Solebury School Magazine Summer/Fall 2014

Solebury

Summer/Fall 2014

Magazine

2014-2015 Solebury School Summer/Fall Magazine Editor Jennifer K. Burns Director of Advancement

On the Cover:

(From left) Graduation speakers Ashley D’Alessandro ’14, Jack Sapoch ’14 and Alex Leone ’14.

Associate Editor, Magazine Beverly Berkeley Director of Communications Associate Editor, Alma’s Renee LaPorte Director of Alumni Relations and Gift Planning Contributing Writers Lauren Eckstein, Camille LeBlanc, Gail Acosta, Beverly Berkeley Design & Production EnForm Graphic Productions, Inc. Photography Beverly Berkeley, Steve Barth Please send change of address to: Solebury School 6832 Phillips Mill Road, New Hope, PA 18938 Phone: 215-862-5261 Fax: 215-862-3366 E-mail: alumni@solebury.org Web Site: www.solebury.org

Administration Building.

Copyright 2014 Solebury School Board of Trustees 2014-2015 Scott Bolenbaugh (PA) Chairman Tom Hunt ’74 (NJ) Vice Chairman Elizabeth Wavle (NJ) Treasurer Alan Sheriff (PA) Secretary Jay Abbe ’59 (CA) Bette Jane (BJ) Booth (NJ) David Christiansen (PA) Dan Cohen ’63 (FL) Jonathan C. Downs ’71 (PA) Andrée Newsome Falco ’63 (NJ) Dr. Ellen Faulkner (PA) Barbara Fordyce (PA) Stan Jablonowski (PA) Josh Perlsweig ’03 (PA) John Petito (PA) Mike Sienkiewicz ’56 (PA) Brett Webber ’85 (PA) Navarrow Wright ’88 (NJ) Head of School Thomas G. Wilschutz Honorary Trustees Bill Berkeley ’49 Chris Chandor ’60 Alan Donley ’55 Betsy Bidelman Meredith ’54 Richard Moss ’48 Eric Shaw ’55 Jean Shaw ’53

Cassidy Patterson ’15 and Sam Alter ’15, outside of the Abbe Center.

What’s Inside New Faces on Campus

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Awards

7

Teaching 2.0

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Alumni News

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Alma’s

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A Note from

Tom Wilschutz Head of School

I love the start of the school year. This year was particularly great as we added a new touch to our beginning – a convocation of sorts. It was a time when all faculty, staff and students gathered on the grass to acknowledge our community, which allowed me to share some thoughts. It’s not unintentional that this took place in the same space where our year will end with the graduation of the class of 2015. I’m so pleased that an idea that germinated with a small group of faculty and staff over the summer blossomed

by September. I expanded on three qualities that require our ongoing attention as a community, three touchstones to guide us as we make our journey.

If our goal is for continual improvement for ourselves and for our community, then the first quality to explore is that of respect. It must begin with respect for oneself and then radiate outward – to respect for others, for truth, for the physical spaces we inhabit and for the environment. The concept of respect acknowledges a basic reality. I could say to our Solebury community that membership requires that we all like each other. However, I believe that in any collection of humans – an English class, an athletic team, a residence hall floor, the cast and crew of a theatre production, your work environment - we are simply not going to like everyone. To acknowledge this facet of our humanity is to acknowledge reality, but it is also to underscore another reality: we do not need to like everyone to create healthy, vibrant, sustainable communities. However, there’s a big “IF” there. The “if ” is simple: if we are able to treat everyone with respect. Guided by this beacon, our journey, and that of our community, is much easier, much better, much more positive and so much healthier. Imagine a world where everyone’s actions were filtered with the litmus test of respect.

If the first message is about respect, the second is about the timelessness of consequences. I believe that one of the great challenges of working with adolescents is simply that they believe the consequences of their actions will have, at best, perhaps a thirty-minute life span. They behave, as generations of teenagers have always behaved, as though they are immortal and nothing that happens now will have consequences that reach beyond the immediacy of the moment.

Of course we do not wish for our students to shrink from living lives fully engaged, lives of boldness and decisiveness, lives demonstrating courage and commitment. I offer this caution only to say that they would be well served to think in the moment, be mindful, and know that the horizon for the consequences of some behavior and actions may well extend far into the future...for themselves and for others. Of course, the importance of being aware of the consequences of our actions is not just a lesson for our young people. As we have seen here at Solebury, the impact of the behavior of adults on the lives of the students entrusted to our care has long-lasting consequences as well. The vast majority of those interactions have been extraordinarily positive, but we need to be mindful of when that has not been the case.

The final message focuses on courage. If respect can serve as a touchstone guiding our interactions and if consequences and their unknown horizon temper our activity, courage must be a traveling companion throughout our journey. Without courage we may have the requisite clarity about what is the right choice, decision or path, but we may shrink in the moment, from the moment. In my Ethics course each year I stress that it is almost always the case that we know what the “right” choice is for any given choice, but knowing what is right and taking that path are two very different entities. For often, choosing the right path is also to choose the more difficult one.

I do not believe that some among us are born with more courage than others nor do I believe courage is, or is not, part of our DNA. Much like learning to write a stellar research paper, shooting a foul shot or dancing in a musical number on stage, courage can be learned. It must be practiced.

The school year is now well underway, and these three touchstones remain present for all of us on campus. More than half of our Senior Class will stand on the strength of their academic preparation and apply to the college of their choice early decision this fall. As Head of School, I am proud that Solebury has prepared them well, and unequivocal that our focus on strong academics and strong community sets them apart.

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New Fac Jared Levy

Jordan Reed

Wendy Carroll

Jared stumbled upon “a kind of dream job” at Solebury (courtesy of close friend, Solebury science teacher Jack Murphy). His creativity, curiosity, and genuine desire to teach, connect, and grow made the dream a reality. Jared teaches US History, a host of electives, co-coordinates the Diversity Program, and pioneers an outdoors program that focuses on environmental stewardship and the individual’s relation to the natural world.

Jared has been around the world before arriving at Solebury. He has worked for HBO’s legal department by day, written music reviews in exchange for concert tickets by night, spent time writing for a local newspaper in New Zealand, coached youth swimming, hosted a radio show, and headed a hip hop group, all of which have brought him to teaching. He spent the past year working at the Ross School, a private boarding school in Long Island, assisting with English, Philosophy, and Film classes and teaching an elective on personal story telling.

Jordan is the third Dickinson College alumnus to join the Solebury faculty during the past five years. Solebury’s new biology teacher has a recent Master’s degree in School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and great ambitions for Solebury.

After three years teaching at Christ School, an all-boys boarding school in Asheville, NC, Jordan was eager to return to the area he loves.

He grew up in Upton, a town in south central Pennsylvania, and is happy to be closer to family, friends, and major cities.

Teaching was a natural transition out of college for Jordan. At Dickinson, he majored in Environmental Science, was involved in Residential Life, served as captain of the swim team, and was the musical director of an a cappella group.

“My favorite thing is trying to pass to my students my enthusiasm for the subjects that I’m teaching,” he said.

A full-time Francophile has joined the Solebury faculty as a part-time teacher. Wendy has been speaking French for over 35 years and has a great deal of experience in individualized education, having taught SAT prep courses, edited the French version of the SAT and companion educational books, and privately tutored French language learners of all ages. She has also led large groups of French tourists to Disney World and other Florida destinations. “I’m a total fanatic,” she said. “I love everything French and I love teaching.”

She now lives in Lambertville and is familiar with Solebury’s “great reputation and beautiful campus.”

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ces

on Campus

Brad King

Ellen Cuthrell

Julie Garner

More than 20 campus projects took shape this summer, including a new roof on the Performing Arts Center, significant renovations to The Barn Theater, a striking new handrail and support structure for the bridge to the south side of campus, and more. The expert overseeing these improvements is Brad King, our new Director of Facilities. Brad has worked in facilities management for over 30 years. He was a contractor for the state of Pennsylvania, and oversaw projects from Maine to South Carolina, and as far west as Ohio.

Brad cultivated his work ethic on his family’s farm in Upper Makefield, Pennsylvania. Outside of work, he keeps busy as a Boy Scout leader, a volunteer fireman, an amateur radio operator, and also is an avid sailor.

He loves the fluidity of his job at Solebury.

You can find Brad riding a lawn mower, re-sealing the driveway, painting the girls’ dorm, or working in the office. “I love the people, I love the atmosphere—there is so much talent here,” Brad said.

