: college prep, load up on APs. The possibilities for us to and faculty on the Hilltop and diversity and inclusivity; health, for future students who choose wellness, and mindfulness; and design rigorous, more relevant, engaging, Pomfret as their school. This nevercharacter, leadership, and ethics. meaningful, and lasting learning are endless, ending drive toward excellence is Each class form will have a central and really exciting. what is moving Pomfret toward a question driving each of the four true leadership position within the topics, and will progress from a boarding school world. focus on self-identity for thirdformers to outward thinking — including legacy, service, and Significant changes will be coming to Pomfret beginning with philanthropy — for sixth formers. the 2015-2016 school year. These are bold steps forward, not just tweaked improvements. As with most boarding schools, With strong support from college admission deans and directors Pomfret’s current daily schedule operates like an assembly line, across the country (including Harvard, Stanford, the University with students and faculty running from one thing to the next in of Chicago, Harvey Mudd College, Babson, Connecticut rapid-fire succession, never really allowing time to decompress, College, and Smith) and from our own college counseling relax, or reflect on their learning. We currently have a seven-block team, we made a second bold decision: to move away from the schedule, with most students taking six classes (sometimes seven) restrictive Advanced Placement program after the 2015-2016 per term. Classes are 45 minutes long, and it is possible for a school year. Our current AP teachers are thrilled to be liberated student to go from 8:30 AM until 6:00 PM with only a 30-minute from the constraints of the AP curricula, some of which is out lunch break, several days a week. Students rarely have any down of date, and much of which is overly focused on memorization time. This relentless pace is disadvantageous from a health and of copious amounts of pure content material. The new courses wellness perspective, as well as from a learning perspective. To all of our teachers have begun to imagine and develop will be improve both the quality of life and the quality of learning at more focused on balancing skills with content mastery and will Pomfret, we took action. In January, I announced that beginning increase opportunities to do deep dives into material that, until

“

”

6

A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR POMFRET

now has been forcibly left aside in the name of the mile-wide, inchdeep coverage needed to prepare students for a single three-hour test in May. The college admission officers we consulted reminded us that they are looking for students who take their school’s most rigorous courses, not students who load up on APs. The possibilities for us to design rigorous, more relevant, engaging, meaningful, and lasting learning are endless, and really exciting.

and charter schools, some terrific public schools, and the looming presence of viable online learning alternatives. I remain bullish on Pomfret’s “value-added” because of the many ways in which we work to exceed the standards and common expectations one has for a boarding school. We constantly question how we can offer students more meaningful learning, both in and out of the classroom, along with enriching relationships with their teachers, coaches, dorm parents, advisors, fellow students, and friends. We are keen to offer courses where rigor is not defined by the amount of information to be remembered, but by the challenging thinking and true grappling that a student has to do to figure something out, to make new connections between information, and to create new insights and thoughts no one has had before. We want more meaningful living and learning, not more assembly-line sorting and stuffing.

Making substantive change to a key aspect of a school such as its curriculum or schedule is a laborious undertaking. Leery of the time and people power that would be needed to undertake that type of process, I made another bold decision: to carry out the change work differently. Working in close collaboration with my leadership team, ideas came sharply into focus. We quickly crafted a working draft of our new schedule, based on the information that had been collected from faculty meetings, discussions, interviews, and informal conversations over the We are keen to offer courses where years. We broadened considerations rigor is not defined by the amount of of the working draft to include information to be remembered, but the Curriculum Committee and a variety of other faculty members by the challenging thinking and true and students.

“

grappling that a student has to do to figure something out, to make new connections between information, and to create new insights and thoughts no one has had before.

Instead of taking a year or more in committee, our process lasted about two months. In boarding school time, that is a blink of an eye, and in my estimation, a savings of hours upon hours of time, emotion, and energy to a better result — overall better stewardship of our school’s resources, and a great schedule for us to use. We are making a real effort to create understanding at Pomfret regarding what change process best advances our goals in a timely manner.

The current strategic initiatives have been named and claimed. Now the collaborative, creative work that is best performed by our expert faculty in redesigning courses and incorporating new learning and teaching practices can begin without the fatigue of protracted, compromise-seeking committee work. Real movement is afoot. I am delighted to say that Pomfret has begun operating with more agility, greater focus, and more intentionality — all qualities true thought leadership requires.

”

While we are making bold steps in this area, we remain focused on the importance of cost control. Over the past three years we have worked hard on increasing the affordability of our program. We have successfully moved our tuition from near the top of the pack toward the middle in terms of boarding school tuition compared to our peer schools. Our intention is to continue to find ways to control costs in the years ahead, and implement ways to offer more value in every aspect of what we do.

The Pomfret that our alumni/ae know and love persists. Key traditions and practices are the glue that connects the ages — and ours remain alive and well at Pomfret.

While we will protect the sacred nature of this Hilltop and the hallowed history of the Institution, Pomfret will also embrace new practices. Classrooms will resonate in more student-centered, diverse, and customized approaches to learning. Teachers will become the lead learners in their environments, experts at letting our students construct their knowledge through supported challenge, fully cognizant that only knowledge gained through struggle is truly owned, and truly appreciated. As a school we are learning that a constant for us moving forward will be change, that implementing change requires many forms of leadership and collaboration, and that we can grow, adapt, and continue to learn as a faculty and as an institution for another 120-plus years.

It is not news that Pomfret exists in a highly competitive marketplace.

There are other excellent boarding schools, great independent day 7

XII I XI

XII I II

V

IV

IV

VIII

VI

III

VIII

IX

III

IX

X

II

X

XI

VII

VII

VI

V

Leaders in Learning and Teaching

photo by Nate Watters

2015 Schwartz Fellow: the “Unlikely Artist” Award-winning playwright Cheryl L. West chronicled her life’s journey and the decision to leave behind a “safe” career to be a writer: “Being safe meant the sure death of a dream straining to be born.”

I

n her January 26 presentation, Cheryl L. West, this year’s Schwartz Visiting Fellow, delivered such a compelling narrative that in looking for the finer points to highlight, one hardly knows where to begin. They are all highlights. “I am here to talk about my role of becoming a writer,” began the awardwinning playwright on the Blizzard-Juno morning of Monday, January 26. Having settled comfortably at the podium in Hard Auditorium, West told her listeners that she had written everything from award-winning plays “to one of the worst-reviewed movies ever made.” Focusing throughout on “the truth and honesty of being a working writer,” she spoke for an hour about chance and circumstance, resilience, following one’s “heart’s desire,” and making sure to allow room for a healthy dose of serendipity.

8

LEADERS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

Calling herself the “unlikely artist,” West’s odyssey was full of career U-turns and episodes of GPS-style “recalculations.” West was born in Chicago to a family of storytellers with roots in Mississippi. “Writing,” she said, “was in my DNA.” While earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a friend took her “kicking and screaming” to a Broadway production of The Wiz. “It changed my life,” West told the students. A master’s in rehab administration followed, but her muse only became more persistent. “The thing about art,” she warned — caveat emptor — “is that you can’t run away from your true calling.” So she “ran” a slightly skewed path, — even by her account, towards a second graduate degree in journalism — the “safe route,” she added, for a writer. Fortunately for all involved, her muse continued to beckon. While writing

and submitting plays, she met the African-American playwright Ntozake Shange, whose flamboyance and potent creativity was “inspiring.” West received her degree, received job offers from big-city newspapers, and ultimately realized that she wanted to be “a writer of stories.” Being safe, she had concluded, “meant the sure death of a dream straining to be born.”

West, as she put it, “said no to safe.” She allowed herself five years to follow that dream. She wrote her first play, Getting Right, in 1985. On opening night she sat in the audience: “Once the lights went down and I heard my words uttered out loud,” she said, “I knew I would have a life in the theatre.” A one-year travelling Rotary scholarship to Jamaica was the inspiration for Before it Hits Home, a play about the social and emotional impact of AIDS. In a different way, the play did hit home: it was eventually directed by the playwright who had inspired her — Ntozake Shange.

West’s message radiated what she called “the joys of illuminating the human condition.” Her talk resonated with love of family. To a question about what she is most proud of, she answered “my two daughters.” And she hangs her creative hat on her grandmother’s gift of the well-told tale. The woman, she said, “had an eighthgrade education with the wisdom of a post-graduate. She was the source of all things Mississippi. She passed on to me the storytelling gift — [full of] truth and naughtiness,” West said. “It always makes me feel less alone.”

“My mission is to validate people who don’t have a voice.”

— West’s observations on the writer’s life

On becoming a writer: nature or nurture?

I was convinced I had ended up in the wrong family. I would think, “God got it wrong. I was delivered by Santa down the wrong chimney in the middle of the night.” I was an unlikely artist, born inherently dramatic.

On the future of the theatre “Theatre goes on anywhere and everywhere — back yards, spare rooms in church basements, in gyms. A life in the theatre affords you the opportunity to communally share your story and to reinvent and reexamine your own life.”

On critics “You get a bad review from The New York Times, and you’re done. Critics lay in wait; they come with the packaging.

They are everywhere — in your classroom, in your family.

They steal your joy and your enthusiasm. You can learn from criticism, but don’t marry it.”

On the act and challenges of finding one’s muse “You just need to get your butt in the chair and write. You need to write every day. I find too many distractions at home, so I write elsewhere — at the coffee shop, at the library. Getting out and being with people gives you a sense of community. It’s what feeds your writing.”

With forethought aplenty, West’s 2012 “Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy” (an adaptation of the Newbery Award-winning 2004 children’s book of the same name), was the featured play for “Performance and Perspective,” one of the courses on this year’s Project: Pomfret roster. “This was the most amazing opportunity for our students,” said Theatre Director Chip Lamb. “For any actor, seasoned or novice, the presence of the playwright during a production is so exciting.”

9

Project: Pomfret 2.0

10

LEADERS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

The recent Project: Pomfret period echoes loudly and clearly that this “ kind of work — thinking, learning, playing, and creating together in such a unique and collaborative fashion — has the potential to be extremely and powerfully transformational for students and teachers alike.

”

— Head of School Tim Richards P ’15, on the academic value of Project: Pomfret.

When Learning Happens: in the Students’ Words

F

or the second year in a row, that two-week window of time in early December brought our intrepid faculty and students together — to explore a compelling matrix of ideas, concepts, master plans and theories. In Project: Pomfret 2.0, twentyseven different groups collaborated and explored to unearth and dissect new worlds.

Their fields of exploration ranged from a day trip to MIT to the forested paths that skirt the Pomfret campus. Topics ranged from racial and gender identity to Hollywood’s portrayal of World War II; the identity of the American Indian; the physics of light, acoustics, optics, and time; and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Students built a mini-golf course, wrote childrens’ books, choreographed their own words into dance, created their own hip-hop ballads, worked to develop emerging energy forms, and researched the business of energy production, all to understand the future of energy. And one group studied the Project: Pomfret process, documenting it all.

Geocaching

Geocaching was a very “ interesting experience. Each

of us came in without a clue of what would happen, and we all left treasuring the moments we had together, going out geocaching and creating our own puzzle cache.

We used a GPS app on our phones to locate the caches and to leave clues for the next group. For me, I liked the experience of putting our heads together. It was one of the valuable lessons about Project: Pomfret, to see that someone else’s idea can be shared and become part of what everybody has learned.

”

— Papa Sekyere ’16

Form and Function

To me, it was a sensational “challenge of combining the

authenticity and complexity of nature with the infinite creativity of art.

”

— Maggie Peng ’17

11

Mock Trial

Mock Trial challenged us to think out of the box, and in “ turn, to grasp and work with concepts not normally taught in

high schools. I have wanted to become a lawyer since I was eight or nine years old, and I was eager to finally learn more about the Supreme Court. We conducted two mini-mock trials.

I was a defense lawyer for one, and a prosecutor for another.

As a defense lawyer I learned that I needed to think like a prosecutor. As a prosecutor I learned I had to pick my most valuable argument, for I learned it only takes one error to [break down] the entire defense.

”

— Chloë Saad ’16

Identity of the American Indian

Gol: A Global Passion

It was awesome. It was mostly “about soccer, but we also learned

a lot about other cultures in the Middle East, about gender issues; race relations, and [global] issues that you wouldn’t think of. Without those two weeks I wouldn’t have been able to have that experience.

It was a very “ exciting experience

where I was able to focus solely on one topic. It enabled me to learn a subject in unconventional ways, through field trips and video conversations with experts. Overall, it was an experience that I will remember and cherish forever.

”

—Andrew Douglas ’16

”

—Harry Robinson ’15

Y Yoga

I really liked it, because we went more into “what yoga really is. I took yoga in the fall

with Mrs. Richards but for Project: Pomfret we studied anatomy, went to other yoga sessions, and [learned more about] what yoga does for your body.

”

12

LEADERS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

— Abigail Byrnes ’15

Words in Motion

I’m very science-based, “and it was one hundred

and eighty degrees from my normal courses. I liked it a lot — the way I write was directly showcased in writing the background choreography.

”

—Rosemary Osborne ’16

In Their Own Words

In Their Own Words was my “first choice, and I didn’t know

what to expect. The hard part, for me, was writing the project summaries. But I liked taking pictures; I liked the fact that the other students were happy seeing their pictures on the website.

”

—Samantha Yoon ’17

Tying it Together

O

n the bare bones of writing plays, this year’s Schwartz Visiting Fellow Cheryl L. West told an attentive audience, “It’s about the joys of illuminating the human condition.” On the bare bones of experiencing theatre, West described it as “ninety minutes in a darkened space, linked to strangers — all of whom are contemplating their own wounded hearts.”

