The Langley School Experience Summer 2011

experience the langley school

Summer 2011

NBA Star Keith Bogans ’95 Returns to Langley

the langley school

experience The Langley School Experience is published twice a year for friends and families of The Langley School.

Head of School Doris E. Cottam Editor & Designer Sharon Ifft, Director of Publications & Marketing Photographers Aki Debayo-Doherty Sharon Ifft Matthew Lester Frank McPartland Shannon Ryan Cover photo by Frank McPartland

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Contents

Head of School’s Message Campus Happenings Graduation: Class of 2011 Sports Spotlight Arts in Action Pat Bush Library Approaches Its 20th Year Advancement Update Alumni News Alumni Profile: Chelsea Mehra ’07 NBA Star Keith Bogans ’95 Returns to Langley Alumni Profile: Jeremy Kanter ’01 Where in the World are Langley Alumni?

Class Notes

The Langley School is comprised of students, teachers, parents, and staff who believe that a diverse school community promotes learning and growth, preparing students for responsible and compassionate citizenship in the global community. We administer all programs and policies without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or any other category to the extent protected by applicable laws.

The Langley School

1411 Balls Hill Road

McLean,VA 22101

Phone: (703) 356-1920

Fax: (703) 790-9712

www.langleyschool.org

head of school’s Message Dear Langley Friends...

I hope you enjoy this new, more colorful edition of The Langley School Experience! The magazine is one of our primary modes of communication with our alumni and past families, so we wanted its design and content to better reflect the exciting, vibrant atmosphere felt throughout our campus.

It’s a busy summer at Langley as we prepare for the students’ return in the fall.

New landscaping, fencing, and signage along Balls Hill Road will help to beautify our front entrance, and a new LCD sign and campus map outside the Lower School building will provide families and guests with school news and make it easier to navigate our growing campus. Plans are also under way to construct our newest building, the Security & Facilities Gatehouse, in late summer or early fall.

In addition to our bustling Summer Studio program during June and July, we were thrilled to welcome back Langley alumnus Keith

Bogans ’95 for a week-long basketball camp with our students in mid July. Keith is a starting guard for the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and one of our most wellknown alumni. And he got his start right here under the guidance of our very own athletic director, Jim Gleason! Keith’s sold-out camp attracted more than 50 attendees from the Langley community and the greater DC area, and we thank him for sharing his talents and insights with our campers this summer.

For an in-depth Q&A with Keith, see page 22.

At Langley, we are blessed to have such a wonderful group of alumni who remain involved with the school, returning to campus to run a camp as Keith did or to serve as Summer Studio counselors as so many did this year (see page 30 for a complete list). Others who may not live nearby stay connected by giving a gift, sharing their latest news, or joining our Facebook or LinkedIn groups.

And still others share their

talents to help promote the school, as Mandy Coston ’05 did this summer. Mandy recently contacted us with an idea for a story about young alumni who are studying or working overseas.We’re excited to share her article with you on page 26.

In this issue, we also celebrate our graduates – both our eighth-grade class and members of Langley’s Class of 2007 who recently completed their high school careers. On the pages that follow, you’ll find a listing of the high schools and colleges these accomplished alumni will be attending in the fall. We are so proud of them and of the people

they have become, thanks in part to the experiences they had here at Langley.

We know they, too, will remain closely connected to their Langley family.

Sincerely,

Doris E. Cottam Head of School

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campus Happenings Author/Illustrator Henry Cole Visits Langley On April 21, author/illustrator and former Langley science teacher Henry Cole spent the day on campus for a series of Earth Day assemblies with students in grades 1-8. Since Mr. Cole’s work promotes enjoyment and respect for the environment, his visit tied in perfectly with Earth Day. Mr. Cole encouraged students to use their imaginations to tell a story through words or drawings, and discussed the important role the natural world can play in a story. He shared how he got started as an artist, explained the process of creating a picture book from start to finish, and even drew a few quick sketches to give students an idea of how he creates his characters.

a scientist in his work as an author/ illustrator. He hopes his books inspire readers to become aware of the natural world around them and to protect the Earth.Through his message of “one person can make a difference,” he encouraged our Middle Schoolers to use their individual talents to promote nature and conservation.

Mr. Cole has illustrated more than 50 books, six of which he also wrote. For more information about his work, visit www.henrycole.net.

With the older students, Mr. Cole talked about historical fiction research and how he uses his experience as

Fifth Grade Leads Canned Goods Drive Langley’s fifth-grade class led a schoolwide canned goods drive throughout the spring to benefit low-income families through SHARE of McLean. Fifthgraders spoke to Primary and Lower School students about the importance of helping others and loaded the canned goods onto a bus for delivery to SHARE.

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campus

Students Participate in Geography Bee The Wabash River forms part of the border between Illinois and what other state? Santa Ana is a major coffee-producing city that shares its name with a nearby volcanic peak in which Central American country? Ten Langley students in grades 4-8 answered these and other tough geography questions during the first round of the 23rd annual National Geographic Bee on January 6. Congratulations to our 2011 winner, sixth-grader Caroline Morin, who advanced to the state level of the competition.

Sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the annual Geography Bee is held in thousands of schools across the country and is the first step toward naming a national champion. During the January 6 competition, participants were asked a series of oral and written questions about both physical and cultural geography around the world.

Congratulations to the nine other students who participated in Langley’s 2011 Geography Bee based on their results from a preliminary qualifying test: eighth-graders Evan Drake (runner-up) & Michael Padmanabhan; seventhgraders Mark Ahari & Robinson Cook; sixth-grader Allie Clarke; fifth-graders Alex Debayo-Doherty & Rhett Rezendes; and fourth-graders Isaac Feldman & Shane McPartland.

Academic Honors • Eighth-graders participated in the American Mathematics Competition 8, a national, timed math test. Langley’s top scorer, Connor Koch, received first-place honors for placing in the top five percent of all eighth-grade math students in the nation.

• Middle School world languages students performed well on the national Spanish and French exams, with 23 of our Spanish students and 25 of our French students earning national awards.

Happenings

Professional Development Day Focuses on Curriculum During Langley’s Professional Development Day in February, the entire faculty came together to participate in a curriculum-mapping workshop which provided training on the school’s new online curriculum software which will allow teachers to archive curriculum each year and better collaborate across grade levels and subject areas.

In the afternoon, the faculty worked together in groups as they assessed Langley’s curriculum using the “Understanding by Design” philosophy.This philosophy asks teachers to look at the big picture and to consider the questions, “What do we hope the enduring understandings will be for each unit, course, and grade level?” and “What do students need to know at the end of a particular unit?”

“This professional development day provided a chance for us to evaluate the value of a particular unit or topic of study and to reflect on our teaching,” says Director of Academics Kathleen Smith. “We are always striving toward excellence to meet the needs of our students, so we see our curriculum as a work in progress.”

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campus

Happenings

Third-Graders Explore Colonial Times Langley third-graders presented their own creative version of the Boston Tea Party and the events that led to this important day in American history during their Colonial Day performance on March 3.

Their play – which included Colonial music, costumes, and scenery – focused on the taxes levied by King George against all imports to the Colonies. Acting as

the daughters and sons of liberty, the students depicted the Colonists’ reaction to the British tea tax and their standoff in Boston Harbor.

Each third-grader took on a role in the play – from King George, his troops, Parliament members, and British spies to famous American patriots such as Paul Revere and the many Colonists who were unsung heroes in the fight for independence.

Argentinean Students Visit Langley Langley students had the chance to learn about another culture when a group of 36 middle school boys from Rosario, Argentina, visited campus on April 12 and took on our boys’ varsity team in a spirited soccer game.

The visit was arranged

by Spanish teacher Elena Meschieri, who is a native of Rosario and a former member of the city’s Jockey Club. Soccer teams from the Argentinean Jockey Club travel to several American cities each spring to sightsee and to play soccer against U.S. competition. A group from the Jockey Club last visited Langley in April 2009.

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After arriving on campus, the boys and their coaches participated in several cultural exchange activities with our eighth-graders, including a game in which both groups discovered their similarities and differences. Langley eighthgraders also presented a video which they created to welcome their guests and the Argentineans

shared a PowerPoint explaining their culture.

Both groups then enjoyed getting to know each other over lunch.

