Oasis Winter 2015

Winter 2015

Oasis The ESA Experience

35 Years of Excellence... it adds up In the fall, we celebrated 10 years of ESA Lower School and 35 years since ESA’s founding in 1979. As the numbers on these two pages demonstrate, ESA remains true to the vision of the founders: to provide the best academic program in Acadiana. With a strong foundation established in ESA’s Lower and Middle Schools, ESA students develop habits of scholarship and honor, and find success on AP and standardized tests; at district and state rally, language conventions, math tournaments and other academic competitions; and in the college admissions process, where finding the right match means more than choosing the school with the highest ranking.

ACT LA 19.2

US 21

SAT

ESA 27.8

US 1497

ESA LA 1727 1667

Average ACT & SAT scores exceed state and national levels

84% of ESA students score 3 or higher on AP exams, with open access to AP courses for students willing to push themselves.

84%

ESA

57%

National

47%

Lafayette Parish Public Schools

91

%

of the members of the Class of 2014 received college merit scholarships in 2014, totaling more than

$4.5 million.

46

ESA faculty members with master’s degrees

5 13 4 ESA faculty members with doctorates

average class size

seniors honored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (below)

Omar Munshi, left, has been named a National Merit Semi-Finalist, one of only 16,000 semifinalists out of more than 1.5 million students in the country who took the PSAT as juniors. Jillian Chen and Moses Kitakule, center, have been named Commended Students, among the top five percent of eligible students. Ajani Aubrey, right, and Moses Kitakule are among the 1,600+ Black Americans named National Achievement semifinalists. Moses was recently named to the Composite Academic All-State Soccer Team as well. Congratulations!

Diverse arts offerings. A solid athletic program with teams willing to welcome anyone ready to work hard and support teammates. Leadership and community service opportunities. And a community founded on mutual respect and a shared love of learning. These elements complete the ESA Experience.

82 71

% of the Class of 2015 participate in athletics at ESA

State Championships in 35 years

Arts offerings include drama, musical theater, chorus, rock band, jazz ensemble, pottery, ceramics, photography, sculpture, drawing, painting, digital design, 3D mixed media.

95

%

of the Class of 2015 participate in voluntary community service.

ESA has opened a Design Lab on the Cade campus, complete with high-powered computers, software for design and programming, and a 3D printer.

Students and faculty are exploring the possibilities offered by the new Design Lab: Cade Barfield, ’22, (above left) used Tinkercad software to design and print a variety of items, including a car.

Students in 8th grade Design Foundations created fantasy companies, then turned to their classmates for logo design. Students interviewed their clients about their companies and how they would use the graphics to market them, then designed the logos by hand. Visual Arts teacher Jennifer Graycheck brought the students into the new lab to take their designs from paper to digital using Photoshop.

Andy LeGoullon’s computer programming students use the lab regularly to build and test their programs.

In its first year, ESA’s LEGO Robotics team (middle) found success in a Louisiana First LEGO League filled with older, more experienced teams. The robotics league requires teams to build robots from kits, program the robots to tackle a series of challenges, and complete and present a research project. In their first competition, ESA’s team took first place in the research component with an app, designed using haptic technology, that provides buzzes at either timed or random intervals to help people with ADHD maintain focus as they work or study. Led by teacher Ashleigh D’Aunoy and parent Sara Rayburn, the team of fifth grader Rayn Ali and fourth graders Emily Doré, Harrison Hugonin, Benjamin Krueger, Peter Menard, Josh Mendoza, Patrick Roy and Ender Ryan learned to build on their mistakes and to handle the unexpected. They all agree that the most important thing to work on for next year is teamwork.