“Improvement in reading equates to improvement in life,” said Ellen, who loves to teach reading because progress in language skills is reflected in so many areas of student life. She has worked with students with a range of reading differences for fourteen years. Prior to Solebury, Ellen taught reading at the college level (Bucks County Community College), as well as at the high school and elementary school levels. Today, she teaches in the Learning Skills Department. “I love that students feel safe and accepted here, and that teachers eagerly and passionately work with them,” she said.

In her spare time, Ellen and her husband have been building an eco-friendly house. The home’s wooden frame is made entirely of timber milled from trees destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. It will have a geo-thermal system, an aluminum standing seam roof, and radiant floor heating.

Her name is not quite Garden-er, but it is pretty close. Julie, Solebury’s new Garden Coordinator, is brimming with excitement and creative ideas for the Memorial Garden. She sees the area as a multipurpose community space, a perspective enriched by her background in fine arts. She and her husband, Cholo, have owned Las Flores, their New Hope based landscaping design business, since 2000.

Julie’s family has been in the area since the Revolution. In fact, she shares heritage with the infamous British spies, the Doan brothers, who were outlaws buried outside the walls of the Friends Meeting House cemetery in Plumsteadville, Pennsylvania. She understands the land and is closely tied to Bucks County. Julie is looking forward to throwing herself into the Solebury community and working with teachers to develop ways to incorporate the garden in lesson plans.

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Graduation

“The Class of 2014 is about taking a valley full of individual flowers and creating a beautiful garden. Students in this class are amazing artists, theater extraordinaires, history buffs, philanthropists, athletes, musicians, and one of the strongest feminist groups I have witnessed in my tenure as a teacher. The Class of 2014 is a shining example to future graduates that if you believe in something, you should believe in yourself first and the power of dreaming larger than oneself.”

2014

Jack Sapoch ’14 was one of three graduation speakers nominated by the Senior Class.

—Dr. Jennifer Perez, 2014 Faculty Commencement Speaker

Adam Yang ’14 and Titus Morton ’14.

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The path to this year’s graduation ceremonies began for Solebury School’s 51 seniors on Friday evening with a special Senior Dinner for family and friends to celebrate the Class of 2014. The gathering was held in the John D. Brown Athletic Center and complemented with a lovely catered buffet dinner prepared by Solebury chefs Carmen DiFoggio and Joe Kienzle.

Senior speakers Matthew Keefe ’14, Alliyah Allen ’14, Ben Kish ’14, and Tess Richards ’14 shared their thoughts about Solebury and their personal growth with family and fellow graduates. Clover Stieve ’14 performed her original song, Paint Me Yellow, accompanied by Veronica Fitton ’14 and Eliot Hagerty ’14. Andrew Riblet ’14, Chris Donohue ’14 and Lily Mae Oppenheim ’14 also performed. Senior Class officers Tavorsia Talley ’14, Adam Yang ’14, and Ashley D’Alessandro ’14 presented the senior class gift to the school, which is a wonderful wall mounted and cooled water bottle refilling station for students, faculty, staff and campus visitors to use.

Graduation day arrived and hundreds of family and friends cheered the Class of 2014 as they completed their time at Solebury as students and joined our esteemed corps of alumni.

Senior speakers included Alex Leone ’14, Ashley D’Alessandro ’14, and Jack Sapoch ’14. Dr. Jennifer Perez, Director of Math Support and the senior class advisor, was selected by the class as this year’s faculty commencement speaker.

Ashley D’Alessandro ’14, Veronica Fitton ’14, Claire Le Gall ’14 and Michaela Finley ’14

To view full story and speeches, visit http://www.solebury.org/alumni/ graduation/index.aspx

“We have grown as a grade. Some of us are painters and others are dancers. Our grade contains master photographers and singers but also horse riders and bakers. Some have traveled around the world and others have done great work with local charities. We have achieved great things and will go on to achieve better. But throughout all my years here the one thing that has remained constant is the ability to be just a little bit different.”

Jack Sapoch ’14

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Senior Awards This year, members of the faculty presented five named awards and special prizes to outstanding seniors for specific achievements.

The Number One Ranked in the Class of 2014 Alex Leone ’14 (Ewing, NJ) This year, senior Alex Leone earned the number one rank in the Class of 2014 with the highest cumulative GPA of 4.25. Alex attends Yale University.

The Dorothy MacBrien Award Alliyah Allen ’14 (Irvington, NJ) Given in memory of Dottie MacBrien by her husband Hugh and son Chris ’79, this award goes to a senior for his or her contributions to making Solebury a better community and for demonstrating a willingness to help others. Alliyah attends Haverford College.

Steve Benoit with Alex Leone ’14.

Steve Benoit with Alliyah Allen ’14.

The William P. Orrick Prize Shun (Adam) Yang ’14 (Hangzhou, China) The Orrick Prize honors William Pendleton Orrick, Headmaster of Solebury School from 1948 – 1968, and is the gift of the Dr. Marvin Solomon Family and John Lippman ’75. It is awarded to a senior who has made the greatest academic improvement during his or her time at Solebury. Shun attends Southern Methodist University.

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Steve Benoit with Adam Yang ’14.

Our Leaders of Today and Tomorrow The Mike Mullen Award Tess Richards ’14 (Wilton, CT) Scott Weitze ’14 (Skillman, NJ) This award is presented to the senior class member who has exemplified Mike’s characteristics of hard work, honesty, and love of the Solebury community and its natural surroundings. Tess attends Colorado State University and Scott attends the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Helen Matthews with Tess Richards ’14.

Scott Weitze ’14 with Quinn Waters ’01.

Frank Ammirati Math & Science Prize Sam Arnold ’14 (Doylestown, PA) Eli Sadoff ’14 (Richboro, PA) This prize is given in honor of Frank Ammirati, who taught mathematics and science at Solebury for more than 30 years. The recipients are seniors who excel in both of these disciplines. Sam attends the Stevens Institute of Technology and Eli attends Case Western Reserve University.

Cari Nelson, Sam Arnold ’14, Eli Sadoff ’14, Britta Milks.

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Special Presented Awards on Prize Day The Founders Award Zonia Rueda ’15 (Trenton, NJ) The Founders Award, established by John A. Silver, III ’57 and Betsy Orth Hill ’57, is intended for a member of the junior class who exudes personal maturity, integrity, intellectual curiosity, a sense of responsibility to the school community as well as society in general, sympathy for others, and courage.

Zonia Rueda ’15.

The Commitment to Diversity Award Eliot Hagerty ’14 (Stockton, NJ) Alliyah Allen ’14 (Irvington, NJ)

Eliot Hagerty ’14.

Established by the Class of 2014, this award is presented to students who have demonstrated enthusiasm for diversity through his or her willingness to cross social boundaries, to be respectful of Solebury’s diverse population, to participate in diversity activities on campus, and to encourage understanding within the community. Eliot attends the Eugene Lang College, The New School of Liberal Arts. Alliyah attends Haverford College.

The Home and School Community Service Prize Jack Sapoch ’14 (Hopewell, NJ) Alliyah Allen ’14 (Irvington, NJ) This prize is given to the student who has made the most outstanding contributions to the Community Service Program at Solebury. Jack attends Bates College. Alliyah attends Haverford College.

Alliyah Allen ’14.

Jack Sapoch ’14.

The Lucien Peebles ’65 Scholarship Prize Hannah Dorph ’15 (Washington Crossing, PA) The Lucien Peebles Scholarship Prize is funded by Robert and Barbara Hillier and presented to a junior who embodies Lucien’s qualities of hard work and intellectual curiosity.

Hannah Dorph ’15 with Scott Eckstein.

The College of the Atlantic Book Award Anastasia Babicki ’15 (Titusville, NJ) This award is given to a member of the junior class who is a community-minded citizen and a passionate steward of change in our social, economic, and environmental systems. The recipient is someone who seems to intuitively grasp the interconnection among these seemingly different ways of understanding the world, someone who has challenged themselves academically, and who goes beyond the norm to make the world a better place.

Stasia Babicki ’15 with Tim Gallen.

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The Bryn Mawr College President’s Book Award Haley Huxley ’15 (New Hope, PA) This award goes to a member of the junior class who embodies the core characteristics of a Bryn Mawr woman: a driven and passionate learner with a clear sense of purpose; who is inspired by and celebrates differences, and who seeks to transform herself, her community, and the world.

Haley Huxley ’15 with Tim Gallen.

The Princeton Book Award Abigail Mott ’15 (Ringoes, NJ) This award goes to a member of the junior class for outstanding academic achievement and exemplary community service.

Abigail Mott ’15 with Tim Gallen.

The Smith College Book Award Claire Maloney ’15 (New York, NY) This award goes to an outstanding junior or sophomore who exemplifies the academic achievement, leadership qualities, and concern for others that characterize the thousands of women who have graduated from Smith College.