At 2:00 p.m., the school gathered on the turf field to watch the much-anticipated match-up between our boys’ varsity soccer team and the talented Argentineans. Even though

our boys had not practiced together since the fall season ended, Langley put up a good fight but lost 0-4 to their South American counterparts.

“This was an extremely valuable cross-cultural experience for both groups,” says Mrs. Meschieri.

“The visit gave everyone a chance to learn about a culture different from their own and to broaden their understanding of the world around them.”

campus

Happenings

Science Department Receives New Weather Image Receiver Langley science students are able to gather real-time data on atmospheric and surface weather conditions thanks to a new weather image receiver station donated by Langley parent Chris Lages.

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Hopefully the receiver will help the students get a feel for how much engineering and science goes into the pictures they see on The Weather Channel.”

The station – which is comprised of a radio receiver, antenna, and computer software program – detects signals from satellites orbiting the Earth and converts those signals into images of clouds, rain, sleet, snow, and hail that can be viewed on a monitor in the Lower School science lab.The software overlays the latest cloud imagery onto a map of the eastern part of North America and the Caribbean. Depending on the exact path of the satellite, as well as the cloud cover at that particular time, the picture received might show clouds spanning from Cuba up to Canada, and from the Midwest to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The new receiver station will enhance Langley’s sixth-grade science unit on meteorology and has inspired our Science Department to explore the possibility of beginning a new weather unit in second or third grade as well.

“As students collect real-time satellite photographs and data, it will help them better understand how the atmosphere changes over time and what causes certain types of weather,” says science teacher Ryan McKinney. “ We are extremely grateful to the Lages family for their generous donation.”

“The software has some unique features that enable Langley students to view the amount of precipitation associated with the cloud deck, to view enhanced color images of the cloud formations, and even to examine what ocean temperatures are through the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic,” says Mr. Lages, who has helped build and launch several weather satellites for

Sixth-Grade BardFest Showcases Shakespearean Drama On May 19, Langley sixth-graders took part in the school’s seventh annual BardFest, a Shakespearean festival and recitation contest organized by language arts teacher Mark Robbins. As the culmination of their unit on Shakespeare, students took to the stage as famous Shakespearean characters in a series of group and individual performances.

Students worked in small groups to re-enact famous scenes from Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. As a creative twist, they added their own “lost” scenes that addressed the fate of their favorite Shakespearean characters from the play. On May 19, they performed these re-enacted and original scenes, complete with sword fights and creative costumes.

Thirty-six students also participated in an optional recitation contest, reciting monologues or sonnets from memory from a variety of Shakespeare’s most famous works, including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar, among others.

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campus

Happenings

Langley Wins Recycling Challenge During the month of April, Langley participated in the Green Schools Alliance Green Cup Challenge, an annual event which helps schools audit and improve their recycling procedures. Langley competed against nearly 20 schools around the country and came in first place as the school with the best recycling habits!

Langley sixth-graders led the effort.They created green badges to wear as they monitored Langley’s recycling habits, checking recycling bins and trash cans around campus to make sure students, faculty, and staff were

Primary School Parents’ Day Celebrates Dr. Seuss Parents of Langley Primary Schoolers enjoyed a celebration of Dr. Seuss during the annual Primary School Parents’ Day in March. Throughout February, preschool, JK, and kindergarten students studied Dr. Seuss during their spiral unit which was integrated across subject areas. On Parents’ Day, parents spent an hour in the classroom, taking part in various Dr. Seussthemed activities. Each class also presented a special musical performance in honor of Dr. Seuss.

making green decisions when disposing of or recycling their waste.The sixth-graders then provided feedback to students and teachers which led to a significant improvement over the month-long period.

“By participating in the Green Cup Challenge, students were able to raise awareness about recycling and waste reduction, quantify and track results over a four-week period, and report and compare their results/progress with independent schools around the country,” says Ryan McKinney, science teacher. “The challenge generated excitement around recycling and encouraged good habits of lifelong environmental attentiveness.”

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Students Paint Hospital Mural During the spring trimester, 11 Middle School students participated in a unique new elective option – mural painting – during which they created their very own mural for display in the surgical wing of INOVA Fairfax Hospital. Students spent countless Saturdays working on the mural at the hospital.The mural’s theme, the four seasons, was developed and sketched by these talented and community-minded students.

campus

Happenings

Langley Announces 2011-2012 Board of Trustees The slate of Langley’s Board of Trustees for the upcoming 2011-2012 school year has been appointed and includes three new members: Christa Davidson, Steve Dussek, and Geoff Pence.

Christa Davidson is a psychotherapist at The Women’s Center in Vienna,

VA. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an A.B. in education and of Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master of Social Work (M.S.W.), and has completed one year in the Master of Divinity program at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond. Christa began her career as a teacher then moved to the corporate world where she spent 18 years in human resources management, the last half at MCI, before returning to school in 2003 to enter the clinical social work field. She is involved in church and community outreach programs.

Steve Dussek assumed the role of chief executive officer of NII Holdings,

Inc. – a Fortune 500 company with more than 9 million subscribers – in February 2008. In his position as CEO, he provides corporate governance and guidance to the company in its pursuit of growth opportunities in Latin America. Previously, when the company was known as Nextel International, Steve served as chief executive officer and chief operating officer. He has also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Nextel Communications and president and chief executive officer of Dobson Communications Corporation which was later acquired by AT&T. He was recently elected to the Board of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Geoff Pence is the vice president of The Pence Group, a regional real estate de-

velopment company specializing in shopping center, office, and hotel development. He received a B.A. from the University of Colorado and a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law, and is currently a member of the American Bar Association and the Virginia Bar Association. Geoff is active in programs in support of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.

2011-2012 Board of Trustees John Clarke, Chair Jennifer Choi, Vice Chair & Treasurer Leslie Sarasin, Secretary Jamie Baker Lee Carol Cook Christa Davidson Susan DeMarco Robert Denton Steve Dussek Michael Mendler Michelle Olson Geoff Pence Rita Roy Fred Singer Spencer Stouffer Glenn Youngkin Joel Kanter, Trustee Emeritus

Students Team Up for Field Day On May 27, students in grades 1-8 came together in 20 teams for a day of outdoor activities during Langley’s annual Field Day. Kindergartners joined in the fun with their own special Field Day activities on April 21.

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graduation Class of 2011

“Langley has taught me to love to learn.”

-Kira Becker ’11

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graduation

Class of 2011

Class of 2011 High School Choices Samuel M. Adler McLean High School Kian Sebastien Alikhani Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Rianna Banerjee The Madeira School Nazdar Barzani Flint Hill School Kira S. Becker Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Nathaniel Riedy Buchwald* The Potomac School Theodore Phillips Chambers, Jr.* Brunswick School William Clarke* Gonzaga College High School Joshua Richard Copito* Landon School Evan Stuart Campbell Drake St. Albans School Gianna Lucia Duda The Madeira School Milo Edmond Ferenczi Maret School Kelsey Alexa Friberg National Cathedral School Mary Margaret Gates The Madeira School Mary Caroline Geren Fort Worth Country Day School Alexandros Alkos Giagtzis McLean High School Courtney Marie Gistaro* Georgetown Day School Alexandra Mae Graham The Potomac School Kellyn Eileen Henry The Madeira School Imran Idris Farook* Washington Mathematics Science Technology Charter Public School Katharine Y. Jiang* The Madeira School Armin Kabiri Georgetown Day School Kathryn Sophia Karnaze* The Potomac School Richard Logan Kissire* Georgetown Preparatory School William Connor J. Koch* McLean High School Seong Yong (Steve) Lee Eon Ju Middle School, South Korea Niki Lockwood

Langley High School Ruhi M. Maniyar* St. Andrew’s Episcopal School Asia Martin The Bullis School Chloe Brauer Morton Oakton High School Mary Margaret O’Connell The Madeira School Michael R. Padmanabhan

McLean High School Laura Elizabeth Persinski The Potomac School Hanna Kaitlin Powers The Madeira School Ana S.A. Rampy Undecided Lauren Ruth Sandercock The Madeira School Marta Maria Sniezek National Cathedral School Ethan Fitzgerald Weisberg* Gonzaga College High School Johnna Gem Yazgan American School of Paris Grant McDaniel Youngkin St. Albans School

In addition to the schools listed at left, members of the Class of 2011 were also accepted at the following schools: All Saints Episcopal (TX), Bishop O’Connell, British School of Washington, Foxcroft School, Georgetown Visitation, Hackley School (NY), St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes, Sidwell Friends, and Washington International.