Using off-the-shelf components such as pencil boxes and plastic wheels, sixth graders in Bullard Jones’ science classes (right) are building their own rudimentary working robots from scratch over the course of the year. Starting with Arduino microcontroller boards as the robot brains, students are making simple circuits and programming the robots to accept inputs and to respond. In addition to teaching about electricity and circuits, the robots provide context to learn about different science concepts either by serving as the experimental subject or as a tool to take data. In a recent study of resistance, students used the robots to measure the resistance of wet toothpicks, and graphed the resistance of toothpicks of different lengths, as well as pennies, fingers and more. While simple, the robots provide plenty of room for growth with the addition of components such as a distance probe to allow the robot to report on its own position and velocity. “These are all things they can grow with and use in Upper School,” says Mr. Jones. “They’re what I use when I want to experiment with making something.”

From independent study to solar-powered charging station...

Mallory Gaspard, ’15, on experiencing ESA:

Mallory Gaspard, ’15, spent over a year following her passions and taking a project from idea to reality. In 2013, teacher Garrett Rosen offered to mentor Mallory as she immersed herself in the study of biophysics. Her studies led her to a fascination with solar power, and Mallory teamed up with Drew Broussard, ’14, to design and build a solar-powered charging station for cell phones that could be used in parks and public spaces.

“Just go with it — come out of your shell, talk to people, talk to that teacher, take advantage of any and every opportunity. I’m so lucky I don’t regret a thing.”

Mallory wrote a research paper on the topic, ending with plans for a solar panel. The team secured funding, and as Drew graduated, Mallory took over the project. With Mr. Rosen’s help, she used a table saw to cut Plexiglas (a real challenge) and spent hours soldering the individuals cells together. With a working panel consisting of three rows of ten cells, Mallory and Mr. Rosen built the cabinet and painted it ESA blue. Unsure of how to wire the battery to the panel, Mallory asked the staff of Acadiana Solar to oversee her work. At the end of a day using the tools at Acadiana Solar, Mallory plugged her phone in for the first time — and it began charging.

“My ideas are my babies. I have a lot. Not all of them come to life, but this one did. It’s the first major thing I’ve dreamt up that made it to the world.”

Unfortunately, the original design didn’t produce enough electricity to keep the battery charged, so Mallory designed an extension, adding 12 more cells to create a 22 volt panel. Mallory’s SolCell station will be installed on the ESA library porch as a solar powered charging station for student devices.

As the project evolved, Dr. Baker put Mallory in touch with the Physics Department at the University of Louisiana, whose professors were coordinating SMART (Science Meets ART) Festival. At the October festival, Mallory presented her work to the public.

“People were excited to see that there’s a kid doing something like this,” she says. “People say you can’t do it. I don’t understand that. They are faced with the unknown and they retreat.” Retreat is not familiar to Mallory. She plans to study material science and engineering in college, preferably at MIT. She’ll find out in April which of the 14 schools to which she applied will be her home next year. In choosing a college, she looked for the thing she loves most about ESA — the relationships she found here.

“Community — you don’t understand what that means until you get here. It’s like a giant family,” she says. “Relationships. That word hits at the heart of the ESA experience. I have fantastic friends and teachers. I have the most meaningful relationships with so many faculty members here.”

Mallory in Florence with ESA Abroad 2014

Art in common “The basic principles of art are universal for all media and concentrations,” explains Victoria Andry, ’15, one of eight art students undertaking independent studies this year. The group of students, along with their Visual Arts teachers, meets each Monday to critique each other’s work, offer suggestions for improvement or arrangement, and explore the concepts that link the various art forms. At the Senior Art Show to be held the week after Easter break, Daniel Holland’s ceramics - scultpures of trees that incorporate facial features representing the personality traits of his family members — will be displayed alongside Carter Broussard’s series of black and white photographs and Tana Gauthier’s immense coil pots. The artists recognize that both their pieces and their own development benefit from the time spent with their peers.

Clockwise from top left: Daniel Holland, ceramics; Tana Gauthier, ceramics; Lily Lowry, ceramics; Grace Kerns (the group’s only junior), drawing and painting; Victoria Andry, drawing and mixed meida; Carter Broussard, photography; John McElligott, mixed media metalwork; Anne-Marie Stokes, ceramics

Color, form, lines, what you are drawn to - all art forms have these things in common.

