Academy Magazine Spring 2019

ACADE M Y NORFOLK NORFOLK ACADEMY ACADEMY MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

SPRING SPRING 2019 2019

Adventures begin:

THE LOWER SCHOOL

ACADEMY

NOR FOL K ACADEMY M A G A Z IN E

[ CONTENTS ]

SPRING 2019 HEADMASTER

Dennis G. Manning DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Esther M. Diskin ASSISTANT HEADMASTER FOR DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Grayson Bryant EDITOR

Esther M. Diskin EDITORIAL BOARD

Ruth Payne Acra ’86 Jeff Danielson Kathy Finney Beth Manning David Rezelman Jennifer Rodgers ’97 Toy Savage ’71 Aubrey Shinofield Lauren Smith Gigi Cooke Tysinger ’87 Sean Wetmore ’86 Charlotte Zito ’99 PHOTOGRAPHY

Malin Fezehai Peter Finger Knox Garvin Steven Goldburg ’04 Don Monteaux Stephanie Oberlander Woody Poole Lauren Smith Karen Woodard DESIGN

Cheney & Company

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INNOVATION

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Engineering, Design, & Innovation

AFTER THE SCHOOL DAY ENDS

Exploration Continues Through Enrichment at the Academy

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LOWER SCHOOL LIBRARY

One-stop “Shop” for Imaginative Storytelling

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LOWER SCHOOL LANGUAGE

14 Norfolk Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, or other schooladministered programs.

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Fiat Latina: Let There be Latin… in the Lower School TRANSITIONS

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Launching from Lower School to Middle School VISITING AUTHOR

Words+Images: Visit by Award-winning Graphic Novelist Gene Luen Yang

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ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE

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Bulldogs are Sun Lovin’ Dogs: NA’s New Solar Installation

STRATEGIC PLAN

Bold Strategic Plan to Create a Just Society Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Perry’s Gift Supports Faculty Renewal

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BATTEN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

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Global Affairs Fellows: Exploring the Forces Shaping the Lives of Indigenous Peoples & Refugees ALUMNI PROFILE

Meighan Stone ’93: Working to Empower Women Around the Globe

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Career Connections Reaches Milestone

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STUDIO & STAGE

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IN THE GAME

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New Arts Space in Lower School Reshapes the Experience

Swimming the NA Way Swimming/Diving Wins Boys & Girls State Championships Reflections from NA’s Student Coach

THE SAVAGE CHRONICLES

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“Lineburker Bill Back” ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

Events Homecoming Regional Gatherings

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CLASS NOTES

Class Notes In Memoriam

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from the [ H E A D M A S T E R ]

DENNIS G. MANNING

Headmaster

Setting Forth with

Curiosity & Wonder

We began our “Year of Friendship” by opening the newly expanded Lower School, a celebratory occasion that marked the successful finale of Defining Leadership: The Campaign for 2028. Yet the completion of this last project was, and is, much more of a new beginning than any sort of conclusion. On that first day of school, I shook hands with each first grader; the handshake truly is our school’s signature gesture of friendship and trust. In that way, I officially welcomed the Class of 2030—a group of boys and girls, full of curiosity and a sense of wonder, who will journey together through Norfolk Academy.

In this issue, Adventures Begin, we step inside the Lower School and explore some of the innovative, multi-layered instruction that is shaping the minds and hearts of our youngest learners. Our Engineering, Design, and Innovation program, which now extends from grades 1–6, takes a truly unique approach that builds attributes like resilience and empathy, even as students construct bridges, program robots, launch rockets, and (for our youngest engineers) create beds for a bulldog. The General Story, a new space in the Cooper Library, is generating tremendous excitement for storytelling; that creative space truly has unleashed students’ imaginative energy. Love of the ancient world is taking root in the Lower School through our Latin program; while it may be an ancient language, the approach to teaching it in grades 4–6 is fresh, exciting, and thoroughly suited to the contemporary moment.

I have often said that the educational innovation of our teachers provided the impetus for our Defining Leadership campaign; innovative

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teaching demanded the construction of new and exciting spaces. Yet, there is a symbiosis at work, for the creative, adventurous architecture on our campus also changes the ways we teach and learn.

The new Lower School offers much more open, light-filled space for the arts. The new multipurpose room is in nearly constant use for student plays and visiting guests, like a fiddler during Colonial Day, and the new courtyard offers opportunities for learning outdoors—whether studying trees and plants or just taking time to read and write outside. We’ve even turned the roof of the Lower and Middle Schools into an opportunity for education: an array of solar panels provides energy to power our Massey Leadership Center, and students can learn more about our sustainable energy approach through touch-panel kiosks in the hallways.

We believe that we are fueling an adventurous spirit in our students, and that they take that into the world. When you read about our Global Affairs Fellows, who are learning about the indigenous people of Peru; about the work of Meighan Stone ’97 with the Malala Fund; or about history teacher and Global Affairs Fellows co-director Jack Gibson ’08, who set out to understand the real story behind colonial outlaw Josiah Philips, you will believe it too.

In the spirit of taking the institution forward into new ventures, we have just launched our strategic plan, Creating a Just Society: Integrity, Leadership, and Pluralism. This bold plan charts a course for our school, propelling us forward with great anticipation. The future is an auspicious one, and it is thanks to your enthusiasm and love for our school. ◆

Adventures begin:

THE LOWER SCHOOL

Vires acquirit eundo. From Virgil: We gain strength as we go. The journey that unfolds in the early years sets the foundation for future learning. In the Lower School, the environment of trusting relationships begins with the clarity of the Honor System: We do our own work.

We tell the truth. We do not take things that belong to others. Older students write and sign the pledge: I have acted honorably in completing this assignment. Beloved school traditions, like Senior-First Grade Buddies (above) and family-style lunches, flourish in an environment of trust, and young learners find their own spirit of exploration.

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[ I N N O VAT I O N ]

Engineering, Design,

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& Innovation

BUILD IT TEST IT SUCCEED The program we now call Engineering, Design, and Innovation (EDI) originated with a simple query from Headmaster Dennis Manning: “How can our school’s STEM offerings be enhanced?” To research a solution, I spent the next year visiting exemplary schools around the nation and studying their engineering curriculum offerings. Lower School Director Patty McLaughlin and I connected with over a dozen schools that were frequently caught up in creating “maker spaces” and “tinker areas”—areas containing a variety of tools and supplies intended for free-form building. We ultimately discovered that, for all the hype, many of these areas contained little curricular substance.

Returning to Norfolk with our new findings, we decided that all students would greatly benefit from a hands-on engineering experience. We understood that, in order for it to be a meaningful experience platform, it had to be offered as a dedicated class time in which all students would partake.

We decided to pilot our idea and take a “grow as you go” approach. The first EDI classes were taught to first and third grade students in 2015, in a small room in the Cooper Library. We were equipped with nothing but basic supplies and big ideas.

Due to the program’s overwhelming success, subsequent school years saw the addition of grade levels and faculty to the EDI program.

Afek Taragan, who taught in the Virginia Beach public school International Baccalaureate program, came to the Academy in 2017, so there are now two full-time teachers working in our EDI program. The 2018–2019 school year marks the first time that EDI is being taught to all six grade levels in

Fifth graders Aarush, Ronan, Sophia, and Lila prepare for an exciting competition with Dash robots in EDI class.

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[ I N N O VAT I O N ]

Lower School, in a brand-new EDI classroom space. In just four short years, EDI has evolved from a notion to a rapidly expanding engineering program, one that further sets Norfolk Academy apart from other schools in the region.

One key element of the EDI program is the time spent developing legitimate projects that teach real-world engineering skills. Many of the projects are drawn from my ten years working at consulting engineering firms, combined with observations made while visiting middle and upper school engineering programs.

Projects completed during EDI class time allow students the opportunity to build, test, and fail, repeating these steps so they can track their improvements with each iteration. Each child learns the subject matter, all the while gaining confidence and decreasing fear of failure. Projects for students in grades 1–3 focus on the physical creation of a work product; for example, building and testing bridges, rockets, zip lines, boats, wind turbines, buildings, while grades 4–6 add experience with more abstract topics, such as electricity (wiring and solar), 3D design, hydraulics, and momentum. All grade levels have a component of computer coding and robotics taught in an age-appropriate format.

Every grade level completes approximately five projects a year, with each one tackling a different branch of engineering. A major appeal for EDI is its flexibility as a cross-curricular platform, which allows for entry points with varying complexity. One example of this is a topic we explore/ repeat in several of our grade levels: rockets.

First grade students are introduced to the topic by making paper rockets. Throughout this project we discuss aerodynamics and explore the different forces that affect a rocket’s flight. This unit culminates in competitions to see who can build the rocket that will

fly the farthest and hit a target. Third graders are reintroduced to this topic, but with an added layer of complexity. We pay closer attention to the variables affecting the trajectory of the rockets and attempt to quantify their impact. Then we experiment by launching the rocket multiple times, first fixing the launch angle and varying the thrust, and then flipping the two. This project also has a competition component to it, where students must select the appropriate combination of launch angle and thrust to hit a predetermined distance.

This project was also used in the Middle School to get math students collecting data, graphing it, and analyzing their results. Students at this age are able to do a statistical analysis on this data and explore the relationship between these variables. In addition, they can model their data with functions and test to see how well these predict future launches.

The addition of Latin to the Lower School curriculum this year created more opportunities for interdisciplinary projects.

The first natural connection was a study of aqueducts in EDI. Students were introduced to ancient Roman engineering tactics, and then built their own aqueducts to transfer water around the room. Other identified projects include siege warfare and arch and dome construction.

EDI is not a Lower School initiative, but rather a school-wide program that started in the Lower School and will spread to benefit students in all grade levels. The growth plan in the Middle and Upper School divisions is receiving a great deal of attention, and we are intent on continuing the authentic, engaging experience that Lower School students have been enjoying as the program continues to grow. ◆ Dr. John Galler is the EDI Coordinator. He teaches EDI to fourth through sixth graders and coaches soccer.

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[ AFTER THE SCHOOL DAY ENDS ]

Exploration Continues Through Enrichment at the Academy A day of learning in the Lower School is busy and full of activity, so it isn’t surprising to see students hurrying out to the buses or carpool lines at day’s end. Yet, many Lower School students stick around — hurrying to a new space to take part in a different type of class through Enrichment at the Academy, which offers students a chance to explore new interests.

Now approaching its fifteenth year, Enrichment spurs students’ creativity and gives them new experiences, while it fits into the school’s values by developing responsible and responsive students.

“The programs effectively prepare Lower Schoolers for Middle and Upper School activities,” said Caroline Furr, director of Enrichment. Programs are offered in arts, athletics, and science, and miscellaneous activities such as bookbinding, songwriting, and sewing; 15–20 programs are offered each season, attracting about 230 students.

Athletic Director Aubrey Shinofield notes that it is important for children to stay engaged. A greater connection is created through these after-school opportunities, and students explore new sports and build their fitness through athletic activities.

Ninety-five percent of Middle Schoolers are involved in some sort of after-school activity, and this seems to correlate with the early exposure many of them experienced. Sean Wetmore ’86, Director of the Batten Leadership Program and former head of the Bulldog Basketball program, expressed a belief that the Saturday clinics are responsible for the creation of an additional seventh grade team in order to accommodate all of the students who want to play.

Mark Williams ’20, a captain and standout player on the Boys Varsity Basketball team, played Bulldog Basketball from first grade to sixth, choosing to return year after year due to the positive influences of coaches like Boys Varsity Basketball head coach Eric Acra ’84 and (former student-coach) Shawn Simmons ’14. His experience was so powerful that he has returned to coach young Bulldogs for the past two years. Many alumni of the Enrichment Programs remember the impact of the student-coaches as well as the faculty.

“I want to be a part of Bulldog Basketball again because I still remember the effect it had on me when

I was in Lower School,” said Ingrid Benkovitz ’19, a member of the Girls Varsity Basketball team. “I will never forget when Krissy Gorsline ’11 was my coach.

She taught me so much about leadership, and we still have a close bond to this day. I just hope to be that person for a Lower Schooler now.”

Young People’s Theater Program (YPTP) is another popular program. Director Becky Peterson teaches students in grades 4–6 about the different aspects of acting and putting on a production.

“I absolutely plan to do theater in Middle and Upper School,” said Kate Lasley ’25, who is entering her eighth show in YPTP. “It has allowed me to be very confident in myself, not just when I am on the stage, but off the stage as well.”

Upper Schoolers share these sentiments. “Having a role in a YPTP play was my first exposure to public speaking, other than girl of the day projects,” said Samantha Farpour ’19. “It developed my creativity and made me more confident as a public speaker.”

Enrichment at the Academy creates a unique foundation for children in the Lower School. By encouraging boys and girls to get involved in extracurricular activities, Enrichment encourages students to continue learning not only the fundamental skills required of the activity, but also to develop leadership traits, aspirations, and friendships. ◆ Sarah Yue ’19 is an intern for the Norfolk Academy Communications Department.

The General Story

Issues of Cooper Quarterly and the fifth grade collections, along with other student work, are on the General Story blog

blogs.norfolkacademy.org/Generalstory

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[ LOWER SCHOOL LIBRARY ]

One -stop “Shop” for Imaginative Storytelling THE COOPER LIBRARY LAUNCHES THE GENERAL STORY: A NEW SPACE TO INSPIRE WRITERS It’s no secret that students love a good story. As I transitioned into my position as the Director of Cooper Library last year, I quickly learned that the best way to quiet a rambunctious group of kids was simply to start reading to them. It was like magic. Within seconds they would all go silent and scoot as close as to me as they could; we’d become this focused, enraptured little group, hanging on every word.

All of my students love to listen to stories, but why were so many reluctant when it came to writing them? It brought to mind questions I’d pondered in my time as a ninth grade English teacher—how could I get my students more excited about reading and writing? What would give them the confidence to take risks and put their unique voices on the page?