*Denotes that student has continually attended Langley since nursery or JK years

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graduation

Class of 2011

In Their Own Words

Langley’s Class of 2011 Shares Final Thoughts & Memories Imran Idris: “My Langley experience has meant

a lot to me. I learned to push myself and how to make true friends.”

Maggie O’Connell: “At Langley, I have been

able to grow as a person and a student. I have made friendships that will last a lifetime, and have had the opportunity to study on one of the nicest campuses in Virginia with the best teachers and resources.”

Steve Lee: “The small community at Langley really allowed me to work with teachers one-on-one.”

Katharine Jiang: “Langley has become my

second home. It prepared me for the future and I can’t wait to face the road ahead of me.”

Evan Drake: “Langley taught me that if I work

hard, I will be rewarded. I was challenged here which I believe prepared me well for high school.”

Ruhi Maniyar: “Langley has been my second

in class, but I’ve learned valuable life lessons that have helped me grow as a student and a person.”

Theo Chambers: “I have been at Langley since

preschool and have made lifetime bonds with my class.

Langley has set the stepping stones for my life. I’m sure that Langley will remain in my memory my entire life.”

home since I was three. I learned to be responsible, respectful, and mature, both inside and outside of school.”

Alex Giagtzis: “Langley has taught me to be

Armin Kabiri: “Langley has prepared me for

Kelsey Friberg: “Langley’s strong academics and

Mary Geren: “Langley has helped shape me into

Marta Sniezek: “Coming to Langley has been

the future by educating me with public speaking and increasing my love of academics.”

the well-rounded person I am today, and has prepared me very well for the rest of my life.”

Milo Ferenczi: “My Langley experience has been awesome. It has been an honor to attend this school.”

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Kellyn Henry: “Not only have I learned things

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myself and to believe in myself all the time.”

caring, unique community have given me the knowledge and confidence to succeed.”

a wonderful change in my life. Here I have learned to balance high-level sports and high-level academics.”

graduation

Class of 2011

My Favorite Langley Memory Is... “…receiving a bracelet from my big buddy when I was in kindergarten. I still have this bracelet and wear it from time to time. I loved having a big buddy and was happy to be a big buddy to kindergartners this year.” -Laura Persinski “…winning the soccer championship. I loved wearing the Langley jersey.” -Grant Youngkin “…the overnight trips. From Philadelphia to New York City, I had such a blast with all of my best friends.” -Allie Graham “…being a little buddy when I was in kindergarten, then getting to have my own little buddy as an eighth-grader.” -Ethan Weisberg “…being in a freezing cold hotel room with my friends during our class trip to New York only to find the thermostat the next morning.” -Nazdar Barzani “…my arrival on the first day of JK – one of the best moments of my life!” -Will Clarke “…the overnight field trips. Not only did I get to hang out with my friends, but I also had the chance to be responsible and independent.” -Lauren Sandercock “…my first day at Langley.The day started with me being timid and not wanting my mom to leave and ended with me not wanting to leave to go home!” -Courtney Gistaro

Class Gift Enhances School Spirit As their parting gift to the school, Langley’s Class of 2011 purchased a new leopard mascot costume.

The mascot will wear a t-shirt with “11” on it in remembrance of the class and will help encourage school spirit and Langley pride. Members of the class raised money for the new costume through after-school bake sales.

Class of 2011 Representatives Chosen Will Clarke and Kelsey Friberg were chosen by their peers as class representatives for Langley’s Class of 2011. In this role, they will serve as the link to Langley for the 40 members of this year’s graduating class, keeping them connected to one another and the school.

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sports Spotlight

Basketball Teams Earn Four First-Place Finishes Girls’ Varsity Basketball

Boys’ Varsity Basketball

The girls breezed through the west division of the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) in the regular season, tying for first place with Immanuel Christian. Langley also participated in and won the Bullis tournament, topping Flint Hill in the semifinals and an undefeated Bullis team by 10 points in the final.

The girls entered the CAC tournament as the top seed. They beat Westminster in the semifinals then took on Immanuel Christian again in the final. The nail-biter went to overtime, with Immanuel Christian eventually taking the title by just one point with a three-pointer at the buzzer.

The boys’ varsity team started their season in Langley’s holiday tournament, taking out Green Acres in the semifinals but losing to Immanuel Christian in the final. Key wins included a 15-point regular season victory over a tough Woods Academy team and three solid wins over Green Acres. In the CAC tournament, the boys advanced to the final four where they lost to Norwood.

Overall Record: 16-3 CAC Regular Season: Champion CAC Tournament: Second CAC All-Stars: Kathryn Karnaze, Laura Persinski, Marta Sniezek

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Overall Record: 12-5 CAC Regular Season: Second CAC Tournament: Fourth CAC All-Stars: Nathaniel Buchwald, Theo Chambers, Will Clarke, Grant Youngkin

sports

Girls’ JV

Overall Record: 14-0 CAC Regular Season: Champion CAC Tournament: Champion With a perfect 14-0 record, the girls’ JV squad dominated the competition this season. In February, they entered the Bullis tournament where

they topped St. Patrick’s in the semifinals and Bullis in the final. They entered the CAC tournament as the top seed and advanced to the final to take on a tough Woods Academy team at Woods.

Although they were down by one point in the fourth quarter, Langley went on a run and took the title by a margin of seven.

Boys’ JV

Overall Record: 11-1 CAC Regular Season: Champion CAC Tournament: Third Although the boys’ JV team was small and young, their quickness and offensive and defensive talent earned them much success this season.

In their undefeated

Spotlight

regular season, Langley took out an extremely tough Westminster team by just one point – a key win that locked up their first-place finish in the conference. The boys’ only loss of the year came during the CAC tournament, where they fell to Norwood in the semifinals.

Spring Sports Results Girls’ Softball

Girls’ Lacrosse

Led by a strong team of experienced players, Langley finished atop the regular season standings with a final record of 8-0. In the CAC tournament, the girls vindicated last year’s loss to Congressional in the semifinals, then topped Immanuel Christian in the final to take the title.

This young team enjoyed a strong and competitive season despite some tough losses.The girls – many of them new to the sport – played hard and learned a lot.

Boys’ Baseball The boys’ baseball team had a strong season, with just one loss to a tough Norwood squad, 8-2. Key wins included a 10-0 victory over Potomac and a 12-2 victory over Fourth Presbyterian.

Boys’ Lacrosse The team started the season strong, winning their first three games over Norwood,Trinity, and Potomac, and finished with a 3-3 record overall.

Track & Field On May 3, more than 40 Langley students participated in the annual CAC track and field meet held on Langley’s campus. Langley won the meet overall with a total score of 330 points – almost tripling the score of the school that came in second place.

Tennis In the spring, Langley piloted a new coed tennis team. Students attended several practices and were scheduled to play four matches. Although two of the matches were rained out, Langley topped Potomac in the two remaining matches for a final 2-0 record.

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arts in Action

“Broadway Lullaby” Plays to Largest Langley Audience Ever Nearly 1,140 people filled the Sherman Center auditorium for Langley’s Middle School spring play, “Broadway Lullaby,” during its run March 10-12.Thanks to the addition of a new Saturday matinee performance, the

show’s total attendance was the largest ever at a Middle School production.

A cast and crew of more than 70 talented Middle Schoolers were involved in all aspects of the show,

Fourth-Graders Present Asian “Arts Share” As the culmination of the fourth grade’s second trimester fine arts rotation, students presented an “arts share” highlighting Asian culture and the Silk Road. The theme tied in with their study of Asia in social studies as well. Mrs. Massey’s class shared the Chinese opera masks they made, Ms. Lim’s students sang a Chinese song and played a traditional Japanese piece, and Mrs. Compton’s class presented the play, “The Magic Brocade,” a Chinese folktale.

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whether acting on stage, serving as a student director, assisting with scenery creation, playing in the pit orchestra, helping with hair and make-up, or handling lighting and sound.

Set in the 1920s, this charming comedy included lots of drama, vaudeville acts, a silent film scene, and classic 1920s music played by Langley’s live pit orchestra.

