SPA Magazine Summer 2007

THE

MAGAZINE OF

S T . P AU L A C A D E M Y

AND

SUMMIT SCHOOL

SPA SUMMER 2007

Commencement

p. 10

Filmmaker Norah Shapiro ’81 Young Alum Task Force

p. 18

p. 22

Kasia Paprocki explores microcredit ’03

p. 24

St. Paul Academy and Summit School is an independent, college preparatory day school for students in kindergarten through grade 12. The school was formed in 1969 from the merger of St. Paul Academy, founded in 1900 for boys, and Summit School, founded in 1917 for girls.

Mission Statement In pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning, St. Paul Academy and Summit School educates a diverse and motivated group of young people for leadership and service, inspires in them an enduring love of learning, and helps them lead productive, ethical and joyful lives.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School values a diverse community and complies with all applicable laws regarding nondiscrimination.

Contents

SPA Magazine | Summer 2007

departments 2

Let t er f ro m th e H e a d

3

Throug h th e D o o rs

10

Com m en c e m e n t

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Colleg e C h o i c e s

14

Award s As s e mb l y

16

S p ar t an S p o r ts

27

S t ud ent N e w s

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R em em be r W h e n

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A lum ni/a e Bu l l e ti n Bo a rd

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Calend a r o f E v e n ts

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Clas s N o te s

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I n M em o ri a m

Front cover | Cristina Zarama, Class of 2014, hangs out at the Goodrich Campus playground.

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Norah Shapiro ‘81 | Storyteller and filmmaker

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Josie Herzog ‘02 | Creating connections

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Young Alum Task Force | Providing leadership

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Kasia Paprocki ‘03 | Exploring microlending

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Reunion-Homecoming 2007 | Thursday, October 11 — Sunday, October 14

Inside front cover | Students on the Goodrich Campus participated in The Color Project this winter, a program of Tolerance Minnesota that teaches people should be defined by what is inside of them rather than by the color of their skin. One result of the project was an 8x18-foot mural of self-portraits of nearly 300 student faces in many shades and colors. summer 2007 | SPA

1

Welcome O

n a brilliant sunny afternoon, 94 young men and women in the Class of 2007 received their diplomas. It was a grand and celebratory moment and one last opportunity for the community to acknowledge an uncommonly able class of departing seniors.

The faculty will remember the Class of 2007 for their intellectual curiosity, their lively and thoughtful engagement in class and their academic achievements. Befitting their interests and talents, the graduating students will attend colleges and universities throughout the country.

• 41 percent are destined for a liberal arts college • 58 percent will attend a public or private university • 13 percent will attend Ivy League universities • 24 percent will attend a selective or very selective university or college Fourteen members of the class were selected as National Merit finalists (nationally, fewer than 1 percent of high school seniors nationwide are selected as finalists). Julia Lurie, who will attend Yale, received a National Merit Scholarship, and Etonde Awaah, who will attend Columbia, and Jada Claiborne, who is off to Princeton, received National Achievement Scholarships. Nick Rosenbaum, who is also heading to Yale, is one of two students from Minnesota to receive a Presidential Scholarship, and Charlie Sellew was named a Robertson Scholar at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which includes full tuition for four years and funding for summer opportunities.

The statistics are illuminating. They do not, however, capture fully the personal and nuanced nature of the college selection process at SPA. College advising is more of an art than a science. With the assistance and guidance of Jill Apple and Mary Hill, the college counselors, students work hard to determine the kinds of colleges and universities that will satisfy their personal and academic aspirations.

Mary Hill and Jill Apple are counselors in the purest sense of the term. It is not their job to determine the schools to which any student should apply or to specify which university a student should attend.

They listen carefully, ask lots of questions of both students and their parents, and they offer thoughtful suggestions that reflect their years of experience, both as college counselors and in university admission offices. Ultimately, it is up to the students to determine where they will apply and which offer of admission they will accept. These are intensely personal choices and Jill and Mary strive to insure that the students have all of the information they need to make the best and most informed selections.

The Class of 2007 will attend 62 different schools, which reflects just how varied our seniors’ interests and aspirations are. Eight will attend The University of Wisconsin at Madison and four are off to the University of Puget Sound. Among the remaining 60 colleges or universities, no school will have more than three members of the Class of 2007 among their incoming class in the fall.

After the commencement ceremony guests enjoyed cake and lemonade on the lawn outside of the dining hall. Many parents and guests asked about the status of master planning on the Randolph Campus.

RSP Architects delivered the plan to the Board in April and the trustees are assessing the proposal, which includes ideas for a field house, a performing arts center, a new ice arena, and renovations of the Upper School. In August they will determine how they intend to proceed, and I look forward to sharing their plans with you in the fall.

Best wishes for an enjoyable August.

Bryn Roberts Head of School

SPA The Magazine of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Summer | 2007 Editor Tracy Madden Graphic Design Kimberlea Weeks Contributors Jennifer Halcrow Paula Kringle Peter Labuza ’07 Bryn Roberts Crosby Sommers ’61 Photography Daymond Dean Matt Edens Kirk Gaburo Jennifer Halcrow Greg Helgeson Josie Herzog ’02 Andy King Tom Lundholm Tracy Madden Kasia Paprocki ’03 Ann Wight SPA Magazine is published twice a year by St. Paul Academy and Summit School for its alumni/ae, parents and friends.

Your turn SPA Magazine celebrates the power of thoughts and ideas.

We invite you to write, email or fax us your thoughts and comments on subjects related to the SPA community.

Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity.

Please let us know your suggestions for stories, your thoughts about SPA happenings and your news and photos for “Class Notes.”

Development Office St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 651-696-1366, phone 651-696-1380, fax alumni/ae@spa.edu

Visit us at www.spa.edu.

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SPA | summer 2007

Through the Doors

of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Volunteers boost Annual Fund participation to raise $1 million-plus Thanks to several dozen volunteers who wrote to and called on hundreds of contributors throughout the fiscal year, SPA’s Annual Fund raised more than a million dollars by June 30, 2007. Individual giving by some 1,200 donors, the most critical component of the Annual Fund, was up more than $32,000 over last year, as was parent participation. Overall, $1,097,615 was raised, contributing an average of $1,245 per student, slightly higher than last year.

Each year, the Annual Fund provides reliable and unrestricted operating support necessary to meet the school’s mission. It plays an essential role in the lives of students, providing more than a quarter of the funds necessary to bridge the $4,700 gap between the cost of educating each student and the amount paid in tuition. After tuition and the Annual Fund, the school relies on earnings from its endowment as well as revenue generated by special programs to support teacher salaries, financial aid, classroom materials and arts and athletic programs, all of which help make SPA an outstanding school.

2007-2008 Board of Trustees Charles A. Zelle ’73, President Page Knudsen Cowles, Vice President Charlotte Shepard Johnson ’64, Vice President Byron E. Starns, Secretary Dorothy L. Goldie ’73, Treasurer Philip W. White ’81, Assistant Treasurer Fahima Aziz William M. Beadie ’58 Roxane Harvey Gudeman Ruth Seely Huss ’57 Frederick C. Kaemmer ’88 Bruce A. Lilly ’70 Ranlet Miner Virginia H. Morris Ann Ruhr Pifer ’83 Dr. Brian C. Rosenberg Gail A. Ward Shannon McNeely Whitaker ’78 The Honorable Wilhelmina M. Wright

“We are very grateful to our donors, and to the many volunteers who worked so hard,” said Gail Ward, Annual Fund Chair, trustee and parent of Jackson Smith ’09.

The Annual Fund Committee included Paul Quast ’72, alumni/ae chair; Ann Ruhr Pifer ’83 and Phil White ’81, lead gift chairs; parent representatives Sara Brown, Dominic Ciresi, Penny Destache, Dave Estep, Lindsay Herbert, Cathryn Middlebrook, Laura Ozolins and Catharina Petronio; Bob and Gerry Bullard ’56, grandparent chairs; and Tina Barsky, Jenni Dorfsman and Laura Lundgren, faculty representatives. Twenty-two trustees, parents and alumni/ae served as leadership solicitors. Many alumni/ae, parents, students and school advisory groups also hosted events, assisted with mailings and volunteered at phonathons.

“I am especially grateful for our trustees’ generous contributions to the Annual Fund and the fact that 100 percent of our members gave,” said Ward.

The Class of 2007 Parents Gift was spearheaded by Jim and Julia Adams, Curt and Adele Brown, Kirsten and Jack Driscoll ’77, Allan Klein ’64, Terry Campbell and Chip Lindeke ’70, and Nick ’68 and Linda Linsmayer. This year’s senior parents participated at a rate of 81 percent. Other classes with strong parent participation include fourth grade (64 percent), eleventh grade (63 percent) and eighth grade (62 percent).

“Next year, we plan to use the senior class fundraising model to enhance parent participation at every grade level,” said Ward.

If you’d like to make a gift to the Annual Fund, or wish to volunteer, contact Paula Kringle, Director of the Annual Fund, at 651-696-1320, or pkringle@spa.edu. Gifts may also be made online at www.spa.edu/gifts.

summer 2007 | SPA

3

Through the Doors

of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Tax Law Changes

IRA tax law changes result in gifts that benefit SPA students In 2006, when Mac Seymour ’53 realized he could use a portion of his required IRA distributions to benefit charity, he made several special gifts, including one to the scholarship created in honor of his parents at St. Paul Academy and Summit School: The McNeil V. and Katherine Klein Seymour Scholarship.

During the past 35 years, the fund has benefited more than two dozen students who could not otherwise have attended the school.

Seymour, who specializes in estate planning and administration at Briggs and Morgan, a local law firm, has made gifts from time to time to enhance his parents’ scholarship. He said he finds giving to such a fund is meaningful not only because of its connection to his family, but also because of the impact the scholarship has on the lives of young people.

Yael Levi Alali ’97 was one of the students who received a McNeil V. and Katherine Klein Seymour Scholarship. A new mother and electrical engineer/manager living in Israel, Alali values her SPA education highly. “I had the privilege of getting an exceptional academic education, while also taking part in music, performing arts, math team, and other activities,” she said. “The extracurricular activities in which I took part made me more intelligent and well-rounded, gave me skills I would not have gotten otherwise (like problem-solving and leadership/ management skills), and made high school that much more enjoyable.”

For Alali, perhaps the most important aspect of her SPA education was the respect she received from teachers and students. “It is amazing to me the difference between students who were taught to believe they are smart and worthy of respect, and that they have the ability to do anything they set their minds to, and students who were made to feel like children who cannot be treated as adults. At SPA we were never underestimated or over-controlled.

The freedom and respect we were given, along with the belief (and expectation) that we could accomplish great achievements, gave me confidence as well as a sense of responsibility and motivation.”

As the parents of 15-month-old Hadar, Alali and her husband hope to find a school similar to SPA for their daughter in Israel.

Alali said the well-roundedness of her education “is incredibly important to me, and I hope I will have the opportunity to give my children that kind of diversity in their education.”

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SPA | summer 2007

Yael Levi Alali ’97, center, with her husband and daughter

As reported on January 27, 2007, by Arden Dale for The Wall Street Journal Online, The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows individuals aged 70.5 or older to contribute as much as $100,000 tax-free from their individual retirement accounts.

According to the article, the law allows donors to contribute directly to a charity without reporting taxable income, thereby increasing the value of the gift to the donor. Seymour, who has reached the age requirement, noted, “The change in the law permits me to do more than I might otherwise have done for my family’s scholarship.”

“

At SPA we were never underestimated or overcontrolled. The freedom and respect we were given, along with the belief (and expectation) that we could accomplish great achievements, gave me confidence as well as a sense of responsibility and motivation.

”

If you would like more information on how a gift from your retirement plan or other sources may benefit St. Paul Academy and Summit School students, teachers and programs at the school, contact Development Director Jennifer Halcrow at jhalcrow@spa.edu or 651-696-1422.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School encourages all donors to seek advice from qualified professionals regarding their personal financial circumstances.

New Trustee

Citron family honors wife, mother with Fine Arts Fund A required art course at SPA turned Dan Citron ’89 into an award-winning potter.

Dan really didn’t want to take an arts course, his father, Paul, remembers. “It was pretty much under duress that he signed up for Bob Jewett’s class,” Paul said.

The course turned Dan into a fan, however. “When we remodeled our kitchen, a project Ellie started before she died, Ellie wanted to make sure there would be a place for a teapot Dan made while at SPA,” Paul said. The pot now has a place of honor in the Citron home. “Bob Jewett and John Koziol opened up so many opportunities for Dan and Dena,” said Paul.

The family’s deep appreciation for the arts program, and particularly Upper School teachers Bob Jewett and John Koziol, inspired them to make a five-year commitment to establish the Ellie Citron Fine Arts Fund. The fund will support special projects identified by the art and music faculty in memory of Ellen “Ellie” Lee Citron. A beloved wife, mother and grandmother, Ellie died in September 2005 following a struggle with pancreatic cancer. An occupational therapist and, later, a licensed nursing home administrator, she coordinated state-wide therapy and specialized care programs for adults and children. Ellie volunteered as an English as a Second Language tutor, and was a traveler, gardener and artist.

The gift, funded by Paul Citron, Dan Citron ’89 and Tracey Cronin, and Matt ’97 and Dena Citron Larson ’97, honors the joy Ellie took in watching her children participate in the arts program at SPA. According to Paul, “SPA’s fine arts program held a special place in Ellie’s heart. She derived great pleasure watching Dan discover pottery and Dena succeed as part of the school’s jazz band. Our children gained a new appreciation for the importance of the arts as a result. Perhaps more importantly, it allowed each of them to discover latent talents they didn’t know they had. These programs gave them more self-confidence and, what’s more, they had fun.”

Dena Citron Larson ’97 played saxophone in the jazz band throughout high school. What she appreciated most about her music experience at SPA was the familial atmosphere jazz band teacher John Koziol created for students. As the youngest and only female member of her section, Dena remembered being invited to attend a performance at the Dakota Jazz Club with Koziol and several members of the band. “John created so many unique experiences for us and really encouraged the older students to mentor the younger students. I’d like to think I did the same thing for others when I became a senior,” Dena said.

As a parent of a first grader today, Dan looks back with fondness on his Upper School art experience.

“I’m very pleased Jessica has the chance to experience the arts program all the way through her education,” he observed.

Ellie Citron

In accepting the gift, Head of School Bryn Roberts commented, “This generous gift recognizes how marvelous and important our fine arts program is in the lives of our students. The Citrons’ gift will enable our faculty to augment the program in unprecedented and creative ways.”

Shannon McNeely Whitaker ’78 elected to Board of Trustees SPA parent and alumna Shannon McNeely Whitaker ’78 was elected to the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Board of Trustees at its May 21, 2007, meeting.

A graduate of Boston College, Whitaker and her husband, Steve ’78, are the parents of Kelly ’07, Harry ’10 and Drew ’12.

An active volunteer on parent and alumni/ae committees, Whitaker has served most recently as a member of the Alumni/ae Council and as a volunteer for each of her children’s classes.

Whitaker has focused on volunteer board service and committee work while raising her children. She has served as a founding board member of Eco Education, board member of the Minnesota Independent School Forum, White Bear Montessori, Garden of Hope Montessori, and chair of the McNeely Foundation, a third generation family foundation. Whitaker also serves on the board of directors for the family business, Meritex Enterprises, a national real estate investment and management company, where she is a member of the Compensation and Audit Committees.

In welcoming her to the Board of Trustees President Charlie Zelle ’73 said, “Shannon’s deep understanding of the school, her enthusiasm for its future and her extensive volunteer background makes her a wonderful addition to our board.

We are thrilled she is joining us at this exciting time and look forward to her participation in our strategic work.”

summer 2007 | SPA

5

Through the Doors

of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Class of 2005 CPR training saves lives In the year following the death of Evan Hiendlmayr ’05 in June 2004 from heart failure, his classmates and their parents sought ways to honor Evan and support his parents, Jan Ormasa and Tom Hiendlmayr. Upper School Council President Alex Lurie ’05 knew his father, Dr. Keith Lurie, had been working on a new CPR training technique in his role as a member of the American Heart Association subcommittee on Basic Life Support.

Alex proposed SPA become a trial site for the method.

Nearly 100 percent of the Class of 2005 signed up for the training, participating with their parents and other family members.

Because the technique was in a trial phase, each participant received compensation for joining the study. The SPA community members donated their stipends to an endowed fund established at the school in Evan’s memory by his parents.

All of a sudden I saw a Ford Explorer, probably a quarter mile ahead of me, swerve off the road and disappear as it went down the hill.

“A split second later, I heard a loud crash. I assumed that the car had lost control and fell down the hill and collided with a tree.

I immediately pulled off onto the shoulder where the car had lost control… I got out of the car and ran to the edge of the hill.

When I saw the accident it was obvious that the car had not hit a tree, but had flipped as it went down the hill. The wheels of the car were still spinning in the air. There were five people standing around the driver of the car, who lay unconscious in front of the crash, evidently from going through the windshield of his car… One other guy was kneeling down and attempting to assess the severity of the driver’s injuries. 911 had been called...

“When I got there, no one really seemed to know what to do, so I checked the man’s pulse (I remembered how to do this from Lower School gym class with Mr. Thomforde). He had a pulse but it was clear that he was having trouble breathing… I gave the driver CPR for three to five minutes before an ambulance arrived… When the driver left for the hospital he was still unconscious, but was breathing.”

McCormick received a call later that night from the highway patrol officer who had been on scene. The officer told him the man was alive and his decision to begin CPR was likely a critical factor in the man’s survival. Recounting the dramatic event, McCormick noted, “The craziest part of the whole thing was that when I originally arrived at the scene, the driver’s dog was running around the car barking at the top of its lungs, but not in the least bit injured.”

McCormick is convinced his CPR training at SPA was essential.

Other than a CPR session in third grade, he had no other training in the life-saving technique. “I didn’t really have to stop and think about what I was doing,” he wrote. What surprised him most about the experience was that only one other person at the crash had the presence of mind to check on the accident victim.

“Everyone else just seemed frozen, not really doing anything besides calling 911,” he commented. “I guess I am surprised at how instinctual the CPR was for me when I needed to use it.”

Matt McCormick ’05 attended the training sessions during the winter of his senior year. Little did he know that his training would be called upon a year later on an interstate highway in upstate New York.