Although coming six weeks after the final Project presentation, the award-winning playwright’s visit at the end of January was directly linked to both the content and spirit of the other twenty-six courses — the ‘thinking, learning, playing and creating together’ highlighted by Tim Richards — that consumed our days and imaginations in the first two weeks of December. When West stood up and told the students what it took for her, step by tentative step, to become a successful playwright, her words nicely caught the essence of Project: Pomfret’s learning-by-doing spirit. (West’s 2012 play, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, was the featured play for the Project Pomfret group “Performance and Perspective.” Students rehearsed for the two weeks of the project, in preparation for performing it during West’s three-day visit.)

13

14

LEADERS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

No Turning Back Now

by Jamie Feild Baker, Director of the Grauer Institute

W

ith oversight of all aspects of the academic program at Pomfret, the Grauer Institute is structured to be a dynamic force of change. Providing vision, leadership, and support, the Institute is meant to be a source of disruption, interrupting the automatic stronghold of the status quo and working to position Pomfret as a recognized thought leader in boarding school education. Looking over the first few months that I have been at Pomfret as director of the Grauer Institute, I am thrilled to note the mighty work that has begun. I wish I could say “accomplished” instead of “begun” but innovation does not work that way.

The territory that we have defined, as Tim Richards would say, “staked out,” will take us a number of years to fully establish, inhabit, and refine. What is important to realize is that we have orchestrated pivotal moves meant to interrupt complacency and the status quo, meant to necessitate copious amounts of learning for all. One key to leading innovation successfully is this understanding: the more we all learn and implement better ways to approach problems and design solutions, the greater the likelihood that Pomfret will reach its full potential and a sustainable future.

this nostalgia gives the past an important place in our hearts and life experiences, and we desire it to be steadfast. Yet schools must change to stay relevant and to provide preparation for our students’ futures, not our pasts.

The complaints by students and faculty about the pace of life at Pomfret have been constant. On the day last fall when I shadowed a sixth-former from breakfast at 7 AM to the end of her prefect duty at 10 PM, I experienced firsthand the numbness that a student feels at the end of the day. When I asked this student what she had learned during the course of that day, she replied, “I have no idea.

I will know later in the week when I have a chance to look at my notes.” When I asked her what she remembered from the vast amounts of materials she memorized for her AP test last year, her response was, “honestly, nothing.” To have learning stick, a student needs time during the process of learning to take new ideas, connect them to previous knowledge, and apply them in carefully designed performance tasks. It is in this processing, grappling, using, and reflecting that a student comes to own his or her learning.

Seth Godin, author of The Big Moo: “StopAsTrying to Be Perfect and Start Being

Remarkable, explains, ‘Everyone has a

comfort zone. It is worth considering: how hard (and how often) are you willing to work to get out of it? You can turn that into a habit if you choose.’ At Pomfret we are working on developing that habit.

Innovation occurs when we question what has always worked and begin to see the world as it is, not as we wish it was. For a school, innovation is difficult because our close community allows us to live wrapped in nostalgia, whether one is a longtime faculty member, or an alumnus returning to the campus, reminiscing about his formative time in the Bricks. As it should,

”

To address the issue of pace and enhance the possibilities for more relevant, meaningful learning, the tool of the daily schedule was the obvious linchpin. Pomfret’s new schedule uses a “longblock” approach instead of the current 45-minute blocks. The new schedule will host six blocks instead of seven. Each of the six learning blocks will meet five times over a two-week period, for 80 minutes each meeting (75 minutes on Wednesdays due to early 15

RED WEEK SCHEDULE MONDAY

A

TUESDAY

D

WEDNESDAY

B

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:45

Senior Chapel

All-school Meeting

A

B

E

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

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

Lunch

Lunch

C

11:20 - 12:35

THURSDAY

F

Office

Senior Chapel

Advisee Dinners

6:00

A

E

C

F

8:30 - 11:30

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:45

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 9:50

8:30 - 11:30

D

Office

Senior Chapel

E

B

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

Lunch

Lunch

12:10 - 12:50

12:10 - 1:00

12:10 - 12:50

Faculty Meetings

E

B

1:50 - 3:10

1:50 - 3:10

• •

16

The schedule is consistent and predictable from day to day Students will have a maximum of three classes to prepare for each day Formal office hours will create opportunities for dedicated meeting times between students and teachers outside of class An additional advisory period will strengthen the bonds in these important small groups Student clubs will have a dedicated meeting time

LEADERS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

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

A F

11:20 - 12:35

Sit Down Lunch

12:10 - 1:00

Office

Clubs

Advisory

12:50 - 1:40

1:00 - 1:40

F

1:50 - 3:10

C

1:50 - 3:10

Advisee Dinners

6:00

• •

D

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

1:00 - 1:40

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

This reallocation of teaching and learning time through the new daily schedule will necessitate our teachers developing new skills in how to maximize learning opportunities in longer blocks.

It is simply not possible to effectively conduct a class that lasts 80 minutes in the same way one does a 45-minute session. Our faculty will face head-on the great and urgent call to reimagine the learning-teaching experience, and as they do so, they themselves will become nimble and dynamic learners. Other advantages of the new daily schedule include:

•

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

Lunch

12:45 - 1:40

SATURDAY

8:30 - 9:50

A

1:00 - 1:40

FRIDAY

D

D

Sit Down Lunch

THURSDAY

* Academy

sports dismissal). The loss of class time compared to our current schedule is slight, though we believe that there will actually be a net gain in teaching and learning time and less tardiness as a result of increased transit time between classes, to ten minutes instead of the current five.

• •

WEDNESDAY

All-school Meeting

Advisory

F

TUESDAY

Senior Chapel

12:10 - 1:00

1:50 - 3:10

MONDAY

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

Department Meetings

C

SATURDAY *Academy

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

12:10 - 12:50

1:50 - 3:10

C 8:30 - 9:50

Office

12:50 - 1:40

FRIDAY

8:30 - 9:50

12:10 - 1:00 1:00 - 1:40

BLACK WEEK SCHEDULE

B

1:50 - 3:10

Lunch

12:10 - 12:50 Faculty Meetings

12:45 - 1:40

E

1:50 - 3:10

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

Faculty have dedicated time for professional learning and meetings In general, less stress will lead to better outcomes all the way around.

Pomfret will teach APs in 2015-2016 in all of the core disciplines.

Some that we are currently teaching, such as AP Environmental Science, will be redesigned for next year as an Advanced, but not AP, course. Beginning in 2016-2017, Pomfret will replace all of the AP courses with Advanced Courses that we will carefully explain to colleges so that they understand the changes in our students’ transcripts. Our motivation to move away from the highly prescribed Advanced Placement curriculum comes from the fact that AP courses are fundamentally designed to focus on one threehour test at the end of the course, not on powerful, lasting learning.

Success on the AP test is generally predicated on memorization of huge quantities of information — breadth over depth. Relevance is also an issue: courses are not updated in a timely manner, so much of the material in some AP courses is outdated. There is little emphasis on skill building or application of knowledge; teachers are forced to skip over meaningful learning experiences because they must keep on schedule with content delivery.

Students come alive when given the opportunity to drive the learning process, following threads of interest or passion. They

are motivated by choice. They appreciate the struggle it takes to grapple with real problems and apply their knowledge. They learn more when they are engaged and allowed to be social. Students are more capable of higher-order thinking, problem-solving, leadership, and judgment than we traditionally give them a chance to show because we have hamstrung ourselves with the restrictive philosophy, structure, and goals of APs. Modern learning offers more opportunities to do rather than just know.

goals based on their interests and stage in teaching or expertise in their area. Having a system that allows for both this collective institutional growth and learning customized by each individual was important to us in selecting a platform to use. This new goalsetting and learning platform, coupled with annual performance reviews (an unusual practice in education) will keep us focused and accountable to being the best professionals possible, always seeking excellence and modeling learning.

Faculty will be developing new course material, taking the best of what they have always taught and combining it with new topics and new approaches. To stimulate creative thinking and collaboration among faculty, the Grauer Institute has allocated $10,000 of innovation grants for faculty teams to develop interdisciplinary courses for the coming year. There is a formal submission and review process which requires clear design and overt connections to Pomfret’s Vision of the Graduate and Learning Principles as stated in the Strategic Plan. Grant recipients will fully develop their courses for use in our curricular program. The experience, knowledge, and confidence that faculty have gained from two years of implementing Project: Pomfret prepares them well for designing these new courses built around collaborative learning and deep inquiry into topics.

Changing structures, processes, and systems that govern the work of the school creates a renewed energy, and yes, anxiety. Living in one’s comfort zone and only focusing on what one already knows can lead to intellectual flabbiness. As Seth Godin, author of The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable, explains, “Everyone has a comfort zone.

It is worth considering: how hard (and how often) are you willing to work to get out of it?

You can turn that into a habit if you choose.” At Pomfret we are working on developing that habit. We are beginning to read and learn in more dynamic and consistent ways. Conversations about what, how, and why we teach are beginning to flourish. These conversations are happening all over the place. More than fifty copies of Grant Lichtman’s #EdJourney, about the discomfort yet urgency of innovation, and over sixty copies of Ted Sizer’s ’49 The Students are Watching, about the moral challenge of teaching, are being read and enthusiastically discussed.

To have learning stick, a student “needs time during the process of

learning to take new ideas, connect them to previous knowledge, and apply them in carefully designed performance tasks. It is in this processing, grappling, using, and reflecting that a student comes to own that learning.

Professional learning and growth is the fuel that the innovation work ahead of us requires. Only by learning new ways of thinking and doing, growing our own expertise and knowledge in the new skills and content areas that students need, will we be able to transform curriculum and learning practices in the classroom. To this end, beginning next year we will implement a new goal-setting and learning requirement for Pomfret educators and staff. Each individual professional will work on required institution-wide learning goals, as well as choose their own professional and personal learning

”

Here, in the middle of my first year, I am pleased to say that we are “all in.” There is no turning back now. These seemingly swift and pivotal moves were possible because people at Pomfret were ready.

Pomfret was poised and waiting for someone to really get things going. I am glad that the purpose and structure of the Grauer Institute, and I, in this new role, with years of experience and foresight of how the change process flows, can exclaim, “here we go!”

17

Observations from the Pulpit (Setting Sights from 41° N, 71° W)

This year’s State of the School address

brought

an

altered

navigational perspective

to the

yearly Hilltop event, when the observations and aspirations were delivered by the School President.

On January 29, Rachel Godfrey ’15 presented her candid and compelling vision of what she sees as the School’s tremendous potential as a community to move forward and make changes: “Getting out of our own heads, grabbing the hands of those who stand beside us. The spirit of Pomfret,” she said, “will never fade.” What follows are excerpts of her talk in Clark Chapel.

C

hicago was beautiful, in terms of weather and appearance. The food was hot, with the same meals each and every day — kind of like chicken in the Pomfret dining hall. The Midwest was a place unlike any other place I had ever been. The idea of taking an eighteen-hour Amtrak ride to a place I had never been before then living there for three weeks was overwhelming, but exciting.

My arrival in Chicago, had a purpose: I was attending the 2014 Encampment for Citizenship Summer Program. The organization’s mission consisted of getting youth ready to take control of the world and all of its flaws, and becoming agents of social change. So these feelings of excitement carried on throughout my first week of the program, mostly because nothing exceptionally bad happened. I was in the heart of Chicago, a beautiful city, with a bunch of kids who shared similar ambitions. With a little more pizza, it would’ve been Utopia. Over the Fourth of July weekend,

18

LEADERS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING

my group and I went to Grant Park to watch the fireworks.

It was unlike anything else. I was cuddled up with new friends, drinking lemonade, and enjoying the beauty right before me.

Little did I know that there were people, only a few miles away, who were having a very different experience. On the following Monday, we were called into a group meeting. The Encampment Family, as we called ourselves, sat in a circle in silence. Aisha, one of the staff members who was a Chicago native, stood up, an essence of sadness spreading with each of her steps as she walked to the center of the circle.

“This holiday weekend,” she began, “has been an unfortunate one. More than fifty shootings have taken place, and more than seventy people have been killed or injured.

Please keep their families in your prayers.” It was sad, to say the least. It was horrible. But I could still go on about my day. I still went to recreation, still ate ice cream, and still laughed with my friends. When something is not having a direct impact on your life, it’s easy to brush it off. But situations as such are not matters of “Who cares more?”

They’re matters of “What will you do?” At Pomfret we have no problem sympathizing. It’s empathizing that has proven to be harder, time and time again. We just have to realize that the individual needs the community just as much as the community needs the individual.

On the Hilltop we display a great eagerness to “lean into discomfort,” but we also need to create a space that allows students to be comfortable with the uncomfortable…respect doesn’t mean that one has to agree. You can completely disagree with how someone feels, but to completely ignore what they are saying, to not even listen? This year we have come together when it has been needed, and even when we didn’t have to,

like at the boys’ hockey game last Saturday, an informal and very successful fundraiser for cancer, or the amazing Mr. Pomfret turnout. We get together, and there’s a power unlike anything I, personally, have ever experienced. So where do we go from here, with a little more than 100 days left until graduation?

will leave behind a place that, as we all claim, has done so much for us. We have the power. The strength we have collectively as a class is scary. And I love that. Mr. Clinton has implemented the idea of Fireside Chats, for engaging in open conversations between students and faculty, about happenings at Pomfret. The goal is to break barriers, and create a shared perspective. But for this, the responsibility of carrying on certain conversations so that actual progress and education happens, falls on to the shoulders of the leaders. And by leaders, I mean everyone who cares about making this world, and Pomfret, a better place.