Artist-in-Residence Program Focuses on African Dance Each year, Langley’s Fine Arts Department brings a professional arts expert to campus for several days of hands-on instruction with the seventh grade. This year’s artist-in-residence was Sylvia Soumah from the Coyaba Dance Theater, an African dance and drumming group based in Washington, DC. During the three-day workshop, seventh-graders learned basic African dance steps and drumming rhythms and performed a warrior dance.

arts in

Action

Fifth-Grade Musical Grades 1-2 Broadway Review

On May 6, Langley first- and second-graders presented a combined musical review of famous Broadway tunes spanning six decades. Featuring colorful costumes, energetic choreography, and several short scenes to set the stage, “Langley on Broadway: Six Golden Decades” featured show-stopping songs from “Annie Get Your Gun,” “42nd Street,” “Oliver,” “Oklahoma,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” and “Annie.”

During their performance of “A Kid’s Life” on February 3, Langley fifth-graders entertained audience members with a high-energy show featuring seven choreographed musical numbers. Each fifth-grade class took part in several scenes, allowing every student to sing, dance, and act on stage.

Lower School Spring Concert

Langley’s Lower School musicians in grades 3-5 presented their annual Spring Concert on May 12. More than 150 Lower Schoolers performed a variety of tunes from folk songs to gospel to jazz. All students sang as part of a vocal ensemble, thirdgraders played the recorder, and fourth- and fifth-graders took part in band ensembles.

Middle School Pops Concert

Langley’s Middle School musicians played classic Beatles tunes at their annual Pops Concert on February 24. The school’s talented Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Symphonic Band, and eighth-grade chorus took audience members back to the glory days of the Beatles with performances of “Yellow Submarine,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Hey Jude,” and more. Langley’s Jazz and Symphonic Bands also earned top honors at the Music in the Parks competition in Philadelphia in May.

Kindergarten Play

Kindergarten students brought the natural world to life as they presented their musical performance, “Once Upon a Lily Pad,” on June 3. While performing 14 songs and dances, the children told the story of frogs trying to find their place in the world.

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from the Library Pat Bush Library Approaches Its 20th Year

By Jan Silvano, Head Librarian

I

f you asked some current or former Langley students to recall their library experience at school, I bet that each one would mention the Castle Room. It is hard to believe that this space has been in daily use since 1992.

That was the year that Langley celebrated our golden anniversary, and the same year that our Learning Center and Pat Bush Library opened its doors.

Who could forget the Castle Room’s beautiful murals, lovingly painted by members of the Langley community? They still look fresh; they still delight the students who see them, week after week, during library class.

Every admission tour makes a stop. Primary School yearbook pictures wouldn’t be the same without those murals as a backdrop. Who could have anticipated this same Castle Room being used as a space that accommodates a wide-screen monitor with online access? Or in which we host visiting authors? Or where students participate in videoconferences or Skype sessions with other schools from around the world?

The entire library space continues to fulfill its role as a “learning center” here at Langley, even as technology developments have challenged the late 20th-century notion of what a library is. Yes, a library is a learning center, a hub, and the heart of the school. The “library media center,” the “learning commons,” or the “information commons” – different names can come and go, but the fundamental belief that the library is a center for learning has not changed. Formats may vary. Remember CD towers? Slide projectors? Audio cassettes? 16 mm films? But the fundamental beliefs in the library as a source of information and inspiration, the library as a meeting place for the community, and the library as a place where exchange of ideas can occur and the love of story can be nurtured are alive and well at Langley.

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from the

Throughout the 2010-2011 academic year, a committee of librarians, teachers, administrators, and Board members met to discuss Langley’s strategic plan initiative to “prepare students for their future in the 21st century by further strengthening our dynamic curriculum and transform the school’s library while enhancing its role in generating intellectual discourse.” During the first year of this two-year committee, we participated in a webinar on the future of publishing and eBooks, visited area schools and their libraries, and attended a conference of area independent schools on “The Evolution of 21st Century Libraries.” We researched current practices and issues surrounding K-12, academic, and public libraries, and we developed certain “non-negotiables” for Langley’s library to guide our discussion and strategic thinking for next year:

• We want a vibrant, community-centered library, with different formats of media available, both print and online

• We want to continue enhancing access to quality

Library

• We want to continue teaching our students to evalu-

ate information and use information responsibly and ethically

• We want our students to practice the habits of mind necessary to persevere in intellectual pursuits

• We want our students to nurture their appreciation for language and literature, as they pursue information for their personal and aesthetic growth

In other words, Langley wants to continue to provide a dynamic school library program, with its accompanying space and resources.

As the Learning Center and Pat Bush Library nears its 20th birthday, we celebrate the daily use of the Castle Room. As we move forward, may this special space remind us of the important role the library has played in the imaginations and education of our students since 1992, and will continue to play in the future.

educational and academic materials

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advancement Update Spring Fundraiser Tops $200,000 O

n Saturday, April 30, nearly 300 parents, faculty, staff, and friends gathered in the Sherman Arts Center for the school’s annual spring fundraiser, “An Evening at the Derby,” which was completely sold out. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the entire Langley community, the event’s online auction, raffles,

and live auction were a tremendous success, raising more than $200,000 to support the people and programs that make Langley such a special place.

During the “Raise the Paddle” portion of the live auction alone, a recordbreaking $68,100 was raised for faculty professional development.

The Spring Fundraiser Committee’s wonderful team of volunteers transformed the Sherman Center into an elegant Derby-themed party, complete with roses, race horses, mint juleps, and big hats galore. Attendees enjoyed a lovely cocktail reception in the Café and

on the plaza, a fun horseracing contest, a five-star dinner, and competitive bidding for the amazing live auction items which included a trip to the 2011 Kentucky Derby on a private jet.

“An Evening at the Derby” would not have been possible without the leadership of Co-Chairs Barbara Denton and Kit Stouffer (pictured at left with Head of School Doris Cottam), who began planning the event last summer. Thanks to these two leaders and their talented team, the fundraiser built community spirit at Langley while raising significant funds for the school.

Special thanks to the event’s major sponsors: Mr. and Mrs. James V. Wolak, Wydler Brothers, and Cassidy Turley and The Powell Family

Summer Campus Projects Plans are under way for Langley’s new Security & Facilities Gatehouse building at the campus entrance which will house our security and facilities staffs. Langley received the demolition permit to remove the existing maintenance shed and the new building permit at the end of July. We hope to have the gatehouse completed in late summer or early fall.

As part of this project, the front entrance of the school is receiving a facelift this summer, with new landscaping, fencing, and signage.

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In addition, a new LCD sign to display school news and a new campus map are being installed this summer outside the Lower School building. All buildings will also display a number which correlates to the map, helping visitors find their way around campus.

advancement

The Langley Fund Exceeds $625,000 Goal What an exciting year it has been for The Langley Fund! We raised approximately $650,000, with nearly 90 percent of our current parents participating. None of this would be possible, of course, without the incredible generosity of the entire Langley community. Contributions to The Langley Fund send a clear message to our students and faculty that this community is here to support their efforts to become 21st century learners and educators.

In addition to the overwhelming support of current parents, we reached 100 percent participation from the Board of Trustees and faculty/staff, and enjoyed phenomenal support from our past parents, alumni, and grandparents.

Thank You to Our Langley Fund Leaders The Langley School would like to thank this year’s parent co-chairs of The Langley Fund, Katharine Powell and Mike Mendler, whose leadership allowed us to meet and exceed our monetary and participation goals. Lee Carol Cook, who chaired The 1942 Society this year, played a crucial role in securing leadership-level gifts, and we could not have surpassed our goal without her dedication and guidance. Special thanks also to Advancement Committee Chair Rita Roy for helping guide the advancement team to these achievements.

Langley also offers a very special thank you to our division chairs: Parent of Alumni Chairs: Mark & Laura Cowan Alumni Chair: Ann Maxted Chen ’82 Faculty/Staff Chairs: Mary Dobmeier & Ryan McKinney We couldn’t talk about the success of The Langley Fund without recognizing the hard work of this year’s grade captains.

Thank you for your dedication and leadership!