I believed that if we could break down narrative into its essential components—plot, character, point of view, conflict, and setting—we could help students become better writers and more astute readers. If our students knew that every great story was built from the same components, perhaps they would feel less intimidated and see writing as a tool to express themselves and their many brilliant ideas.

Dr. David Kidd and I have spent a lot of time in writing centers across the country as we have built the Literacy Fellows Program; through all of these visits, a few things became clear. When students see writing as fun—when their creativity is encouraged and their voices are honored—they will produce incredible work. We knew we needed a space that could transform the way students approach the writing process, and so, we built The General Story.

The General Story is a shop for all your narrative needs, located in the Cooper Library at Norfolk Academy. We “sell” everything you need to write a story. You can pick out plot from our plot wall, learn

all about character archetypes, look through our Point of View Finder, spin the setting wheel, and, when writer’s block hits, get a plot twist from our vending machine. We’ve taken all the parts of a story and made them “purchasable,” with the idea that all the elements that make great stories are available to anyone. The great authors we love didn’t use anything that isn’t for sale in The General Story.

When it comes to writing, we all have everything we need.

Students start their first visit to our space with a shopping list, where they gather all the ingredients they need to write. Their incredible creativity usually takes it from there. We’ve only been open for a few months, but The General Story has already helped produce some amazing student writing across all the Lower School grade levels, all varying in format and disciplines. We’ve outrun jungle animals with the help of magic bubble gum, battled dinosaurs who arrived in a time machine, published magazine and short story collections, and even made our own class notebooks, along with much, much more.

Our fourth and fifth graders have more concentrated time in The General Story through their Library & Publishing Resource class. Our fourth graders are publishing a magazine every

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Writer’s block?

Treat yourself to a plot twist!

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[ LOWER SCHOOL LIBRARY ]

quarter through The General Story. Our first issue, Cooper Quarterly: The Boring Issue, was published in November, with Cooper Quarterly: The Weird Issue (This Issue has Issues) on newsstands in January.

Our fifth graders are designing imprints for Catapult Press, the micro-press established by our Literacy Fellows Program.

Our first collection, Wait. This is Not a Fairy Tale: Stories from 5D, was published in November through 5D’s imprint Boulder Books. 5C’s imprint, Dreamer Books, quickly followed.

The General Story also presents some exciting opportunities to open up the space to our community partners. We’ve already hosted some writing workshops for the Tidewater Park Elementary Boys and Girls Club, and we are hoping we can have even more visiting authors in the future.

But this space is not just about creative writing. I believe that in giving our youngest students the tools to articulate the parts of every great story, we can help them find their way to more of the reading they are bound to enjoy. If students can tell me the type of plots they enjoy or the settings they like, I’m much more likely to get the right books into their hands.

I don’t think our students feel as intimidated by writing anymore. I actually think they are pretty excited about it. So much so that I frequently find myself in the middle of a boisterous class, using the magic of reading aloud to settle them back down.

It’s just that these days, more often than not, I’m reading from one of their stories. ◆ Ms. Elizabeth Johnson is Director of the Cooper Library and Co-Director of the Literacy Fellows Program.

Fifth graders, the staff of Dreamer Books, prepare their first collection.

LIBRARY OF ADVENTURES: NEW COLLECTION ENCOURAGES EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Cooper Library’s newest circulating collection—The Library of Adventures—allows NA Lower School students to make connections to their reading through setting forth as explorers. Colorful backpacks, each curated to allow students to adventure to different local attractions through books and activities, provides a way for students (and their families) to be engaged with the books they read as well as their community. Currently, the 10

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collection features six backpacks, four of which pair with destinations in Hampton Roads and two new additions that are meant for at-home discovery. Locations included are Norfolk Botanical Garden, The Hermitage Museum & Gardens, and the Chrysler Museum. The newest additions to the collection, an “EDI” (Engineering, Design, & Innovation) backpack and a “Be Happy” backpack, allow for students to further develop skills

and understand notions that are learned during the school day, like problem solving, computational thinking, empathy, and friendship.

This type of experiential learning provides students with an opportunity to make their own discoveries. For students who love to be in motion, the collection offers an incentive to pause and pick up a book. ◆ Madelyn Kresinske is a Lower School librarian.

[ LOWER SCHOOL LANGUAGE ]

FIAT LATINA:

Let there be Latin

… in the Lower School

Sitting on the sidelines, watching a JO field hockey game one afternoon this fall, a note written in Greek letters appears before me. It is from a boy in one of my fourth grade classes. We have a conversation, writing messages using Greek letters as code. It’s not Ancient Greek, but it is a first step in that direction. He writes me questions; I answer him and ask him the next question; he answers, and so on. Simple questions like, “What’s your favorite ice cream?” and “Who are you going to be

language of the western world while experimenting with grammar, logic, and semantics.

Latin is now a full-time player in the daily schedule for sixth grade. The class of 2025 will be the first to bridge the divisional border between Middle School and Lower School, continuing their second year of Latin as they move into seventh grade. To this end, the Lower School is now home to two full-time classicists: in the 6A homeroom we have Jackson Vaughn, our newest

for Halloween?” look pretty cool in Greek letters. It is even cooler to write in code that only a few people can understand! This young classicist-in-training is a member of the first Norfolk Academy fourth grade class to begin studying Latin this year, after a decisive move expanding the study of Latin into all three divisions of the school.

We have taken the fourth and fifth grades into the classical world as full partners in the innovative curriculum unfolding in the Lower School. Each quarter a class takes turns with a concentrated resource block of classes in Latin, Art, EDI, or Publishing & Computers.

In the Latin block, students start to immerse themselves in the world that the Romans made and inherited. They learn Latin as well as the fundamentals of a classical education, including history, geography, mythology, philosophy, Greek orthography, and linguistics. They become conversant in the foundation and cultural

Latinist/archaeologist/defensive lineman/track and field coach; and, working with the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades is a familiar face from the Middle School, Latin teacher and softball coach yours truly. We are bringing the love of all things ancient and the excitement of linguistic time travel to a younger generation of Norfolk Academy scholars. Sixth graders are introduced to their 79 A.D. Cambridge Latin Course hosts: the family of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, complete with a fascinating cast of real and imagined characters, from Grumio the cook to Cerberus the dog. Fifth grade students get a preview of the Roman world by meeting a family in Roman Britain, living near Hadrian’s Wall in the second century A.D. and following their adventures while learning Latin, in an offshoot of the Cambridge Latin Course for younger students called Minimus.

The students hunger for the richest content and attack Latin with curiosity and a sense of adventure.

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[ LANGUAGE ]

Cerberus There is a tremendous wave of Latinity growing at NA, with more students continuing Latin far beyond the Latin 1 & 2 classrooms, and it is a tremendous privilege to be a part of it.

Those of us with a few (or several) decades behind us know that trends, technology, and institutions may come and go, but developing an agile and creative mind is the only way to prosper through all of the unknown circumstances that will be thrown at us. An education in the Classics may begin at any age, but it is essential for the development of a child who will become an informed citizen in our democracy, a person who fully understands words and their impact, capable of contemplating the great intellectual movements that changed humanity.

The ability to read and understand Latin has been part of the liberal educational system for more than a thousand years. However, Latin has not become a cornerstone in education simply because of educational tradition.

Learning Latin is the beginning of a classical education where rhetoric, logic, and grammar propel students into a world of ideas and statesmanship as well as enhancing their ability to think critically and creatively.

This course of study provides the means for cross-curricular enhancement of all subjects in the formative fourth through sixth grade years. It enhances students’ understanding of literature, science, and history; gives them an appreciation of the intellectual adventure of mankind; and, to further enhance the

movement of the Lower School’s EDI initiative, students understand the impact on a practical, personal level what the world’s greatest problem-solvers did to invent civilization in Greece and Rome. They are able to make connections from the past to the present by fully appreciating the legacy of the al world and the secret vitality it has given to the modern world.

Studying Latin is challenging and requires focus, attention to detail, and hard work that will repay its learner in more dividends than he or she might ever realize. Latin not only offers its learner an intense and meaningful grasp of grammatical structure, a vocabulary that enriches English and all the Romance languages, and a window into the world of linguistic logic and analysis, but also serves as an ideal vehicle for contemplating the timelessness of the human experience.

It is so exciting to begin teaching Latin at Norfolk Academy to a younger generation of students at the same time that we expand our scientific and creative scope in our beautiful, newly enhanced Lower School building.

We are all drawn to this space because it affirms in concrete what we know in the abstract—that there is dignity and honor in developing the mind of a child. ◆ Heidi Pollio teaches Latin in the Lower School and is the creator and director of the capstone study abroad adventure in the Middle School, Odyssey in Italy. She also coaches softball.

Fifth graders dive into Latin with Minimus, a textbook that tells the story of a family living near Hadrian’s Wall in the north of Britain in 100 A.D.

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[ OUTDOOR LEARNING ]

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e sure th s mea c emati grader h d c n s o a c Se ke to ma d r a courty m. diagra

as ut NA rn abo at ers lea th d a ts r n g d g pla , Secon ntifyin r birds at, ide elter fo h s a habit d n a . e food insects provid s, and s, frog ie fl r e butt

First g raders watch their “ the ch class tr ang es ee” th in rough the se asons .

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[ TRANSITIONS ]

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Launching from Lower School to Middle School

THE SIXTH GRADE PROGRAM CREATES A SPRINGBOARD FOR SUCCESS AT THE NEXT STAGE The journey through the Lower School begins in first grade with a pat of the bulldog’s head and a handshake, and it wraps up in sixth grade, as the “top dogs” in the Lower School step through the glass doors to The Quad—the hub of sixth grade life. From the first day of sixth grade, when 25 or more new Bulldogs are welcomed into the school, the Quad is abuzz with activity all year long, as students share stories in the morning, do some impromptu group prep for a quiz or test, and hurriedly swap books between classes.

By the end of the year, sixth graders are excited to dress up for the formal ceremony at Lower School Closing Exercises and step into the Middle School—even as they get surprisingly nostalgic about the road they’ve traveled.

Lower School Director Patty McLaughlin and Middle School Director Matt Sigrist offered a few reflections on what makes this transition successful, year after year.

grade deals with this—you are not only learning math, for example, you are learning how to learn math. You have your organized notebook, you tend to your homework, and you use flex bell well. Of course, the other big concepts that they continually work on relate to character development, integrity, and recognizing that “I am part of a larger community; what happens in my classroom affects me.” The academic skills, without that, are meaningless. This is a team of teachers who are mission-aligned and committed to continued growth in these areas.

Q: What do the sixth grade teachers do to prepare students for the launch into seventh grade?

Q: What are some indicators of sixth grade readiness for Middle School?

Patty McLaughlin: They are teaching many skills simultaneously. It’s about helping kids organize their stuff, their time, and their information. Each and every one of the academic courses in sixth

Matt Sigrist: Many kids show up feeling excited and almost beside themselves about the freedom of the Middle School. We buy a lot of good will with the freedom, but we say that we will expect a lot of you as a student. The sixth grade team develops these external measures for the students regarding self-discipline. We couldn’t do what we do in the Middle School without the solid foundation set by the sixth grade.

Patty McLaughlin: There are many signs. We hope to see a deepening commitment to learning, such as seeing students seek out a teacher for help at flex bell. When we see our sixth graders enjoying their roles, such as inventing

questions to spur fun conversations at lunch. When sixth graders are looking out for younger students in a variety of ways—helping younger students off the buses with all of their stuff. Literally and figuratively, the hallways get a bit small by the end of sixth grade! That’s when we know they’re ready!

Q: What do you think makes the seventh grade seem exciting to students?

Matt Sigrist: If you ask, “What are you looking forward to in the Middle School?” many kids will say, “Playing on the sports teams.” There is pent-up excitement with that. The coaches on those teams do a good bit of teaching life skills; it is about much more than sports skills. They are learning how to communicate with coaches and how to be good teammates, how to demonstrate sportsmanship. They are understanding that learning remains the top priority. When a coach says, “Are you getting your homework done?” the player feels the level of involvement in a different way. The teacher-coach model is so integral to learning at NA; students feel that their teachers know them so well, as individuals with many different interests and abilities outside the classroom as well. That level of connection is something that continues as students leave sixth grade and enter the Middle School. ◆

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[ VISITING AUTHOR ]

words

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NORFOLK ACADEMY DIVES INTO THE WORLD OF GRAPHIC NOVELS

Anya’s Ghost © 2011 by Vera Brosgol.

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale © 1973 Art Spiegelman.

March: Book One © 2013 John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell.

The Complete Persepolis © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 Marjane Satrapi,

by L’Association, Paris, France.

American Born Chinese © 2006 Gene Luen Yang.

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Graphic novels are a staple at bookstores and libraries for a very good reason: they tell a story in an effective, compelling manner. They fly off the shelves of libraries and bookstores. In addition, the movement of graphic novels from a niche industry to mainstream media mirrors our own cultural appetites and expectations for visually rich entertainment. This widening appeal has transformed comics and graphic novels into a billion-dollar industry. Their reach is far greater though, when you think of the movies and television shows that originated from their pages: blockbuster superhero movies from Marvel and DC Comics to the zombie-infested The Walking Dead and the science fiction world of Men in Black.

The term graphic novel is a bit of a misnomer, since these books inhabit all of the fiction genres and nonfiction categories of print books. In general, if you think of graphic novels as book-length comics, you are on the right track, though the graphic elements within the books are of a greater variety and creativity than the first comic books. One particularly popular subset of graphic novel, an import from Japan called manga, is read from right to left and begins at what would normally be considered the back of the book.

Vibrant images, engaging dialogue, and compelling storylines all contribute to the appeal of graphic novels. Inherent in visual storytelling is the opportunity to express what cannot be told through words alone. A reader feels a visceral reaction to an image of a character whose face reflects feelings of loneliness or joy. The color palettes used by

images the artists set the mood for the stories and convey subtle information to expand the reader’s enjoyment of the books. Graphic novels give readers another way to enjoy a good story in an attractive format.