After hearing hundreds of stories like McCormick’s, Keith Lurie is convinced young people and adults can translate simple CPR training into life-saving events. “Learning CPR takes less than 20 minutes.

It should be a mandatory graduation requirement for all high school students nationwide,” he said. “We spend a lot more time on activities with far less of a potential payback. I predict that Matt will not be the only student from the Class of ’05 to help save a life from CPR training at SPA.”

In September 2006, as he drove back to Colgate University after visiting a friend at the University of New Hampshire, McCormick was approaching Albany, New York, on Interstate 90. He recounted the trip in a recent e-mail: “At this point, the freeway was two lanes, and directly off the right shoulder was a steep hill leading down to a dense row of trees. The traffic was pretty light and it was raining lightly.

For more information about CPR and training programs in your community, visit the American Heart Association website at www.americanheart.org. For information about the Evan Hiendlmayr Fund at St. Paul Academy and Summit School as well as ways you may honor a loved one at the school, contact Jennifer Halcrow, Development Director, at 651-696-1422 or jhalcrow@spa.edu.

Matt McCormick, left, with Colgate University roommate James Zegarelli

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SPA | summer 2007

Upper School

Upper School Interim Principal in place for 2007-2008 Admissions

Cindy Richter, K-12 Academic Dean, was chosen to serve as Interim Principal of the Upper School for the 2007-2008 academic year.

A 1978 graduate of St. Paul Academy and Summit School, Richter earned her B.A. from Swarthmore College, an M.Arch. in Architecture from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from University of Minnesota. Since joining the SPA faculty 11 years ago she has served in a variety of capacities, including teaching and serving as a team leader in the Middle School; teaching in the Upper School; chairing the Department Chairs Committee, which crafts academic policy; serving on and chairing several search committees, and preparing the academic schedule for the Upper School.

Heather Ploen hired as Director of Admissions Heather Ploen, most recently Director of Admission and Financial Aid at Dana Hall in Boston, Mass., began as Director of Admissions at St. Paul Academy and Summit School August 1. She replaces Sally Davidson Foster ’68, who began as a part-time Admissions Assistant in 1986 and became Director of Admissions and Financial Aid in 2002.

According to Head of School Bryn Roberts, Richter will not be a candidate for the full-time position when the search committee resumes its quest this fall to ďŹ nd a permanent replacement for Ned Smith. Because Smith was selected for the Head of School position at Episcopal High School in Houston, Texas, in December 2006, the search committee began its deliberations comparatively late in the job market, which limited the school’s options for a viable candidate. “I have every conďŹ dence that an early start in the fall will be a decided advantage as we search for an appropriate full-time successor to Ned,â€? said Roberts.

In the summer of 2008, Richter will return to her customary, full-time duties as Academic Dean.

Ploen graduated from Dana Hall and earned her B.A. at Colby College.

She also holds a Professional Chef Degree from Cambridge (Mass.)

Institute of Culinary Arts. Ploen served as the Senior Associate Director of Admission at the Holderness School, a coeducational boarding school in New Hampshire, from 1996-1999 before returning to her alma mater.

She has worked in Admissions at Dana Hall ďŹ rst as Senior Associate Director of Admission, then as Director of Admission and Financial Aid for the last three years. “At Dana Hall, Heather mastered the complexities and subtleties of a complex urban market where families and students have a wealth of good and distinctive independent schools from which to choose,â€? said Head of School Bryn Roberts. “We are fortunate that Heather, who has more than 15 years of experience in independent school admission, has accepted our invitation to join the SPA community.â€?

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summer 2007 | SPA

7

Through the Doors

of St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Student-teacher relation prove to be a rewarding

Art News The Harry M. Drake Gallery, located on the Randolph Campus, hosts eight exhibits throughout the academic year. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, with some night and weekend hours.

Organic Matters Works by Toby Sisson September 3-28 Reception: Thursday, September 20, 6:30-8 p.m.

Presented in conjunction with the Parent Diversity Committee. Much of Sisson’s work is organic, including beeswax paintings and charcoal drawings. She will present an artist’s talk or in-class demonstration of encaustic (hot wax) painting sometime during her exhibit.

From the artist: “As an artist, I’ve spent a part of almost every day walking along the banks of the Mississippi River near my home. I paint the horizon in the summer, photograph the ice floats in winter, and always find a source for creative inspiration. In 2003 I earned my BFA, magna cum laude, from the College of Visual Arts in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I am currently working toward my MFA at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. My drawings and paintings remain landscape-based as I explore the Mississippi River Valley’s vast significance to my own ancestry of Cherokee Indians, African slaves and European immigrants.”

An Artist’s Retrospective Works by Patricia Bratnober Saunders ’42 October 5 — November 5 Reception: Thursday, October 11, 5-7 p.m.

Please join us for an opening reception featuring a retrospective exhibition of the works of Patricia Bratnober Saunders. The works are on loan from private collectors, many of whom are members of the SPA community. The show documents several periods in her painting from her 50-year career as a professional artist.

From the artist: “My interest in drawing and painting began at age three when I first discovered what happens if you mix yellow with blue! … The real awakening came when I was privileged to study art under Charlotte Millis at Summit School, and to share painting outings with Henriette Diebold, well-known watercolorist and teacher of French at Summit. From then on it was a matter of summer art classes at Minneapolis Institute of Arts, art and art history at Wellesley College, and eventually an MFA in painting from University of Guanajuato, Mexico.”

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SPA | summer 2007

Although SPA has long considered the close relationships formed between teachers and students a hallmark of excellence at the school, that notion became especially meaningful this spring when two alums and a current student chose to honor SPA teachers in conjunction with educational awards they themselves received.

Zack Launer ’03 was one of just 36 graduating seniors chosen as a 2007 Merrill Presidential Scholar by Cornell University based on scholastic achievement, strong leadership ability and demonstrated potential for contributing to society. Merrill Presidential Scholars rank among the top 5 percent of the Class of 2007 in their respective schools and colleges. Launer named Upper School history/social studies teacher Andrea Sachs as the secondary teacher who made the most significant contribution to his education, and she was invited to visit Cornell May 22-23 to celebrate his achievement. In addition to honoring Sachs for her influence on Launer’s education, Cornell established a one-time $4,000 scholarship in her name for a Cornell student with financial need from SPA or the Twin Cities area.

“The Cornell administrators made it a wonderful opportunity for the university to recognize the work not only of the 36 award recipients, but also the secondary and undergraduate mentors who supported the students through their academic journeys,” said Sachs. “As high school teachers, we always know intuitively that we’re ‘planting seeds’ for the future growth of our students. It is amazing to see that work reach fruition, and it was a special treat to have the SPA student-teacher connection recognized formally by Cornell.

“Zack was an amazing student to teach at SPA,” she continued. “Curious, engaged, and always keen on understanding the broad patterns and ironies of American history.

ships at SPA experience I think SPA helped him develop a lot of skills and habits that served him well at Cornell.

One of the most important ones was his willingness to approach his teachers as partners in his education. When Zack arrived at Cornell he already knew how to seek out mentors who would help him chart his intellectual course.”

Launer cherished his relationship with Sachs as well, honoring her with the following tribute: “In a high school filled with wonderful and brilliant teachers, Andrea Sachs truly stood out as one of the best. As my 11th grade United States History teacher, she brought an enormous amount of enthusiasm and knowledge to a subject that could so easily be lost in the frantic effort to memorize every date and person in American history. Instead of focusing solely on the basics, Andrea went above and beyond, and encouraged students to actively engage the material through critical reading and analysis. Through her teaching, motivation and support, I developed a love for American history that remains with me to this day… Thank you so much, Andrea, for your expertise in history, your inspiration and encouragement, your passion for your students and our lives, and your wonderful friendship over the last six years.”

Upper School German teacher and Language Department Chair Jutta Crowder attended a reception at the Stanford University Faculty Club in Palo Alto, Calif., April 28 as the guest of Bryce Meredig ’03. Meredig received the Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award for his distinguished performance at the school, and invited Crowder to join him as the teacher who was most influential in guiding him during the formative stages of his academic career.

The Terman award is presented to the top 5 percent of each year’s senior engineering class at Stanford.

“The awards ceremony was a wonderful celebration of learning, teaching and the amazing energy that can be generated in

Zack Launer ’03 with Upper School history/social studies teacher Andrea Sachs

a strong, personal and positive studentteacher relationship,” said Crowder.

“What struck me was how many of the teachers, just as myself, had been surprised and greatly moved by being nominated by their student. For many teachers this was a very rare occasion to receive praise and recognition for their teaching and guidance — a tremendous honor and validation of their lifelong work.

“As teachers at SPA we aspire to working together with our students on asking the important questions, developing and considering multiple options and opinions with an open mind, exploring topics indepth without losing sight of the big picture and to discover joy in the process, and quest for knowledge and understanding,” she said.

“With Bryce, we both became teachers and learners in working together.”

Nick Rosenbaum was one of two Minnesota high school seniors named a Presidential Scholar this spring. The Presidential Scholars program honors students

demonstrating academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship and service to school and community.

He was recognized for his achievements in Washington, D.C., June 23-27, choosing Upper School English teacher and drama coach Eric Severson to join him on the trip and receive the 2007 Presidential Scholars Program’s Teacher Recognition Award.

“Nick is one of those students that you love to teach. He has an incredible appetite for learning and is genuinely interested in taking risks and challenging himself in anything he does,” said Severson. “I am so proud of Nick for receiving this honor, and humbled that he nominated me for the Teacher Recognition Award. I have had the pleasure of teaching him in the classroom as well as working with him on the SPA stage, and in both worlds he is always willing to step outside of his comfort zone to explore ideas from myriad angles. That is exciting to watch as an educator, because it is in those moments of exploration that you see learning actively happening.”

Bryce Meredig ’03, center, with Stanford University Professor Alberto Salleo and SPA Upper School German teacher Jutta Crowder

summer 2007 | SPA

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Class of 2007

10

SPA

| summer 2007

Commencement

| June 10, 2007

“In real life, every day you graduate.

Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life.”

– Senior speaker Xee Moua

Recipients of the Head of School’s Bowls were Etonde Awaah, above, receiving her diploma from Head of School Bryn Roberts, and Jee Hyun Choi, pictured left with Saijen Weihe. Head’s Bowls are awarded to members of the senior class who have been recognized by their peers and teachers for significant contributions to the school.

“Deemed to be most outstanding in many areas of school life,” Ali Hussain, above, was this year’s recipient of the Alumni/ae Bowl.

Receiving the Faculty Bowl for unusual breadth and depth of intellectual interest and outstanding commitment to academic excellence was Daniel Zheng.

“Today is most certainly not the end, but merely the beginning… We are not closing the door on the past; we are simply tucking the past few years and millions of memories into our pockets and turning down a new path.”

– Senior speaker Devon Holstad

Sharing hugs and smiles on the occasion of their graduation from St. Paul Academy and Summit School are, from left, Dorothy Munholland, Mark Battles and Lindsay Ullyot.

Showing off their diplomas, from left, are Ned Rupp, Andrew “Spud” Paulus, Nick Rosenbaum and Michael Logan.

Logan received the Erik Flom Memorial Award, given for demonstrating unusual courage in the face of hardship.

“I wish you every luck and success.

Don’t forget the value of your experiences here. Always find a way to keep learning.

And, lastly, follow your heart, no matter how scary it may feel.”

– Commencement speaker DaveK ansas’ 85

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Class of 2007

Michael Aaker Wesleyan University

Lucia Cowles Bowdoin College, Fall ’08

Irfaan Abid University of Wisconsin, Madison

Julia Currie University of Wisconsin, Madison

Jane Adams Colgate University

William Dong Stanford University

Natalie Albertson United States Naval Academy

John Driscoll Columbia College

Leora Allen Washington University in St. Louis

Patrick Egan University of Michigan

Reshad Amini St. Olaf College

Daniel Elchert St. Olaf College

Anna Atchison University of Wisconsin, Madison

Samuel Fellman Goucher College

Etonde Awaah Columbia University

Hannah Ferreri Lewis & Clark College

Mark Battles George Washington University

Nicole Garelick University of Wisconsin, Madison

Elizabeth Bayliss University of Puget Sound

Sonja Garelick University of Wisconsin, Madison

Jori Belkin Hamilton College

Frederick Gehrig University of Oregon

Elizabeth Berg Boston Conservatory

Esme Gitis-Miles Mount Holyoke College

Mackenzie Brown Occidental College

Boris Glazman University of Pennsylvania

Louise Buckler Carleton College

Joseph Goldes University of Puget Sound

Molly Cohn-Cassidy University of Montana, Missoula

Amanda Greenstein Tulane University

Jee Hyun Choi Brown University

Evelyn Hage University of Puget Sound

Jada Claiborne Princeton University

Michael Halvorson Amherst College

Catherine Clark Princeton University

Maura Hamilton University of Rochester

Arthur Cohen St. Norbert College

Mary Hansen University of Arizona

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Jennifer Helfand Oberlin College

Samuel Kanson-Benanav University of Wisconsin, Madison

Alexander Hewett Bradley University

Stuart Klein St. Lawrence University, Spring ’08

Erin Heydinger Carleton College Samantha Hodges Wesleyan University Devon Holstad Loyola University Chicago Ali Hussain Cornell University Stephanie Jones Lewis & Clark College Ariel Kagan Mount Holyoke College Rhye-Samuel Kanassatega Whittier College

Peter Labuza Columbia University Serene Lawrence Northern Arizona University Robin Lewis Whitman College Jackson Lindeke University of Puget Sound Lauren Linsmayer Stanford University Michael Logan Whitman College

College Choices

Stacey Shaller University of Wisconsin, Madison Thomas Shaw Oberlin College, Fall ’08 Stephanie Simenstad University of Denver Anne Sjolander Boston University Terrence Sween Indiana University at Bloomington Eric Swenson University of St. Thomas Madeline Titcomb George Washington University Larkin Turner Colorado College Lindsay Ullyot University of Kansas Amelia Van Iwaarden University of Pennsylvania

Nicholas Long Georgetown University

Spencer Morris Emory University

Sarah Pritzker Bowdoin College

Amy Longfellow University of Colorado at Boulder

Xee Moua University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Joseph Redmon Middlebury College

Julia Lurie Yale University Zacharia Lutz Purdue University Ethan Mack Brown University Nicole McCormick Columbia University Spencer McMillan Junior Hockey Program Daniel Merriam Washington University in St. Louis

Dorothy Munholland University of Wisconsin, Madison Nathan Obaid Pomona College Nathalie Olson-Studler University of Redlands Andrew Paulus Georgetown University Peter Politis St. Olaf College Ryan Power North Dakota State College of Science

Saijen Weihe Lake Forest College Kelly Whitaker Boston College

Matthew Rongstad Gustavus Adolphus College

Sarah Wilensky Indiana University at Bloomington

Nicholas Rosenbaum Yale University

Alexander Wolff Carleton College

Ned Rupp Undecided

Daniel Zheng Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nyssa Rusterholz Whitman College Derek Schaible Pomona College Charles Sellew University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Class of 2007 Cum Laude Society Honoring superior scholarship for those students in the top fifth of their class Seniors Michael Aaker, Jane Adams, Natalie Albertson, Jee Hyun Choi, Catherine Clark, Lucia Cowles, Maura Hamilton, Samuel Kanson-Benanav, Peter Labuza, Robin Lewis, Nicholas Long, Julia Lurie, Ethan Mack, Nicole McCormick, Joseph Redmon, Nicholas Rosenbaum, Thomas Shaw, Amelia Van Iwaarden, Daniel Zheng

United States Presidential Scholar designation Given to just two students throughout the State of Minnesota for demonstrated leadership, scholarship and contribution to school and community, as well as outstanding accomplishments in the arts, sciences and other fields of interest.

Nick Rosenbaum, 12

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT French Athletic Trophy

Presented to an older girl, in memory of Richard French ’55, for the combined qualities of sportsmanship and competitive spirit.

Maura Hamilton, 12 Honorable Mention: Julia Lurie, 12 Colonel Griggs Trophy

In memory of Chauncey Wright Griggs ’22, for the combined qualities of sportsmanship and competitive spirit.

Seniors Matt Rongstad, Thomas Shaw Honorable Mention: Ned Rupp, 12

William H. Sweney Jr. Memorial Award

For excellence in writing.

Amelia Van Iwaarden, 12

Sam Kanson-Benanav, 12 Art Book Award

Andrew “Spud” Paulus, 12 Clotilde Emily Irvine Memorial Prize

For significant achievement in creative writing.

Ariel Kagan, 12

Rhode Island School of Art and Design Presidential Book Award

John Charles Driscoll, 12

Ritchie Debate Cup

Ariel Davidson Award

For outstanding achievement in debate.

Seniors Ali Hussain, Daniel Zheng

Given for excellence in artistic expression and overall contribution to the Art Department.

Joseph Goldes, 12

Edward C. Stringer Senior Speaker Award

Given to a girl whose senior speech is deemed to be outstanding in the eyes of the program advisors.

Jee Hyun Choi

Girls Athletic Bowl

For exceptional performance and leadership in a varsity sport.

Louise Buckler, 12 Honorable Mention: Seniors Natalie Albertson, Catherine Clark

Dramatics Trophy

Warren Hart Senior Speaker Award

Given to a boy whose senior speech is deemed to be outstanding in the eyes of the program advisors.

Peter Politis

The Dutton Foster Bowl

Given to a senior who is deeply involved in arts, for his or her artistic and intellectual integrity, infectious creative energy, good humor and generosity.

Michael Aaker HISTORY DEPARTMENT Ninth Grade Book Awards

Paige Owens-Kurtz, Abe Cass Boys Athletic Bowls

Given in memory of Thomas Frenzel ’49, for exceptional performance and leadership in a varsity sport.

Seniors Dan Elchert, Spencer McMillan

FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT

Tenth Grade Book Awards

Christina Sallis, Mitch Ambrose Music Book Awards

Seniors Julia Lurie, Matt Rongstad, Boris Glazman

Eleventh Grade Book Awards

Peter Morice, Wilder Welke McNeil V. Seymour Bowl

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Ninth Grade Book Award

Annie Hart

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Twelfth Grade Book Awards

Catherine Clark, Jenny Helfand Rabbi Harry S. Margolis Memorial Award

Kari Olmon

Music and Drama Book Awards

For unusual interest and initiative in American Government.