Grade 8: Sharon Persinski & Trish Sandercock Grade 7: Gretchen McLeish & Reyna Pratt Grade 6: Anne Marie Roderiques & Stacy Stacey Grade 5: Holley Darden & Ruth Franke Grade 4: Jessica Bitar & Steve Feldman Grade 3: Holly Karp & Beth Watt Grade 2: Steve Dussek & Margie Warrell Grade 1: Tara Della Rocca & Natalie von Seelen Kindergarten: Peggy Evans & Karen O’Shea Junior Kindergarten: Tracy Heiden & Beth Thomas Preschool: Caroline Coakley & Allison Pai

Update

Memorial & Honorary Gifts: Getting Started If you have a family member or friend whose life has been touched by The Langley School, we hope you will consider making a gift in his or her honor. Providing a gift establishes a living tribute that allows you to:

• Honor a loved one or yourself • Support Langley’s continuing efforts • Receive personal financial benefits from your contribution

You may feel reluctant to condition your gift upon personal recognition. Yet allowing us to use your name or the name of a loved one can inspire philanthropy in others and further a cause that’s important to you.

Giving Now or Later

Any charitable gift you arrange can be made in honor of someone. Consider these two basic methods of establishing an honorary gift:

• A gift today – An outright gift can help fund the

school’s immediate needs or an upcoming project.

The financial benefits include an income tax deduction and possible elimination of capital gains tax.

• A gift through your will – You can include a bequest in your will, stating that a specific asset, certain dollar amount, or, more commonly, a percentage of your estate will pass to Langley at your death in honor of your loved one.

No matter which basic method you choose, you have the ability to endow your gift so that it lasts forever.

Endowments are structured so that a small portion of your gift, rather than the whole amount, is used each year to fund a particular purpose. To perpetuate the fund forever, the majority of the fund remains intact and is invested for the future.

To learn more about supporting The Langley School today, contact Warren Sarasin at (703) 356-1920, ext. 885 or wsarasin@langleyschool.org. You may also want to view the Charitable Gift Planning section of Langley’s Web site at www.langleyschool.org.

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alumni News Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Chelsea Mehra ’07

W

alumni profile

hen Chelsea Mehra ’07 walked into an Investment Club meeting as a high school freshman at Milton Academy four years ago, she was surprised to find she was the only underclasswoman in the room. It turned out the club, which has $20,000 to invest annually, had been traditionally dominated by male upperclassmen. Rather than becoming discouraged by this fact, however, Chelsea eventually became the club’s first female president and used the experience to make a difference in countless other young women’s lives.

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Inspired by the difficulties she had breaking through the glass ceiling of the Investment Club, Chelsea co-founded the nonprofit organization, Investing in Girls (IIG), in 2010 as a 17-year-old student.

IIG’s mission is to help high school girls from a broad range of backgrounds develop interests and careers in the financial services industry.

The idea came during a summer internship with Dune Thorne, a Milton alumna who works at the wealth management firm, Silver Bridge Advisors, in Boston. “We wanted to create something that broadens girls’ education in finance and investing, beyond their own circle,” Chelsea says, noting that she spent the summer of 2009 researching and collecting

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data on the extremely limited financial resources available to young girls.

With no funding and no experience in the nonprofit world, Dune and Chelsea began the task of forming their new organization last summer.

Thanks to private donors and two grants, they collected $20,000 to get them started. A big boost came when the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) agreed to partner with IIG in August 2010, providing publicity, resources, and support through its Emerging Leaders program which encourages women leaders in the business and nonprofit sectors.

“There are a lot of organizations out there that empower women, but what makes IIG unique is that we provide girls with a three-pronged approach: education, mentoring, and industry exposure,” Chelsea adds. Under the model she helped create, IIG works with high schools to identify girls who are interested in finance and investing.

A group of 10 to 17 girls then meets with an IIG peer educator during the school year to study a financial curriculum geared toward women. Each girl is paired with a female mentor in the industry with whom she meets approximately six times a year. The group also enjoys industry exposure trips which include seminars and panel discussions.

After a successful pilot year, IIG continues to grow, with an office in Boston and a paid staff of four. The organization plans to launch new programs in

four high schools this fall throughout the New England area. “So many women in the industry want to help IIG succeed because they feel strongly about preparing young girls for a life of leadership in the financial world,” says Chelsea, who will remain co-chairwoman of IIG’s Advisory Board when she heads to college at the University of California-Davis in the fall.

Despite her interest and experience in finance, this well-rounded young lady sees herself first as an entrepreneur who will likely pursue several different fields. “I can honestly say that Langley taught me how to be a leader and how to cultivate that spirit in other people,” she says, adding that she would never have had the courage to continue as the only female in her high school continued on page 31

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Class of 2007 Announces College Choices Congratulations to Langley’s Class of 2007 for completing successful high school careers this spring. We wish them well as they prepare to attend the following colleges and universities.

Ryan Barbalace

Wake Forest University

Michael Nims

Unknown

Torey Barth

Southern Methodist University

Jeremy Owen

Cornell University

Travis Cowan

Furman University

Chris Pecaro

Columbia University

Mikey Duffy

Villanova University

Max Queenan

Carnegie Mellon University

James Farrell

Unknown

Fabio Recine

Elon University

Jonathan Fifer

University of Chicago

Meg Riechers

College of William & Mary

Will Garcia

Colgate University

Bardy Roberts

St. Mark’s School (senior year)

Niki Goncalves

University of Virginia (fall 2012)

Dominic Sauer

University of Colorado-Boulder

Andrew Hall

Christopher Newport University

Rebecca Sharer

Kenyon College

Matthew Hicks

University of Richmond

Lillian Singer

College of William & Mary

Phillip Hsu

Oberlin College

Michael Sutherland

George Mason University Honors College

Natasha Kersten

Colorado State University

Annie Tribone

Georgia Institute of Technology

Tyler Lewris

Tufts University

Lizzie Tribone

Kenyon College

Laila Mahan

Colorado College

Alan Tu Lafayette College

Chelsea Mehra

University of California-Davis

Daniel Tuerff

Davidson College

*The above list includes students who attended Langley at some point between 1996 and 2007 and who have remained in contact with the school.

We made every attempt to obtain college and university plans from these students.

Class of 2007 Reunion On Memorial Day, members of Langley’s Class of 2007, their families, and faculty gathered on campus for a reunion. Students met in the Sherman Arts Center to catch up and reconnect before heading off to some of the top colleges in the country this fall.

Pictured at left are Jonathan Fifer, Andrew Hall, Ryan Barbalace, Rebecca Sharer, Phillip Hsu, Jeremy Owen, and Lillian Singer.

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Star Power: NBA’s Keith Bogans ’95 Returns to His Alma Mater I

magine perfecting your passing, dribbling, and shooting abilities under the guidance of an NBA veteran. In July, 50 students in grades 3-9 had the chance to do just that during a Langley basketball camp led by alumnus Keith Bogans ’95.

Now beginning his ninth season in the NBA, Keith is currently a starting guard for the Chicago Bulls. Since he was first drafted to the NBA in 2003, he has played for Orlando, Charlotte, Houston, Milwaukee, and San Antonio, appearing in more than 580 games, including more than 300 starts.

The sold-out, week-long camp – Keith Bogans’ Langley Summer Jam – was held in Langley’s Solomon Athletic Center July 11-15.

Students worked on a variety of basketball skills and drills, while learning the fundamentals of sportsmanship and teamwork.

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The camp was broken into small groups by ability to ensure individualized attention from Keith, Langley coaches, and staff.

While at Langley during seventh and eighth grades, Keith played basketball under current Langley Athletic Director Jim Gleason.

He went on to become a McDonald’s and Parade All-American at DeMatha High School, leading the team to a 34-1 record and a third-place national ranking in 1999. He was heavily recruited by Coach Tubby Smith at the University of Kentucky, and signed with the Wildcats during his junior year of high school. A 6’5” star at Kentucky, Keith led the team to an SEC Tournament title and an Elite Eight finish in the NCAA Tournament in 2003. Among his many honors, he was named SEC Player of the Year, First Team All-SEC,

SEC Tournament MVP, and Third Team All-American during his distinguished college basketball career.

Keith was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

“We were thrilled to welcome Keith back to Langley,” says Coach Gleason, who remembers Keith as being an extremely competitive, hard-working kid with a great sense of humor. “We are so proud of all that he has achieved on the court and it was wonderful for him to share his expertise with our students.”

While he was on campus for the basketball camp this summer, we sat down with Keith to ask him about his love for the game, life in the NBA, and his experiences at Langley in the mid 1990s.

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Why did you decide to run a basketball camp at Langley this summer?