To the leaders of Pomfret (and when I say leaders, I mean every single person in this chapel), hear these words that I was once told — and allow them to be your driving force throughout life. Life: not just your time at Pomfret. The job of a leader is not to tell people what to do. The job of a leader is If there’s one lesson I took away not to make a proposal for the sake “The minute you tap into your from Chicago and the people I met of making yourself look good. The potential for the first time, a there, it would be that you never job of a leader is to inspire other know how much of a difference wider world opens for you. you can make until you take that leaders. Plain and simple. The title doesn’t matter at the end of the And the more and more you first step toward trying. The minute day…students will graduate from you tap into your potential for the grasp onto that, the wider the Pomfret reciting Bobby Fisher’s first time, a wider world opens thoughtful and kind words as they for you. And the more and more world gets.” “seek to gladden the hearts of those you grasp onto that, the wider the who travel with them.” People will look at how you were world gets. You have the ability to pave the way for so as a person. They’ll look at if you were kind, and if you many others, inspiring them to do the same. Unlocking cared, and what you cared about. They will remember our true selves also involves a great deal of listening what resonated, what gave them hope and pride about and communicating, with ourselves, of course, but with being a member of this community, and what made them others. So the challenge, my fellow Pomfret people, is want to genuinely be better people. getting out of our own heads, grabbing the hands of those who stand beside us, and trudging forward. We will have Seniors: we know for a fact that we are one of the best our differences, but we have to be willing to accept and, graduating classes to be at Pomfret since our time here. sometimes, argue, when the time comes for either/or. The We have good people. Great people. Interesting, thought- spirit of Pomfret will never fade. provoking individuals. But what can we say we have truly done for this community? We need to think about how we

19

PONTEFRACT

Distinctive Boarding School Experience

20

DISTINCTIVE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

21

Honoring the Legacy of an American Hero: How the Clark Chapel Became a Mountaintop

O

n the eve of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in January 2014, seniors Austin Jones and Mike Revelakis drafted, organized, and presented a student petition to Head of School Tim Richards, asking that on the following day classes be cancelled so the School community could honor and celebrate Dr. King’s life and legacy. While too late to reschedule for last year, Tim and Director of Diversity Steve Davis committed, virtually on the spot, to scheduling a full “day on” for reflection in 2015. In announcing his decision to the School community

One Degree of Separation: Hubert Sapp talking about the busy days with “King” in the height of the Civil Rights movement.

Bringing Structure, Reinforcing a Vision, Sharing Lessons Not even the “historically” snowy winter could alter the schedule of events highlighting diversity, inclusivity, and the importance of examining our differences. From race to gender to mindset, an array of speakers and events in the early days of 2015 showed us ways to build a tighter, more cohesive community.

Poet Ayinde Russell performs for the School community

22

DISTINCTIVE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Tim said, “I want to extend my thanks to two remarkable students whose maturity and vision are the model of what we aspire to see in all Pomfret students.” This year, the passion that became a petition became a reality. Monday, January 19 was a day spent examining Dr. King’s life and accomplishments in the company of visitors who knew him personally, whose presentation helped round out our sense of his accomplishments and legacy.

Little things revealed at the morning presentations on Monday, January 19 went a long way in bringing the Civil Rights era to life: MLK couldn’t walk a city block in his home town without stopping to chat; he did not want to run for President because in order to be effective he would have to deal with the moral “reality of negotiating” ; activists at a lunch-counter sit-in in 1967 were treated “courteously,” leading a naïve young man to conclude that the “movement was over.”

The day began in Clark Chapel with a presentation by musician David LeMieux and “slam” poet Ayinde Russell, who the year before brought to the Hilltop their multimedia performance, At the Table with Dr. King. Ferguson, Missouri, was on everyone’s mind this year as the two interactively brought to life excerpts from King’s 1963 “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” The two other key message-makers were veteran civil rights activists Hubert and Jane Sapp. The husband and wife met in the sixties, brought together by the Civil Rights movement and their working relationship with Dr. King. Jane is an accomplished songwriter and performer who still pours heart and soul into her music. She is currently Program Director of the University of Chicago-based Encampment Program, where last summer she found herself in the presence of Pomfret School President Rachel Godfrey ’15 and senior prefect and VOICE student leader K.C. O’Hara ’15. The twosome from the Hilltop, she told the students, “showed us what friendship looks like, across all lines and boundaries. They were my introduction to Pomfret.”

Hubert was that naïve young man who mistook courtesy for capitulation. From one degree of separation, he told the Pomfret students how he met MLK in 1967 while a senior at Harvard, training for sit-ins in Augusta. “I was assigned to the Woolworth’s [lunch counter] and was told to expect violence.” Yet activism and naïveté, it appears, often go hand in hand: “We were treated courteously,” he said, “and I thought the movement might be

Accomplished songwriter Jane Sapp presented a compelling tableau of her involvement with Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement.

“Rachel and K.C. showed us what friendship looks like, across all lines and boundaries. They were my introduction to Pomfret.”

— Jane Sapp

over.” That year, at the age of twenty-two, Hubert found himself appointed special assistant to Dr. King. His job, decades before the arrival of the Internet and email, was to help manage the overwhelming amount of mail received by King’s office. “There were,” he said, “thousands of letters.”

In that year with “King” (as Jane called him), Hubert said, “I went everywhere he went,” an itinerary that ranged from the regular 9:00 AM Monday morning staff meetings at a local restaurant to the anti-war rally in Chicago in March. There was talk that year of a presidential run, a role MLK eschewed. “He understood the President’s job.” Hubert said. “He knew that the role of a moral leader was not compatible with being president.”

23

and other cultural prejudices in mid twentieth-century America.

Baldwin’s essays on injustice and race in the U.S. are as timely today as they were in 1948, Miller said, when he moved to Paris “without knowing French and with forty dollars in his pocket.”

In the immediate aftermath of the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Miller (who is the brother of Pomfret Student Activities Director Anne Miller) told the students that his Facebook page virtually took off with references to Baldwin. One article was shared two thousand times. The sum of Baldwin’s work, Miller said, was a “lifetime of responses to all the black experiences.” When asked by a student why he thought Baldwin took to writing, Miller responded that perhaps it was “his way of avoiding bitterness and destruction.” There was also the genius writer’s need to write: “He was a restless, experimental guy,” Miller said, “who found a way of being listened to.”

Gender & Sexual Diversity Examining the Messages and Misfires of Gender and Sexual Diversity

(l-r): Rachel Godfrey ’15, Jennifer Bryan, and Nick Fulchino ’15 Honoring MLK in a Post-Ferguson World

Visiting scholar D. Quentin Miller, Ph.D. discusses the literary and social legacy of African-American author James Baldwin (1924-1987), whom Malcolm X once referred to as “the poet of [the] revolution.”

Universal lessons from Ferguson, Missouri, and the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. collided with the life’s work of author James Baldwin (1924-1987) on Tuesday, January 13, when Quentin Miller, Ph.D., Chair of the English Department of Suffolk University in Boston and a renowned Baldwin Scholar, came to share his insights and deep knowledge of the prolific writer. Miller, addressing two senior English classes (Bridget Tsemo’s African American Literature and Marcus Smith’s Misfits in Literature), read from his 2012 book, A Criminal Power: James Baldwin and the Law. He spoke to the students for a fascinating hour about Baldwin’s work and how it was shaped by his own life, race,

24

J

ennifer Bryan is a psychologist whose Northampton, Massachusetts-based consulting firm, Team Finch, deals with issues of gender and sexual diversity in a range of educational settings. On Tuesday, January 13, invited by the Student Council, Bryan visited Pomfret as a TELL (Teach. Engage. Listen. Learn.) presenter. To get the conversation started, she brought with her several examples of how embedded, at all age levels, gender conformity is in our culture. With Disney’s animated Ariel and Prince Eric, Belle and Beast, Pocahontas and John Smith, and even Lady and Tramp exchanging kisses on the screen behind her, she discussed the broad diversity of gender and sexuality, and its apparent absence thereof, in the world according to Disney — and elsewhere.

“This gravitation toward security of the conformity of the majority is a huge problem in gender and sexuality,” Bryan said, “because within gender and sexuality there is so much diversity.” Her point about the Disney heroes and heroines, she said, was how they imply that the men should be masculine and the women should be small and delicate. And, she added, they only show boys kissing girls. “What if who you are,” she asked, “doesn’t match up with who they want you to be?”

Oh, the places they

“Outdoor Adventure participants endeavor at their own pace to build a greater sense of what they are capable of, a sense of independence and interdependence, and first-hand experiences with the joys and challenges of traveling in wild places that build grit.” Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas (a self-proclaimed outdoorsman and environmentalist) said it well: ‘A people who climb the ridges and sleep under the stars in high mountain meadows, who enter forests and scale peaks, who explore glaciers and walk ridges buried deep in snow — these people will give their country some of the indomitable spirit of the mountains.’”

—Science Teacher and Outdoor Adventure Coordinator Bill Martin P ’05, ’08

have gone!

Trips since the beginning of the school year have included a three-day whitewater canoeing trip along the Deerfield River in Charlemont, Massachusetts; a three-day backpacking trip up Mount Alander in South Egremont, Massachuetts; rock climbing afternoon trips to Ross Cliffs in Danielson, Connecticut; and day hikes at Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, Massachusetts and Mount Monadnock in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

25

Arts

2015 WINTER PLAY

WORKING A musical based on the 1974 best-seller

by Studs Terkel

Photos By: Evan Jaccodine ’15

By Chip Lamb P ’09, ’11, Theatre Director and Arts Department Chair

H

ow do we define ourselves? Is our job also our identity? Do we love what we do? If not, why do we spend our lives doing something we don’t like? These are just a few of the questions over twenty-five Pomfret students faced over the winter term while producing the musical, WORKING. Based on the popular 1974 book by Studs Terkel, WORKING is a concept musical that depicts a broad spectrum of Americans talking and singing about their jobs. It is a collaborative piece created by celebrated composer Stephen Schwartz that includes music of many different styles and traditions. The characters are all non-fiction, based on interviews that Terkel conducted over many years as a Chicago journalist.

Pomfret students were faced with the very real challenge of making

26

DISTINCTIVE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

these people theatrical, while maintaining their authenticity and dignity. Each actor had to not only embody their characters, but dig deep to find the very essence of these people. In addition to the performances, a group of seniors in the cast conducted their own interviews with members of the community who work daily to make Pomfret a better place. Their reportage was displayed in an exhibit created for the production in the lobby and breezeway just outside of the auditorium. The entire experience brought our students closer to the reality of work as an integral component to living a fulfilling life.

ANNUAL EMPTY BOWLS SUPPER

T

CAST LIST (in order of appearance) Vincent Lee ’15 Rachel Godfrey ’15 India Finley ’15 Alex Koo ’16 Chris Rackey ’15 Ava Pawlowski ’17 Thomas Wheatley ’15 Sage Min Peng ’17 Cherie Langlois ’15 Milan Marzilli ’17 Nick Speranza ’17 Amanda Lim ’17

Julie Sullivan ’17 Isabella McCarthy ’15 Allie Cochran ’16 Gianna Gonzalez ’16 Campbell Connors ’17 Jadan Villaruel ’16 Bailey Mae Bone ’15 Michelle Kim ’16 Connor Shea ’15 Maggie Peng ’17 Ekin Yazici ’16 Grace Jackson ’17 Annie Vance ’16

his year’s Empty Bowls Supper, held on the night of the public performance of the winter musical, marked the seventh year that ceramics and sculpture teacher Kathi Yokum has marshaled the forces to get the simple meal — soups homemade by the faculty — organized, warm, and ready to serve in handmade ceramic bowls. Kathi says the event is “definitely a community effort, and receives more and more support from the people coming every year.” Soups were made in faculty homes; the eight members of the winter term Community Service Team — seven boys and one girl, all neophytes in the art of producing pottery — made the bowls. “I was proud of them,” she said. “For beginners they did an excellent job.” In the past seven years Kathi and her army of volunteers have raised close to $10,000 to support area food banks. The Empty Bowls Project is an international non-profit whose mission is to fight hunger and raise awareness. Go to emptybowls.net to find out more.

27

Pomfret’s Off-Campus Art Gallery at Silver Circle Studio in Putnam, CT

Winter’s Walls at P.S. ART: Students and Faculty Display Their Work POP: Paintings on Photographs December 5 – February 1 A collaborative show between the AP Painting and Drawing and the AP 2-D Design courses, students in the AP 2-D Design course photographed images that demonstrated an understanding of line, shape and texture, before converting them to black and white. The students in the AP Painting and Drawing class painted over the black and white images using their own interpretation of color. The AP Painting and Drawing students had the freedom to explore the medium however they chose, while honoring the initial photograph.

The show at P.S. ART featured both the original color photographs as well as the collaborative paintings.

Chasing Light and Getting Lost February 1 – March 29 Math teacher Matt Goethals’ P.S. ART show included a variety of landscapes and seascapes captured around the world—from Martha’s Vineyard to New Zealand. His appreciation for exploring the outdoors, shared through a range of mediums and techniques, was presented in this exhibit.

