Ensights Winter 2015

ENSIGHTS I N S E ARC H OF T RU T H

WINTER 2015

COEDUCATION

3-D Design Technology My Day at the Harkness

Coeducation in Sports

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2014-2015 President Philip D. Krebs Vice President Julie Frist Secretary Trisha F. Elcan Treasurer Phil Hertik Counsel John Jacobson E. McBride Bass* Kathryn C. Brown Jeffrey Buntin, Jr..

Laura F. Chadwick Sandy Cochran Thomas F. Cox Bruce Crosby Jonathan N. Dyke Alec Estes Amanda Farnsworth Persephone Felder-Fentress Trish C. Frist* Kerry Graham Alice I. Hooker* H. Hill McAlister A. Bruce Moore, Jr. Anne W. Nesbitt Neal Patel, M.D. Margaret Ann Robinson* Reed E. Trickett Ann Harwell Wells* Toby S. (T.J.) Wilt Head of School David Braemer, ex officio President Ensworth Parent Association Amy Christiansen, ex officio

ENSWORTH Mission Statement In Search of Truth The Ensworth School is a pre-first through twelfth grade, coeducational independent school. The School promotes academic excellence and inspires students to be intellectually curious, to use their talents to the fullest, to be people of integrity, and to be contributors to society.

Administrative Team David Braemer Head of School Sarah Buchanan Assoc. Head and Director of Enrollment Management David Morgan Assoc. Head and Head of High School Ricky Bowers Assoc. Head and Director of Athletics Bruce Libonn Head of Lower School Chan Gammill Head of Middle School Darrell Wells Director of Finance and Operations Jenny Hannon Director of Institutional Advancement Bobby Mirzaie Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jason Hiett Director of Technology

President-Elect Ensworth Parent Association Shannon McGuffin, ex officio President Ensworth Alumni Council Patrick Warfield, ex officio *Indicates Permanent Trustee

Front Caroline Gracey and Titus Wootson, Class of 2021, collaborate in Science Lab. Right The Ambassador Club welcomes new students on Book Signing Day at the high school campus.

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Contents 2 Coeducation Message from the Head of School FEATURES

3 Why Coeducation?

Faculty and parents share perspectives on co-education.

10 3-D Design Technology

ACADEMICS 12 My Day at the Harkness

28 Grandparents Days

13 Walk a Mile in their Shoes

30 Lower/Middle School Events

13 An Owlstanding Time

32 High School Events

14 For the Record

34 Parent Association 35 Golf Tournament

An Interview with Mike Ireland, High School Science Department Chair

COMMUNITY

ARTS 16 Art News

FACULTY

17 Artists in the Community

36 Faculty News

18 Charlotte’s Web

37 Faculty Bookshelf

20 Christmas Carol

38 Faculty Focus

ATHLETICS 22 Coeducation in Athletics

ALUMNI 66 Class Notes

24 High School Athletics 26 Middle School Athletics Above Mills Darst, 27 and Mateo Scala ‘27, help David Morgan build his gingerbread house.

Cascades Rolland 100 Enviro Satin 60# Text, 100# Text

Copyrighted 2015 by Ensworth School. The Ensworth School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or ethnic /national origin in its admissions or its hiring policies. Ensworth is a member of NAIS, CASE, SACS, SAIS, and the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools. ENSIGHTS is a bi-annual publication of Ensworth’s Office of Institutional Advancement.

EDITORIAL STAFF Mary Byrne Dailey, Jasmine Davis, Alli Hicks, Anne Stringham, Sally Taylor, Tori Thomas, Tiffany Townsend DESIGN Tori Thomas, Mary Byrne Dailey, Sally Krebs CONTRIBUTING WRITERS David Braemer, Mary Byrne Dailey, Jasmine Davis, Alli Hicks, Anne Stringham, Tori Thomas PHOTOGRAPHY Mary Byrne Dailey, Sally Krebs, John Picklesimer, Tori Thomas, Yearbook Staff, Allen Ralph Photography, Adrienne Parker

2015 WINTER | 1

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Coeducation This past December, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) held both its annual People of Color Conference for faculty and administrators, and its Student Diversity Leadership Conference. These coordinated conferences serve as the flagship of NAIS’s commitment to equity and justice in teaching and learning. For schools invested in diversity-related issues, this major event typically attracts over 2,000 adults and 1,600 students from independent schools across the country.

Once again, Ensworth was represented at these conferences, with both students and faculty taking part in what always proves to be an intense and invigorating experience. Having attended this event on numerous occasions, including this past December, I can attest to the impact that these conferences can have on empowering students and energizing both faculty and school leaders when it comes to the work of making our schools more inclusive.

The issue of diversity in independent schools is significant and extends far beyond race, touching on many other social identifiers such as religion, socio-economic status, gender, and ethnicity, to name just a few. As we strive to truly live our Mission, the importance of the efforts we make as a school when it comes to diversity must not be underestimated. For example, the broad range of perspectives that a diverse student body and faculty can bring to the classroom raises the level of discourse, thereby forcing students to consider different viewpoints when developing their own position on a given issue. The result is the development of deeper, more sophisticated understandings which are critical to the pursuit of academic excellence and the fostering of intellectual curiosity, central tenets of our Mission as a school.

Given the importance of diversity at Ensworth, this issue of Ensights focuses on one of the most significant factors in our quest to create a more inclusive community: the critical role that coeducation plays in our school. Our commitment to coeducation and gender diversity has been a guiding principle of Ensworth since its inception.

This commitment is intentional, as it not only enhances the quality of the academic experience, it better prepares students for the real world in which they will interact and collaborate with others regardless of gender. Quite simply, coeducation allows us to more ef fectively educate children in a manner that builds genuine self-confidence and introduces each individual to a wider variety of ideas and opinions.

As a school, we understand that for both developmental and socialized reasons, boys and girls can be very different.

While some might view these differences as problematic, we believe these differences provide a tremendous educational opportunity. The process of exploring and embracing differences, whether based on gender, race, religion or any other identifier, is not always easy, making our efforts to be a diverse, inclusive community so challenging. Striving to meet this challenge, however, not only enhances the educational benefits for all students, it is the right thing to do if we are to be a community that values and respects each individual. While there is always more work to be done in this area, I am proud to be part of a school community where In Search of Truth is more than a motto; it is a call to action when it comes to issues such as diversity.

David Braemer HEAD OF SCHOOL

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Coeducation WHY

“We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion.”

— Max de Pree

American Businessman & Writer

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A ca dem ic E x c el lenc e

WHY

Coeducation

M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T

The Ensworth School

On Coeducation

is a pre-first through

Anne Stringham Director of Communications

twelfth grade, coeducational independent school. The School promotes academic excellence and inspires students to be intellectually curious, to use their talents to the fullest, to be people of integrity, and to be contributors to society.

E NSWORTH ’S LEA DERS A ND EDUCATORS believe that coeducation impacts and enriches the educational experience of our students. A coeducational setting promotes mature social and emotional development, providing students with an advantage during their school years that will carry throughout their adult lives. Recognizing our critical role in preparing students for the real world, our classrooms comprise both genders, helping students understand that girls and boys are different yet equal.

Every day Ensworth students have interactions that challenge and allow them to realize how differences might influence one’s perspective and also

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understand that problems are best approached with consideration to differing worldviews.

Coeducation improves the ways students think, learn and collaborate.

Children are able to develop confidence, empathy, understanding and leadership amongst both genders as they navigate the challenges of social and emotional growth, while encouraging success in one another. By offering a coeducational environment where youth can truly develop character, understanding and skills necessary for the future, Ensworth equips students for life beyond the classroom.

Iint ellec tu a lly curi ou s WHY

Coeducation

“Students learn to work and learn with a broad range of people and personalities, and they E AR LY DAY S AT E N S WO R T H

B O B BY M I R Z AI E

Since its earliest years Ensworth’s focus has been the development of an academically strong coed program.

Thus a coeducational learning environment has been part of Ensworth’s “DNA” as Head of School David Braemer says, since the school’s early days. What does that part of the school’s program look like now? How does learning in a gender-diverse setting benefit today’s students?

Bobby Mirzaie joined the Ensworth faculty this fall as Director of Curriculum and Instruction charged with u nder s t a nd i n g t he c u r r ic u lu m throughout the school’s thirteen grades and helping faculty assure that the program offered is an integrated one that leads students smoothly from one grade level to the next, building on skills learned. Mirzaie has spent his first few months at Ensworth getting to know not only the curriculum as described on paper, but also the teachers who interpret it and the students who are learning under its guidance. “I observe four to eight classes a day,” he says, “and I’m getting a good picture of what is happening in our classrooms.”

Numerous studies have researched the advantages and disadvantages of coed learning; however there is not universal agreement on the topic. In this article we explore the first-hand experiences and observations of educators and other individuals in the school community regarding how learning in a diverse environment works at Ensworth.

learn to accept and honor diversity among their peers. In this setting, students have opportunities to practice leadership in mixed gender situations and to hone their abilities to collaborate on projects.”

– Bobby Mirzaie Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Asked about the role of the coeducational environment in the school’s program, Mirzaie comments “I look at the coeducational piece from the stand2015 WINTER | 5

WHY

Coeducation

Talents Fullest to the

point of…is the coed setting enhancing student and teacher performance…just as I look at a number of other aspects of Ensworth’s programs such as class size, skills encouraged, methods of assessing progress, and many more.” He says, “In my observations, I do find that the coed environment benefits students. They learn to work and learn with a broad range of people and personalities, and they learn to accept and honor diversity among their peers. In this setting, students have opportunities to practice leadership in mixed gender situations and to hone their abilities to collaborate on projects.”

“I also look at whether certain aspects of our program are benefiting teachers as they perform their jobs,” Mirzaie comments, “and these observations include many factors along with the coeducationa l classrooms. W hen analyzing the environment for teaching and its components, I try to determine whether a certain condition helps teachers get better at what they do, whether that condition encourages 6 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

more effective teaching. I believe that having both boys and girls working together in the academic setting promotes age-appropriate cooperation and encourages greater understanding of individuals and their differences. I have seen teachers use this aspect of their classrooms as a great vehicle for helping combat stereotypes.”

“As I sit in on classes with students ranging from young elementary grades through high school, I am observing that Ensworth students appear to exhibit a sense of freedom to experiment with ideas, an ability to make meaningful connections with peers, and they are inclined to develop the skills of collaboration and communication in positive ways,” he concludes.

