Volume 24, Issue 2
2020-2021
About U.S.
A Publishing Tradition of The Unquowa School
A Message From the Head of School
I
n his work as an organizational psychologist at Wharton,
and brainstorming or arguing a point with those same
Adam Grant focuses on how people find motivation and
classmates, and soccer, basketball, and cross-country, have
meaning in daily life. Many of his books over the years have
been powerful parts of our daily lives that bring collective
spoken significantly to those of us who are independent
joy. Some of these activities were challenged by pandemic
school leaders. Books like Originals and Think Again: The
mitigations, but we kept them going as best we could.
Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know are at the top of
That same feeling of collective effervescence for our
my list. But it was Grant’s recent guest essay in The New
larger group of students and parents and, of course comes
York Times that has been particularly salient to me this
through our decades-long tradition of weekly assemblies, and
summer as I assess
Winter Festival is the
the impact - both
ultimate experience
positive and negative
of joy here at
- of this past year’s
Unquowa, when
pandemic on life
alums, past parents
here at Unquowa.
and faculty come to
Grant’s slender
see the school-wide
essay and its modest
performance and
title - “There’s a
then often jump out
Special Kind of Joy
of their seats to join
We’ve Been Missing”
in the dancing at the
- doesn’t boast of
end of the festival.
a new revelation;
We kept the spark
rather it reminds
of these community
us of a concept
traditions going this
coined in the early
past year by filming
20th century by
weekly assemblies
sociologist Émile
and what became
Durkheim, a concept
Springfest: The
called “collective effervescence,” that very special joy one
Movie and our filmed Spring Musicals as well, but the deep
feels when experiencing something powerful with a group
need to get back to actually physically being together in larger
that has the same purpose. Before the pandemic, about
ways was missed and is still truly palpable.
seventy-five percent of people reported experiencing collective
While I couldn’t have attached Durkheim’s theory to life at
effervescence at least once a week. A smaller but significant
our school before reading Grant’s essay, we here at Unquowa
number reported it as a conscious part of their daily lives -
have always understood the importance of and created
singing in a choir, running in a group, playing basketball or
opportunities for collective effervescence. The embers were
soccer, attending concerts and religious ceremonies.
kept alive in small ways this past year, as we lived a pandemic-
The traditional daily points of collective effervescence here
safe campus life. Keeping in mind that we’re not quite out of
at Unquowa have always been many: singing, dancing, or
the woods, we’ll be working to edge ever closer to that world
playing guitar with a group of classmates, family-style meals
of community joy this fall. Hold on and stay tuned...
Sharon Lauer, Head of School
page 2
Joyful Experiences. Powerful Learning! “Ingenuity has forced so much powerful learning on our campuses this year. From four year olds to fourteen year olds, kids and their teachers have found work-arounds to joyful learning that will definitely be part of the new normal in the fall.”
Camping Day In Kindergarten On a spring day kindergartners kept up the tradition of camping on the Unquowa campus and spending the entire day outside. In the backwoods, the kindergarten class set up camp. They carried all the equipment themselves and were amazed that a bag of material made an “outside house”. The children hammered in stakes, held poles and watched as the center pole went up to finish our house in the woods. Learning about all the compact camping equipment was especially fun. After demonstrating the nesting pots for cooking, the student who carried the pots said, “Oh that’s why it was so heavy!” The kids used the nesting pots to make “chocolate cake” and other delicious camping meals out of mud, leaves and dirt. A rope was tied round a pot handle and then thrown into the stream to fetch water for hand washing, and mud making. Everyone had to have a turn! Earlier in art class, Mrs. D taught kindergarten students how to make fairies out of clothespins. Time was spent building intricate houses out of stones, sticks and leaves for their new friends. Inside the tent, children kept busy making beaded necklaces and playing with pipe cleaners. The highlight of the day though was making s’mores cooked on the fire pit! One child was overheard saying, “I never want to leave kindergarten!” What a fantastic day!
