2014 Fall-Winter

BISHOP’S A MAGAZINE FOR THE BISHOP’S SCHOOL FAMILY AND FRIENDS FALL/WINTER 2014

High Five!

Aimeclaire Roche reflects on her first five years

Jacobs Prize

New Meaning to Three “Rs”

The Hearth of Campus Yearlong renovation creates gathering spaces in EBS Hall

table of contents

BISHOP’S A magazine for The Bishop’s School family and friends

FEATURES

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The Hearth of Campus With the renovation of Ellen Browning Scripps Hall complete, the center of student activity is back in business.

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Fall/Winter 2014 • Vol. 12, No. 1

High Five!

Head of School Aimeclaire Roche looks back at her first five years at Bishop’s…and focuses on the future.

Credits Editor Suzanne Weiner Managing Editor Keri Peckham

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Contributing Writers Kathy Day Zach Jones ’01 Keri Peckham Trisha J. Ratledge Frank Sabatini Jr. Dave Schwab Joe Tash Diane Welch Honor Roll Staff Gale Hill Lisa Johnston

Dual Celebrations

Graphic Design Design Perspective

Alumni Weekend and Ellen Browning Scripps Celebration combine for the first time.

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For the Love of the Games

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Jacobs Prize Gives New Meaning to Three “Rs”

Contributing Photographers Jeff Carmel Alan Decker Nathalie Kelber Mike Lambke Pablo Mason Keri Peckham Steve Posy Dave Siccardi Michael Spengler Suzanne Weiner

The Bishop’s School Head of School Aimeclaire Roche

Assistant Head of School and Chief Advancement Officer John A. Trifiletti

Six faculty members travel the world —and enhance their teaching—using the Jacobs Prize.

Director of Alumni Relations Sarah Garro Bishop’s is published two times a year

by The Bishop’s School.

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Different Voices From stories of the Chicano movement to using immunology to stay healthy, students learn from visiting speakers.

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Audiences Rave About Rent Award-winning musical is brought to the Bishop’s stage.

DEPARTMENTS

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faculty focus: Binney Caffrey

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bishop’s buzz

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family matters: class notes

Letters: We welcome your comments.

Please send letters for possible publication to weiners@bishops.com or contact us at (858) 875-0735.

The Bishop’s School 7607 La Jolla Boulevard La Jolla, CA 92037-4799 Phone: (858) 459-4021 Fax: (858) 459-3914 www.bishops.com Mission Statement The Bishop’s School is an academic community pursuing intellectual, artistic, and athletic excellence in the context of the Episcopal tradition. We are dedicated to offering the highest quality education to a diverse student body and to fostering integrity, imagination, moral responsibility, and commitment to serving the larger community.

As we re-opened our newly renovated Ellen Browning Scripps Hall on the first day of school this year, we have taken the opportunity to reflect Laurieonand Peterson ourKim founder’s progressive and innovative stance on education: that unique mental capital grows in an intimate educational setting, where students Laurie and Kim Peterson have been involved and passionate and teachers are in constant dialogue and where supporters of The Bishop’s School for many years. Kim is a a premium is placed on the student’s ability to be current trustee, returning to the board following an earlier term creative and autonomous. So much of what is (2004-2010), and together they are the parents of a 2006 showcased in this Bishop’s magazine, and what graduate, their daughter Claire Lauren. Laurie and Kim those of us on campus enjoy every day, is the appreciate the value that a Bishop’s education can bring to modern manifestation of Ellen Browning Scripps’ a child and have chosen to make a significant bequest to dream for her school.

Bishop’s through their estate plan to ensure that future We have surrounded the current students, faculty and staff with a marvelously updated facility generations of students have the transformative opportunity with dean’s, counseling and nurse’s offices, and multi-use meeting spaces. The expanded dining room of a Bishop’s education. allows for dialogue over lunch and the chatter is lively in the remodeled student center, whether A charitable bequest is an easy and wonderful way for you during milk break or after school! Too, the sleek performing arts classrooms and new black box to help The Bishop’s School as well as countless numbers of theatre within EBS all allow arts faculty to work collaboratively and offer students enhanced young people as they strive to accomplish their educational opportunities to compose, perform and critique. goals. Some of the personal benefits of bequest giving include: These spaces welcomed alumni during reunion festivities this fall. By moving our Alumni Weekend • It costs you nothing today to make a bequest from June to October alumni now have the opportunity to engage with the current student body in • A bequest is free of federal estate tax invigorating ways, visiting classes, athletic contests and theatre productions. It was a thrill to speak • Your bequest can be changed down the road with 50th reunion alumnae from the Class of 1964 about contemporary events on campus and to • You can still benefit your heirs with specific gifts know that they witnessed exciting and authentic evidence of student engagement during their return • A bequest may produce estate tax savings to Bishop’s.

• You can leave a legacy for the future of others through No engagement is more exciting than the curricular work we are doing. As you will read here, a bequest the Bishop’s faculty is thinking carefully about how we leverage the talents of the students we are A bequest is one of the easiest gifts you can make to privileged to teach and about how we authentically assess learning. Our hope in student-centered significantly impact the future of young lives. Your estate classrooms is to allow the student, and, counter-intuitively, not the teacher, to make the greatest contribution.

A pedagogy charitable is an easy This andbequest all that we do on campus, I believe, make good on the ideal that Ellen and wonderful way for you“Itoamhelp Browning Scripps once conveyed, not in sympathy with the so called education which is amount or a percentage of your estate. A bequest could also be imparted an austere professor behind Thefrom Bishop’s School as well as a desk to the docile students seated in front of him, made from the residue of your estate or what is left after all with a textbooknumbers as their only common meeting ground. Rather, I like to imagine a circle of teacher countless of young people gifts have been made to your heirs. and students seated about a table or hearth fire, stimulating one another’s powers of thought and as they strive to accomplish Please visit our web site at www.bishopslegacy.com for creating atheir mental capital whichgoals. no textbook can supply.” educational

1 | letter from the Head of School | BISHOP’S

Several Bishop’s student-athletes excel in multiple sports.

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letter from the Head of School

sample bequest language and a complimentary copy of

Sincerely,

Planning Your Legacy, A Guide to Planning Your Will and Trust.

planning attorney can include a provision in your estate

You may also contact John A. Trifiletti, chief advancement

plan that leaves a lasting gift to The Bishop’s School.

officer, at (858) 875-0851 or trifilettij@bishops.com to discuss

This bequest could be a gift of specific assets, a dollar

your personal planning objectives.

Aimeclaire Roche Head of School

Cover Photo: Pablo Mason

Bishop’s magazine features glimpses of people who, by walking the halls of the School, are changing its face forever.

High Five!

How has the campus benefited from stateof-the-art facilities, such as the new Manchester Library & Learning Center?

With the physical changes to the campus over the last five years, this suddenly can be an institution that isn’t merely old and venerable, but one that serves in a contemporary context. A huge piece of our work has been raising the funds for these changes and setting into motion a plan in terms of pacing—what gets done first—without disrupting the actual goings on of the School as well as in terms of construction and renovation that maintain the historic character of the campus.

Aimeclaire Roche reflects on her first five years at the helm of The Bishop’s School.

so we all benefit. When you add in faculty, parents, staff, board members and all the other people who use the common meeting spaces, it’s a true community center.

Were there any moments early in your tenure that gave you pause?

Approving a library when I had only been on campus for three weeks.

