Landmark’s News in Brief

Landmark’s News in Brief | SPORTS | FACULTY | THE ARTS | STUDENTS | SERVICE | ALUMNI | RESOURCES

In May, the Landmark athletic department welcomed 465 athletes from 30 independent schools to Gordon College (where Landmark’s track and field team practices) for the Division 3 New England Prep School Track and Field Association (NEPSTA-D3) annual championship meet, “the New Englands.”

An event of this size is extremely complex, but Tom O’Riordan, assistant athletic director, along with a team of Landmark volunteers, made the effort look easy.

“Thank you to the coaching staff of Tim Burke, Mari Rivera, and Mike Tucker, led by head coach Christina Scanlon, for stepping up to do whatever was needed to help administer the meet, while coaching the kids to three school records and tons of personal records!” said O’Riordan.

❱❱ LANDMARK’S OWN

Julia Bottarelli’s ’23 distinctive retro design was selected as the winner of this year’s High School T-shirt design contest. All spring we saw these tees and sweatshirts all over the campus with her popular and trend-setting design. Congratulations Julia!

facebook.com/landmarkschool  @landmarkschool

The Landmark School Alumni

SEPT. 24 - OCT. 1

Join in the fun as we celebrate Landmark’s caring community throughout the week.

OCTOBER 1

Recruit your friends and come back to campus for a 5K road race, games, petting zoo, and more!

STARTING ON PG. 46

We kicked up our heels this spring! Check out photos and updates from our 50th Anniversary and other events.

Beacon ❱❱ Landmark’s News in Brief

Every summer, the family of former High School faculty member Andrew Burke sponsors a summer stipend for curriculum development. The Andrew Burke Memorial Award is open to social studies, language arts, and tutorial teachers. This year we congratulate the following teachers for having their proposals accepted:

Janet Parady, LETRS training/ curriculum work Liam Maher and Dave Hammond, Justice & Citizenship course (Fall 2022) Hillary Mackay-Smith, Digital Literacy Curriculum Development

As always, we extend our thanks to the Burke family for their continued generosity in supporting our faculty in their efforts to enhance and expand our curriculum.

Landmark’s High School 2022 Sailing team

Congratulations to Landmark junior Hannah T. ’23 for being named a Salem Evening News 2021–2022 Girls Hockey All Star. Playing for Marblehead, she was among the top five defensive players in the Northeastern League.

The High School campus returned from spring break to find an exciting surprise in the dining room. SAGE Dining Services designed and installed a beautiful chalkboard to introduce our very own “Java House,” complete with an assortment of freshly brewed coffees and flavored-syrup accompaniments. Thank you to our SAGE friends for always going the extra mile and keeping us well fueled throughout the year!

Landmark High School’s sailing team was a force on the water, competing against both public and private schools in the area. The team, coached by Landmark veteran Doug Walker along with faculty members Michaela Hillier and Doug Turnbull, represented Landmark proudly with sportsmanship, tenacity, and skill— and a near perfect record.

Theo Masella ’25, participated in the New York Times Learning Network “Invent a Word” vocabulary challenge. Students were invited to make up a word that did not yet exist, along with its definition and an example sentence. Theo received honorable mention for gubble (noun). Definition: The space in between one’s toes, including webbed skin. Use in a sentence: The Olympic swimmer’s wide, webbed gubbles propelled him to first place. Winners were published in the New York Times on April 1.

As the weather started to warm up, many community service events occurred on and off campus. High School Chaplain Bill Ferguson, along with the Community Action Team at Landmark’s Elementary•Middle School, took advantage of the easing of COVID restrictions and prioritized supporting the local community. Among the many initiatives was an effort by a small group of High School students to clean yards of elderly friends who live nearby. It’s often the little things that matter most. Thank you Bill, Ethan, Jed, Oona, and Rudi.

This spring, several Landmark students wrote and submitted poems to the 26th Annual Beverly Teen Poetry Contest for middle and high school students. The contest is run by the Beverly Public Library each spring. This year they received 444 entries. Landmark High School students Olivia Pierce ’22 and Olle Lundgren ’25 were selected as finalists and were invited to recite their poems at a public reading at the library. Amy Veling, Landmark High School librarian said, “We are all so proud of them and would also like to extend a special thank you to faculty members Ross Ackerman, Kathy MacMannis, and Helen Monroe who worked with, practiced, and cheered on Olivia and Olle at the final reading.” Olivia wrote and presented two poems: “Lost in Thought #49” and “Lost in Thought #51,” while Olle was recognized for his poem, “Ice”.

Olivia Pierce ’22 Olle Lundgren ’25

❱❱ ORDER UP!

Move over Jamie Oliver, there’s a new group of restaurateurs in town! This spring, several industrious High School students debuted Landmark’s Mock Restaurant in the Murphy Prep Building, serving a delectable, five-course meal to a dozen students and faculty members. The evening required hours of planning, prep, and time management. Remarkably, none of the students had prior experience working in a restaurant.