“Ensworth students exhibit a sense of freedom to experiment with ideas, an ability to make meaningful connections with peers, and they are inclined to develop the skills of collaboration and communication in positive ways.”

Bobby Mirzaie Director of Curriculum and Instruction

y t i r g e t in

WHY

e l p o e p

of

Coeducation

“To be successful, young professionals need to know how to function as effective members of a team and to work in concert with others with differing skills and viewpoints to solve problems and make good decisions,” he states. “The core skills that Ensworth’s program seeks to impart to its students—observation, communication, collaboration—are keys to success in today’s professional environment.”

Dr. Neal Patel Ensworth Parent

D R . N E AL PAT E L

Dr. Neal Patel is the parent of two Ensworth graduates: daughter Alyssa, Class of 2010, and son Rajiv, a member of the Class of 2013, as well as daughter Maya, currently a ninth grader. Dr. Patel wears several hats at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, serving as Professor of Clinical Pediatrics as well as Chief Medical Informatics Officer for the Vanderbilt Health System.

Son Rajiv chose to attend Ensworth independent of the fact that his older sister had selected the program, Patel states.

Rajiv, now a Vanderbilt University sophomore, exhibits communication skills that allow him to work effectively with people individually or in small groups—skills that had their foundations in his Ensworth experience.

“My children who have graduated have very different interests,” Dr. Patel says. “We found that Ensworth’s program served them both well. Alyssa earned her degree from the University of North Carolina. She very much enjoys an environment with great diversity, and Ensworth’s coeducational setting and programs supported her in that area. She was able to build upon her Ensworth experience and explore further her passion for service because of the confidence she gained in working with many types of people at Ensworth. Those abilities are enhancing her current experience as an eighth grade math teacher in Nashville where she works with the Teach For America program.”

Going beyond his observations of his own children, Dr. Patel states that, in his world of medicine and the rapidly changing field of informatics in health care, it’s not just mastery of content or competence that matters. “To be successful, young professionals need to know how to function as effective members of a team and to work in concert with others with differing skills and viewpoints to solve problems and make good decisions,” he states. “The core skills that Ensworth’s program seeks to impart to its students—observation, communication, collaboration —are keys to success in today’s professional environment.”

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WHY

Coeducation

S AN DY C O C H R AN

Sandy Cochran, Ensworth parent and business leader, arrives at similar conclusions from a different perspective.

Cochran, President and Chief Executive Officer of multistate restaurant corporation Cracker Barrel, is the parent of daughter Katherine, an Ensworth graduate in the Class of 2012, and son Quin, a current senior looking forward to graduation with the Class of 2015.

s o s ci r ot

t r n i b o C u

to

About choosing Ensworth’s program for their children, Cochran says, “Actually Don and I did not choose Ensworth for Katherine and Quin—they chose it for themselves.

When we moved to Nashville we gave them the choice of what school they wanted to attend. They both looked at a number of school options—coed and single-sex—and both independently chose Ensworth. I believe the fact that Ensworth is coed was a significant factor in both their decisions. At that point in their lives they had been around enough successful people in various fields—business, the military, the law— to know that it’s a coed world out there.

This is not to take anything away from single-sex schools —for many kids that may be exactly the right choice.

But ours chose Ensworth, and I must say that I agreed with their choice at the time, and it has turned out that Ensworth was the right school for both of them.”

In Sandy’s role, she sees parallels in the work force and the Ensworth experience. Her company, Cracker Barrel, employs staff at all levels for some 600 locations across 42 states. We asked her: “If you were designing the ideal educational preparation for successful workers/parents/ people/members of a community in the 21st century, what would it look like?” She replied, “Innovation, communication, and collaboration are three of the most important attributes that lead to success in the modern world, and these are stressed and practiced in meaningful ways at Ensworth.”

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ety

Cochran’s own education and early career path included several coeducational institutions and service as an officer in the military. She comments, “Obviously many factors influence who we become as adults. A good education— in my case one with a significant component of diversity not only in gender but in other ways—was a huge factor in making me the person I am. Even more fundamental, however, was a mindset instilled in me by my family that two of the most important things in life are an exceptional education and service to country and community.” She adds, “At least from the female perspective, the military and business settings are absolutely a coed environment— you either work well with members of both sexes, or it is more difficult to succeed.”

The Robotics Team is a great example of collaboration through age and gender. This year both teams advanced to State. One team, Team Brainiacs, won first place at District.

“Innovation, communication, and collaboration are three of the most important attributes that lead to success in the modern world, and these are stressed and practiced in meaningful ways at Ensworth.”

Sandy Cochran Ensworth Parent

WHY

Coeducation

It is time . . . to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) American Author & Poet

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AC AD E M I C S

3D Design Technology

An Interview with Mike Ireland, High School Science Department Chair Mary Byrne Dailey Director of Creative Services

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO OFFER THIS CLASS AT ENSWORTH? Ensworth has an enormously talented group of student artists—both visual and performing artists. I felt this was a great way to merge the artistic talents at Ensworth with engineering and science. The 3D Design Technology class gives students the opportunity to tap into their artistic potential and show their creativity.

Professionally, designers are both artists and engineers, working in every sector of the economy. There are numerous special areas of design in which creative men and women enjoy successful a nd rewa rding careers, creating technology to solve ever yday cha l leng ing problems.

This class was the perfect blend for a coeducational setting.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE CLASS. The first seven weeks focus on technical drawing. Students learn the basics of drafting including scaling, dimensioning, layout and using measuring equipment such as digital calipers. They start by drafting models and structures, then make isometric drawings, followed by creating orthographic projections (multi-view drawings). Some projects include taking small objects and scaling up or large objects and scaling down.

The second half of the course shifts focus to using CAD (Computer Aided Design), and once their drawings are on a computer, they print their designs to a 3D printer.

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The students start with one-piece structures working individually, and as the Semester progresses, the class morphs into working in teams with more complex objects to draft and print.

This teamwork simulates the approach that is used in industry today.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE A FLIPPED CLASSROOM APPROACH? A flipped classroom involves students watching online video lessons created by the teacher for homework and using class time for problem-solving. As a teacher, it’s a lot more work on the front-end to create the online videos, but it worked out great. First of all, students can’t take home drafting equipment and 3D printers, so they have to do much of the hands-on work in the classroom. Also, the students learn how to draft at their own pace. If they need to understand better, they can watch the video again or pause the video and take notes. Each day the students start class with knowledge and experience, which helps us jump into our project in-class. Working on projects at school, rather than home, is beneficial because I am nearby for guidance (along with their peers).

The 3D Design Technology class exceeded my expectations. Learning how to design objects and working with the 3D printer to see your design be printed was awesome. Mr. Ireland made the class enjoyable as he was just as excited and energetic about the class as the students were.

I am interested in pursuing engineering in college after taking this class and several others!

– Coleman Goodwin Class of 2016

The thing I most enjoyed about the class was being able to

print what we’d designed. It was really cool to be able to have a concrete representation of what we’d been working on. I think it’s really incredible that Ensworth has such an opportunity like this available to students.

– Victoria Bell Class of 2015

AC AD E M I C S

HOW DID STUDENTS RESPOND? Many of the students thrive in this learning environment—especially the kinesthetic learners. Some students sign up for the class because they are excited to use a 3D printer, but discover they won’t be using the printer until the second half of the semester (the entire first half of the semester was technical drawing). However, I am amazed at how many of the students really enjoy the entire process—not just using the 3D printer. Interestingly, a number of students remark on how they enjoy being able to use math skills in a real life application, especially when we practice dimensioning and scaling. Through drafting by hand—rather than going straight from software to the 3D printer—the students can understand the process better and see the big picture.

The skill sets attained from the drafting experience prove to be very beneficial during the CAD component of the course.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED AS A TEACHER? It is rewarding to see the students collaborate by helping and challenging each other. Often times there are various solutions—not just one way to solve the problem—so it’s really impressive to see the students experience the multiple pathways to the finished product then share their solutions with each other. The students don’t always get it right the first time. Sometimes they design things that fail, learn from it, and improve upon them. Seeing the students evolve within each project is most rewarding. Substantial risks are taken by each student as this class is uncharted territory for all of them. It is encouraging for me to see that our students are not afraid of taking intellectual risks. They are comfortable with knowing they may not get something right on the first attempt. This trait reflects students who are capable of generating original ideas—because they are not afraid of failing.

The novelty of the 3D printer is that a work seems to appear from thin air. In reality, there are numerous steps, hours of work, and especially thinking to design something that will stand up on its own, and even then it may not print the way you expected. The experience of designing something, printing it, discovering a flaw, fixing its design, and printing it again is invaluable.”

– Ginny Boehm Class of 2015

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AC AD E M I C S

HIGH SCHOOL

My Day at the Harkness “Three things I took away from my day at the Harkness table: be prepared, participate and respect others.”

Jasmine Davis Communications & Special Events

“H ARKNESS” IT ’S THE ENSWORTH BUZZWORD; it’s what student learns to navigate their freshman year; it’s the greatest tool we utilize for fostering confidence and curiosity in our students. After my day as a Harkness student, I can attest its value is priceless.

My journey started with a discussion on World War II and The France Campaign in the classroom of history buff and Ensworth legend, Mr. Chanaca. Before we began, I was introduced to the rubric system he uses for grading his Harkness discussions. It is largely based on the student’s self evaluation. After each discussion, students submit their own scores based on what they believe their participation was. After the first five minutes of class, I was floored by how prepared these students were to discuss and their genuine desire to listen and to be heard. Students debated one another 12 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

with confidence and listened with respect. When two students began to speak at the same time, the more gregarious one encouraged his peer, “No you go first, we haven’t heard from you yet.”

My next jaunt was Ms. Morgan’s seminar class. She told me they would be discussing “Twitter… the Pros and Cons.” As the Ensworth social media manager, this topic is right up my alley.

Finally, I could bring something to the “table.” When the discussion began, I found myself rethinking some of my own social media life choices. Although a discussion on social media could have easily been driven by emotion or opinion, students took the time to research and form their arguments before sitting down at the table.

My last stop was in English department chair Mrs. Mark’s class. Her freshman class was discussing book twenty in The Odyssey. This discussion differed from the others in how the teacher took a back-seat and allowed the students to explore themes with one another. At one point, there was a specific word in the text that confused everyone. Instead of immediately turning to Mrs. Marks for answers, a student took initiative

and researched the answer for himself.

If I had to use one word to describe this Harkness discussion, it would be “motivated.” Students do the work themselves because they genuinely want answers. Mrs. Marks empowered her students to be responsible for their own learning.