[Aimeclaire laughs.] That’s how I started out, in the middle of the economic downturn. But the way the board handles its fiscal oversight and the way we manage our resources prudently has allowed us to remain selective while we grow the population and improve the facility all at the same time.

That’s amazing, and it is the mark of a healthy school.

In what ways did the new campus schedule inspire fresh ideas on campus?

FEATURE | High Five! | 2

By Trisha J. Ratledge

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hen Aimeclaire Roche became the eleventh head of The Bishop’s School in July 2009, the School was wrapping up a yearlong centennial celebration and the country was digging out of an economic downturn now known as the Great Recession. Undaunted and with great verve—as well as an irrepressible sense of humor—this first-time head of school embraced her new community as well as the challenges ahead.

First on the list was how to succeed Michael Teitelman, a beloved head of school with a 26-year tenure, and his wife Marlene. Next followed the establishment of a sixth grade, the continued expansion and renovation of the campus, and a keen examination of learning and teaching processes with a perspective toward the world view students must adopt to be fluent and effective as leaders in tomorrow’s work force. Oh, and learning how to appreciate the subtleties of Southern California seasons in place of the very blunt arctic winters of New England. That was a hard one, Aimeclaire remembers, laughing heartily.

While whittling away at the myriad details of daily life in a nationally recognized independent school, Aimeclaire also collaborates with the members of the community—from the board to the faculty and students—to assess the most promising directions for Bishop’s as it moves well into its second century. “The last five years have been about the entire School coming through a moment of saying who we are today,” Aimeclaire says, “and who we are looking forward.”

In a rare quiet moment, Aimeclaire contemplates the events of her tenure to date.

Your first five years were extraordinarily busy. What do you consider among your most important accomplishments?

When we added the sixth grade, it created a critical mass of middle school students and a school with a very different identity. With 250 students in the middle school, you have a momentum about middle school education that is focused on where they are developmentally. The vision of the

board set the planning into motion many years before I arrived. They viewed middle school as its own unique time period and wanted to approach it differently. To do that well, you need a sixth-seventh-eighth-grade progression.

I think that’s a monumental change in terms of the educational orientation of the School.

What about the process of adding the sixth grade gives you the most pride?

You can add students, but if they are not the students who are best situated to be served by this School, then you’ve just filled space. You’ve not enhanced your program. It’s phenomenal that through an economic downturn we enhanced our selectivity and the quality of the student body that we attract. That’s partly because we also enhanced admissions in terms of outreach and taking our message farther, wider and to an increasingly promising student body with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

What about the Ellen Browning Scripps Hall renovation, which brought with it a yearlong relocation of the dining facility?

I’m glad our alfresco dining experience was only a year! It’s one thing to put my office offline; it’s another to put your entire dining operation offline. We displaced folks in a part of the program that students, faculty and staff use and work in every day, and they embraced it with aplomb and with a great sense of generosity. The renovation offers to students the very physical manifestation of our respect for them as learners and as part of the community. The student center, terrace and dining room are the students’ space; so it ought to be beautiful. It is also utterly communal,

Five years ago, when we interviewed you for Bishop’s magazine as the new head of school, we asked you to consider the hallmark of a great school. Your answer was joy. Is your answer the same today?

I still believe that is absolutely true.

You can’t accomplish any of these things we have at Bishop’s if the act of doing so is drudgery. If your students come to school every day, and they are not happy to be there, and if the act of looking at all of the components of our education isn’t innately pleasurable, then you are never going to get anything done.

How does a school perpetuate a sense of joyfulness?

I think when students come to a school where they know the assumption is they are going to do the right thing, where they are invited into the conversation about their education, that’s affirming. Joy comes of that.

favorite schools: children laugh often, because work is really play; they have room to run and jump and dance and let out loud shouts because we are physical beings, they sing and act because there are characters within that need trying out and because sometimes the words of the poet are the most convincing; they take time for quiet, because there are some sounds that are only audible then.

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The six-day rotation—and the late start on Wednesday—these are changes on which the faculty took real entrepreneurial leadership. It radically changed the way we think about how we use time, which is the shared commodity that we all have, but never have enough of. It was the catalyst for thinking about how we teach and how we engage with the students.

In Aimeclaire’s

How would you compare the Bishop’s student today to the student you met five years ago?

I think the Bishop’s students are the same: each is someone who is curious, who is engaged, who loves to learn and who wants to be a part of a community.

That has always been this School’s student. I imagine if Mike Teitelman, or Ellen Browning Scripps, or any of those other great people who are part of our history, were walking around today, they would be totally at peace. They would have interactions with kids that they would find an absolute pleasure just like they did when they were here.

Personally, you made a huge shift coming to the West Coast from the East Coast.

What do you most appreciate about Southern California today?

When you came to Bishop’s, former Head of School Michael Teitelman had a piece of advice for you: be yourself; trust yourself.

Did you follow that advice?

There is a vastness to the landscape out here that I find refreshing. It is restorative because there is such potential in that.

You can see why the settlers went west; there was this great sense of possibility.

I admire the entrepreneurial spirit in the culture of this locale, and I think we live it out here at the School too.

I have tried to follow that advice. Being head of school is a job where you would be quickly gobbled up if you were not yourself or if you were trying to be someone else. There is simply too much to do in the course of the day to spend any part of it worrying about that. It is also a job where you have to be present for others in a meaningful way and if any of your time is spent figuring out what that presence is, you are wasting time.

We have talked about your accomplishments to date. What do you consider the greatest accomplishment for the Bishop’s community as a whole?

To make a transition from a 26-year head of school—a time during which the School became fully day, fully coed and really blossomed locally as a thriving modern entity—to a new head of school and then asking yourself who are you as an institution for the next 100 years; to have done that smoothly and to have met your goals, whether they were adding the sixth grade or modernizing the buildings and the facility in the midst of a leadership change, that is a huge point of pride for this community.

It will always be the people who are here. This is a special place because it’s more than just a school. It’s a way of looking at the world—of being engaged with your own development—and that’s true of the kids and it is also true for every teacher here. We are a school that asks teachers to think every day about what they are putting into their lessons and why. That is a growth mindset.

This place attracts people who have that orientation and it holds them.

Top: Vocal music teacher Justine Hansen and members of the middle school choir; bottom: mathematics department chair and teacher Jennifer Fleischer and Math 3 students

Head of School Aimeclaire Roche is focusing on fostering the citizens of the future.

When Head of School Aimeclaire Roche assesses what is needed for today’s Bishop’s student, she transports herself a decade or more into the future. Students served well share enviable qualities. They are problem solvers who are fearless in the face of the unknown.

They have a convincing and persuasive voice. And their moral compass is steady.

“I can’t tell you what a 15-year-old is going to see in the world 10 years from now in terms of technology, geopolitical happenings or the economy,” Aimeclaire explains, stressing that it will be essential for today’s student to be able to find clarity in the ambiguity ahead and to navigate the rapid change of pace coming in many segments of society.

At Bishop’s, faculty foster these skills by giving students a sense of autonomy in measured, practiced ways, she says.

This focus on student-centered learning has developed naturally in some departments by virtue of the work they do and, more recently and more uniformly, across campus as a result of faculty and institutional conversations about how we build success in the classroom by intention. Most recently, at their fall retreat, several faculty members made presentations and shared what they are doing in their classrooms.