Grace Kerns, ’16

This year, ESA welcomed new Lower School music

Rusty Roden

teacher . Rusty (right center), who holds a Masters of Music degree from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, brings more than 30 years of musical experience and over a decade of teaching to ESA. We’re happy to have him on our Lafayette campus. Congratulations to Rusty, along with fifth grade teachers Claire Alvarado and Deb Cochran, nominated in December for Lafayette Education Foundation Teacher Awards!

Art for a Purpose Last fall, the Art for a Purpose enrichment cluster created works of art with service in mind. As they completed their pieces, Anna Mary LeBlanc Walker, ’01, who earned a degree in photography with a minor in art history, helped them price their art. The group held an art sale on the Lafayette campus and donated half of what they earned to St. Mary’s Church to help the needy and half to ESA for completion of the front building. The group also donated 50 small paintings to the iCARE Pharmacy to be attached to prescriptions for their customers.

Thanks to artists Ella Arceneaux, Sofia Monteleone, Sophie Poret, Genevieve Morrow and Sian Allen!

Hairspray

Rehearsals are underway for , the Performing Arts Department’s spring musical. Catch the show March 5, 6 and 7 in the Henton Chapel on the Cade campus. The cast and crew include ESA students in grades 6 through 12. General admission is $5 for students, $10 for adults. Find more information about the musical at ESAcadiana.com/Hairspray. The Lower School will present Seussical Jr. on May 1 in the Henton Chapel.

ESA Cross Country Boys’ State Champs

ESA’s boys’ cross country team earned its 10th state title and the first for Coach Laura Magann this November. Making up the team were Oliver Vreeland, 9th place, Henry Schneider, 10th, Brayden Hernandez, 11th, Riley Nickel, 13th, Evan Bramlet, 15th, Drake Broussard, 26th and Daniel Magann, 29th. ESA’s girls’ team took fifth place in State, with eighth grader Samantha Withers winning a second place medal. Grace Pecoraro, Claire Storment, Arden Frantzen, Jessica Tetnowski, Libby Menard, and Claire Pham competed for the Falcons at State. Read about the 2014 Cross Country season at ESAcadiana.com/AthleticsBlog.

If you’re in, go all in or get out.

Everything you do give it your all.

Do everything you possibly can to make it better.

Drake Broussard, ’15

Winter sports have entered district play and spring sport athletes have started their training. The Boys’ Soccer team has earned the attention of the local media by defeating district foes and teams from larger schools throughout the state. Coach JB Brunet, in his second year at ESA, keeps the team focused on striving to get better and working together, two goals that are paying off for the Falcons this season. Follow ESAcadiana on facebook and Twitter to keep up with ESA’s varsity athletics teams. We’re looking forward to watching our Middle and Lower School athletes follow in their footsteps!

Drake Broussard couldn’t have planned a better senior year. A member of the State Champion cross country team, he’s also Student Council President and one of 23 Louisiana runners named to the Composite Academic All-State Cross Country Team, an honor given only to athletes who earn at least a 4.0. At ESA since sixth grade, Drake also competes in track, participates in community service and is one of the leads in this spring’s musical, Hairspray.

A member of the French Club throughout high school, Drake considers the state French convention one of the high points of his school year. With only three colleges on his list, Drake has his heart set on the University of North Carolina, where he plans to double major in a biology-related field and French or political science, before heading to medical school and a career as an orthopaedic surgeon.

“It’s easy to tap into the enthusiasm of ESA students,” says Drake. “You’re encouraged to have passions. There’s always a class you love and want to spend more time diving into. For me, that’s French AP with Madame Maggini. She made me love speaking French.”

Alumni Notes 1986

Clint Freeland was named one of Houston Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Award Winners for 2014.