Three things I took away from my day at the Harkness table: be prepared, participate and respect others. You can’t sit at a Harkness table and fake it when everyone else has come prepared for the discussion. Students find ways to be part of the conversation; even the more timid or shy students can later add comments to the class Google doc for points and are always encouraged by peers to participate. Lastly, students learn to respect the process of debate, discussion and difference of opinion in ways that will serve them in college classes, work place forums and throughout their communities.

AC AD E M I C S

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes “A ND TO BE CONTRIBUTORS TO SOCIETY.” In every community, there are needs. Some are clear, others are more subtle. The question is: how will they be met and who will meet them? ¡ Artwork by

This fall, the sixth-grade history teachers brought modern context to one of the most ancient needs — hunger. While studying the challenges faced by emerging civilizations, students learned about modern-day “food deserts” (places where healthy affordable food is scarce). They examined USDA maps and discovered “food deserts” in Nashville, where people walk over a mile for groceries. To give further context, students trekked a mile around the track carrying a grocery bag filled with a gallon of water and canned goods.

Equipped with this knowledge and experience, the sixth grade set a school record collecting food for the annual Second Harvest food drive. When learning involves mind, body and emotions, students are more engaged in the content. Service learning is an integral part of the Ensworth curriculum. It is applied in classroom discussions, incorporated throughout each subject, and practiced in meaningful projects and partnerships.

Emory Sonsino, ‘26

LOWER SCHOOL

An “Owl”-standing Time!

Wildlife visits to the First Grade “Thematic units of study allow the students to really explore, in depth, a variety of topics. Owls are fascinating animals that have been associated with wisdom. Therefore, I start the year off with an owl unit.”

Dr. K.K. Wynn First Grade

¡ Sixth grade history class walks a mile for empathy

“When students are connected to and knowledgeable about a particular issue, they are empowered to learn and serve more deeply and thoughtfully.”

Hayley Brantley History Department & Middle School Service Learning Coordinator

Who, who…….who is learning everything you could possibly know about owls? Dr. Wynn’s first-grade students had a special visitor from Owl’s Hill as part of their owl unit.

During this unit of study, students listen to books about owls and research and write about this animal known as the silent flier. They are introduced to a rich vocabulary and begin to understand the owl’s importance to nature.

Owl’s Hill nature sanctuary is a protected green space in northwestern Williamson County, whose usage is dedicated to a mission of education, conservation and restoration of the owl species. Students were able to witness the wing span of an owl and even see two tiny baby owls firsthand.

After the presentation, students got out their magnifying glasses to dissect owl pellets. It can often contain plant matter, feathers, claws and even teeth!

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AC AD E M I C S

FOR T H E R E C OR D HIGH SCHOOL Middle Tennessee State Orchestra Hannah Smalley ’17, was chosen to perform in Middle Tennessee State Orchestra.

She represented Ensworth as one of the best tenth grade violinists in all of Tennessee and was selected through a rigorous audition process.

Scholastic Art Competition Gold Key Kayce Boehm ’15 - “Goose and Gander” (printmaking) Silver Key Kaelene DeCoster ’16 - “Bounce” (black and white film) Rita Johnson ’18 - “Underwater” (digital photo) Jonas Wood ’15 - “Distraction” (black and white film) Honorable Mention Sarah Cooley ’16 - “Trapped in a Cycle” (multiple digital images assembled in Photoshop) Rebekah Greenberg ’16 - “The Looking Glass” (digital photo) Claire Joyce ’15 - “Mr. McGraw” (digital photo) Perri Wiatrak ’16 - “Finer with Age” (color film)

Middle Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition Kayce Boehm ’15 “Goose and Gander”, Best of Printmaking Sage Loh ’16 Graphite Drawing “Bird and Sky”

Nashville Civitans Nipper A.D. Hancock Award

Ginny Boehm ’15 Linoleum Print “Eioche is Born” Kaelene DeCoster ’16 Black and White Photography “Bounce”

P.J. Settles ’15 was named winner of the Nashville Civitans Nipper/ A.D. Hancock Award. The award recognizes outstanding sportsmanship on and off the football field. Awards were presented to six Nashville area high school football players and two local college players.

Symphony Visits Ensworth In January, the Ensworth high school students had a special visit from the Nashville Symphony. This was the first time that the Nashville Symphony performed at an independent school. What a privilege!

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(top left) Kayce Boehm (top right) “Goose and Gander” by Kayce Boehm (left) “Bounce” by Kaelene DeCoster

AC AD E M I C S

National Merit Scholars Congratulations to seniors Kayce Boehm, Ben Frumkin,

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Austen Hertik, Emma Hood, Aislinn Murphy, and Bailey Murphy who have been named Semifinalists in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program.

School Winner and Award

AP Scholars NATIONAL AP SCHOLAR

Average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken and 4 or higher on 8 or more exams

Class of 2014 Benton Rose

of Distinction (top 1% nationally) Chandler Telfer Parker Wade Lynn Whitfield AP SCHOLAR

AP SCHOLAR

Scores of 3 or higher on 3 or more AP Exams

WITH DISTINCTION

Class of 2015

Average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken and 3 or higher on 5 or more exams

David Allen Kayce Boehm

Class of 2014

Ginny Boehm

Beau Allen

Reagan Caldwell

Bobby Bethke

Lilly Chadwick

Elizabeth Cox

Liam Cronin

Shelby Crants

Anna Denson

Josh Daugherty

Austen Hertik

Gilchrist Green

Lili Johnston

Mary Kate Hannon

Aislinn Murphy

Alex Holton

Caroline Sheridan

Sally Krebs

Emma Sloan

Alexandra Liggett

Laura Catherine Wallace

Hunter Merryman Pete Nordlund Richard Rolapp

AP SCHOLAR

Evanne Dill

Class of 2015 Ben Frumkin Emma Hood Bailey Murphy Class of 2014

Algebra I Gold - Colin Murray ’20 Silver - Hailey Braemer ’19, Ryan Crants ’20, Caroline Frist ’19

Colin Murray, ‘20

Bronze - Luke Lapré ’19, William Seitz ’19 6th Grade

Gold - Nell Harris, Thomas McRae, Chloe Rollins Silver - Claire Chidsey, Sam Meacham Bronze - Isabella Davé 7th Grade Gold - Max Moeller, Katie Patel Silver - Dante Rodriguez Bronze - Kaitlyn Crosby, John Noonan, Liam Savona

Daniel Beaird Grace Chang

Average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken and 3 or higher on 4 or more exams

Colin Murray ’20

Class of 2014

Casey Rose

WITH HONOR

American Math Contest (AMC 8)

Casey Close Will Garside Ellen Hardcastle William Johnson Ella Mann Becca Rolfe Kaeley Scott Natalie Smith Ashley Wines

Orange & Black Captains Orange Team Drake Elcan & Caroline Frist Black Team George Corzine & Allison Halloran

Little League World Series In August, Drew Byers ‘20 and his South Nashville baseball team played in the Little League World series.

Battle Kenney Abby Mudter 2015 WINTER | 15

AR T S

ART

NEWS

Collaboration in Colors Studio Art students use their talents for the community.

If you have ever driven under the train track overpass at Old Hickory and Highway 100, then you know how disappointing it is to see graffiti tagging in the neighborhood. Art Teacher Cati Blitz and her studio art students are taking the initiative to help beautify this area of Nashville.

¡ (top left) Ms. Blitz’s studio art class by their mural ¡ (top) Kate Clements ‘15 holds a study of the artwork. ¡ (left) It’s not all work.

In the Fall of 2010 (after the flood) students from Ensworth, Hillwood and Nashville Christian met to collaborate on the design of a mural to hang on the overpass. Designs were to incorporate historical and contemporary aspects of the Bellevue community, including Edwin Warner Park. Since this is a service project, students paint for eight hours each service learning day.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our art students to learn to collaborate on a large scale. This is very close to large set design and painting techniques used in theater productions.”

Cati Blitz High School Art

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Be on the lookout!

The mural will go on the overpass at Old Hickory and HW Y100. Each section is 16ft x 16ft.

AR T S

Artists in the Community Jack Alcott, Caroline Hunt, Briana Middleton, and Sophie Scott have a passion for the visual and performing arts. Earlier this year, these students were recognized in the November issue of the Nashville Arts Magazine for their contribution to the Nashville arts community. ¡ Read the article online at NashvilleArts.com

Jack Alcott Since he was young, Jack Alcott has loved acting. Roles in children’s community theatre, middle school and high school plays gave way to professional theatre productions.

Part of what draws him to the stage and to acting is his extroverted personality.

When he is on stage, he feels connected with the audience and his peers. “Your relationship with the audience is very gratifying and fun, because they are cheering you on. You’ve prepared a gift for them, and they have come to watch you just to accept your gift and congratulate you and cheer you on,” Jack reflects. In addition to acting, Jack plays the saxophone and bowls. In fact, he was state runner-up in the TSSAA bowling tournament last year.

Sophie Scott Since being in high school at Ensworth, Sophie’s love for dance has grown. “I was primarily a ballet dancer for the majority of my lower and middle school years. When I came to high school, and became a part of the Dance Company, I was exposed to so many different styles that I have grown to love.”

Adding contemporary, lyrical, modern, tap, jazz, and even hip-hop to her repertoire has inspired her to pursue musical theatre and acting to her resume.

Attending summer intensive programs all over the United States “has helped me have a glimpse into the life of a professional dancer,” and fueled her dream to continue to pursue dancing and acting for the future.

Briana Middleton Singing is Briana’s first love. “It’s the best way I know to communicate to an audience.

When I sing there are no boundaries or limits on what I can convey,” she says. As many members of the Ensworth community have experienced, “one of her greatest strengths is her willingness to be present with her audience and her desire to bring them into the moment,” explains Nashville Arts Magazine’s Rebecca Pierce. Briana finds motivation amongst her peers, she says that she likes “to surround myself with people who are better and smarter than me. It’s humbling and productive at the same time.”

Caroline Hunt Caroline Hunt is “diligently acquiring the expertise she will need to make her vision a reality,” says Nashville Arts. That vision is to one day become a one-of-akind designer creating “stories that will one day be worn and told on the street.” Caroline has embraced the importance of learning about every aspect of design, which helped her “learn how to take ideas from your head, put them on paper, and manipulate them to make a collection.” She has worked with a couture designer to perfect her sewing and handwork, as well as attended Central Saint Martins in London for a summer.

