Wyvern Report Winter 2018

Winter 2018

IN THIS ISSUE Faculty Summer Reading Heart of the Goshen Campus Alum Profile: Noah Edwardsen ’01 Henrion Grant

By Alexandra S. Thurstone G’80, ’84

Faculty Summe As teachers, we can encourage students to be vulnerable by taking risks, embracing process over product, and facing uncomfortable situations, even if unpopular. Helping students to accept criticism or failure when something doesn’t go right means being vulnerable, and offers them the opportunity to dare greatly on their own.

Wyvern Report

At St. Francis, we are dedicated to lifelong learning. One of the ways we model this dedication for our students is that, along with our students, the faculty and staff engage in summer reading annually. At the High School, the entire faculty and staff reads the all-school summer reading book assigned to students, which last summer was Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville.

In addition, the entire faculty and staff - Preschool through High School reads a book, one of several options, which we then discuss at our opening all-school faculty/staff meeting. This year we selected four books, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement by Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell, iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood (and What That Means for the Rest of Us) by Jean Twenge, Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, and We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates. We highly recommend all of these books to parents; we spoke about each of them at the High School and Middle School Back-to-School Nights and I share brief summaries below.

The Narcissism Epidemic explains that now, more than at any time in history, parents believe their children’s needs come first. The authors bemoan the self-esteem movement gone awry, which has led to the tendency today to praise children for meaningless accomplishments (e.g., participation trophies), and to focus on each child’s special-ness (drawing the distinction that, of course, parents should make their own children feel special, but special to the parents, not more special in the eyes of the world than the child next door). All of these factors have caused an increase in children (and, as the book was written in 2009, adults now too) exhibiting symptoms of narcissism, which include vanity, materialism, antisocial behavior (due to lack of empathy), entitlement, relationship troubles (love for self over others, tendency to manipulate others), over-focus on uniqueness, and feelings of superiority.

Lessons to take away from the book include teaching children that they have more in common than not with others (believing in a common

2

unlike any other in their early and constant exposure to screens and the internet, and parental/school understanding of and considered response to this is important.

er Reading humanity leads to empathy, understanding, tolerance, and community building) and that material things do not lead to happiness. In addition, praising children for real effort and accomplishment helps them learn the value of hard work and perseverance, and letting them experience some bumps and mini-failures helps them understand that they are competent and can pick themselves up without parental help. In summary, parents have a huge impact on how their children will view the world: does the world owe them something or do they have a responsibility to the world? iGen is a moniker coined for the generation of children born from 1995 on, which coincides with the birth of the internet.

These children have never known or experienced a time in their lives that didn’t involve extensive “screen usage,” and younger members came of age in a time when the prevalence of smartphones was already altering American society. This book is not anti-technology, but it does employ copious data to suggest that use of these devices from an early age is creating a generation that is changing right in front of our eyes. One of the central themes of iGen is that today’s adolescents are utilizing social media and texting increasingly alone and in isolation, rather than interacting with peers or family face to face. As a result, they are delaying or avoiding typical teen experiences, such as working a summer job or acquiring a driver’s license. While there is good news - such as teens delaying sex and decreasing use of alcohol and drugs - the reasons behind the good outcome are not as positive: they’re growing up more slowly with increasing levels of anxiety and depression, and spending less time in person with one another. The data-driven conclusions of iGen are startling, and make clear that this generation is

Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly, is a shame researcher with a Ph.D. in social work. After 12 years of research, Brown came to the conclusion that “Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center, of meaningful human experiences,” and began writing Daring Greatly. The main takeaway here is that rather than feeling vulnerable when life is difficult or traumatic, we tend to feel the most vulnerable when life is going well, or when we feel strong feelings of love or joy. She introduces the concept of “foreboding joy” — the feeling you get when you are so happy or joyful in a moment that you immediately start imagining it going wrong. We try to protect ourselves from our own vulnerability, thinking that we are preparing ourselves for losing what we care about. Brown states that in order to combat that feeling of “foreboding joy,” we can practice gratitude.

When you are feeling vulnerable because of how great you are feeling, practice being thankful about it instead of feeling like you need to imagine it being taken away. As teachers, we can encourage students to be vulnerable by taking risks, embracing process over product, and facing uncomfortable situations, even if unpopular. Helping students to accept criticism or failure when something doesn’t go right means being vulnerable, and offers them the opportunity to dare greatly on their own.