1993

Joshua Mammen, a surgical oncologist at the University of Kansas, was recently promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure and named the ViceChair of the Department of Surgery and Division Chief for Oncologic Surgery.

1995

Allie Pate Rosen is the new librarian on ESA’s Cade campus!

Lawrence Simon volunteered at the ESA Quiz Bowl Tournament in October.

Lawrence is an otolaryngologist with Hebert Medical Group. He and his wife, Lindsay, live in Lafayette.

1996

Marie LeBlanc Collins is a Lafayette Parish Sheriff ’s Office counselor, responsible for the department’s treatment programs. The innovative substance abuse program caught the attention of NPR, where Marie was featured on All Things Considered last fall.

1997

Lindy Blevins married Daniel Wade Jacobs on October 24, 2014, at City Park’s Camellia Garden in New Orleans. Lindy graduated from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and obtained an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the Director of Corporate Strategy for Nordstrom Rack.

1998

Robin Norvell married Manuel Guerzoni on Sept. 27, 2014, at St. Anna’s Episcopal Church in New Orleans. Robin received Bachelor of Arts degrees in literature and history from Emory University. She currently works as a Communications Manager at Google.

1999

Shome Dasgupta moved from ESA’s Lafayette campus to Cade in the fall, and is now teaching 10th and 11th grade English. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles. Shome is also helping to coach the basketball team.

Southern Living magazine listed Katie Frayard Culbert and her husband Denny as people who are changing the

We heard it first Congratulations to former ESA history teacher Dr. Arthur White, whose book, Plague and Pleasure: The Renaissance World of Pius II, was recently published

by The Catholic University of America Press. Dr. White describes the book as a new explanation of the Renaissance as a response to the Black Death and an escape to an idealized reality. Using as a lens the life of Pope Pius II, whose behavior he describes as typical of the period, Dr. White puts in book form the ideas he taught to ESA students. Now an adjuunct professor of history at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Dr. White dedicated his book as follows: “I dedicate this book to my wife, Gail Brockett White, who is the sine qua non of my life and of everything I do; and to the Episcopal School of Acadiana, where I taught for nineteen years. High school cannot be paradise; but it comes closest at ESA.” Thanks, Dr. White, and best wishes for an extremely successful book launch!

Carla Dibbs, ’14, is more than halfway through her freshman year at Columbia University

in New York City, where she is majoring in industrial engineering and playing volleyball. She plans to pursue a career in law or business after graduation. We caught up with Carla during winter break.

Highlights of 1st semester? Making new friends, being on a team, keeping a high academic standard, and being able to live in the city. There is always an adventure waiting for me and a new resource available.

College athletics compared to high school volleyball? It is definitely a bigger commitment in college than in high school. In season, my only off day is Sunday. But I do think I was ready for the collegiate level as I was very accustomed to practicing long hours and working out regularly. I think the ESA weight lifting program and the level of high school volleyball practices prepared me well.

How did ESA prepare you for college? Leaving ESA, I definitely knew how to study. I knew that to do well, I had to put in the hours and study hard. Secondly, I think ESA teaches you to be a critical thinker and that has really helped me in my first semester.

What do you wish you’d known before you started college? I almost think our teachers are too good at ESA! Everything we needed to know for tests was taught to us in class. In college, however, teachers glaze over whatever topics appeal to them and students are generally expected to learn on their own! I am grateful for ESA because it prepared me well for the next level in my education.

What advice do you have for this year’s seniors? Pick a school that you absolutely love—even though it is really cliché to say. You just know when a school is a good fit for you. Also, enjoy this next semester—make memories and don’t stress too much! It ends fast! Freshmen? Even though it doesn’t always feel like it right now, school matters; so give it a good shot. Also, you’re not expected to know everything so enjoy the process. 6th graders? Join as many things as you can, so you can find where your true passion lies, and when you find it, go for it!

South this year. The couple runs the organization Runaway Dish, a not-for profit that hosts dinners with local chefs and varying locations every few months. The proceeds go to local charities and organizations. For every other event, they publish a journal to which Shome Dasgupta contributes poems and stories.