Besides their popularity, graphic novels have also received a fair amount of critical acclaim. Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor’s Tale brought wide literary attention to the graphic novel after the story about his parents’ experiences during the Holocaust received a Pulitzer Prize in 1992. Since that first award, graphic novels have won the National Book Award, Hugo Award, and the American Library Association’s Printz Award and Coretta Scott King Award.

Norfolk Academy was honored to host one such award winner, graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang, on campus this spring to talk about his books. Mr. Yang has written two books that have been finalists for National Book Awards and his graphic novel American Born Chinese won the Michael L. Printz award in 2007.

American Born Chinese tells the story of a boy acclimating to a new school and incorporates characters from Chinese mythology and historic racial caricature.

Mr. Yang has also been honored by the Library of Congress as a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The MacArthur Foundation recognized Mr. Yang as a MacArthur Fellow in 2016 for “bringing diverse people and cultures to children’s and young adult literature and confirming comics’ place as an important creative and imaginative force within literature, art, and education.”

The broadening of the graphic novel market has created opportunities for a greater variety of stories to be told. A few graphic novel titles I would recommend include Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, which tells of the author’s time growing up during the Iranian revolution; Vera Brosgol’s Anya’s Ghost, a coming-of-age story of a girl whose new friend happens to be a ghost; and John Lewis’ March, a depiction of the current congressman during his time in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

We are in the midst of a golden age for graphic novels where both popularity and critical praise result in a varied selection that appeal to an ever-growing audience. With the realm of literature expanding into this dynamic format, our reading lives are all the richer. ◆ Mr. Matthew Robertson ’93 serves as media specialist in the Batten Library and as a coach for volleyball and tennis.

Cartoonist & Graphic Novelist Gene Luen Yang offered a “Reading Without Walls Challenge” 1. Read a book about a character who doesn’t live or look like you.

2. Read a book about a topic you know little about.

3. Read a book in a format you don’t normally read for fun.

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[ E N V I R O N M E N TA L I N I T I AT I V E ]

NORFOLK ACADEMY’S NEW SOLAR INSTALLATION

Bulldogs are Sun Lovin’ Dogs

Throughout the fall, as Lower School students walked to their music classes upstairs in the new Lower School addition, they glimpsed a transformation happening just outside the hallway windows: A vast array of solar panels—black rectangles, gleaming in the sunlight—gradually stretched like a blanket across the flat rooftop.

That Lower School installation of nearly 1,300 panels was the major piece of the new solar initiative; an additional 500 panels were installed on the roof of the Middle School as well as 150 panels on the maintenance building. Norfolk Academy’s installation of 1,900 panels, which can generate over 600 kW, is one of the largest rooftop solar arrays in Virginia, and the largest on any Hampton Roads school. It has enough capacity to fully power the new James B. Massey Jr. Leadership Center, making it a net zero building, which means the amount of energy used by the building is roughly equivalent to the amount of renewable energy generated. The installation also helps put the Massey Center on the path to LEED 18

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(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification.

The $1 million solar project will reduce the school’s carbon footprint substantially. It was spearheaded by Norfolk Academy parent Ruth McElroy, a NASA engineer and an active environmentalist. She was joined in the initiative by environmentally conscious Norfolk Academy parents in forming Sun Dogs, LLC, a limited liability company that brought the project to fruition.

The parents’ LLC purchased the solar panels and took advantage of federal tax credits that are available for installation of solar energy systems. The electricity generated by the panels is tied into the grid, so Dominion Virginia Power will credit NA for any excess production that can be used by other customers. Over the next seven years, Norfolk Academy will pay Sun Dogs instead of Dominion for the power generated by the panels. At the end of seven years, Sun Dogs will turn ownership of the panels over to Norfolk Academy, and the school will then continue to reap benefits far into the future, saving over $80,000 annually in energy costs.

The panels, which weigh 55 pounds each, have a 40-year life expectancy and produce energy even if covered with an inch of snow, said Ryan Healy of Convert Solar, the Virginia Beach–based company that ordered the panels and did the installation. Each panel is attached to the roof with brackets. If one panel fails, it can be easily removed and replaced without impacting the panels surrounding it. While some solar installations secure the panels with a ballast, Norfolk Academy chose the added security of brackets; the installation should remain affixed and undamaged in winds up to 150 mph.

While the practical benefits are irrefutable, they should not overshadow the more significant impact of this investment in terms of the school’s leadership in the region and its educational mission. We hope that other institutions will follow the school’s example and

make similar installations. “Sustainability is a longterm commitment for our school, and there is no plan for this to be a ‘pilot’ or short-term experiment,” said Headmaster Dennis Manning.

Three touch-panel kiosks, installed at high activity spots on campus, allow students to see in real-time the amount of energy that is being generated and utilized on campus. “We are using [this project] as an educational asset for our students as they learn about solar energy, as well as our own energy consumption patterns on campus,” Mr. Manning said.

For Ruth McElroy, the project is a natural progression of her involvement in school life from the day that her two sons, Chris ’15 and Patrick ’19, became Bulldogs. In that time, she has helped lead several environmental initiatives that have made a lasting impact on the school, including an initiative to get healthy snacks—including fresh fruit, which required a volunteer squadron of parents to slice oranges and pineapples—into the Lower School snack rotation, and a push to make recycling and composting part of Field

Day and replace disposable water bottles with water serving stations.

During the weeks of solar panel installation, McElroy, who is an avid photographer, used time-lapse photography to create videos of the installation, and she regularly climbed up on the roof to check on the progress. During her chapel talks for the Middle and Upper School, her excitement was contagious; the Upper School gave her a spontaneous “clap out” after she finished.

She believes the installation is just one part of helping children appreciate the environment—and how to live in a way that preserves the Earth. “I am very excited to see Norfolk Academy taking this active step to develop renewable energy and cut its carbon emissions, so the students can experience that and build on it.” ◆ Esther Diskin serves as Director of Communications and teaches creative writing in the Upper School.

Chapel talks by NA parent and environmentalist Ruth McElroy about the solar panels drew an enthusiastic response. Touchpanel kiosks will make the solar array an educational asset.

Proud moments. Big impact.

Bulldog Moment

Bulldog Moment

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Bulldog Bytes goes live at the Lower School

embracing the Honor Code Your gifts perpetuate the community of trust that strengthens facultystudent relationships and teaches the importance of strong moral character.

Your gifts provide myriad ways for students to put their learning into action—from Lower School programs to a variety of clubs and extracurricular activities.

Bulldog Moment

Bulldog Moment

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bulldog moments

Presenting the Senior Speech Your gifts sustain landmark programs that distinguish Norfolk Academy and remain unforgettable in students’ lives.

brought to you by the academy fund

Opening night of the Winter Musical

Bulldog Moment

Your gifts make possible a thriving arts program that develops confidence, ingenuity, and joyful spirits.

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Monitoring Blood Glucose in Hampton Roads Your gifts fuel curricular innovation, including the Norfolk Academy Medical Scholars program that inspires young leaders to explore careers in healthcare.

Make your gift today online at norfolkacademy.org/giving. Thank you!

[ S T R AT E G I C P L A N ]

Bold Strategic Plan to Create a Just Society The Board of Trustees adopted a new strategic plan this fall, which sets a clear course for new initiatives to be undertaken by the school over the next few years.

The plan, which was ratified as the school concludes the largest capital campaign in its history ($67.5M), is entitled Creating a Just Society: Integrity, Leadership, and Pluralism. It is the product of a sustained investigation and planning by alumni, faculty, staff, and trustees. The Board of Trustees initiates a strategic planning process at regular intervals, typically every five to seven years. The school engaged with Leadership+Design, LEADERSHIP •

Leadership Curriculum • Structured, periodic examination of the Batten Leadership Program • Augmented Public Role • Alumni & Parent Network

school’s Statement of Philosophy and Objectives. They are listed below, along with their “Preliminary Areas of Exploration.”

While the Strategic Plan is led by the Board of Trustees, administrators and faculty members are actively involved in implementing aspects of the plan as well.

Faculty began organizing into committees this spring to push forward on many fronts. Given the plan’s breadth and scope, the initiatives that arise as a direct result of this strategic plan will eventually touch every aspect of the educational program. ◆

an educational consultancy with expertise in design thinking and strategic planning, over a lengthy process of conducting interviews, holding workshops, and incorporating benchmarking data. The final stage of the exploration process, prior to the production of a draft, was a strategic planning design retreat, held at the Chrysler Museum, that included 49 participants. The drafting and revision process unfolded over the summer and into early autumn.

The plan sets five strategic priorities for initiatives that the school will pursue; each one is closely tied to portions of the

FACULTY GROWTH, PURPOSE & EXCELLENCE •

Teacher-coach Model Recruitment & Retention • Health & Wellness •

NEW APPROACHES TO LEARNING & TEACHING

PLURALISM

VALUE PROPOSITION

• Connections

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New Educational Contexts: Experiential, Co-curricular, Cross-disciplinary & Digital Learning • Promoting Teaching Excellence • Function & Form: Royster & Tunstall Buildings

Faculty Hiring & Leadership • Enrollment • Curriculum • Culture of Belonging

Strategic Scale & Size Tuition, Pricing & Financial Aid • “Beyond Four Walls” • Regional Leadership • Marketing

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Perry’s Gift Supports Faculty Renewal KICK-START FOR THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN Norfolk Academy is launching the Masterson-MacConochie Faculty Summer Renewal Program, a five-year program to provide visionary support and professional development for the school’s faculty. The initiative is funded by a major gift from Norfolk Academy parents Cathryn and Christopher Perry, who were inspired by the recent strategic plan that places faculty support at its center. Christopher Perry also serves as a trustee of the school.

The new program is named in honor of two incomparable English teachers, Edith P. “Patty” Masterson and Arthur A. MacConochie, Jr., who gave a combined 71 years of service to the school. Titans of NA’s English department, Mrs. Masterson and Mr. MacConochie instilled a love of literature in their students and led them to

become better, more effective writers. As lead authors of the school’s Statement of Philosophy and Objectives, they helped craft a vision that has given NA direction and purpose for the past half-century.

“To teach at Norfolk Academy requires remarkable personal and professional sacrifice, although our teachers would be the first to say that the returns are profoundly gratifying,” said Headmaster Dennis Manning. “Yet, the academic calendar does not afford the faculty many opportunities to refresh or reinvigorate themselves personally, physically, intellectually, or spiritually, particularly because many of them continue teaching or working throughout the summer. This program will address that situation.”

Faculty may apply for grants, ranging

$2,000–$4,000, for programs such as individual travel or experiential education.

Each summer, 15–20 faculty members may participate; the majority of faculty will have access to a renewal experience over the next five years.

While faculty members benefit directly, students derive value from teachers who return to the classroom newly inspired and invigorated, Manning observed. “One hallmark of a great school is its ability to provide sustained support for faculty, galvanizing their professional growth and pursuit of excellence. I feel a profound sense of gratitude for the vision and generosity that led to the creation of this program.” ◆ Esther Diskin is Director of Communications.

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[ B AT T E N L E A D E R S H I P P R O G R A M ]

Global Affairs Fellows EXPLORING THE FORCES SHAPING THE LIVES OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES & REFUGEES

Global Affairs Fellows learned traditional Andean weaving practices while visiting two villages in the Sacred Valley of Peru. These practices are part of saving the indigenous cultures eroded by modernization.

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The mission of the Global Affairs Fellows program is to cultivate in its participants the desire and skills necessary to make the world a more peaceful and just place by studying not only how globalization creates conflict and challenges, but also how the international community seeks to resolve them. While each of our Fellows has the intellectual freedom to choose one or more issues for in-depth study, as a group we focus on trying to understand how two groups in particular have been affected by the forces of globalization—indigenous peoples and refugees. In many ways these two populations are among the most vulnerable to the changes wrought by globalization and the challenges it poses—migration and displacement, protection of human rights, cultural and linguistic preservation, responsible economic development, and environmental sustainability, among others.

To create more opportunities for our Fellows to learn by doing, we have sought partnerships with organizations both locally in Hampton Roads and abroad, as well as collaborations with other Fellows programs. The GAF class of 2020 has taken the initiative to build a relationship with Hampton Roads Refugee Relief (HR3), a local nonprofit organization that assists refugees in building a new life in the United States. The organization’s primary goal is to help refugee families improve their socioeconomic status and integrate themselves in their new communities through educational outreach. For the past several months, our juniors have been volunteering their time on Sundays, providing English as a Second Language instruction to both adult and youth learners, helping high school students with homework, and doing arts and crafts projects or playing sports with the younger children. They are now working with the Literacy Fellows to create chapbooks directed at English Language Learners, as well as a community guide detailing local resources and other essential information to help refugees situate themselves in their new homes. In the next few months they will also be developing lesson plans and study guides to help adult refugees prepare for the U.S. citizenship test.

The other main focus of our program is to study the effects of globalization on indigenous people. In order to do this, each summer the Global Affairs

Fellows travel to the Andes of Peru to immerse themselves in the indigenous Quechua culture.

Through our Peru experience, we have developed partnerships with several international non-governmental organizations, commonly referred to as NGOs, which give our Fellows access to experts in the field of cultural preservation and provide the foundation and local connections for our more service-oriented projects. Our partner organizations include Awamaki, an NGO that focuses on preserving Quechua weaving practices by helping women find a market for their textile products, and the Centro de Bartolomé las Casas, one of the oldest and most established NGOs in Latin America.

While the Global Affairs Fellows spend the majority of their first trip to Peru learning about the Quechua and how globalization is affecting them, they spend their second and third trips to Peru devising and implementing projects that make a difference in local Quechua communities. For example, this summer, one group of Global Affairs Fellows will be working with Awamaki on building artisan centers in communities above the Andean town of Ollantaytambo, and another group of GAFs will be working in Awamaki’s office assisting the NGO with day-to-day operations.