We Were Eight Years in Power is a collection of eight of Coates’ essays from The Atlantic, one for each year of Barack Obama’s presidency. He introduces each essay with a reflection on where he was in his career as a writer and his own experience as a young African-American man. Through these reflections and essays, Coates educates the reader on the history of racism in America and the struggles African Americans have faced for the past 300+ years, and provides insights into government policies regarding race and equity (or lack thereof ). It is not an easy read, but it is an essential read in order to better understand our nation’s tragic history and to come to terms with our own American identity.

We welcome anyone in the Wyvern community to read these, and to reach out to us if you’d like to discuss!

3 www.StFrancisSchool.org

By Síofra Rucker G’84, Director of Advancement

We need your help, your support, your energy, and all gifts big and small! As part of our culture of philanthropy, students will help to support the project, with each class on the Goshen Campus hoping to raise enough to have a seat named for the class in the new theater.

The Heart of Goshen Cam

On Thursday, October 4th, our students, faculty, parents, donors, Trustees, and the SFS Wyvern mascot joined with local dignitaries, representatives from Buffalo Construction, and “Roman the Buffalo” to break ground on our latest Capital Campaign project - the Goshen Main Amp, Theater, and Lobby! The Main Amp has been, and will continue to be, the heart of the Goshen Campus. This renovation will result in an even more welcoming entrance for students and families each day. It will give the School performing arts facilities to match our award-winning performing arts productions. It will provide a gathering space for assemblies, talent shows, and class groups; and, by more than doubling the seating capacity, we will also be able to host Grandparents’ Day and Goshen Campus Graduation right in the heart of our School.

The project will continue throughout this school year, with a planned opening for the 2019-20 school year. It will be school-as-usual throughout the year - with the notable exception of the Main Amp, which is behind a

Wyvern Report

4

the mpus

construction barricade for the year. Carpool, the front entrance, the front office, and the hallway will remain as they are for duration of this school year. (The entrance renovation will occur during Summer 2019.) Portholes at various heights have been installed to allow students to observe the project and see the progression from demolition to finishing touches.

Meanwhile, faculty are creating curriculum links to the construction project, both experiential and theoretical, which will allow for students to explore (safely), observe, and learn from the project.

With $10 million raised towards our goal of $15+ million for the four-project and endowment campaign as a whole, we are poised to create an abundant future for the students of St. Francis, but we need your help. While our first priority in fundraising is our Annual Fund, as it supports our students’

experiences day in and day out, this year we are also asking all of our families, our alums, and our friends to consider making a gift to the Capital Campaign. This gift would be a one-time commitment that is payable over one or several years and would be in addition to your Annual Fund gift.

We need your help, your support, your energy, and all gifts big and small! As part of our culture of philanthropy, students will help to support the project, with each class on the Goshen Campus hoping to raise enough to have a seat named for the class in the new theater. Please consider making a gift today for the future of St. Francis.

If you have any questions, please contact SĂ­ofra Rucker, Director of Advancement, at SRucker@StFrancisSchool.org.

5 www.StFrancisSchool.org

art auction

By Kim Hales, Director of Development

On Saturday, October 27th we hosted our annual Imagine! Art Auction + Scholarship Fundraiser at the Omni Louisville. The event raised over $150,000 for the students of St. Francis! This incredible evening could not have happened without the help of our dedicated volunteers, sponsors, and artists.

Committee Chairs Weasy MacLean ’87

Lee Middendorf

Committee Members Leslye Arnett Cheri Baize Kristin Booker Shari Broecker Aimee Caudle Michelle Coughlin Pattie Johnson Allison King

Wyvern Report

Heather McHold Andi McLeroy Julie Leidner Libby Masticola G’85 Mae Melhuish Trina O’Brien Stacy Plotts Stephanie Renner

Amanda Schriber Dianne Siciliano Olivia Sleadd Anna Smith Chrys Strothman Brooke Vaughn Gerri Willis

6

annual fund: why we give

by Lynn Miller and Mike Risley

Presenting Sponsor Buffalo Construction, Inc. Bar Sponsor Dace and King Stubbs Media Sponsor The Voice-Tribune Gold Sponsor Commonwealth Bank & Trust Lancaster Built Homes Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers Silver Sponsor Algood Food Co. Borders & Borders Buckhead Mountain Grill ISCO Industries

Lake | Flato Limestone Bank MPI Printing Norton Brownsboro Hospital Republic Bank Wyvern Sponsor Altman Insurance Global Launch, LLC Jones, Nale & Mattingly PLC Lenihan Sotheby’s International Realty OB/GYN Associates of Southern Indiana Seng Jewelers Tito’s Handmade Vodka West Sixth Brewing