While at Ensworth, Caroline has been involved in Theatre, where she focused on costuming. “Last fall, she made the costumes for six girls in the school’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a corset and two skirts for each girl.” This year, the up-and-coming designer has taken on the challenge of completing a Capstone Project, where she is using printmaking methods to create images on fabric, embellished with handwork.

2015 WINTER | 17

AR T S

DIRECTOR’S NOTES Sometimes, there are easy choices. Selecting Charlotte’s Web as our middle school musical was one of those for me. To begin with, it is such an iconic and unforgettable piece of literature. That is the reason Ensworth pre-first grade teachers read it to their students and our fourth graders study its themes and characters in class. Who among us wasn’t sucked into E.B White’s bittersweet story of friendship and loss upon reading his first line: “Where’s Papa going with that ax?”

Middle School Drama Club Fall Play Saturday, November 15, 2014

18 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

This fall, I had the good fortune of having Megan Florentine as part of the Charlotte’s Web team. As a pre-first grade teacher, she

has read Charlotte’s Web to her students for years. We benefited from her familiarity with the book as she lovingly reworked our script (with permission from the playwright—a mentor of mine) so that it stayed as true to E.B. White’s voice as possible.

This production was the first in which I had the privilege of collaborating with two outstanding musical directors, Heidi Wolter and Grace Tseng.

It was thrilling to watch them teach intricate and complex harmonies to our kids. The bar of my expectations rose higher at every rehearsal, and the vocal performances they elicited from our cast gave me chills. I am excited to work with them on future productions, and I know they are already full of ideas for next year and beyond.

AR T S

The best aspect of Charlotte’s Web for all of us on the Middle School Drama Team was the unique group of middle school students who made up the cast and crew. They came ready to be challenged, had their lines memorized and harmonies mastered in record time, and they were so much fun to play with that I never wanted to send them home. Instead of depending on a select few strong singers to carry the show, we were able to create a full sound with a variety of powerful, glorious voices, blending and contrasting throughout the production. As Charlotte herself would agree, they were nothing short of ‘radiant.’

On the evening of our performance I crossed paths with an Ensworth pre-first grader dressed in full post-Halloween

spider costume, complete with spider glasses and ring. She had already seen Charlotte’s Web at Assembly the day before, but like many of her friends, was back for a repeat viewing. Every now and then I peeked at her during the performance. She was easy to find, what with all the legs.

There she sat, eyes glued to the stage, mouthing every word of the songs. I realized we had our first groupie. For weeks afterward, her teacher told me of the passionate writing workshop stories she was penning about the Charlotte’s Web characters; retelling E.B. White’s story, wondering about possible sequels, critiquing our performance.

There is no higher compliment to our charismatic young actors and crew than a young fan with the enthusiasm

of Wilbur and the writing acumen of Charlotte, checking out her heroes through a pair of spider glasses.

Hope Moeller Drama Club Director Second Grade Teacher

¡ Feeling dramatic, faculty members Hope Moeller, Heidi Wolter, Linden Lantz and Bruce Libonn, serenade the Charlotte’s Web audience

2015 WINTER | 19

AR T S

High School Theater Fall Play

Saturday, November 22, 2014 20 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

AR T S

DIRECTOR’S NOTES When our current seniors were freshmen performing in their first show at the high school, I described Shakespeare’s King Lear as being “as close to a sacred text as a secular text can get.” Well, I’m not sure if I’m ready to go that far with A Christmas Carol, but Dickens’ story does make demands of us on a deeply spiritual level. Despite its title, there really is no theology in it that pertains to Christianity any more directly than it does to another faith, or to any moral creed rooted in a life of

selflessness, service, charity and gratitude. When the Ghost of Christmas Present rebukes Scrooge’s exclamation that the starving poor had better get on with it and die—and thus decrease the “surplus population”—she tells him that he had better learn exactly “what the surplus is, and where it is.” I cannot hear this line without thinking of King Lear and his own conversion as he charges himself, and those in power like him, to shake the “superflux” from them, so that charity may “undo excess and each man have enough.”

Dickens’ story challenges us

to love one another well, even when that means thinking of ourselves a bit less. But the story offers us comfort too: the comfort that, when we do give of ourselves, we stand to receive even greater blessings in return. Putting this show together alongside my students has been both a challenge and a comfort to me.

As always, I remain grateful for the opportunity to work with them and beside them. It is a blessing.

David Berry English & Arts High School

2015 WINTER | 21

AT H L E T I C S

Coeducation

in

Athletics

The value of a coeducational environment extends beyond the classroom and into extracurricular and athletic activities. While most competitive sports are segregated by gender, there are a few sports at Ensworth where boys and girls practice and compete together, such as swimming, tennis, golf, cross country and track. Coaches of these sports witness the benefits of boys and girls working together as teammates and challenging each other to excel.

22 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

AT H L E T I C S

“The biggest value in a sport like swimming is that everyone is a teammate, working and striving together for common goals. So when a boy watches ¡ Golf team members Garrison Hogan ‘15, Lindsay Miller ‘15, and Matt Lale ‘15

“At swim meets, you’ll see boys and “When our girls

girls cheering for

played in a tennis

each other, talking

tournament, the boys

about the races,

showed up to cheer

chatting in between

them on without

events. It provides

anyone asking them

some positive

to. The same thing

social interaction

happened when the

away from school,

boys played in the

since they are

tournament; the girls

all swimming or

came to show their

diving for the

support. There is

same team.”

a bond that forms when they see themselves as one team.”

Chelsy Hooper Swimming Middle School

Grace Keeble Tennis and Golf Middle School

his female teammate race, he knows how much work she has put into practice and his desire to support her comes from that shared background in hard, honest training. Boys and girls who train together don’t cheer for each other as fans or spectators, but as teammates who are invested in each others’ dreams and goals.”

Christian Bahr Swimming High School

“The value of boys and girls working together on a team is that they learn the basic skills of working, communicating and competing with and against the opposite gender which will serve them well in life. We live in a co-ed world, and it is important for children to have plenty of opportunities to work with the opposite gender in different environments.”

Tish Picklesimer Cross Country & Track Middle School

“Co-ed value arises when boys and girls of similar playing levels, but different playing styles, practice together. As a coach, I find it quite rewarding to explain the importance of honest line calls, respecting one’s opponent, and representing yourself and your team with exceptional dignity. If boys and girls are taught together, it can create a feeling of comradeship and healthy competition among them.”

Greg Chambers Tennis High School 2015 WINTER | 23

HIGH SCHOOL

TWO INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPIONS CONGRATULATIONS, Ti ge rs!

BROCK OCHSENREITER Boys Golf

24 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

EMMA SLOAN Cross Country

FALL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS FOOTBALL

The Ensworth football team enjoyed another successful year on the gridiron. The Tigers opened the season with a home victory over national powerhouse Louisville Trinity. Following wins over Brainerd and JPII, the Tigers came back from a halftime deficit at Father Ryan to start the year 4-0. After a disappointing road defeat at the hands of McCallie, the Tigers bounced back with an overtime victory at rival MBA. After victories over Giles County and Baylor, the Tigers finished the regular season with a win over Brentwood Academy. Entering the playoffs with a record of 8-1, the Tigers opened with a first round bye, before easily defeating Briarcrest in the Quarterfinals. After a thrilling Semifinal victory over Memphis University School, the Tigers headed back to Cookeville in search of a fifth straight state title. In a hard-fought rematch with MBA, the Tigers lost by a score of 10-7. The Tigers ended a 10-2 season as DII-AA State Runner-Up. Many Tigers received individual honors and recognition over the course of the season. Rico McGraw was named an Army All-American, while Myles Douglas was nominated for the DII-AA Mr. Football Award.

Donovan Sheffield was named Co-Defensive MVP of the conference, and was joined

on the 2014 All-Conference Team by Myles Douglas,

Thomas Freeland, Trent Holt, Brycen Hopkins, Greg McCloud, Rico McGraw, Darius Morehead, Nash Moorer, and PJ Settles. All

ten of those players were also named to the 2014 TSWA AllState Team. Myles Douglas, Rico McGraw, and Donovan Sheffield were also named to the 2014 All-Midstate 1st team, while Greg McCloud and Darius Morehead were named to the 2nd team. Daniel Mangum received the All-Conference Scholar Athlete award.

CROSS COUNTRY

The cross country season came to an end on Saturday November 1st. State Champion Emma Sloan led the women’s team with a time of 18:36.

Junior Sage Loh placed 15th and received All-State honors with a time of 20:36. The women’s team made up of Emma

Sloan, Sage Loh, Corinne Brooks, Bailey Francis, Reagan Caldwell, Courtney Daddario, and Ellie Clark

placed 7th overall. The men’s team was led by senior Jack Runyon-Hass with a time of 18:27 and sophomore Connor Galvez with a time of 19:20.

The men’s team made up of

Jack Runyon-Hass, Connor Galvez, Donnie Lawrence,

Riley McCormick, Nathan Earl, Wiley McDougall, and Owen Alsup placed 10th overall. Emma Sloan was chosen

to be on the All-Region team.

BOYS GOLF

The Ensworth golf team finished State Runner-up as well as Regional runner-up.

The state finish is the highest finish in school history.

Brock Ochsenreiter was the individual state champion with a two day total of 141 (71-70).

He is the first boy individual to win the championship. Garrison Hogan tied for 5th in the State with a total of 151 (76-75).

Brock also was the Region individual champ with a school record of 65 at Tims Ford State Park. Brock was selected first team all Mid-State while Garrison was selected to the second team.

GIRLS GOLF

The girls golf team finished Regional runner-up and third in State. Lindsay Miller finished 4th overall in the State. She was selected to the second team All Mid-State.

GIRLS SOCCER

A young girls’ varsity soccer team finished the season with a record of 7-8-2. Regular season highlights included victories over eventual DII-A state champion Battle Ground

Academy and local rival Christ Presbyterian Academy.

Additionally, the team played a hard-fought game against eventual DII-AA state champion Girls Preparatory School, losing 1-0. In the first round of the state tournament, the girls avenged a regular season Senior Night defeat to Harpeth Hall by defeating the Honey Bears 3-1 on their Senior Night. Emily Patton made both All-State and All-Region for the Tigers.

VOLLEYBALL

The Ensworth Lady Tigers volleyball team wrapped up a very successful season in October by finishing 4th overall in the State Championship in Murfreesboro. The team finished 2nd overall in the Mideast Region. The Lady Tigers had an exceptional regular season with matches against eight different teams who were in the state Tournament. Ensworth Volleyball finished in the top 16 in the very prestigious Brentwood Invitational and 3rd in the Father Ryan Invitational.