Charlie Sellew, 12

John S. Fitch Award

Seniors Elizabeth Berg, Peter Politis

Helen Busyn Award

Drama Book Awards

For excellence in Social Studies.

Natalie Albertson, 12

Tenth Grade Book Award

Peter Politis received the Warren Hart Senior Speaker Award, given to a boy whose senior speech is deemed outstanding. Receiving the Edward C. Stringer Senior Speaker Award was Jee Hyun Choi.

For excellence in music and for making the greatest overall contribution to the music program.

Thomas Shaw, 12

Given by the Class of 1973 to an Upper School student for demonstrating a high level of excellence and interest in the study of English.

Antoine Coetzee, 11

Seniors Nick Rosenbaum, Derek Schaible

Awards Assembly WORLD LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

Distinguished Student in Chinese 11 award Jillian Ashenbrenner, 10 Distinguished Student in Chinese 21 award Alexandra Ganapes, 10 Distinguished Student in Chinese 21 award Zachary Sethna, 11 Excellence in Chinese award Nicholas Rosenbaum, 12 Distinguished Student in French 11 award Carolyn Sween, 9 Distinguished Student in French 21 award Maura O’Brien, 9 Distinguished Student in French 31 award Jessica Rick, 11 Distinguished Student in French 41 award Alexandra Nisita, 11 Distinguished Student in French 51 award Nicole McCormick, 12 Excellence in French award Louise Buckler, 12 Outstanding Student in German 21 award Abraham Cass, 9 Outstanding Student in German 31 award Elise Butler, 10 Outstanding Student in German 41 award Jee Hyun Choi, 12 Outstanding Student in German 51 award Thomas Shaw, 12 Excellence in German award Boris Glazman, 12

Outstanding Student in Spanish 21 award Ariella Rotenberg, 11 Outstanding Student in Spanish 31 award Christina Sallis, 10 Outstanding Student in Spanish 41 award Jennifer Fischer, 11 Outstanding Student in Spanish 51 award Maura Hamilton, 12 Excellence in Spanish award Jada Claiborne, 12 MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT Burke Rodgers Achievement Book Award

Presented to a student who has made outstanding progress in mastery and understanding of mathematics through sound work habits, a positive attitude and extraordinary perseverance and dedication.

Michael Logan, 12 Burke Rodgers Excellence Book Award

For interest, achievement and pursuit of excellence in the study of mathematics.

Erin Lowenthal, 10 Mathematics Association of America

For students with the highest scores in the school in the national mathematics contest.

Devon Sandberg, 9; Zach Sethna, 11; Daniel Zheng, 12 Ethel E. Pease Award

Given to a senior whose work and interest in mathematics is in all respects excellent.

Thomas Shaw

Stuart Klein, Lucia Cowles and Spencer Morris look over their diplomas on graduation day.

L.C. Sprague Cup

Given to a senior with the highest achievement and interest in mathematics.

Daniel Zheng SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Charles L. Leavitt Jr. Science Book Award

This award is given in memory of Charles L. Leavitt Jr. to a senior who has demonstrated outstanding achievement, interest in, and enthusiasm for science.

Daniel Zheng

Distinguished Student in Science Magazine Awards

For consistent and outstanding effort, interest and enthusiasm for the subject, and outstanding contribution to classroom activities.

Grade 9: Annie Hart, Jane Meyer, Charlotte Zelle Grade 10: Charles Feng, Eoin Small, Jonathan Wald Grade 11: Zachary Sethna, Ryan Evans, Alec Herr Grade 12: Amelia Van Iwaarden, Steph Jones, Eve Hage

Harvard Book Award

Given to a member of the junior class who combines excellence in scholarship with achievement in other ďŹ elds.

Ariella Rotenberg

Rensselaer Award

For a junior who is outstanding in mathematics and science.

Jennifer Fischer

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Spartan Sports WINTER Alpine Skiing

The boys’ varsity alpine ski team went 4-4 in the Tri-Metro Conference, placing third, and the varsity girls’ team went 2-6 in the Tri-Metro Conference, placing fifth. The boys’ team placed 13th at Sections, and the girls’ team placed 12th.

Named All-Conference on the boy’s team were Anders Wennberg, 10, Colin Cowles, 10. Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention were Jack Morris, 10, Joe Goldes, 12.

Named All-Conference on the girls’ team was Stephanie Simenstad, 12. Earning AllConference Honorable Mention were Anne Sjolander, 12, Kiki Cohen, 11, Nicole Garelick, 12.

Boys’ Basketball The varsity boys’ basketball team marked a 4-22 overall record and a 2-16 record in the Tri-Metro Conference.

Daniel Elchert, 12, who scored his 1,000th career point this season while playing St. Benard’s, was named All-Conference.

Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention were Evan McMillan, 9, Santano Rosario, 9.

Girls’ Basketball The varsity girls’ basketball team marked a 5-20 season record, going 3-14 in the Tri-Metro Conference. Earning AllConference Honorable Mention were Jori Belkin, 12, Kristin O’Brien, 10.

Fencing The fencing team had a 5-1 record, with the men’s team placing second at State and the women’s team placing third. Team awards included men’s epee, 2nd, men’s saber, 2nd, men’s foil, 3rd; women’s epee, tied for 2nd, women’s saber, 3rd, women’s foil, 2nd.

Grace Hartman, 10, was the Midwest Champion, State Champion, and named to the All-State team. Also named to the All-State team were Betsy Bayliss, 12, Charlie Feng, 10, Jonathan Wald, 10, Harrison Hite, 9.

Earning All-State Honorable Mention were Jennifer Fischer, 11, Jee Hyun Choi, 12, Michael Logan, 12, Alex Kramarczuk, 11, Parker Cook, 11.

Boys’ Hockey The boys’ varsity hockey team, in cooperation with athletes from Mounds Park Academy, had an 8-18 overall record and a 1-7 record in the Tri-Metro Conference. Named to the AllConference team was Spencer McMillan, 12. Earning AllConference Honorable Mention were Dan Merriam, 12, Mike Falvey, 10, James Trevathan, 9, Everett Wenzel, 11. McMillan was

also chosen to play in the “Great 8” High School Hockey festival.

Girls’ Hockey The Saint Paul United team, comprised of athletes from SPA and Visitation, had a 12-12-1 overall record, finishing in third place in the Tri-Metro Conference.

Three players from Visitation were named to the All-Conference team. Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention were Jane Adams, 12, and three Visitation players.

Nordic Skiing The boys’ Nordic ski team placed second at the Tri-Metro Conference championships.

Named All-Conference were Ben Greenwald, 9, placing second, Thomas Shaw, 12, placing fourth, Peter Wilson, 11, placing fifth.

Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention were Alex Whitman, 10, Andrew Dougherty, 10. The team placed fourth in Section 5, with Greenwald medaling with a second place in boys’ pursuit. He advanced to State competition in the 10K pursuit.

The girls’ Nordic ski team also placed second at the Tri-Metro Conference championships.

Named All-Conference were Annie Hart, 9, placing third, Meredith Lis, 11, placing fifth. Earning AllConference Honorable Mention was Kathleen Cann, 11. The team placed third in Section 5, with Hart medaling with a second place in girls’ pursuit, Cann medaling in third place and Lis medaling in sixth place. All three advanced to State in the 10K pursuit.

Boys’ Swimming

2006-2007 Nordic Ski Team

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The boys’ varsity swimming and diving team, in cooperation with Highland Park High School, took second place in the St. Paul City Conference. Zac Brown, 9, went to State in diving, and earned Honorable Mention in the St. Paul City Conference.

Senior Charlie Driscoll Senior Dorothy Munholland

Baseball

Girls’ Golf

Boys’ Tennis

Track and Field

The varsity baseball team had an 8-13 record, going 7-4 in the Tri-Metro Conference. Named All-Conference were Matt Rongstad, 12, Dan Elchert, 12; they were also named to the Section 4AA team. Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention were Peter Schwartz, 11, Mike Falvey, 10.

The varsity girls’ golf team marked a 4-3 Tri-Metro Conference record. Named AllConference were Louise Buckler, 12, Steph Simenstad, 12. Earning All-Conference Honorable Mention were Katherine Cattanach, 11, Courtney Gill, 8. All four players advanced to Sectionals.

Named All-Conference on the boys’ varsity track team were Aaron Olson, 11, Charlie Collins, 11. Earning AllConference Honorable Mention were Thomas Shaw, 12, Peter

Boys’ Golf

Softball

The varsity boys’ golf team placed third in Sub-Sections with a 3-7 season record.

Qualifying for Sections were

The varsity girls’ softball team marked a 6-15 season record, going 5-7 in the Tri-Metro Conference. Named AllConference were Lucia Cowles, 12, Christiania Miller, 9. Named All-Conference Honorable Mention was Sammi Fox, 8.

The varsity boys’ tennis team used a 4-3 win over rival The Blake School to claim first place in the Class A State Tennis Championship. This was the boys’ third State team title, winning in 2004 under current coach Viet Pham and in 1993 under Mel Smith. During individual play at State, singles player John Wight, 11, placed third. The doubles team of Michael Halvorson, 12, and Spencer McMillan, 12, placed second and Pierce Norton, 11, and John Hill, 8, placed third.

All five were named to the All-Conference team, with Dillon Titcomb, 10, and Evan McMillan, 9, earning AllConference Honorable Mention.

The team marked an 18-2 record for the season, with an 8-1 record in the Tri-Metro Conference. It took first place in the Conference and Section 1A before winning State.

Nick Long, 12, Spencer Morris, 12, Colin Wymore, 10. Morris

was a medalist at Sections and named to the All-Conference team. Long earned AllConference Honorable Mention.

Wilson, 11, Alex Feng, 11, Zach Nelson, 9.

Named All-Conference on the girls’ varsity track team were Annie Hart, 11, Maura Hamilton, 12. Earning AllConference Honorable Mention were Kathleen Cann, 11, Sonja Manning, 9, Jori Belkin, 12, Paige Owens-Kurtz, 9.

All information on this page was obtained from the Athletics Department at St. Paul Academy and Summit School.

For more photos, go to www.spa.edu/athletics.

Spartan Sports

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Juris Director: Norah Shapiro ’81 goes from courtroom to camera in her new role as documentary filmmaker

Norah Shapiro films a beauty pageant contestant in India in preparation for her documentary, Miss Tibet: Beauty in Exile.

Shapiro’s own love and appreciation for the arts was fomented at SPA as well as in her childhood home, and she said she received an extraordinary education while a student here.

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W

While making the leap from public defender to documentary filmmaker may not seem like a natural progression to many, for Norah Shapiro ’81 it makes perfect sense.

“The work I did as a litigator, specifically as a public defender, was amazing preparation for documentary filmmaking and producing,” she said. “Storytelling is involved in both. You need to have a curiosity about people, and dig deep to understand and convey the complexities in a telling way.”

After 12 years as a lawyer in the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office she had interacted with a wide range of people, from judges and jurors to police and crime victims, witnesses to experts, which served as an excellent training ground for the next step in her career.

“I’ve handled every kind of case, and there’s nobody I’m not comfortable talking to,” she said. “I have a fearlessness because of that.”

Unlike the law, however, there are no rules when it comes to documentary filmmaking.

“You are telling a story through your lens, based on where you came from, and you make decisions about what you leave out, what you put in,” she explained. “You determine where the line is.”

Shapiro said she caught the filmmaking bug about five years before she actually left her post, but the decision to leave a successful career wasn’t an easy one to make.

“It’s a pretty heavy thing to leave a legal career,” she admitted.

“I was devoted to being a public defender; I thought it was going to be my life’s work. But, I realized I had to make that leap.”

She made that leap official when she left Hennepin County in 2002, enrolling in a Documentary Boot Camp sponsored by Independent Film Project Minnesota and Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She took a variety of camera, editing and producing classes through IFP, as well as a two-week intensive video filmmaking workshop.

“It’s kind of like law school,” she admitted. “They teach you theory, but you really need to get out there and do it. There’s no way to get around that steep learning curve. But, every single thing I do increases my abilities, my level of experience, and that’s just going to keep happening.”

The Boot Camp was taught by local filmmaker Melody Gilbert, who quickly became a friend and mentor to Shapiro.

Shapiro worked with Gilbert on two of her locally produced

documentaries in 2003-2004, and continues to participate in a monthly gathering of area filmmakers led by Gilbert, where attendees watch and discuss each other’s clips, critique the films and offer advice.

Shapiro’s first finished project landed her with the Emerging Filmmaker title at the 2006 Moving Pictures Film Festival, sponsored by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Her film, A Sacred Heart, followed Minnesota poet Phebe Hanson on a journey back to her childhood home, and was one of 30 short films in the competition exploring the lives and legacies of Minnesota’s Greatest Generation.

“I wasn’t interested in doing the typical World War II soldier story,” said Shapiro. “I wanted to do something a little more experimental, wanted to push the boundaries.”

The film short starts and ends with Hanson reading one of her poems, discusses her legacy as a poet and the impact of her growing up during that time in history.

“Winning the award was just a delight, an incredible experience,” said Shapiro.

“My film was screened all over the state, and will be placed in the permanent archives at the History Center.”

Shapiro attributes the success of the project not only to having an amazing subject (Hanson, coincidentally, is the motherin-law of Ann Sundberg ’81), but also to having access to the

woman’s friends, including noted authors Howard Mohr, Patricia Hampl and Jill Breckinridge, as well as a composer who created music for the film based on Hanson’s poems.

“It was a lovely collaboration,” Shapiro said.

“It was the first one I birthed and put out there into the world.”

Even though A Scared Heart is Shapiro’s first completed piece, it is not the first film she shot.

That project, If You Dare, is currently in post-production. If You Dare centers on five children and several staff members participating in The Chicago Avenue Project, an initiative of Pillsbury United Communities and its neighborhood-based theater, Pillsbury House Theatre, in south Minneapolis.

“If You Dare looks at what happens when children whose lives are immersed in poverty are given access to the arts,” Shapiro said. “All children deserve to have the arts in their lives; it can help them to thrive in unparalleled ways.”

Shapiro spent time getting to know the various families participating in the project, filming them from September 2005-September 2006 at the Pillsbury House Theatre, in their homes and at school.

She gathered more than 200 hours of footage, all of which will be distilled down to a 56-minute film.

“It gave me access to people living in poverty, people of color, with the same economic and racial makeup as those I defended in the criminal system, but who were families and children trying to do the right thing,” she said. “I have always been involved in the arts, but this experience has made me even more passionate about

substantive access for children without privilege.”

Shapiro’s own love and appreciation for the arts was fomented at SPA as well as in her childhood home, and she said she received an extraordinary education while a student here.

“I learned about discipline, and critical thinking, and to be curious about a wide variety of things,” she said. “On the flip side, my parents worked hard to make sure I knew this was a privilege and not what the whole world was like.

“I’m happy to see the school has changed in that way,” she added. “There seems to be more of an emphasis now on the outside world and its needs.”

Working on If You Dare actually brought Shapiro to her next project, when one of the playwrights involved in The Chicago Avenue Project suggested she piggyback on the idea of writing a play based on a beauty pageant in Tibet and film a documentary. The idea immediately engaged her, and she traveled to India in October.

She initially thought the trip would be a simple scouting mission, but ended up filming a significant portion of what she expects will appear in the final cut. She will return to India again this October to finish filming.

The documentary, she said, will attempt to answer many questions, including: Can a beauty pageant be perceived as an effective forum for political activism? What is the state of young people in Tibet? What is the Western perception of Tibetan people and their culture?

What is the role of women in the political culture of Tibet?

Her film also hopes to explore questions of beauty in regard to its use, role and exploitation,

even as that applies to a small town in the Himalayan Mountains.

“I don’t know what the answers are,” admitted Shapiro.

“The paradoxes are endless.”

One thing that surprised her was that while the Prime Minister of Tibet is not in favor of beauty pageants, concerned his people are aping Western culture, the Dalai Lama and Women’s Association of Tibet both approve of the event.

“I learned that it’s okay to have an idea going in, but that you can’t have an arrogance about that hypothesis,” she said. “It’s a big lesson to learn as a documentary filmmaker.

I learned to be a little less judgmental, to have a critical eye and ear without being critical.

“I already had a highly developed appreciation of ‘the gray’ as a public defender,” she said, “but I’ve been able to carry it out of that realm and into a world view.”

Something Shapiro didn’t plan on when considering a career in filmmaking was how tough it would be to find the money to pursue her dream.

“Raising money is the part I like least,” she admitted. “It’s tough, especially when you are relatively new and unproven.

I just want to do the work, but you have to be your own development director as well.”

To make money to support her own work, she has been doing some filming for others, including Minnesota Dance Theater and The Dance Institute. She was hired by the Alzheimer’s Association to do a short documentary for one of their fundraising events, where she made yet another SPA connection when she interviewed Dr. Karen Hsiao Ashe ’72.

Shapiro, left, with Minnesota poet Phebe Hanson

Shapiro has also been commissioned by Illusion Theatre, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Department of Epidemiology, to create a short documentary about inner city children and the use of theater as an intervention tool for obesity prevention.

Her most recent side project is producing a video for local musician Chan Poling.

“Getting paid work at this stage is fabulous, but it’s not enough,” she said.

She credits her husband and three children for allowing her the flexibility to chase her dream in spite of the obstacles, and hopes to build a track record that will warrant grants and other investments in her films.

“Hopefully you find some angels who believe in you and what you are doing,” she said.

For more information about Shapiro and her work, go to www.flyingpiecesproductions. com. To see her award-winning film, A Sacred Heart, go to http://people.mnhs.org/mgg/ story.cfm?storyid=674&bhcp=1.

“You need to have a curiosity about people, and dig deep to understand and convey the complexities in a telling way.” summer 2007

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19

Creating conn

J

Josie Herzog is pictured (right) with the sister of her host mother in Turkmenistan.

Linnea Herzog ’08 is helping to create a library of books for her sister Josie’s students in Turkmenistan, collecting more than 300 this year from various SPA students and staff, as well as gently used books left over from the Middle/Upper School Book Festival.

Josie Herzog ’02 is in the midst of serving a two-year stint with the Peace Corps in Turkmenistan, where she is teaching English as a second language. She is also participating in the Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools program, which pairs Peace Corps volunteers with schools in the United States to teach American students about cultures other than their own, thereby encouraging crosscultural understanding.

Herzog paired with Lower School Librarian Margaret Kelberer, who shared stories, photographs and more from Herzog with her third and fourth grade students this year.