Claire Maloney ’15 with Tim Gallen,.

National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) Lucas Santiago ’15 (Pipersville, PA) This award identifies academically outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students. Each year, the NHRP honors more than 5,000 of the highest-scoring students from over 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT®. These students are from the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands, as well as U.S. citizens attending schools abroad.

Lucas Santiago ’15 with Tim Gallen.

The Director of Studies Award Eli Sadoff ’14 (Richboro, PA) The Director of Studies Award goes to a student(s) in any grade whose actions in and outside the classroom demonstrate intellectual curiosity, love of learning for its own sake, and speculative habits of mind. Eli attends Case Western Reserve University.

Eli Sadoff ’14 with Steve Benoit.

The Dean of Students Award Jian Dempsey ’14 (Doylestown, PA) The Deans Award is given to a student who participates and gives to the community unselfishly. It is given to a person who sees a need in the community and helps without being asked. Jian attends Dickinson College.

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Bill Christy and Annette Miller with Jian Dempsey ’14.

Solebury Athletes Honored at

Annual Awards Banquet Frank Ammirati Most Valuable Senior Athlete Award Matt Keefe ’14 Tavorsia Talley ’14 Clover Stieve ’14

Matt Keefe ’14 has made the most of his senior year, tremendously benefitting both Soccer and Track & Field. Matt joined Solebury School as a senior and has been a positive force for Solebury Athletics. He started every game this fall on defense and played 98 percent of total game minutes. His strong defense kept Solebury on the winning side of the scoreboard in many games, and his leadership strengthened the soccer program from day one, according to Coach Eric Soroka. In Track & Field, Tom Rondeau remarked that he worked extremely hard, serving as a role model for other athletes. Matt scored the most points as a male athlete in Track & Field this season, and at the league championships finished first in the 400m and second in the long and triple jumps.

Tavorsia Talley ’14 is dedicated to Solebury athletics, playing a sport every season since her junior year. While her true passion is Basketball, she was a member of the Track & Field team for three years and more recently joined the soccer program. As an athlete who contributed to the success of all three teams, she’s earned eight varsity letters, three Coaches’ Awards, and three MVP awards. Tavorsia broke two school records in the discus and shot put, and led the Basketball team to 44 wins over three seasons, averaging over 19 points per game this winter. This year, she joined a select group of Solebury basketball legends as she surpassed 1,000 career points on the court.

Clover Stieve ’14 has played four sports since she started Solebury as a seventh grader: Field Hockey, Basketball, Softball and Girls’ Lacrosse. During her time at Solebury, she led field hockey, softball and basketball as captain for two years. Her senior year, she switched gears, swapping softball for lacrosse, and ultimately became the second leading scorer on the

team, netting 16 goals, including two hat tricks.. Her leadership, sportsmanship, versatility, positivity, and enthusiasm for the sports set her apart from her peers. She’s earned nine varsity letters, three Coaches’ Awards, and four MVPs during her sixyear varsity athletics career.

Coaches of the Year Tom Rondeau John Wright Michelle Seternus Terri Miller Janine Nyce Meghan Cavanaugh

Clover Stieve ’14, Matt Keefe ’14 and Tavorsia Talley ’14, with Rob Eichem

The Coach(es) of the Year are selected by the Director of Athletics. The criteria for the award include team success during the season, taking into account the level of competition and difficulty of schedule; demonstrated ability to improve the athletic performance of team and/or the individual; and demonstrated respect for officials and opponents, and a consistent philosophy of fair play.

This spring was a very successful one for Track & Field.

The boys’ captured the Penn-Jersey League Championship for the second time in three years; the girls’ team won their seventh consecutive title.

Thirteen athletes qualified for states, where they each finished in the top 10 of their events, and many returned home with medals.

Throughout the season, this team broke seven school records. Indeed, this spring was a very successful one, and that success was due in large part to the coaches. There were 42 athletes on the roster and 17 individual and team events to prepare for that involved long and short distance running, hurdles, long jumps, high jumps, discus and javelin. There are so many techniques to teach to mastery, and these six coaches did an outstanding job pushing their team to personal bests, team wins, and record-setting or medal-winning performances.

Rob Eichem with John Wright, Meghan Cavanaugh, Janine Nyce, Michelle Seternus, Terri Miller and Tom Rondeau.

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Athletic Award Recipients

Fall Awards

Spring Awards

Girls’ Soccer Most Valuable Player: Cassidy Patterson ’15 Coaches’ Award: Tavorsia Talley ’14, Julie Meisinger-MacDonald ’14 Most Improved Award: Carol Wright ’16

Golf Most Valuable Player: George Cai ’14 Coaches’ Award: Ryan Davis ’15 Most Improved Award: Matthew Clobes ’15

Boys’ Soccer Most Valuable Player: Matthew Ludak ’15 Coaches’ Award: Matthew Keefe ’14 Most Improved Award: Ben Slattery-Goldberg ’14

Girls’ Lacrosse Most Valuable Player: Anastasia Babicki ’15 Coaches’ Award: Clover Stieve ’14, Alliyah Allen ’14 Most Improved: Maya Brewington ’16

Cross Country Most Valuable Player: Sam Arnold ’14, Ilona Wilde ’14 Coaches’ Award: Jeff Lin ’16, J.R. Madey ’16, Jessie Forest ’15 Most Improved Award: Elvis Fang ’15

Softball Most Valuable Player: Veronica Fitton ’14 Coaches’ Award: Zoe Bellapigna ’14, Julie Meisinger-MacDonald ’14 Most Improved Award: Eliot Hagerty ’14

Field Hockey Most Valuable Player: Clover Stieve ’14 Coaches’ Award: Alliyah Allen ’14, Zoe Bellapigna ’14, Eliot Hagerty ’14 Most Improved Award: Afrah Boateng ’16

Boys’ Tennis Most Valuable Player: Jiri Valtr ’15 Coaches’ Award: Joseph Smokonich ’14, Michael Francesco ’15 Most Improved Award: Adam Yang ’14

Winter Awards

Baseball Most Valuable Player: Keson Brown ’15 Coaches’ Award: Jack Tang ’15, Jeff Lin ’16 Most Improved Award: Trevor McLaughlin ’16

Girls’ Basketball Most Valuable Player: Tavorsia Talley ’14 Coaches’ Award: Carol Wright ’16, Denia Campbell ’17 Most Improved: Hadiyyah Graves ’14

Track & Field Most Valuable Player: Tavorsia Talley ’14, Matthew Keefe ’14 Coaches’ Award: Sam Arnold ’14, Dakota Morrow ’14, Hadiyyah Graves ’14, Lucas Santiago ’15, Ian Berwick ’15, Carlos Lewis-Miller ’16, Eli Sadoff ’14, Susan Huang ’14 Most Improved Award: Laeuna Chisolm ’17, Elvis Fang ’15, Trevon Isaiah ’15, Daniel Sheriff ’16

Wrestling Most Valuable Player: Titus Morton ’14 Coaches’ Award: Elvis Fang ’15 Most Improved Award: Thomas McKinnon ’17 Boys’ Basketball Most Valuable Player: Milo Luciano ’15 Coaches’ Award: Justin Berger ’16, Macio Sexton ’17 Most Improved Award: Malik Harvey ’17, Derek Zhang ’15

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Solebury Unveils New Athletic Logo For years, whenever Director of Athletics, Rob Eichem, ordered new uniforms for the school’s sports teams, the conversation with the sports apparel vendor went something like this: Eichem: Vendor: Eichem: Vendor: Eichem: Vendor:

I need to order new baseball uniforms for the Solebury School Spartans.

Great. What is your team logo?

Well...we don’t have one.

I see. How about a font for the word Solebury or Spartans?

Well...we don’t have that either.

I see.

Now, when Eichem orders new sports uniforms the conversation goes a lot more smoothly. Logo? Got it. Font? Got that too. And having those elements doesn’t just simplify the ordering process. It gives the school’s athletes a new sense of cohesion and pride. “One of my goals is to give the student athletes a positive experience, create memories and make sure they enjoy their time in the athletic program,” said Eichem.

“Having good competition or good coaches is part of that. Having a logo, an identity, is part of that package.”

The new logo has received a decidedly positive response. “I love it,” said Cassidy Patterson ’15, captain of the girls soccer and lacrosse teams.

“It’s bold. It’s serious. It feels like Solebury sports have more of an identity now.” And the new logo might also be effective. Patterson said that the new logo made her feel proud of the school’s sports program, but also made her feel something else – a desire to compete. “You see it, and you’re like, we’re Spartans,” she said. “It puts some kind of fire in you that wants to win.”