Led by All Mideast Region and All Mid State second team selection Becca Smith, the team progressed and improved throughout the season.

Congrats, Tigers!

Three Ensworth Seniors signed to play a collegiate sport.

Lindsay Miller (left) signed with Tennessee Tech, Golf.

Garrison Hogan (middle) signed with Furman, Golf.

Mackenzie Minnick (right) signed with Mercer, Lacrosse.

2015 WINTER | 25

26 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

MIDDLE SCHOOL

VOLLEYBALL

Forty-two 7th and 8th grade girls played volleyball this fall. They participated on four teams. The C-teams had success this year developing their skills while playing in seven competitive playdays. The JV team had an exciting year with victories over Harpeth Hall, Lipscomb, USN and Goodpasture. The Varsity team grew to be a competitive team playing a hard fought match versus Goodpasture in the HVAC tournament.

GIRLS GOLF

Annabel Frist was the HVAC Champion (32-1 under par).

BOYS GOLF

The boys golf team was led by Stephen Turner and Sam Banks who were the HVAC co-champions each shooting a 33 (2 under par each). Julian Maxwell and DeWitt Thompson added their skill for a 3 shot win to become 2014 HVAC Team Champions.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Led by some dynamic 6th grade runners and some seasoned 8th grade veterans, the 2014 Ensworth boys’ middle school cross country team improved steadily each and every week of the season. They ran competitively in each meet, finishing second as a team in four of the five meets leading up to

the HVAC Finals. In the HVAC Finals, the boys ran in the highly competitive AA Division where, although almost all the boys ran personal bests, they finished in fifth place as a team. In the HVAC Finals, the boys were led by John Aguirre (30th place), George Corzine (31st place), and Raleigh Berggren (35th place).

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

The 2014 Ensworth girls’ middle school cross country team started the year with a bang, winning their first meet at USN, their second meet at BGA, and their third meet at home. All the girls ran well, improving their times in almost every race. Sadly, multiple injuries to several of the top runners hindered the team as they prepared for the HVAC Finals.

In spite of these setbacks, the girls ran with grit and determination in the HVAC Finals and finished a respectable fourth place in the highly competitive AA Division. Leading the Tigers in the final race were Hailey Braemer (13th place), Sara Pickrell (14th place), and

Mary Chandler McGuffin (22nd place).

FOOTBALL

The 2014 Ensworth Middle School finished its season against McCallie with a 34-0 loss. The overall 2014 record

was 1-5. The highlight of the season was a come from behind victory over FRA. Even though the team was out-sized each week, the team never quit and improved throughout the season. Evan Coleman, Dante Wynn, Worth Scott, and Josh Howard were two-year starters and did a terrific job leading the team. Evan Coleman, Josh Howard, and Lewis McDaniel were voted captains by the team at the end of the year.

GIRLS SOCCER

The Varsity Girls soccer team had an incredible 2014 season.

Led by Captains Hailey Braemer and Mary Chandler McGuffin, the Tigers boasted a 4-1-2 regular season, beating rival Brentwood Academy and tying rival Harpeth Hall. Lead scorers for the team were Allison

Halloran, Hailey Braemer, Sara Pickrell, and Lilly Smith. They were supported by Avery Smith and Annabel Frist who shared

All-HVAC: Allison Halloran, Hailey Braemer and Mary Chandler McGuffin

BOYS SOCCER

The boys soccer team had great participation and finished as the HVAC Silver Division Runner-Up.

WRESTLING

Ensworth had six wrestlers in the tournament, four made it to the consolation finals.

The skill and technique of our wrestlers was equal to or better than the skill and technique of any of the other wrestlers in the room. Two of our wrestlers in the consolation finals were 6th graders.

In the HVAC, Alex Bond finished in 3rd Place (82 lbs.), Adam Garfinkel in 3rd Place (88 lbs.), Henry Bright in 3rd Place (100 lbs.), and Thomas McRae finished in 4th Place (107 lbs.).

goalie duty for the season.

The Tigers beat USN 1-0 in the semi-finals to advance to the HVAC championship game where they finished 2nd place to Harpeth Hall in a hard fought 1-0 loss. Most importantly, the girls worked hard, had fun, and came together as a team, which is the mark of a very successful season.

2015 WINTER | 27

COM MUNI TY

1

2

Grandparents Day LOWER/MIDDLE SCHOOL

3

4

November 25, 2014

5

6

Students 1 Noah Jamison ‘21 & Nori Jamison ‘26 2 The first grade performs 3 Rico Edwards ‘26 4 Ariana Sowell ‘25 5 Harper Dale ‘22 & A.J. Dale ‘24 6 Diana Barrett ‘25 7 Max Sonsino ‘25 8 (Left to Right) Alexander Sifford ‘24, Mary Chandler McGuffin ‘19, Caroline Sifford ‘26, Jackson McGuffin ‘26, Claiborne Sifford ‘22

7

8 28 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

COM MUNI TY

b

a

c

d

Grandparents Day HIGH SCHOOL

e

October 3, 2014

f

Students a Reed Williams ‘18 b Lanier Mason ‘18 c Carmel Buckingham ‘16 sings with the rock band d Corinne Brooks ‘16, Chloe B. Abram ‘18 & Briana Middleton ‘16 perform in the assembly e Jordan Zagerman ‘15 f Carter Pankow ‘17 g Synia Hall ‘18 h Taylor Phillips ‘15

g

h 2015 WINTER | 29

COM MUNI TY

a

b

Ensworth Events LOWER/MIDDLE SCHOOL

c 30 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

COM MUNI TY

d

e

f

g

h

i

a 8th Grade Pancake Breakfast b Mary Meacham ‘03 and Lucy Wallace ‘03 at Pancake Breakfast c Ricky Bowers visits the Pre-first Grade d Mr. Sherland’s 4th Grade Play e Drake Elcan ‘19 and George Corzine ‘19 at Spirit Assembly f Aaron Mixon ‘24 at Chess Club g Gracie Sinks ‘19 and Camillle McRae ‘19 lead Pre-first grader Maddie Miller ‘27 on the first day of school h Myatt Mixon ‘26 at the 1st Grade Pet show i Ms. Smith’s 2nd Grade Puppet Show j Middle School Pumpkin Race j 2015 WINTER | 31

COMMUNITY a

b

Ensworth Events HIGH SCHOOL c

d

e

32 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

f

COMMUNITY g

i

h

j

a All Community Day b Homecoming Tailgate c All Community Day d Winter Choral Concert e Ensworth Orchestra f Alli Malone ‘18 at 9th Grade Book Signing g Music Assembly h Football State Sendoff i Sophie Scott, ‘16 at Special Olympics j Houston Vick ‘15 and Lila Sohr ‘16 at the One Act Plays

2015 WINTER | 33

COM MUNI TY

PARENT ASSOCIATION 2014-2015

PAR E N T

NEWS

President Amy Christiansen

Super Saturday SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015 Laura Bowen and Josephine Smithwick are chairing this year’s Super Saturday. Don’t miss this fun community event!

President-Elect Shannon McGuffin Secretary Katherine Cigarran Kirsten Crosby Treasurer Chandra Jamison Treasurer-Elect Carrie McLaren High School Representative Stephanie Sundock High School Representative-Elect Kim McRae

ENSWORTH E V ERY E NSWORTH

PA R ENT IS A

PARENT A SSO PARENT CIATION — and it takes every ASSOCIAT I O N Ensworth parent to make it work. Did you know more than 70 Room Parents and Grade Coordinators and nearly 60 Committee Chairs work on both campuses, supported by hundreds more Ensworth parents? The goal of the Parent Association is to build our community, educate our parents and support our school. The Parent Education Committee, new this year, was created to lead our efforts to provide meaningful and helpful information about parenting Build our Community topics like student d iscipl i ne, socia l Educate our Parents media, legal realities Support our School and cyberbullying.

Middle School Representative Christi Turner

MEMBER OF THE

RG_Sunshine Club_2012.indd 1

We are honored to have everyone collaborating to help strengthen our community and make Ensworth a special place for our children. Big thank you to committee chairs, grade coordinators, room parents, and the Parent Association Board for their leadership and dedication to our community.

Amy Christiansen Parent Association President

Thank You Auction Chairs Elizabeth Gerken, Jennie Garth Lowe, Janet Sterchi & Heather Wright invested countless hours for our community. Thank you to every volunteer and participant.

D Ensworth

Sunshine Committee

Building a strong community requires looking out for one another.

If you know of an Ensworth family who could use words of encouragement, a meal or just a helping hand, please contact the Sunshine Committee.

Contact information can be found online or in the Finding List.

34 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

Middle School Representative-Elect Barbara Smith Lower School Representative Jennifer Frist Lower School Representative-Elect Elena Rollins Tiger Club Chairs Monica McDougall Sally Nesbitt Fund Raising Chair Kristen Greer Parent9/13/12 Education Chair 1:23 PM Carolyn Hall Alumni Parent Reps Sara Baker Amy Colton Immediate Past President Katie Elcan At Large Members Candy Bass Jim Johnson Louis Upkins

COM MUNI TY

SAVE THE DATE 10th Annual Robert Inman Tiger Classic Monday, October 26, 2015

Congratulations!

1 S T P L AC E

Monday, September 15, 2014

Toby Wilt, Grace Keeble, Julie Frist, Tommy Frist

The Golf Club of Tennessee CHAIRS Stephanie and Forrest Conner Thank you to our generous sponsors!

Bricktop’s

Hale & Hale PLC

2 N D P L AC E

Craig Goguen, David Braemer, Phil Krebs, Toby Gray

Dr. and Mrs. Reuben A. Bueno

Josephine

Christie Cookie

McCarthy Jones & Woodard

Covenant Capital

Mira Winery

Crichton Group

Nat Harris Family

Cumberland Transit

Northwestern Mutual-Chad Greer

Dale Inc.

The Pasta Shoppe

The Dinkins Family

Premier Golf Services

Elite Sports Medicine

Sinema

Enterprise Electric

The Smithwick Family

Famous Dave’s

Sperry’s

Doug Hale, Neil Dyer, Michael McClellan, Jesse Felker

Flipside

Taqueria del Sol

PUTTING CONTE ST

Julie and Tommy Frist

Thompson Machinery

John Montgomery

Groove Inc.