Our family is proud to give to the St. Francis School Annual Fund in honor of our boys’ (Michael G’04, ’08 and James G’13, ’17) time at St. Francis. We give in honor of the countless friendships that were created and continue to this day. We give in honor of basketball points scored and chess match checkmates. We give in honor of the many teachers and coaches who encouraged them from their first days of Middle School through Graduations and even now, years after their final classes and games. We give because each of our sons entered their respective universities fully equipped with the skills to excel. We give because St. Francis fostered the unique individuality of each child and supported him in his journey to find a place not only within the Wyvern community, but also in the ‘real world’.

We give in honor of the 20 collective years that our Wyverns spent at St. Francis. We now give as proud alumni parents. We give because our family believes in the Mission and philosophy of St. Francis School. We give because we see firsthand the vital role St. Francis played in shaping our sons into the compassionate, creative, independent thinkers they are today. We give to ensure every child has the education, support, community, and opportunities ours had.

We give in hopes that you will, too. Give today at www.StFrancisSchool.org/donate.

7 www.StFrancisSchool.org

Noah Edwardsen ’01 Briefly describe your path after leaving St. Francis.

I actually moved to Florida in the middle of my senior year. Since I was already in my last semester and had enough credits, St. Francis generously allowed me to finish my coursework and receive my degree remotely.

From there, I made my way to McGill University in Montreal - as far away geographically and culturally as I could manage at the time. Over the years, I studied abroad in Singapore, was an editorial assistant for a book about gifted education, interned at the U.S. Department of Justice, and earned a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy. I also froze my butt off.

Like many naturally argumentative liberal arts majors, I had decided law school was the simplest answer to “what are you going to do after college?” But after a few sleepless nights, I decided I wasn’t nearly ready to commit myself to a profession I still knew very little about, much less take on a mountain of debt in the process. Instead, I stumbled upon an internship at a PR agency in Los Angeles, and I’ve stayed largely on that career path ever since.

Currently I’m the Director of Corporate Communications at Snap Inc., makers of Snapchat, living in Los Angeles.

Looking back at your time at St. Francis, how would you describe what makes a St. Francis education unique? Do any specific memories or examples come to mind that illustrate this?

The first thing I remember about St. Francis was how cool I thought everyone was. The kids all seemed smart, creative, urbane, and unafraid to be themselves, and that’s what I so very much wanted to be, too.

The school wasn’t just trying to get us ready for college - but to get us ready to be thoughtful and independent adults, giving us an almost unprecedented amount of room to explore and make our own decisions. The workload and expectations were intense for a bunch of teennagers, but so was the excitement at trying, sometimes failing, but always learning new things.

Senior photo

Do you recall a specific teacher who influenced you or had a particular impact on you?

First, basically every student, teacher, administrator, and staff member at St. Francis had an impact. It’s too small of a place for them not to! But Cia White and Stuart Cipinko altered the course of my life.

Cia celebrated imagination, and would let mine run in wild directions. She patiently encouraged my depressing attempts at poetry, as part of a newly formed poetry club, which was a creative outlet I very much needed. She taught me to love words and - sorry for getting a little schmaltzy here through those careful constructions to also love more parts of myself.

Wyvern Report

8

2018 wyvern alumni reunion: celebrating the classes of 1988, 1998, and 2008

On Saturday, September 15th, alumni from the classes of ’88, ’98, and ’08 gathered on the Downtown Campus for the 2018 Wyvern Alumni Reunion. The event was held in the Commons Room with food provided by Ramsi’s Café on the World. After dinner, Head of School Alexandra Thurstone G’80, ’84 took alums on a tour of the building.

Stu routinely called me out on my obscurantism and always demanded more. He was one of the hardest teachers I’ve ever had, vastly broadened my mind, and was also my first introduction to critical theory. He was a giant.

How did your experience at St. Francis impact your career path?

St. Francis shoved my brain out of its nest, and thankfully everything else sort of eventually followed.

Attendees included: Alex Joy G’04, ’08, Alexandra Thurstone G’80, ’84, Alissa Shoemaker, Angela Katz, Brittany Wilkins ’08, Bryan Armstrong ’98, Eric Holt ’98, Fitz Schultze ’98, Jenny Weiner G’84, ’88, Josh Chapman ’98, Julia Nazarenko ’08, Kate Cole ’98, Kim Hales, Kit Llewellyn, Paula Tederstrom ’88, Ron Mikulak, Sona Nagar ’88, Suzanne Gorman, Tom Pike, Tom Skaggs G’04, ’08, and Yodit Dori ’88

How do you define success?