“The underlying principle is that students are not passive receptacles for the teacher’s knowledge and learning, but that they raise questions, pursue answers and critique whatever has been brought to the table,” says Robert Mulgrew, chair of the English department.

“They learn to do this in the company of other students and the teacher so they have an influence on the direction and quality of each day’s work and on the course as a whole.”

English department chair and teacher Robert Mulgrew and English 8 students

Appropriately, student influence looks different in every department and from class to class. “In some of our enriched classes, the students have the most ownership of their learning, where much is done by discovery and discussion,” says Jennifer Fleischer, chair of the mathematics department, adding that the range of visions in the department depends on the teacher, the students’ ages and maturity and the course being taught.

As the campus conversation about student-centered learning continues to grow, efforts to encourage it manifest in new ways, from teaching methods and course offerings to class structure and course assessments.

The English department offers a variety of semester-long courses—ranging from detective fiction to literature of the American West—that fulfill the junior and senior English requirements and give students freedom to pursue their own interests and develop a voice in shaping their own educations, Robert says.

Such ownership promotes confidence, as in the math department, where Jennifer says students who are agents in their own education “grow more as problem solvers, and their comfort and fearlessness toward novel problems continues to increase.”

“We’ve been looking for ways to assess students in a more authentic manner that is consistent with the content of the courses,” Robert says, noting that traditional exam methods—such as answering questions in a blue book— fall short for many departments.

Upcoming assessments will reflect courses more closely—for example, papers for English and lab practicums for science, as decided by each department—and will be scheduled when it makes most sense for each course, rather than during a predetermined formal exam period.

These are the collective first steps in a focused effort to develop students who are equipped for the coming decades.

Academics and co-curriculars, such as the arts, athletics, global education, diversity, community service and environmental sustainability, are all essential components.

“I am so excited when I am with our teachers talking about what they and I love to do: creating an engaging educational community by design,” Aimeclaire says. “It’s making good on the fact that we owe these students an environment that allows them to leverage their talents. While it is easy to, you can never assume that kind of community is going to come into being just because you put bright kids into a beautiful space with a talented and passionate teacher. It’s imperative to ask: how else can we be intentional about what happens when those three elements come together? How can we make the most of the talents the students already bring to the table when they arrive?

“When we think of those who are well-versed citizens, they have to have at least a basic understanding of all those pieces and areas of engagement in order to be effective, to make a contribution.

You can’t think in terms of one silo of an education; you have to think in terms of a much more rich tapestry of topics and concepts.”

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FEATURE | High Five! | 4

What do you see as the essential strength of The Bishop’s School today?

800 Voices Strong

The Hearth

FEATURE | The Hearth of Campus | 6

of Campus

Yearlong renovation creates gathering spaces in Ellen Browning Scripps Hall.

By Joe Tash

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llen Browning Scripps Hall, commonly known as EBS, reopened in August after a top-tobottom renovation that has changed the venerable facility into a comfortable gathering spot with improved efficiency and upgraded technology, from sound systems and drop down presentation screens to climate control.

The latter improvement—a new central heating and air-conditioning system—was especially welcomed by students, staff and faculty as San Diego experienced several weeks of above average temperatures in September and October.

A major aspect of the project was a complete overhaul of the School’s dining and kitchen facilities. This included knocking down interior walls to create more space, redesigning the layout of serving lines and building a new kitchen

with the necessary equipment and space to efficiently cook wholesome, delicious food for the entire School community.

EBS Hall, named for Ellen Browning Scripps, a founder of The Bishop’s School, was built in 1969 when the student population was around 400 students. Now with 800 students, plus faculty and staff, the food service department serves approximately 1,000 meals every day. The old facilities simply weren’t able to accommodate those numbers efficiently, says Michael Beamer, dean of students.

But the situation was much improved this fall, following completion of the renovation project.

“This is quite civilized,” says Michael, as he surveys the bright, spacious new dining room. “It allows people to sit and have a conversation and enjoy a meal in a way that the physical structure in past years hadn’t accommodated.”

“I’ve enjoyed the new dining facility so far,” says Courtney Douglas ’16. “I think students really like it; I see them sitting and having a conversation rather than just getting their food and leaving.”

Another major element of the project was adding new and remodeled areas for the School’s performing arts program, from drama to choir to orchestra. The project included rebuilding the second floor for musicians and singers, and also a new addition to the building, which included a black box theatre and choir room.

“I was speechless,” says orchestra and jazz band instructor Vladimir Goltsman, describing his reaction when he walked into his renovated classroom. “There were so many contemporary changes.”

Prior to the renovation project, instrumental music classes had been held in rooms that were originally designed as faculty and staff living

FEATURE | The Hearth of Campus | 8

of trustees and other School organizations, was laid out along the side of the lunchtime dining area, separated by a retractable glass wall that can be opened when a larger assembly space is needed. This board room can also be partitioned for smaller meetings.

Adjacent to the dining room is a student center, furnished with comfortable seating selected by students from the Class of 2014, working with project architects.

A small computer lab is nearby.

Next to the student center are the health center, offices for the dean of students and director of diversity and community life and a conference room for student government and other groups.

The entire project cost just over $10 million, says Lenore, including improvements such as the sails over the Rohr Terrace designed to provide shade and protection from inclement weather.

About 80 percent of the project budget

came from reserves, and the remainder will be raised through donations, Lenore says.

Harmonizing with the School’s character and architecture was an important consideration as the EBS Hall renovation was planned.

“We wanted to be able to incorporate all of the services we were providing for the students in a way that honored the EBS building as it existed, and yet upgrade it and provide the space we needed to accommodate a larger student body and community,” says Lenore.

Construction began in June 2013 and wrapped up this August, just before the start of the current school year. Among the major challenges, says Lenore, was continuing to feed students and staff for the year that the kitchen and dining hall were undergoing renovations. The problem was solved by erecting a tent on the School’s tennis courts. Portable classrooms were also brought in to house performing arts students.

The success of the project, she says, is due to the “entire team—trustees, architects, administration, project manager as well as the students who

helped pick out furniture. I think it was an amazing process. Not just that it’s gorgeous, but that it came in pretty much within budget and on time.”

“I’m very proud of it, very pleased and very proud,” she says.

While the bulk of the project funding came from reserves, a number of significant gifts have “helped us toward our goal,” says John Trifiletti, assistant head of school and chief advancement officer. The student center upgrade was named for the Holthus family, in recognition of their gift, and the newly remodeled health center was named for the Bishop’s Parents’ Association.

Other key donors included Teresa and Harry Hixson, Ann and Philip White, the Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation, Lisa Fisher and David Held and Patricia and Marc Brutten, John says.

Great care was taken to preserve elements such as the dining hall’s original terrazzo floor. The architects “had to interpret the Irving Gill design in a contemporary way that met the needs of the School…and we think the outcome is beautiful” commented John.

Sara Sweet, director of food service, says she also appreciates the way the architects modernized the dining hall and kitchen while retaining elements of the building’s traditional character.

“I think it came together very well,” she says. “I like the openness and the friendly feel. It just works so much better.”

One of her favorite features, she says,

Opposite page, top to bottom: instrumental music; upper school choral music; student center; this page, top: kitchen; black box theatre

are the large roll-up doors between the kitchen and the dining room, which allow diners to see the food being prepared, and even to ask questions of the cooks.

The new additions at the back of EBS Hall, including the black box theatre and choir room, have also drawn praise from students and faculty.