28

DISTINCTIVE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

POP:

POP: Paintings on Photographs — Student Artists in Show AP Studio Art: 2-D Design taught by Lindsay Lehmann

AP Studio Art: Drawing taught by JP Jacquet

Sophia Clarke ’15 Talia Gulino ’15 Chase Hollingsworth ’15 Abby Horst ’15 Evan Jaccodine ’15 K.C. O’Hara ’15 Tory Read ’15 Lucy Richards ’15 Caroline Shehan ’15

Alex Finley ’15 India Finley ’15 Michelle Kim ’16 JJ Lim ’15 Rebecca Pempek ’16 Sage Min Peng ’17 Amy Son ’16 Nemo Tran ’16 Thomas Wheatley ’15 Coco Zhang ’15

ow

Next Sh

Alice W. Dunbar: Collected Works April 3rd-26th

For up-to-date information and upcoming show schedules, visit:

www.pomfretshool.org/PS-Art

29

Athletics Alumni/ae Athletes in Action Winter 2014-15

Sarah Vaillancourt ’04 was named one of three members of the Harvard Women’s Beanpot Hall of Fame Class of 2015 and honored on February 3, 2015 during its 37th Annual Women’s Beanpot Tournament. A former star for the Harvard women’s hockey team and two-time Olympian, Sarah helped guide the Harvard Crimson to two Beanpot championships from 2004-2008. Vaillancourt was inducted into Pomfret’s Athletic Hall of Fame in May 2014.

Cassie Catlow ’11 was named to the U.S. Women’s National University hockey team and competed in the Winter World University Games in Grenada, Spain in February 2015. Team USA closed out the women’s hockey tournament in fifth place this year. Cassie is currently a senior at the University of Rhode Island, where she is a co-captain on the women’s ice hockey team. This is the second year she has represented the USA in the World University Games.

Lilah Fones ’11 and Charlie Gruner ’13 were named to the 2014 NESCAC Fall All-Academic Team on November 25, 2014. Lilah is a senior on the Wesleyan University field hockey team, and Charlie is a sophomore on the men’s soccer team at Wesleyan.

Sarah Vaillancourt ’04

Connor Quinn ’11, a senior forward on the Bowdoin College men’s hockey team, has been named one of 18 semifinalists for the Joe Concannon College Hockey Award. The award, presented annually by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, is given to the best American-born college hockey player in New England Division II/III. This year Connor has been outstanding on Bowdoin’s special teams units, racking up three power play goals and two shorthanded tallies. In 95 career games, he has accumulated 33 goals and 34 assists.

Patricia Francis-Hall ’13, a member of the women’s squash team at Dickinson College, helped lead the team to win the 2015 CSA E-Division Championship in the program’s inaugural season.

Cassie Catlow ’11

Brian Mullen ’11 30

Brian Mullen ’11, a senior on the Connecticut College men’s squash team, was honored as the NESCAC Men’s Squash Player of the Week on February 2, 2015. He won all three matches against NYU, Dickinson and Tufts, leading the way for his team.

DISTINCTIVE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Connor Quinn ’11

Lilah Fones ’11

Charlie Gruner ’13

Patricia Francis-Hall ’13

Pomfret Alumni/ae Playing College Athletics During the Winter 2014-15 Season Kristy Brown ’14 – ice hockey at University of Prince Edward Island Isaiah Henderson ’14 – basketball at Allegheny College Jeffrey Iyalekhue ’14 – basketball at Connecticut College Candy Lu ’14 – ice hockey at Williams College Hollis McLoughlin ’14 – squash at Trinity College Mary Redmond ’14 – basketball at Saint Leo University Barak Swarttz ’14 – basketball at Elmira College Ashley Anctil ’13 – ice hockey at Connecticut College Alyson Chase ’13 – basketball at Mahattanville College Emma Dunn ’13 – squash at Bates College Nick Ellis ’13 – ice hockey at Providence College Patricia Francis-Hall ’13 – squash at Dickinson College Alex Joyce ’13 – ice hockey at Boston College Jordan Lipson ’13 – ice hockey at SUNY Plattsburgh Morgan Olander ’13 – basketball at Bryant University Izzy Regine ’13 – ice hockey at Lake Forest College

Brandon Cunningham ’12 – basketball at Bard College Megan Gaudreau ’12 – basketball at St. Michael’s College Melissa Haganey ’12 – ice hockey at Northeastern University Jay Kourkoulis ’12 – ice hockey at Bowdoin College RJ LaBeef ’12 – wrestling at Cleveland State University Taylor McVey ’12 – basketball at University of Tampa Garrett White ’12 – ice hockey at Stonehill College Cassie Catlow ’11 – ice hockey at University of Rhode Island (Capt.)

Lilah Fones ’11 – ice hockey at Wesleyan University Brian Hickey ’11 – ice hockey at St. Olaf College Nic Lane ’11 – basketball at Colgate University Jamie Leonoff ’11 – ice hockey at Yale University Brian Mullen ’11 – squash at Connecticut College Danny Palumbo ’11 – ice hockey at Bowdoin College (Capt.)

Connor Quinn ’11 – ice hockey at Bowdoin College Ray Zeek ’11 – ice hockey at Colby College (Capt.)

Eric David ’09 – ice hockey at Elmira College

(Div. 1 basketball at Mount Saint Mary’s University), Makenna Newkirk (Div. 1 ice hockey at Boston College); and Kyra Smith (Div. 1 hockey at University of New Hampshire).

Sixth Griffin signs NLI

W

Erin says that two of Devin’s teammates, Chelsea Cutler and Cassie Hayward, also deserve a nod. Cassie, co-captain along with Devin, has been a two-time All-State and All-WWNEPSSAA selection, as well as the recipient of the Elizabeth Joy Dommers ’87 Soccer Award. “She has led the team,” says Erin, “as a fearless defender and leader on and off the field.” “Chelsea”, says Erin, “has been our lone goalkeeper for the last three years, starting and playing in every match over the last three seasons.” An All-State, two-time All-WWNEPSAA selection, and Norwich Bulletin All-Star, “Chelsea has been a steady presence in the goal for us and she will be hard to replace.” Both Chelsea and Cassie were recruited to play for (but did not sign NLIs) and will attend Amherst and Hamilton, respectively.

ith soccer coach Erin Fisher P’16 at her side and surrounded by a roomful of fans, on Wednesday, February 4, Devin Frisby became the sixth of her classmates to sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play soccer for the Saint Anselm College Hawks in Goffstown, New Hampshire. “Devin has been a two-year starter since coming to Pomfret her junior year,” says Erin. “She has been a dynamic presence in the center midfield, and stands out with her technical ability and vision on the field. She is as passionate about the game as any player I have coached.” Devin joins five of her classmates who last fall signed on with NCAA schools: Jake Canepari (Div. 2 lacrosse at Rollins), Cam Giles (Div.1 golf at Bryant University), Juliette Lawless

31

POMFRET

GRIFFINS

Winter 2014 -2015 Varsity Athletics Team Photos

Outstanding Teamwork for Girls Varsity Basketball “There was never a question of the potential in this group, it was always just a matter of whether they wanted to realize it for themselves.”

— Coach Rebecca Brooks

GIRLS BASKETBALL Class B NEPSAC Champions

The girls’ varsity basketball team overcame adversity through hard work and determination to win the Class B NEPSAC Tournament. The team finished the season with a record of 15-9.

Coach: Rebecca Brooks Assistant Coach: Patrick Burke Captain: Juliette Lawless ’15

GIRLS SQUASH Coach: Greg Rossolimo Captains: Taylor H. Crompton ’15 & Talia A. Gulino ’15

32

DISTINCTIVE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

BOYS SQUASH Coach: Tad Chase P ‘13, ‘15, ‘17 Captains: Alexander S. Chase ’15 & Jack R. Weston ’15

BOYS BASKETBALL NEPSAC Class B Tournament

Coach: Joe Kremer P ‘14, ‘17 Assistant Coach: Steve Davis Captains: Maguire D. Crouse ’15, Obim M. Okeke ’15 & Cameron W. Winston ’16

BOYS HOCKEY Coach: Matt Goethals Assistant Coach: Greg Osborne ‘03 Captains: Christopher R. Kattak ’15 & Cameron J. McGuire ’15

GIRLS HOCKEY NEPSAC Division 1 Tournament Coach: Becky Zavisza Assistant Coach: Grace Dickinson Captains: Abigail K. Horst ’15 & Makenna N. Newkirk ’15

WRESTLING Coach: Art Horst P ‘13, ‘15, ‘18 Captains: Brandon J. Caffrey ’15, Breana T. Lohbusch ’16 & Aidan S. McGannon ’16

33

CRATIA DEI MECUM

Measurement of Achievement

1

2

4

3

5 1. Bobby Leonard ’17 — Aircraft Design (wings, tail booms, and A-frame tail) 2. Matthew Bonavita ’15 — “Love is Complicated” PSA 3. India Finley ’15 — Fabric and Dress Design

4. JJ Lim ’15 — Book Design and Illustration 5. Gerald Blount ’16 and Chris Atwood

To Technology—and Beyond!

In the computer lab in the du Pont Library, technology, creativity and inspiration are the trinity that enables students to merge academics and curiosity—and take steps in the direction of successful careers, doing what they love.

T

his is what the digital immigrant sees when walking into Chris Atwood’s Digital Modeling and Animation class: two rows of sleek flat computer screens, each with a student in front of them — focused intently on a seemingly random grouping of threedimensional geometric objects, spheres, cubes, and other shapes.

Objects change only when the student’s mouse clicks and drags; occasionally, a sphere will morph from gray to hot pink or neon green, or a cube will expand or contract in size. The pace seems slow; things move at the tempo of a waiting-room aquarium. Yet the tempo belies the reality. Two things are happening here: first, students are learning how to assign animation properties such as speed and heft — even stickiness — to the objects on the screens so that, at their digital command, a sphere will either bounce off, pass

34

MEASUREMENT OF ACHIEVEMENT

through, or shatter when it is thrust down onto a deck-like platform.

Or, when propelled against a big table-like structure, take it down like a house of cards.

The second thing at play is that these students are getting glimpses of their future. Chris roams and advises, using such phrases as “bullet dynamics,” “fracture attributes,” and “rigid body.” Lest anyone think that this is an exercise in going nowhere, he is quick to invoke the Vision of the Pomfret Graduate. He reminds the students that such mastery is step one towards a career in computer-enhanced special effects, moviemaking, movie enhancing, and a possible niche of one’s own in the land of digital animation. He explains that the 3D-animation exercise they are mastering is based on the same principles as the opening sequence in Game of Thrones.

In the quiet semi-darkness of the computer lab that Chris shares with digital graphics teacher Junko Pinkowski, students make great, quiet discoveries about their own passions and potential.

Independently motivated, last fall Bobby Leonard ’17 set out to design a fully operational drone with a ten-foot wing span (only seniors may apply for independent projects). Bobby traces his interest back to “the third grade when I absolutely loved playing with Legos…I’d build helicopters, planes.” In his future he sees himself as a flight engineer or aircraft designer.

This year alone has seen digital arts independent projects emerge from such disparate interests as aviation engineering, book design and publishing, and fashion design. Senior JJ Lim is writing and illustrating a book for his winter independent project. “Since I have been at Pomfret, I’ve had ideas running around in my head about characters and stories,” he says, “and now I get to really develop them. I came to Pomfret because of the digital arts program,” he adds, “and I have not been disappointed.” Matt Bonavita ’15 took a digital graphics elective last year to fulfill a credit. “Mrs. Pinkowski helped me explore different graphic styles as well as different Adobe programs like Illustrator. After that experience,” he says, “I decided to move forward with my studies and learn more about the art of digital graphics.” Matt is now working on developing poster designs for public service announcements such as domestic and substance abuse, as well as for entertainment events.

India Finley ’15, heading for Parsons School of Design in the fall, has finished a fabric design project, right down to having a square

yard of her material in hand. Junko said she watched India progress from a tentative yet creative student into a bold and confident artist, on her way to creating a line of clothing. India was also intrigued by the design possibilities. “I enjoyed the class last year,” she says, “and I wanted to continue to learn more. I also wanted to use the skills I learned from the class and saw a way to use them when I go on to college.”

The work — and the learning — accomplished here presents a great example of innovative learning at Pomfret. In the academic panorama of the School’s curriculum and the goals of the Strategic Plan, Digital Arts is Pomfret’s quiet giant. There is superior teaching, mentoring, and work that is progressive and relevant, and particularly well-suited to a college career track. The climate of innovation and research is robust — the four pillars of the Strategic Plan, in action. As a learning experience, it has the potential to take students to careers in technology — and beyond.

35

The students are working with NewTek’s LightWave, digital animation software which has a graphic dexterity and visual potential that literally leaps off the screen. The LightWave website (www.lightwave3d.com) showcases other user’s works, and the possibilities are as thrilling to see as they must be to learn. Chris has been teaching his Digital Modeling and Animation course since 2003, on the recommendation of Eben Ostby ’73, who took his first computer technology course at Pomfret more than forty years ago, and who is now Supervising Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios. It was Eben who, in 1995, was part of the team that created Toy Story’s iconic and much-loved Buzz Lightyear. It was also Eben who, according to a profile in the Fall 2004 Pomfret Bulletin, made a gift to the School, in 2003, “of the first five seats of the LightWave 3D Animation and Modeling software” — essentially setting up a Pixar workshop on the Hilltop.

Eben returned to the Hilltop in 2001 to receive the School’s Distinguished Alumni/ae Award, and to address the students. According to Chris, his presentation was an inspiration to at least one of those in the audience. College-bound but with no real focus, it struck a creative nerve in Alasdair John “A.J.” Willson ’04, who opted for a semester of LightWave 3D in his junior year. “Once I took the LightWave course,” he told the Bulletin, “I realized what computers could do for me. It sparked such an interest…and it was amazing to see how everything began to fall into place.” More than ten years later, A.J. is living in London working independently as a digital producer. From the Pomfret classroom to Savannah College of Art and Design, A.J. also found his niche. He can include on his CV both the Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes film serials, and the animated Rango. He has also produced the motion graphics components for Audi’s 2013 fall line rollout.