Wyatt Johnson

3 R D P L AC E

2015 WINTER | 35

FAC U LT Y

FAC U LTY

NEWS

BI RT H S

WE DDI NG S

Andrew Smith (Grayson) Colton Bruce born August 18, 2014

Lemanski Hall to Leslie McClain May 31, 2014

Meg Cooper (Josh) Sonny Sanford Constantin Cooper born October 20, 2014

Alima Dubrulle to Joe O’Malley October 18, 2014

Molly Machleit (Braton) Rivers Blei born November 2, 2014 Jonas Rodriguez (Crockett) Jack Ruff born January 6, 2015 Chris Tuley (Aubrey) Carter Ruskin born January 6, 2015 Dillon Seigenthaler (Laura) Eli Wilton born January 20, 2015

¡ (Above) Faculty at the Red Gables campus pose in their festive holiday attire.

36 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

Robin Smith will serve as the Chair of the Geisel Committee, the companion group of the Caldecott, Newbery and Sibert Committees. The Committee determines the awards given to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year.

Connor Schutzman is a Certified Sports turf manager. He is one of about 350 in the U.S. to earn this title.

Elias Salazar conducted the Nashville Philharmonic at the Schermerhorn Center September 27 in the Laura Turner Concert Hall.

The Philharmonic played movements from Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, a movement of the Dvorak Violin Concerto, and Elias conducted Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture.

FAC U LT Y

B O OK S H E LF CHRISTINE DOZA

NIGEL LLOYD

Mathematics, High School

Spanish, Middle School

Midnight in Siberia

Time to be in Earnest

This book follows the author as he travels across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Express.

He is the former bureau chief of NPR’s Moscow office, so though the book is readable and chatty, Greene tackles lots of serious political and cultural issues within Russia and has good historical insight. Recommended!

An eye-opener, touching, moving account in diary form of one year in the life of the writer who has just died, in November 2014.

Author: David Greene Genre: Non-f iction

MYRA MCLAREY English, High School

HEIDI WOLTER Music, Lower School

Motherland, “Growing Up with the Holocaust”

Author: R ita Goldberg Genre: Memoir

This will hit the bookshelves in the US this spring. It was first published in Europe, written by Rita Goldberg (the goddaughter of Otto Frank). This story is about Rita’s mother, Margo Frank’s close friend, who evaded the Gestapo (unlike most of her family) and worked in the underground as a teenager, but it also explores what legacy means and how the children of survivors find purpose in their lives. Writing is exquisite.

Always a Tiger An Ensworth Story Coloring Book

Results Coaching; The New Essential for School Leaders Author: Kathr y n Kee Genre: Non-Fiction

Results coaching is a leadership model based on building coaching relationships with staff members to help them develop as professionals. Being a “coach leader” is a new identity that challenges a leader to “walk the talk,” growing and improving themselves before leading others.

Sometimes, a tiger walks

boldly

through the front doors.

Written by Tua Bultje

s Alway a

Illustrated by Lynn Vincent

ry orth Sto n Ensw

A

19

18

Author: P.D. Ja mes Genre: Autobiog raphy

Don’t miss this beautiful coloring book featuring a heart-warming poem by Tua Bultje, Third Grade teacher, and illustrated

by Lynn Vincent, Publications. Pick up a copy in the Admission Office!

2015 WINTER | 37

FAC U LT Y

FAC U LTY

FOCUS

KK W Y N N First Grade

T R E Y HOU S E Latin, Middle School

You have been at Ensworth for 2 years, but you are an old pro when it comes to the classroom. Tell us a little about your journey into education and Ensworth.

This school year marks my 17th year in education.

My mother was actually my elementary school principal. In my eyes, she was an amazing teacher and leader and inspired me to be a teacher too. Following my graduation from Peabody at Vanderbilt, I taught first grade for one year in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Following that first year, I moved on to teach third grade in Huntsville City Schools. Once I moved to Nashville, I taught second grade for two years. I left the classroom for an administrative opportunity and then returned to the classroom after being hired for a first grade position at Ensworth. When attending Peabody, I actually completed an arts practicum under Mrs. Rose Pickel. It was truly a dream to further my teaching career at Ensworth and to get to learn from Mrs. Pickel again, while cultivating new relationships with other professionals such as my teammates, Camy, Jen, and Jennifer.

Typically students don’t gravitate to the idea of Latin as a foreign language option. What are some challenges you face?

Going all the way back to my undergraduate days, if I had a dollar every time someone asked me “What can you do with Latin?” I’d be answering these questions from my beach house. While it’s true that you will be hard pressed to use Latin, strictly speaking, outside of the Vatican, that doesn’t make it a fruitless endeavor. Latin requires discipline, problem solving, critical thinking, analyzing, and integration skills just as much as any other subject.

Education is about more than learning what you need to get into college or to get a job. Those outcomes are obviously important, but they need to be the product of a good education, not the aim in and of itself.

If you had to pick one thing you hoped your first grade students left your class knowing what would it be?

If I could pick one thing that I hoped my first grade students left my class knowing, I hope that they have learned altruistic values that they will carry with them throughout their lives.

If you could trade places with any Ensworth teacher for a day who would it be and why?

I would trade places with Melissa Fogaros. She has all three of my children for math this year, and they all agree that she is an amazing teacher. I’m interested in seeing how she effectively teaches different children who have such varying needs.

38 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

What a sad and boring world it would be if we only learned things directly related to our work. If we wish to fulfill the Ensworth mission statement, we must be ready to embrace and encourage learning in all its forms.

What is your favorite lunch day in the cafeteria?

Chicken fajita day without a doubt. The new parfait cups for the faculty (sorry, students!) are quite delicious too.

If you could trade places with any Ensworth teacher for a day who would it be and why?

I’m not sure I would be an adequate replacement for any of the P1 teachers, but I would love to see them in action.

FAC U LT Y

C H R I S T IAN BAH R Director of Aquatics

T I F FAN Y TOWN S E N D Director of Marketing

Tell us a little bit about the typical day for you and what goes into running the Natatorium.

I typically arrive on campus before 5:30 am. I coach a Masters Swimming Team three days a week and a small group of Ensworth students two days a week.

Following a 7:40 a.m.

Fitness meeting it is time for the school day. Some days that means meeting, scheduling, and planning for things such as Swim School, Lifeguard classes, summer camps, facility maintenance, lifeguard schedules, parties, swim meets, etc. On other days my school day is filled with teaching classes to Ensworth students through our Fitness program. After school I work with a group of approximately 30 year-round swimmers, 8 of whom attend Ensworth. I also oversee our entire High School Swimming & Diving Team. I typically leave campus between 6:30 and 7:00 pm. The days are pretty full.

Marketing Director encompasses a lot of different aspects of advancing the school.

Tell us about your new marketing goals for Ensworth?

One of the first goals is to clarify our brand identity and ensure that our messaging is clear and consistent. We are emphasizing that Ensworth is one school, P1-12, with one mission and vision, and we are focusing our message on these core values that represent the heart of Ensworth.

Another goal is to strengthen our online presence. We recently redesigned our website to function as an online viewbook that more effectively showcases Ensworth to our external audience. We are also developing our social media portfolio through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and our blog.

As to what goes into running the Natatorium—very good people. I am incredibly fortunate to have a cadre of intelligent, excited, and passionate people with whom to work, from Krysten Call our Swim School Director to everyone who works in the Operations department. Their expertise, guidance, dedication, and joy are priceless assets to the programmatic success we strive for in Aquatics.

Oh…the last thing that goes into running this place? Plenty of chlorine.

If you could trade places with any Ensworth teacher for a day who would it be and why?

I would trade places with Dave Berry for theater class.

I have zero theater experience, but I have always been a literature lover and was, once upon a time, a writer. I think I’ve always enjoyed the written word because of the escape it provides from the everyday world and the ability to slip into someone’s life and experience.

You have been here for over 10 years. If you had to name one thing that really sets Ensworth apart from other schools what would that be?

I think what sets Ensworth apart is the way that we help each student discover and develop his/her voice. From the pre-first grade standing on the stage at the high school asking for pennies for Habitat, to the 2nd grade authors’ reception and 4th grade biography fair, to the middle school plays and the high school Harkness tables, our students are constantly challenged and encouraged to speak in front of and within groups. As a result, our students become very confident, articulate people who are prepared to engage in thoughtful, respectful discourse in any setting, which is a skill that will serve them well no matter what path they take in life.

If you could be a student for a day, what class would you want to take?

I have always wanted to be adept in both visual and performance arts, even though I have no natural talent in either area. I think I would spend my day sampling classes in the arts department: ceramics, photography, acting, guitar, dance, etc. How I wish I was a renaissance woman!

2015 WINTER | 39

ALU M N I

ENSWORTH Alumni

C LAS S NOT E S WEDDINGS Allison Clark Bates ’92 married Stephen Buford Smith

October 4, 2014

George Scoville ’94 married Emily Passini

September 27, 2014

Curtis Lane ’01 married Katie Fear

August 23, 2014

Gretchen Wilson ’03 married Steve Altenburger

September 27, 2014

2William Rankin Davanzo Born October 23, 2014

Diana Beckner ’03 married Patrick Whelan

December 20, 2014

Ward Pickens ’09 married Becca Senn

1

on October 4, 2014

Mandy Williams ’11 married Mark Johnson December 30, 2014 3

BIRTHS

Kathryn Alexander and Matt Davanzo happily announce the arrival of William to their family, joining excited big brothers Jonathan (5) and Matthew (3).

Kathryn Alexander ’88 (Matt Davanzo) William Rank Davanzo October 23, 2014

Love and Best Wishes, the Davanzo Family

Sarah Allen Cassanego ’96 (Dante Cassanego) Emilia Grace Cassanego October 5, 2014

Patrick Warfield ’98 (Catherine)

4

James Patrick Warfield Jr. September 26, 2014

5

Cutler Averbuch ’00 and Liza Trickett Averbuch ’00 Harvey Davis Averbuch September 9, 2014

Crockett Hale Rodriguez ’00 (Jonas)

Jack Ruff Rodriguez January 6, 2015

1 Gretchen (Wilson) ’03 and Steve Altenburger 2 Mandy (Williams) ’11 and Mark Johnson 3 William Rank Davanzo 4 Becca and Ward Pickens ’09 5 Emilia Grace Cassanego 6 War Eagle! Wirth Campbell ‘11 7 Honey Bennett ‘10 and Olivia Carmichael ‘10 at the Alumni Art Show

40 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

6

7

i Alumn Focus 1960 Irwin Fisher ’66 is the Chair

of the Event Marketing Committee for the Convention & Visitor’s Corporation, serving on the Strategic Planning Committee for CVC, and on the Boards of Community Foundation, West End Home Foundation and Women’s Fund.