And so it went for the past six years that Eichem has served as Director of Athletics and for decades before that. “When I ordered uniforms, the only thing I could do was choose a stock image of a Spartan or just choose a font,” said Eichem. “There was no agreed upon logo for the Solebury Spartans.”

Now there is. Solebury School unveiled a new athletic logo at the Sports Banquet this past spring, giving the sports program an official image and branded identity. The logo features a Spartan helmet and spear illustrated in a style that is classic, elegant, simple and strong. In designing the new logo, Eichem said a committee was convened to find something that would appropriately represent the school and its athletes. The Spartans might be ancient warriors, but the committee didn’t want to project an overtly violent image. They didn’t want some cartoonish combatant. They also considered the other definition of spartan as “unadorned” or “simple.”

“We wanted to make sure it fit us,” said Eichem. “We wanted to make sure it wasn’t comical and that it wasn’t extremely violent or fierce.

What we ended up with is pretty tough, but not intimidating. It’s something that can be iconic. It fits our culture.”

To create the new logo, Solebury worked with Creosote Affects, a Maryland-based graphic design firm. Emily Hajjar, art director at Creosote Affects, said that her team initially presented 16 designs and gradually worked their way toward the final image. “As a designer, I try to find the balance between looking professional and athletic, as well as reflecting the students who participate in the program,” said Hajjar. She said she believes Solebury’s new logo accomplishes both of these goals.

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Solebury Announces Recipient of

Faculty Enrichment Award Five years ago, Solebury’s Home and School Association established an endowed fund to honor John D. Brown ’67, Solebury’s seventh Head of School, and Linda Brown, former Director of Advancement, for their years of dedicated service to Solebury School. Each year, this endowment funds an award for a Solebury faculty member to pursue a personal interest that serves to enrich his or her experience as a teacher. The funds may be used in a way that directly relates to a teacher’s academic field or more generally by stimulating his or her creativity and enthusiasm as a teacher, learner, and citizen of the world.

Sarah Sargent is the deserving recipient of the 2014 John and Linda Brown Faculty Enrichment Award. After six years, she has quietly impacted much of Solebury School. She arrived with BAs in English and Political Science and a Masters in English, all from the University of Vermont. She is an author and poet, as well as a scholar and athlete.

Sarah has dabbled in nearly every extra-curricular at Solebury. She has been the coach of the women’s soccer and cross country teams, a dorm parent, a member of the Judiciary Committee, a faculty representative to the Board of Trustees, an assistant to the Teach2Serve Program, co-chair of the Community Service Program and, along with Assistant Head of School Steve Buteux, the teacher of what many consider Solebury’s most challenging academic course: American Studies.

This does not even take into account her love of cold weather, snow sports, and mountains, or her passion for global literacy, dogs, and Robert Frost.

Nor does it mention Winter’s Keeper, the children’s fantasy novel she’s been writing. Inspired by the undergrad thesis she wrote about feminism in children’s literature, Sarah has been plugging away at a “middle grade level” story about a young female protagonist. She submitted the 240-page manuscript to the Highlights Foundation and attended their week-long writer’s workshop in September, thanks to the support of the Brown Faculty Enrichment Award.

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Hooked on Helping Others

(From Left) Afrah Boateng ’16, Cathy Snyder (Founder of Rolling Harvest Food Rescue), Neal Hafner ’16, Noah Sadoff ’16, and J.R. Madey ’16 loading the food they collected after a successful campus food drive.

J.R. Madey ’16 didn’t know that picking up trash would change his life. He thought he was just volunteering to clean up an abandoned lot in Philadelphia to complete his community service requirement for Solebury School. He thought he would get his hours done. He thought it would be something to endure, but not enjoy.

He thought wrong.

“I didn’t think it was something I would actually like doing,” said Madey.

“But then I absolutely loved it. I loved being able to help people. Even if they don’t know that it’s you doing it, you know you did it and helped the community.”

food insecurity. He picked up trash to fulfill a requirement and discovered a passion. “I wouldn’t have had this experience without Solebury,” he said. “Now it’s part of my identity.”

Madey is just one of countless students who participate in community service efforts at Solebury and get hooked on helping. Since that day, Madey has been on trips to help clean up after Hurricane Sandy, organized food drives that collected 1,600 pounds of food, and worked on a video to educate students about

That is exactly what the designers of Solebury School’s Community Service Program strive to accomplish. The program’s requirements are reasonable – five hours a year for Middle School students, 10 hours a year for those in High School – and the goal is to expose students to volunteer opportunities and inspire them

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Community Service at Solebury to make service a part of their lives. “The majority of students get something out of it,” said Hanna Howe, Solebury School’s librarian and director of the Community Service Program. “They learn about the positive effect one can have on the world, and experience helping just for the sake of helping.” Students can volunteer on campus by helping out in the school’s administrative offices or by serving as wait staff for school banquets. Some off campus opportunities include participating in the local AIDS Walk, the Martin Luther King Day of Service in Philadelphia, or weekend or weeklong service trips. The school has organized trips to Mississippi, New York and New Jersey to help hurricane victims and hosted trips to Nicaragua during Spring Break to help build a recreational center and volunteer at a local elementary school.

Students who participate in these programs say that the experience changes them. “Helping people makes you feel good about yourself,” said Matt Ludak ’15, who went on service trips to Nicaragua in his sophomore and junior years. “It’s definitely satisfying because you can really see the effects of what you’re doing. You can say ‘I did that.’ I can see people’s lives improve.”

Having a community service requirement illustrates how service is a part of Solebury School’s core culture; it is something that is valued, emphasized and encouraged as an essential component of a student’s growth and development.

“Community service is especially important for young people because it gets them out of themselves and helps them make connections in the world,” said Diane Downs, head of Solebury’s English Department, director of the Teach2Serve

“We’re all getting together to help and that lightens the spirit,” said Madey. “It makes the community a better place.”

Program, and a frequent chaperone on service trips. “They are finding that they have the power to make a difference.”

Once students discover the power to make a difference, they are often unstoppable, going well beyond Solebury’s requirements and initiating their own service-oriented projects. Students in the school’s Teach2Serve Program, a two-year public service curriculum, have tutored children attending the Village Charter School in Trenton and hosted a dance marathon to raise money for a school in rural Mexico. Girl Forward, a campus club, has raised money to help adolescent girls around the world. And Solebury’s Red Cross Club has organized fundraising efforts for victim relief, the homeless and elderly, and hosted a blood drive on campus. Each of these efforts was led by students who sought out opportunities to volunteer. “It’s not about the amount of hours we get, or any accolades we get from doing the things we do. It’s about the ability to give back, not only to our local community, but to reach out and actually change someone’s life for the better in whatever way we can,” said Brandon Veiseh ’15, a student founder of the Red Cross Club. “That is what makes it worthwhile.”

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At Solebury School, community service has become more than just a requirement. It has become part of the school’s philosophy, creating an environment that reaches out, lends a hand, and makes a difference.

Teaching 2.0 - Technology

Science teacher Jon Freer works with Kyle Miller ’15 and Izzy Blasucci ’15 in his Honors Biology class.

In foreground, Charlotte Martin ’16 and Neal Hafner ’16.

About five years ago, Jon Freer, a biology teacher at Solebury School, had an epiphany: teaching can be boring. Well, not exactly that, but his main thought was that traditional teaching – with a teacher standing in front of a classroom and lecturing to a group of semi-alert students could use an upgrade. He wanted to find an alternative. He wanted to find Teaching 2.0.

“I was thinking, ‘How can I do this a different way?’” said Freer, a veteran teacher at Solebury School for 18 years who also serves as the school’s Educational Technologist. “I have 12 students with different learning styles and different things that excite them. I wanted to break away from the ‘listen to me, listen to me, listen to me, what did I say?’ model. I wanted it to be more like, ‘let’s discuss, let’s explain, let’s

create something we can share.’ That’s a great way to guide learning.”

So Freer started exploring how technology could improve the teaching and learning experience. He set up Wikis, online spaces where teacher and students collaborate on content, and asked students to create and narrate their own educational slide shows. He has his students use blogs to discuss their homework and flipped his approach to the classroom – homework was when students watched a video lecture, while classroom time was devoted to answering questions and working through problems together. His example empowers his colleagues, and he’s become one of the pioneers of a movement to invite more technology into the classrooms at Solebury School.

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That movement has gained momentum.

Solebury has embraced technology as an innovative educational tool that broadens the boundaries of traditional teaching and enhances learning opportunities for students.