Our trips to Peru have also been a catalyst for projects that the Fellows work on during the course of the academic year. For example, the GAF Class of 2021 recently made a presentation to Care Four, an adventure lifestyle brand that donates 20 percent of all sales to charitable causes, and persuaded them to adopt Awamaki as one of their beneficiaries.

Through independent study, group study, and travel, the Global Affairs Fellows program seeks to harmonize a pedagogical balance between individual and collaborative efforts, traditional and experiential learning, and local and global contexts. ◆ Dr. Natasha Naujoks teaches history and political science in the Upper School and serves as co-director of the Global Affairs Fellows program and coordinator for the China Exchange and Leadership Development Program. Mr. Jack Gibson ’08 teaches World Cultures in the Middle School, serves as co-director of the Global Affairs Fellows program, and coaches lacrosse.

Meighan with Kenyan student Whitney at a Malala Fund–supported project in Nairobi that empowers teenage girls through mentorship and skills training in coding.

Working to Empower Women Around the Globe

“Every girl has a right to learn.”

—Meighan Stone ’93

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[ ALUMNI PROFILE ]

MEIGHAN STONE ’93 IS A SENIOR FELLOW IN THE WOMEN AND FOREIGN POLICY PROGRAM at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), focusing on women’s economic empowerment, girls’ education, and refugee policy.

She joined CFR after serving as an entrepreneurship fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center. She served as president of the Malala Fund from 2014 to 2017, working with founder and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai to empower girls globally to learn and lead without fear.

Q: You have worked on women’s economic empowerment and girls’ education and continue to do so—those are big issues. What are two big things that you feel people don’t understand about barriers that face girls and women around the world?

Simply put, girls and women are not on a level playing field globally, from education to earning power. First, women in most countries don’t have equality when it comes to economic empowerment. As of 2018, 104 countries still restrict the kinds of jobs women can hold, 75 countries restrict women’s property rights, and 59 countries lack any legal protection against sexual harassment in the workplace. Our Council on Foreign Relations interactive report, “Women’s Workplace Equality,” used World Bank data to rank countries on formal legal equality—and out of 189 countries, not one got a perfect score. This means that every country should be asking themselves not only, “How can we move this issue forward globally?” but also “How can we move it forward at home?” Certainly, we have unfinished work here in the U.S. on women’s rights and economic empowerment—especially with communities of color.

Second, on girls’ education, leaders must do more to ensure that girls who are refugees or displaced have access to quality education. We have more refugees globally now than at any time since World War II and an estimated 39 million girls live in countries affected by armed conflict and natural disasters. International organizations and governments must work together to ensure that girls in even the most challenging humanitarian contexts have access to quality education. By investing in girls’ education, we can promote long-term stability, prosperity, and equality in some of the world’s most fragile regions. Every girl has a right to learn.

Q: Can you share some of the most important projects you are working on now as part of the Women and Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations?

We have a strong focus at the Council on Foreign Relations on women’s leadership in foreign policy,

hosting leaders like Christine Lagarde, the first-ever woman to serve as head of the International Monetary Fund, and Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of the World Bank. If you walk the halls at CFR, you’re likely to run into an ambassador, foreign minister, or human rights activist! It’s an exciting place to be and honor to be a senior fellow there.

At CFR, we’re currently tracking the global wave of women’s activism that started with the Women’s March in 2017. This largest single-day mass action in U.S. history, with five million marchers participating on every continent, was followed quickly by the explosion of the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment and assault. Today, one year after the #MeToo movement went viral online, women in nearly 100 countries are using the hashtag to fight violence, harassment, and discrimination—and winning.

What started online has now sparked the most widespread cultural reckoning on the rights of women in history, with global implications for women’s participation in the private sector, politics, and at the peace table. Part of our work at CFR is traveling to document the powerful stories of these activists in the most challenging and dangerous places in the world to be a woman. We report from the front lines of change globally, in countries like Nigeria and Pakistan, where this networked movement marks a fundamental shift in how women organize for their own social, economic, and legal equality.

Q: You were president of the Malala Fund from 2014–17. What was that like to experience? What was a major success that you experienced during your time working there?

When Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, alongside her fellow Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, who has freed thousands of children from slavery in India, I sat in the Nobel hall astounded. I never could have imagined a small town girl from Virginia like me would have such a humbling opportunity.

It was an honor to be of service to Malala, her father Ziauddin, their family and our incredible Malala NORFOLK ACADEMY MAGAZINE

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[ ALUMNI PROFILE ]

LEFT Meighan near the border of Syria in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, opening a Malala Fund supported secondary school for Syrian refugee girls with Malala Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin.

RIGHT Meighan at Harvard’s Kennedy School, where she was a fellow, speaking with Parkland student activists Emma González and David Hogg on their campaign to end gun violence.

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Fund staff. Our team won advocacy victories like guaranteeing 12 years of education for every girl in the new global Sustainable Development Goals, raised the voices of Syrian refugee girls from the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations, and supported Global South education activists and organizations in nine countries. Most of all, I’m grateful for the indefatigable spirit of Malala and every girl we helped educate and empower.

Although maybe an unexpected answer, I also consider another success my decision to step down after three years at Malala Fund, so I could have more

to education and training that will prepare them for careers in technology.

time with my young son. I believe we have seasons in our lives, times when we press in and times when we prepare, times to be far flung or times to stay close to family.

looked externally to be some of her biggest victories.

She just did it afraid, a lesson we all need!

Q: What are the challenges in providing education in certain regions, even if the money is available to build schools?

I’m a grateful and happy single mother to a wonderful little boy, so any free time I have I want to do homework with him, play Monopoly together, or just talk about how he sees the world as a third grader. I travel all over the world for work, but home is the best place.

One of the most important challenges we face in education is equipping girls with the knowledge and skills they will need to join the workforce of the future.

In the coming years, millions of new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) jobs will be created. Yet, barriers inside and outside the classroom hinder girls’ ability to access STEM opportunities. Only 35 percent of higher education students studying STEM subjects are women, and only 3 percent of the world’s information and communications technology (ICT) graduates are women. In order to ensure that girls have the same professional and financial opportunities as boys, we must empower them through access

Q: What is a book that you have recently read that you would like everyone (or nearly everyone!) to read?

I recently read My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem, who continues to be an incredible activist and feminist organizer. It’s powerful because it brings together so many threads—how our early lives, even when challenging, can positively shape us to be of service, or how she often didn’t feel confident in taking on what

Q: If you have any free time, what are some hobbies?

Q: Do you have a favorite memory from NA? I treasured my time at NA in the arts programs under Ron Newman’s wonderful direction. Being part of NA’s productions helped me learn to be confident speaking to audiences, experiences I still draw on today when I feel nervous before a speech or have to be on TV. ◆ Dr. Grayson Bryant is Assistant Headmaster for Development.

Esther Diskin is Director of Communications.

[ INTERNSHIP PROGRAM ]

Career Connections Reaches Milestone FIFTEEN YEARS WITH MORE GROWTH AHEAD “What’s your passion?”

“What are you planning to major in when you go to college?”

“What are your career plans?”

Questions such as these are enough to make many high school and college students break out in a cold sweat.

However, Norfolk Academy students can keep calm; they have a chance to jump-start their exploration of the future with the Career Connections Internship program.

The concept is encapsulated in the name: Alumni who are established in their professions offer summer internships designed for Upper School students and young alumni currently in college.

When the program began in 2003, it was a bold idea without a blueprint to follow; independent schools had not organized anything like it, and any models were at the college level. Ruth Acra, director of alumni relations, and Sean Wetmore, director of the Batten Leadership Program, got to work with the support of the school’s Alumni Association; they made phone calls, held meetings, and pitched the concept.

The first brochure advertised the participation of seven companies. By the next summer, the number of participating companies doubled, and the momentum kept building. The program currently partners with 70 to 80 organizations and companies in 15 different sectors in the arts, business, education, environmental and others.

More than 500 students have participated in internships, and many of those students have found their first jobs as a result. Cole Werkheiser ’09 is one of them.

During his sophomore year at James Madison University, Werkheiser, who was majoring in business and marketing, applied for an internship sponsored by S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. It gave him great exposure to the industry and prompted him to apply for a second internship at The Katsias Company. After interning at The Katsias Company for two summers, he was hired full-time and worked there for four years.

Werkheiser recently joined Pembroke Commercial Realty; now, due to his emphatic encouragement, Pembroke will offer its first Career Connections internship. “Norfolk Academy’s internship programs changed my life,” Werkheiser said in a chapel presentation to Upper School students.

The Dragas Companies offer an internship each summer.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Helen Dragas ’79, CEO; Robbie Berndt ’14 (intern); Nick Baum, Vice President of Planning and Business Development; and Drew Vakos.

While companies offering internships may discover future employees, the value and purpose of the program are more far-reaching. C. Arthur “Brother” Rutter III ’82, managing partner of Rutter Mills, an accident and personal injury law firm, has been offering an internship since the program began. “We look at it as a chance for us to provide service and mentorship,” he said. “Our lawyers love having interns shadow them as they go through their daily legal life. What we get is the joy of mentoring. What the students get is an education about what the practice of law really is.”

Rutter notes that most students do not have a full understanding of the variety of professional activity inside a law firm; interns get exposure to the entire ecosystem of a thriving and growing firm of 70 employees, and some realize that they are interested in aspects beyond the courtroom, such as accounting or marketing. However, many interns have become lawyers, and he and others in the firm have stayed in touch with them over the years.

The success of Career Connections spurs more growth. Acra, who gave a presentation about the program at the CASE-NAIS conference years ago, still receives calls from other schools that are trying to start a program like it. In addition, business leaders who have no specific tie to Norfolk Academy hear about the program from colleagues and call to inquire about whether their organizations can offer internships. Acra is glad to oblige.

“The students who pursue these internships have the opportunity to find mentors in the community,” she notes. “The sponsors also become invested in our school, even when they have had no prior connection to us. The students are great ambassadors for Norfolk Academy.” ◆ Staff Report

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stage

TOP The new Lower School Music Room, ready for action.

MIDDLE Fifth graders Gunnar and Will apply the finishing touches to their Aztec Sun God projects.

BOTTOM The new Lower School Music Room in its naturally exuberant state.

RIGHT Caroline, a sixth grader, works on her flute technique.

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New Arts Space in Lower School Reshapes the Experience With the 2005 Opening of the Tucker Arts Center, the Royster and Tunstall performing ensembles and visual arts classes received long-deserved recognition, visibility, and improved work spaces. Now, thanks to the new addition to the Lower School, the Lower School band, chorus, orchestra, and students in our visual arts and music classes have received the same attention and can now learn to “play well with others” in beautiful new spaces of their own!

Due to past construction and space requirements because of curricular changes, music classrooms and rehearsal spaces were moved and, eventually, relocated to a space shared with many other facets of the school’s life. The former multi-purpose room (currently the After Care Room) was truly that: a place shared by class plays, guest lecturers, photographers, book selling events, and regularly occurring band classes, band, chorus and orchestra rehearsals. Never was a room so aptly named!

While sharing space is a good thing and teaches respect and flexibility, the music programs have grown to the extent that instructional time and the safe storage of instruments required a rethinking of the work spaces.

The new second floor Large Ensemble Room allows Mrs. Kecia Yeates to hold grade level band classes and the fifth and sixth grade band rehearsals, all while keeping the chairs, music stands, and percussion equipment out and ready to be used. The Lower School String Orchestra meets in the same space as well. Gone are the days of hastily moving tables, chairs, platforms, and whatever else might have been in the multi-purpose room in order to hold rehearsals. As a result, teachers have more instruction time. A large closet inside

the rehearsal room permits the convenient and safe storage of extra school instruments, electric keyboards, band equipment, and a large sheet music library. Cubbies of varying sizes near the Lower School entrance offer safe storage of instruments.

Mrs. Rebecca Peterson, Lower School Music teacher and Director of the Young People’s Theater Program, is loving her expansive and sound-proofed classroom. In her former space she had to store all of her equipment right in the room; now, the entire classroom is a teaching space with storage elsewhere. “I have such lovely light, and the acoustics are fantastic,” she said, noting that students can play percussion instruments and stomp their feet rhythmically without disturbing those in Admissions and Communications offices below.

Due to the more centralized location of the new art room, Lower School Art teacher Mrs. Feild reports an increase in the number of students stopping by in the mornings on their way to classrooms to show her their latest work. We now have a new Art Club at flex bell!

These new workspaces are inviting and highly functional, with attention paid to the details of a teacher’s rhythms; their locations reflect the school’s approach to incorporating the arts in the overall life and curriculum of the school. Teachers and coaches know that “The Basics” are the most important part of any educational process. With these new spaces, Form and Function have been artfully addressed to help Lower School students develop a solid beginning for their future lives in the arts at Norfolk Academy! ◆ Jeff Danielson serves as Chairman of the Fine Arts Department and teaches Lower School strings.

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in the [ G A M E ]

Swimming the NA Way CONFIDENCE, COURAGE & A LITTLE BIT OF SPLASH

Beau is ready for swim class to begin!

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For most people, the simple canvas belt with three blue styrofoam squares might be described by its common name—a life preserver.

Kristen Kirkman, Director of the Vaughan Aquatic Center and Lower School Swimming instructor, has coined her own terminology. Her phrase encapsulates the emotions of some youngsters as they approach the edge of the Norfolk Academy swimming pool and begin to cry, sometimes in a near-panic, as they consider the prospect that awaits them in the trans­ lucent depths.

“I call it ‘The Belt of Courage,’ because it is courageous for them to get into the water in the first place,” she said. “It is trust—they have to know that we won’t put them in a situation where they would fail.”