“It’s a lovely space,” says Louise Carmon, upper school choral teacher, speaking of her new choir room. “It makes students very proud to be part of the program. To be able to walk into a beautiful space, it helps motivate them to do a great job.”

Drama teacher Courtney Flanagan says the new black box theatre will allow students to get a little more sophisticated

with their class projects, thanks to its sound system and light grid. And she appreciates being located next to other performing arts disciplines.

“We have a big program and having an additional space adds a great deal to it. It gives kids a lot more opportunity,” she says.

The redesigned student center is also a big hit, says Ariana Gallegos ’15, president of the Associated Student Body Council. “The renovations remind everyone of a college campus,” she says.

“I love seeing students just hanging out in one space. The improvements have fostered a feeling of community and pride. I am thankful to walk onto this campus every day with a beautiful quad, terrace and facilities.”

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quarters during Bishop’s boarding school days. The “new” EBS was laid out more efficiently, providing larger rooms equipped and designed for music classes. Smaller practice rooms were also created during the project.

“The rooms are now completely devoted to music, rather than just a place where music is played,” says orchestra student Jiadi Chang ’16.

“Having a space designed for us to play music will allow our orchestra to reach its full potential. When I walk in the door, I can literally see that it is time to play.”

“I feel like the students deserve to have this kind of facility for practice,” says Vladimir. “I’m really happy, but all of this is for them.”

Planning for the EBS renovation began more than two years ago, says Lenore Fraga, chief operating and financial officer. The design team included administrators, staff and trustees. Project goals included creating additional space for the dining and kitchen areas, improving the outdoor terrace to shield it from the sun and inclement weather and consolidating the performing arts classes, which were located in different locations on campus, Lenore says.

The architectural firm Delawie, which also designed the Manchester Library & Learning Center on campus, was selected for the EBS project.

The Manchester Dining and Board Room, a meeting area for the board

Dual Celebrations Bishop’s alumni return to campus in October for Alumni Weekend and the Ellen Browning Scripps Celebration.

By Frank Sabatini Jr. of that class’ narrative fiction discussion.”

Friday evening, alumni attended a party with live music on the School’s Larmour Lawn & Plaza, serving as their first official reunion stop to mingle and reminisce with their classmates. Following the kickoff party, alumni headed off campus for class dinners.

Saturday, October 11 began with a service in St. Mary’s Chapel, followed by an alumni brunch in the newly renovated Ellen Browning Scripps Hall.

There, Head of School Aimeclaire Roche presented alumni with an update on Bishop’s before guests explored the old and the new on guided campus tours.

Homework,” says Sarah Garro, Bishop’s Director of Alumni Relations, about the weekend’s newest tradition. However, despite the program’s name, “One teacher, Adam Davis of the English department, actually gave the alumni a pre-class assignment, which involved reading a story beforehand that was part

Top: Ellen Browning Scripps Celebration reception on Rohr Terrace; above: Head of School Aimeclaire Roche welcomes guests at the awards dinner.

Gretchen Stroschein Thomson ’59

Marc Rosen ’94, Corinne Perkins Ross ’97

Sara Sweet

Saturday afternoon was unscheduled allowing alumni to spend time together before returning to campus for the EBS Celebration that began with a reception on the Rohr Terrace. Students from the cast of the School’s production of Rent performed “Seasons of Love” as a way to announce that guests were invited into the nearby Eva May Fleet Athletic Center for the awards dinner.

The alumni awards program was established in 1993 by the School’s Alumni Association to honor alumni, faculty and staff for their achievements and devoted service to Bishop’s. In recent years, the awards have been presented at the annual EBS Celebration. This year’s trio of honorees included Marc Rosen ’94, who was presented with the Ellen Browning Scripps Distinguished Alumni Award; Gretchen Stroschein Thomson ’59, who received the Service to Bishop’s Award; and Bishop’s longtime Director of Food Service Sara Sweet, who received the Michael W. Teitelman Leadership Award. Each of the honorees was spotlighted in tribute videos that were shown at the event and presented with the Bishop’s Medal.

For Marc, who works in the film and television industry, the moment was riveting. “It was as though my life was flashing before my eyes,” he recalls.

“They had pictures that I had never seen before from when I was in plays at Bishop’s and president of the student body. It was really nice.”

In addition to having an award

winner in their Class, the ’94s had the highest number of attendees among this year’s reunion classes.

“I was humbled and honored to have received the award,” says Gretchen who has attended Alumni Weekend faithfully since graduating. She organized her Class’ 55th reunion weekend, starting with a breakfast on campus with Head of School Aimeclaire Roche.

The Class also enjoyed a beach breakfast “that we used to do as students on occasion” and a dinner co-hosted

by Marianne Banning Adey ’59 and Margaret Hartley Dudas ’59.

Alumni took part in another new tradition following the EBS Celebration when they attended decade parties, gatherings held at local venues where alumni came together with others from their decade.

With 12 classes reuniting and a weekend filled with over 25 events, it took extensive outreach and planning that began nearly a year prior. “And we’re already planning for next year,” says Sarah, who commends the more than 50 alumni event volunteers and reunion class chairs, including weekend co-chairs Mimi Holman Test ’61 and Julie Zures Turner ’95, for helping to organize the busy three-day schedule.

“The volunteers are at the heart of this effort, and they make the weekend possible.”

REUNION CHAIRS 2014 2009 Felicity Bradley, Sarah Levin, Sisa Mateo, Maddi Treadwell 2004 Dan Andrews, Salvador Avila-Bretts, Steven Douglass, Caitlin Geier Fisher, Soo Park, Michael Schmale, Jose Vallejo, Alexa Williams 1999 Andrea Nelson Myers, Katherine Tremblay 1994 Veronica Lombrozo Leff, David Bramzon 1989 Rick Boynton, Ruth Voorhies 1984 Karen Todt Tavares 1979 Leslie Bird Voss, Chris Voss 1974 Holly Hoag Dietrich, Janet Hire Gentile, Kerry Appleby Payne, Alla Henshaw Ponty 1969 Michelle Avriette Ogden 1964 Jan Martin Kingaard 1959 Gretchen Stroschein Thomson 1949 Joyce Armstrong Wayman 1944 Lethie Anderson Moeller San Miguel Vance Baker ’61, John Lucas ’63

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FEATURE | Dual Celebrations | 10

M

ore than 500 alumni, faculty, staff and friends turned out in October for Bishop’s first-ever combined scheduling of Alumni Weekend and the Ellen Browning Scripps (EBS) Celebration, two long established annual events that were previously held months apart.

Planned by the School’s Alumni Association Board, its members voted to merge the events this year in order to give attending alumni a more active campus experience that allows them to interact with faculty and students.

“Alumni Weekend used to take place in summer when school wasn’t in session. And in recent years, it was held just after commencement, which was also a time of low activity on campus,” says Corinne Perkins Ross ’97, trustee and Alumni Association Board president.

“Combining the two gives all alumni— reunion or not—a reason to ‘come home’ for reunions, awards, school life and more. At the same time it exposes our current students to the experiences of former students and demonstrates what it means to be involved in your school.”

Alumni Weekend began with on campus activities—tours and “Class without Homework”—the morning of October 10. Tours were especially popular and one group of alumni pointed out to a staff member that her current office was their former dorm room.