An unmistakable feeling when you do something good.

The harder part is defining what’s good.

What’s next for you?

No clue! And I love that. :)

What are the highlights of your career thus far?

Much of my first year at Snap revolved around the company’s IPO, which is an incredible process that not many folks get to experience and directly contribute to. We’ve had a ton of ups and downs, all while under pretty intense scrutiny. It’s a wild ride, with an incredible team. I feel very lucky.

9 www.StFrancisSchool.org

Jasmine Gunn ’10

Carol Boram-Hays ’81

Joey Arena G’82

Rye Jones ’10

Carol Boram-Hays ’81 lives in Columbus, OH, with her husband Michael.

She earned a PhD in African art history in 2000 and currently works as an assistant professor at Columbus College of Art & Design. Her research has focused on the beadwork of the Zulu-speaking women of South Africa and modern and contemporary African art. In 2015, she spent time in South Africa doing research and teaching at the University of Witwatersrand on a Fulbright grant. As an artist, she has been exhibiting her work across the country since the 1990s and has been a member of the pioneering New York women’s space, A.I.R. Gallery, since 2004. You can see her sculpture at www.carolboramhays.com.

Sarah Stivers G’79 runs her entertainment production company, Stivers Productions (www.s2pShows.com), and was one of the many ambitious women running for office in November! Sarah ran for Indiana State Representative in District 70 in Southern Indiana (www.stivers4indiana. com). She is particularly grateful for the St. Francis alumni all over the country who supported her campaign. She reminds all Wyverns to get behind any candidate, local or national, and support, encourage, and VOTE! American democracy depends on it!

Joe Dinwiddie ’87

Cathe Crabb ’94

Jim Carter ’95

Wyvern Report

Emily (Cowen) Plant ’99

Joey Arena G’82 graduated from the University of Kentucky with degrees in both computer science and theater. After college, he moved back to Louisville and began a career as a software engineer specializing in virtual reality training simulations for Advanced Solutions, Inc. Around the same time, Joey founded The Alley Theater with another St. Francis alum, Verity Jones ’97. The two were also Creative Directors of the Baxter Avenue Morgue for many years. Joey is now married to Natalie Schoenbaechler Arena who was the Managing Director of The Alley Theater, working side-by-side with Joey as Artistic Director. The theater sadly closed its doors this year after 25 years of progressive theater in four different locations. Joey is still very active in local theater and attributes his lifetime love for it to his days under the tutelage of Ed Gupton.

Joe Dinwiddie ‘87 lives in Black Mountain, NC, just one mile away from his 104-year-old grandmother. Joe earned a patent for his educational 3-D arch puzzle, which he uses to teach math, science, art, and social studies to both children and adults. He is also in the final editing stages of a do-ityourself manual for drystone masonry. In his spare time, Joe is teaching drystone masonry at the Pine Mountain Settlement School in North Carolina. He recently ran into our 6th grade students and faculty members on their annual foray to Pine Mountain!

10

Rye Jones ’10 moved to San Francisco and joined Dropbox’s Growth team about a year ago. More recently, he started as a product manager at a startup called Next Insurance.

Carly Bidner ’13

Mariah Curtis G’10, ’14

Cathe Crabb ’94 opened a new store, Unorthodox, in Old Louisville (1207 S. 6th Street) in April. The store specializes in “oddities, curiosities, antiques, and art.” St. Francis Artist-in-Residence Kathleen Lolley has sold some of her work in the store.

Jim Carter ’95 was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the US Marine Corps Reserve and is currently serving as a Military Advisor Team Leader. Jim’s wife, Kelli (Wilson) Carter G’91, ’95, is working as the Assistant Director of Admissions for St. Francis School. Their son, Logan, is a second-grader at St. Francis and was recently selected to play for the Ohio Elite Soccer Academy of Kentucky.

Emily (Cowen) Plant ’99 was formerly a professor at the University of Montana, achieving tenure in 2016. In 2017, she left academia and is now working full-time as a consultant in the thoroughbred racing and breeding business in Montana.

Together with her business partner, she published a statistical book called The Stallion Spectator Ratings. They work with breeding and racing operations world wide and provide information for strategic decision making.