Over her two decades of teaching swimming—11 of those years at Norfolk Academy—Kirkman has transformed many non-swimmers into confident freestylers and backstrokers. In the typical first grade class of new NA students, Kirkman regularly encounters a range of abilities—from extremely fearful of the water to students who have spent the summer in swim leagues; it is not unusual to have a few new sixth graders who are non-swimmers as well.

With unflappable calmness and innovation borne of years of experience, Kirkman sets out to teach them the techniques, training, and behavior for safety around water, in a region where water, whether salty or chlorinated, is seemingly around every corner. Norfolk

Academy students rotate through swimming classes as part of the school’s daily P.E. program; grade levels head to the pool for a two-week unit each quarter.

As she creates skill-building games for her swim students, Kirkman draws on her long experience in and around the water.

A proud “Navy brat,” she was born in Virginia Beach, but her family relocated to the island of Guam, a U.S. territory with a large naval base, when she was four years old. There she formed her first memory of swimming: A next-door neighbor took all of the kids on the street, including Kirkman and her two older sisters, to the nearby pool. Because she was fearful, the neighbor, a Navy master-chief, took her to the end of the diving board… and tossed her in. Terrified, she managed to swim to the side, so she figures that she must have had some experience in the water before that pivotal event. Still, she stresses, “No! I absolutely do not endorse that approach!”

After the family moved back to Virginia Beach, she swam in summer swim leagues, and at age 12, joined Old Dominion Aquatic Club (ODAC) for year-round swimming. She attended Old Dominion University, earning a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education and swimming for ODU’s swim team, where she was the university’s record holder in the 400 Individual Medley and MVP in her senior year.

Currently, she is Co-Head Coach of the Varsity Swimming and Diving team, which had a banner year in 2019, with both boys and girls winning state championships (see

page 32). She is also Head Coach of the JV team, a coach for ODAC, and a certified American Red Cross Lifeguard instructor.

In the latter role, she hires and trains lifeguards for Summer at the Academy and supervises the Aquatic Center throughout the summer months as well.

“Coach Kirkman has an approach with the Lower School swimmers that combines patience, trust, and most important, humor. She structures her classes with games that can make even the most fearful kids want to get in the water with their friends,” said Director of Athletics Aubrey Shinofield. “Many of these students come out for swimming as seventh graders because of their fond memories of Coach Kirkman and swimming during their P.E. classes. And because of that relationship, she is able to get the most out of them as athletes as well.”

Kirkman has myriad games in her repertoire, from noodle races to “end ball,” to teach components of water safety,

fitness, and stroke techniques. Many games incorporate reading and math skills; when first graders celebrate 100 days of school by bringing in 100-item collections to their homerooms (thereby practicing counting skills), they also count out 100 bobs in the swimming pool.

By the time students graduate from the swim program in sixth grade, they know the many rules for safety in and around water, including the perils of rip tides; they are able to tread water for six minutes; and they can swim freestyle and backstroke for a minimum of 50 yards. Most students exceed those goals, but for those who started as non-swimmers, those achievements are monumental.

She has many stories of students who started as anxious non-swimmers and ended up as enthusiasts. One particular favorite is David McCormack—now a freshman at The University of Kansas, a 6-foot-10-inch forward who represented the U.S. at the 2018 Nike Hoop Summit.

McCormack learned to swim when he came to Norfolk Academy in the seventh grade, and those lessons took hold, more than anyone had anticipated. During the winter sports season, the avid basketball player abruptly decided that he would try a new sport… and he showed up for the first swim team practice ready to do some laps.

As much as Kirkman appreciated McCormack’s newfound interest, she knew exactly what she had to do with an athlete of his rapidly growing skill at hoops. “I told him to get out of the pool,” she says, laughing. “And I sent him right back to the basketball court!” ◆ Esther Diskin serves as Director of Communications and teaches creative writing in the Upper School.

Maite demonstrates her skills at butterfly.

in the [ G A M E ]

Swimming/Diving Wins Boys & Girls State Championships Norfolk Academy Swimming and Diving won both the boys and girls championships at the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) meet. Norfolk Academy is the only school in VISAA to win both boys and girls championships in the same year, an achievement the school has secured seven times—in 1985, for five straight seasons from 1990–1994, and this year.

This year’s wins were decisive. The boys, who won the championship last year, finished with 319 points, followed by Collegiate School (Richmond) at 265, and St. Christopher’s (Richmond) at 241. The girls won with 279.5, followed by Collegiate School at 251, and St. Catherine’s at 243.

Last year, the girls came in second by a mere half-point, the slimmest margin in VISAA meet history, to Madeira School, an all-girls boarding school in northern Virginia.

Norfolk Academy Swimming and Diving, which trains as a co-ed team, had 65 swimmers and 7 divers this year; 5 divers and 55 swimmers qualified to participate in the state meet.

At the meet, several swimmers earned first place finishes, claiming the mantle of state champions; Norfolk Academy also set three new VISAA records and eight new school records. ◆

Reflections from NA’s Student Coach LEARNING ABOUT MENTORING & FRIENDSHIP

I started coaching JO field hockey because I knew a lot about field hockey and, due to health and other reasons, was not playing anymore. Varsity Head Coach Werkheiser asked if I would be interested in coaching alongside Coach Vanessa Stewart, considering that there was no assistant coach.

Thus, my sophomore year, I became a student coach—the only student coach in the NA athletic program.

The beginning of that first year felt utterly strange. I did not know Ms. Stewart very well, and I was convinced that I was not truly qualified to coach. That first season, though, I was enveloped by the girls on the team, not only as their coach but as their social confidante and 32

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trustworthy sounding board. I often found myself laughing as I watched them sing and dance in the locker room or talked them through the world of middle school, as they listened with care.

I would have been lost without Coach Stewart, and in these three years she has become a true mentor and friend. I asked a lot of questions and tried to mimic her passionate pep talks and clear explanations of drills. That first season was a season of learning for me, mostly learning to translate playing experience and technical knowledge into teaching.

Our greatest challenges never outweighed the massive good of the JO Field Hockey team. We worked through social issues, fitness, learning how to be on their first team, and insecurity. There were bumps and struggles and kinks, but Coach Stewart and I were unified; we always reminded each other and the team that our duty as coaches was to make them better and to care for them. We spent a lot of time focusing on womanhood and creating strong, smart, confident young women.

One of the things we did consistently each of my three seasons was running “scenics”—a nickname for loops around the campus perimeter. The coaches always

ran with the girls because we all needed fitness! Coach Stewart, an avid runner and competitive personality, loved to be in the front pushing the girls to keep up with her.

I, not a huge fan of running but a massive proponent of enthusiasm to make it better, brought up the rear. We would pass other teams and I would be running, but also jumping, screaming, running backward, doing cartwheels, or some other mildly embarrassing thing, in hopes of encouraging the girls to keep running their hardest.

In both my silliness and seriousness, I walked the line: the line between being in middle school and being an adult, the line between middle school maturity and adult maturity—I had survived where they were and yet I was not totally out of the woods. I was still in it, and that perspective gave me an unparalleled experience of not only teaching and coaching but also learning and growing. I taught them how to drive the ball and move on the field, but they taught me how to teach. ◆ Madeleine Munn ’19 is not only Norfolk Academy’s sole student coach for the 2018–19 academic year, but also an intern for the Communications Department.

THE

savage

CHRONICLES

“Lineburker Bill Back” I called my last varsity football game on Friday night, October 26, 2018. Our victory over the Cougars of Collegiate School was easily the Toy Savage spent most thrilling and nearly three decades satisfying game in “calling the Dogs.” my nearly thirty years of doing public address for the Bulldogs.

Any game that ends with a potential game-winning field goal by the visitors hitting first the crossbar, then the left upright of the goalposts before bouncing harmlessly to the ground in the end zone is a doozie. I had no need to do a “mic drop.” The players did it for me.

To quote Jerry Garcia, “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” In the early days they simply put me on a scaffold (between two portable bleachers) with a microphone and an amplifier like the one the bass player uses at a concert in Price Auditorium. By 1993 there were permanent aluminum bleachers and a rudimentary press box with a built-in P.A. system. The bleachers were later dedicated to the memory of Royce Jones, longtime football coach and Tricia Affronti’s dad. But my friends dubbed the room at the top the “Toy Box.” Then Middle School Director Gary Laws, armed with his remarkable 20/15 eyesight, began to spot for me regularly, a practice he continued through this year. He made me sound like I knew what I was doing—I will always be grateful. Now the magnificent Wynne Darden Stadium looms large around the gridiron there. My successor has quite a perch from which to operate.

What follows are three standout memories from my time calling the Dogs.

Enjoy.

BIGGEST UPSET In the fall of 1993, Fork Union Military Academy came to town led by running back Eddie George, future Heisman Trophy winner and NFL MVP. It was a total mismatch. We held Eddie to precisely the number of yards he wanted to gain—by the end of the third quarter he had gained something like 280 of them.

But a turnover here, a key penalty there, and we were still in the game. When we took a one-point lead at the start of the 4th quarter, the FUMA coach panicked and began throwing the ball on every play, forgetting his not-so-secret deadly weapon, Mr. George. We held on to win 22–21. I think we left the scoreboard illuminated for two days.

In the early 2000s we were blessed by the attendance of the brothers Derkac—Britton ’01, Grant ’03, and Pearce ’06. Britton’s career began as a sophomore in the fall of 1998, so for eight years I was privileged to call out the Derkac name over the loudspeakers. Each had his own athletic skills, and each brought a competitiveness to the field that teammates found irresistible. They led in other sports as well, and carried their Bulldog spirit to Brown (Britton and Grant) and Cornell (Pearce).

ALL IN THE FAMILY

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT At the end of the 1995 season, arrangements were made to play the year-ending (and title-deciding) game against Nansemond Suffolk Academy in old Memorial Park, home of the Norfolk Tides. (It has long since been demolished and replaced by Harbor Park.)

It was my first time in a “major” venue, and I was nervous. I was ushered up to a real press box with a real console and a real sound system. I was further spooked by the delay in hearing my own voice coming from the center-field speakers, some 500

feet away. In the booth with me were Tom Duquette, Tony Mercurio (longtime local sports broadcaster), and his engineer. We had arranged for the starters for each team to enter the field on my call. The Dogs, having lost the toss, were to go first with their defensive starters.

First alphabetically was Billy Burke, who played linebacker. I heard myself intone in my deepest possible baritone, “Starting for Norfolk Academy, number fifty, lineburker Bill Back.” Duke fell off his seat laughing. Even Tony Mercurio started giggling—on air, no less. Billy ran out to his designated spot of arrival on the field and stood there, alone, for a full two minutes as I tried to compose myself. It was the last time I was ever asked to call out starters by name. We won, by the way.

I’LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS THOUGHT

The long-term future of full-contact football is uncertain. But maybe because I am old, and more than that, old-school, I cling to the notion that football is somehow different from any other team sport. In no other game are there 22 individuals engaged in simultaneous competition on every play, the majority of them anonymous for most of the time.

Coach Jones used to say that football is a metaphor for life. I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, but I do believe that the unglamorous teamwork that leads to victory is a lesson worth observing, learning, and putting to use.

I’ll end the way I have ended every call for many years—“on behalf of Dennis Manning and all of us here at Norfolk Academy… thank you.” ◆ Toy Savage ’71 teaches history in the Middle School. Follow his blog at www.thesavagechronicles.org.

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[ ALUMNI ]

Events

President’s Dinner and Defining Leadership Campaign Gala: October 11, 2018

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Cornerstone Society celebrated its annual dinner at Steinhilber’s on October 13, 2018 Begun in 2016, the Norfolk Academy Cornerstone Society counts as its members all those who graduated from the school 50 or more years ago. It represents one more way for those alumni and alumnae to keep in touch with the school and each other. Through gatherings both on and off campus, the Cornerstone Society celebrates the lifelong nature of being a Bulldog.

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[ ALUMNI ]

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Homecoming, October 12, 2018

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[ ALUMNI ]

Events

The Alumni Board 2018–2019

Care Package Party for Parents of Alumni in College: “Just in time for Halloween”

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Career Prep Day and College Holiday Luncheon: January 2, 2019

Alumni Basketball Games during Thanksgiving Break

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[ ALUMNI ]

Regional Gatherings

New York City Reunion: Breakfast and mini-seminar with Coach Tom Duquette

Boston Networking Luncheon

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Young Alumni Holiday Party at Smartmouth Pilot House

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[ ALUMNI ]

Regional Gatherings

Atlanta Networking Luncheon: February 12, 2019

Nashville Reunion Gathering: December 2, 2018

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Philadelphia Reunion: January 28, 2019

San Francisco Reunion: Breakfast and mini-seminar with Coach Tom Duquette, January 10, 2019

Alumni Seminars with Coach Tom Duquette Alumni met to discuss two readings, “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace, and “The Things They Carried,” a short story by Tim O’Brien, at Norfolk Academy on October 22, 2018, and January 14, 2019.

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1967 Ω JOHN DONAHOE ’67 (JONDON007@VERIZON.NET)

1970 Ω ANNE REED HARPER ’70 (AMRHARPER@GMAIL.COM)

Christopher Bonney had total knee replacement surgery in August 2018 and was cheered up during his recovery by a surprise visit from classmates Charlotte (Syer) Hisey, Jackie Wilson, and Bo-bo (Gentry) Smith. On January 1, 2019, Chip Beaman retired after almost 40 years of practicing law, the last 30 with the Norfolk City Attorney’s Office. He and his wife, Cathy, now have four grandchildren: Katie Lee and Grace Beaman (five-year-old twins), Connor Jackson (two years old), and the newest arrival, Chase Jackson (seven months). Chip and Cathy went out to dinner with Anne (Reed) Harper and Bill Reed and his wife, Pam, at the end of the summer and very much enjoyed catching up. They hope to get the NA group together again soon.