On LightWave, Chris explains, “I love the enormous range of creative possibilities it offers. I am able to present to our students a gateway experience into a medium that is used successfully in so many professional settings. I am able to teach specific technical tools and techniques and the essential workflows for producing quality work.” Getting students up to speed, he says, takes about half the term. Once they reach that level of mastery, “I assign the class a major project that offers significant latitude for creative interpretation.” Last fall, for example, the assignment was to design a room — “model, texture, light, and then to photograph it and everything in it, including windows and the scenes beyond.”

As with everything else digital, technology on the Hilltop has undergone a vast transformation since the first computer and computer course was introduced more than forty years ago. In the Bulletin interview Eben recalled his first confrontation with the behemoth.

“I still remember how we would boot [it] up. You actually entered a program using binary numbers.” It took another twenty years for the concept of a technology curriculum to be established. In 1996 Head of School Brad Hastings ’68 announced Chris’s appointment as Director of Academic Computing in the summer Bulletin. In that same article Brad sought to reassure parents and trustees that the

36

MEASUREMENT OF ACHIEVEMENT

School would “make certain that the educational process at Pomfret uses technology as a tool and not as a substitute for quality teaching and mentoring.” [His emphasis.] He also posed the question, “Is it not more helpful if every student and faculty member has a personal computer in their dormitory room or residence? And what about the day students? E-mail can be sent to them…but they must have a computer and an Internet account at home to receive it.” Observations that seem anachronistic now — until one realizes, that at the time, the multitasking capabilities of smart phones were not even on the horizon.

“As a teacher,” Chris says, “it is just so enjoyable to watch these students grow by serendipitous means through their analytical and technical modeling skills.” It’s the same transformation Junko described in a young, quiet talented student whose talent has given her a window. And JJ now has not just a focus, but a bull’s-eye: “Whether I create video games, cartoons, or movies,” he says, “my all-time goal career-wise is to be the head of my own studio.”

When our students are able to use their skills to do such tremendous things, two things happen. It gives them a confident perspective on the future, and gives their education a purpose — and a destination: technology, and beyond.

“

Matt Bonavita ’15

I’ve seen a side of art that I initially was unaware of. For example, when one hears the word “art” they probably imagine pastels and paintbrushes and watercolors. Not many people think of the tracing tool on Adobe Illustrator or the perspective tool on Photoshop. I do not consider myself an artsy type of kid, but taking digital graphics classes has allowed me to explore a different side of art that at one point was far less known to me.

”

“

Jeanna Cook ’04 at the site of unearthed Roman baths in Binchester, England, last summer.

JJ Lim ’15

The Digital Arts faculty are incredible. They have really taken me under their wing and encouraged everything I’ve done in my time here.

Whether I create video games, cartoons, or movies, my all-time goal career-wise is to be the head of my own studio. I’d like to use storytelling as a medium to reach out to people of any generation and inspire them to do something — to better the world just a little bit. That’s the dream, but as long as I can draw robots, I’ll be happy.

”

“

India Finley ’15

In the future, I want to be a fashion designer, and I am majoring in fashion design in college. I think it is important to know how to work Photoshop and Illustrator, and I’m happy I can apply it to my major in college and beyond. I like how easy it is to create a picture using [those programs], and once I learned how to use everything, I was able to come up with a lot of different designs I could use. I first cut out flowers I had pictures of, and use the different tools online to change the pictures, and to design cool fabric.

”

Digging into the Past Jeanna Cook ’04 rediscovers her passion for archaeology

By Debby Thurston

T

he pursuit of education brought Jeanna Cook ’04 back to the past. When she was an undergraduate at Davidson College, during a semester abroad she had studied archaeology, worked on excavations in Italy, and toured other excavation sites across the Mediterranean. Upon graduation from Davidson, she assumed her current role — teaching classics at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts. While working on her recently-completed Masters in Education at Boston University, the program required summer work, so last summer she returned to excavating.

Jeanna worked at Binchester (Roman name: Vinovium) in northeastern England, just outside of Durham. The area was occupied by Romans dating back to the first century, when a large Roman town had developed outside of the fort over time.

The site has been dubbed the “Pompeii of the North” for its noteworthy discoveries. Jeanna related that during her summer stay, major advancements were happening in Trench 2, where a large Roman bath facility was uncovered. She participated on site five days a week, working alongside professional and academic archaeologists from Durham, as well as a team from Texas Tech and a majority of local volunteers. Jeanna recently described her work and discoveries in the Leo, St. Mark’s online academic journal.

“It was great to get back to work again,” Jeanna says. “It’s an invigorating experience to be working on site. The opportunities to learn new skills are boundless, and to be a part of the discovery process alongside experts who study, analyze and report about the site year round is an incredible opportunity for a volunteer.”

37

Avery (bottom row, far right) poses with the group from Day Kimball Hospital during a November 2013 trip. “Haitians belong to a splendid culture of people,” she says. “They value humility and their faith, their love for each other and all good people.”

A Country Becomes a Classroom

By Avery Lamb ’11 From three successive visits to Haiti — in 2012, 2013, and most recently January 2015, Avery Lamb ’11 has discovered a passion, a cause, and a way to use her tremendous skills as a documentarian — both as a photographer and as a writer.

Now in her senior year at Bard College majoring in Human Rights with a concentration in the Written Arts, Avery calls her involvement in the island nation “the number one most driving, inspiring, elating and taxing experience and cause in which I have ever been immersed.” With her travels, Avery has become deeply attached to the “richest place I have ever been”; to the

O

f all the West Indies,” Truman Capote wrote, “Haiti is quite the most interesting.” Many people who have visited the country feel its magnetic pull. Over the years, Haiti has hosted a flood of both notable and ordinary Americans, myself included, who have traveled there under the vague banner of ‘humanitarianism.’

There are the subtler, non-celebrity notables, such as journalist Amy Wilentz and health crusader Paul Farmer. There are doctors, lawyers, journalists, and artists, all of whom are activists in their own right. In the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake the visitors included celebrities — Presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush (acting as a team), Sean Penn, Oprah Winfrey, fashion designer Donna Karan, and the Haitian-born singer, Wyclef Jean.

38

“generous, forgiving…wickedly hilarious… splendid culture.”

She has also questioned the quality and value of humanitarian relief, and the ill-fated dispensing, since the 2010 earthquake, of money and materials — and the best of intentions gone awry.

At home Avery continues her humanitarian work, working with human rights organizations, documenting her interviews with Haitian women refugees in Brooklyn, and tutoring as well. After graduation she intends to pursue her interest in journalism.

What follows is a recent memoir of her experience so far with her beloved Haiti.

Whether they represent mammoth development organizations or small, Christian medical relief projects, this international outreach propagates a legacy of humanitarian intervention which has claimed to know what’s best for Haiti, even when that “help” has caused irreparable harm. Well-intentioned projects have often been implemented with little attention to the more pressing needs of the community, and have shown a lack of research into more sustainable solutions. The past fifty years are full of examples: Shipments of rice delivered by USAID during the 1980s and 1990s caused irrevocable damage to Haiti’s agricultural sector and import-export industry. A UN peacekeeping mission from Nepal that arrived after the earthquake of 2010 accidentally brought with it an epidemic of

“In the capital city, you are an insignificant spoke in a wheel of orderly chaos that never stops spinning, through political coups and floods and protests and shattering earthquakes.” cholera that has barely reached containment, four years and more than 8,000 casualties later. Tent camps made with donated tarp shelters grew into neighborhoods housing thousands, becoming some of Haiti’s most expansive slums. And where did that $13.5 billion of foreign aid go, so much of which was donated by the American people?

The more deeply I delve into Haiti’s recent history, the more I am troubled by the arbitrary nature of humanitarian intervention.

But I have found a way to make peace with the glaring pitfalls of foreign relief projects by casting a critical eye upon my position in their past, present, and future. After all, by participating in the very institutions I’ve come to question, I had the opportunity to meet Haiti. I was thrust into an environment which would have overwhelmed me completely, had it not been for a supportive group of incredibly competent doctors and nurses. These are the gentle souls I have been so privileged to observe: medical professionals and the volunteers who work beside them. Since my first trip to Haiti in 2012, I have returned every year. Twice I have traveled with a group of physicians and nurses from Day Kimball Hospital [in Putnam, Connecticut], and met many people in the countryside who had never received medical care. This past January I stayed in Blanchard, Port au Prince, with the Boston-based non-profit Partners in Development, volunteering in their clinic and gathering research.

My work with doctors has taken me through Haiti’s capital and up its rocky coast, past the markets of fishing towns to the country’s main artery, the Artibonite River. I traveled to the mountainous backbone of the country and stayed in the town of Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite, where I volunteered in mobile clinics and documented physicians and nurses delivering medical aid to more than 3,000 people in less than two weeks. I worked at the Partners in Development Clinic, where patients sought honest, sustainable, follow-up care. At their small campus in Blanchard, Port au Prince, it is easy to forget you’re in the Caribbean basin — just a step away from Jamaica and Cuba, only an hour plane ride from the luxury condos that light up Miami’s coast.

In the capital city, you are an insignificant spoke in a wheel of orderly chaos that never stops spinning, through political coups and floods and protests and shattering earthquakes. No sea breezes there, just the feeling of dust scratching at your lungs, the static smell of burning garbage and diesel fumes. No quiet ocean calm, though Port au Prince borders the sea: the Haitian street is alive, and its spirit is contagious. Drivers honk their horns instead of using turn signals. Animated voices shout greetings into sleek mobile phones

The author with a young friend.

“If you’re willing to look, it’s not hard to see harmony in the chaos.” and argue over meat and fish and fruit, as flies buzz over whatever else is being sold in the market that day. People weave lackadaisically between cars, never running. A bus tumbles past. A goat wanders by, and bleats. If you’re willing to look, it’s not hard to see harmony in the chaos.

Haiti is generous. It is forgiving. Traveling to Haiti has been like coming home to a place that is completely unfamiliar. This country, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, is the richest place I have ever been. Haitians belong to a splendid culture of people.

They value humility and their faith, their love for each other and all good people. They are wickedly hilarious and outgoing, yet sometimes sly and skeptical towards foreigners. Revolution and pride run through Haitian veins, powering the establishment of its independence in 1803 (just years after our own), and are palpable in their impassioned language. Strength and survival are genetic traits.

Haiti, explains Amy Wilentz, is “a welcoming, accepting place where you can be yourself, instead of the kind of person your bourgeois, fully formed, super developed homeland demands that you be.” These are the reasons I love this country, and why I have embraced it as a part of my future.

So we are, all of us in the world, not so different. Lavia bel, lavia dwol: In Haitian Creole, “Life is beautiful, and funny.”

Editor’s note: Tracy Kidder’s 2003 best-selling Mountains Beyond Mountains, about Farmer’s inspiring work in Haiti, was a Pomfret school-wide read two years ago.

39

POMFRET SCHOOL

FOUNDED

1894

Long-term Success

Alumni/ae and spouse presenters return to the Hilltop for the 4th Annual Career Expo

PA C E S Pomfret Alumni/ae Career Exploration Series

The Tremendous Impact of Giving Back Pomfret Alumni/AE Career Exploration Series (PACES): Making Connections & Gaining Ground

By Tammie L. LaBonte P ’05, Director of Reunion Engagement

O

n Friday, February 27, twenty-eight alumni/ae and 220 Pomfret juniors and seniors participated in the fourth annual Career Expo at Pomfret. This annual event is the culmination of the diligent work of members of the Career Committee of the Alumni/ae Association Executive Council (AAEC), and is only one of the Council’s numerous efforts to help alumni/ae connect with each other and current students. Students were given the opportunity to choose their top three career fields of interest and hear from alumni/ae experts in those areas. Presentation highlights offered insights into networking, opportunities within each field, and the paths to achieve success — both conventional and unconventional.

40

LONG-TERM SUCCESS

Begun in earnest five years ago by the Career Committee, members of the AAEC had a vision of deepening the Pomfret alumni/ae network in a meaningful way. Since then, the PACES program has brought alumni/ae to the Hilltop in a number of capacities, including in the classroom, as featured career speakers, and as presenters at the Career Expo.

Thanks to the momentum continued by current members, the program has expanded to include career networking events in Boston, Washington, D.C. and New York, and the creation of a network of alumni/ae who volunteer as career mentors. The connections being made are having a positive impact on students and alumni/ae alike.

For more information, please contact Career Committee Liaison Tammie LaBonte P ’05 at 860-963-6131, or Alumni/ae Association Career Committee Co-Chairs, George Santiago ’75 and Mac Bayly ’99.

For more information on our expanding career networking efforts and to view our list of mentors, please visit our website at www.pomfretschool.org/CareerMentoring. While you are at it, consider becoming a career mentor, a career networking event host, or volunteering as a career speaker in your city. We look forward to having more alumni/ae join us at the next Expo or a career event in your area!

Pomfret Alumni/ae Sharing Science (PASS) presenters Dan Moynihan ’07, Hannah Leo ’11, Bill Wong ’14, and Ben Rathjen ’12 return to the Hilltop to share insights with students.

High praise for Pomfret’s culture of extra help and the “huge” academic advantage of a caring and available faculty The fourth annual PASS (Pomfret Alumni/ae Sharing Science) presentation inviteD graduates to return and share insights on — and experiences in — preparing for careers in science and engineering.

O

n Wednesday, January 7, the School welcomed back four young alumni/ae working towards careers in science or engineering, for the fourth annual PASS (Pomfret Alumni/ae Sharing Science) program. Sharing their experiences were Dan Moynihan ’07, a 2011 graduate of Clark University in Worcester (and now in his final year at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine); Hannah Leo ’11, a senior at Yale; Ben Rathjen ’12, who attends Rochester Institute of Technology; and Bill Wong ’14, a freshman at Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts.