“We had more than 20 people participate in “Class without

faculty focus

Binney Caffrey Academic bridge builder

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

FACULTY FOCUS | Binney Caffrey | 12

R

arely a school day passes when Binney Caffrey doesn’t provide academic guidance to a student, an inquisitive parent or a faculty member. Since becoming Bishop’s Dean of Studies in 2009, she has served as their go-to listener and problem solver while also assisting the School’s department chairs in the recruitment of new teachers.

Binney started her career at Bishop’s several years prior as a full-time math teacher. A native of Florida, she earned her bachelor’s in mathematics at Williams College in Massachusetts and a master’s in economics from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD).

“When I initially visited UCSD, I had a job offer to work as a banking analyst in New York City. But I turned it down because I was impressed by both UCSD’s post-graduate program and San Diego,” she recalls.

While teaching at Bishop’s, she helped introduce the lauded seminar-style mathematics curriculum from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, where she finished high school. The concept, which uses an interactive approach for tackling challenging math problems, is now the foundation for many of the math courses taught at Bishop’s.

Binney then moved to Washington, D.C. for a year, when her husband, Andrew, an economist, took a job with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. During that time, she taught math and economics at National Cathedral School. The couple had met while attending UCSD and married coincidentally in Bishop’s St. Mary’s Chapel.

Binney Caffrey, Jackson Kalench ’16

Upon their return to San Diego, Binney was re-hired at Bishop’s as assistant dean of students; a job that she says marked her transition into the administrative field while ultimately prepping her for a role as the dean of studies.

“The bulk of my work today is providing academic counsel to students and parents. I get great joy helping kids navigate a path through Bishop’s that is unique to them while they stay committed to their passions,” she says.

In cases where students experience difficulties in certain courses or become stressed over their grades or a particular test, Binney arranges “formal time” for them to work more closely with their teachers.

“I’ll assess their study habits and push them a little to improve on those habits. My goal is to get at the core of a problem in practical terms to help

them move forward.”

Binney’s office is also open to parents concerned about their children’s progress.

“I meet with them to discuss any academic questions and concerns they have while figuring out a curriculum that is appropriate. My goal is to help them feel comfortable about the choices that are made along the way.”

In addition, she works directly with faculty members as they introduce new courses or propose curricular changes within their departments. And when needed, she steps in to assist faculty members in their efforts to help students.

“I get to spend a lot of time in the classroom, which allows me to see the day-to-day academic lives of both the teachers and students.”

For students wishing to augment their curriculums with courses that Bishop’s doesn’t offer, Binney steers them to the

Andrew and Binney

Clara Boyle English Department Ph.D., University of California at Davis

Cresence Birder ’07 English Department (one-year assignment) M.A., University of Miami

Nilla and JP

opportunity to add fresh perspectives to our community based on their past experiences.”

An avid traveler, Binney’s favorite destination is the small island of Man-O-War Cay in the Abaco, Bahamas, where she visited this summer with her husband and two children, J.P. and Nilla.

“I used to go there annually when growing up. Now I have a sister who lives there since marrying a Bahamian.

I love beaches and love to swim.”

Prior to raising children, she toured China, Thailand, Korea, India and Europe. “I’ve never been one to turn down travel invitations from family and friends,” she adds.

A prolific reader, Binney enjoys books that are popular among the students, such as The Maze Runner, Twilight, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.

“They give me a point of commonality with our students,” she says, adding that the young-adult books she reads “are the dessert” to such New York Times bestsellers as The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell, which she considers “an entrée” in the lineup.

Karen Carter Mathematics Department B.S., University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) Jessi Cavanaugh Mathematics Department M.Ed., Framingham State University

Jane Mattox Academic Support M.A., San Diego State University

Bryan Smith Science Department Ph.D., University of California at Irvine

13 | Binney Caffrey | FACULTY FOCUS

Global Online Academy (GOA), which she introduced to the School three years ago as the program’s site coordinator.

GOA is a consortium of independent schools that offers quality, online courses ranging in everything from digital journalism and Japanese language to bio ethics and multi-variable calculus.

Participation, she says, has grown consistently each year, with nearly 20 Bishop’s students currently enrolled.

Credits earned from the program’s courses are accredited by Bishop’s, the only San Diego school that is a GOA member.

“The program allows us to expand our curriculum in ways that we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise,” she says while lauding GOA for “solving the online education problem in independent schools.”

Binney recently took on the role of working with department chairs to fill teacher vacancies when they arise.

“I love seeing the enthusiasm of new teachers as they join the faculty culture at Bishop’s. It also gives us the

2014–2015 NEW FACULTY

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAMES

Sahil Sheth ’16

Athletics have long been an integral part of the campus experience at The Bishop’s School, but for tri-sport athletes like Chris Alleyne ’15, Caroline Edwards ’16, Sahil Sheth ’16, Sera Stotelmyre ’16, Sabrina Straus ’16 and Justin Woodley ’17, they are a year-round way of life.

By Zach Jones ’01

“Up until this summer, I definitely thought I was going to be playing soccer in college,” says senior Chris Alleyne.

Considering he’s spent most of his Bishop’s career playing soccer on both school and private club teams, that was a reasonable assumption.

But as a junior, facing increased academic pressure and a schedule that already included Knights volleyball, soccer and year-round club soccer commitments, he decided to try out for the football team.

“The kicker before me graduated, and Head Football Coach Joel Allen asked me if I wanted to step in and give it a try,” Chris says. “I started kicking, and some of the guys’ faces started lighting up, and I couldn’t say no.”

As a result, he hopes to be kicking a football rather than a soccer ball, when he heads off to college next fall. It’s been an unexpected journey after arriving at Bishop’s in middle school as primarily a soccer player.

“Playing multiple sports has definitely been a good experience, and I would recommend that everyone try as many sports as they can,” he says. “Because I didn’t really think I was going to be as into volleyball as I was, and I really ended up falling in love with that sport.”

His growing sports schedule has come with the standard trade-offs in the realms of sleep and free time, but he’s taking the long view of the return on his investment.

“I think it’s the sense of camaraderie that you get when you play on a sports team,” he says. “There’s nothing you can really replace that with. The friends I’ve made, I know I’m going to have them in my life as long as we’re around.”

To learn about our multi-sport athletes, Justin Woodley ’17 and Sabrina Straus ’16, visit www.bishops.com/multisportathletes.

Caroline Edwards ’16 Caroline Edwards knows what it means to concentrate on a single sport in and out of school.

“When I was younger, I was really into soccer, and I was on a very competitive travel team, and we were playing every weekend and traveling all over California. I found myself completely burned out on it.”

When she arrived at Bishop’s in ninth grade, she headed in the opposite direction entirely. She promptly began playing three different sports, two for the first time in her life.

“Since I was so busy, all of the new-student stress sort of went away,” she says of her freshman year. “I didn’t really have enough time to think about how much I was doing.”

Field hockey (fall) began as a bit of a social enterprise.

“I had never heard of the sport before I came to Bishop’s,” she says. “But as a new ninth-grader, I thought a fall sport would be a great way to meet people right off the bat.”

Basketball (winter) was a sport she’d played since middle school, so that had to stay.

Then came spring and another new sport, lacrosse.

Unlike some, she doesn’t begin the school year with the goal of playing three sports. Rather, she evaluates each season as it comes before she adds it to the calendar.

“For me, I’m going to make the decision to play maybe a week before the season starts, but I never commit before I actually have to,” she says. “I try to focus on the sport I’m playing in the season that I’m playing it. When it’s not basketball season, I’m not thinking about basketball. I think otherwise it would get to be too much.”