1971 Ω SAM BROWN ’71 (SAM@SAMUELRBROWN.COM) Ω TOY SAVAGE ’71 (TSAVAGE@NORFOLKACADEMY.ORG)

1972

Meriwether Payne ’76 caught up with several classmates recently: TOP LEFT enjoying a visit with Joe Dashiell ’76 on the the Eastern Shore; TOP RIGHT running into Betsy Hardy Parks ’76 at an oyster roast; BOTTOM LEFT with David Greer ’76 at the old Coast Guard Station on Cedar Island; and BOTTOM RIGHT with Margaret Reinhardt ’76 on Meriwether’s boat this past summer.

Ω HEATHER HOLLOWELL ’72 (HOLLOWELL17@COX.NET)

moved back to Richmond from northern Virginia and

daughter, Hannah, is finishing her first semester at

bought a practice. He and his wife, Jillian, have two

Ohio University, and has a 4.0 average. He is very

Ω MICHAEL VIA ’73 (LAXSTX@COX.NET)

sons: three-year-old Xavier, and one-year-old Louis.

proud of her! David Dunn-Rankin and his family

As of January 1, 2018, Mel Cruser sold his dental

Craig’s daughter, Anne-Claire Vaske, lives with her

sold their media business this year as part of a

practice to Dr. Amrish Patel, but he continues to

husband, Chad, in Minneapolis, where she moved

generational change. Instead of retiring, he bought

practice part-time. The practice is now known as

after graduation from Virginia Tech. She is a senior

newspapers in Highlands, Polk, Lake, and Sumter

Lakeshore Dental. Several months ago his wife,

buyer/planner for Target. Craig continues to work

counties in Florida. They also have a fun concerts

Sara, who was the office manager there, retired and

as the only remaining principal in an independent

promotion business and will do about 200 concerts.

is enjoying life working out, quilting, and spending

investment company in Richmond—Alpha Omega

Pretty funny for a guy who can’t carry a tune.

more time with her father. Their son, Wade Cruser

Wealth Management. He started the firm with his

Meriwether Payne is still enjoying life on the Eastern

’05, is working in accounting for the Mandarin

business partner, Art Washburn, in May 2009.

Shore near the town of Locustville with her awesome

Oriental Hotel in Doha, Qatar, where his wife,

Unfortunately, Art passed away suddenly last year

golden retriever, Loose Lucy, and her kitties, Wolfie

Laura, works as a nurse. They hope to return to

of a heart attack at age 50. Craig has 11 people in the

and Lola. Her little business, Seaside Ecotours, is

the States in about a year. Mel and Sara’s daughter,

firm in two offices—Richmond and Staunton.

growing every year with her spring, summer, and fall

1974

days spent taking folks of all ages out on the pristine

pharmaceutical company doing data analysis after getting her master’s in data sciences from UVA in

Ω SUSAN LAMPERT SMITH ’74 (THESMITHERY@COX.NET)

1973

Jennifer Cruser ’08, is working in Richmond for a

June. Mel and Sara enjoyed homecoming and the football triumph over Richmond Collegiate later in

1975

the 2018 season. Although saddened by the loss of

Ω CHARLIE NUSBAUM ’75

classmate Tom Cistola this past year, Mel continues to enjoy the get-togethers with other classmates

(CNUSBAUM@NUSBAUMINSURANCE.COM)

seaside for birding, photography, island-hopping, shelling, sunsets, and moonrises. She also enjoys taking friends wreck-fishing out in the ocean where you never know what you will see! Meriwether had a number of NA alums on the boat this year, including Jeff Tinkham ’80 and his sons, Spencer and Clay; Joe Dashiell ’76; and Margaret Reinhardt ’76. Betsy

who still live in the area. Craig Forbes and his wife,

1976

Claire-Marie, met up with three other couples from

Ω MERIWETHER PAYNE ’76 (WETHER33@VERIZON.NET)

because she frequently bumps into her at oyster

the Class of ’73 for dinner at Rudee’s Restaurant in

Kip Gardner continues to teach environmental

roasts! Recently, Meriwether had the pleasure of

Virginia Beach on October 31, 2018: Mel Cruser and

science at Stark State College in North Canton,

spending some time at the old Coast Guard Station

his wife, Sara; Armie Armstrong and his wife, Karen

OH, and also at the University of Mount Union

on Cedar Island with Frank Kollmansperger ’80,

Miller Armstrong; and Phil Stedfast and his wife, Sara

in Alliance, OH. Work continues on his farm; he

David Greer ’76, and Jim Outland ’79. Janet Peck and

Barrie Stedfast ’79. They had a lot of fun catching

will be planting nearly 200 fruit and nut trees this

her husband, Jeff Kramer ’70, have been wintering

up. Craig’s son, Graham, is a dentist who recently

spring as part of a regenerative agriculture effort. His

in Boca Raton, FL, the past few years and love it! She

Hardy Parks ’76 must like oysters and the Shore,

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alumni profile

has taken up golf and can miss putts just like Tiger

| Ellie Hall ’07

and Phil! They stay in touch with NA goings-on through granddaughters Reese Hoover ’30, Hayden Hoover ’27, and Caroline Suber ’21, as well as niece Audrey Peck ’20 and nephew Caleb Peck ’23. Tom Land and his wife, Charlotte, have moved from the Atlanta suburbs to their eventual retirement home

Concise and Precise at BuzzFeed

overlooking Lake Lanier in northeast Georgia. Tom is still working as an engineer for Cisco Systems, but works primarily from home.

One of my most prized student gifts is a framed list of the goofiest things I said in either 2005–2006’s F bell U.S. History class or G bell International Relations class. (It’s a four-page list.

Single-spaced.) That the presentation came in list form is of particular importance. Digital media company BuzzFeed is famous around the world for its lists, so it is fitting that the gift’s giver, Ellie Hall ’07, went on to become the first official member of the BuzzFeed News Team. In late 2012, BuzzFeed poached Ellie from NBC News. Ellie had worked previously on NBC Nightly News, the bastion of the traditional news media, but at BuzzFeed she is at the leading edge of today’s 24-hour multimedia news cycle.

In April 2013, when rumors about the Boston marathon bombing began to flood the internet, Ellie worked around the clock to verify—or debunk—each claim as soon as it threatened to go viral. In the years since, she has had the chance to do everything from covering the White House to interviewing Benedict Cumberbatch on the red carpet. She has even lectured at Georgetown University about her acclaimed investigation into the first American woman to join ISIS. “Norfolk Academy helped prepare me for the world,” Ellie explained. Of greatest importance was the emphasis put on professional and concise writing in NA’s history, English, and French classes. Much to the retrospective horror of her 16-year-old self, Ellie is even grateful for what NA’s dress code taught her about “how people expect you to present yourself as a professional.” Many of the lessons she

1977 Ω RAY SEARS ’77 (RANDLSEARS@VERIZON.NET)

1978 Ω STEPHANIE ADLER CALLIOTT ’78 (SACINVA@AOL.COM)

Stephanie Adler Calliott was honored as a Legendary Pearl at the Journey For Success annual gala on October 6, 2018. The event of more than 250 people honored Stephanie, Senator L. Louise Lucas, and Barbara Hamm Lee (WHRO) as “distinguished women who have built successful careers despite the challenges of being single mothers during their professional lives. Their demonstrated tenacity, perseverance, courage, and innovation has earned them the 2018 Legendary Pearl award.”

Journey For Success supports single mothers by providing essential tools and resources for developing productive and transformative lifestyles

remembers the most, however, are ones that only tangentially relate to her professional life. “I remember Frau Holmes telling us in Art History class that years from now, when we’re visiting art museums, we’ll take pride in understanding something because we remember it from this class, and she was totally right.”

Ellie’s advice for current Bulldogs: “Take advantage of the breadth of classes [at NA], because once you get to college and begin your major, you become more and more focused in your studies.” She also noted that, “Norfolk Academy isn’t always easy, but it’s a place where if you ask for help, you’ll always get it. Ask questions.”

Spoken like a true journalist.

via mentoring and education during a yearlong program. Stephanie celebrated with her family and son David Calliott ’07, who was along for the wild and wonderful adventure. Leeny Kelly Oberg spoke in March 2018 at UVA’s Darden School of Business at a Leadership Speaker Series event. Her closing comment reflects what is instilled in students at NA, which is encouraging students to “be flexible except when it comes to your morals.”

1979 Ω ERIC PETERSON ’79 (MAJDADEFP@COX.NET)

1980 Ω ARCH BROWN ’80 (ARCHMBROWNJR@GMAIL.COM)

Ran Randolph’s family celebrated two graduations last year—his oldest son, Ranny ’14, graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in Finance and is working in Dallas. His middle son, Christian ’18, graduated from Norfolk Academy and is now a freshman at

Dr. David Rezelman teaches history in the

UNC-Chapel Hill. Ranny’s godfather is Jeff Stedfast

Upper School and directs the Senior Speech

’79 and Christian’s godfather is Joe Fiveash ’80, two

Program.

of the best godfathers you can imagine. Youngest son Peyton is a sophomore at NA and actually seems to enjoy being the only one left at home.

Ran just finished up his two-year chairmanship of the ACCESS College Foundation board, which was a fulfilling and challenging experience. He is still

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REUNION YEAR

Ω CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Stephanie Adler Calliott ’78 was honored as a Legendary Pearl at the 2018 Journey For Success annual gala.

Leeny Kelly Oberg ’78 (second from left) was the keynote speaker at the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) luncheon in Virginia Beach on November 15, 2018. Headmaster Dennis Manning (center) and classmates John Gibson (far left), Stephanie Adler Calliott (second from right), and Courtney Crooks Many (far right) attended.

Matthew Biberman ’84 delivered a lecture in London at a Shakespeare seminar last April.

serving on the NA board as Finance Committee

classmates. Arch Brown finds it hard to believe that

but they are settling in and enjoying the beautiful

Chair, which has also been a fulfilling experience.

he and his wife, Latané Ware Brown ’78, are almost at

surroundings. Their children are doing well: Bill Jr.

He reports that it is amazing what (NA) has become.

the end of their 20-year run with a child at NA. Their

’10 is living and working in northern Virginia as an

Professionally, Ran chairs his law firm’s recruiting

youngest daughter, Molly, will graduate from NA in

electrical engineer with Avizia, a telehealth company.

and hiring committees, and is still practicing

May 2019. She is looking at a few schools, including

Wyatt ’12 is living and working in Manhattan with

commercial and transactional law with Kaufman &

UGA, UNC, and UVA. Their son, Walker Brown ’15,

eTrade Securities. Alicia runs into Elizabeth Outland

Canoles, the firm he joined 31 years ago. He and his

is a senior at Washington & Lee, and was named

Branner around town, and had a visit from Ann-

wife, Kristen, still see many of their friends from

a captain of the lacrosse team. He will be working

Darby Simpson Rush recently. They invite all former

the Class of ’80 and say they remain blessed by the

for VRA, a boutique investment banking firm in

classmates to stop by if you are passing through.

friendships from the class that remain a reliable

Atlanta starting in July 2019. Their oldest daughter,

constant in their lives. Frank Kollmansperger says

Annie Brown ’12, is working for Addison Weeks in

1984

that his family is healthy and that is pretty much

Charlotte. Latané and Arch are both doing well and

Ω ERIC ACRA ’84 (EACRA@NORFOLKACADEMY.ORG)

all that matters. He attended the wedding of Ben

ask for advice for soon-to-be empty nesters.

Elena Baum is in her ninth year as Director of

1981

the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish

where lots of fun was had by all. Ben’s mom, Eunice Payne, was still on the dance floor when he left!

Ω LARRY BERNERT ’81 (LARRY@WSTAM.COM)

“works hard to provide supplemental Holocaust

Jeff Tinkham and his wife are empty nesters like

Gary Ryan became the executive director of the

education to schools, the military, and the community

many of their classmates. Their oldest son, Spencer,

Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

at large. Our 14th biennial educators’ conference,

graduated from Baylor (Econ) in Texas and moved

in Virginia Beach this past January. She had

Teaching Difficult History: How Our Past Informs

home to be a full-time artist (wood sculptures).

previously served as development director at the

Our Present, will take place at NA this summer.”

His work can be viewed on his website: www.

Katonah Museum of Art. Prior to joining the

Hugh Addington is a deputy associate commissioner

tinkhamdecoysandfolkart.com. Their other son, Clay,

Katonah Museum, Gary founded Palermo Strategy,

for the Texas department of health and human

also graduated from Baylor and is working for Oracle

a fundraising consulting firm, and worked in

services. He lives in Austin, TX, with his wife, Julie,

in Austin. Susan Jacobson Coburn and her husband,

development positions at the Metropolitan Opera in

and sons, Joe and Jon. His oldest son is attending

Gordon, recently sold their home in Connecticut and

New York and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Texas A&M University and lives just down the street

1983

from the George W. Bush library. It all seems too

there part-time the last several years. They would love to see any NA classmates out in Colorado! Gorgeous

Ω ALICIA SCOTT DEVINE ’83 (ALICIADEVINE@MAC.COM)

1988 where Julie and Hugh met. “We miss our

skiing, biking, hiking, and, of course, Pickleball

After living in Norfolk their entire lives, Alicia

friends in Virginia. Y’all come visit.” From Laurie

(Susan is a recent addict of the sport) are frequent

Devine and her husband, Bill Devine ’79, decided

Goldsticker Siegel: “I am enjoying my volunteer

activities. Their twin sons are now 26. One is a doctor

to move to historic Lexington, VA, in April 2018.

activities at EVMS. Last year, we celebrated the

in his first year of emergency medicine residency,

They fell in love with the town decades ago; Bill

beautiful wedding of our daughter Marni Siegel ’07 at

and the other is in his second year of business school

graduated from Washington and Lee in 1983, Alicia

a lavender farm in Chapel Hill. I continue to keep in

at Dartmouth’s Tuck School. Paige Moody’s daughter,

graduated from W&L Law in 1990, and their son,

touch with many of our classmates and look forward

Austen, who is autistic, turned 20 in January. She is

Wyatt, graduated from W&L in 2016. Bill is still

to seeing everyone at our reunion in May!” Matthew

high functioning and looks like a little Paige, curly

with Williams Mullen, commuting to the firm’s

Biberman recently published a scholarly study of

hair and all. She is a great kid—a real joy. Austen

Charlottesville office a few days a week. Alicia took

the earliest adaptations of Shakespeare, entitled

recently started a Special Olympics basketball league

a job as an emergency medicine physician in the

Shakespeare, Adaptation, Psychoanalysis: Better than

and Paige can finally say she is going to watch her

critical access hospital a mile from their home. It is

New (Routledge, 2017). He was invited to London last

kid play basketball! She waited a long time to be able

a huge change from the controlled chaos of a Level

April to deliver a talk summarizing his research, at a

to say that! She sends her best wishes to all of her

I trauma center, and she misses teaching residents,

Shakespeare seminar at the estate of famed theater

Payne’s daughter in Baltimore in August 2018,

moved full-time to Beaver Creek/Vail, after living

Federation of Tidewater. She said the commission

coincidental, but it was on the Bush campaign in

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Alan Baydush ’86, David Hester ’86, Tony Montagna ’86, and John Wroton ’86 celebrated turning 50 with friends in Key West.