There are Smart Boards in every classroom, state-of-the-art computers in the library and audiovisual room, laptops, Chromebooks and tablets available for student use, a video editing lab, and a 1-to-1 iPad program for students in the Middle School. The school hosts a Moodle site, where teachers post homework, conduct quizzes and introduce online forums and discussion topics. Technology classes offer a range of learning opportunities from Digital Filmmaking to Digital Design and Studio Music Production.

Advances Classroom Learning “I feel like the environment here is a loop of enthusiastic technology use: we supply the teachers and students with the proper devices and software, they tweak it so it suits them for use in the classroom, Information Technology then assesses and adds new tools every year.

The beauty is that it grows organically from observing what works and what does not in a real life setting, not just from an educational journal or review on Amazon,” said Quinn Waters, the Director of Information Technology at Solebury School. “A lot of schools don’t have the resources to make changes as soon as the technology comes out, but we do a great deal with what we have. As technology has progressed, we’ve gone along with it.” Waters, who also teaches at Solebury, said he believes that technology can enhance any classroom experience. “The idea is to make classroom time more engaging,” he said. “The goal is to connect with students in a way that really helps them learn, interact and understand.”

mately performing one of the band’s songs for them. “For the kids in the class to see Good Old War’s joy in watching and listening to our school’s student Rock Band play for them and get their approval was a beautiful moment,” she said.

As technology enters the Solebury experience it means that there is a lot more possibility, for both teachers and students. There is boundless access to information, an opportunity to create global connections, and a chance to expand learning exponentially. “You can do anything you want with technology,” said Freer. “All this information is out there. Now, it’s about what we can do with it.”

Technology is finding its way into nearly every classroom, offering students exposure to information and ideas never accessible before.

Science students plug their lab data into analysis programs, historical footage found online enters history classrooms, thought-provoking TED talks viewed on Smart Boards spark classroom discussions, and language students connect with others across the globe. All this is accomplished with a little technology and the click of a button.

Consider Dave Merola, a math teacher, who paces his classroom with iPad in hand, taking screen shots of a student’s homework, making corrections, passing the iPad to another student for them to correct mistakes – and it’s all viewable on the classroom Smart Board, turning the class into a collaborative work session. There’s Sarah Sargent, an English teacher, who uses grammar websites, virtual magnetic poetry and YouTube videos of slam poetry performances to add an interactive layer to her classes. Or Cathy Block, a music teacher, who uses Skype to connect with nearly every artist her students study in her Indie Rock class. Last spring, Cathy’s class Skyped with the band Good Old War, ulti-

Schuyler Todd’s ’15 blog created for Honors Biology.

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Alumni Weekend

Family of Tek Talmont ’49. departed friends. We were especially honored with the presence of Tek Talmont’s ’49 extended family who returned to celebrate and honor him.

During the ceremony, his family unveiled a beautiful bench in his memory. Another lovely gesture of friendship was made by Honorary Trustee and alumnus Eric Shaw ’55, who helped spread the ashes of his classmate, Tony Evans ’55, among the trees in the Memorial Garden.

In May, dozens of alumni, faculty and friends returned to Solebury School to reconnect and reminisce. Friday evening kicked off the weekend with a cocktail and dinner reception at the Washington Crossing Inn in Washington Crossing, PA. All classes were invited to attend, with the strongest showing from the Class of 1964, whose members celebrated their 50th reunion. Tom Wilschutz, Solebury’s Head of School, updated alumni on the latest happenings on campus.

The Solebury Memorial Garden was established in 2005 by family and friends to honor the memory of Stephen Mueller ’55 and Philip Guthrie ’59.

On Saturday morning, friends gathered at Solebury’s Alumni Memorial Garden to remember those who have passed during the last year. Our alumni reminisced and shared fond memories and stories about their

The group gathered to remember: Holmquist School Elizabeth Macdonald ’30 Sarah Bullard ’40 Nancy Rogers Hillis White ’40 Solebury School Danielle Cioppa ’97

Devon Poesnecker ’81 Deborah Seyler ’76 Paul Silberman ’78 Tek Talmont ’49 Eliseos (Sal) Verveniotis ’93 Joseph Wentling, IIII ’63

Carol Darnell ’61 Anthony Evans ’55 Christopher Franklin ’69 Philip Guthrie ’69 Peter Levin ’59 Barbara Montagu Johnstone ’55 Hermann Platt ’54

Former Faculty Betty Louis Blackburn Tjossem Relatives & Friends of Solebury Beverley Jones Millie Taub

Visit http://www.solebury.org/alumni/alumni-weekend-2014-highlights/index.aspx for more photos.

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Alumni and their family and friends were invited to tour the campus throughout the day, reconnect with old friends and enjoy the dining hall’s delightful buffet lunch. Later, selected outstanding alumni athletes were recognized at the Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony (See page 25 for inductees).

Then, alumni flocked to the Head of School’s home to attend the 6th annual Burger and Beer Bash with special grill masters John Petito ’96 and Lana Whitehead ’96. This event has grown each year, and this year John and Lana fed over 60 alumni from all decades. For the past two years, alumni at this event have helped raise much needed matching funds for the Page and Otto Marx Scholarship Fund at Solebury School, an endowed fund that provides financial tuition assistance for students of color with demonstrated financial need.

Burger and Beer Bash hosts John Petito ’96 and Lana Whitehead ’96.

Many alumni joined parents and friends for Solebury’s Annual Dinner Auction, Run for the Roses: A Derby Party on Saturday evening. (See page 21).

On Sunday, friends said goodbye at Brunch in the Herbert S. Boyd Dining Hall.

Tyrone McDaniels ’05 and Scott Eckstein.

Malcolm Ingram ’06 and Basketball Coach Cleve Christie.

Meera Downs ’08, Laura Downs ’03 and Alex Unger ’03.

Josh White ’06, Jill Fox ’06, Alyssa Snyder ’06.

Please mark your calendar for Alumni Weekend, May 1-3, 2015.

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Annual Dinner Auction Lands in the Winner’s Circle Board member Brett Webber ’85 and Sandra Dillon.

Scott and Mary Bolenbaugh.

Martin & Carolyn Dorph.

Sally Huxley, Donna Cosgrove and Jessie Gamble.

Robert and Marina Scudder.

Chuck and Maralee Fitton with Jackie Neff.

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Solebury’s Annual Dinner Auction, Run for the Roses: A Derby Party, was a tremendous success thanks to all of our supporters. It was a grand evening of proper Derby attire for some, complete with dress and ceremonial hat.

There were traditional mint juleps served with a lovely buffet meal and lots of bidding going on all evening.

This year, we surpassed our hopes and raised more than $160,000 for the school. Friends pledged over $70,000 during this year’s special appeal to revitalize the Barn’s Black Box Theater; inspiring an anonymous donor to increase their matching gift for this year’s Special Appeal to match the outpouring of support.

Proceeds from this year’s auction will allow us to make significant progress for the future, including educational programming, student activities and facility improvements. So many members of our community made this night special and its impact will be felt by our students, faculty and friends for years to come.

Save the Date for next year’s auction and plan to join us on May 2, 2015!

Endowment Fund Honors

Chris Langhart

Thanks to Solebury Theater Tech veteran Chris Langhart, the world hidden above and behind the stage is as rich and skilled as a performance that is in front of an audience.

The Parker-Klimpel family is particularly appreciative of Chris and the confidence he inspired in their son, Spencer.

Last year, family members approached the school about creating an enduring legacy in recognition of Langhart’s hard work and positive impact. Thanks to their generosity, Solebury School is pleased to announce the creation of the Chris Langhart Theater Tech Funds. The Chris Langhart Theater Tech Endowed Fund will honor Chris and serve as a reminder to future generations of his extraordinary work by endowing Solebury’s Theater Tech program. The Chris Langhart Theater Tech Restricted Fund provides the Theater Tech department with additional annual support for the next five years. “Chris trusts these kids to literally go out on a limb,” said Whitney Parker-Klimpel. “By allowing the students the freedom to invent and discover for themselves, they develop an internal sense of competence and confidence.” Solebury’s Theater Tech prepares the theater for all that needs to be done before and during a show. Students design and construct sets, choreograph lighting, operate sound, install electrical work, and meld metalwork.

Chris served as site director and designer for the famed Woodstock music festival of 1969 and has been described as a technical genius by John Morris and Miles Lang, Woodstock’s stage manager and promoter respectively.

To many of the students who work alongside him, Chris is a beloved figure. “Theater Tech encourages the natural curiosity of people,” he said. “I try to teach the relationships that materials have, the ways of processing them, and how that relates to people.” It’s all about learning through experience, creative thinking, and individual discovery.