During the middle of October, many high school students are still adjusting to their class schedules after a summer away from campus. Junior Sahil Sheth is in the heart of football season and already has his eye on his impending transition to the basketball court.

“Right now, it’s football season, so I’m playing football,” he says. “But on Wednesday mornings, I have two-hour basketball practices. It’s taxing, but it’s something I’ve got to do.”

A lifelong basketball player, Sahil took up football and volleyball when he got to high school, and that means there isn’t a time of the year (whether school is in session or not) that he’s not at least preparing for his next season.

How long is his “off-season” when the school year ends?

“There are two weeks off for sure...but I might do weightlifting during those...I would give it a good...at least...four weeks, maybe?”

It’s not the off-season summer workouts, but the end of each season that poses the greatest challenge. While one sport is still in full swing, the next is already picking up steam.

“It’s usually pretty hectic,” Sahil says of the end of each season. “Last year, going from football to basketball, we had our last football game, and then the next week we had four basketball games. It was also the end of the quarter, so I had four tests that week.”

But what his year-round sports schedule steals in free time, it makes up in efficiency.

“I try to play sports every season, because it helps me stay focused,” he says. “When I have sports, I get home right after practice, take a shower and get down to homework. It gives me a deadline.”

Junior Sera Stotelmyre is a walking advertisement for the variety offered by The Bishop’s School’s athletics program.

During her high school career, she’s played volleyball, field hockey and run cross-country, and that’s just in the fall season.

Once the winter season arrives, she will be on to soccer, and then to track in the spring.

While track might be her strongest sport, she concedes that spring practices can be a grind.

“Track is really grueling,” she says. “After every single practice, you just want to lie on the ground and not run anymore. ”This year’s decision to play field hockey came at the suggestion of a friend, and it was a big step out of her comfort zone.

“I’ve actually never played a sport with a stick or anything that involves hand-eye coordination,” she says. “I tried it out, and I wasn’t the greatest, but I kept with it, and I really love the team.”

With her club soccer career coming to an end, it would have been easy to give herself a well-earned break this fall. Instead, she’s throwing herself into a new sport, building those new stick skills and earning herself more playing time.

“I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else,” she says.

“When I was injured (during club soccer season), I loved just being on the bench. Even though I wasn’t playing. I loved the feeling of being there.”

“At school, we’ll wear our jerseys for free-dress days, or have team sleepovers. The team bonding part of it—I really love that.”

15 | For the Love of the Games | FEATURE

FEATURE | For the Love of the Games | 14

Chris Alleyne ’15

Sera Stotelmyre ’16

Jacobs Prize Gives New Meaning to Three “Rs” Six faculty members re-energized after summer travels

JOAN

The Jacobs Prize Established in 2010 with a $1 million endowment from Stacy Jacobs and Paul Jacobs to provide Bishop’s faculty with a summer opportunity for personal, professional, and intellectual enrichment and renewal of their commitment to teaching.

By Kathy Day

Ryan Craig, Katie Crowley

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Mary Jane Sutherland, chair of the foreign languages department who is in her twentieth year at Bishop’s and initiated the Spain Exchange, has traveled extensively and studied abroad.

“I’ve spent my life learning language, literature and culture,” she said, noting that she took her first language classes when she was in seventh grade. Until now, though, she never had the opportunity to share her experiences with her two sisters. The grant enabled her to rent a flat in Málaga, Spain, within walking distance of the Picasso Museum, the Roman theater and across from the cathedral. Mary Jane and her sisters visited friends she has made through the years, sharing family dinners and the World Cup experience and made side trips to Madrid, Barcelona, Granada and Sevilla.

Mary Jane called the trip “an adventure on all levels” and a way to

share “all the things I’ve seen and the people I’ve met and love.” The best time, she added, was “hanging out in our apartment, watching people and listening to the jazz sax player on the street below” and hearing the conversations as they trailed off into the night.

And through it all, she was able to freshen her language skills and reinforce her belief that “sharing a language allows students to discover their common humanity” that gives them an understanding of and respect of their differences with others.

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Modern World History teacher Katie Crowley fulfilled a dream and “filled a gap in her historical education”

during her three-week trip to China.

Acknowledging that her love of history had been focused on Western nations, she applied for the Jacobs Prize as a way to expand her own horizons—and thus those of her students. In her application, she noted, “China has played a key role in my academic life for years,” but wrote that there is “no substitute for lived experiences and personal observations.”

“China is changing so dramatically,” Katie said. “When you’re there, people talk about life before and after the Olympics.” Traveling with her husband, Ryan Craig, they visited Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin and Yangshao. Their explorations took them to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall. They visited the site of the First

MARY JANE

Mary Jane Sutherland, Sue Freeland, Ann Allen

National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and a museum in an apartment basement housing a collection of propaganda posters from the Mao Zedong era. And just for fun she took a dumpling-making class—“they’re hard to make.”

Katie’s trip gave her a better understanding of the Asian nation, and she ended up feeling as if she were “walking through the Modern World curriculum.”

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Sometimes teachers nearing the end of their careers go on “cruise control,” but not Joan Heylman, Bishop’s Director of Community Service who also teaches ninth grade health. She entered her thirty-ninth and final year as a Bishop’s teacher with an adventurous eight days in Costa Rica thanks to the Jacobs Prize.

She and her husband Mike, also a retiring teacher, journeyed to the Nicoya Peninsula. Located at the end of a 22 mile dirt road that required a four-wheel drive vehicle to get there, the Punta Isilita resort sits on a hill in a jungle. “When people ask about the trip, I just sigh,” she said. “It’s the most beautiful, unspoiled country I’ve seen.”

For her, a main thrill was the animals.

From the howler monkeys to the “screechy call” of the scarlet macaws, creatures were all around them. Joan said each day began with the colorful macaws

Joan and Mike Heylman

knows well, having studied there during college, and where she has a “brother” and “sister” who lived with her family as exchange students.

For three weeks she attended language school with students from around the world. They shared “cultural conversations,” and her classmates “were surprised that an American female wouldn’t agree with typical Western answers.” She learned, too, that her ----------language skills are still intact when she When math teacher Kristin Davidson ’97 took her five-year-old nephew to the zoo. finished chaperoning the Bishop’s He didn’t speak English, but she student trip to Africa last June, she stayed understood him. in Nairobi to explore Zimbabwe and The trip gave her a new perspective Botswana with fellow alum, Matt Herbst ’91. on herself and the world. The Jacobs From there, Kristin headed to Berlin to Prize is “so amazing. It shows that the work on her German. It’s a place she School appreciates the work I do.”

flying by and a short journey took them to the mango trees where they saw over a hundred monkeys. When something startled the monkeys, and they started swinging in the trees, she said, “a branch broke and a mom with her baby dropped at my feet…we were both surprised!”

On a more practical level, she also saw possibilities for future community service projects for students and established a bond with other Jacobs Prize recipients.

KRISTIN

Matthew Herbst ’91, Kristin Davidson ’97

17 | Jacobs Prize Gives New Meaning to Three “Rs” | FEATURE

FEATURE | Jacobs Prize Gives New Meaning to Three “Rs” | 16

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enew, refresh and rejuvenate— sounds a bit like a reality TV show, but that’s what this year’s six recipients of the Jacobs Prize say the award enabled them to do. Established

by Dr. Stacy Jacobs and Dr. Paul Jacobs (Jess ’10, Sam ’12), the prize gives teachers the chance to pursue personal, professional and intellectual opportunities that they might not otherwise experience.