“Before Josie left she came and talked to each class about where she was going, taught them some words in Turkmen, and some things about the culture,” said Kelberer. “She was great with the kids! Since then we have written back and forth, keeping track of cultural things we learn from her letters, study the atlas to gather information about the country and doing the ‘Building Bridges’ curriculum given to us by the Peace Corps.

“It has been a fabulous connection,” she continued. “Josie’s letters are funny but very informative.

The kids really look forward to receiving her letters. It has been a great vehicle for me to teach atlas skills, research skills, letter writing, storytelling and cultural studies.”

Turkmen students taught by Herzog.

Students in Herzog’s English as a second language class.

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ections around the world December 2nd Dear Classes and Ms. Hello once again from

chilly — but not cold

— Turkmenistan . Last Monday I re two years! Turkm turned from my sit enistan has five U e visit, a three day ylliats: Attal, whe Lebabb in the east, sojourn to the plac re I live now for tr and cold Dashogo e ai ni uz in the north. I ng ; Ba lk an ne ar the Caspian Se will be living in G There is a lot of sa a; Mary in the so umdag town in Ba nd there. uth; lkan Uylliat, an oi l town in the Gar It is interesting te ag um desert. aching my“practic e” kids English be cause the curriculu English, the textbo oks still focus on Tu m is quite different rkmen culture, on than, say, your Sp anish classes. Whi ly briefly touching text in one book ab le teaching on England and A out Washington, merica. I did, how D.C., said that,“T ev hi er s is where mass de , notice that a read In general, though monstrations for ing passage/ , curriculum focu democracy and civ ses on saying“I ha il rights take plac about Turkmenist ve a flag ,”“I have e.” a state emblem,”“T an. At first I was jealous and angry his is our Presiden and wondered why t” and reading pa interesting to grow ssages in English isn’t it all about A up with more of a merica? But then sense of national I thought maybe pride, learning ab Should American it would have been out what makes m schools teach mor y country special. e about America W or ha ab t ou do t yo other cultures?

The Turkmen curr u guys think? iculum is very cohe siv e.

St ud en ts lea monuments at scho rn Turkmen histo ols that have art cla ry, sing songs abou t the President in ss, have a class devo singing class, draw Russian, crafts cla ted to the Presiden Turkmen ss, math, and scienc t’s holy book, the R e without labs. The uhnama, and also have Turkmen, G President recently starting English th erman, English, decreed that every is year. There are also some Turkish school must have English classes, so schools [taught] to As I said to most many students ar tally in English. of you, school is di e vided into two ha school from Form lves, so some grad es only go in the m 1 — similar to fi rst grade — up th orning and some in the afternoon. ough ninth grade of mandatory mili Students go to and then stop. Nex tary service. After t, teenagers must those two years te w ai t two years, and bo enagers can go to around the age of university for four ys have two years 23 and become ho years or institute usewives and have fo r tw at lea o ye st ars. Many women five children. Oh, Children in Turk menistan respect and school is on Sa marry their teachers and tu rd ay s, to o! do not gossip in cla When the teacher walks in, they sta ss or pass notes. W nd up. The teache hen they answer qu r says,“Good aftern estions they must from 1 to 5. School oon, pupils” and th stand up. work involves a lo e children answer t of reading, mem ,“Good afternoon, orizing passages, over the head whe teacher.” Grades ar and writing answ n they talk back or e ers on the board. So even just answer m e teachers slap, punc incorrectly.

I am enclosing tw h, or hit students o pictures from th e wedding I went you can see the gr to. In one you can oom, Baykam, an see the evening m d the bride, Gulal eal and dancing pa ek. Notice that bo rty after the weddi Turkmen women th Gulalek and the w ng. In the other must do if their pa oman to Baykam rents-in-law are ’s left are biting sc nearby as a sign of So would you rath arves. This is wha respect. Turkmen er go to school in t women can’t talk America or Turk w he n th m ei en r fathers-in-law istan, and would Sagbol, Josie are around. you rather go to a wedding in Amer ica or Turkmenist P.S. On the envelo an? pes I send,“Bayra mynyz Gutly Bolsu n” means“happy holidays” or“congr atulations on a ha ppy holiday.” where I will live fo r

At right is one of the letters Herzog wrote to students in Kelberer’s class, talking about her initial experiences and reactions to living in Turkmenistan.

K.,

summer 2007

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21

Young Alum Task Force takes the reins to provide leadership opportunities, (

( ( (

((

SPA Regional Club Ambassadors Boston Jessica Smith ’93 Mayme Hostetter ’97 Mara Schanfield ’98 Jesse Kanson-Benanav ’99 New York Theresa Boxall ’93 Elie Foster ’94 Reena Singh ’94 Paul Johnson ’95 Alex Nemeth ’95 Logan Sugarman ’96 Marin Nelson ’99

Washington, D.C. Jenny Schumi ’93 Emily Skor ’93 Melissa Schumi ’97 Los Angeles Ben Beach ’93 Johanna Schmitz ’01 Chicago Mike Kremenak ’97 San Francisco TBA

If you would like to be an SPA Ambassador for your region or simply want more information, call Alumni/ae Relations Director Daymond Dean at 651-696-1308, email alumni@spa.edu or contact one of the Task Force members whom you already know.

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With more than 40 percent of St. Paul Academy and Summit School alumni/ae having graduated in the last 20 years, the Alumni/ae Council realized it needed to direct more of its efforts on this fastest-growing group of alumni/ae.

Excited about the leadership potential of this group, the Council established a Young Alum Task Force to focus on graduates from 1990-2007.

The Young Alum Task Force was charged with helping to create leadership opportunities at the school, building attendance at alumni/ae and school-wide events, and increasing participation in the Annual Fund by their peers.

To aid in achieving their goals, the Task Force surveyed alums who graduated in the 1990s and 2000s, discovering several ways to enhance the current alumni/ae program. In conversations following the survey, the group agreed to create regional alumni/ae clubs in cities around the country to encourage networking, socializing and community service; to design more and varied events targeted specifically toward a younger demographic; to increase opportunities for alumni/ae to interact with current SPA students; and to enhance the online community and electronic communication with these younger alums.

Leading the charge are Tyler Olson ’04, Lauren Nuffort ’02, Marian Cieslak ’00, Dena Citron Larson ’97, Maggie Moss ’97,

Dena Citron Larson ’97, Tyler Olson ’04 and Maggie Moss ’97 discuss an upcoming event they are sponsoring as members of the Young Alum Task Force.

increased participation Eloise Hatting ’95, Kelly Miller Pierce ’95, Bryan Smith ’94, John Cosgriff ’93, Matt Nelson ’93, Jim Delaney ’93 and John Bradford ’90.

“I choose to support SPA because the school made such a difference to me over the time I was there that I’d like to stay connected and give back,” said Larson. “As our family starts its next generation (my niece, Jessica, is going into second grade at SPA and Matt and I are due with a boy in mid-September), I’ve found myself reflecting even more on what an important part of growing up SPA was for me; my husband, Matt ’97; and my brother, Dan ’89; and wanting to do what I can to help sustain that environment for the next generation.”

“I’m very grateful for the quality of education and instruction I received from SPA,” added Bradford. “Many of my friends today were students or staff. I owe so much to the school and hope I can contribute in a small way to perpetuating the type of experience I received for future generations.”

The group has already put some of its plans into motion, offering events this summer in the Twin Cities geared specifically toward their classmates and friends. In June, some 25 people attended the Picasso exhibit at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The next event

is the Sunday, August 12, St. Paul Saints baseball game with tailgating at 11 a.m. and game at 1:05 p.m. Tickets are $17 each, and include beverages, food and reserved bleacher seating.

Call 651-696-1366 for more information, or register online at www.spa.edu/alumni.

“We’re trying to get the word out that we are having fun events that you and your friends will want to come to,” said Moss.

“Hopefully people will invite their SPA friends and siblings, and it will be a fun gathering for everyone.”

Next up was the creation of regional clubs, with initial locations in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.

Already a number of alums from across the country have volunteered to serve as SPA ambassadors (see box at left).

Ambassadors volunteer to coordinate two or three events annually for fellow SPA alums in their region, which might include a baseball game, happy hour, museum visit, community service or forming an intramural team.

For more information about what individual regional clubs are planning, visit www.spa.edu/alumni.

In addition to information about regional clubs being made available online, pages are being added to the school’s website for each individual class.

Starting in September, you will be able to look up class-specific news, photos, calendar events and class notes online at www.spa.edu/alumni.

Beginning in the fall, the Task Force hopes to begin pairing alumni/ae with current students by encouraging them to speak to student groups and organizations.

Several have already expressed interest in meeting with the student business club, and other opportunities will be developed throughout the year.

While these events and more are geared toward younger alums, they aren’t exclusive to that group, said Moss.

“It’s really about increasing awareness of what is going on at the school, and getting a better picture of how the school works in regard to diversity, curriculum, the Annual Fund and more,” she said. “These things are

important for alums to know if they are expected to support the school, and they’ll see firsthand that giving to the school is worthwhile.”

As an alumna, Moss said she particularly enjoys the fact that the doors to SPA are open to alums long after they graduate.

“You can go in any time and people know who you are,” she said. “You’re welcome to stop by and have lunch and tour the school. You can ask people for career or networking advice and they are always there for you.”

Nuffort agreed, saying, “It is our involvement now that shows us the true community SPA creates, and that instills in us the same wonderful traditions we experienced while students at either the Goodrich or Randolph campuses. There are so many connections that can be made.”

Attending the Young Alum Task Force’s event at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis are, from left, Vanessa Denis ’01, Britt Kringle ’00, Stephanie Lee, Greta Kringle ’06 and Jerome Potter.

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Paprocki banks on listening

to secure the future of

W Kasia Paprocki (in blue) vists with women from East Rampura, Dhaka, while preparing to launch a microcredit project in Bangladesh.

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While the concept of microcredit turned the rules of banking upside-down by making loans to individuals lacking collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history, Kasia Paprocki ’03 is hoping to do the same with microcredit by asking not just who can be helped but, perhaps more importantly, how they want and need to be helped.

“It’s frustrating believing in something so much but having such a firm belief in how badly it is working, especially when the whole world is buzzing about how great microcredit is,” Paprocki said.

Microcredit is the buzzword of the 2000 decade, touted by many as a tool to alleviate poverty in developing nations around the world. The United Nations dubbed 2005 the “International Year of Microcredit,” and Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were joint recipients of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering the use of microcredit to benefit poor entrepreneurs. Paprocki, however, is convinced the key to making microcredit truly successful is to create a program designed and implemented directly by its own constituents, and last year she and another Twin Cities youth, Anders Bjornberg, spent six months in Bangladesh beginning a microcredit program that attempted to respond directly to the wants and needs of the recipients.

While in Dhaka the duo worked with a group of former garment workers to start two collective businesses designed and operated by the women themselves

— one a tailor shop and the other a fish and vegetable business — including facilitating business education classes for the women, granting them two large, interestfree loans, and establishing provisions for ongoing support.

The project intentionally supported groups rather than individuals in hopes of creating success through the mutually supportive and accountable relationships the women had with each other.

“Perhaps the most frustrating obstacle we encountered in this project was realizing the information we received from the women on their situation and needs was heavily influenced by what they thought we wanted to hear and expected from them,” Paprocki said. “The model was designed to incorporate the recipients’ own felt needs, yet our status as relatively wealthy Western researchers inherently shaped how they related to us.”

Working to understand their needs was further complicated by the women’s experience with already existing microcredit programs in the area, which Paprocki felt conditioned their ideas on how microcredit is supposed to operate, rather than on how it might work best for them. She and Bjornberg did expect this reaction to some extent, and hired Bangladeshi field workers to interview and interact with the women, feeling it would be simpler for the women to relate to their own countrymen and therefore share more accurate information. Unfortunately, the hierarchies of class largely prevented a true dialogue, and the

US English class learns to serve

microcredit

Juniors and seniors in Upper School English teacher John Wensman’s New Global Voices class read a number of novels with settings throughout the world, including Chris Abani’s Graceland, this past semester.

The novel had some emotionally challenging scenes, and Wensman wanted to lighten the mood in his class. He decided to have students read the acceptance speech of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, a man from Bangladesh who pioneered the use of microcredit as a means of alleviating poverty in disadvantaged societies.

The students’ response was exactly what any teacher could hope for, as they immediately asked how they could become involved and help.

Wensman asked them to research the idea further and the students came across an article in The New Yorker that caught their collective eye, listing an organization named Kiva that loans money to people with unique small businesses in the developing world.

Beauty-Rani and Shabatri practice interviewing each other as they prepare to gather information that will be used to better understand the benefits and challenges of microcredit.

Sufia, a member of a tailoring cooperative in Dhaka that received microcredit from Paprocki, prepares to place her thumbprint on a government document.

two returned to the United States with more questions than answers.

“Our conviction that the voices of microcredit recipients are vital to the development of the vast potential of microcredit as a tool for development was stronger than ever, even as our experience has shown the difficulty of creating the space to hear those voices,” Paprocki said.

Paprocki graduated from Hampshire College in western Massachusetts this spring with a major in Development of the Global South, a self-designed program involving women’s studies, economics, Islamic studies, South Asian history, and other interdisciplinary work intended to prepare her for work in the Third World. She spent her final semester writing about her experiences in Bangladesh, and in May she and Bjornberg returned to that country as researchers for Goldin Institute.

Partnering with Unnayan Onneshan,

“It was one of the more remarkable moments as a teacher to have a class take that initiative based on something you’ve worked on all semester,” said Wensman. “I think it’s a particular privilege of the English Department that we address topical concerns and can create the possibility for action.”

The classes raised $550 of their own accord and found three people to support on www.kiva.org. As the loans are repaid, the money will be re-donated to other persons in the program, with Students for Social Justice or members of the Student Political Union operating the loan funds.

“What was so remarkable is the students recognized we could read about people all over the world and, with a few clicks on a computer, we could actually do something to help,” Wensman said. “When they saw a need and an opportunity, they connected the dots.”

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This shop was started by the tailoring cooperative that received funding from Paprocki last year.

The sign says, “Nari Jibon Clothes and Tailors.”

a think tank in Dhaka, the pair has been utilizing a technique called non-hierarchical oral testimony to launch a new project to understand and improve microcredit. The project involves training community members to interview their neighbors and friends to help NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) better understand the benefits and challenges of microcredit from the perspective of the recipients.

“The basic idea of the project is to study microcredit from the perspective of the poor people who receive it,” explained Paprocki. “The main issue I encountered in my previous research is that no one is really doing research which asks people who have been the target of microcredit programs how it has affected them. In fact, my college thesis identified this as the most necessary addition to the global discussion on microcredit right now.”

Perhaps most exciting is some of the larger NGOs operating in Bangladesh are interested in their findings, including ActionAid Bangladesh, Oxfam, BRAC and more. The hope is 26

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the findings from their research can be extrapolated to support improved programs and develop new grassroots projects in microfinance, both in Bangladesh and in other economically depressed areas throughout the world.

“While there are a whole lot of very well intentioned organizations in Bangladesh with a passion for helping the poor, it is only the ones who seek information about what the poor really need that are actually helping them,” she noted.

Paprocki is, in fact, no stranger to helping those in need. While still in high school she founded the Twin Cities chapter of Free the Children, a youth organization that addresses issues of child labor around the world, for which she received the Twin Cities International Citizen Award from the Mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, as well as the Human Rights Award from Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. In tenth grade she traveled to a small community in Nicaragua for two weeks to deliver supplies purchased with money raised

by SPA’s Service Learning Leadership Council and to meet with various government officials and community leaders and organizations serving the poor.

For her senior project at SPA, she established a digital photography

center at a school for indigenous Aymara people in the Yungas region of Bolivia.

Members of the SPA community have always been supportive of her efforts, Paprocki said, from donating money to purchase digital cameras for the Bolivia trip to helping her raise funds to provide loans to the Bangladeshi women last summer.

SPA Trustee Fahima Aziz, the Howard and Darrel Alkire Chair in International Business and Economics at Hamline University and parent of two SPA alums, helped Paprocki create a system for processing donations to her initial endeavor in Bangladesh, advised her on a cooperative model of microcredit and project design, and even connected her with Aziz’s family members living in Dhaka.

“I’ve received many donations from members of the SPA community, including staff members, faculty, classmates and the parents of classmates,” she said. “I have been overwhelmed at how strongly the community has shown its support for my project.”

In addition to the generosity of the school community, Paprocki said the education she received at SPA gave her a solid foundation in global education, serving her well in many courses throughout her college career.

She was told time and again by

professors that her writing and analytical skills far surpassed those of her classmates.

“My SPA education has been absolutely invaluable to me and gave me an enormous leg up in my college career,” observed Paprocki. “If I had to spend my first couple of years in college developing these skills, I never would have gotten to where I did with my thesis writing and senior project [in college]. I was able to start really getting into my subject area right from the beginning, instead of trying to learn the basics of how to learn those things. Last semester my professors said that I was doing graduate-level work, which is all thanks to the foundation I got at SPA.” Upper School English teacher Tom Fones said he is not the least surprised to hear of Paprocki’s successful endeavors, noting, “Kasia has always been the kind of person who went beyond the easy truisms to look at the heart of an issue. As a high school student she was extraordinary in her awareness of the world at large, its problems and challenges.

She exemplifies the best that SPA teaches about community and world stewardship.”

For more information about Paprocki and her research on improving microcredit programs, go to www.listeningtomicrocredit. blogspot.com.

Paprocki, center, pictured with members of the fish and vegetable cooperative she helped to fund in Bangladesh.

W

While some of SPA’s student organizations have been around for more than 10 years, Film Club is a fairly new group.

Entering its third year this fall, Film Club is dedicated to the screening and discussion of classic and contemporary cinema, and how that affects our world. With film screenings on Wednesday nights and discussions of those and other films on Thursdays during the regular organizations’ meeting period, Film Club is one of the fastest growing and more popular Thursday groups at St. Paul Academy and Summit School.

Film Club began in Fall 2005 with co-presidents Kate McDonald ’06 and Sonya Aziz-Zaman ’05 and advisor and English and journalism teacher Randall Findlay. Film Club started its first year with a theme of how cinema has portrayed the lives of adolescents, including screenings of Rebel Without a Cause, Harold and Maude, City of God and Heathers. Discussions brought in each member’s viewpoint on how the themes explored in the film related to their lives, and how the filmmaking techniques of each director enhanced those ideas. Of course, there was always time to discuss who was bringing food for the next meeting.