The Chris Langhart Theater Tech Funds are open for additional contributions. For more information or to make a contribution, contact Jennifer K. Burns, Director of Advancement, at 215/862-5261 x183 or jburns@solebury.org.

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Solebury Welcomes

Jay Abbe ‘59

Josh Perlsweig ’03

Jay Abbe returned to Solebury’s Board of Trustees in May. “It’s easy to be on the board of an organization that has had such a positive impact on a person,” he said.

Solebury’s atmosphere and the close student-teacher relationships transformed Jay’s academic experience. His decision to pursue chemical engineering was governed entirely by his favorite course at the time of the college application process – Chemistry.

Jay holds B.S. and M.S degrees in chemical engineering from Cornell University, as well as an MBA from Stanford Business School. He worked at McKinsey & Company, an international consulting firm, for 20 years, and then as an executive for technological and optical communication firms before his retirement thirteen years ago. He now serves on several public and private corporate boards, is a member of the Board of the Santa Rosa (CA) Symphony, the Community Foundation Sonoma County, and the American Prairie Reserve. He also spends a lot of time making wine with his wife, Kären, at their vineyard in northern California.

The Board was quick to re-nominate Jay. During his tenure, Solebury more than doubled its endowment, the campus grew considerably, and enrollment improved. His dedication to Solebury truly knows no bounds. “I remain convinced that Solebury changes students’ lives,” he said.

Josh’s relationship to Solebury dates back to diapers. He grew up coming to alumni weekends with his parents, Leslie Rubin ’73 and David Perlsweig ’73, and his aunts and uncles, Pat Rubin ’69, Andrea Rubin Kellner ’70, and Paul Perlsweig ’67. He played with other alumni children in the Head of School’s house, while being babysat by boarding students.

Up until his matriculation at Solebury, Josh and his family moved around a great deal. As a boarder, he was able to spend all four years at Solebury. It became home.

Josh attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received a BA in Political Science - Public Policy, with a minor in environmental science. He is currently a Masters candidate in Sustainability with a concentration in Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Josh credits Solebury biology teacher Jon Freer with sparking his interest in science. About a year and a half ago, he and his new wife, Natalie, decided to put down roots, literally, on a 60-acre farm in New Hope. They run a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) of flowers and lease land to a local veggie CSA, Roots to River.

Josh is invested in “making sure Solebury remains true to its mission and serves its community well.” Since his graduation in 2003, he has maintained close contact with the community. “The people are here for the right reasons,” he said.

He is excited to be a part of the big decisions surrounding a place that has been so important to him.

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Four New Board Members

Jon Downs ‘71

Navarrow Wright ‘88

Jon Downs also grew up at Solebury. “My family’s DNA is wrapped up in this school,” he said. Fifteen members of his family in five generations have attended or worked for either the Holmquist School for Girls or Solebury. His great aunts were founders of the Holmquist School.

After graduating with a BS in Political Science from Princeton in 1979, Jon embarked on a 12-year career as a Foreign Service Officer for the US Department of State, serving in a variety of posts including Malaysia, China, Taiwan and Washington, DC. For more than two decades, Jon has been Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Toll Brothers, Inc., the largest luxury home-builder in the country.

His three children, Laura ’03, Meera ’08, and Sebastian ’09, are Solebury alumni, and his wife, Diane, is head of the English department and directs Solebury’s Teach2Serve program.

Navarrow returns to the Board of Trustees after a yearlong break. He is the president of Maximum Leverage Solutions, a consulting firm that works with startups, businesses and brands in the areas technology and product strategy.

Previously, Navarrow served as Chief Technology Officer of Radio One’s online division Interactive One and in the same role at Black Entertainment Television (BET); he cofounded GlobalGrind.com with Russell Simmons. Navarrow recently launched the “Close the Divide” project with the vision to build awareness among underserved communities about the opportunities that technology can provide in key areas such as education, healthcare, career growth and entrepreneurship. He currently travels the country speaking to various groups about the importance of closing the digital divide and the opportunities for economic parity available through technology entrepreneurship. Recently, Navarrow was selected to be a part of Verizon Innovator’s “Celebrate Our Stories” campaign, which highlighted influential African Americans. Navarrow lives with his wife and their four children in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. His daughter Carol is a junior at Solebury.

Solebury School is incredibly grateful for the time and talent of our volunteer Board members.

We gratefully acknowledge the following trustees who completed their terms in May 2014 for their support and leadership: Annsi Stephano ’58 Ken Klimpel Ezra Billinkoff ’03 Joan Reinthaler ’53

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Athletic Hall of Fame

Inductees The Solebury School Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes and honors studentathletes, exceptional teams, coaches, and other members of the Solebury community who have made outstanding contributions to its athletic program. In May, the following individuals and teams were inducted during an Alumni Weekend ceremony that took place in the John D. Brown Athletic Center.

Courtney ’00 and Shannon ’00 Clarke received their award from their father, William Clarke.

Hank Brooks ’64 Paul Prinzhorn ’64 Courtney R. Clarke ’00 Shannon M. Clarke ’00 Many thanks go to the individuals who nominated this year’s recipients and to the Athletic Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

Bill Berkeley ’49 (left) and Hank Brooks ’64 acknowledged Paul Prinzhorn’s ’64 posthumous award. Paul passed away in 1980.

Nominations may be made by either completing the online nomination form at www.solebury.org/halloffame or sending one via snail mail to Robert Eichem, Director of Athletics, 6832 Phillips Mill Road, New Hope, PA 18938.

The deadline for submitting nominations is December 22, 2014.

Bryan Mitchell ’65 presented the award to Hank Brooks ’64.

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Alma’s Update Summer 2014 Holmquist School for Girls 1917-1949 Class of 1949

Noëlle Kennedy Masukawa, lost her husband Terry, last November. She occasionally sees her cousin, Felipe Sanfuentes ’50, in Washington, D.C. Last July, she visited her brother, George Kennedy ’42, in Fort Worth, Texas, for his 90th birthday.

Solebury School for Boys 1925-1949

Brooklyn Bridge on Mother’s Day with her daughter-in-law and Eric Shaw’s son, Daniel. She has recently been on two great trips with her cousin Alexa Shaw McDonough ’62. She hopes to visit Alexa in Halifax, Nova Scotia to witness the Celtic Colors festivities in October.

Class of 1956

Sandra Migel de Bruin’s Actor’s Audition Log and two other theatrical log books have done so well that she now has a contract for a Patient’s History & Medical Log. It will be published in 2015.

Class of 1957

Nicole Fischer Rafter is teaching graduate students at Northeastern University as well as writing a book on genocide. She has two children and lives with her husband, Robert Hahn, in Boston.

Class of 1958

Class of 1943

Fritz Holmquist reports of a grand reunion of the Holmquist and Downs families in New Hope over the Fourth of July weekend.

It was held at Hill Hollow Farm originally purchased by his Aunt Louise, co-founder with Karline Holmquist of the Holmquist School, and now the home of Jon ’71 and Diane Downs. Some 58 members of the two families attended, ranging in age from five months to 89 years, and enjoyed a weekend of good weather, great food, lively entertainment and lots of fun and games. Folks came from as far away as Laos, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Canada as well as Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.

Solebury School was well represented by alumni Jon ’71 and Libbet Downs ’68, Laura ’03, Emily ’08 and Sebastian ’09 Downs. All the Downs’ family are descendants of Fritz’s sister, Betty Holmquist Downs ’33 who was a graduate of Holmquist School.

Solebury School for Boys 1950 to present Class of 1953

Jean Tappan Shaw loved seeing everyone at Alumni Weekend last May. She reports that Solebury looks more beautiful, alive and well every year. Jean walked across the

Bob Stockton has submitted the final edit of the first in his series of three novellas, Stories From the U.S. Navy: I. A Suicide in the Mediterranean and expects a late summer availability.

Bob will also be attending the annual conference of the National Chief Petty Officers Association in Seattle. Upon his return, will be heading to Bradenton, Florida for an extended family gathering to celebrate his stepmother’s 90th birthday.

Class of 1959

Mari Knudsen Share hugs her husband Kenneth at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration with 149 other couples at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Cardinal Dolan praised and congratulated them on their fidelity during 50 years of marriage.

Jeanie Evans Storrs continues to run her Century 21 Realty Team office in North Central Massachusetts and the market is busy!

She is fortunate to have her daughter as one of her agents.

Class of 1960

Rick Smith has a new collection of poems out, Whispering in a Mad Dog’s Ear. Poetry critic John Berbrich notes, “Only the finest

poetry displays the poignant beauty that is found in this book. Smith has captured its essence.”

Class of 1962

Will Morgan has published a new book, A Simpler Way of Life: Old Farmhouses of New York and New England. Will has written over a dozen books.