Liz Cash ’01 is currently the owner and head coach of Liz Cash Strength and Conditioning, which is a strength training and nutrition company in NYC specializing in the needs of movie business professionals (like she once was). In the meantime, she is pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy. If you live in NYC, check out her website at http://www.lizcashpt.com.

Laura Goldsmith ’01 has been traveling around the country in an RV with her husband Wes for the past three years. They are currently staying in Idaho - where the Sawtooth Mountains are absolutely beautiful - and heading to California soon.

Laura is a neonatal intensive care nurse, and she works locum contracts around the country. They love living in the RV and don’t see themselves settling down anytime soon!

Jasmine (Smith) Gunn ’10 recently moved to Raleigh, NC, where she works for Aetna. She lives there with her husband Gregory and their three children, Caleb (7), Gregory III (5), and Gavin (4). They are happy to report that they made it through Hurricane Florence without incident!

Scott Slucher ’10 received an MFA in theatre design and production from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music in the spring. Currently he is working for the Northern Kentucky University Theatre and Dance program, as well as doing freelance theater work for several theater companies in the area, such as Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Ballet, The Regular Theatre, and the Richmond Shakespeare Festival.

Claire Johnson G’07, ’11 is currently in graduate school at the University of St. Augustine in Austin, TX, for health sciences.

She is working toward a master’s degree in occupational therapy.

After one more year of clinicals and fieldwork, Claire is hoping to work in pediatric occupational therapy. She is also coaching field hockey for a local club team in Austin, as well as tutoring students in anatomy and neuroscience.

Carly Bidner ’13 is working as the Assistant Director for Annual Giving and Young Alumni Engagement at Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT. Mariah Curtis G’10, ’14 is currently studying abroad in Reggio Emilia, Italy. She is a communications major at Marist College and is taking communication classes in Italy.

In addition to her coursework, she is also babysitting Italian children and teaching them English. After graduation she hopes to work in public relations for a non-profit.

Alma Herovic G’10, ’14 recently graduated from Hanover College with a degree in anthropology and Spanish. She is currently working as an English language and art teacher at a private school in Las Rozas, Madrid, Spain while she works toward a master’s degree in bilingual and multicultural education at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares.

Rose Gilbert G’12, ’16 is in her junior year at Princeton University. In addition to her school work, Rose is working on the student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian. This work lead her to an internship with NPR host Eleanor Beardsley in Paris over the summer. Rose was able to work on stories in and around Paris on such interesting topics as cows, champagne, and public urinals. Check out her stories at https://www.npr.org/people/17796129/eleanor-beardsley.

If you are not receiving emails from the School, update your contact information by emailing Alissa Shoemaker, Alumni Coordinator, at AShoemaker@StFrancisSchool.org.

11 www.StFrancisSchool.org

marriages Bryan Armstrong ’98 married Cassie Chambers on March 24th at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Cassie is the Vice-Chair of the state Democratic Party, an Bryan Kat McDonough Shannon associate at Kaplan Johnson, and G’01, ‘05 (Moore) Papka ‘05 Armstrong ‘98 Jon Corwin G’02, ‘06 an author. She’s a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law. Bryan has a thriving plaintiff’s law practice. A number of Jonathon Corwin G’02, ’06 married Sarah Gafter on September 2nd in Indianapolis, IN, at the Downtown Central Wyverns attended the wedding, including George Parker ’95, Library. They met in Indy three years ago at a Wine & Nellie G’92, ’96 and Mike G’92, ’96 McCall, Adam Snyder Canvas event put on by their Jewish youth group, YLD G’92, ’96, Joe Bilby ’97, Charles LeGette ’97, James Tillett (Youth Leadership Division). Sarah is originally from San ’98, and Rob Penta ’99.

Jose, CA, but came to the Midwest for her undergraduate Alison McDaniel ’03 married Brad Bender on September 15th. studies at Case Western Reserve before settling in Indianapolis to practice as a registered dietician. She is presently pursuing Kat McDonough G’01, ’05 married Ben Burwinkel on March a PhD in food science at Purdue University with plans to 14th. The wedding theme was based on The Legend of Zelda and was held on Pi Day (both Kat and Ben were math majors develop the world’s next greatest (and healthy!) food products.