Rien Fertel has published Imagining the Creole City: The Rise of Literary Culture in the Nineteenth-Century New Orleans. The book is the culmination of his Ph.D. work at Tulane University. Rien is a Visiting Professor of Urban Studies at Bard Early College in New Orleans and a part-time

professor at Tulane, as well as a freelance writer.

2000

Lon Baronne has returned to Lafayette and joined the practice of Louisiana Orthopaedic Specialists, home of Matthew Williams, ’91. Lon earned degrees in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology from Emory University, and received his medical doctorate from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. After finishing orthopaedic surgery training at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, he completed a spine surgery fellowship in complex cervical spine surgery at the

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

His specialties are cervical and lumbar spine disorders, complex cervical surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and microscopic spine surgery. Lon and his wife Haley have a daughter, Sydney.

A’Dair Williams Herrington, an OB-GYN, has joined Acadiana Women’s Health Group. A’Dair and her husband Chris, ’99, are ESA parents now. Daughter Camille is in the Class of 2029!

Sarah Gray moved to New Orleans last fall, and is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Tulane University.

GET ON BOARD

Support the Tates/Tutwiler Endowment Fund Mr. Tutwiler and the Tates are on the move again, with a stop in Houston last fall to meet with alumni there. On October 19th, ESA alumni from 1983 to 2006 gathered in River Oaks Park to catch up and make new connections.

Mrs. Tate reminisced with Clint Freeland, ’86, a member of the cast of Harvey, one of ESA’s early productions (right). Special thanks to Houston-based former teacher and coach Ursula Quoyeser for assistance with the location and Holly Miller, ’89, for set-up, snacks and drinks.

Join us on March 1st for an alumni gathering in New Orleans at the home of Calais Hurst Waring, ’96. More to come! And don’t forget the Tates/Tutwiler Alumni Matching Gift Challenge.

We’re in year two, after reaching our goal of $30,000 in year one. Class of 1986 alumni Jody Kochansky, Will McKinnon and Clint Freeland have pledged to match alumni gifts up to $1,000 a piece, for a total of $30,000 each year for three years. A similar match from an anonymous donor applies to non-alumni gifts. The Tates/Tutwiler Endowment has reached almost $800,000, and interest from the fund is helping several students afford an ESA education. Visit ESAcadiana.com/Donate to give online. Thank you!

She received a doctorate in 2013 from the University of Massachusetts-Boston and is a clinical psychologist with a focus on early childhood.

from UL-Lafayette and an MPH from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Claire married Gary Watson on November 8, 2014.

which helped to start a business a week in 2014. He also served as general manager of NOLATech Week.

2001

Maren Rosen joined current parent Sarah Berthelot, past parent Melissa Bonin and past trustee Ann Dobie as four of Lafayette’s 11 Women Who Mean Business for 2014, presented by ABiz Magazine.

Maren is vice president for bridal and jewelry at Stuller Settings.

Aleyna Bryant married Matt Woolliscroft on August 9, 2014, in Austin, TX.

Brett Berard and his wife Morgan welcomed daughter Easton in the fall of 2014.

2002

Graham Laborde has been making news in the Houston area as he plans to open a new restaurant, Bernadine’s.

Katie Bourgeois Van Hook and her husband James welcomed daughter Rachel Naomi on November 13, 2014.

Claire Hayes is working on a doctoral degree in Public Health from the LSU Health Sciences Center’s School of Public Health. She holds a Bachelor’s degree

Angela Granberry Davis joined the ESA staff as Upper School Counselor in the fall. She also became an ESA parent as her daughter Abigail joined the Class of 2029.

2003

Colin Grussing was named one of Gambit’s 40 Under 40 in New Orleans last fall. He has just finished his year of promoting start-ups through 52 Businesses,

2005

2006

Andrew Reynolds is a mechanical engineer with BP in Houston.