The restaurant was anything but mock— a name change might be necessary for the next offering. Thank you Charlie B. ‘23, Derek C. ‘24, Marco B. ‘24, Oona G. ‘23, and Sabine N. ‘22 for your initiative, creativity, and execution!

Beacon ❱❱ Landmark’s News in Brief

This spring the Elementary• Middle School science classes participated in the EGG-streme Games. Students combined imagination with physical and mechanical knowledge to build a structure that would prevent a Grade A large egg from breaking when dropped from increasing heights.

This design challenge kicked off the Middle School science STEM unit on Structures and Construction Technology, and the Elementary STEM unit on Materials and Uses. It was a great way to get the community thinking, excited, and buzzing about a science event. Faculty members remarked that they could hear students walking down the hallways comparing each other’s projects, which ones survived, and which ones “cracked.” This year, after two days of “drops,” an amazing 25 student structures survived with eggs intact.

In April, Landmark’s Elementary•Middle School hosted an Afro-Brazilian Music and Dance Ensemble. Students gathered to hear this lively performance and explore the African roots of Brazilian culture through music, dance, and martial arts.

The performers enthusiastically demonstrated forms of capoeira, maculele, samba, and their origins. Students had an opportunity to combine rhythm and movement with the performers on stage, as well as learn some Portuguese words and phrases.

On a gorgeous afternoon in mid-June, Landmark’s Elementary Program hosted the annual Key Ceremony to recognize each student for one of their most outstanding qualities. Keys are awarded throughout the year and represent everything from Honesty and Kindness to Self Advocacy and Courage.

Each of the elementary classes gathered in unique outdoor settings dotted around the rambling grounds of the Elementary•Middle School campus where intimate ceremonies were hosted by each class’s teacher. Families were invited to attend the ceremonies and then joined all of the students under the tent in the courtyard for lemonade and cookies.

Toward the end of the 2021–2022 school year, Sophie Wilson’s eighth grade science class researched and developed in-depth projects about infectious diseases, ranging from anthrax to typhoid. To enhance the experience and provide a primary source for one student researching ebola, Ms. Wilson arranged for Landmark alumnus, Kieran Kesner ’09, to speak to the class. Kesner shared his experiences as a news photographer covering the ebola outbreak for the Wall Street Journal in Liberia in 2014.

Kesner showed students photos from his time there. He candidly relayed stories about the work, safety concerns, and challenges of the assignment. With the COVID pandemic fresh on everyone’s mind, his pictures were striking, raw, and authentic—and gave the students a unique snapshot into the reality of the ravages of the ebola disease.

Ms. Wilson said, “We were so grateful to have Kieran come and speak to the class about his

experiences in an epidemic hot-zone. He did an incredible job of bringing the situation that he faced to life. The students were clearly moved by Kieran’s honesty and the poignancy of the imagery.”

To usher in the spring season, students, faculty, and staff at Landmark’s Elementary•Middle School (EMS) enjoyed a festive, Spirit Week hosted by the eighth grade community group. There was a different theme each day, including wearing mismatched clothing, donning decade-specific attire, dressing up in formal clothing, and everyone’s favorite— pajama day.

Students and teachers teamed up to compete in a rollicking Corn Hole tournament, and there was even an art contest where students submitted a piece of work to answer the question, “What does the Landmark community mean to you?” There’s never a lack of spirit on the EMS campus, and the week of fun and frivolity did not disappoint.

The storied Madame Tussauds Wax Museums have nothing on Amy Conant’s fifth grade class. Landmark’s Elementary•Middle School (EMS) faculty member has a reputation for being exceptionally creative in meeting her students’ needs as individuals and learners. Recently, she and her six talented students blew the Landmark community away with an interdisciplinary initiative that materialized into a live Amelia Earhart Wax Museum.

Students studied a specific time period in Earhart’s life, prepared poster boards with facts, figures, and images, and then wrote, rehearsed, and performed an oral presentation describing that chapter in her life. Museum visitors learned a plethora of interesting facts about the airwoman, activist, and trendsetter’s life, including that she was the 16th woman to receive a pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the governing body of sports aviation. She was also the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean. Visitors also learned that she participated in the National Women’s Party, advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment.

Asked how she came up with such an innovative, interdisciplinary project, Conant said, “Students are my inspiration. Each year I watch for what interests them, assess class dynamics, and value the individual gifts each student brings. This year these elements came together and brought our museum to life.”

Kudos to participating students: Anna H., Frannie H., Kaleigh W., Maya K., Penelope S., and Somers K.

Local ornithologist, Jim Parks of Wingmasters, came to Landmark’s Elementary•Middle School campus this spring, bringing along some wild, winged friends. He spoke to the students about North American birds of prey that are now in rehabilitation. It was a memorable and informative presentation, and the birds he brought along were showstoppers—including one of the oldest red tail hawks, at the age of 35!

Amy Conant poses with her students representing six chapters in Amelia Earhart’s life.