Ann Palm, Kindergarten Teacher
page 3
Good Ideas Inside - A Journey from Kindergarten to PreK I embarked on this most unusual year filled with worry. After countless hours planning, labeling and trying to configure the safest way to teach my new students while still keeping the joy of preschool, school began and somehow felt strangely normal. After eighteen years teaching kindergarten, this was a new grade and age group for me, as evidenced by the first time I asked them to cut paper! It hit me that this was a skill we needed to practice; what better way than by working on cutting out objects to make patterns, a favorite activity of both of my children when they were in preschool at Unquowa. For a moment I wondered what I had gotten myself into, but once I saw the exuberance with which they reacted to The Three Little Pigs, it hit me! They wanted to hear the story over and over; it spilled over onto the playground and into dramatic play. I recalled fondly how excited my own children had been to make “Wolf Stew” with their Unquowa PreK teacher Mrs. Shannon and then I remembered her bins of materials so generously donated to the school by her family. Eagerly I went to the closet and there I found it - her Three Little Pigs bin with a label that read “Good Ideas Inside!” And so it began. We filled our year with Fairy Tales - weaving in math, science, social skills and of course, puppets, always puppets. I was able to find versions from all over the world, adding a multicultural element to our curriculum. My students became authors, changing characters, plots and settings or making more just endings to favorite tales. Of course we took much of this creativity outdoors and the trees became the Wolf’s woods, the climbing structures a beanstalk. Thank you, Janice Shannon, for showing me to always be inspired by the wonder of young children, I hope I do your good ideas proud!
Faith Barbuto, PreK Teacher
Finally - A Field Experience! After a year or more of a Covid ban on field experiences and on a perfect weather day, sixth grade science students were finally given the green light to adventure out on the first field experience of the year. They travelled to the Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford Point where staff were ready and waiting to guide them on two different investigative lessons. In the first investigation students explored the bird & wildlife sanctuary and salt marsh life. Covered in mud & muck sucking at their boots, students enjoyed slopping around learning about the salt marsh habitat and the animals that lived there such as fiddler crabs, osprey and blue herons. The lesson then moved over to the Long Island Sound where students learned about dune & barrier beach habitats. Did you know that a new piece of land has arrived at Milford Point within the last 20 years? Over the past two decades deposits and erosion have created a new sandbar that separates the shoreline from Long Island Sound. Students waded in the Sound water, collecting samples such as jellyfish and giant spider crabs. The Audubon staff explained about bi-valve creatures such as the shellfish mollusks students had enjoyed collecting.
Cameron Ross-MacCormack, Sixth Grade Science Teacher
page 4
Digital Galleries Mean Global Audiences!! This is the second year in a row that a comprehensive gallery of student artwork has been curated into a digital platform in lieu of a traditional in-person art show. Perhaps one of the many silver linings that has come from COVID-related restrictions is finding new ways to connect and share across distances in ways that had not previously been considered. The Lower School art gallery highlights the impressive foundational skills that Mrs. DesGranges has imparted to her students throughout the year. Young students are taught about media, artists, and movements and given space to play freely with the elements and principles of art. They gain confidence in their abilities and see themselves as artists, paving the way for a more critical analysis of artworks as they enter Upper School. The showcase of Upper School art is notable for the ways in which students have explored social justice issues and produced art that speaks to topics they care about. This foundation of the visual arts curriculum is in preparation for the seventh and eighth grade capstone project, Voices of Change, which presents students with the opportunity to take a deep dive into learning about injustice in its many forms and the ways in which they can advocate for positive societal change. Art is powerful for its ability to connect people with ideas and passion with purpose. My greatest
Chihuly Sculpture Amina Vereen Kindergarten
hope is that Unquowa art students understand the importance of visual culture and Koi Windsock Teddy di Bonaventura Gr. 1
that they have the ability to appreciate it and express themselves through it, whether for personal fulfillment or in efforts to achieve a shared goal. To view Art Show go to: www.unquowa.org/artshow-2021/
Krissy Ponden, Art Department Chair
Understanding Other Cultures, Sharing Ideas Throughout this year, the sixth graders have gained a deep respect and admiration for the people of the ancient civilizations we have studied. Beginning with the hominids, moving on to the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks and finally, the Romans, we explored their cultures and did our best to travel back in time and imagine what life was truly like. Through project based learning experiences, group projects, spirited debate, books, videos and remote museum tours, we traveled the globe. One of the threads of truth we found woven within each of these civilizations was that cooperation and innovative thinking were essential for survival. It is a powerful concept and one we embraced and applied to our current,“covid lives.” At times, the class collectively felt modern man has taken the early man’s ideas and improved upon them, yet at other junctures, we felt modern man has made some mistakes, and could have learned a thing or two from our ancestors. Understanding other cultures, sharing ideas, respecting each other and our differences while working together, the sixth graders gained new perspectives and strengthened their own beliefs. These students are compassionate, articulate and ready to handle grade seven!