After graduating from DePauw University with degrees in in college). The wedding itself was small, including only the economics and computer science, Jon secured a position wedding party and immediate family. On the following through the Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship in Indianapolis, Saturday (which happened to be St. Patrick’s Day), they had a two-year business program. He is presently living and a larger reception with all of their family and friends. Kat and working in Indianapolis as the Director of Growth Marketing Ben went to Ireland on their honeymoon this summer. Ben at One Click, an e-commerce eyewear retailer. In their free is a high school math teacher and Kat is a branch manager time, they love to travel, volunteer, and hike/bike around IN. at Hertz Rental Car. Shannon Moore ’05 married Alan Papka on top of the Sky Bridge at Red River Gorge with 20 of their closest friends and family on March 23rd.

baby

wyverns

Charley Miller ’96 and his wife Rebecca Norton welcomed their second child, Milton Otto Miller, on May 31st.

Michael Trager-Kusman ’02 and his wife Erin welcomed twin boys, Asher and Hawk, on August 3rd.

Elise Morgan Dugan

Darcy (Wheaton) Dugan ’04 and her husband Jacob welcomed baby Elise Morgan Dugan on June 18th in Cedar Rapids, IA. They also have a two-year-old daughter, Camille Lynn.

Lenore (Spransy) Labar ’04 and her husband Danny welcomed baby Sullivan Olin Labar on June 22nd.

Julia (Winkler) Hutchinson G’04 and her husband Lance welcomed their second child, Elia Jade Hutchinson, on June 7th.

Baby Asher (left) and Hawk (right) Trager-Kusman

Elia Jade Hutchinson

In summer 2018, the St. Francis drama programs (Goshen and Downtown) landed four awards and 20 nominations for three drama productions - Little Shop of Horrors, You Can’t Beat the House, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This is the seventh year in a row that the program has won NYA awards; and SFS Drama Project Director Reed Gabhart, along with junior Caroline Frederick, Natalie Koch G’18, and Riley Elliott G’18, traveled to New York City to attend the National Youth Arts Drama Awards ceremony to accept the trophies. Below is a list of all awards and nominations for the 2017-18 school year: Awards: Lead Performance in a Musical: Caroline Frederick as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Riley Elliott as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Natalie Koch as Madame Zenobia in You Can’t Beat the House Ensemble (Junior Division): You Can’t Beat the House Nominations: Outstanding Production (Junior Division): A Midsummer Night’s Dream Outstanding Production (Junior Division): You Can’t Beat the House Lead Performance in a Musical: Thomas Simpson as Seymour Krelborn in Little Shop of Horrors Lead Performance (Junior Division): Chase Erwin as Merle in You Can’t Beat the House Lead Performance (Junior Division): Jackson Sleadd as Howie in You Can’t Beat the House Supporting Performance in a Musical: Amelia Dimas as Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors Supporting Performance in a Musical: Max Jablow as Orin Scivello D.D.S./Snip in Little Shop of Horrors

Supporting Performance in a Musical: Grace Malone as Ronette in Little Shop of Horrors Supporting Performance in a Musical: Teagan Morrison as Chantelle in Little Shop of Horrors Supporting Performance in a Musical: Dakota O’Bannon as Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Nicolette Bert as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Jamie Campbell as Conrad Spears in You Can’t Beat the House Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Amelia Gorman as Lillian in You Can’t Beat the House Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Jane McLeroy as Fern Laraby in You Can’t Beat the House Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Tsebiyah McShane as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Jackson Sleadd as Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Ensemble (Junior Division): A Midsummer Night’s Dream Musical Direction: Bob Bertke for Little Shop of Horrors Direction: Reed Gabhart for You Can’t Beat the House Direction: Michelle Salerno for Little Shop of Horrors

Note to Alumni Parents: If you are receiving mail that is addressed to your son or daughter who no longer resides at home, please notify Alissa Shoemaker in the Alumni Office, AShoemaker@StFrancisSchool.org, of his/her contact information, including mailing address, email address, and/or cell phone, so we can keep him/her in the loop on Wyvern happenings.

13 www.StFrancisSchool.org

By Trent Apple ’92, High School History Teacher

One of the great attractions of the Gita is that it can be useful to people of all faiths (or of no faith). Which is not to say that all Indians hold it in reverence, as was reinforced by our trip to Kurukshetra University (KU). As was the case everywhere else in Kurukshetra, we really stood out.

Wyvern Report

A Trip to

Lindsy and the well-traveled Baby Wyvern at the Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Thanks to the generosity of the Henrion Travel Grant, this past summer Goshen Campus Librarian Lindsy Serrano and I traveled to India, focusing primarily on Kurukshetra, which is about three hours north by car from New Delhi. Among other claims to fame, Kurukshetra is the site of the Mahabharata war, which pauses long enough for the god Krishna to impart the Bhagavad Gita, which text we read during sophomore year.