Keith: Langley did so much for me in the two years I attended, and it’s fun to be able to give back in some way. Kids automatically look up to professional athletes, so it’s easy for me to get their attention. Since they are like sponges, I take my position as a role model very seriously. In addition to having fun and learning basketball skills, one of the goals of the camp is to let kids know that NBA players like me are real people who once started out as kids with dreams just like them. I also run my own camp for underprivileged kids in Alexandria at a boys’ and girls’ club each summer.

When did you first become interested in basketball?

Keith: By around age 6, I loved pretty much all sports and was always playing something. It became clear early on that I had a talent for basketball in particular, and I began playing organized ball at my local boys’ and girls’ club. But it wasn’t until I came to Langley that I realized a career in basketball could be an option for me.

What brought you to Langley?

Keith: I was attending sixth grade at a public middle school in Alexandria when a friend of my mom’s saw me playing basketball one day. His son attended Langley and he thought I would have better opportunities there, so he told my mom about the school. She visited and immediately knew she wanted me to transfer to Langley. At first, I really didn’t want to come, but I soon realized that was the best decision my mom ever made for me. I attended Langley for two years, in seventh and eighth grades, and it turned my life around.

How did your experience at Langley impact you?

Keith: Langley was a true blessing to me. When I arrived in seventh grade, I struggled academically at first because the academics here were so far ahead of what I was used to. But wonderful teachers like Ms. Glass, Mr. Raneses, and Mr. Lekuton worked with me and helped me turn the corner. I received an academic foundation here and built habits here that made school a lot easier for me from then on. Langley was a family – everyone knew and cared for each other. Even though the campus has changed through the years, the memories still hit me when I turn the corner onto Balls Hill Road.

What impact did Coach Jim Gleason have on you?

Keith: Coach Gleason made me play every sport at Langley, not just basketball, and I had a great time. I still remember what fun we had playing basketball in the old Field House. As a father figure for me, he really pounded the importance of school into my head and reminded me that I needed to do well in school in order to succeed in basketball. He also taught me to eat healthily – although I didn’t always listen to that advice as a middle schooler! I think certain people just click, and that’s the way it was for Coach Gleason and me. Even today, he’s always in the crowd whenever my team is in town playing the Wizards and we enjoy catching up with each other. the langley school experience

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News What was the biggest challenge when you first entered the NBA?

Keith: I went from being a star at Kentucky to being just another guy on the court in the NBA. The talent level is so deep that many guys have trouble adjusting to being a role player. Once I realized that everyone can’t be a star in the NBA, I was much happier and came to appreciate how lucky I was to play professionally. Now my biggest challenge is staying in shape and eating right so I can keep up with all of the young guys!

What are the biggest differences between college and professional ball?

Keith: College basketball is definitely more structured than the NBA. College coaches tend to be more like drill sargeants who tell you what to do and when. In the NBA, you have much more freedom and are on your own in a sense. Playing in the NBA is a dream come true for me because it allows me to play the game I love and to support my family.

What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?

Keith: The day that I purchased my mom a house. It was after my second year in the NBA and I was so proud to be able to do that for her. My mom is my rock and has always been there to support me, so it was a special moment for me to support her. My second most memorable moment was getting drafted and realizing my dream to play professionally had come true.

What’s a typical day like in the NBA?

Keith: During the season, I typically get up around 8:00 a.m. and head to practice by 10:00 a.m. From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the team does weight training, gets treatment, and practices. After that, I usually head home and sleep for a while until dinnertime. My life pretty much revolves around practicing, resting, and eating! On a game day, the team just does a walk through for an hour in the morning, then we eat and sleep until game time. In the off-season, which is typically from June through October, I spend a lot of time with my seven-year-old son, Keith, at my home in Orlando. We’re regulars at DisneyWorld and SeaWorld!

I usually don’t touch a basketball for at least a month after the season ends, then I’ll start working out again to get ready for the next season.

Who is the best player you’ve faced in the NBA? Keith: The best player I’ve played against is definitely Kobe Bryant. He really knows the game and is always in attack mode – and he’s a really nice guy. The best player I’ve played with is my Bulls teammate Derrick Rose.

How long do you plan to play professionally?

Keith: I’ll keep playing for as long as my body allows me to. I’m 31, but I feel I have at least six more years in me. After that, I look forward to spending more time with my son and making him my primary focus.

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Redefining Live Sporting Events: Jeremy Kanter ’01

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magine showing up for a job interview with your hair dyed bright red and wearing a hockey jersey.That’s exactly what Jeremy Kanter ’01 did and it landed him his dream job as director of design at YinzCam, a cutting-edge sports technology company that develops mobile phone applications for professional sports team venues.

After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009 with degrees in human computer interaction and cognitive psychology, Jeremy was looking for a summer job when he received an e-mail out of the blue from Carnegie Mellon electrical and computer engineering professor Priya Narasimhan who had seen his resume. She and a team of students had developed a new technology to enhance the live viewing experience for sports fans and had been given the chance to pilot this technology in Mellon Arena for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. But she needed someone with a design background who could create an attractive and user-friendly interface to show off their product.

Jeremy’s combination of computer design experience and love of hockey made him the perfect candidate for the job. “I’m a huge Washington Capitals fan and the playoffs were under way at the time of my interview,” Jeremy explains. “I had already dyed my hair for the playoffs, so I figured I would show her just how passionate I am about the sport by keeping my hair dyed red and wearing a Caps jersey… even though I knew the Caps and the Penguins hated each other!” His passion, and intelligence, came through and Dr. Narasimhan hired Jeremy to join their startup team.

So what exactly is the YinzCam technology? The idea was born when Dr. Narasimhan found herself sitting in the nose-bleed seats at a Penguins game, unable to see key moments of the action.

She felt all spectators should be able to enjoy the live experience of a sporting event. So she and a team of students developed a new mobile application that allows fans to access live video and replays from a variety of camera angles, along with stats, scores, and rosters, on their smartphones.The technology, which is free to fans, works through a wireless network installed in the arena.

Jeremy’s job was to make this technology aesthetically pleasing so fans could easily access the many features on their phones, while ensuring the look of the application reflected the Penguins’ branding. And he was successful.

The pilot program was a huge hit with Penguins fans and management, helping launch YinzCam into a full-fledged company currently based in Pittsburgh with nine employees.

News of this unique product has spread across the sports world and propelled YinzCam into the NFL as

well.Today, the growing company provides its mobile applications to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, along with four NFL teams: the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, and New England Patriots. And plans are in place to add new sports to YinzCam’s client list in the coming years.

“It’s still amazing to me that I have this unbelievably great job,” says Jeremy.

“I’m the only full-time designer on staff, so I have both the freedom and the responsibility to handle the majority of the design work for our product.” Being in communication with professional sports teams on a daily basis, having access to areas of arenas that most fans never get to see, and rubbing shoulders with some of his sports idols and national broadcasters are just some of the perks of the job, he adds.

As for the biggest challenge of working at YinzCam, Jeremy says it’s keeping up with their many clients. “We’re in a constant state of getting ready for the next season, and there’s a need to keep pushing forward with new technology and new ideas. As smartphones become more and more popular, there will be an even greater demand for our product,” he comments, adding that he spends all of his time either working or indulging in his other passion – playing Ultimate Frisbee competitively on a Pittsburgh club team and coaching the Carnegie Mellon men’s team. continued on page 31

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Where in the World are Langley Alumni?

By Mandy Coston ’05

“T

he World is Flat.” It’s the title of Thomas Friedman’s analysis of the 21st century, and it’s an apt description of the ease with which three of Langley’s young alumni have traversed the globe. From researching fish farming and algae cultivation in China to working at a maternity ward in Dublin, graduates of The Langley School are making their mark around the world.

“I think that everyone needs to take the opportunity to study abroad and experience a whole other world,” writes Paula Bellini ’04 from Florence, Italy. A psychology major at James Madison University, Paula is spending two and a half months in Florence this summer, studying the Italian language as well as the country’s wine culture and art history. She chose Florence for summer study abroad so that she could practice her Italian, which she has been learning since her freshman year in college.

Paula, who plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology, notes that her summer in Florence has little relation to her post-graduation plans. She hopes to take a year off from her studies to do psychology research before applying to graduate school and ultimately earning her Ph.D. She believes international experience is important not “just to boost your resume,” but for “yourself.”