Class of 1965

Jeff Blum attended the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. After graduating from law school he spent four years at the United States Department of Justice where he represented the Internal Revenue Service in court. He left the Department of Justice in 1977 and returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh. For most of his career he was a partner in several large law firms where he focused on tax litigation. Jeff ultimately left the practice of law to lead a national practice at the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche.

Jeff moved to Florida in 2007 and retired from Deloitte in 2012. Jeff keeps busy traveling, taking photography classes and teaching part-time at two local universities.

He has taken an active vacation every year since 1996 and in June of this year, completed a self-guided 190 mile coast to coast hike in England.

Jaye Ruth Friedman Levy’s spouse, Roger, died in Phoenix, Arizona while on vacation. Jaye noted that Roger loved Solebury and she would like to hear from classmates.

Class of 1966

Joan Katz Von Ohlen retired in 2010 after 25 years in IT for Wells Fargo. Joan finally admitted that she was a Francophile and began spending long periods in France and, two years ago, launched Joan’s Personalized Paris to help people plan their Paris itineraries.

Class of 1968

Sandy Hoffacker writes: “In 1984 when Solebury school was considering closing its doors other key alumni were rallying together to save this unique school. And, of course the leadership was a key component. Thank you to John ’67 and Linda Brown for taking on that challenge and navigating Solebury through those years.”

Jacques Houis lives in Millerton, NY and commutes to The Brearley School in New York City where he has been teaching French for twenty-two years. His wife, Shelley, retired from her work in motion picture production and is now enjoying being a sales rep for a company that sells fabric to independent quilt shops. In 2012, Alma Classics published The Comic Romance, Jacques’ translation of Paul Scarron’s 1651 seminal, classic novel, Le Roman Comique.

It received a positive review in the Times of London Literary Supplement.

Class of 1969

Thomas, Jr. ’73, Deborah Heiman Dick ’75, and Elizabeth (Liz) Farnell ’75.

Jeff Loomer is a concierge Rheumatologist and recently published the second edition of Fibromyalgia and Other Chronic Painful Conditions. His practice is limited to the management of patients with connective tissue disorders with a heavy emphasis on fibromyalgia. Jeff has been in solo practice in Tucson, AZ since 1999. He did his rheumatology Fellowship training at Dartmouth.

Joel Watterworth is playing a lot of music with friends and enjoys riding motorcycle with his wife. He has been working as an English language learner interventionist and also works with kids with special needs.

Joel recently visited Mark Cosgrove this past winter. Joel has been in contact with Chris Jarrett and other classmates via Facebook.

Class of 1981

Julie-Ann Silberman-Bunn has accepted a new position as the Developmental Director of Religious Education at the Main Line Unitarian Church in Devon, PA. This is a two year position where she will examine the strengths of the existing program and make recommendations for long term health.

The loss of her brother, Paul Silberman ’78, a year ago has made her realize the time is right to follow her dreams. Julie-Ann’s new position will leave her a lot more time to pursue creative projects both in visual arts and in writing. Her husband is going to return to school to get the degree in Blind Rehabilitation and Mobility. They are both excited to be doing the things that have been on hold in their lives for many years.

Class of 1986

Class of 1977

Mary Hulse Garvin retired in last September. She is currently working part time with a neighborhood school-age youth group.

She also enjoys volunteering in outreach programs in area churches and at a local food pantry.

Class of 1971

Nike Schlesinger has moved back to Bucks County after living in various places up and down the east coast for the last 30 years.

She loves her old stone farm house in Plumsteadville, PA.

Class of 1974

Ed Beemer, and his wife Anne, met up with Chris Jarrett at his home in a small German town near the French border while travelling last month. Chris waxed poetic about their mutual friend Tom Hunt and the kindness the Hunt family showed him during his time at Solebury.

In addition to running both his popular catering business, his smoked salmon company and his neighborhood grocery, Chef Max Hansen also somehow manages to find time to carve wood into works of art. A true Renaissance man, Max finds working in his wood shop calms him and keeps his creativity churning. Check out some of Max’s new handmade cooking utensils available at Max’s Carversville Grocery.

Class of 1980

Chris and his family took Ed and Anne on a short summer’s eve walk through vineyards and cobbled streets to a wonderful restaurant. The conversation was of music, politics, religion and classmates.

Donna Cobe organized a mini reunion in Las Vegas this past summer. In attendance were Donna and her significant other Bob, Jeff Morgan ’73, Bruce Friedman ’75, Donna Brucker ’75 and her husband Dave, Ed Beemer ’74, Joel Rosenblum ’77, Steven Duchovnay ’76, S.J. (Skip) Williams ’77, Louis

After 25 years as a freelance film and television producer, Dan Hank recently took a full time position as the Vice President of Production of AMC Networks. AMC shows include the new series Turn, and Halt and Catch Fire, as well as returning favorites Mad Men and The Walking Dead. He attended the 2013 Emmy Awards and celebrated Breaking Bad winning for best drama series. In December, he travelled with his son, Justin, to Antarctica. They have now been to all seven continents.

Laina Satriano Tasch is pictured with the family’s most recent Solebury graduate. Her son Tyler graduated Solebury last June and her daughter Hailey, on the left, will graduate in 2015.

Class of 1988

Jeff Vespa has his first coffee table book coming out in October. The Art of Discovery features one hundred intimate portraits of celebrities relating personal stories about their inspirations. The striking imagery is accompanied by insightful messages designed by typographer and award-winning art director, Nancy Rouemy. Ranging from anecdotal to poignant, the accounts are from luminaries such as Nicole Kidman, Jared Leto, Naomi Watts, William H. Macy, Kristen Stewart, Jessica Biel, Forest Whitaker, Kate Mara, Shaliene Woodley, Dakota Fanning, and Seth Rogen.

Class of 1991

Todd Robinson received the Diversity faculty award and the William Morris Award for Excellence in scholarship as a History professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Josh Wick is helping to produce Out of My Hand, directed by Takeshi Fukunaga. Josh is an independent filmmaker from Brooklyn, NY and his feature film work includes: Spydr, Lemon, Francis of Brooklyn, and The Assassin.

Class of 1993

Allegra Sleep is still painting away and gearing up for the 40th Annual Taos Fall Arts Festival, which opens on her birthday, September 26th.

She was in the August 2014 issue of Southwest Art Magazine. She is also going to be a part of the 6th Park Fine Art International Tour Show this fall which opens in Albuquerque in August. Her painting Three Bears (pictured above) will be featured.

Class of 1996

Ian Taub and Brielle have moved to Tampa, FL, cats and all. He’ll soon be putting up the Solebury swag he scored at this year’s auction. Ian will be traveling back and forth to PA to work on selling his Co-Op in Jenkintown.

Class of 1993

Eric Singer writes, “After spending three years in Germany playing American football and generally having too much fun, I moved back to Colorado in 2006. Since then, I got married to Nicole and we have a one year old daughter, Alexandra. I’m working full time as a partner/producer at Coupe Studios in Boulder. We create music and other audio for films and TV. I’m also managing the band Meniskus in my spare time. I’d love to hear from any other alumni who may be coming to Colorado.”

Class of 1995

Paul Burkander (formerly Burkholder) has just completed his Ph.D. in Economics from Michigan State University. Paul will be moving to Princeton Junction, NJ, along with wife Kri and kids Maggie and Ollie, where he’s taken a position as a Researcher with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Class of 1999

Teresa Chi has published a children’s book, The Right Thing to Do. She is a Montessori teacher and musician living in New York City. Teresa likes to practice getting over her stage fright by performing at open mic events around NYC, but her venue of choice is circle time.

Class of 2001

In October 2013, Lauren LeMunyan Newberry and her husband, Terrell, opened Decibel Crossfit in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to her full time job, she commutes long distance and is an Account Executive with the Kellen Company. The dog is the gym mascot, Rico Suave.

Class of 2002

Katie Kuhl completed her Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Baruch College (CUNY) in May 2014 and was promoted to Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Marymount Manhattan College in June.

Hope Newhouse is pictured with Steve Benoit and Michael Huston in Montmartre, France.

Steve and Michael chaperoned Solebury students on spring break last March.

Class of 2008

Adam Galasso is beginning his second year at New York Chiropractic College. Adam’s parents credit Solebury’s academics and the dedication of the Solebury teachers for Adam’s success.

Class of 2009

Bronwyn Krug graduated from Jefferson Nursing School and was immediately employed by Scott Eckstein as the school camp nurse.