During the 2006-2007 season, seniors Charlie Driscoll, Zac Lutz and I were the co-presidents, and continued to help Film Club grow into a more mature club (which included the purchase of a real popcorn machine).

As presidents, we explored three separate themes: “Stickin’ it to the Man,” “Must-See World Cinema” and “President’s Picks.”

Each theme helped us answer the major question we explored this year: What is the purpose of cinema in our time and does it have a social responsibility to answer a question?

With our “Stickin’ it to the Man” series, we chose

six films that represented the counterculture of the 1960s and ’70s. Choices included Cool Hand Luke, Network, Chinatown and M*A*S*H. At our discussions afterwards, we tried to explore the context in which each film was released and how those themes formed a resistance to the world around the filmmakers. In the “Must-See World Cinema” series, we explored the idea that the language of film is universal, picking four films from across the globe. Whether it was the French City of Lost Children, the Japanese Seven Samurai, or the German Fitzcarraldo, each film opened discussion to how a country’s influence models a film’s creation. “President’s Picks” were other films that some of us decided were too important not to be shown.

I chose Ridley Scott’s 1982 cult classic Blade Runner, which examines how memories define humanity, and Spike Lee’s 1989 drama Do the Right Thing, which we showed in conjunction with Intercultural Club.

Though Film Club may seem very serious and strict, we have had a lot of fun discussing other films not screened as a group. There was at least one discussion a month of whether Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers is simply a campy, cheesy film or extremely biting social satire. During meetings after a non-movie night (Film Club screenings are usually every other week), we would discuss current cinema such as Zac Snyder’s Spartan blood epic 300 or Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning The Departed, or simply watch short films.

During the fourth quarter, Film Club slowly but surely watched and discussed Kirby Dick’s documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated, a strong attack on the Motion Picture Association of America and their controversial rating system that often protects Hollywood-produced films and hurts independent cinema.

explores ‘Stickin’ it to the Man’ film series Students are able to participate in a variety of organizations, from Upper School Council to Student Activities Committee, Intercultural Club to Service Learning, Protecting Environmental Principles to Writer’s Round Table. Student organizations meet in school on a weekly basis, and are advised by a faculty member.

by Peter Labuza, Class of 2007 Next year, with new co-presidents Jackson Smith (Class of 2009), Billy Lutz (Class of 2010) and Daniel Preus (Class of 2011), Film Club plans to continue to grow and discuss more films, including a theme of film noir, a style of film that grew out of the post-World War II era and focused on cynical and corrupt characters. There is also some discussion of a Saturday movie marathon. As Film Club continues to grow, we hope people will start seeing cinema in new ways. Film can be entertainment but, ultimately, it is an art form and, like all art, it deserves a harbor in which it can be viewed as one. summer 2007

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Remember When Military Days

W

When I was at the Academy, SPA was a military country day school. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the military training was an oddity created at the behest of Head of School John DeQ Briggs following, and influenced by, World War I. Unlike other high schools like Cretin and St. Thomas, SPA was not ROTC accredited. Not “real army,” as I’ve heard it described. We used the U.S. Army Field manual 22-5 and wore uniforms, and even had dummy rifles and a “manual of arms,” but we were not ROTC. I was a senior during the last two or three years before it was phased out.

My first year at the “big school,” or prep form, as we called it, I decided my goal was to be head of Wheeler Company, to which I was assigned. In the first several months promotions in rank were posted and Chiefy Schwyzer was promoted to Private First Class. I was irate and went right to Captain Tim Ritchie for an explanation.

He wrinkled his brow and said matter-of-factly, “Schwyzer has more ‘suck’.”

This dashed my hopes of becoming Captain of Wheeler

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by Crosby Sommers ’61

Company, so I did the honorable, rational thing and transferred to the Drum and Bugle Corps (we called it the “Dumb and Bungle Corps”). My elder brother, Ed, had commanded this company so I figured I could, too. (The company commander of D&B was a First Lieutenant, one rank below Captain, but I figured you have to take some lemon with the meringue if you lose a “suck” contest.)

The Dumb and Bungle Corps turned out to be the biggest collection of screw-offs in the school, so of course I was right at home. Besides, I had a chance at taking charge when I turned senior. All I had to do was shine my shoes and buttons and play my snare drum. The other guys had jazz sessions down in the visiting team locker room, out of earshot from the rest of the world.

We’d practice the military stuff for five or 10 minutes and then have a jam session. We always took last place in Company competitions, which involved marching and inspections and such. Last place was a given.

I had a surprise when it was time to take command — the administration changed the status of D&B commander to full Captain, instead of First Lieutenant. So, when I was chosen, I was promoted from Corporal to Captain, the largest jump in rank in SPA military history! My brother Ed would eat his heart out, I hoped.

The “Brass” had also added five Captains to the graduating class, the Battalion Staff. So, one-third of the graduating class were Captains. An upperclassman and friend told me this was done purposely to “sow the seeds of demise” of military at SPA. My proudest memory occurred one day when we were scheduled to have a Company competition. This was to be a biggie, judged by a real Army Colonel who worked for Cretin.

The D&B had been practicing a silent command: seven steps forward, left flank march for 15 steps, counter march, which would reverse the direction of the company, etc., all while playing the drums. Our practice sessions were bad! The cadets had never done it right, resulting in chaos… people going in all directions with poorly disguised smirks. We were doomed to not only lose, but to be the laughingstock of the whole school — and the visiting Army Colonel!

I had an idea — why not put the guys’ creativity to work? Before the competition I instructed the men to purposely screw up the silent command and “march anywhere you want.

But, keep the beat, don’t smile and square your corners. Make it look like you were supposed to do this. Then, when I blow the whistle, march back here and form a Company at marktime.” They were brilliant!

I stood at attention with a slightly bored expression and the Army Colonel came over and asked, “What do you call this?”

“I call this ‘The Twittering Machine,’” I replied. (I came across this title in a book about 20th century drawings by artist Paul Klee. Random lines every which way, but geometric angles when they changed direction.)

The Colonel nodded and returned to his post. We won first place! Sheer gall sometimes has positive results. This, as Churchill said, was our finest hour. It didn’t change much… the battalion still laughed… but with us, this time. Brian Fitch, battalion head, just shook his head patiently, if I recall.

The military hung in there for another year or two with many seniors running around looking officious, and then the military was phased out and SPA merged with Summit School, and the school has prospered from both changes, as I see it.

St. Paul Academy and Summit School

REUNION Homecoming 2007 Thursday, October 11–Sunday, October 14

SCHEDULE

OF EVENTS

Thursday, October 11 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

“An Artist’s Retrospective,” works by Patricia Bratnober Saunders ’42, Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus (exhibit runs October 5-November 2)

5-7 p.m.

Art reception for Patricia Bratnober Saunders ’42, Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus

6 p.m.

Girls’ swim meet at Breck School, 123 Ottawa Avenue North, Minneapolis

6:30 p.m.

Girls’ varsity volleyball vs. Concordia Academy, Briggs Gymnasium, Randolph Campus

Friday, October 12 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

“An Artist’s Retrospective,” works by Patricia Bratnober Saunders ’42, Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus (exhibit runs October 5-November 2)

9 a.m.-2:15 p.m. Visit a class and participate with students in the day’s lesson.

No homework or Blue Books to worry about!

Time TBA

Girls’ varsity tennis Section individual play-offs (site TBD)

12-2 p.m.

Tour of the Goodrich Campus; meet in living room and stay for assembly.

2:10 p.m.

Lower School Assembly, Goodrich Campus. Join K-5 students and faculty for an outdoor Homecoming assembly.

3-6:30 p.m.

Kids’ Carnival near the baseball field/Drake Arena, Randolph Campus (Games, treats and fun!)

3-6:30 p.m.

Backyard Picnic (food available for purchase)

3:30 p.m.

Boys’ varsity football vs. St. Croix Lutheran at Lang Field, Randolph Campus

5-7 p.m.

Registration and check-in, Dining Hall, Randolph Campus

6-7 p.m.

Tour of the Randolph Campus; meet in Dining Hall

6-9 p.m.

All-School Reunion Dinner for alumni/ae and current and former faculty/staff, Randolph Campus Dining Hall, $35 includes buffet dinner and two beverage tickets.

For alums who graduated 2000-2007, the cost is $25/person. Spouse or significant other welcome. Cash bar available; please bring I.D. Dress is casual. Complimentary child care for children ages 3-10.

Saturday, October 13 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Heritage Brunch honoring all alumni/ae who graduated 50 or more years ago.

Members of the Classes of 1957 are guests of honor. Complimentary.

10 a.m.-1 p.m.

“An Artist’s Retrospective,” works by Patricia Bratnober Saunders ’42, Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus (exhibit runs October 5-November 2)

Time TBA

Girls’ varsity soccer Section 3A Quarterfinal playoffs (site TBD)

Time TBA

Boys’ varsity soccer Section 3A Quarterfinal playoffs (site TBD)

Evening

Class parties for alumni/ae who graduated in years ending in ‘2’ or ‘7’ (off campus)

Invitations should arrive in your mail in mid-August. RSVP to the school no later than Wednesday, September 26, 2007.

Registrations may also be made online at www.spa.edu/alumni.

If you have questions, contact the Alumni/ae Relations Office at 651-696-1366, go to www.spa.edu/alumni or email alumni/ae@spa.edu.

All sporting events on the Randolph Campus are free of charge.

However, everyone is invited to participate in the school’s mission of leadership and service by bringing non-perishable food items for donation to area food shelves.

Collection bins will be set up near the playing fields.

Register online now at www.spa.edu/alumni and save $5 on the All-School Reunion Dinner.

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Bulletin Board Class Notes To submit a class note, write: Tracy Madden, SPA, 1712 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, email tmadden@spa.edu, or go to www.spa.edu/alumni. Please include your class year, and maiden name if applicable.

Photos are welcome and will be returned.

If you choose to send photos electronically, they should be 300 d.p.i. jpegs.

Drop In Next time you are in Saint Paul or in the neighborhood, please stop by the school for a visit and quick tour! Or, just stop for lunch and maybe visit a classroom or two. Call Alumni/ae Relations Director Daymond Dean at 651-696-1308 to set up an appointment, or simply drop by any time.

Say hello to former teachers, walk the halls and see the many changes that have taken place since you left!

www.spa.edu

Class Agent

New Address

If you would like to become a Class Agent, even if there is one already listed for your class, contact Tracy Madden at 651-6961323, or tmadden@spa.edu. Class Agents keep in touch with their classmates several times throughout the year, updating them on the school, their friends and upcoming events. They also help with special events and reunion planning.

Need to update us with a name change, address, telephone number or other information? Fill out the online alumni/ae update form at www.spa.edu/alumni, write: Tracy Madden, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, 1712 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, or email tmadden@spa.edu.

Would you like to receive periodic email updates from the school? If so, log on to www.spa.edu/alumni and update your email address in the alumni/ae directory.

Importan tN

umbers Main line: 651-698-2 451 Main fax: 6 51-698-67 87 Admissions: 651-696-1 339 Alumni/ae Relations: 6 51-696-13 Annual Fu 08 nd: 651-69 6-1320 Events line: 651-696-1 449

Calendar of Events

August

12 | St. Paul Saints baseball game for Classes of 1990-2006, sponsored by Young Alum Task Force.

Tailgating at 11 a.m. with game at 1 p.m. Tickets $17. Call 651-696-1366 or contact gtraynor@spa.edu for more information.

Get Involved

Email

All events are subject to change. For the most current information, go to www.spa.edu.

11 | Sixth grade Grandparent visit, Bigelow Commons, Randolph Campus. Call 651-696-1366 or contact gtraynor@spa.edu to RSVP. 11 | Patricia Bratnober Saunders ’42 art reception, 5-7 p.m., Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus 11-14 | Reunion-Homecoming Weekend 2007 (see page 29 for more details)

September 3-28 | Toby Sisson art exhibit, Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus 20 | Toby Sisson art reception, 6:30-8 p.m., Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus

October 5-Nov. 5 | Patricia Bratnober Saunders ’42 art exhibit, Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus 30

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Would you like to volunteer to help with Reunion-Homecoming Weekend 2007, be interviewed by a student, speak to a class or student organization, host a senior for their senior project? Find out about these and other volunteer opportunities by calling Alumni/ae Relations Director Daymond Dean at 651-696-1308, email ddean@spa.edu, or write: Daymond Dean, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, 1712 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105.

November 3 | Annual Fund Phonathon, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Ames Room, Randolph Campus.

To volunteer, contact Paula Kringle at 651-696-1320 or pkringle@spa.edu.

4 | Annual Fund Phonathon, 12-4 p.m., Ames Room, Randolph Campus. To volunteer, contact Paula Kringle at 651-696-1320 or pkringle@spa.edu.

11 | Grades K-5 Admissions Open House, 1-3 p.m., Goodrich Campus. Tours offered daily.

11 | Grades 6-12 Admissions Open House, 3-5 p.m., Randolph Campus. Tours offered daily.

December 3 | Luncheon for current/past presidents of the Parents’ Associations, 11:30-1 p.m., Ames Room, Randolph Campus. Call 651-696-1366 or contact gtraynor@spa.edu to RSVP. 21 | Holiday gathering for 19701989 alumni/ae, 8 p.m.-close, Sweeney’s Saloon and Café, 96 Dale Street, Saint Paul.

Visit www.spa.edu/alumni or call 651-696-1366 for more details.

21 | Holiday gathering for 1990-2004 alumni/ae (21+), 8 p.m.-close, Happy Gnome, 498 Selby Avenue, Saint Paul.

Visit www.spa.edu or call 651-696-1366 for more details.

27 | Six-month reunion for Class of 2007 and open house for all alumni/ae who graduated in the 2000 decade, 7-9 p.m., Bigelow Commons, Randolph Campus.

January 2008 27 | Grades K-5 Admissions Open House, 1-3 p.m., Goodrich Campus.

Tours offered daily.

27 | Grades 6-12 Admissions Open House, 3-5 p.m., Randolph Campus.

Tours offered daily.

Class Notes 1929

Janet Mayo Biddle writes, “At

age 94 I believe I am the sole survivor of the Summit School Class of 1929. I am in good health, living in my own home in the delightful town of Sierra Vista in southern Arizona. My interests continue in politics (Democrat), worldwide affairs and community activities, although I can no longer travel as in days of yore. Playing bridge, tending my roses, and watching DVDs from The Teaching Company keep my mind ever busy. I also enjoy annual visits from relatives and friends.”

1931

1941

Marney Brown Brooks marneybb@aol.com Betty Herrmann Cowie

1942 65th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 Leila Jackson Poullada Harry McNeely Jr. hmcneely@meritex.com Joe Elsinger Joanne Brown Wright writes, “Daughter Alice Wright ’72 has

moved to Sandai, Japan, with her husband, Dan Taylor, to teach pre-school and science respectively at an international school.”

Kelly Earl Davis

1935

Duncan Baird dbaird4413@aol.com

1937 70th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 Mary Bigelow McMillan

writes, “In March I attended a memorable two-day National Endowment of the Arts American Masterpieces Choral Festival hosted by the Providence, Rhode Island, Singers. Allison McMillan ’70 is the executive secretary of the Singers. Following that I visited Richard Jr. ’62 and Barbara in their new home on Gibson Island, Maryland, where I got acquainted with my four adorable great-grands! Here at home I am enjoying facilitating Bible study both at church and at EagleCrest, the retirement community in which I live.”

Patricia Ray Saunders writes,

“My paintings will be shown at Frank Stone Gallery in Minneapolis in October and at Plymouth Church in Minneapolis during December.

I won an award in a Florida show of watercolors in February.

So, I’m still ‘at it.’” *Please visit Pat’s show in the Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus, St. Paul Academy and Summit School, October 5-November 5. A reception will be held in the gallery Thursday, October 11, from 5-7 p.m.

1943

Bob Knox Betty Bremer Johnson writes,

“We’re enjoying Fountain Hillz, Arizona, as six-month snowbirds because we often see Peggy Simmons Schilling and Hugh Schilling, our neighbors.

Martha Fulton often comes to visit, too. Rah Rah ’43!”

1944

Mary Sadovnikoff writes,

“Performed an 80th birthday concert November 5, 2006, to celebrate the 40th year of a concert series started by myself and a friend.”

John Middlebrook attended his first SPA boys’ varsity hockey games in 62 years watching his grandson, Ian Middlebrook, a ninth grader, play for the Spartans. He and his wife, Phyllis, also enjoy watching their granddaughter, Delaney Middlebrook, an eighth grader at SPA, play varsity hockey for St. Paul United (a cooperative team between SPA and Visitation).

1945

Ed Bronstien elb@rybovich.com Ginny Kinkead Stockwell

1946

George Mairs Winslow Briggs writes, “Still

busy in the laboratory — with collaborators in Argentina, we have characterized a photoreceptor molecule in the Brucella, a pallogenic bacterium.

Light increases its virulence tenfold, and if the photoreceptor is mutated away virulence is low in light or dark.”

1947 60th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 Stan Shepard stanlucyshepard@ worldnet.att.net Sallie Stoltze O’Brien Class Agent Sallie Stoltze O’Brien writes, “Edie Nye MacMullen reports moving

to Amherst, Massachusetts, near Deerfield. Her daughter

is nearby and she takes care of her granddaughter every day after school. She is also working nearly half-time as a guide at Historic Deerfield and at the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Edie is chairing the town’s historical commission and giving talks about related subjects.

She takes care of two horses with her granddaughter, has three dogs and is very involved with all of her family, who are talented in many fields.”

1948

Anne Hartley Carl Weschcke writes, “Our first

grandchild is now two years old and we are expecting the second one approximately December 16, 2006. We continue working full-time at Llewellyn but arthritis slows me down and prevents any travel. Still I see classmates monthly for lunch and that is good.”

1949

Peggy Hamm Lemmon peglem49@aol.com Bill Clapp gusclapp@qwest.net

Class Agent Bill Clapp writes, “John Bell has received NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

NYU says ‘It is presented annually to outstanding fulltime faculty members in recognition that, along with research, exceptional teaching, both within and outside the classroom, is among our institutional priorities.’ Jim Power attended the award ceremony. John is titled Master Teacher of Humanities, General Studies Program, Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

John has received several other awards, including the Citation for Excellence in Teaching, New York Adult Education Council, in 1976; summer 2007

| SPA

31

Class Notes New York University Great Teacher Award in 1992; Paul A. McGhee Medal, New York University for Service to Higher Continuing Education, 1996.