Dan had two pieces of advice, one about common sense and the other about common ground. “Pay attention to detail,” he said;

“little things left unattended can mushroom into big things.” And he said it is okay — and not uncommon — to have not yet decided on a college major. “If you have an idea of what you want to do,” he said, “there are a thousand different ways to get there.”

Focusing on a major in child psychology, Hannah spoke about the importance of self-direction. “In a lot of ways my freshman year of college,” she said, “was easier than going to Pomfret. It’s a lot more self-directed.” Thanks to Pomfret, Hannah said she had mastered time management, which helped her stay on top of her schedule.

Studying mechanical engineering, Ben also emphasized the importance of not falling behind. He talked about how easy it is to get distracted in class and miss out on important information.

“Get help early,” he advised, “because everything will fall apart if you don’t.” With Pomfret still fresh in his mind, Bill had high praise for the culture of extra help at Pomfret and the tremendous academic advantage he feels the caring and available faculty gave him. “It’s not so [prevalent] in college,” he said, “but teachers being available for extra help was a huge thing for me at Pomfret.”

41

Katie McNaughton ’14, Shay Gingras ’12, Shane Dunphy ’11 share insights on the transition to college.

Exercises in Gratitude With a genuine appreciation for the quality of the Pomfret experience, our Young Alumni/ae are beginning to make a strong showing as donors, setting the stage for the next generation of supporters who want to

College Mentoring

and validation of — the Strategic Plan’s Vision of the Pomfret Graduate, while taking into account their own personal journeys through Pomfret

O

n Friday, January 9, four young alumni/ae returned to share their post-Pomfret perspectives with the Class of 2015 at an afternoon form meeting. Discussing the challenges and rewards of transitioning to college life were Shane Dunphy ’11, now a senior at Providence College; Shay Gingras ’12, who transferred to Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania; Katie McNaughton ’14, a freshman at Davidson College in North Carolina, and John Cunningham ’13 [not pictured], a sophomore at Connecticut College.

Shane, Shay, Katie and John fielded questions from students and panel moderator Director of Advancement Melissa Bellanceau. Topics ranged from choosing the right college and the college application process to the demands of balancing social life with academic work. While the four returnees clearly relished their new college experiences, equally evident was their recognition of what they got from the Hilltop. “I miss the faculty a lot,” said Shay. Katie agreed. “I created a lot of close relationships with faculty,” she said, “and I think I took those for granted while I was here.” Shay also missed the small community. “It’s really nice to recognize everyone you see and say hello to them.”

John missed Chapel speeches — and science teacher Colby Tucker, who, he said, “was kind of like my Dad away from home.”

Perhaps the best comment about “survival” came from Shane. “Make sure,” he advised, “that your takeaway from Pomfret stays with you, and put it to work. It takes self-discipline,” he said. “At Pomfret,” he pointed out, “your work is prioritized for you. Take what you learn from here and apply it to yourself.”

42

have an impact on the School. Many see their gifts as investments in —

LONG-TERM SUCCESS

and beyond. In today’s students, these young donors see reflections of themselves, and seek to make a connection by making a difference.

Samantha Slotnick ’10

“I give to Pomfret because of what Pomfret gave to me: an open mind and open doors.”

For Samantha Slotnick ’10, who gives to support financial aid, Pomfret was an introduction to a whole new world “of diversity, selfawareness, and community engagement. My teachers and coaches constantly challenged me in the classroom and on the playing field, pushed me beyond my comfort zone, and helped me to develop my character.” Without the Hilltop in her life, “I certainly would never have attended Colby College, for which I am beyond thankful.”

Samantha gives to Pomfret, she says, “because of what Pomfret gave to me: an open mind and open doors.” The School transformed her — into an athlete (playing college hockey) and a philanthropist (volunteering with Relay for Life, attending Grab the Torch Philanthropy Camp), with an expanded world view on the importance of reaching out to help others. The School also had a huge personal impact on her, fostering relationships with people from all walks of life. “Without trying to sound too clichéd,” Samantha says, “every member of Pomfret played a role, whether big or small, in creating the person I am today. Looking back, I realize I morphed my interactions with the faculty and staff at Pomfret into my own social perspectives. The important lessons I took from this community, which I still use as a reference point, [have had] a profound impact.”

Sarah ’03 and Etienne Vazquez ’04

“It is essential to help out those institutions that helped us become the people we are today.”

Sarah and Etienne recently welcomed their second child, Lucie Celina.

Sarah ’03 and Etienne Vazquez ’04, give to ensure that others will be as enriched by Pomfret as they were. “Pomfret provided us with incredible opportunities to grow and broaden our horizons,” they say, “not to mention a top-rate education, where we were encouraged to pursue our passions and interests.

The experience, friendships, and memories Pomfret provided us with continue to enrich our lives to this very day, which is why we make sure to regularly give to Pomfret.”

Etienne was 2004 School President; from Pomfret he continued on to Yale. Sarah (Ortiz-Elejalde) is a graduate of UCONN. Together they are passionate about the future face of the School. Their vision includes a robust, diverse student body which will serve as the foundation of an impactful, sustainable Pomfret experience.

“We hope our donations — no matter the amount — can make a difference in a student’s ability to attend,” they say. “We also hope that this helps the School diversify and open up the candidate pool to students who might not be able to afford full tuition, but would make a valuable addition to the student body.”

Their message to fellow alumni/ae: “It is essential to help out the institutions that helped us become the people we are today; it’s a great exercise in gratitude, and is also a great way to help out.”

Lalan Shrikam ’93

explanation: “I enjoy interacting with the alumni/ae and the students.” Lalan, says Melissa, also “has a strong perspective on the value of private education and understands the pressures and realities facing schools today.”

Lalan gives in appreciation for Pomfret past, present, and future.

He feels that the School “was instrumental in my development, both as becoming an independent person and in terms of my education.” He remembers members of the faculty “who gave me the reassurance and confidence to become who I am today.”

In the present, he says, “I love the teamwork that Pomfret has going for it and love the innovative things that are going on.” He is tremendously impressed with the plans and vision embraced

by Head of School Tim Richards and the Board. Looking ahead, he says, “There are a lot of great things [they] are trying to do; the projects are innovative, and will have an impact not only on the School and its relevancy in the future, but also the field of education.”

“One should also contribute to something other than one’s self.”

In his support of the Pomfret Fund, Lalan seeks to give back.

“The School is a part of our lives,” he says, “and who we are.”

His favorite Pomfret memory is of receiving extra help for history

Lalan Shrikam ’93 is an enthusiastic and generous supporter of the Pomfret Fund, an active member of the AAEC, and — in the words of Director of Advancement Melissa Bellanceau, “a fantastic volunteer and champion of Pomfret.” He has a simple

class. “I remember Mr. Johnson telling me, ‘I am going to take as much time as it takes with you, so don’t be discouraged.’” Yet he also seeks to pay it forward. “One should also contribute to something other than yourself.” Why not, he adds, “contribute to something that has helped us become who we are today?”

43

for the pros and cons of boarding school life. Pomfret, he recalls, had “a feel.” And so, with his parents’ blessing, in the fall of 1987, he entered the Hilltop.

“Pomfret was a great environment,” Jeremy says, “a wonderful first community” for him as an “immersive living and learning experience.” He also remembers fondly the “academics, sports, and activities, and the strong role models.” He made durable friendships. “We had a phenomenal class,” he says. “Everybody got along. What I gained from Pomfret,” he adds, “was tremendous.” From the Hilltop Jeremy went to Kenyon, lived in New York City and ultimately received his Master’s Degree from the George Washington University in Public Policy. Now living with his family outside Washington, D.C., Jeremy still places a huge value on the strength of the Pomfret community, from “the faculty and advisors to all my friends. I see and talk to Pomfret people all the time.”

Jeremy Button ’91

“I always felt the pull to give back.”

Jeremy Button ’91 says the easiest way to be a consistently strong supporter of the Pomfret Fund is to simply do the math. “The giving,” he says, “is a reminder of who we were as a class.”

Over twenty-five years later, this distinct relationship remains a motivation to give back and stay connected. “The progenitor of all of this is Pomfret,” he says. “I always felt the pull to give back.” For the past two years his Pomfret Fund payments have accumulated in monthly increments, a giving option which allows the donor, through smaller scheduled payments, to ultimately end up making a larger gift. Jeremy sees it as an effective strategy for those, inspired as he was, by that “pull”: give more, by giving more often. Things start to add up, even before one knows it.

Jeremy, says Director of Advancement Melissa Bellanceau, “is a great example of someone who has remained closely connected to the School. He expressed a desire to make a larger gift to the Pomfet Fund and together we found a way to make that happen.” From where he stands, he is eager to see the members of his class “stick together and do our part. We need to start to step up, and more and more we should be thinking on the monthly option.” And doing some good math. “Once you become an alum,” he adds, “the giving is a reminder of who we were as a class.”

Jeremy Button ’91 remembers well his first visit to Pomfret.

The youngest of three, he was no stranger to the campuses of the best boarding schools New England had to offer. Jeremy and his parents “had looked around at all the usual suspects,” If you are interested in learning more about how to make a monthly he explains, and he had developed a thirteen-year-old’s nose gift, contact Director of Advancement Melissa Bellanceau at mbellanceau@pomfretschool.org.

44

LONG-TERM SUCCESS

Head of School Tim Richards P ’15 with Pat Morgan and Board Chair Charlie Wilmerding P ’11, ’14

Morgan House Dedicated

Trustees and guests gather to recognize generosity and celebrate new faculty housing

O

n the evening of February 20, trustees and friends of Pomfret gathered in Parsons Lodge to celebrate the dedication of Morgan House, the newest addition to the Pomfret campus. The house, which resides on the northern edge of the Pomfret campus, was formerly the family home of the Eatons – Marshall Eaton ’70, Wesley Eaton ’71, their parents, and siblings.

Sean Sullivan ’80, a local real estate agent, helped facilitate the sale of the home from the Eaton estate to the Beagary Charitable Trust. The Trust then gifted the home to Pomfret School.

Pat Morgan, trustee of the Beagary Charitable Trust, widow of John Morgan ’58, and sister-in-law to former faculty member Ben

Morgan ’56, was present at the gathering and joined by friends and family who helped make this extraordinary gift possible. Together with Head of School Tim Richards P ’15 and Board of Trustees Chair Charlie Wilmerding P ’11, ’14, Pat cut the ceremonial ribbon to formerly dedicate Morgan House.

Last year the single family home was reconstructed and renovated through the combined efforts of Bob Powell, President of Wieber Powell & Grunigen Inc., who served as lead architect of the project, and Pomfret Director of Facilities Tony Malagrino P ’11, ’15 and members of his staff. Construction was completed in August 2014 and Morgan House now is home to three apartments for faculty.

45

Class Notes

C

lass notes featured in this issue were received prior to February 15, 2015. Notes received after this date will be published in the Spring 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

1941

1947

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

CLASS AGENTs:

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

1936

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

1937

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

1942

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

1943

CLASS AGENT:

Seth B. French, Jr.

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

Congratulations to Roger Angell, who was welcomed as one of five new members into the American Academy of Arts and Letters on February 24, 2015.

1939 CLASS AGENT:

William P. Rowland, mickrow@comcast.net

1940

75th Reunion

1948 No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

1949 CLASS AGENTS:

CLASS AGENT:

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

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

1944

CLASS SECRETARY:

Tony LaPalme, 207-967-4582 No class agent at present. If interested, call the Advancement Office.

1945

Bruce Lee and his wife Janetta are going to Europe to cruise down the Danube River in mid-May 2015.

70th Reunion

1950

(Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3)

65th Reunion

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

(Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3)

1946

William O. Sumner, sumnerb27@cox.net

CLASS AGENT:

1951

Robert A. Brunker, brunkerranch@fire2wire.com

CLASS AGENT:

(Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3)

CLASS AGENT:

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

CLASS SECRETARY:

46

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

Rolfe Floyd III, rolfe@plaidpajamas.com

Frederick B. Hard, fbhardjr@gmail.com

1952

1960

55th Reunion

CLASS AGENT:

Charles V. Henry III, henry@henrybeaver.com

(Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3)

1953

CLASS AGENT:

CLASS AGENTs:

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

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

1961

1954

CLASS AGENT:

George M. Walker, gwalker1942@comcast.net

CLASS AGENTs:

1962

Chester K. Lasell, cklasell@aol.com William H. O’Brien III, whobrien@snet.net

Ted Parker wrote, “I have been suffering from dementia for the best part of the past two years.

I suggest adding lots of coconut oil (solid version) in your coffee, tea, etc.; it’s supposed to help. I haven’t noticed big changes, but it is good. Old age is not for sissies – I think of it as Alzheimer’s Junior; in fact, I understand they are significantly different. I am still in the Rocky Mountains of western Colorado. I can’t do much, but the weather is better than the rest of the country and the views are incredible.

Cheers!”

1955

60th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) CLASS AGENTs:

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

E. Brooks Robbins, ebrrob@comcast.net

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

Harry Groome was pleased to announce the release of his latest book, Thirty Below. The e-book version was published in 2012 and the paperback edition was introduced in the spring of 2014. Read more about this and Harry’s other books on his website, www.harrygroome. com.