I am not Hindu. Given that, I was approaching the trek to Kurukshetra mostly from a scholarly angle, and as such, I was frankly unprepared for the overwhelming personal effect it had on me. Whether that effect is owed to science or god or psychosomatic susceptibility I can’t say, and it’s not something we can, or even strive to, solve in the classroom. But it’s worth noting.

Specific sites related to the Gita that we visited in Kurukshetra include the banyan tree under which Krishna delivered his sermon to the wavering warrior Arjuna just before the war in the Mahabharata. Now, the banyan tree we saw is an old tree, but it’s probably not that old. This leads to another matter altogether, that is, the historicity of the war itself. Can we date the war to a specific time period, and further, to what extent does that matter at all, theologically speaking? This is an important discussion for the classroom.

(For the record, the war almost assuredly happened, but whether gods were involved is a question for another day.)

14

India Pilgrims in the Brahma Sarovar, Kurukshetra, India

Trent and Lindsy make friends

The Sri Krishna Museum in Kurukshetra was an important stop, focusing as it did on Krishna’s role in the Gita and the Mahabharata. Likewise, the Brahma Sarovar - essentially an enormous bathing tank in Kurukshetra - was a crucial part of our journey.

As seen above (top right), Hindu pilgrims have come to cleanse themselves, literally and spiritually, ever since the god Brahma created the universe there eons ago. (Often, pilgrims come to the sarovar after having burned a deceased loved one’s body at a crematorium, like the one we would later visit in Agra.) Just running my hands through the pool was a moving experience.

One of the great attractions of the Gita is that it can be useful to people of all faiths (or of no faith). Which is not to say that all Indians hold it in reverence, as was reinforced by our trip to Kurukshetra University (KU). As was the case everywhere else in Kurukshetra, we really stood out. That was a good thing as it led to several discussions with curious students. One particular group invited us to the school’s canteen to chat.

Over bottles of Coke, we talked about the effect of the Bhagavad Gita in their lives. One student noted that because he comes from a “low” social caste, he hated the Gita because of the tendency of “higher” castes to use it to justify poor treatment of and lack of opportunity for members of the lower castes.

Instead, his hero was B.R. Ambedkar, an “untouchable” who rose to national prominence by writing independent India’s first constitution after British rule. Ambedkar had spent his life railing against the caste system, and in fact converted to Buddhism as a result. There, in that humble canteen, our new friend’s voice was an invaluable reminder that as important as the history and theory of scripture is, there is still the matter of living in the present where the rubber meets the road.

To that end, the trip has also inspired the possibility of a new Senior Seminar elective course at the High School that will focus on the history of religion and how it manifests itself in modern India, the world’s largest democracy. Ideally, this course could include a non-mandatory trip to India for students during one of our breaks in the spring semester.

15 www.StFrancisSchool.org

Some of the Mahabharatarelated books in the Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Reading Room and Library, New Delhi, India

Lindsy and a librarian at the Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Reading Room and Library, New Delhi, India

Lindsy talking shop with a Kurukshetra University librarian, Kurukshetra, India

We also made visits to libraries and children’s book publishers in India, which proved to be an inspiration and an opportunity to connect with people in unexpected ways. Being a librarian for the last decade, Lindsy knows how willing (and eager!) librarians are to talk about their work, as our visits in New Delhi and Kurukshetra confirmed.

The Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Reading Room and Library in New Delhi has extensive and impressive children’s programming. In a metro area of 26 million people where summer temperatures can reach 120 degrees, it is vitally important to have safe and comfortable spaces for all children, especially when school is out. (Bonus: they had a bust of Kentucky’s own Abraham Lincoln in the reading room!)

Although this article only scratches the surface of our travels - there were also the mango festivals, the train museums, the foods we ate, the gardens we explored, the other people we met - we nevertheless hope that it gives some insight into what a rewarding experience this trip was for us both. Likewise, we are confident that it will have an enriching effect on our students for years to come.

Wyvern Report

16

William Van Cleave ’83

“I LOVE my job. I stand in front of 20 teachers or 500, and I help teachers teach their students more effectively. My goal and challenge is making difficult material accessible to teachers, to engage them, and to give them an exciting professional development experience.”