Paula says that the classes in Florence have been very useful because she is able to apply everything she learns in lectures to her life outside of class. She improves her language skills by conversing with the locals, and when she visits Florence’s museums she is able to view “in real life” the paintings that she studied in class.

What surprised her most about Italy is that many people speak two languages, or more, and English is especially common. She is living with a local woman in Florence – one who does not speak English – and Paula has embraced this authentic home-stay experience, taking full advantage of the opportunity to immerse herself in the culture. “The delicious home-cooked meals are an added bonus,” she says. Paula has grown fond of the city, which she refers to as her second home.

For Ross Feehan ’03, the allure of living abroad is the challenge of gaining an intimate understanding of a completely new culture. It helps him to refine his world view. Ross, an earth systems major at Stanford University, spent five months researching aqua-culture in China last fall. Aqua-culture is a broad term, referring to the farming of any aquatic organism, including shellfish, crustaceans, and seaweed. “China is huge in aqua-culture,” Ross explains, and the country traces its history with aquatic farming to 2500 B.C. Ross worked alongside researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sci-

Paula Bellini ’04 in Capri, Italy

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alumni ences on a collaborative project between professors at Stanford and researchers in China. He traveled to three different provinces to interview farmers about their experiences with aqua-culture.

Ross was particularly intrigued with differences between the Chinese culture and our own, differences he found when talking with the farmers, who surprised Ross with their lack of farmers’ insurance, as well as with his university contemporaries, who demonstrated a surprising wealth of knowledge

Ross Feehan ’03 in China

about American culture. “Chinese students nowadays grow up thinking about the West,” Ross says, contrasting this to how little American students consider China during their formative years. But the real culture shock was much more palpable, literally: “I would go out some days in the big cities and not be able to see buildings down the street because of the haze.”

The lack of aqua-farming insurance in China intrigued Ross, and he decided to delve further into the issue. He spent this past spring interning at an insurance firm in Norway that was preparing to

News

expand its influence in China. He helped the firm investigate aquaculture in China, and he describes his time in Norway as “a really rich experience.”

Jessica Martin ’05 echoes those words about her time this summer at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. “I always wanted to study abroad,” Jessica explains, but, as a passionate pre-med student at the University of Virginia, she knew that medical school requirements meant studying abroad during the year would not be an option. She found an attractive alternative in her school’s University Internship Program in Dublin. “I had been to Ireland once before with my family,” Jessica remembers, “and I loved the people, the culture, and the landscape.” She was eager to return. After spending two weeks last summer on a medical relief trip to Costa Rica, she knew the benefits of gaining hands-on experience in another country.

The internship in Ireland has made Jessica “even more excited” about medical school and about her plans to become a pediatrician. Her duties at the maternity hospital are largely administrative, and they include making appointments and crosschecking patients’ room locations with the room assignments in the hospital’s database. She enjoys her work, but frequently tries to make her way into the clinics to shadow the doctors and nurses. She has developed an understanding of the inner workings of a hospital, which is what she hoped to gain from the internship. Jessica learned that the hospital structure is different in Ireland than in the United States.

“Hospitals in Ireland are mainly focused on one aspect of medicine,” she says, such as an ear, eye, and nose hospital, or a maternity hospital.

Jessica Martin ’05 (second from right) with friends in Ireland

One of the most rewarding parts of the internship has been getting to know her co-workers, who, Jessica says, are “incredibly caring, outgoing, and downright hilarious.” She is particularly fond of the Irish’s ability “to laugh at themselves in any situation,” and she notes that the culture is in general more relaxed than our own. Before her internship began, her boss asked Jessica what hours she would like to work, and she was surprised to learn that most of the administrative staff leaves work at 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. It is also not uncommon for employees to take a day off to spend time with their children, according to Jessica.

Whether in Italy or China, a maternity ward or an aqua-farm, these Langley alumni have gained new perspectives about the world and about themselves. They are more confident after learning to navigate a foreign country. But most of all, they come away enriched from an experience like no other.

Mandy Coston ’05 is a computer science major and public and international affairs minor at Princeton University. She is traveling to Cambodia in August to study human trafficking.

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Class Notes 1954 Ann Freeland McMahon and her husband, Rhett, recently moved to Silver City, NM, where they purchased an environmentally friendly home with a rain catchment system that leads to a 1500-gallon underground tank, their own water well, and 10 acres of land zoned for equines.They plan to convert the house to solar electric generation as backup for propane.

Ann says she has learned to pack burros and will be housing a friend’s three donkeys from time to time!

1984 Christopher Gergen recently founded Bull City Forward, a nonprofit that is creating the ideal conditions for social entrepreneurship to thrive in Durham, NC (www.bullcityforward.org). He hopes to expand the organization’s efforts to Charlotte, NC, and eventually across the state. In April, Christopher was a featured speaker in a Harvard University webinar series on social innovation.

1988 Leslie Arboleda founded Bring the Mat to You, a yoga practice in North

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Carolina offering private instruction in a variety of yoga styles. Before moving to North Carolina and becoming a wife and mother, Leslie worked in Colorado as a grief counselor.

1997 Join members of the Class of 1997 for a Langley reunion in the DC area on Friday, December 23, 2011. The time and location are yet to be determined.

Contact Anita Butani at anita.butani@ gmail.com or Nik Raman at nikhilraman@gmail.com if you would like to attend.

2002 Alexandra Burke is working in New York City as an assistant fashion designer at Anne Klein.

Rebecca Fifer is currently teaching at Truesdell Elementary in northeast Washington, DC. Because of budget

1999 Courtney Johnson (pictured at right) was in London for the Royal Wedding on April 29 and had a great spot for the processional where she was able to see Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, the Queen, and other members of the British royalty.

2001 Lonnie Paul Taylor graduated from the University of Michigan in 2009. He has recently launched his own business, TayCro Media Group, a social networking company.

Courtney Johnson ’99 at the Royal Wedding

Share Your News: The Langley School welcomes all alumni to share their academic or personal successes, career changes or news, marriages, birth announcements, and any other news of interest with their fellow classmates and the Langley community.

To submit your notes and photos for publication, log on to the alumni section of www.langleyschool.org or e-mail Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Relations Shannon Ryan at sryan@langleyschool.org.

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Jasmine Thomas ’03 Drafted to WNBA Jasmine Thomas ’03 was chosen as a first-round pick in the WNBA draft this spring and currently plays for the Washington Mystics. Jasmine concluded her outstanding career at Duke University with numerous honors including 2010-2011 ACC Tournament MVP, All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Defensive Team, and Full Court Press ACC Player of the Year. She was also named to the 2011 All-ACC Academic Team. Jasmine is only the eighth player in Duke history to register more than 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, 300 assists, and 200 steals and one of only two players to ever post 100 or more steals in a single season.

cuts and freezes, her students are left with very limited resources. “It wasn’t until I became an elementary teacher myself that I realized how lucky I was to attend a school like Langley,” she says. “I benefited not only from spectacular teachers and facilities, but also a well-stocked library and the resources to obtain any school supplies I needed.”

2003 Mary Elizabeth Taylor graduated from Bryn Mawr College in May with a double major in political science and Spanish. She now works on Capitol Hill in the U.S. Senate Republican Cloakroom.

2005 Mandy Coston is a computer science major in Princeton University’s engineering school, with a minor in international relations and public policy in the Woodrow Wilson School. She is also involved in Engineers Without Borders at Princeton and plans to travel to

Cambodia this summer to learn about how NGOs and the U.S. Embassy are working to combat human trafficking.

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Chelsea Mehra will be attending the University of California-Davis next year. While attending Milton Academy, she founded a nonprofit organization, Investing in Girls (IIG), dedicated to providing financial literacy for high school girls from historically underrepresented backgrounds. She also pursued her journalism interest as the editor-in-chief of the school’s official newspaper, The Milton Measure, and was a 2011 recipient of The Persky Award for Best Editorial, selected by a series of Boston Globe editors. Read more about Chelsea on page 20.

Chris Pecaro graduated from Georgetown Day School and will attend Columbia University in New York in September.

Meg Riechers, who graduated from Georgetown Day School, was recently named a National Merit Scholar. She will be attending William & Mary in the fall, along with Langley classmate Lillian Singer.