KATIE

Kara Crawford, an English teacher who specializes in medieval and Victorian literature, had plans to present a paper at the New Chaucer Society Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland, so she hoped connecting her Jacobs Prize proposal to the trip would be a way to travel to Scotland, where her family’s roots run deep. Within hours of learning she had received a Jacobs Prize, she made the reservations for herself, her husband, Michael, and their sons Ben, a Bishop’s sixth grader, and Kaleb ’13.

Kara was the only secondary teacher to present at the conference, and her presentation led to an opportunity to submit her paper for a major journal and an invitation to serve on the 2016 conference committee. Although she worked in Iceland, the two weeks in Scotland were all about family “with everything in the context of a medieval theme,” she said, adding that she returned with pictures and experiences that will continue to inform her classes.

Opportunities, such as the Jacobs Prize, distinguish Bishop’s, she said.

“They attract teachers to the School and keep the rest of us going.”

CATHERINE Tina D’Aulerio, Catherine Michaud

FACULTY

STUDENTS

Sara Ahmed, sixth grade history

Students in grades seven and

and social sciences teacher, has

eight created street art while at

co-authored Standers. The book

a graffiti park called the yard.

is about growing a caring middle

They learned spray painting

school classroom community

techniques from professional

that deeply supports its own

graffiti artist, Sergio Gonzales,

members and also monitors,

one of the founders of Writerz

investigates and cares for the

Blok, a program that provides

world beyond its walls. n

workshops for schools.

Donna Cory, Bishop’s dance instructor, was inducted into the

English teacher Catherine Michaud got right to the point when asked about her Jacobs Prize trip: “My dream travel did, indeed, come true.” Her vision for this trip was to experience the culinary arts of northern Italy instead of the visual arts. Traveling with her partner, Tina D’Aulerio, they rented a car—with a British GPS navigator they named James—and headed to the Piedmont region, Cinque Terra and San Gimignano in Tuscany before concluding the tour in Venice.

In Piedmont in a small village named Priocca, they dined at Il Centro, a tiny restaurant suggested by the owner of

the hotel where they stayed. Their expectations were surpassed, as they feasted on an exquisite 10-course meal and were treated to a personal tour of the nearby G.D. Vajra Winery. While the coastal cuisine and winding paths of Cinque Terra were fun, the villages were a little too “touristy” for their tastes. But when they reached their destination north of Tuscany, they were in culinary heaven at the Capezzana Estate. Anticipating a cooking class for 10 people, instead the pair found themselves with Chef Patricio, the private chef to a countess. Together they made lunch—not just for themselves, but also for the countess and her family—consisting of fried squash blossoms, roast pork loin, fresh pasta and gnocchi and tiramisu.

(Catherine proudly acknowledged she has replicated some of the recipes since she returned.)

She said the trip renewed her love of exposing herself to different cultures and her “desire to encourage kids to get off the beaten path…and get out of the American bubble.”

Catawba College Blue Masque

ALUMNI

Hall of Fame. In addition to

Ben Doeher ’11 was back on

being a member of the

campus in October to present

performing arts department,

interactive lighting installations

active Facebook page

Donna teaches master classes

in the new black box theatre

(www.facebook.com/

in musical theatre for the

and Taylor Performing Arts

University of Cincinnati and is a

Center. One installation featured

guest instructor/choreographer

choreography by Cresence

for Ballet Pensacola in Florida.

Birder ’07, who is on a one

n Vocal music teacher Justine

year teaching assignment

Hansen presented “Teaching

with the Bishop’s English

with a YouTube channel.

Healthy Vocal Technique” to

Department. Ben, a student

Check out www.youtube.

teachers of the arts in San Diego

at Grinnell College, also visited

County at the MegaArts

physics, computer technology

Conference in October. Justine

and performing arts classes

was recently appointed the

to discuss the art and science

assistant conductor of the

behind his work.

WEBNews

San Diego Women’s Chorus.

A Knight to Remember Auction 2015 �

Great food, fine wine, music and an atmosphere of “rustic elegance” will represent the flavor of Bishop’s annual party with a purpose as the School community celebrates auction 2015 Vineyard Knights on

April 18, 2015. Annually, the event raises funds in direct support of need-based student financial aid and faculty professional growth programs. More than 20 percent of the current student body is receiving close to $3 million through the financial aid program, and annually teachers and coaches participate in enrichment opportunities and return to the campus refreshed and enthused. The event will be co-chaired by, pictured at right, Susan Piegza (Jack ’15, Matthew ’17), Juliann Ford (Christian ’16, Jonathan ’18) and Kathryn Hamon

KARA

Kara Crawford

(Julie ’15, Kelly ’16). The 30th annual auction will feature dinner for 500, dancing, a wine auction, and both live and silent auctions with an emphasis on items that offer unique experiences. To learn more about the auction underwriting and donation opportunities, contact the advancement office at (858) 875-0804.

In addition to an

the.bishops.school), the School has expanded its social media presence

com/bishopsschool for videos of School speakers and events! n

19 | bishop’s buzz | NEWS

FEATURE | Jacobs Prize Gives New Meaning to Three “Rs” | 18

bishop’s buzz

Audiences Rave About

DIFFERENT VOICES

Ambitious production of the rock musical leaves audiences “amazed.”

By Keri Peckham

By Diane Y. Welch

From artists to scientists, The Bishop’s School welcomes diverse speakers to campus to inform and inspire our community.

The fall celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month focused on stories— those of Bishop’s community members and those shared by special guests.

The month kicked off with Chapel services inspired by Bishop’s students.

Organized by the Latin American Student Organization, Nessa Garcia ’15 and Will Ortiz ’15 did the introduction, while Alan Burnett ’16 and Chris Ackerman ’16 presented music by Ramón Noble, the most prolific Mexican organ composer of the 20th century.

Ruben Ocampo ’15 then shared his experience growing up in the City Heights area of San Diego and his belief that throughout one’s life assumptions are made, some positive and some negative, but it’s never too late to dispel the negative assumptions and stereotypes to see people for who they truly are—often leading to forgiveness and understanding. You may read Ruben’s entire Chapel talk at www.bishops.com/chapel.

On October 28, Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez, a 2013 National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow, shared his music and stories of the Chicano movement at an all-school assembly.

Mr. Sanchez was born in California to Mexican immigrants, and told stories of

T

classmates being given new names in school. Maria became Mary and suddenly the name did not match the face. Finding an identity was complicated, and Mr. Sanchez has used his music to tell the story of his culture and to advocate for civil rights ever since. Mr. Sanchez was invited to Bishop’s by Spanish teacher Dr. Carlos Martell and Director of Diversity and Community Life Marcus Chang.

Shaffer Family Foundation Endowed Science Lecture Series Entering its second year as an endowed program, the Shaffer Family Foundation Endowed Science Lecture Series brought Dr. Stephen Wilson to campus on October 30. As the executive vice president of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, Dr. Wilson’s work is focused on living “life without disease.” He discussed immune system research and innovations in health and medicine that can help people live without symptoms associated with diseases such as autoimmune disorders, infection, heart disease and cancer.

The next lecture in the series will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 29, 2015 in Geier Family Presentation Hall and the speaker will be Dr. Hillary Young ’97, a community ecologist and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

New York Times Bestselling Author on Ocean Sustainability The School community is looking forward to welcoming author Paul Greenberg to campus as a 2014-2015 Endowed Scholar-in-Residence.