Students teaching teachers to teach students. That’s what happened over the summer when alum William Van Cleave ’83 led a five-day writing instruction intensive for our Lower School teachers. Held on the Downtown Campus in the Space for Thought, teachers from all around the country came to the workshop, too. William is an educational consultant whose specialties include morphology - the branch of linguistics that studies word structures - and written expression.

A nationally recognized speaker, he has presented on effective teaching practices at conferences and schools around the country since 1995. After graduating from St. Francis in 1986, William received his B.A. in English and women’s studies from the College of Wooster (1990) and earned his M.A. in English from S.U.N.Y. New Paltz (2001). He says, “St. Francis gave me the foundation of critical thinking, speaking, and writing skills that I needed to succeed. I wrote better than many of my classmates (at the College of Wooster), and that led to opportunities to serve as teaching assistant to assist with student writing.”

William says, “I LOVE my job. I stand in front of 20 teachers or 500, and I help teachers teach their students more effectively. My goal and challenge is making difficult material accessible to teachers, to engage them, and to give them an exciting professional development experience.” He reflected on his experience last summer, “St. Francis was gracious enough to allow me to use their space downtown to train two groups of teachers in written expression. In exchange, I provided some free slots for Goshen teachers to attend. Giving back to the School felt great, and the space is the best I’ve ever used for a workshop.”

He will be returning this summer for another five-day writing intensive with an additional advanced writing and vocabulary workshops.

“We are so fortunate to have William as a part of the St. Francis community. His expertise in the area of teaching students to write has been a wonderful complement to the LiFT! program. His training inspired teachers to try new activities in their classrooms, which have proven to be very successful,” said Jen Griffith, Lower School Director. As an alum, William’s coming back to St. Francis and improving the classroom experience for our teachers and students is an excellent example of philanthropy in action.

Wetland The restored wetland helps to manage runoff, replenish groundwater, and provide a habitat for a diversity of native birds, pollinators, salamanders, and frogs.

The area around the wetland has also been restored and planted with native seeds and plants donated from local companies (Dropseed Nursery, Roundstone Seed, and Caudill Seed) to provide a habitat for pollinators, including hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and dragonflies.

Wyvern Report

With 64 acres on our Goshen Campus, Garden Educator Christine Brinkmann is eager to find ways to activate more of the acreage for student interaction and exploration. A wetland seemed like a great addition to our gardens, pond, woodland, and fields. Last spring, she developed a partnership with Sheltowee Environmental Education Coalition (SEEC) and worked with a SEEC founder and wildlife biologist and wetland ecologist Tom Biebighauser to find a pre-existing wetland behind the field hockey field that could be restored. Tom brought decades of experience to the project, having restored over 2,000 wetlands with schools, parks, and private landowners. With Tom’s help, the School applied for and was granted $7,000 to fund the restoration from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program. Part of the grant process required sign-off from an archaeologist to ensure that no historic sites would be disturbed by the restoration; happily we have one in the St. Francis community, as Preschool parent and archaeologist Ali Witsell (also the wife of High School physics and history teacher Benjamin Studevent) donated her time to do just that.

18

Grant

Once the grant was secured, Christine swung into action, arranging for heavy equipment and earth movers to shape the shallow basin for the wetland; recruiting volunteers; securing seed and plant donations; and more. Tom, members of the St. Francis community, and students from the University of Louisville Speed School of Engineering rebuilt the wetland over two days last May. The restored wetland helps to manage runoff, replenish groundwater, and provide a habitat for a diversity of native birds, pollinators, salamanders, and frogs.

The area around the wetland has also been restored and planted with native seeds and plants donated from local companies (Dropseed Nursery, Roundstone Seed, and Caudill Seed) to provide a habitat for pollinators, including hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and dragonflies. The wetland further reduces the need for mowing, which, in addition to our existing no-mow zone on US Highway 42, helps to reduce pollution and fossil fuel use.

This wetland restoration is an example of how philanthropy can be knitted together from many sources: volunteers from the St. Francis parent body, U of L engineering students, and SEEC; funds from the federal government; and donations-inkind from local businesses. Take a walk along the back of the Goshen Campus and see this peaceful and beautiful addition.

19 www.StFrancisSchool.org

If we have something incorrect here, please accept our apologies and set us straight by using the postage-paid envelope inside to let us know.

We THINK; therefore, we are St. Francis.

233 West Broadway

Louisville, KY 40202

Give to the Capital Campaign today! Gifts big and small are needed! StFrancisSchool.org/GivingBack.

Goshen Main Amp, Theater, and Lobby Renovation currently under construction.