Kayla LeBlanc married Ross Landry on November 1, 2014. Kayla graduated from UL-Lafayette in 2010 with a BA in Speech Pathology and Audiology and from LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 2012 with a Masters of Communication Disorders. She works as a speech-language pathologist at Pediatric Therapy and Learning Center.

Left: While in Houston, Dr. Tate relived great moments in ESA baseball with Matt Mahony, ’98.

Right: Mr. Tutwiler in Houston with Dionysia Swett, ’92, Marcy Mayers Laviage,’91, and Lyle Williams, ’88.

Sisters Lillian

Guidry, ’06, and Caroline Guidry Albano, ’02, spoke in chapel this October

about engineering in the real world, their educational and career paths, and how ESA gave them a start. Lillian has a BS in civil engineering from Columbia. She spends her evenings in MBA classes at NYU, and her days as a civil engineer for Skanska in New York, where she has worked on the World Trade Center, a new subway line, bridges and an airport. Caroline, who has a degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia, an MS from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Harvard, is consulting for Price Waterhouse Cooper. View a video of their chapel presentation at ESAcadiana.com/Alumni.

The 9th grade physics boat project sparked my interest in civil engineering.

Lillian Guidry, ’06 2007

Ellie Maley Smith moved from Chicago to D.C. after receiving an MS in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She works as a Geologist at CH2M Hilland and is thrilled to be long-distance work pals with Sydni Guillot Fouquier, ’07.

Christopher Marcotte graduated from UL-Lafayette’s College of Engineering and is working for Chevron in Bakersfield, California.

2008

Laura Doré earned a BA in history from LSU in 2012 and is working at Good Eggs NOLA, a grocery delivery company that works with local producers with the mission to grow and sustain local food systems worldwide.

Rebecca Marx is a manufacturing engineer for John Deere and lives in Thibodaux.

2009

Johnny English is a Youth Treatment Counselor in Denver, Colorado.

Kate Smith is pursuing an MPhil degree in Medieval Studies at the University of Bristol.

2010

Scott Andrus is a software engineer developing client-side features for Siri at Apple. iOS 8 was the first project he worked on at Apple. Scott is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.

Cyoné Batiste earned her company’s MVP award for the staff member who has gone above and beyond during bowl week and the New Orleans bowl. She serves as the

Public and Media Relations Manager for the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Cyoné graduated from LSU in 2014 with a degree in Public Relations.

Brody LeBlanc married Kristen Gilbert on December 27, 2014. Brody and Stephen Granger received their White Coats on August 16, 2014, at William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Country Roads Magazine published a profile of New-Orleans-based photographer Brei Olivier in August 2014.

2011

Savannah DesOrmeaux is featured in the Jan-Feb issue of Overture Magazine, found online at www.acadianasymphony.org/ overture/. Savannah is in her final semester at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Spring Fling

Join us for

Spring Fling Friday, March 20 at 6:30 pm La Marquise Event Center

x

Auction, RaffLe and Gala More information at ESAcadiana.com/SpringFling

Taylor Waddle spent the fall semester in a study abroad French language and studies program in Paris. She was hired by the Global Semesters program to write a weekly blog on her experience. Taylor is a senior at Loyola University in New Orleans.

2012

Karl Ashkar played Rocky in The Tea Sippers’ Theatre Company’s performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show last fall.

Share your experience with us at ESAcadiana.com/AlumniUpdate.

Visit the ESA Alumni page on facebook for alumni news.

Announcing ESA’s new

Booster Club to support Athletics and the Arts Find out more and join the club at ESAcadiana.com/Booster

P.O. Box 380 • Cade, LA 70519

www.ESAcadiana.com

Take a look at what’s featured at

ESAcadiana.com

ESA Abroad in Florence

Physics I Spaghetti Towers

Collaborative Painting

Environmental Science Field Research at Cypremort Point AP Government’s Public Policy Forum

ESA’s Athletics Blog