1957 CLASS AGENT:

Horace H. Work, hwork3@gmail.com

CLASS AGENT:

1956 — The latest book by Harry Groome ’56

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

Toby Condliffe, toby@condliffe.net

1963 1958 CLASS AGENT:

Galen N. Griffin, Gnbayern@aol.com

1959 CLASS AGENT:

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

Jeb Embree reported, “I am on a five-year retirement package. I still have all my licenses and my office at the firm, as well as an office at home, and a few clients of which I take care. In most situations I have partnered up with another younger advisor at the firm, and I also have a wonderful assistant. I still go into the office but not all that much. So far it is working nicely, but I do miss it. My two daughters are both married to great guys. One is in Concord, MA and [my other] one, Leslie Embree Kelly ’88, is in Rowayton, CT. They each have one daughter; I adore both Lucy (15) and Hope (5). My wife, Dianne, and I will have been married 35 years in October 2015, and to celebrate we are going to sail around Corfu in September.”

Norman “Punch” Smith is fully retired, volunteers at the local food bank, leads a bible study group, serves on the board creating the National Medal of Honor Museum in Charleston, works out at the senior center, and plays tennis three mornings a week. He is blessed to have his wife of 50 years, Nancy, three daughters, and five of six grandchildren living within two miles of him. The sixth grandchild, Stuart, is a Marine Corporal stationed in San Diego.

CLASS AGENTS:

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

Charles W. Fleischmann cfleischmann@baipollock.com

The National Business Officers Association (NBOA) named John Griswold as the 2015 recipient of the Sarah Daignault Outstanding Support of Independent Schools Award. The Award is given to those who have consistently shown generous support of independent schools and their business officers. Congratulations John!

1964 CLASS AGENTS:

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

1965

50th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) CLASS AGENT:

William A. Hastings, wah99@verizon.net

Dick Johnson wrote, “After 25 years as headmaster of two private, independent schools, I will be retiring at the end of this school year.

It has been a wonderful ride, but it is time for me to step back and to take on new challenges.

My wife and I plan to move to Maine to our tiny cottage on a tiny lake in the Belgrade Lakes region of central Maine.We will rest, read

47

books, rest, visit our grandchildren, and rest some more. Then we will figure out what to do next. I honestly don’t have a clue as to what it will be. By then we may well be questioning our sanity about the decision to move to cold, snowy Maine. Who knows what will be next?”

1966

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

The past year for Bob Off has been filled with travel, knee surgery and the rehab that goes along with it; however, he is pleased to report his new knee is working well and he is ready for a very productive 2015. He was able to complete only one room box this year, entitled “Audubon’s Flatboat,” and it is the result of a collaboration between Bob, John Ruthven and Beth FreemanKane. The inspiration for the box came from James Audubon’s trip from Cincinnati to New Orleans in 1820 where he did most of the work for his book Birds of America. The room box was unveiled at a small reception on December 4, 2014 and Bob was thrilled to report that it will become part of the Kaye Savage Browning Miniature Collection at the Kentucky Gateway Museum in Maysville, Kentucky. This will ensure that the box will be viewed by the general public and serve as learning tool for those interested in Audubon’s history in the region. The room box was on display during the month of December at the Eisele Gallery of Fine Art in Fairfax, Ohio. The next two boxes Bob will be working on are inspired by maritime artist Fitz Hugh Lane and Edward Curtis, the famous photographer of the west, who produced “The North American Indian” folio photographs and text. Bob is looking forward to getting to know better both of these interesting men as he constructs their studios from his imagination.

1967 CLASS AGENT:

Michael S. Petty, sundancepetty@gmail.com

1968 CLASS AGENTs:

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

Jeff Purvin reported, “My wife, Francesca, and I moved back to New York City after almost three years in Vancouver, Canada.

My son, Colton, is graduating from UCLA this year and will be working at Oracle after he graduates. I’ve decided to move into a different career gear, walking away from my pretty intense consumer and medical device endeavors for the past 40 years and focusing, instead, on my wife’s and my fashion education video business, University of Fashion (universityoffashion.com). Francesca is the fashion brains of the business, but I’m looking forward to learning how to manage the technical details of our website and how to effectively market our site on a modest budget.

I look forward to attending my Pomfret class’ 50th anniversary in a few years!”

1970

45th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) CLASS AGENTs:

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

Char Miller served as historical consultant and interviewee for the PBS documentary “The Big Burn” which aired in February 2015. The documentary chronicled a fire that devastated more than three million acres in Washington, Idaho, and Montana in 1910. Char regularly writes about environmental issues in the West on his blog, “Golden Green,” on www.KCET. org.

Char also added this news: “I just received the Pomona College Faculty Alumni Service Award for 2015, and got a very cool (and heavy) glass vase. For some reason my wife suggested it would look really good in my office.”

Ben Bensen wrote, “I began hiking the Appalachian Trail before arriving on Pomfret’s hilltop. At the rate I’m nibbling away at it, I can complete all 2189 miles of the AT well before the next millenium! Meanwhile, I’m psyching up for a good ’70 gathering at our 45th [reunion]! Be there!”

1969

1971

CLASS AGENT:

CLASS AGENT:

Richard G. Levin, rlevin99@charter.net

Jacques P. Bailhé, jbailhe@verizon.net

Alex Gibney directed a new film for HBO called Going Clear. The explosive new documentary

48

CLASS NOTES

premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2015, and premieres March 16th on HBO. The controversial film, based on Lawrence Wright’s best-selling book of the same name, alleges that the religion of Scientology enforces physical and psychological abuse of its people, and points to its celebrity members, like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

1972 CLASS AGENTs:

James M. Bergantz, jbergantz@verizon.net Milton L. Butts, Jr., nekbone@excite.com

1973 CLASS AGENT:

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

1974 CLASS AGENT:

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

David Dixon is still agent for the Class of 1974 and he would like to say a special thanks and hello to his classmates. He and his wife Terri have four sons; three graduated from college and are currently working – one at Accenture in MD, one at Goldman Sachs in NYC, and one at Cap Gemini in VA – and the youngest, Daniel, is a second year student at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. Daniel plays basketball for the W&M Tribe (#0) – a 6 ft, 6 inch shooting guard and highly rated defensive player. The family spends a lot of time on the road watching Daniel and his team play in the Division 1 CAA conference. David sends best wishes to all Pomfret alumni/ae, administrators, teachers and students.

1975

40th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) CLASS AGENTS:

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

Chris Boak posted, “Forty years …Yup. 40... the big FOUR OH. May 1st – 3rd.”

Congratulations to Mark Blodgett, who was married to Mareike Krüger in Potsdam, Germany on August 30, 2014. Family and friends helped celebrate the occasion, including his children Oliver ’04, Natasha ’06, and Cosimo ’14.

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 1975 — Mark Blodgett ’75 and his bride Mareike Krüger Amy Cohen wrote, “I am still working on Long Island as a school psychologist. I also teach at Nassau Community College where I am an adjunct professor of psychology. My youngest daughter will graduate in May 2015 from the University of Delaware and is applying for grad programs in speech pathology. My eldest daughter is a graduate student in social work at Fordham University and is engaged to be married. Wow! I feel old!!”

1976 CLASS AGENTS:

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

Doug Williams reflected on the death of Mario Cuomo: “When I entered New York State government in the early 1980s as Budget Fellow, Mario Cuomo was Governor. We had just completed the budget and the Governor felt that this was the first budget he could call his own. In appreciation the Governor came down to the Budget Division on the first floor of the Capitol for a reception. As an awestruck twentysomething, I nearly ran to the Governor and stuck out my hand and said, ‘Doug Williams Health and Social Development Unit.’ Upon reflection I concluded that the encounter was woefully inadequate and after nearly an hour I mustered the courage to give it another go. I approached the Governor again, thrust my hand forward and said, ‘I’m Doug Williams, a lowlevel functionary in your Budget Division.’

Without hesitation, the Governor looked me in the eye and said ‘That’s the second time you shook my hand; keep it up and you won’t be low level for too long.’ At that moment I knew that I would spend the rest of my career serving the people of the State of New York. The Governor inspired many of us and let us know that the

civil service was an honorable profession.

Thank you Mario.”

1977 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

Harvey Stevenson, a Paris-based illustrator of dozens of children’s books, published his first interactive children’s story for iPad this year. An original work for children 2-6 years old, “Topo’s Piano” is available for free on the AppStore.

1979 CLASS AGENT:

Robert K. Mullarkey, rkmullarkey@gmail.com CLASS SECRETARY:

Bradley R. Painter, bpainter@macdonnellandpainterlandscape.com

1980

35th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) CLASS AGENT:

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

Martha K. Murphy, M2Murphy@aol.com

CLASS AGENTs:

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

1984 CLASS AGENTS:

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

1985

35th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) CLASS AGENT:

Heather Julian, HJulian@alumni.princeton.edu

1986 CLASS AGENTS:

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

Congratulations to Jim Brodsky, who was married to Philip McCarthy on February 7, 2015 at St. James’ Church in New York City. Jim is the founder of Sharp Communications, a public relations and advertising firm in New York.

Philip is a senior financial adviser at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, also in New York.

1987 CLASS AGENTS:

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

Tucker Gallagher has opened Gallagher & Graham Fine Spirits in the growing U Street area of Washington, DC. Tucker, a longtime resident of the area, left AARP to travel for a few years before seeing a need in the neighborhood. With his cousin he has opened 49

1991 CLASS AGENTS:

Laurence N. Hale, lhale@weissandhale.com Abigail Gardiner Silk, agsilk72@gmail.com Class Secretary:

Caroline E. Waterlow, waterlow@mindspring.com

1992 CLASS AGENTS:

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

1993 — Joe Yaker ’93 and Amy Goldmacher were married on January 2, 2015

1993 CLASS AGENTS:

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

a store focusing on the emerging regional craft brews, local distilleries and organic / sustainable wines. He is always eager to see local Griffins so stop in for a wine tasting.

Joe Yaker and Dr. Amy Goldmacher were married on the Hawaiian island of Kauai’i on January 2, 2015. It was a small ceremony on Shipwreck Beach attended by their officiant and a ukulele player.

1988 CLASS AGENT:

Elizabeth Tilt Weiner, etweiner@aol.com

1994

Finn Caspersen wrote that he and his family “are busy with the hustle-bustle of family and work life in 2015. Today it snowed and we are appreciative of the pause that snow brings!

Make sure you tell your family and friends how much they mean to you.”

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

1995

1989

20th Reunion

CLASS AGENTS:

(Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3)

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

CLASS AGENTS:

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

1990

25th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3)

1996

CLASS AGENTS:

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

50

CLASS NOTES

1999 —Anders Vercelli ’99 and Lydia Trepelkova were married on January 24, 2015 in New York City

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

Will Wiquist has moved back to Washington, DC with his fiancée to begin work as deputy press secretary for the Federal Communications Commission.

1997 CLASS AGENTS:

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:

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

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

1999 CLASS AGENTS:

Lindsey Boardman Duerr, lasduerr@gmail.com Timothy A. Patrick, Jr., tpatrickjr@gmail.com Alysa Hill Paul, alysah22@hotmail.com Katrin I. Urban, katrin.urban@comcast.net Kelly L. Wentworth, wentworth.kelly@gmail.com

2000 — Pamela “Ella” Grace Stapleton, daughter of Maureen & Ben Stapleton ’00 of Thompson, CT. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and New York University.

He currently teaches music at The Kew-Forest School in Forest Hills, NY.

2000

15th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) CLASS AGENTS:

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

Ben Stapleton and his wife, Maureen, were proud to announce the arrival of their first child, Pamela “Ella” Grace Stapleton, who was born on September 29, 2014.

Molly Graham Hanson and her husband, Greg, were thrilled to announce the arrival of their baby boy, Bauer Graham Hanson,

2000 — Bauer Graham Hanson, son of Greg & Molly Graham Hanson ’00, was born on October 20, 2014 on October 20, 2014. They hope he will be a future Griffin!

Jody Ingle wrote, “I am doing well; I have been married for five years. [My wife and I] are still living in Detroit, MI, and we have two boys, a three year old (Jack) and a three month old (Peter). I have been working at Ford Motor Company for four years in various positions, but I am currently an automotive designer at Lincoln Motor Company.”

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

Anders Vercelli and Lydia Trepelkova were married on January 24, 2015 at Grace Church in New York City. Lars Vercelli ’04 was the best man at the wedding. Their first date was on June 15, 2013 in Manhattan. One year later, Anders proposed to Lydia at Sandy Point on Block Island, where the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Block Island Sound converge.

Lydia is the daughter of Alexander and Helen Trepelkov of New York City. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and works as a CPA at Perelson Weiner LLP in New York City.

Anders is the son of Peter and Jane Vercelli

2001 — Celebrating the wedding of Alex Sweet ’01 and Adam Sciambi are (l-r): Libby Wood ’01, Alex, Sarah Sweet ’05, and Adam 51

2001 — Emry Catherine Vega, daughter of Dee & Bobby Vega ’01

Alexandra Sweet was married to Adam Sciambi in California on August 16, 2014.

Pomfret alumni/ae in attendance were her sister, Sarah Sweet ’05, and Libby Wood.

Congratulations to Dee and Bobby Vega, who became the proud parents of a baby girl, Emry Catherine Vega, on November 25, 2014.

Dan and Caitlin Rogers Connelly also became parents of a girl – Eleanor Grace Connelly was born on December 4, 2014. Caitlin wrote, “Dan and I were thrilled to welcome another little girl to our family! Big sister Ruth is absolutely in love with Eleanor, and we are excited to watch them grow up together.”

Kelly Larsen Shannon announced, “My husband, Christopher, and I welcomed a baby boy, Oliver Joseph Shannon, on October 13, 2014.”

2001 — Ruth Connelly with baby sister Eleanor, daughters of Dan & Caitlin Rogers Connelly ’01

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

Congratulations to Mike and Tamara Froebel Salkin on the birth of their son, Benjamin River Salkin, on October 19, 2014.