Casey Edwards will be an athletic training intern with the Miami Dolphins this training camp and preseason before returning to Ithaca College to finish his last year of his Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Shanna Falch graduated from Whittier College last May and is now working at Cintas in Vista, CA in the management track program. She will learn all about service, production, and sales for the next year and a half before deciding where she would like to specialize.

Alexis Davis Thom is working as a Grassroots Advocacy and Outreach Fellow for Population Connection, an organization that works to support women’s access to reproductive healthcare worldwide. She, and her husband Toby, will be leaving for Peace Corps Morocco in January 2015.

Class of 2011

Class of 2005

Liz Kennerley is columnist for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. She has also spoken to Congress about the disease.

Liz majored in Sociology and minored in Psychology and Music at Simmons College.

Class of 2007

Zeke Jenei works with Philly Mural Arts. His mural is pictured here.

James Booth was the technical director for Solebury’s StarCatchers Summer Theater Camp production of The Little Mermaid, Jr. Nikki Gale ’13 was the Assistant Director/ Assistant Choreographer and Michael Hall ’13 is the Assistant Director/Stage Manager.

Claudia Keep finished 10th in the Division III National Track Championships and set a new record at Bryn Mawr for the 5000.

Lillie Rana is studying Chinese at the University of Pittsburgh with a double minor in Economics and Political Science.

Class of 2012

Hannah Fung-Wiener’s poem, Pact, won this year’s Mary Barnard Academy of American Poets Prize at Reed College. FungWeiner wrote Pact for her creative writing class using this list of 10 nouns: brick, chair, artichoke, branch, pine, shrapnel, paper, avocado, corn, and iguana.

Class of 2014

Lily Mae Oppenheim travelled to London, England last May to work with record producer Steve Brown (Laura Mvula, Rumor) and talent manager Kwame Kwaten. Lily will return to London to complete her album in the fall. Lily played to a full house at The Firefly Music Festival, one of the premier music festivals in the country.

Former Faculty

Liz and Les Clifford are retiring after a forty-year career in education, which included teaching at Solebury School for one year. As the reality of their retirement settled in, they both have reflected, with gratitude, on the rewards of a very fulfilling lifetime spent teaching English and Math.

Additionally, Les looks back on his time spent coaching basketball, baseball and soccer as having been important parts of his career, while Liz points to many positive experiences with her literary magazine and yearbook staffs. They will continue to reside in their current home in Pittsfield, MA.

Births

Brittany Korn Winfeld ’02 and her husband Matthew are the proud parents of Hunter Winfeld.

Hunter was born February 19, 2014.

Bruce Friedman ’75 is a grandfather.

Lucian Augustus Coppola Cage was born in Santa Monica, CA on July 1, 2014.

Jim Sienkiewicz, former faculty member, and his wife are the proud parents of Ixchel Maria Sienkiewicz, born on June 22, 2014.

Deaths

Jeffrey Hamilton ’74 9/16/1956 – 6/24/2014 Jeff was born in IdarOberstein, Germany, but he was a lifelong resident of the New Hope-Solebury area.

After graduating from Solebury School, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in social anthropology at Stan-

ford University. At 19, Jeff left America to live with the Mbuti pygmies in the Ituri Rainforest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly called Zaire. His experiences were recorded in his book, Going Native, which he published under the pen name of J.J. Bone. His second published book was How to Self Publish or Perish. Jeff owned and operated The Marquis of Debris, a estate cleanout company. His annual barn sale was a highly anticipated Bucks County event and was eagerly attended by area residents, collectors, and bargain hunters. He was a man of many interests.

He loved to cook and was known for his outdoor lamb and pig roasts. He had a “perfect pitch” palette, and could identify all the ingredients in any complicated dish he tasted. He enjoyed travel, and spoke both French and Swahili.

Barbara Montagu Johnstone ’55 3/23/1937 – 4/22/2014 Barbara Montagu Johnstone, daughter of the late Ashley and Marjorie Montagu, died April 22, 2014. Barbara was born in New York and attended Bradford Junior College after graduating from Solebury School. She traveled extensively in Europe with Robin Johnstone, whom she married in 1963. In 1962 she worked as a personal secretary to the director of the photo lab at Life magazine.

She moved to the South of France and lived there from 1970 to 1978. During that period she worked for Paul Gallico, founder of the Golden Gloves and renowned author of many books about animals, as well as Lili and The Poseidon Adventure, both of which were made into successful movies.

She returned to the United States and moved to Los Angeles, where she worked for the president of an independent film distribution company.

In 1992 she returned to care for her parents. She was a staunch advocate for animal rights both in Princeton and Los Angeles. In recognition of her efforts, she was awarded the Certificate of Merit from Animal Press in 1992.

Judith Goldstein Joseph ’60 8/16/1943 – 2/21/2014 Judith passed away on February 21, 2014 after a long, brave struggle against Lou Gehrig’s disease (A.L.S.).

Judith was a graduate of University of Pennsylvania (B.A.), Drexel University (M.S.L.S.) and the Rutgers

School of Law (J.D.) She worked as a librarian at the Library of Congress and LaSalle University. After graduating from law school, she worked as an attorney in private practice with her husband in Philadelphia. During that time, she helped found Women Against Abuse, an organization which started Philadelphia’s first shelter for battered women. She moved to Vermont in 1991 where her career continued to flourish.

She worked at a shelter for victims of domestic violence, Women Helping Battered Women, in Burlington and then became a deputy State’s Attorney in Franklin County, prosecuting crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault. Later she became coordinator for the state-wide Vermont Network against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. Her life was devoted to her family and serving the interests of human dignity, peace, and justice.

She was a life-long member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and served as co-President of the Jane Addams Peace Association (JAPA) for three years until November, 2013. In the last two years, she worked as a volunteer attorney at the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Center.

Betty Blackburn Tjossem 3/13/1933 – 4/20/2014 Betty Louise Blackburn Tjossem passed away peacefully on Easter Sunday, April 20th, 2014. She was 81.

Betty was born in Santa Monica, CA, on March 13, 1933. After graduating in 1951 from Roslyn High School on Long Island, NY, Betty enrolled at what is now the State University of New York at New Paltz, where she received a BS in Education in 1964. She married Albert Beard and raised her children in New Paltz, where she began her teaching career in the public schools in 1965. Betty pursued graduate study, receiving the first Master of Arts degree offered by SUNY New Paltz in English Literature in 1969. She went on to teach at Beacon High School, Beacon, NY. Betty taught for two years at Ulster Academy in Kingston, followed by a nine-year stint at Oakwood Friends School, in Poughkeepsie, NY, where she met Norm Tjossem. In 1983, Betty and Norm moved to Bucks County, PA, where she continued teaching at Solebury School until her retirement in 1999. In addition to a rich career as an English teacher, Betty was a pianist, church organist, singer-songwriter, modern dancer, yoga instructor, world traveler, member of the Religious Society of Friends, and strong role model for hundreds of adolescents.

Educational Improvement Tax Credits

for PA Businesses

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania officially ratified Solebury School as a Scholarship Organization under the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC).

This means we are ready to accept charitable donations from EITC approved Pennsylvania businesses.

What is EITC? In 2001, by an overwhelming bi-partisan majority, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania made history by becoming the first state to pass an education tax credit aimed at corporations. Pennsylvania’s EITC program offers businesses an incredible opportunity to direct a portion of their state tax dollars to scholarship support at educational institutions such as Solebury School.

What does this mean for my business? Participating businesses can receive a tax credit equal to 75% of its contribution to a Scholarship Organization like Solebury School, up to a maximum of $750,000 per taxable year. Of course, each company’s tax situation is different, please consult with your company’s financial advisor to determine the best strategy.

What types of taxes can be offset by this credit? “S” and “C” corporations must be subject to one of the following Pennsylvania business taxes to participate: • Bank and Trust Company Shares Tax • Corporate Net Income Tax • Capital Stock Franchise Tax • Insurance Premiums Tax • Mutual Thrift Institutions Tax • Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax • Personal Income Tax of S Corporation Shareholders, or partners in a limited or general partnership How does my donation benefit Solebury School? Donations received from approved EITC Pennsylvania businesses benefit Solebury students in need of financial assistance in the form of scholarships. Eligible students must be school age, a resident of Pennsylvania and demonstrate financial need.

How can my business participate? Pennsylvania businesses can begin applying for EITC credits through DCED’s electronic single application system at http://www.newpa.com/eitc Tax credit applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis and approved until the amount of available tax credits is exhausted.

Interested in partnering with Solebury School for scholarship opportunities?

Contact Gail Acosta at (215) 862-5261 or gacosta@solebury.org for more details.

Last year, thanks to our generous partners, EITC funding provided scholarships to Solebury students from Pennsylvania.

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Class of 2014

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