1970 Ray Abner ’71 recently be-

came the Executive Director of Kosmos Ministries, a non-profit based in Winder, GA. Kosmos enables local churches to “provide food, water, clothing, and the Word to the extreme impoverished in Central America.”

1980 Reuben Bueno ’82 was named chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Wendell Harmer ’84 recently became the CEO at HARCO, LLC in Nashville.

1990 Chenault Sanders ’91 is a Managing Member at Trailblazer Station Investment Partners, LLC. Allison Bates Smith ’92 lives in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC where she works for Google in public policy and government affairs.

George Scoville ’94 is a public affairs consultant and adjunct professor in the department of political science at Belmont.

Honey Bennett

Morgan Scoville ’96 is cur-

rently the Director of Admission at Currey Ingram Academy. He is also in the inaugural class of the Masters in Independent School Leadership program at Vanderbilt University.

2000 Will Colton ’01 and his

wife Lexi live in Lancaster, Massachusetts, outside of Boston where he works for Hewlett Packard.

Curtis Lane ’01 lives with his wife Katie in Denver, CO, where he works as a Sales Representative for St. Jude Medical.

Jennie McCabe ’01 was recently promoted to special events coordinator at the Frist Center for Visual Arts.

Gretchen (Wilson) Altenburger ’03 graduated with

her J.D. in May 2014 from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She will graduate from the University of Denver’s Graduate Tax Program this year, with an LL.M. in Taxation, focusing her research on the impact of Section 1411 on Unearned Net Investment Income under the Affordable Care Act.

Jesse Colton ’03 is working in Brentwood for a small software company, Intelometry, providing comprehensive software to unregulated utilities nationwide.

Millie Chapman ’08 is a Proj-

ect Manager at Pearson North America in New York City.

Peyton Davis ’08 graduated

from Airborne Training for the U.S. Army at Ft. Benning, GA on November 7, 2014.

ALU M N I

Class of 2010

Ever since her first day in Mrs. Sanchez’s first grade classroom, Honey Bennett has wanted to be a teacher. “Even though I often struggled in school, I still loved “A classroom is learning and being in the classroom.” a special place, Throughout her time at Ensworth and the University of Alabama, the teachers and getting to see who really went above and beyond to the excitement make sure that she understood the and eagerness material reinforced her desire to be a teacher so that one day, she could go of students who the extra mile for her future students.

overcome a

During Honey’s last semester, she was given the opportunity to complete her student teaching in Auckland, New almost magical.”

Zealand where she spent four months on the North Island of New Zealand in a small suburb of Auckland called Howick. Coincidentally, Pre-first teacher Megan Florentine was working in the same school during the summer. “I went to Owairoa Primary School in August on a professional development trip to spend some time observing children learning to read and write in Year Zero and Year One classrooms (the equivalent of American kindergarten and first grade). I was thrilled to see an Ensworth alum, Honey Bennett, doing her student teaching at the very same school! Watching Honey work as a colleague among the New Zealand teachers filled me with pride and so much excitement for her future as an educator.”

difficulty is

“Alongside becoming a teacher one day, another dream of mine was to become a teacher with the Teach For America Program.”

Honey is very excited to be joining Teach For America in May where she looks forward to becoming “part of the movement to help children that really need the extra attention and give them a fair chance at a quality education.” She will be teaching in Houston, TX where she hopes to create a place where she can help students who face obstacles in their daily lives receive the solid education that they deserve. “A classroom is a special place, and getting to see the excitement and eagerness of students who overcome a difficulty is almost magical.” Her passion for the well-being and success of her students is a testament to those teachers who went the extra mile with her while she was a student walking the halls of Ensworth.

“ I was thrilled to see an Ensworth alum, Honey Bennett, doing her student teaching at the very same school!

Watching Honey work as a colleague among the New Zealand teachers filled me with pride and so much excitement for her future as an educator.”

—Megan Florentine Pre-first Teacher 2015 WINTER | 41

ALU M N I

ENSWORTH Alumni

Virginia Ann Ivey ’08 is an Account Executive at TracyLocke in Dallas, TX.

Lizzie Guerre ’08 is a 4th

grade teacher at Sequoyah Elementary School in Knoxville, TN. She teaches Writing, Science, and Social Studies.

Carly Warfield ’08 graduated

from The University of Louisville’s Accelerated Nursing Program with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in August.

Following graduation, she accepted a position as a Registered Nurse on the Labor and Delivery unit at Norton Hospital in Louisville, KY.

Michael Dunn ’09 graduated

from Texas Christian University with a BS in Economics and minors in Business and Communications. He is working as a Financial Representative for Capital Financial Partners in Ft. Worth, and living in Dallas, Texas.

Katie Smalley ’09 is cur-

rently in her second year of Law School at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. She is a contributor to The Law Review and Transactions Journal and has a new puppy named Luke.

Andrew Colton ’09 moved to New York City in November. He joined an international company, Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) that markets itself as an ‘expert network.’

Corey Sacks ’10 graduated from University of Alabama in December. He recently moved to Atlanta to work for Insight Global as a recruiter for the technology industry.

Claire Glassford ’10, graduated with Honors from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she received a BFA in Drama. Claire is now an alum of both The New Studio on Broadway for Musical Theatre and Stonestreet Film Studios. Last summer, Claire choreographed a show for the NYC FRINGE Festival called, Dust Can’t Kill Me. Claire can be seen in the upcoming feature film, The Family Fang, opposite Christopher Walken, directed by and starring Jason Bateman and featuring Nicole Kidman.

Ellyse Murphy ’10 is now

Recruiting Associate at FTI Consulting in Washington, DC.

Genny Mayden ’10 is living in New York City and working at Peerless Clothing Inc. as a Marketing and Advertising Assistant.

William Joy ’10 graduated

Magna Cum Laude from the Missouri School of Journalism while working at KOMU-TV (NBC) in Columbia. He received the NATAS Mid-America Student Television Award for a story on how the state’s lack of alcohol enforcement was losing money for public schools. He is now working in Charleston, SC as a reporter for WCSC-TV (CBS).

Kyle Holcomb ’10 has gradu-

ated from University of Tennessee with a BS in Electrical Engineering. He is presently employed as a Smart Grid Engineer at Prince George Electric Cooperative in Virginia.

Ashlyn Johnson ’11 will

graduate from Kenyon College in the spring as a psychology major. She is currently apply-

42 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

C LAS S NOT E S ing to graduate schools in the Northeast to obtain a master’s in social work.

Wirth Campbell ’11 will

complete his senior year at Auburn in May 2015. Wirth has been a member of the 2013 SEC Champion Auburn football team, and played for the National Championship at the Rose Bowl in January 2014, and played in this year’s Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day 2015.

Sto Mahoney ’11 is a senior at Lehigh. He earned both Sophomore and Junior of the year for the IBE program. He has earned Dean’s list every semester for a GPA over 3.6.

Alexandra Callahan ’11 will be graduating from Indiana University in Bloomington with Honors and Distinction with degrees in Accounting and Finance with a minor in Theatre in May 2015. She was a member of Indiana University’s Homecoming Court for 2014, Guide Coordinator for the Kelley School of Business Guides, member of the Kelley Consulting Workshop, and a member of the winning Target team competition. She studied in London during the Spring of 2014. As a member of Theta Phi Alpha sorority, she served as Internal Vice President and Academic Chair. Alexandra interned as a Financial Analyst in personal healthcare with Procter and Gamble during the summer of 2014 and she will start full time as a Financial Analyst for them in the summer of 2015.

Carolyn Fisher ’11 has ac-

cepted a position with DeLoitte Consulting in Atlanta as a Human Capital Analyst in May after she graduates from Vanderbilt University.

Katarina Vollhoffer ’11 is

now Marketing Strategy Intern at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and a senior at Tulane University.

Cole Parrish ’11 was elected captain of the 2014-2015 Sewanee men’s golf team.

Carol Allen ’12 is a double major in Communications and Psychology and continues to play Lacrosse as a starting attack at Denison University.

She also just returned from a semester in Copenhagen.

Elam Mangum ’12 is a Political Science major at Pepperdine University where she is also studying to obtain a Certificate in Conflict Management from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. She is a Resident Advisor; serves as Student Representative to the Pepperdine Student Disciplinary Committee; member of the American Enterprise Institute Executive Council, Pepperdine Chapter; and serves as Administrative Director of Wonderfully Made at Pepperdine.

Mary Elizabeth Colton ’12

is a junior at Bucknell University majoring in International Relations and French. She is an orientation leader, tour guide, and in the a capella group.

During the summer of 2014, she spent her summer working with Congressman Cooper in Washington, D.C. She is currently studying abroad for the semester in Tours, France.

Nathan Watkins ’12 made

the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll for the 2013-2014 school year in recognition of outstanding academic accomplishment while competing in intercollegiate athletics at Vanderbilt University.

i Alumn Focus Maya White ’12 is currently a junior at Loyola University studying Political Science.

During the summer of 2014, she interned at the White House in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs where the bulk of her work centered on the Champions of Change Program.

Hannah Kimbrough ’12 is a

junior at Eastern Illinois University majoring in Business. For the academic year 2013/2014 Hannah was named to the EIU and the EIU Business School’s 4.0 Dean’s list and also to the OVC (Ohio Valley Conference) Commissioner’s list. Additionally, she was designated captain of the EIU women’s team for the 2014/2015 season.

Alec Holcomb ‘13 is completing his second year, working toward a Bachelor of Music at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA. Graham Stessel ’13 is a sophomore at University of Missouri at Columbia in the Honors College. He was accepted into the Cornell Leadership Program in the Trulaske College of Business and was recently elected Historian of his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. He plans to study abroad this summer in Spain.

McKenna Monk ’13 was

elected Member Recognition Chairman in the Delta Delta Delta sorority at The University of Alabama. She also launched her jewelry line, Blair, which can be found on Instagram @blairjewelry.

Blaire Smith ’13 is a soph-

omore at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN where she is on the Southern Athletic Association Student-Athlete 2014 Academic Honor Roll. Blaire was awarded the Crossroads to Freedom Fellowship in Memphis during the summer of 2014.

Lily Parrish ’13 is a sophomore at University of Southern California. She was admitted to the prestigious USC Marshall School of Business and joined the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

Lynn Whitfield ’14 was elected as a Freshman Senator at The University of the South. She is also working as Assistant Coach for the Middle School Girls Soccer Team of Saint Andrew’s Sewanee.