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 52

CLASS NOTES

2001 — Another Pomfret fan: Oliver Joseph Shannon, son of Christopher & Kelly Larsen Shannon ’01

Elizabeth Beese wrote, “I am pleased to announce I was married on September 20, 2014 to Darin J. Stricker. The ceremony took place in Bozeman, MT at the Bridger Bowl Ski Resort. It was a beautiful sunny fall day which couldn’t have been more perfect. We then traveled to Porto, Portugal and hiked a 150-mile stretch of the Camino De Santiago to Santiago, Spain for our honeymoon. We both work as registered nurses and live in Billings, MT.”

2004 CLASS AGENTS:

Sung Min Choo, lctusmc@gmail.com Christian T. Ford, christian.t.ford@gmail.com Robert M. Saunders, rsaunders3485@gmail.com Etienne J. Vazquez, Etienne.j.vazquez@gmail.com

Kim Peck Lamoureux wrote, “In addition to my work as a professional singer and private voice instructor, I have joined forces with my best friend to start another small business. I am very proud to report that I am the co-founder and Artistic Director of Rising Stars Productions, a performing arts initiative designed to bring arts education and enrichment to the communities of the greater Boston area. My business partner and I have run a summer musical theater camp in North Reading, MA for the past three summers, and this spring are launching two new workshops: an acting improvisation workshop for students in grades 4-12, and

2002 — Benjamin River Salkin, son of Mike & Tamara Froebel Salkin ’02

an audition boot camp for teens and tweens.

The founding of this company was inspired by my childhood experiences with Break-A-Leg Productions, which used Hard Auditorium as a rehearsal and performance venue for many years.

You can learn more about Rising Stars Productions by visiting www.rising-stars-productions.com.”

Sarah Vaillancourt ’04 was named one of three members of Harvard’s Women’s Beanpot Hall of Fame Class of 2015 and honored on February 3, 2015 during its 37th Annual Women’s Beanpot Tournament.

2005

10th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) 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, JRich65@gmail.com Hyun-Yi Yoo, bona.h.yoo@gmail.com

2003 — Elizabeth Beese ’03 and Darin Stricker were married on September 20, 2014

2006

2006 — Michelle Gilmore ’06 was married to Adam Castiglione on October 12, 2014

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

Congratulations to Michelle Gilmore and Adam Castiglione, who were married on October 12, 2014 in Averill Park, NY. The maid of honor was Michelle Weisman. Pomfret friends also in attendance were faculty Louisa and Jeremiah Jones, Tamara Ferreira Marcella, Elisabeth Brubaker, and Katarzyna Kolodziejczak Saar. Michelle began working as an emergency room nurse in July 2014 and the couple bought a house in Red Hook, NY.

Lizzie Brubaker reported, “In August 2014 I left CNN to pursue my lifelong dream to work in the hospitality field. I am now working as a maître d’ at MARTA – Danny Meyer’s newest restaurant serving as a Roman style pizzeria. It’s been a joy to make people’s day and to share my love for pizza and Union Square Hospitality Group with others. Stop

by MARTA the next time you’re in New York City! I had a great time celebrating Michelle Gilmore’s wedding to Adam Castiglione in September.”

Congratulations to Tamara Ferreira Marcella and her husband, Matt, who welcomed a daughter, Norah Ruth Marcella, into their family on January 19, 2015. Big brother Asher is happily sharing the spotlight.

53

2006 — Pomfret friends celebrating the wedding of Michelle Gilmore ’06 and Adam Castiglione (center) were (l-r): faculty member Louisa Jones P ’04, Tamara Ferreira Marcella ’06, Katarzyna Kolodziejczak Saar ’06, Michelle Weisman ’06, and former faculty member Jeremiah Jones P ’04.

2007

2009

2011

CLASS AGENTS:

CLASS AGENTS:

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, stuartm@bu.edu

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

Muhammed-Jamil R. Ahmed, Muhammed-Jamil.Ahmed@uconn.edu Matthew D. Bourdeau, bourdea_matt@bentley.edu Carlos H. Ferre, kenriferre@gmail.com Lilah T. Fones, lilahfones@gmail.com Czarina N. Hutchins, czarina.hutchins@fandm.edu Hannah P. Leo, hannah.leo@yale.edu Aidan P. McGloine, aidan.mcgloine@gmail.com Hamilton G. Morley, morley.hamilton@gmail.com Daniel R. Palumbo, dpalumbo@bowdoin.edu Margaret H. Thompson, mhthompson@quinnipiac.edu Raymond R. Zeek III, rrzeek@colby.edu

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

54

CLASS NOTES

2010

5th Reunion (Alumni/ae Reunion 2015 - May 1-3) 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

Lilah Fones, a senior on the Wesleyan University field hockey team, was named to the 2014 NESCAC Fall All-Academic Team on November 25, 2014.

Brian Mullen, a senior on the Connecticut College men’s squash team, was honored as the NESCAC Men’s Squash Player of the Week on February 2, 2015.

Erinn Sullivan won first place in the Professional Chocolate Sculpting Category at the Fire & Ice Festival in Putnam, CT on February 14, 2015. Congratulations Erinn!

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

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, dkellaway@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

Charlie Gruner, a sophomore on the men’s soccer team at Wesleyan University, was named to the 2014 NESCAC Fall All-Academic Team on November 25, 2014.

2014 CLASS AGENTS:

Bridget D. Bohan, bridget.bohan@furman.edu 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, ajunezalon@yahoo.com Elise M. Zender, elisemariazender@gmail.com

Faculty/Staff News

Congratulations to former faculty member Jeanne Rumsey [Math, 2005 – 2009] and her husband Ian on the birth of their baby girl.

Naomi Park Rumsey was born on January 7, 2015, weighing in at 6 lbs, 4 ounces.

Former faculty member Jill Simmons [English, 2003-2007] is the owner of Poetic Gold Farm in Falmouth, Maine. She has a golden retriever, named Mystic, who is just under two years old and competed against animals twice his age at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on February 16th and 17th. Mystic is also training to become a certified therapy dog.

Lauren Jarominski [Athletic Trainer, 2013 – present] and her husband Brian welcomed their first child, Jack David Jarominski, on December 1, 2014 at 4:07 pm. He weighed 8 lbs, 2 oz. and was 21.25 inches long.

Marriages Mareike Krüger & Mark Blodgett ’75 August 30, 2014 Philip McCarthy & Jim Brodsky ’86 February 7, 2015 Amy Goldmacher & Joe Yaker ’93 January 2, 2015 Lydia Trepelkova & Anders Vercelli ’99 January 24, 2015 Adam Sciambi & Alexandra Sweet ’01 August 16, 2014 Darin Stricker & Elizabeth Beese ’03 September 20, 2014 Adam Castiglione & Michelle Gilmore ’06 October 12, 2014

At a recent football banquet of Saint Thomas Academy in Dover, NH, former faculty member Paul Keaney [History, 1978–1983] was formally introduced to the STA community as the “behind the scenes” coach who, for four seasons, has attended practices and games, took notes and analyzed thousands of film clips of the same, and communicated his findings to the head coach. He was given a game ball signed by the coaching staff and the kids. Paul remarked, “I must be doing something right ...we are 32-10 over that four-year period and finished 2nd in New Hampshire this year among the 20 teams in Division II (mid-sized schools).”

55

Births Greg & Molly Graham Hanson ’00 Bauer Graham Hanson October 20, 2014 Maureen & Ben Stapleton ’00 Pamela Grace Stapleton September 29, 2014 Dan & Caitlin Rogers Connelly ’01 Eleanor Grace Connelly December 4, 2014 Christopher & Kelly Larsen Shannon ’01 Oliver Joseph Shannon October 13, 2014 Dee & Bobby Vega ’01 Emry Catherine Vega November 25, 2014

Jack David Jarominski, son of Brian and faculty member Lauren Jarominski

Mike & Tamara Froebel Salkin ’02 Benjamin River Salkin October 19, 2014 Matt & Tamara Ferreira Marcella ’06 Norah Ruth Marcella January 19, 2015 Brian & faculty Lauren Jarominski Jack David Jarominski December 1, 2014 Ian & former faculty Jeanne Rumsey Naomi Park Rumsey January 7, 2015

56

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.

Robert G. Knight ’40 January 23, 2015

William M. Groton ’41 January 28, 2015

Laurence A. Clement ’42 February 11, 2015

Emerson L. Stone ’45 December 15, 2014

W Benjamin W. Cate ’51 September 26, 2014

Former faculty member Norval Rindfleisch January 5, 2015

e were saddened to learn that one of Pomfret’s former teachers, Norval Rindfleisch, passed away on January 5, 2015. Norval taught English from 1958 to 1968.

In addition to an extensive career devoted to education and educational projects, he was also the author of numerous published short stories and novels, some of which were donated to Pomfret School’s library.

57

Gatherings

1

2

3

4

5

6

Boston Holiday Reception December 4, 2014 1.

2.

3.

58

(l-r): Charlie Potts ’64, Director of Advancement Melissa Bellanceau, Alison Bost, Trustee Daryle Bost ’89, former faculty member Walt Hinchman P ’81, ’83 (l-r): Dan McGloine ’04, Pete Abernethy ’05, Andrew McGloine ’05, faculty member Jim Rees P ’98, ’01 (l-r): Mike Newton ’96, Ronna & Rick Levin ’69, Laura Keeler Pierce ’03

GATHERINGS

4.

5.

6.

(l-r): Robin Youngman P ’16, Margaret Talcott P ’16, Tom Youngman P ’16 (l-r): Nancy Gingras P ’09, ’12; former faculty members Ted & Pat Kelley; Corey Gingras ’09 Associate Director of Advancement Vassar Pierce with Peter Baylor P ’03, ’10

1

2

4

3

6

5

7

New York City Holiday Reception December 11, 2014 1.

2.

(l-r): Dave Woodrow ’64, Jerry & Autier Craft P ’18, Vip van Voorhees ’64 A gathering of class of 2006 alumni/ae and friends (l-r): Amanda Jordan, Michelle Weisman, Michael Wenning, Lizzie Brubaker, Michelle Gilmore Castiglione, Tamara Ferreira Marcella, Pete D’Agostino ’07, faculty member Louisa Jones P ’04, and Young Hoon Hahn ’06

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

(l-r): Trustee Mark Cohen ’82, Mac Bayly ’99, Luis Cruz ’82 (l-r): Ben Lubin ’52, former faculty member Sam Brookfield, Jeff Oppenheim ’67 (l-r): Haley Close, Barbara Close P ’17, Wendy Reeder Enelow ’83, P ’16, ’17 (l-r): Class of 2008 mates James Fitzgerald, Ben Tarlow, and Morgan Timpson (l-r): Garrett Lawson ’11, faculty member Pat Boyd, Leo Driscoll ’10, Zach Baraf ’09 59

1

3

2

Young Alumni/ae Winter Gathering January 7, 2015

60

GATHERINGS

1.

2.

3.

(l-r): Faculty member Arthur Diaz Arthur Diaz ’78, P ’10, ’12, ’14, Andi Nicholson ’13, Ashley Anctil ’13, faculty member Dolph Clinton ’92, Dana Diaz ’14 (l-r): Nick Calabrese ’12, Zach Bellerose ’12, Keith Ducharme ’13 Standing (l-r): Liana Therrien ’13, Dana Ouellet ’11, Dan Solomon ’11, Margaret Therrien ’11, Hallie Leo ’14; (seated) Reanne Wong ’11 and Hannah Leo ’11

1

2

3

4

San Francisco Beach Cleanup January 24, 2015 1.

2.

Chris Golden ’07 Libby Wood ’01 (right) and her friend Dawn de la Fuente. Libby coordinated the beach cleanup effort.

3. Matt Hobbs ’64 picked up more than trash on the beach!

Squash in New York City February 8, 2015 4.

Front row, (l-r): Jeff Oppenheim ’67, faculty member Louisa Jones P ’04, Laura Dunn ’05, Christine Pedersen ’03, Kipp & Anne Sylvester P ’16. Back row, (l-r): Poon WatcharaAmphaiwan ’03, Charlie Edwards, Pete D’Agostino ’07, Mark Pepe ’08, David Still ’05, Lou Cona, Nick Banks ’92, Tim Hotchner ’90. Missing from photo: Steve Cook ’64.

61

You Make a Difference

gift, no matter Every gift to the Pomfret Fund makes a difference. Your Hilltop. the size, impacts, students, faculty, and programs on the

25 States

357 students Each incoming third former

21 Countries

will take

72 classes before graduation

They will e

2,688 at

meals in th

e dining ha

ll

They will

try

17

h

atc They will w

new spo

rts

$ $ $ $

$

$ $

$

$

$

$

36

ductions theatre pro

$398,400

Could be raised if every alumnus/a and parent gave $5 each month for a year

$

They will spend

516 hours

% roup

with their advisee g

81%

Tuition only covers

of the total cost

to educate

one student

Your gift to the Pomfret Fund makes all this and more possible!

How will YOU make an impact?

Your gift will bring us one donor closer to participation from parents and alumni/ae Help us reach our

100%

$2,225,000 Pomfret Fund goal

Ensure the legacy of the Pomfret experience by making a gift to the Pomfret Fund: 1.) Visit www.pomfretschool.org/giveonline to make a gift or pledge online.

2.) Call 860-963-6128 for more information about a gift of securities.

3.) Mail your gift to: Pomfret School, Advancement Office, 398 Pomfret Street, PO Box 128, Pomfret CT 06258-0128

F U N D

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

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

Change Service Requested

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.

Putnam, CT 06260 Permit No. 303

POMFRET MAGAZINE

Wi n t e r 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5