He writes, ‘The Distinguished Teacher Award is considered a high honor at NYU, which is rather a large institution. As to what I teach, there is quite often a Shakespeare course or a course in Greek Literature or Mythology. I also teach a yearlong interdisciplinary sequence on history/political theory from ancient times through Marx.

And I have a seminar on modern totalitarianism. I hope to keep on doing this until they shovel me under.’

Another of our professors, Piers Lewis, has written and published a group of essays on various of Shakespeare’s plays.

Bob Platt acted as Piers’ editor.

And then there’s Professor Bill Rumble who, despite his retirement, continues to explicate constitutional law to Vassar students.”

1950

Brad Smith bradner575@comcast.net James Barnes writes, “In June ’06 I retired from teaching at Wabash College, but continue to do research writing with my wife, Patience. We are currently preparing a book titled The American Revolution through British Eyes, having already done one called The American Civil War through British Eyes. We spend summers at Gull Lake, so if friends come that way, we’d welcome a visit!”

Roxy Freese, founder and owner of four Bibelot Shops in the Twin Cities, opened a Bibelot Shop at 1082 Grand Avenue in Saint Paul, Minn., in 1987.

She is a past and present board member of the Grand Avenue Business Association, which this 32

SPA

| summer 2007

| 1949 continued

year selected her for its highest honor, the Doc Chopp Award.

The Doc Chopp Award is given annually for meritorious service to the Grand Avenue business district. As the recipient, she served as the Grand Marshal of the Grand Old Day parade June 3.

Freese is celebrating 40 years as owner of the Bibelot Shops this year, opening the original Bibelot in 1966 on Como Avenue in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of Saint Paul. She opened a shop in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis in 1995 and a fourth store in Northeast Minneapolis in 2002. The stores employ 34 full-time and 67 part-time workers year-round, with the staff numbering 150plus during the winter holiday season.

Dick Harris’ second novel,

787 Superior Street, was published in December 2006

by Lily Pad Publishing.

His first novel, TWOgether, was released in May 2005.

Both novels are available only through Bookhouse Fulfillment and may be ordered at www.bookhousefulfillment.com or by calling 1-800-901-3480.

1951

Bruce Monick monick4215@aol.com

1952 55th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 Reunion weekend contacts: Dean Alexander, Bill Briggs Jr., Judy Wolff Briggs, Helen McGovern Frye, Jean Elmquist Hart Helen McGovern Frye Dean Alexander deano472@aol.com

Class Agent Dean Alexander writes, “‘What is it?’ I asked.

There was silence and finally a response was whispered. ‘It’s an implant.’ ‘But what kind?’ I persisted. A rousing discussion followed but we finally accepted Austin Pryor’s explanation. It was a shoulder implant!

Why, I thought, would Austie go through the pain, the long rehab and the indignity of such an operation? I went to Google for answers, and Google made me giggle as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. It was all so simple. Austie was an aging (gracefully) golfer. His joints were beginning to creak.

His shoulder cartilage was gone; his musculature was softening and, worst of all, his weekly golf buddies were out-hitting him.

Clever Yalie that he is, Austin must have noted that a shoulder implant typically added 50 yards to drives and improved the short game. And so, dear classmates, we should all be very proud that our own Austin Pryor is SPA’s first ‘robotic golfer.’ I ask each of you for an ‘oath of silence.’

His golfing friends must never learn of this class secret, but we can rejoice that Austin will now be able to supplement his retirement income each and every golfing weekend.

Our classmates are, indeed, a very talented group. Dr. ‘Gus’ Schwartz’s 1970 Ph.D. dissertation was ‘Parametric Representation of Plane Quasiconformal Mappings.’ After

seeking in vain the meaning of these words in my dictionary, I wondered if Gus was just another M.I.T bookworm. Naw! Not our friend who used to whiz all over St. Paul on his ‘whizzer’ motor bike. Then I discovered that he was one of the patent holders on a ‘System for Processing Seismic Signals.’ Wow! What can I say? Yet further dedicated research unearthed the ‘yin’ of Gus’s ‘yang.’ In 1956, Gus was selected All-New England honorable mention for hockey stars in the sports writer’s annual poll. This honor was awarded even though he was injured early in the season and played only four games while scoring seven goals. This public recognition clarifies forever that our class not only has a ‘Jock’ Ramaley, but also a ‘Jock’ Schwartz!

While combing through local and regional papers around the country, I discovered an article

by Andy Levin regarding our own Thomas Mattson. Mr. Levin was discussing Tom’s latest book, Orchard Voices ...Anyone who had kept up with the people and events making news in the Blackstone Valley over the past three decades is indebted to Thomas Mattson... A native of Minnesota, Mattson journeyed east to Harvard College, where he graduated in 1956. He also studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and at the University of Minnesota.

His Midwestern values still intact more than he might admit, Mattson is eclectic, to say the least. As familiar with the giants of English literature as he is with the giants of the golf world, he is a unique local treasure to the thousands who know him through his writing...

‘Orchard Voices is a reflection of its author’s irreplaceable views of Valley life.’ (To be continued in the next issue.)

Postscript — Tom, much as you love golf, we urge you not to challenge Austin Pryor to a weekend golf duel!”

Class Notes 1953

John Holman copas2@msn.com

game this fall, where retired Professor Pete Frenzel and I play in a pickup football pep band.”

Bonnie Mairs writes, “I retired

Judy Blake writes, “I live across

much news from this side of the St. Croix, but I love to read about the Class of ’53. Did I mention, two grandchildren graduated this spring and two more great-grandchildren born!”

from the YMCA in July 2005.

My last job was Executive Director of the YMCA’s International Branch. I then worked part-time until July ’06, including leading a group of 19 to visit the YMCAs in Israel and the West Bank in May. I have been working on a certificate for Teaching English as a Second Language at the New School University here in New York City and finished it in December 2006.”

R. James Gesell writes, “Based on the research author John Milton did for his book on

1955

the street from the old Summit playground now and it’s a joy to watch all the enrichment activities that go on at the school.”

Susan Read Wright writes, “Not

Enrique Granados, he led a tour in Barcelona, Spain, which included two of his classmates — Charlie Hauser and his wife, Theresa, and Jim Gesell and his wife, Teddy. A marvelous trip!”

1954

Kate “Minty” Klein Piper mintypiper@aol.com

1956

Gerry Kyle Bullard rlbullard@comcast.net Ginny Low Campbell ginnybell@aol.com

Polly Cross Olmstead dpolmstead@mindspring.com Norb Winter Walter Mayo

Class Agent Wally Mayo writes, “George Burr writes that he has retired several times from positions in New England and has settled in Brunswick, Maine, ‘in an attempt to spend more time outdoors and not at a desk or in the shop.’ Rod Bacon confirms another sighting opportunity will come up when he returns for SPA ReunionHomecoming Weekend this October.

Dave Seymour promises to stop by next time he and Ellen (Huse) are visiting her relatives in Greenfield, Mass. We might see Rick and Jean Driscoll in Williamstown, Mass., or at Tanglewood Music Festival, but they will surely attend the Wesleyan-Williams football

grandmother’s house with her parents.

Vicki Churchill Ford was elected to the Board of Trustees at Sarah Lawrence College in March, where she received her B.A. and her M.Ed.

1957 50th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 The October 13 Class Party will be held at the home of John and Ruth Putnam Huss. Reunion weekend contacts: Dutton Foster, Ruth Putnam Huss, Susan Fisher Koll, Tom Mears, Tom and Sally Davis Patterson, Susan Rose Ward Dutton Foster pardilqua@aol.com Susan Rose Ward cswsrw@earthlink.net James Mairs heads a one-man publishing house, Quantuck Lane Press, in New York City.

Previously he had worked for W.W. Norton and Co. as vice president, senior editor and director of production.

1958 1959

Albert (Jim) Dickinson

▲ Brenda Raudenbush Griffin joyfully reports the arrival of her new granddaughter, Kayla, from the Philippines. Kayla is the daughter of Brenda’s son, Hal Griffin, and Maria Lonia Griffin. Kayla is seven years old and goes to school at St. Mary’s Elementary in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., where the family lives. She recently remarked to her Dad, ‘I’m forgetting my Tagalog now that I am speaking English in school.’ Kayla is pictured at her

Ethel Welch Griggs c.griggs@comcast.net Jim Gardner Tom Hauser George May

Class Agent Ethel Welch Griggs writes, “We note with sadness the deaths of Linda Stoddard Snyder (April 23) and Tracy Bement Kern DeRoma (May 11). Each had faced her life’s challenges with her own blend of courage, strength, and special spirit. We remember the sense of fun they brought to our days at Summit. Plan on attending our

50th in late September 2009.

We need to keep in touch!”

1960

Class Agent needed Please contact Tracy Madden if you would like to volunteer at 651-696-1323, or tmadden@spa.edu.

Cole Oehler writes, “Our son, Will, and his wife, Katy, live in White Plains, New York, with our grandson, Jack, 19 months old. Our daughter, Nicole, married Chris Macchia in April and they live in Chicago. Judy and I are healthy and happy after 34 years together!”

Wendy Power Perry writes, “Marcy [Armstrong-Dorau], Terry [Ffolliott] and I enjoyed apple treats and each other’s company at Pine Tree Orchard.”

1961

Crosby Sommers Pierce MacKay writes, “Sorry

we missed the 45th reunion. We will be there for the 50th, God willing.”

1962 45th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 Class Agent needed Please contact Tracy Madden if you would like to volunteer at 651-696-1323, or tmadden@spa.edu.

The Alumni/ae Council meets Wednesdays at noon in the Ames Room, Randolph Campus, on the following days: October 3, 2007 December 5, 2007 February 6, 2008 April 2, 2008 The Wednesday, June 4, 2008, meeting will take place at 4 p.m.

summer 2007

| SPA

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Class Notes

▲ Members of the extended Horace C. and Grace T. Klein family visited SPA May 20 for a tour of the school. Horace was a trustee of St. Paul Academy from 1921-1950 and of Summit School from 1923-1946.

Pictured back, from left, Fred

with son Jack.

1963

Nancy Leavitt Mulvey Timothy Griswold writes,

“Completing my fifth term (10 years) as First Selectman (Mayor) of the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut. Local politics has its challenges, but most everyone works for the good of the town, so it’s rewarding. Two daughters — Caroline, 30, who works for IBM in Washington, D.C., and Emily, 27, who is self-employed in horticulture/landscape design.”

1964

Cindy Schuneman Piper repip2@aol.com John Maher

34

SPA

| summer 2007

1965

Robert Erickson Bob Works

1966

Mike Brown mbrown@spa.edu

to be shown to more people was that she was able to hook me up with The Nickelodeon, a small movie house in Columbia, South Carolina, that screens independent films.

Larry Hembree, director of the theater, liked the film and we arranged a screening in early February 2007. I went down and visited and was treated to real Southern hospitality by Patty and the arts community. The screening was almost a sell-out and we had a great discussion afterward. Patty, a world renowned painter, is finishing her new studio in Camden and it is a beautiful environment.

Anyway, it was a remarkable experience for me to reconnect with Patty and to experience the grand old South for the first time. As Ed Read used to say, ‘A good time was had by all.’”

▲

Bradford ’63, Allan Klein ’64, Gigi Doerr Simmons, Jean Seymour Johnson ’62. Front, Bonnie Mairs ’54 with Thomas Bradford (son of John ’90), Mac Seymour ’53, John Bradford ’90

| 1962 continued

Bob Fink writes, “A remarkable and fortuitous SPA/Summit School connection occurred as a result of showing my film, Wally, at the Reunion Weekend in September 2006.

Patty Blackwell ’67, who lives in Camden, South Carolina, contacted me after reading about the screening at the reunion.

Since she couldn’t attend, I sent her a copy to view. From there, many things happened and the outgrowth of Patty’s deciding that the film needed

Filmmaker Bob Fink with theater director Larry Hembree Patty Blackwell entering The Nickelodeon to see Bob Fink’s documentary, Wally.

1967 40th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 Reunion weekend contacts: Phil Bratnober, Nancy Fulton, Dana Lindsay Nancy Platt Jones nandbjones@yahoo.com Phil Bratnober pbratnober@mn.rr.com

Class Agent Phil Bratnober writes, “Many ’67 class members are engaged in an active discussion about this fall’s 40th Reunion thanks to a listserv device that connects us all with the resilient force of a morning announcement by Ed Read.

This is a more-the-merrier type of conversation, so please join the list if you haven’t already. To join, send an email query to Bob Altman (List Guru) at altlaw@ mindspring.com, and Bob will get you connected.

John Seesel reports that he’s been busy with ‘hearings on the Hill’ this spring. We trust that these are associated with John’s brilliant, longstanding efforts on behalf of the FTC. John hasn’t sent me a cornucopia of praise for all the efforts of the U.S. Government over the last seven years, but I find it reassuring to know that there is at least one person in Washington who a) cares deeply; b) unblinkingly pronounces the word ‘nuclear’ without slaughtering it via consonant inversion; and c) studied Latin with Lyman Hawbaker.

I, your humble Class Agent, have now persisted in my longest stint in the public high schools, teaching for seven years, going on eight. I recently added a Minnesota license to teach English and Speech, atop my existing theater license.

This morning, Woodbury High School celebrates me as its Teacher of the Term, so something must be going right.

My daughter, Carolyn, will be

Class Notes a junior at Lewis and Clark College in Portland next fall.

I periodically see classmates walking the streets of the Twin Cities. All seem fit, trim, well dressed, and affable; and virtually no one seems actively engaged in the trade of streetwalking itself — I merely see them walking around. It will be fun when there are many of us walking the old familiar streets together this fall! Please join the listserv right away so you can hear all the reunion planning news.”

1968

Anne Cowie

Last fall, David Herr was named President-Elect of the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters, a national organization of lawyers who have been appointed Special Master by courts to assist in resolution of complex litigation.

He has served in that role in a number of complex class action cases, including matters in the antitrust, consumer and insurance areas, and dealing with management of discovery, class notice and settlement procedures, and ruling in trial exhibits and testimony.

Herr heads the Appellate Practice team at Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP, of Minneapolis. A highly regarded appellate lawyer and complex case litigator, Herr is frequently sought out to provide practical and sophisticated advice on how to resolve difficult, multiparty disputes in trial courts and arbitral forums, as well as in the appellate courts. He is past president of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and regularly argues cases in the Minnesota and federal appellate courts. He annotates the Federal Judicial Center’s Manual for Complex Litigation published and distributed nationally by Thomson West.

The group that dared to mess with Texas, from left: Chris Napier Cammack, Croil Hunter, Peter Cardozo, Michael Sprafka, Lynn “Bab” Sprafka, Huck Cammack, Tom Vangsness, Helena Ragubir, Curtis West and Robert Olson.

Messing with Texas… Class of ’69 Delivers April Fool’s Day Surprise Curtis West writes, “Peter Cardozo, of the hill country of Burnet, Texas, an hour from Austin, was expecting a visit Sunday, April 1, from fellow classmate Thomas Vangsness, M.D. However, Peter was soon to discover it was all part of an elaborate April Fool’s Day surprise.

Vangsness, now residing in Los Angeles, had told Peter he would be in the Austin area for a medical conference and the two arranged to meet. Tom showed up at the appointed hour at Peter’s country home along the banks of the Colorado River and all was as Peter had anticipated. But then, at approximate onehalf hour intervals, fellow classmates and friends walked, one at a time, down the long, gravel walkway to Peter’s house. The surprise visitors included Howard “Huck” Cammack, White Bear Lake; Christine Napier Cammack; Croil Hunter II, Guadalajara, Mexico; Michael Sprafka, Loveland, Ohio; his wife Lynn “Bab” Sprafka; Curtis West, St. Paul; and Robert Olson ’68, Putney, Vermont. Richard Fellows, Boston, Mass., was with the group in Austin but had to return home before the surprise. He sent a special video greeting.

Having not seen most of his fellow classmates for three decades-plus, at first Peter was shocked and attempted to bar the door while yelling: ‘Go away, go away, I don’t know you people!’ But then, slowly, through the receding hairlines and grey he recognized his fellow classmates and, moreover, seeing that they were bearing gifts, he relented. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent in the embrace of his gracious hospitality.

Peter reported that he was deeply moved by this surprise visit. ‘I feel very blessed,’ he said. He called his mother that night with the news of the surprise and she was heartened to learn that Peter still had many friends. Huck Cammack, who orchestrated the gathering, was asked if he had any other surprises in mind.

‘Well, I really can’t say, but I would urge our fellow classmates to keep a variety of refreshments and better-quality appetizers on hand, because one of them might be next.’”

Johanna “Jody” Schoonover Roche writes, “I am a

grandmother! Finbar Roche was born September 23, 2006, in Wales. Our son, Ronan, returned in January to the U.S. with his beautiful English rose, Rebecca, and baby Finbar.

They are living in Newport, Rhode Island, while Ronan is doing a Ph.D. in Marine Affairs in the URI Graduate School of Oceanography.”

1969

Ruth Schilling Harwood Thomas Greenman writes,

“This year was the birth of our fourth grandson!”

1970

Class Agent needed Please contact Tracy Madden if you would like to volunteer at 651-696-1323, or tmadden@spa.edu.

1971

Tom Wood tom.wood@gs.com

summer 2007

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35

Class Notes 1975

1972 35th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007

Lit Field lfieldjr@tcfield.com

Reunion weekend contacts: Jeanne Goodman Herzog, Paul Quast, Carol Adler Zsolnay Class Agent needed Please contact Tracy Madden if you would like to volunteer at 651-696-1323, or tmadden@spa.edu.

1973

Charlie Zelle czelle@jeffersonlines.com

▲ Susan Sell and her mother, Estelle, in Keukenhof, Holland, in April 2006.

1976

Doug Whitaker dwhitaker@pjc.com

1974

of the 2007 Pro Bono Publico Award for Excellence by a Private Sector Attorney. Shepard is the chair of the Products Liability and Tort Litigation Practice Group at Leonard, Street and Deinard of Minneapolis, Minn. He was honored for his dedication to the expansion of his firm’s representation of disabled clients in Social Security-related cases. Under his leadership the number of Social Security pro bono cases handled by LS&D attorneys per year has risen from six to 24. He was also instrumental in developing a resource manual and providing training opportunities for LS&D attorneys providing pro bono legal services in Social Securityrelated matters.