Members of the Class of 1986 gathered to celebrate Sam Knoll’s 50th birthday in July 2018.

impresario David Garrick. Matthew also continues

younger, having just entered high school. Wish he

to build and restore Vincent motorcycles and will

was at NA, but the daily commute from the west

be showing a customer’s rare Black Shadow this

coast might be a bit much. When time permits, I am

March at the Amelia Island concours. His daughter,

continuing my NASA-funded volcanology research

Lucy, was recently accepted to Dartmouth College,

as well as an array of projects that don’t require

and his son, Vincent, is now in second grade.

external support; my favorite of those right now is

Matthew continues to teach English Literature at the

focused on trying to understand some odd behavior

University of Louisville in Louisville, KY; any alumni

that occurred during the recent Kilauea eruption.

passing through the area are encouraged to look

Hope this finds everyone well, and if my luck holds,

him up. From Edward Rosenfeld: “After 20-some-

I will look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion

odd years in digital media, I left the corporate world

this May!” David Hope is still living in Richmond

last year to join my wife in real estate. She had been

and recently caught up with Dr. Lee at a basketball

part of one of the top producing teams for Berkshire

game. His eldest son, Talmadge, is off to college

Hathaway out of the Marietta, GA, office, and last

next year to play some lacrosse. David keeps up with

year we started our team in midtown Atlanta. Our

plenty of alumni, including Eric Acra, Rich Crawford,

first year out we made Leading Edge—top 7%

and Rich Rosenblum, and is looking forward to the

production for Berkshire Hathaway globally! We

next Reunion. Jennifer Hoffman Morgan lives in

buy and sell residential all over metro Atlanta and

Richmond with her husband, Dennis. They enjoy

are getting into a little commercial and development

spending time with their two sons, ages 10 and 15.

in town as well. Working with my wife has been great, because we have complementary skills and

1985

interests. Nobody knows metro Atlanta better than

Ω DANIELLE REIFF SCHWEIKERT ’85

she, and we can leverage her 20 years’ experience from her previous career in design and marketing,

(DANIELLE.SCHWEIKERT@GMAIL.COM)

while I can finally help her with the sales and contract

1986

negotiations. If you’re moving to Atlanta, we’d love

Ω RUTH PAYNE ACRA ’86 (RACRA@NORFOLKACADEMY.ORG)

to help you find a home. By the way, we also work

Alan Baydush, David Hester, Tony Montagna, and

with a great agent in Norfolk who has helped friends

John Wroton celebrated turning 50 this year in Key

and family up there, too. We don’t get to see as many

West with several of their friends who also hit the

Bulldogs as we’d like and miss Kim Wilcox, who

milestone this year. John started organizing the

had been working in Atlanta on Stranger Things. We

five-day trip about a year prior. Everyone enjoyed

enjoyed visiting her in Chattanooga after we dropped

catching up and had a great time snorkeling, golfing,

Gabrielle off at camp, though. With any luck, I might

sightseeing, and dancing until late in the night.

be able to help Matthew Biberman deliver one of his

John is hoping to do it again when everyone turns

signature Vincent restorations to a vintage show on

55 with even more NA friends. Kelley (Gomez)

Amelia Island in March, and we are always happy

Bimson married Greg Couch on November 14, 2018.

entertain other wandering souls. For business or

Members of the Class of 1986 gathered to celebrate

pleasure, drop me a note.” From Eric Grosfils: “I am

Sam Knoll’s 50th birthday in July 2018.

currently the Chair again for the Geology Department at Pomona College, where I have recently enjoyed teaching Cal Neikirk, the son of one of my ’84 NA

Hill McBrayer ’88 during a course in Mountain Medicine.

classmates, Chris Neikirk! My own son is a few years

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Ω CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

1987 Ω MEREDITH DOXEY ’87 (MEREDOXEY@GMAIL.COM)

alumni profile

| Jack Gibson ’08

Corey Wallach reports that things are great up in northern Virginia. He has the chance to see Andy McCraw pretty regularly, and is treated to an occasional Quincy Ayscue sighting as well. Robert Fiveash published a large-format coffee table book, The Company We Keep, about Drive-By Truckers’ (band) Homecoming shows and the charitable work the Fan Community takes part in when they come together. One-hundred percent of profits benefit

Setting the Record Straight About a Colonial Outlaw

Nuci’s Space, which works to end the epidemic of suicide and inspire a culture free of the stigma attached to brain illnesses and its sufferers. After 27 years in New York City and 24 years working for the same communications consulting firm, Charles Burgess has quit his job, relocated to Europe, and launched his own independent consulting business.

He and his wife recently spent six months traveling throughout Europe, but have now settled down in Barcelona, Spain. They look forward to making a home there. If any Bulldogs are passing through, please look them up!

1988 Ω HELEN HAMAKER YOUNCE ’88 (HELENMYOUNCE@GMAIL.COM)

Hill McBrayer reports that he has had a great year. His oldest is graduating high school this year and looking at colleges. Taking things to new heights, he officially finished a course in Mountain Medicine in which he did mountain rescue, slept in an ice cave at 11,000 feet, completed avalanche training, and worked with helicopter transport. Training also included winter and desert survival. The last day involved participating on a real rescue outside of Taos, NM.

1989 Ω ELEANOR BAIRD DEMOORS ’89 (EDEMOORS@GMAIL.COM)

Rob Fleenor saw Matt VanHoose recently, where Matt is ballpark organist for the Washington Nationals, and says, “I can say without hesitation this might be one of the best gigs in sports. I had the pleasure of visiting Matt, got a chance to catch up, took me on a tour of his perch for each home game, and even got to spend some time with his mom. Great day.”

Brent Fraim has moved with his wife and two kids to Italy to practice law for the Department of the Navy’s European Region. Although he won’t be able to make the upcoming 30th Reunion for the Class of ’89, he hopes to make it to future reunions.

1990 Ω CURTIS ROMIG ’90 (CURTIS.ROMIG@BRYANCAVE.COM)

For Jack Gibson ’08, Middle School history teacher and co-director of the Global Affairs Fellows program, teaching has always been the natural outgrowth of his passion for historical research.

Even with his high level of community engagement at NA, when Jack read about the Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Commission’s grant opportunities, he couldn’t resist submitting a proposal to research a little-known colonial conflict, pitting a shadowy outlaw, Josiah Philips, against the revered Sage of Monticello. In 1778, Thomas Jefferson wrote a bill of attainder in the General Assembly, which called for Philips to be arrested, or shot on sight.

Little in-depth research had been done on Philips, who resided—or, to take Jefferson’s perspective, hid out—in Princess Anne County. “It seems to me as if the politicians at the time found it convenient to portray Philips as a simple bandit, while the historical record paints a much more nuanced portrait of his life and motivations,” Gibson said.

The Historic Preservation Commission was intrigued by this uniquely Tidewater story, and awarded Jack $2,000 to research Philips. Gibson’s investigation took him to locations across the Commonwealth, including the Virginia Beach courthouse, where old records of Princess Anne County are stored in a vault; to the Slover Library; and to the Special Collections at the Library of Virginia in Richmond.

He notes that few historians had studied Jefferson’s bill of attainder itself, which he describes as “an indictment, determination of guilt, and sentencing—all in one.” Bills of attainder were eventually banned by the Constitution, because they were a legislative instrument that circumvented due process. However, the fact that Jefferson used one to bring Philips to justice made it clear that Jefferson viewed Philips as a scoundrel and villain of the highest order. Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia at the time, concurred, calling him “an enemy to the human name.”

It seems clear that Philips viewed himself as a Loyalist, one who therefore was justified in his raids on the homes of patriots, as he was working in service to King George III. He was persuasive in recruiting others to his cause; he and a small militia of Loyalists made their headquarters in the Great Dismal Swamp. While Jefferson clearly viewed Philips and his associates as traitors, a loophole in the law made it difficult to put Philips on trial for treason; instead, Philips was eventually captured, tried, and executed for the theft of 28 felt hats and five pounds of twine, a rather ignominious charge for such a notorious outlaw. Gibson’s sleuthing and persistence paid off; he recently turned in a 50-page article to the Commission, and he looks forward to the presentation of his work this spring.

The research was a very rewarding process, Gibson said. “Not only did I have the opportunity to uncover a very compelling and overlooked chapter in early American history, I also had the chance to engage with the material as a working historian. This type of experience fuels my own passion for history, and I feel as if I am bringing this enthusiasm back to my classes at NA.” Dr. Grayson Bryant is Assistant Headmaster for Development. This fall, he co-taught a class with Mr. Gibson on Latin American history.

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alumni profile

1992

| Kathryn Fink ’13

Ω JEN WHITE HEILIG ’92 (BECKJEN2@AOL.COM)

Griff Aldrich was named the head men’s basketball coach for Longwood University following a successful career at the University of MarylandBaltimore County. While at UMBC, he helped take the team on its winningest two-year stretch in

Telling America’s Stories on NPR’s 1A Kathryn Fink ’13 is living any public radio lover’s dream. She’s an associate producer for 1A, a radio talk show produced by WAMU in Washington, DC, and distributed by National Public Radio. As the official 1A website explains, the title is a reference to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. “1A’s goal is to act as a national mirror—taking time to help America look at itself and to ask what it wants to be.”

Norfolk Academy’s strong emphasis on writing prepared her for her current work. “Writing, like a lot of things, is all about momentum. When it comes time to write a script, it feels a lot like solving a puzzle: all the pieces are there, in a heap, and it’s your job to figure out how they fit together,” she said. “Sometimes you just have to dive in and know you’ll eventually find order in the chaos.”

Kathryn’s fascination with radio began at NA—with an experience in Dr. David Kidd’s 11th grade English class. She recalls that he shared “an episode of the radio program This American Life for inspiration, before we embarked on our own first-person narrative projects. I was hooked as soon as the episode began.” Kathryn told that story to Ira Glass, the host of This American Life, in a phone call. “He was delighted, and wanted to hear all about how his work had helped shape our own.”

Upon graduation from UVA, she returned to Hampton Roads to work as a freelancer for WHRO, conducting interviews for the podcast “Mind Over Manners,” serving as production assistant for film shoots, reading newspaper on air for The WHRO Voice, and operating live streams and phone calls during Another View. These professional experiences led to her current work at 1A. She said that 1A has a distinctive approach to storytelling. “At 1A, we have a saying: ‘Nothing about us without us.’ It means when we’re putting a show together, we want to hear from people on the inside. Individuals with personal stories. Like Pete, a dairy farmer in Wisconsin who talked about how the trade war with China has impacted his business. Or Sekwan, a former inmate who worked as a graphic designer while incarcerated.” Those personal stories reflect 1A’s core philosophy, she said. “Without these perspectives, we wouldn’t be doing justice to a topic or to the people who live it every day.”

Kathryn knows more than a thing or two about writing. She majored in English at the University of Virginia, graduating in 2017. She began exploring radio journalism as an undergraduate, working as an intern for WHRO Public Media and in Charlottesville, as a student DJ for WXTJ Student Radio; as a writer and editor for the Cavalier Daily and the Ruckus; and as a co-producer of an original podcast, “Unquiet.” She says, “I’m proud to work for a show that not only prioritizes personal stories, but also provides a platform for people to tell their own stories themselves, completely unmediated.”

program history, including a major upset over No. 1– seeded UVA in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

1993 Ω SARAH JOYNER ’93 (SEJ1@HOTMAIL.COM)

1994 Ω SARA STRAETEN DAILEY ’94 (SSDAILEY@GMAIL.COM)

Stephanie Clarke Duran and her husband, Ruben, are now the proud parents of a baby boy. Sebastian William Duran was born on October 26, 2018, weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz. and measuring 21 inches.

1995 Ω MARY GARRIS ’95 (MARY_GARRIS@YAHOO.COM) Ω KENDELL WATSON GRIFFIN ’95 (KENDELLWGRIFFIN@COX.NET)

1996 Ω GEORGIA WAINGER SUSSMAN ’96 (GEORGIAW@GMAIL.COM)

1997 Ω LAUREN ALDER REID ’97 (LAURENA@GMAIL.COM)

Allen Lu and his family have moved to Tokyo, Japan.