2006 Austin Dabney completed his first year at the University of Virginia and is a member of Chi Phi fraternity. He is interning and working locally this summer.

Michael Guberman has been named to the academic honor roll at the Governor’s Academy in Byfield, MA. Elliott Silverman finished his first year at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and has enjoyed it. He also joined a fraternity at SMU.

2007 Andrew Hall will be working at The Potomac School summer camp before he heads off to Newport News,VA, to start his freshman year at Christopher Newport University in the fall.

Former Parent Anchors “CBS Evening News” Congratulations to Scott Pelley, father of Blair ’09, who replaced Katie Couric as anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News” on June 6, 2011. Scott joined CBS in 1989 and has served as chief White House correspondent for the network.

Since 2004, he has been a correspondent for “60 Minutes,” winning 14 Emmys and two Peabody awards.

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2008

In Memoriam

Chas Bassing took second place in a tight match against the top player in Virginia at the Virginia State Golf Association Junior Match Play Championship in Haymarket,VA, in June, earning him one of eight spots on Team Virginia at the regional competition in July against players from Maryland and West Virginia. Chas will be a senior at The Heights School in the fall.

Libia Villacorta, former Langley Spanish teacher, passed away on June 3, 2011, after a long illness. Mrs.Villacorta was a teacher at Langley from 1980 to 2009, and a beloved member of the Langley community.

Bennett Silverman will begin his senior year this fall at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. He was recently chosen for the school’s Science Research Project, an honors science program. As part of the program, Bennett is working in Dr. Robert Ballard’s oceanography lab at the University of Rhode Island this summer. In August, he will continue his scientific research on board the research ship, Nautilus, off the coast of Turkey with Dr. Ballard, who is most noted for discovering the Titanic in 1985. At Choate, Bennett plays varsity water polo, swims on the varsity swim team, was elected for the third time in a row to Choate’s Judiciary Committee (honor council), is an officer in Hillel, and will be a prefect in his dorm next year.

Langley Alumni Return for Summer Programs The following Langley alumni came back to campus this summer to serve as counselors for our Summer Studio program and for the Keith Bogans Langley Summer Jam basketball camp.

Summer Studio Counselors Travis Cowan ’07 Michael Garofalo ’05 Courtney Gorrell ’00 Michael Gorrell ’05 Sarah Hunt ’06 Allison Hutchins ’03 Allison Pool ’08 Daniel Sternberg ’04 Cooper Triggs ’05 Keith Bogans Basketball Camp Counselors Michael Garofalo ’05 Chelsea Gleason ’06 Michael Gorrell ’05 Nicole Johnson ’09 Monica Spafford ’10 Cooper Triggs ’05 30

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Harriet Whitbread passed away on March 22, 2011. She served as assistant head of Langley’s Primary School and taught young children for 10 years.

In May, Kristin Clark Taylor spoke to Langley’s eighth-grade class about her new book. L to R: Head of Middle School Susan Atkinson, Head of School Doris Cottam, Kristin Clark Taylor, Lonnie Paul Taylor ’01, Language Arts Teacher Kathy Pascal.

Former Parent Releases Book Former Langley parent and Board member Kristin Clark Taylor released her fourth book – The Forever Box – this spring.

In the book, she shares the stories behind the mementos she keeps in her “forever box” and the lessons she learned from the significant women in her life. A heart-warming and powerful narrative, The Forever Box teaches readers how to weave the past with the present, making their own tomor-

rows something to cherish and remember forever.

The Forever Box is available at bookstores nationwide and on Amazon.com A Langley parent for 11 years, Kristin still has fond memories of her family’s experience here and credits the school with helping to shape her children – Lonnie Paul ’01 and Mary Elizabeth ’03 – into the successful young adults they have become.

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Painting the Rock Thanks to a donation from Pete and Beckie Geren, parents of Mary Geren ’11, Langley began a new tradition this spring – the painting of the class rock. A large boulder was placed along the sidelines of the school’s Gleason Field which will honor the current eighth-grade class.

Each fall, Langley eighth-graders will paint the rock with their class year in their own unique style.

Chelsea Mehra Profile, continued from page 20 Investment Club without the self-confidence she gained at Langley.

She credits Langley alumnus Christopher Gergen ’85, who spoke to her eighth-grade class the week before graduation about his entrepreneurial ventures, as one of her inspirations.

Chelsea first came to Langley in third grade and quickly began to develop her interests and talents. Her experiences here, she says, laid the foundation for the person she is today. After starting out as editor of Langley’s Middle School student newspaper and learning to write under the guidance of language arts teacher Mark Robbins, she went on to become editor of Milton Academy’s bi-weekly paper where she oversaw a staff of 70 and was selected by Boston Globe editors as the 2011 recipient of the prestigious Lawrence S. Persky Award for best editorial.

It was Langley music teacher Sue Maiello who nurtured Chelsea’s early interest in singing, propelling her to join the Chapel Choir at Milton Academy and develop a lifelong love of music. Serving as MVP of Langley’s lacrosse team and as a member of Langley’s Student Council also helped Chelsea develop into a confident leader.

So where does this budding entrepreneur see her life headed?

She laughs when she says she has too many interests to choose her undergraduate major yet, though she is pursuing an interest in agricultural economics which combines her love of finance, science, and the environment. “I want to develop knowledge in many subject areas,” she says. “Our increasingly complex world needs well-rounded leaders.”

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Jeremy Kanter Profile, continued from page 25 Jeremy, who attended Langley from junior kindergarten through eighth grade and Georgetown Day School during high school, credits Langley with cultivating his early interest in design and technology. Langley art teacher Tom Raneses introduced him to Photoshop in seventh grade during a project to create an interactive CD of student artwork that was distributed with the yearbook. “Mr. Raneses was the person who gave me my first experience with serious programming and artwork on a computer,” he adds, noting that he now uses Photoshop on a daily basis at YinzCam. “I don’t know when I would have gotten into computer design if it wasn’t for him.”

Jeremy was also involved in the design of Langley’s Middle School newspaper under the guidance of T McKinley and enjoyed playing soccer and basketball as well. In addition to Mr. Raneses and Mr. McKinley, he fondly remembers Joseph Lekuton and Henry Cole as influential teachers who inspired him and taught him life lessons beyond the classroom.

“Langley was a place where I could be my own person,” he says. “I never felt like I had to be great in every subject. Instead I was given the freedom to find what I enjoyed.” At age 25, Jeremy has truly found what he enjoys.

Join Langley’s Alumni Group on LinkedIn! Langley recently launched a new alumni group on LinkedIn, providing alumni of all ages with the opportunity to reconnect with each other and build new professional relationships.

To join, visit www.linkedin.com and search for “The Langley School Alumni Group” in the groups search box. Or simply scan the QR code at left using your smartphone. We hope to see you on LinkedIn!

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It’s easier than ever to stay connected to Langley...

Reconnect Today!

• Submit your news and Class Notes or update your contact information in the alumni section of www.langleyschool.org

• Join Langley’s alumni page on Facebook (find us under “The Langley School Alumni Group”)

• Join our new LinkedIn alumni group to build your professional network (find us under “The Langley School Alumni Group”)

• Contact your class representative (a list of class reps can be found in the alumni section of www.langleyschool.org)

• Contact Langley’s Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Relations Shannon

Ryan with questions, ideas, or news at sryan@langleyschool.org or (703) 356-1920, ext. 871

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Remember When? A Look at Langley’s Past...

Above: In 1949, Langley’s advanced primary students put on a puppet show, helping them learn to express themselves and communicate their ideas through dramatization.

At Left: In 1964, Langley began offering its first bus service for students. The school had just one bus that drove the length of Dolley Madison Boulevard, which at that time was lined with farms and open fields.

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID McLean, VA 22101 Permit No. 48

The Langley School 1411 Balls Hill Road McLean, VA 22101-3415 www.langleyschool.org (703) 356-1920

Upcoming Events at Langley Join us for these events happening at Langley this fall.

Visit www.langleyschool.org for a complete online calendar for the 2011-2012 school year.

Fall Fair

Saturday, October 22

Middle School Fall Play

Thursday, November 10 – Saturday, November 12

Book Fair

Tuesday, December 6 – Wednesday, December 7

Middle School Holiday Concert Thursday, December 8

Lower School Holiday Concert Thursday, December 15

Artwork created by rising second-grader Haley Breslin