Mary Sawyer ’14, has been notified that her intaglio print “Just Another Slaughter” was accepted into The Young Tennessee Artists: 2014 Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Studio Art exhibition at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. The exhibit runs from November 7, 2014- March 8th 2015. Mary is attending Kenyon College.

SEND US YOU R N E WS !

Keep in touch with your classmates and let them keep up with you.

Send your latest news, moves and photos to Alli Hicks at alumni@ensworth.com.

Leland Taylor Class of 2008

While the passion for being on the field usually turns into watching college and professional football in a high school graduate’s past time, Class of 2008’s Leland Taylor had other plans after his playing time came to an end.

“I was never going to be as athletic as Orleans Darkwa ‘10 or Tavarres Jefferson ‘09, no matter how much I pretended to be, so I decided to pursue coaching.”

Leland went to the University of Mississippi where he began as a manager for the football team. His hopes were to become more involved in coaching behind the scenes, but that opportunity was not usually offered to many college kids who wanted to be a football coach. After “expressing interest and being persistent,” the coaches realized his potential, and they gave him more opportunities to become “My thirteen years at involved in the program, “I was coming in early, breaking down Ensworth provided a film and sitting in on game plan foundation for not only meetings.” During his senior year at perseverance and hard Ole Miss, he decided that he would begin to look into scouting; he sent his resume out to every NFL team work, but also for the but “received nothing but rejection ability to communicate letters.” Although the rejection was devastating, Leland continued to clearly—an essential persevere, jumping on any possible quality that helped set opportunity he crossed and finally, he found something. The Indianapme apart in my olis Colts had an internship opportunity available for the summer, job search.” and after a rigorous application and interview process, Leland got the job. He spent the summer of 2014 working for the Indianapolis Colts, and when the summer internship ended he spent the season coaching corners at The University of Memphis while continuing to reach out to teams in the NFL for any open spot on their staff.

The aspiring scout’s persistence paid off. After “sending out more resumes and receiving more rejection letters,” the team that he had interned with during the summer before, the Indianapolis Colts, had a spot open up. Now he is living his dream on the scouting team for the Colts. Leland spends the majority of his time collecting stats from players in the NFL, updating injuries, suspensions and depth chart changes, and he also watches games of top college players, doing the same for them. “Essentially my job is to keep up with information around the league, which is what most guys playing fantasy football do in their free time.”

Throughout Leland’s ups and downs in his pursuit to become an NFL scout, he uses skills and values that he learned during his time as a student at Ensworth. “My thirteen years at Ensworth provided a foundation for not only perseverance and hard work, but also for the ability to communicate clearly —an essential quality that helped set me apart in my job search.”

2015 WINTER | 43

ALU M N I

i Alumn Focus

1

Mary Sauve Class of 2014

Class of 2014’s Mary Sauve continues to embrace the school’s mission statement in her life beyond Ensworth. While abroad in Salvador, Brazil for the year, Mary has achieved academic excellence, used her talents to the fullest, has been a contributor to society as well as being intellectually curious throughout her time in South America.

After her acceptance to Princeton, Mary expressed interest in the Princeton Bridge Year Program, which is a gap year planned and funded by the University. “Their version of ‘In Search of Truth’ is ‘In the nation’s service and in the service of all nations’ so to try to uphold that, they send thirty-five students recently accepted to five different countries each year.” After completing the application and interview process, Mary was accepted and placed in Brazil for the year.

“My teachers 2

3

4

1 Class of 2014 back home for the holiday (Left to Right)(Front) Caroline Elcan, Mary Kate Hannon, Becca Rolfe, Sally Krebs, Elizabeth Cox (Back) Grace Chang, Lynn Whitfield, Merritt Dingess 2 Lila Davis ‘11, Mary West ‘11 and Coco Smith ‘11 3 Katie Cox ‘11, David Dingess ‘11, Paul Caudill ‘11 4 Members of the Class of 2009 at their reunion: Tavarres Jefferson, Alli Hicks, Mary Cannon Spradley, Margaret McDonald, Janie McNamee, Laura Barrier, Francie Fisher, Katherine McDonald, Emily Perkins, Nakia Lang, Miles Asafo-Adjei, Carell Brown, Jana Wolskij, Wilson Laine, Robert Yarbrough, Jordan McDonald, Michael Dunn, Tate Lanford, Spencer Foote, Sydney Mayfield, Emily Vaughan, Allison Perkins, Christina Chintanaphol, Gary Pope

44 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

“Basically the goal is to learn as much about the culture as we can in these nine months; religion, to ask the right dance, food, traditions, the language, everything.”

While living with a host family in Salvador, Brazil, questions, which Mary has immersed herself in the culture, volunteering at an orphanage called Lar da Crianca, is something taking Portuguese classes and other classes on the Brazilian culture, teaching English to people in I definitely the community, as well as taking dance classes at didn’t realize a federally run dance studio in Salvador where her host dad teaches. “It’s a great way to bond with I had learned my host dad and meet people in the city who have or needed until similar interests to me.” Capoeira, a type of dance that is “half martial arts and half dance which I arrived in originated from the slaves of the 1800’s in Brazil,” sparked Mary’s interest prior to her arrival to SalSalvador.” vador, and she has really enjoyed taking classes to broaden her dance expertise and to learn about an art that lies so near to the community’s heart. Going to the Capoeira classes in her spare time has been “another great way to capture the culture.”

taught me how

She gives much of the credit to her teachers at Ensworth for equipping her with the ability to challenge herself to try new things and to reach outside of her comfort zone. “My teachers taught me how to ask the right questions, which is something I definitely didn’t realize I had learned or needed until I arrived in Salvador.”

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READ MORE EnsideEnsworth.com 2015 WINTER | 45

SUMMER ACADE M IC G RAN T S

2014

SERVICE LEARNING GRANTS

High School students at Ensworth with strong academic records were fortunate to have the opportunity to apply for summer Academic Grants. Qualified students submitted proposals for grants that would allow them to immerse themselves in academic programs across the country and around the world. Through the generosity of a supportive member of the Ensworth community, this two-year initiative has inspired students to engage in individual academic pursuits in areas of personal interest. Last year, and again this year, $125,000 was awarded to the top applicants from a large pool of high-achieving Ensworth students. It is our hope that programs such as this one will be available in future years through the generosity of new donors who understand how such opportunities promote and inspire academic excellence for all Ensworth students.

In addition to the Academic Grants awarded to students,

“The summer grant to China

Service Learning grants for

offered me invaluable language

programs in Peru and Tanzania

experience that just isn’t

were also awarded, thanks to the generosity of another

possible within the classroom.

supportive member of the

Being able to interact with

Ensworth community. High

English learners in Zhengzhou

School students with strong

as well as visiting a number of

academic records, a commitment to Service Learning,

incredible cultural sites along

extensive involvement in

the way has made for such an

school activities, and who are

unforgettable experience.”

leaders in and out of school life were awarded the grants. The

— Elliot Jaffe

“Last summer I was given the

Ensworth community celebrates

once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to

the gifts, talents and passions of these remarkable students.

1

travel to China. The experience was incredible - I took away newfound knowledge of Chinese culture and customs, was able to practice conversing with native speakers,

“Being able to visit Karatu, Tanzania and interact with the children from

connected with students from

the Banjika Secondary School was an opportunity that I will cherish

Zhengzhou, and, best of all, tried

forever. The greatest thing about my experience was learning from the

a wide variety of amazing food.

children. In reality I thought that we would be the ones helping them but,

I’m so thankful for the incredible

on our journey, I received so much from the local children, and that was

opportunities that Ensworth has

what made this adventure so humbling.”

given me.”

— Preston Johnson

— Sage Loh 3

46 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

2

HOW TO ENSURE YOUR CHILD HAS AN EXCITING AND ENRICHING SUMMER:

“The month that I spent in the beautiful town of Salamanca, Spain, was truly unforgettable.

Fully immersing myself in

Visit ensworth.com/summer

the Spanish language in my International Relations class and in conversations with other

Explore the variety of opportunities for ages 4-18

students and locals drastically improved my Spanish skills, and it caused me to fall in love with the rich, laid-back culture

Sign up, then tell your friends

of Spain. I made incredible friends from all over the world and truly had the summer of a lifetime, and I feel so grateful that Ensworth made this all

4

Pat yourself on the back for being such a smart parent

possible.”

— Lilly Chadwick

ACA D E M I C S • A R T S • C R E AT I V I T Y E N R I C H M E N T • E X P LO R AT I O N • S P O R T S 1

2

ensworth .com/summer

VI S I T

w w w .e n s w o r t h .c o m /p a g e /p r o g r a m s TO LE AR N AB OU T OU R Y E AR- ROU N D 3

4

DANC E , AQUAT IC S , & T E N N I S PRO G RAM S 2015 WINTER | 47

From the

ARC H IVE S Do you remember‌ When all you had to do was follow the yellow brick road and it would lead you to a night out with Dorothy, Toto and the Tin Man? Can you name the year of this Auction and the people in the photos? Email answers to alumni@ensworth.com.

48 | ENSWORTH ENSIGHTS

“All successful educational arts programs are spiraled to greater heights with a guest artist in residence program. This gift, this endowment, will establish successful growth of the Ensworth arts program in ways we have never imagined.

Our Music, Visual Arts, Dance, and Theater will all have the opportunity to experience visiting professional art educators on so many new levels. We are truly grateful.� Through the generosity of an endowment gift, Ensworth has established an

Artist in Residence

Donnie Bryan High School Arts Department Chair

Artist in Residence Program. This program will bring an expert in a chosen artistic field to the school for a series of sessions with our students in current classes, teaching master classes and one-on-one artistic mentoring on both campuses. The program will expose students to new and innovative art happening beyond the classroom walls and give them a window into the Nashville arts community.

Our first Artist in Residence will be working with students during the second semester of the current school year and continue a relationship for years to come with the Ensworth community.

Learn more. If you want to talk about charitable giving, please contact Bedell James.

Bedell James, Director of Development & Endowment P: 615.250.8919 E: jamesb@ensworth.com

211 ENSWORTH AVENUE NASHVILLE, TN 37205-1997

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Nashville, TN Permit No. 2630

ENSWORTH

Celebrating Traditions

This handmade tapestry, generously gifted to Ensworth, celebrates the traditions at the Red Gables Campus.

How many can you spot?

Artist: Alice Mogan, 2014

ensworth.com