He and his wife wanted their 12-year-old daughter to get a cross-cultural experience by living in another country. His wife is taking a sabbatical from their nonprofit work serving single mothers, while his job allows remote work. Life in Japan is amazing! While he is only now starting to learn Japanese, Allen reports he is finding ways to survive. In August 2018, Lauren Alder Reid was selected to enter the federal government’s Senior Executive Service, serving the U.S. Department of Justice as an assistant director at the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

1998 Ω ANNE MARIE NASH BURROUGHS ’98 (ANNEMARIE.BURROUGHS@GMAIL.COM)

1999 Ω JENNIFER KAWWASS THOMPSON ’99 (JENNIFER.KAWWASS@GMAIL.COM)

Jennifer Kawwass, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist in Atlanta who is the Medical Director of the Emory Reproductive Center, was recently elected to be the Clinical Director of the

Charlotte Hudgins Zito ’99 teaches Upper School English at NA, and serves as the faculty adviser

Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. SART

for Rings, Strings, and Other Things, the Upper School literary magazine, as well the Belfry, the

is the national organization that promotes and

Upper School student newspaper. She also serves on the Community Advisory Board at WHRO. 50

ACADEMY

REUNION YEAR

Ω CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

1

3 2

4

5

7

6

8

9

1 Members of the Class of 2000 gathered while watching the 2018 Lower School Halloween Parade: Blair Mustin Fine, Allison Cutchins Watson, Maria Kitchin

Moore, Laura Robertson Kraus, and Kathryn Kramer. 2 Stephanie Clarke Duran ’94 and her husband, Ruben, welcomed Sebastian William Duran on October 26, 2018. 3 Kat Michaels Armstrong ’04 and her husband, David, welcomed their son, Kevin Michael Armstrong, on September 10, 2018. 4 Brandon Nexsen ’06 and Eleanor (Proctor) Nexsen ’06 welcomed their daughter, Cecilia Louise Nexsen, in August 2018. 5 Many Bulldogs were in attendance when Pierce Derkac ’06 was married in November 2018. 6 Ryan Amorosso ’05 with his wife, Vicki, on their wedding day in March 2018. 7, 8, 9 Paige Harrison ’03 fed elephants in Thailand (LEFT ); made a new friend during her time in an ancient Thai Elephant Village (MIDDLE ); and was blessed by a monk in Cambodia (RIGHT ).

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Ω CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Murphy ’07 in Brooklyn. Kurt Stahl has been living in Arlington, VA, with “a bunch of NOVA dudes.”

alumni profile

| Alexander Singh ’15

By day, he works as a manager at a mortgage firm, but by night, he serves his community as the head coach of the George Washington University men’s lacrosse team. Jimmy Brewbaker continues to work at one of the shipyards in Hampton Roads. He is now a Division I college football referee and is happily married to the love of his life, Cory. Jesse Stewart works for Norfolk Southern. He and his wife, Kelly, live with a playful puppy named Zeke. Kate Best

A Family Member’s Ordeal Sparked Inventive Thinking

continues to excel in all areas of her life. Next year, she will work alongside the CEO of VCU Health as she finishes her master’s program. Outside of work, she stays busy in her role of “life administrator” to take care of her husband, Burke Best, and their puppy, Cooper, “the cutest Goldendoodle in the world.” Burke is in his second year of completing his combined Emergency Medicine-Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at VCU. As part of his MHA degree, he will be completing his administrative residency with the VCU Health CEO and Administration team in 2019 and graduating in 2020. Mary Annunziata just celebrated one year of service as a program officer for the Artist Protection Fund in New York, following her graduate work in Modern Art at Columbia University. The APF makes fellowship grants to threatened artists and places them in host institutions and arts centers in safe countries so they can continue their work and plan for their futures. Mary recently had the pleasure of visiting NA classmates Catherine McNally and Caroline Wright during a trip to Los Angeles in October. In 2017, Alexis Hionis started riseVB, a local nonprofit that brings young professionals together to give back to their community. Fellow classmates Annesley Berndt Cole and Katheryn McKee Stanwick are also on the board. riseVB hosts the Beach Ball each February, and the fourth annual benefited EQUI-KIDS. The Beach Ball is put together by a larger committee that consists of many Norfolk Academy grads, and has raised nearly $70,000 for local charities since 2016!

2010 Ω JESSICA SMITH ’10 (JESSICASMITH.VB@GMAIL.COM)

Freddie Fletcher and his wife, Mary, are expecting a baby boy in May 2019, just one month before their five-year anniversary. They are now back living and working in Virginia Beach. Freddie is at The Lawson Companies, a multifamily apartment development company, while Mary works at Troutman Sanders.

Bill Devine Jr. is living and working in northern Virginia as an electrical engineer with Avizia, a telehealth company.

The impetus for invention is not always the proverbial flash of insight; it may often be a more grueling event. For Alexander Singh ’15, watching his brother, Sebastian, who is in his senior year at NA, endure the intense pain and lengthy recovery of spinal fusion surgery provided a spur to think creatively about ways to correct scoliosis, excessive sideways curvature of the spine.

Singh can tick off the facts about his brother’s recent surgery: it takes 6 to 8 hours to insert the screws and metal rods required to straighten vertebrae; patients face 10 to 12 months of recovery; complications are not uncommon, both in the immediate aftermath and years later; and 38,000 adolescents annually undergo the painful procedure.

While Singh was awed by his brother’s fortitude and resilience throughout the excruciating procedure, he also felt frustrated to witness the ordeal. As a third-year biomedical engineering major at University of Virginia, Singh felt he was in the ideal place to work on a different approach.

He and his colleagues conceived of a novel device and procedure, the ThIRA (Thoracolumbar Interbody ReAlignment) system, a polymer disc implant, which modifies the curvature of the spine gradually as it continues to grow. To continue to develop the concept, he founded a medical device company, Minimally Invasive Spinal Technology, LLC (MIST), along with fellow engineers interested in taking the plunge to develop the concept.

Singh and his partners secured entrepreneurship and innovation funding through UVA; they initially won $1,000 in a competition for seed money, followed by $5,000 in another concept competition. Last fall, the company was admitted to the i.Lab at UVA, which provides programs, funding, workspace, mentors, community, and additional resources to support new entrepreneurs both at the university and beyond. Not even through their first year, the start-up company has already received tens of thousands of dollars in grant support.

“The entrepreneurial community at UVA is very interested in helping and guiding you,” Singh said. “Especially in the Engineering School, there is a big push for creative problem-solving.”

With that funding and support, Singh and his partners conducted more than 130 interviews with physicians, regulatory consultants, insurance company representatives, and others. Those interviews helped guide redesigns of the device and strategies for moving forward. The company is currently working with mentors in UVA Neurosurgery to develop a minimum viable product by the end of spring 2018, when Singh will graduate.

Singh’s penchant for innovation doesn’t stop there. His second company, ConTrack, recently was a winner of UVA’s ECup Concept competition; with that venture, he’s working on computer vision algorithms to screen players for concussions during football games, using real-time analysis.

Esther Diskin serves as Director of Communications and teaches creative writing in the Upper School.

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Ruth Payne Acra ’86 caught up with Zoe Siegel ’13 in NYC in September 2018.

(L–R ) Alden Stedfast ’15, Walker Brown ’15, Henry Stockwell ’15, and Lucy Siegel ’15 attend Theta’s Parents Formal at UVA.

Casey Mahan ’16 broke the school record for assists per set in volleyball at Hollins University.

In November 2018, Adavya Dhawan ’18 (LEFT ) and his team at UVA won one of the largest under­ graduate stock pitch competitions in the world.

He has been working as a part of the OU Wesley

competition this past fall. Every year, Point72, a

in memoriam

Foundation Leadership Team, where he leads a

hedge fund based in New York City, hosts one of

Mr. Luther J. Hoy Jr. ’51

freshman Bible study and plans social events.

the largest undergraduate stock pitch competitions

Mr. Theodore Baker Jr. ’53

Although it has its difficulties, Noah has been able

in the world. This year, 220 undergraduate teams

Mr. John B. Syer Sr. ’57

to keep on track with his double major in math and

applied, and Adavya’s team was one of the eight

Mr. Arthur Davis Liles ’58

psychology. Of course, he loves watching the football

finalists selected to present their stock pitch to the

Mr. Richard S. Glasser ’59

team on Saturdays. “Boomer!”

Point72 executive team at their New York office.

Mr. Thomas M. Cistola ’73

2018

During the finalist weekend, they competed against

Dr. Mitchell L. Corey ’74

teams from Wharton, Columbia, and Beijing’s

Mr. Christian W. Hammerle ’85

Ω CLASSNOTES@NORFOLKACADEMY.ORG

Peking University, and placed first pitching Shake

Mr. Joseph Graham Alley ’02

Adavya Dhawan, along with two other UVA students,

Shack as a short. He says it was truly an amazing

FORMER FACULTY AND STAFF

won Point72 asset management’s global case

opportunity. ◆

Mr. Leo Anthony Mr. Stewart Howard Mrs. Patricia S. Klewans

Michael Duquette ’99 (tennis); Tim LaVigne (baseball); Tom Duquette (lacrosse); President Ryan; Blair Monaco (lacrosse); Greg Monaco ’07 (soccer); Ryan Tucker (lacrosse); Headmaster Manning

UVA’s New President, Jim Ryan, Visits Norfolk Academy University of Virginia’s freshly minted President Jim Ryan made a quick visit in January to Virginia’s eighth oldest school. The visit to Norfolk Academy was arranged by Dr. L.D. Britt, a member of the UVA Board of Visitors and the Norfolk Academy Board of Trustees, as well as a Bulldog parent. President Ryan, who was inaugurated in October as the ninth president in UVA’s 200-year history, returned to Virginia after a stint as the dean of the Harvard

Graduate School of Education. Before his time at Harvard, he served as the Matheson & Morgenthau Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia Law School. Ryan, a dedicated athlete and marathoner who proudly showed off his running shoes at his inauguration and has made a tradition of inviting UVA students to join him on early morning runs, met six of the Academy’s teacher-coaches who had served as captains of UVA teams.

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in memoriam

| Stewart Howard

in memoriam

| Patricia Klewans

Energetic Director of Buildings and Grounds

Dedicated Science Teacher in the Lower School

Stewart Howard, who, in his role as Director of Building and Grounds, supervised numerous construction projects that transformed the campus, passed away in February.

Mr. Howard was an energetic, accomplished, passionate servant of Norfolk Academy; the school’s architecture was transformed during his tenure.

He arrived in 2004 with a depth of experience from a similar position at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk. The school was in the midst of construction to build the Johnson Theater, the new arch and walkways at the entrance, and the Pavilion. He carried the school through that major construction as a hands-on, detail-oriented supervisor.

He performed his magic once again as the school took on an even more transformational series of construction projects. He pored over blueprints and worked in close collaboration with school leadership, and carried forward their vision, working closely with architects, the construction firm, and subcontractors. Mr. Howard was involved in every aspect of these projects, and managed every stage so that school life could unfold without interruption (and just a few detours), as construction proceeded on the Massey Leadership Center, at the center of the campus; the Youngkin Refectory, a space in constant, daily use; and the Lower School expansion. Students and faculty watched the transformation of the campus in absolute amazement, and even as he was mired in the micro-details, Mr. Howard shared that delight—his pride was evident as he gave hardhat tours.

Other aspects of his job, including supervision of security and cleaning staff, contributed to the sense that he knew absolutely everyone at the school.

Outside his official role, Mr. Howard contributed to building the community in countless other ways. For big celebrations, such as the annual Holiday Lunch in the maintenance building, Field Day, and the Chesapeake Bay Fellows Oyster Roast, he would undertake to roast a pig—an epic effort that required hours of constant attention, along with personal flair and plenty of jokes. In recent years, he served as assistant coach of boys golf, and he took tremendous pride in guiding the progress of the team’s young golfers.

While Mr. Howard clearly revelled in his work, he was no less dedicated to his family—his wife, Darlene, and his two children, Robert and Cecelia ’14. He took great pride in watching his children graduate from high school and college and launch their careers. ◆

Patricia “Patty” Klewans, who showed generations of students the magic of the natural world from her Lower School science classroom, passed away in January.

During three decades of teaching at Norfolk Academy (from 1988 until her retirement in 2018), Mrs. Klewans was a constant advocate for science in her role as the Lower School science resource teacher. She earned a B.S. in elementary education from University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in elementary education with a specialty in physical science from Old Dominion University. Her passion for learning and teaching shaped her entire professional life; she attended conferences and workshops about science education, alerting her colleagues to educational opportunities at local museums and colleges.

She was committed to educating young Bulldogs about the amazing transformations that happen in nature by bringing examples into her classroom. She taught first graders about the insect life cycle through a project raising silkworms. Her more elaborate projects drew collegial support: When she brought in eggs, colleagues were recruited to come in on weekends and turn the eggs to ensure proper development of the baby chicks.

The annual hatching of the chicks was cause for great excitement throughout the Lower School, even after the purchase of a new incubator to rotate the eggs. She taught children about humpback whales using episodes from the PBS series Voyage of the Mimi, and she obtained a life-size inflatable whale to help students understand the whale’s extraordinary dimensions. She focused on developing critical skills such as close observation, with an abundance of fascinating things to see, measure, touch, or smell in her classroom. Mrs. Klewans loved to lead field trips, whether to explore oyster restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay after school or to view the exhibits at local museums.

Mrs. Klewans also organized before-care, which opened promptly at 7:15 a.m. in her classroom, well-stocked with board games. She served as director of Academy Arts as part of Norfolk Academy Summer Programs, and shared her passion for crafting in her Breakaway Boxes camp. Many students spent hours creating miniature rooms for dolls, each of which folded up into a beautifully decorated and highly portable box.

Colleagues recalled Mrs. Klewans as caring and selfless, everyone’s “Bubbe,” the Yiddish term for grandmother. She had recently moved to Maryland, close to family and many friends, and services were held there. She is survived by four children and eight grandchildren, with a ninth grandchild on the way. ◆

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parting SHOT

WINTER MUSICAL 2019 — MY FAIR LADY

Eliza Doolittle: “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.”

Henry Higgins: “By George, she’s got it!”

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