1977

Roddie Hauser Turner roddie.turner@comcast.net

30th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 The October 13 Class Party will be a buffet dinner at the home of Tim and Francine O’Brien.

▲ Ann Bancroft visited kindergarten classes in February as part of the students’ study on Antarctica and polar explorers.

She talked to students about her March expedition to cross the Arctic Ocean, showing them the clothes and equipment necessary to make such a trip and how the class could follow her route online using the Internet. The expedition, unfortunately, was cut short due to uncooperative weather conditions.

36

SPA

| summer 2007

▲ Laura Rasmussen, spouse of Tom Rasmussen ’79, ran in P.F. Chang’s Rock ’n Roll Arizona Marathon as a Team in Training member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society January 14 in Phoenix, Ariz. Rasmussen ran in honor of Tom’s sister, Peggy Rasmussen King ’76, who died of lymphoma December 16, 2005, at the age of 48. Rasmussen was the top fundraiser for Team in Training in both the U.S. and Canada for that event, raising more than $54,000. “I was surprised,” said Rasmussen, “but not too surprised, because Peggy was such a special person.

I feel that the fundraising success was more of a reflection of the person she was than my ability to raise money.”

Blake Shepard Jr. was selected

by the Hennepin County Bar Association as the recipient

Hank Brandtjen hbrandtjen@kluge.biz

1978

John Butler Shannon McNeely Whitaker swhitaker@meritexenterprises.com

Helping the Addict You Love: The New Effective Program for Getting the Addict Into Treatment, written

by Dr. Laurence Westreich, was published April 17 by Fireside.

1980

Kris Flom kflom@spa.edu

1981

Walt Lehmann walt@lehmannstrobel.com

Class Agent Walter Lehmann writes, “I think I’ve finally recovered from our class reunion last September. Thanks again to Phil and Christy Earl White for a memorable evening, and to all of you who were there in person or in spirit. As a result of the reunion, we now have a class listserv –– be sure to sign on if you haven’t yet to get the latest breaking class news. For those of you who are not in the loop, I’ve scoured my emails from the past couple of months and can report that the Class of 1981 is alive and well and busy with new projects of all sorts.

One of those missing from the reunion was Charlotte Hart.

Turns out she, along with her husband, Tim Massad, and son, Emil, were all working on

In January, several alumni/ae joined Development Director Jennifer Halcrow for dinner in Philadelphia including, clockwise from lower left, Bill Angell ’56, Eunsae “Grace” Park ’05, Liz Dow ’69, Dan Heider ’92, Anne Seymour ’79, Richard Dunn ’46.

Class Notes a very special project named Jayne Alexia Massad, who was successfully launched in October at 6 pounds, 4 ounces.

Congratulations!

Speaking of producing things — Erika Wolf was in New York in November for a panel discussion and signing for her book, Iif and Petrov’s American Road Trip, published by Cabinet/ Princeton Architectural Press.

The book is the first-ever English translation of a 1936 travelogue of a two-month road trip across the United States by two Russian journalists. Apparently the book has been compared to the hit mockumentary Borat.

‘Not sure what I think about this…’ Erika wrote. In addition to Erika, the panel discussion included Russian artists Natasha and Valera Cherkashin and moderator Sina Najafi. The talk was to be followed by a question and answer session, book signing, and possible vodka consumption.

Charlotte Hart attended the event and reported that Erika was definitely the center of attention.

She also saw Erika’s brother, August Wolf ’79, but apparently missed out on the vodka consumption.

Speaking of vodka consumption, in February, Friend of the Class Terry Moore sent a photo along with the following note, ‘Here is one for the SPA alumni magazine. The boys came back to the Twin Cities to play in the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships the weekend of January 15. They don’t know I am sending this to you.’ Our own Charlie Stringer, Tad Lundborg, and Thad Klasinski, along with Rigger Poore ’82, Terry Moore, and Greg Dornbach skated as ‘The Bears’ (‘Da Beers’?). It doesn’t look like they made it to the finals. For more about the Pond Hockey Championship, go to www.uspondhockey.com. Thanks for the leak, Terry!

Speaking of leakers, I heard from Tad Lundborg in February.

band. Maybe I’ll see you there, too.

Until next time, keep those emails coming to Classof81Rules@googlegroups.com and keep up the good work!”

1982 25th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 The October 13 Class Party will be a buffet dinner at the home of David and Betsy Weyerhaeuser.

Reunion weekend contacts: Libby Driscoll Hlavka, Gena Janetka, Sally Cammack Miesen, Jenifer Robins, David Weyerhaeuser David Weyerhaeuser dweyerhaeuser@gradstaff.com Sally Cammack Miesen

From left, Richard Poore ’82, Terry Moore, Charlie Stringer ’81, Tad Lundborg ’81, Thad Klasinski ’81, and Greg Dornbach. They played as “The Bears” in the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships in January.

1983

Tracy Cosgrove Lakatua tlakatua@bigsky.net

1984 Tad wrote that, although he lived in London for a number of years, he was never was able to find Matt Ravden. Tad now lives in New Jersey and says he ‘hopes to be at this address a few years, getting too old to keep moving around.

My kid is going to Rumson Country Day School (second grade) and he can stay there until eighth grade, so barring me not getting fired from too may jobs, we’ll be here ’til then!’

Anna Suessbrick recently relocated to Seattle, where she is planning to build a private practice in psychological assessment. According to Anna, ‘these transitions are both exciting and nauseating…’

Speaking of new careers, Norah Shapiro has given up life as a public defender and is reinventing herself as ‘Producer/ Maker/Director/you name it.’ See more about Norah and her work on page 18.

Andrea Sahlin announced

that her husband, Naveen, has opened a new restaurant called the Highland Café and Bakery at 2012 Ford Parkway in Saint Paul. According to Andrea, it will serve ‘American-style food, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a weekly Nepalese curry special.’

Having spent more than three weeks trekking in Nepal, I can really relate to the curry.

By the time you read this, a mini class reunion of sorts will have taken place in New York City. Friend of the Class John Munson (Semisonic, Pleasure, Trip Shakespeare) and his trio The New Standards with Chan Poling (The Suburbs) and Steve Roehm, will be playing at Joe’s Pub in the Village in late June. I’m looking forward to getting together with Owen Walton and Michael Sonkowsky to relive old times critiquing John’s latest garage

Tom Guyer tomg@winsorcorp.net Brian Lipschultz writes,

“We just moved back to the Twin Cities after 12 years on the West Coast. Looking forward to getting settled in and reconnecting with old friends.”

1985

Dave Kansas davekansas22@yahoo.com Daymond Dean writes,

“It is amazing how time flies.

My eldest child, Danielle, is a sixth grader. It’s surreal to know that her locker is 50 yards from my office, or to see her walking the same hallways I ran through almost 25 years ago. What’s even more strange is turning 40, having a Middle School-aged kid but still feeling like I’m 17 when I walk into

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Class Notes

| 1985 continued

a meeting and see Mr. Leiter, Monty or Mr. Boulger. Cheers to my 40-year-old classmates!”

Class Agent Dave Kansas writes, “The ’85ers are going through that fun year where the number ‘40’ comes up with increasing frequency. For me, that meant a bit of crisscrossing the nation to toast people heading into the big decade. Last fall, Cathy Paper, Peggy Driscoll, myself and others celebrated the big 40 with Ken Rice, his wife Elizabeth, and his family in Baltimore (or “Bal’more” as I believe the locals say). The event included a fun afternoon on a boat out in the harbor.

In February, John Wolf and I were on hand to ring in Todd Bomberg’s big 4-0 with his wife, Amy, and their family in Los Angeles. Todd and I also caught up recently in New York City.

Another big 40 came in New York with Katy Cochrane Carey celebrating in the trendy meatpacking district of Manhattan. Julia Jordan and her husband, Doug Unis, were in attendance. Katy’s husband, Greg, received big kudos for surprising Katy with such a nice birthday party.

I was late for Mike Ristau’s birthday (in December), but did manage to share a Belgian beer with him in Brussels. He, Laura and his family are doing a tour in the EU hub courtesy of Mike’s employer, 3M. They love all the history and sightseeing, but they miss some of the conveniences more familiar to Woodbury than to Liege.

Pat Farrell celebrated 40 in April and is still pastoring at Calvary Chapel in New Jersey.

He, Ann and Michaela Rae are doing swimmingly. Pat’s traveling a bit, too, having recently taught in Minnesota and South Carolina.

I, of course, am only turning 32 this summer, so my own big 40th party will have to wait for a future date.

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After Dave Kansas gave the commencement speech for the SPA Class of 2007, he and other friends met at O’Gara’s Bar and Grill in Saint Paul for fun and fellowship. Pictured, from left, Daymond Dean, Cathy Paper, Sean McCauley, and Dave Kansas.

In other class news, John Cunningham and his wife,

I always knew I should’ve taken an economics course!

Rebecca, announced that their youngest, Alita Ellen Cunningham, is now about a year old. She’s walking about ‘when her sisters are not knocking her down,’ John says. Sophia is 7, Ella is 5 and the Cunninghams are ‘solid Ann Arborites now.’ John is working on an early stage business development firm called Innoventures.

Brian Hagerty writes to say that ‘after spending a little over a year as a patent litigator at Faegre & Benson, I began clerking for Judge Patrick Schiltz on the federal district court in St. Paul.

I’ve signed on through 2009, so I have some breathing room before my next career move. My wife, Sara, is about to finish her first year as a family practice resident and our daughter, Maura, just turned two. Maura is already a reluctant star on YouTube (see videos tagged ‘maurah’) and cracks us up every day.’

Steve Levitt’s Freakonomics franchise continues to expand.

Like Dan Brown, he isn’t a fan of the paperback version of the book, apparently. Instead, readers are being treated to an expanded reworking in the hardback version. Also, it looks like PBS will pick up a Freaknomics show of some kind in the coming year.

muses about computers in our hypertechnological age. ‘I happened to think about the “computer center” we had at SPA the other day (prompted by an article on laptops in schools).

I never stepped into it. What was in there?’ It was a collection of strange computers on the second floor near the math center. And, best I can recall, I don’t think I stepped in there, either. I’m sure that’s all changed.

Carolyn is part of the large chunk of ’85ers in the NYC area, living in Brooklyn. She published her first book, Creole Crossings: Domestic Fiction and the Reform of Colonial Slavery, in 2006 and says ‘Glowing reviews are just starting to appear now in obscure academic journals.’

Our class does seem to have no shortage of writers from Becka McKay to Julia Jordan to Carolyn to Steve Levitt and myself. I’m sure there are many others, as well.

Carolyn is teaching literature at The New School, which she describes as an ‘idiosyncratic Greenwich Village institution now gaining a larger profile as the host of Project Runway.’ She says she’s expecting a visit from Jennifer Arenson. And, on a closing note, she reports that she

Carolyn Vellenga Berman

has converted to Judaism and was married at Temple Israel in Minneapolis with Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman officiating. But: ‘That’s old news, more than 10 years, but sort of fun.’ Well, old news is still news!

Nicole Winter Tietel writes to say that ‘life is great and there’s not too much new to report.’ Well, even knowing life is great is good news to hear from a fellow ’85er.

Cathy Paper continues to drive her Live Dynamite business. She’s formed a ‘Mastermind Group’ based on Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich, which is based on his followings of Andrew Carnegie.

As Cathy says, ‘It’s not all about money, it’s about a group that can help people be the best they can be.’ She also notes that a lot of former SPA people have their kids at SPA. A sure sign of the big 4-0, eh?

I exchanged emails with marathon runner Mark Pitzele, but we mainly talked about his cousin Elie Kobrin, a fellow SPAer from the Class of 1997.

Elie has recently shifted from the doctor’s game to take a gig as an analyst at Bank of America in the specialty pharmaceutical space.

For myself, I recently wrapped up a year as the President of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the nation’s largest business journalism trade group.

I managed to get fellow Spartan Rebecca Jarvis ’99 of CNBC onto the board before departing.

She will serve on the board with a familiar face: her mother, Gail MarksJarvis, formerly of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and now a columnist with the Chicago Tribune. I also see Sarah Nassauer ’97, another younger Spartan, from time to time. She’s still working at The Wall Street Journal.

I have also recently embarked on a career change. Earlier this year, Dow Jones, parent of The Wall Street Journal and

Class Notes Wolford Sharp. After spending a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor of ethnomusicology at Bowdoin College, I’ll move to William and Mary in August.”

Nicole Winter Tietel met with members of the student Business Club at SPA this spring, telling them about her family’s insurance and financial planning business, how she began her career working in sports marketing and sponsorship, and how she used her Senior Project as a way to explore possible career choices. Pictured with Tietel are seniors Andrew “Spud” Paulus and Boris Glazman.

IAC, parent of many websites like Match.com, CitySearch and evite.com, formed a joint venture to develop an online personal finance web business.

I moved from my editing gig at The WSJ to become president of the new venture. We expect to launch by the end of the year. It’s fun to be back in the start-up game, and it’s especially good to be back on the Internet.

And, for architecture mavens in the class, such as David Robins, we’re working in a funky Frank Gehry-designed building.

Visitors always welcome!”

1986

John Patterson sonier-patterson@mindspring. com Renee Hilmanowski Ochaya theochayas@comcast.net Martha Scanlan performed a

benefit concert for Wilderness Inquiry June 10 at Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Scanlan released a debut solo album, The West was Burning, in February 2007 on the Sugarhill label.

1987 20th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 The October 13 Class Party will be a buffet dinner at the home of Craig Smith and Merritt ClappSmith. Reunion weekend contacts: Eric Aune, Carol Bagnoli, Merritt Clapp-Smith, Jay Ettinger, Dan Gelb, Dave Horner, RB Kiernat, Scott Kinkead, Beth Rice.

▲ Nick Johnson and his wife, Amy, welcomed a daughter, Aubrey Saravia, March 11. She joined their now three-year-old son, Cormac.

1991

Josh Kriesel krieselj@hotmail.com Arrisen Towner lives in Los

Angeles, Calif., working as a screen writer. He is the proud father of Zoe, age 7.

1989

Debbie Lipschultz Goldenberg goldenlips275@aol.com Darren Strafelda Dan Sharp writes, “My wife, Laura Wolford, and I have a son as of May 29, 2007: Elio Lyle

15th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007

Andy Droel droe0007@tc.umn.edu Chris Murphy cmurphy2004@kellogg. northwestern.edu

Dan Deuel

1990

1992 The October 13 Class Party will include appetizers and beverages at Dixie’s on Grand in Saint Paul, 8 p.m.-midnight.

1988

Class Agent needed Please contact Tracy Madden if you would like to volunteer at 651-696-1323, or tmadden@spa.edu.

celebrates and honors the 15 most accomplished attorneys of that year. One of the 15 honored for 2006 was David Baer, Chief Legal Office at Petters Group Worldwide. Baer is one of the youngest lawyers to ever receive the honor.

Nominations for Attorney of the Year come directly from the legal community, and Minnesota Lawyer’s editorial panel makes the decisions.

On February 22, honorees were brought together at the Attorneys of the Year Award banquet, held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis, to recognize the honorees for their “legal intelligence, perseverance in the face of tough advocacy, dedication to the profession of law, service to their organizations and solutions to daunting legal problems.”

▲ Each year Minnesota Lawyer, “the premier newspaper serving the state’s legal profession,”

James Workman writes, “This past March 28 my wife, Julie, my older daughter, Carolyn, (3 years old now!) and I

Alumni/ae hockey game at Drake Arena, Randolph Campus Saturday, December 22, 4:30-6 p.m. (following the 2:30 p.m. SPA boys’ varsity hockey game vs. Duluth Marshal) For more information, contact Sterling Black ’88 at sterling@lsblack.com.

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Class Notes welcomed our second daughter, Avery Julia Workman. We are all well, living in LaGrange, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago.

I work for a large public high school district as a chemistry and biology teacher. Since the birth of my daughter I no longer coach track and field, but perhaps I’ll get back to that some day. Julie is a vice president and Midwest regional legal counsel for Ryland Homes.”

Mike Keim was on campus in

late April, speaking with SPA students about the environment and his research on the thickness of arctic sea ice. He is currently in the Ph.D. program at University of Washington in Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management.

He stressed to students the importance of math, noting “I continually reap the benefits of the education I received here” at SPA. Gabe Weschcke writes, “We

have two daughters now. Sydney is 2 and Emily is four months old. Our crazy dog, Peaches, is timeless and will never grow old. I am now hopelessly outnumbered as the only guy in the house.”

1993

Ben Beach beach_benjamin@hotmail.com John Cosgriff jcosgrif@gsb.uchicago.edu Mary Dickinson mgdickinson@yahoo.com Jim Delaney james.delaney@usbank.com Miriam Dickler writes, “If

anyone had told me five years ago that I would not only still be in Harrisonburg, Virginia, but that I would be deliriously happy and settling into my second, and more permanent, house, I would have laughed out loud. But, it turns out, that person would have been wildly clairvoyant.

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| 1992 continued

I’m still here, deliriously happy and settled. The new house is beautiful and old and has a lovely guest bedroom. I’m (finally) buying a canoe this year and will take you down the river if you make it here. I miss the Cities, but the Shenandoah Valley is an amazing place to visit and an even more extraordinary place to live.”

Sean Cairncross is Chief Counsel

for the Republican National Committee, where he oversees the day-to-day operations of the RNC Counsel’s Office, including ensuring all activities of the RNC, its officers, and its employees are in compliance with applicable federal and state election laws. Cairncross served as the RNC’s Deputy Counsel from 2004-2007. Prior to that he was a litigation associate at the Washington, D.C., law firm Covington & Burling.

Cairncross received his J.D. from NYU in 2001, his M.Phil from Cambridge University in 1998, and his B.A. from American University in 1997.

1994

Erica Nelson ericanelson@students.wisc.edu Megan Straughn Begley writes, “In August ’05 we had a little boy, Caleb Vincent. In August ’06 we moved to Boston from California. We’re currently living in the North End. My husband, Peter, works for a non-profit in the city and I’m photographing weddings and portraits. It’s been a big change coming to the east coast from the west, but we’re adjusting well and enjoying the snow (for the moment, anyway!).”