Mr. Greenberg will be on campus the week of February 23, 2015 and will teach classes, meet with students and faculty and share his work with the community.

Mr. Greenberg lectures regularly on the topics of seafood and ocean sustainability. His first book, the New York Times bestseller, Four Fish, won the James Beard Award in 2011.

Mr. Greenberg recently published his second book, American Catch.

In addition to spending time on campus with the Bishop’s community, the Endowed Scholar-in-Residence Program provides an opportunity for scholars to share their work with the greater community. Mr. Greenberg’s presentation will take place the evening of February 25. It is free and open to the public. More information will be available on the Bishop’s web site in January.

edge of poverty who try to survive on the lower east side of Manhattan while battling inevitable gentrification.

The story centers around two roommates: Mark Cohen, a burgeoning documentary filmmaker and narrator of the show—portrayed by Matt Kerr ’16, and Roger Davis, a struggling musician who is HIV positive—played by Raphael Lee ’16. The students are real-life best friends. “So we didn’t have to fake

any chemistry, which was fun,” Matt explains. “It worked out pretty well.”

Matt feels that the musical is an important representation of the people living through the “brutal era of AIDS” and one that should be openly discussed rather than swept under the rug. The characters in the show are three dimensional and despite their disease still pursue their individual artistic endeavors while living each day to the fullest, which is inspirational, he feels.

The production came with technical challenges that were met and surpassed.

“In the past we’ve always thought that the students should be able to project their voices, but as this show is a rock musical, Louise Carmon, vocal music teacher, felt that it would kill the kids’ voices if they didn’t use mics,” Courtney says. Wireless head microphones were purchased, adding a whole new level of complexity to the show. “You have to have a sound mixer and a technician who knows what he or she is doing, it’s a very involved process,” Courtney explains.

21 | Audiences Rave About Rent | FEATURE

FEATURE | Different Voices | 20

The Stories of Hispanic Heritage Month

he Bishop’s School Performing Arts Department made a bold decision with its selection of Rent, a rock musical loosely based on Puccini’s opera, La Bohème. With sold-out performances during its two-week run in the Taylor Performing Arts Center the overall opinion of the production by those who saw it was, “amazing!”

Cast members took audiences on a journey of laughter and tears with every element of the production—from the vocals to the music, to the costumes, set design and choreography—reaching and sustaining ambitious highs that had the audience rising to its feet after each performance.

For Bishop’s the show represents innovation on several levels, says Bishop’s acting teacher Courtney Flanagan who directed the production which had a cast and crew of 38 students. The School had never produced a rock musical before. “And we have never done a show that has featured same-sex couples, but for me personally it feels good that we are doing a show that supports the School’s Diversity and Inclusion Statement,” Courtney explains. In part it states, “We honor and embrace diverse identities such as age, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender and gender identity…sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.”

Rather than a form of artful entertainment Rent has much more depth and carries a powerful message of love and acceptance, “which is particularly appealing to me because the audience is left with something to think about,” she adds.

Rent portrays a generation of young people during the 1990s, but the show’s plot tells the story of just one year— 525,600 minutes—(a catchy refrain in the show’s signature song “Seasons of Love”) in the life of bohemians on the

FEATURE | Audiences Rave About Rent | 22

The show’s technical crew was led by Tim McNamara, chair of the performing arts department. Max Roemer ’17 ran the sound mixing board for all rehearsals and performances and Justin Ruggiero ’15, stage manager, coordinated all the cues—over 188 on lighting alone—for each performance. “We are very proud that our students run our shows,” says Courtney.

Both mastered the intricacies of sound and light seamlessly, which gave the performers a level of technical professionalism not possible in prior productions.

The stage set was also innovative.

Designed by Tim, the minimalist, industrial-type set evoked a gritty scene of both the interior and exterior of a loft in New York’s Alphabet City and gave actors a real gift, says Donna Cory, dance teacher. She considered the set “a jewelry box of stuff to play with,” which cast members explored fully.

Actors coursed the scaffolding, traversing three levels up from the stage via vertical ladders, with no missteps.

They were very respectful of the set and were fearless in trying out creative ways to move through it, says Donna. “But they were very cognizant of what they were working on,” she adds. The choreographic sequences enhanced the

Laurie and Kim Peterson Laurie and Kim Peterson have been involved and passionate supporters of The Bishop’s School for many years. Kim is a current trustee, returning to the board following an earlier term (2004-2010), and together they are the parents of a 2006 graduate, their daughter Claire Lauren. Laurie and Kim

vocals rather than dominating them, “like a theatrical version of pedestrian movement,” Donna explains.

Professional musicians were visible on stage with Jared Jacobsen—the performing arts department accompanist and the show’s musical director—who conducted and played keyboard, and Elise Trouw ’17 on drums and percussion.

The band brought to life the show’s memorable foot-tapping musical score.

Rent ran on Broadway for more than 12 years and in 1996 won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award. The show produced notable hits such as “Your Eyes,” “Over the Moon” and its title song, “Rent.”

The original concept created 20 years

ago by Jonathan Larson was based largely on his own life experience during a time when AIDS first came into the world’s lexicon. He too lived in a New York loft and as a struggling artist was often unable to pay his rent. In a tragic twist of fate Larson died at age 35 from an aortic aneurism on the night of the show’s first dress rehearsal, not living to see its premier on stage.

Before the Bishop’s performances Matt said that he hoped the audience would not only come away from the show understanding its important message of acceptance but would also appreciate the time and effort that was put into the show, the ambition of all involved and the risk taken to bring such an intense, difficult production to life on the Bishop’s stage.

If the animated chatter during the show’s intermission and at its close was a measure of that appreciation then he need not have worried, the performance was a success on many levels, according to members of the audience.

And in the words of Polly Fluharty, theatre mom and parent to Topher who played Angel, it was, “amazing!”

appreciate the value that a Bishop’s education can bring to a child and have chosen to make a significant bequest to Bishop’s through their estate plan to ensure that future generations of students have the transformative opportunity of a Bishop’s education.

A charitable bequest is an easy and wonderful way for you to help The Bishop’s School as well as countless numbers of young people as they strive to accomplish their educational goals. Some of the personal benefits of bequest giving include: • It costs you nothing today to make a bequest • A bequest is free of federal estate tax • Your bequest can be changed down the road • You can still benefit your heirs with specific gifts • A bequest may produce estate tax savings • You can leave a legacy for the future of others through a bequest A bequest is one of the easiest gifts you can make to significantly impact the future of young lives. Your estate

A charitable bequest is an easy and wonderful way for you to help The Bishop’s School as well as countless numbers of young people as they strive to accomplish their educational goals.

amount or a percentage of your estate. A bequest could also be made from the residue of your estate or what is left after all gifts have been made to your heirs.

Please visit our web site at www.bishopslegacy.com for sample bequest language and a complimentary copy of Planning Your Legacy, A Guide to Planning Your Will and Trust.

planning attorney can include a provision in your estate

You may also contact John A. Trifiletti, chief advancement

plan that leaves a lasting gift to The Bishop’s School.

officer, at (858) 875-0851 or trifilettij@bishops.com to discuss

This bequest could be a gift of specific assets, a dollar

your personal planning objectives.

Bishop’s magazine features glimpses of people who, by walking the halls of the School, are changing its face forever.