1995

Kris Weum kris.weum@gmail.com Katie Kirschbaum katiekirschbaum@hotmail.com

“Spartans Take Manhattan”: Gladys Chuy (second from left) reunited with fellow ’95 alums Spanky Johnson, Alex Nemeth and Amina Matlon in their adopted home turf of New York City.

1996

Matt Gollinger mgollinger@hotmail.com Minette Loula mloula@courts.state.nh.us

1997 ▲ Alex Golberg Schoenberger writes, “I am living in Seattle and just had my first baby!

Annabel Lee Schoenberger, born on December 15, 2006 (coincidentally the anniversary of the day that I arrived in the country).”

Ben and Kelly Miller Pierce welcomed a daughter, Madeleine Marissa Pierce, born March 13 at 7:22 p.m. She was 7 pounds and 20 inches long.

10th Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007 The October 13 Class Party will include appetizers and beverages at Nye’s Bar in Minneapolis, 8 p.m.-midnight. Reunion weekend contacts: Dena Citron Larson, Matt Larson, Maggie Moss, Sarah Nelson Nymo Dena Citron Larson dena.larson@genmills.com Jeff Jarosch jefforama@aol.com

Rheanna Towner Guess is a lawyer with Jones Day in Chicago, Ill.

Vicki Churchill Ford ‘56 hosted an alumni/ae event in New York City in March, giving nearly 40 East Coast alums the chance to meet Head of School Bryn Roberts. Pictured at the event, from left, are Duretti Fufa ‘98, Jean Kang ‘96, Kristin Vukovic ‘98, Sylvia Renner ‘98, Julie Kang ‘98.

Class Notes Kate Starns writes, “I’m still teaching middle school English at The Derryfield School (www.derryfield.org) in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Teaching, coaching, and life in general is going very well.”

Atkinson, Eric Vong, Knol Tate, Caperton, Meyers, Dru Donovan ’99, Hannah Meyers Mody ’96, Anna Kurhajec ’98, Rita Lindahl.

Michael Lorberbaum lorberbaum@hotmail.com Mara Schanfield Dean Maragos deanm88@yahoo.com

Rebecca Wilson Peres writes, “In December ’06 we welcomed our fourth child, Robert Manuel. Also this year our oldest, Gabriella, started kindergarten at the Lower School and Zelda (2-1/2) and Eli (17 months) look forward to joining her in the future.”

1999

2000

1998

Mark Heinert Lisa Stein lstein@bu.edu Jesse Kanson-Benanav writes, “The SPA teachers who consistently graced me with Cs and C+s in high school may be surprised to hear that, beginning this fall, I will be pursuing my master’s degree in City Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology! This comes after four consistent years of [somewhat] gainful employment as a Community Organizer for affordable housing in the Boston area.”

Rebecca Jarvis, a reporter for CNBC, was one of five new members elected to the Society of American Business Editors and Writers Board of Governors during its annual conference in May. Dave Kansas ’85 completed his year-long term as president of the organization at the conference.

Jarvis notes that her mother, Gail MarksJarvis, has recently written a book, Saving for Retirement without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery.

▲

Abigail Meyers married William Caperton ’98 in

Minneapolis, Minn., October 28, 2006. The couple honeymooned in southern Spain. Pictured, from left, David

Jesse Markman jesse.markman@yale.edu Ann Marie Miller amiller2@gac.edu Uju Obi obi@fas.harvard.edu Megan (Maggie) Sullivan mys@lclark.edu Noah Mehlan mehlan@stolaf.edu Katie Ross Wellington writes, “Graduated from Sacred Heart University in 2004, married in August 2005 to Omar Wellington, and we are expecting a baby girl in April 2007!”

Kevin Flynn writes, “Graduated

from Washington University Law School in St. Louis, Missouri, in May 2007. I have accepted a position as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C.”

2001

Tiffany Clark Aram Desteian desteian@stolaf.edu Jeffrey Redfern writes, “I

have completed my M.A. at UChicago and am teaching Shakespeare and American literature at The Westridge School for Girls in Pasadena, California. I also coach soccer and run the 1,500-meter for a post-collegiate track club.”

2002 5th

Reunion | Oct. 11-14, 2007

The October 13 Class Party will include appetizers and beverages at Downtowner Woodfire Grill in Saint Paul, 8 p.m.-midnight.

Tiffany Clark Aram Desteian desteian@stolaf.edu

Joey Wertz writes, “Hello, everyone. I graduated from Macalester in December of 2006 and have been working at Thomson West in Eagan since February. Yes, I am still playing soccer in the summer for a men’s team and I can still proudly say that I am living at home for the moment. Might as well milk it while I can. I coached the 7th grade boys SPA team this past fall and we did very well. I am looking forward to this season, if Mr. Brown brings me back.

Hope this finds everyone well.”

Becky Alper writes, “I’m finishing up the year as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant in Madrid, working 20 hours a week with an English-Spanish bilingual program at a public high school. It’s been really great to live abroad and experience Spain. When I get back to the States in July I know that I’ll remember the giant legs of jamon (Iberian ham) in shop windows, the hustle and bustle of people and traffic on the Gran Via and, of course, the way my students call me ‘teacher’ with Spanish accents. I’ll be in the South End in Boston starting September 1, but in St. Paul for all of August!

By the way, Andrew Meyer is also on a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship this year in Hamburg, Germany.”

Class Agent Lauren Nuffort rode in the 41st Annual Minnesota Ironman Ride Sunday, April 29. The Minnesota Ironman is the state’s longest running cycle event. It is held on the last Sunday in April to test riders under Minnesota’s spring conditions — rain, snow, or sun. Fortunately, the “Bike Gods” brought sunshine and 80-degree weather for 66 miles.

Lauren completed in 5 hours 30 minutes, just in time to get back to studying for those law school finals!

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Class Notes

| 2002 continued

Head of School Bryn Roberts traveled to Chicago in January, visiting alumni/ae along the way. From left, Hart Rosenblatt ’98, Sarah Ward ’87, Elizabeth Johnson Turan ’98, Jeff Paller ’02, Rachael Johnson ’94, Bill Barrows ’72, Anne Moore ’88, Will Cleveland ’00, Dylan Reiff ’00, Julia Clark ’02, Willy Joy ’00, Bryn Roberts, Mike Kremenak ’97, Mark “Spidey” Peterson ’87, Addison Woodward ’58, Pam Woodward.

In January Steve Scott, member of the University of Utah Nordic Ski Team and alum of the SPA Nordic Ski team, placed sixth in the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championship Classic Sprints at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center in Houghton, Mich.

2003

Brenden Goetz bgoetz@ups.edu Aleks Sims aks010@drake.edu Jillian Degerness jillian.degerness@trinity.edu Emily Shor ershor@wisc.edu Kendra Ackland Tom Christ

Class Agent Jillian Degerness was a captain of the women’s softball team at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, this year.

2004

Sarah Anderson smanderson1@wisc.edu Andria Cornell acornell@gwu.edu Ashley Malecha maritaluv@hotmail.com Tyler Olson tylerolson@aol.com Tyler Olson recently participated

in the Global Student Entrepreneurship Award competition, receiving second place in the Midwest. In the fall he will participate in the international competition in Chicago.

In February, several alums and current faculty/staff members took a joint tour of the new Guthrie Theater. From left, Maija Tonry ’94, Margaret Skor ’00, Beth Rice ’87, Paul Quast ’72, Sharon Quast, Upper School science teacher Sue Scott, Marian Cieslak ’00, Wayne Nelson, Danielle Dean ’13, Daymond Dean ’85, Derek Dean ’20, Lower School teacher Jayne Nelson, Development Director Jennifer Halcrow, Steve Kean.

Andrew Bennett, a junior

shortstop on the baseball team at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minn., was named to the Academic All-America first team

by ESPN The Magazine. He led the team with a .366 batting average with 10 doubles, 10 home runs (tied for the school’s single-season record), 29 runs batted in, and 29 runs scored.

As a sophomore at Hamline, he was named to the Academic AllAmerica third team. Bennett is a physics and math major with a 3.96 grade point average.

Sam Salyer, a junior tennis

player at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., was named to the Atlantic 10 Men’s All-Conference second team, and was awarded Academic All-Conference honors for the second time. Salyer is an American Studies major.

SPA debate coach and Upper School English teacher Tom Fones credits the debate team’s successful season — which included reaching the finals of the national qualifying tournament — in part to the assistance of several alumni/ae and parent volunteers. Alums who helped out with judging, as well as sharing advice with current students, were Emily Berg ’02, Masha Finn ’05, Ben Faltesek ’01, Jesse Keller ’01, Olivia Killeen ’06, Emily Kraack ’01, Trygve Olsen ’94, Easwaran Subbaraman ’04, Mahesha Subbaraman ’02 and Sriraman Subbaraman ’04.

If you are interested in helping with the 2007-2008 debate season, contact Fones at 651-696-1409 or tfones@spa.edu.

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2005

Jack Adams Lindsay Giese Hannah Lamb hel1@cec.wustl.edu Kate Meyer meyerk@carleton.edu Nikki Stennes nikkis2100@aol.com Sarah Wald skwald@gmail.com Quincy Sewall is studying for a

month this summer in Prague, Czech Republic.

2006

Lien Bui lbui@gac.edu Rory Collins collinsr@carleton.edu Alex Gast a-gast@northwestern.edu Marjahn Golban mgolban@wellesley.edu Henry Parker hsparker@gwu.edu Alex Gast was named to the Dean’s List for the 2006-2007 fall and winter quarters at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Christine Hottinger attends Vassar College where she plans to major in Drama. She and

Class Notes other Vassar students have begun a theater company, No Fog West Theater, which is staging Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project this summer in Sheridan, Wyo. The play will run for seven shows during the last two weeks of July at Carriage House Theater in Sheridan. She and Adam Colton are starring in the production.

2007

Selected to represent the Class of 2007 as Class Agents are, from left, Derek Schaible, Etonde Awaah and Nick Rosenbaum.

Etonde Awaah Nicholas Rosenbaum Derek Schaible

Past Faculty and Staff Former Faculty and Staff news welcomed!

Contact Tracy Madden at 651-696-1323, or e-mail tmadden@spa.edu.

Kearn Bartholomay, former Lower School teacher, and her husband, Tom, wrote to update the SPA community on their family’s adoption process.

For more information, go to www.openheartsadoption.net.

Cliff Caine, Assistant Headmaster at SPA from 1972 to 1984, was named to the United States Tennis Association Northern Hall of Fame 2007 Class in May of this year.

He and five other honorees joined an elite list of 80 other members and will soon have a plaque hanging in the USTA Northern Hall of Fame at the Fort Snelling Tennis and

Learning Center in St. Paul, Minn.

According to the USTA, “Caine was an extremely successful college and high school coach in his career. He coached the men’s tennis team at Macalester College from 19601971, winning seven MIAC titles and finishing second four times. He then left Macalester to coach the boys’ and girls’ teams at St. Paul Academy and Summit School in Saint Paul, Minn., from 1972-1984. While at SPA he won seven Minnesota State High School League championships and finished third three times in a 10-year period.

He was named the Minnesota state high school coach of the year in 1976 and was bestowed the same honor by the Northwest Professional Tennis Association in 1980. Caine was named one of the 100 Most

Influential Persons in Minnesota Tennis from 1976-1978 after founding the Minnesota Girls Tennis Coaches Association and serving as its first president.

Also a longtime member of the USPTA Northwest Division, he was the Director of Tennis at Town and Country and Sommerset Country Club in St. Paul from 1964-1973. He also coached the Northwest Tennis Patrons girls’ junior team that traveled around the United States playing other top junior players in the world. He is a member of the Minnesota Tennis Coaches and Macalester College Hall of Fames.”

Jane Frazee, former music

teacher, writes, “I’m pleased to let you know that my new book, Orff Schulwerk Today (published

by Schott in London) was released in November. It offers a fresh synthesis of doing and understanding music that are built on the work I developed as an SPA teacher and published in a 1987 volume: Discovering Orff.

The text includes contributions from seven Orff Schulwerk master teachers, including Beth Nelson, who currently teaches music at the Lower School.”

Daniela Dvantman Goldfine,

Visiting SPA for a luncheon in honor of former faculty/staff in April were, front from left, Syb Woutat, Geri Riley, Kiki Gore. Back, David Sims, Cliff Caine, Wes Schultz, Caroline Roetzel, Colleen Krebs, Dutton Foster ’57, Margaret Rarig ’57, Geri Meyer, Burke Rodgers, Kearn Bartholomay, Bill Kansas, Arlene Sonday.

former Amity Intern and Middle School Spanish teacher, writes, “Since I left SPA in June 2004, I attended the University of Wisconsin-River

Falls, graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in Secondary Education. I now have Minnesota teaching licenses in K-12 Spanish and K-12 TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).

Starting this fall I will continue my education at the University of Minnesota, where I have been admitted into the doctoral program in Hispanic and Lusophone Literature. Most important, however, is that I married Dr. Leonard (Len) Goldfine in August 2006 and moved to Rochester, Minnesota.

Len recently accepted an administrative position at the U of M, so now that we’ll be at the same institution together, we will be moving back to the Twin Cities this summer. We look forward to seeing everybody!”

Buzz Lagos, former math teacher and soccer coach, received the Ron Wigg Award for outstanding coaching contributions in Region II, which covers a 13-state area, at the U.S. Youth Soccer Workshop in St. Louis, Mo., in early March. Recipients of this annual award are nominated and voted on by Region II staff coaches and state directors of coaching.

Lagos was recognized for his commitment to youth soccer, the Olympic Development Program and the development of the Minnesota Thunder professional soccer team. summer 2007

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In Memoriam Marjorie “Deana” Dean ’24, November 23, 2006, Bradfield, Berkshire, England. Survived by a nephew and numerous cousins.

Jane Skiles Griggs ’31, June 30, 2007, Del Ray Beach, Fla. Survived by son Milton “Tim” Griggs ’61 and daughter Nancy Griggs Eklund ’64; five grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren. Preceded in death by her husband, C. Milton Griggs ’31, and a daughter, Katherine “Tukie” Griggs Chrisman ’57.

Evelyn “Polly” Lightner Markham ’34, January 20, 2007,

Washington, D.C. There are no immediate survivors.

Evan, Sophie, Luke, Maeve, Anna, Gus, Charlie, Sam; sister Jane Washburn Wood ’41.

Preceded in death by her parents and sister Sally Washburn Shafroth ’43.

Pierce Butler III ’35, March

3, 2007, North Oaks, Minn.

Survived by wife Joyce; daughter Tara ’77; stepdaughters April Murphy and husband Charlie, Natalia Armitage and husband Patrick, Heather Simonett and husband Scott; stepgrandchildren Patrick, Caitlin, Miles, Cole, Brooks, Hadley, Allie, Natalia; and step-greatgrandson Jackson. Preceded in death by siblings Maeve Butler Beck ’37, Deirdre Butler Pellotier ’42, Michael Butler ’46.

Adelaide Washburn Gordon ’35,

January 23, 2007, Saint Paul, Minn. Survived by husband Dick Gordon ’29; sons Charlie ’64 and wife Jocelyn, Bob ’69 and wife Stephanie, Dick ’71 and wife Catherine; 10 grandchildren, Barrett, Jesse,

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Sally Nesbit Mordaunt ’44,

February 3, 2007, Saint Paul, Minn. Survived by daughters Mary Knudsen and husband Dan, and Judy Mordaunt and husband Quincy; grandchildren Charlie and Katie.

Joseph Melzarek ’46, May

10, 2007, Mendota Heights, Minn. Survived by wife Bonnie; children Christine Garretson and husband Peter, Missy Kreisler and husband Kirk, Mark Melzarek and Mary Melzarek; six grandchildren, Michael and Samantha Garretson, Rachel and Chad Emerson, Laura and John Melzarek; step-daughters Michele Lindemann, Gretchen Roepke and husband Tony, Heidi Soll and Johanna Butler; and seven step-grandchildren.

William J. O’Brien ’47, June 25, 2007, Duluth, Minn.

Survived by wife Sandra; brothers Thomond ’51 and Terence ’51; daughters Katherine O’Brien ’70 and husband Bill Batcher, Alice Berquist ’71 and husband Charlie, Julia O’Brien ’73, and Deborah Gundry and husband Cooper; grandchildren Evan ’00, Blake ’03, Kennedy, Lily, Alex and Sarah; step-daughter Elizabeth Graham and husband Rick; and step-grandchildren

Ruby and Eli. Preceded in Faculty death by his and parents,Staff sister Judy O’Brien Wilcox ’49 and former wife Patty.

Patricia Towle Grant ’48, March

18, 2007, Rancho Palos Verde, Calif. Survived by husband Bob; five children and their spouses; and five grandchildren.

Tracy Bement DeRoma ’59, May 11, 2007, Aurora, Colo.

Survived by sister Diane Bement Devitt ’57 and husband Bob; sons Edward Kern and Steve Kern and wife Robin; nephews Bobby and Tommy; niece Carolyn; and grandchildren Steve, Jannika, Jessica and Abigail.

Linda Stoddard Snyder ’59, April 23, 2007, Roseville, Minn. Survived by daughters Kathy Hintze and husband David, and Elizabeth Stulginskis and husband Glen; and grandchildren Jake, Paige and Tori.

Tenth grade world history students made their ďŹ rst-ever trip to the Minneapolis Central Library this year to research materials for their history research paper.

Sophomores usually visit the St. Paul Main Library, but students found the new Minneapolis Library helpful due to the wide variety of materials it contains and plan to return again next year.

Juniors studying U.S. History visit the O.M. Wilson Library on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota each year to research their history papers.

Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PA I D St. Paul, MN Permit No. 3400

1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105-2194 Address Service Requested

Extra postage is needed for forwarding.

To parents of alumni/ae: Please let us know if this is no longer the current mailing address for your son or daughter.

Call 651-696-1366 to update us.

CONGRATULATIONS! 2007 Varsity Boys’ Tennis Team First Place in the Class A State Tennis Championship

Pictured front, from left, Birk Mitau, Zac Mohring, Andrew Magne. Row two, Dillon Titcomb, Michael Halvorson, John Hill, Joe Redmon.

Row three, Head Coach Viet Pham, Joseph Merrill, Pierce Norton, Spencer McMillan, Evan McMillan, Harry Whitaker, John Wight, Assistant Coach Chi Pham.