Sarah Raggio, Sixth Grade Humanities Teacher
page 5
Pen & Paper Publication Much like the arrival of the irises and daylilies that adorn Mrs. Shannon’s Bridge behind the school, early June is the time for Pen & Paper, Unquowa’s literary art magazine, to blossom. Like its predecessors, this edition is an exquisite amalgamation of art and a labor of love. Vivid photography, performance, poetry, and short-form fiction mature beyond their creators’ years fill over a hundred pages. Pen & Paper once again highlights the impressive creative force of our small yet mighty student population, celebrating the beauty and voicing their discontent with the shortcomings of our world. As the editorial staff states in the letter to their reader, “The depth of creativity and knowledge, especially the knowledge that fuels these quiet protests, in our small school is what makes Pen & Paper the work of art that it is.” To view Pen & Paper go to: www.unquowa.org/pp-vol-11/
Vincent O’Hara, Pen & Paper Advisor
Manual Sunset Scarlet Tanzer, Gr. 6 Body art
La Vaca Charlotte Roberts, Gr.6 Digital illustration
In The Fold Lukas Keras Gr. 7 Origami Installation
UnquowaZine Publication I am pleased to announce the release of UnquowaZine Volume 3, the Lower School literary magazine run and created by an editorial staff consisting of third and fourth grade students. They have worked tirelessly on the various stages of magazine development to produce this fabulous issue. This year’s magazine is particularly special as we have managed to assemble it during a global pandemic. For three months we met through Google Meets exchanging information and guiding each other through the magazine’s completion. Within its pages, we are proud to present a special section by third grade exclusively created for UnquowaZine entitled “Lost and Learned: Third Graders Reflect on a Year Living with COVID.” Thank you, Mrs. Kerr, for assisting your students with this project. The editors-in-chief, Vivian K and Sierra, together with their staff, edited their peers’ work with compassion and respect. As their faculty advisor, I simply guided them, gave them structure and support. I could not be prouder of their achievement for this magazine. To view UnquowaZine go to: www.unquowa.org/unquowazine-3/
Karen Engelke, UnquowaZine Advisor
Tsunami By Clara Pompa, Gr. 4
Crashing,roaring waves. Glimmering, orange sunset. A mountain feels small. Anthony Venditto, Gr. 3
page 6
Red Carpet Celebration - Strike a Pose! Wow! What a morning we had on the day of our movie premiere! Students had a chance to dress up and walk the red carpet into school to get pumped up for the viewing of the SpringFest movie. The excitement in the courtyard was contagious, music was playing and everyone wore the biggest smiles, spreading laughter and joy. Hearing the students cheer for one another and seeing them strike their poses on the red carpet was a sight to be seen. Students were so excited to see the final product of the movie they had been rehearsing and filming earlier in the month. With editing complete, the entire Unquowa community sat down to finally watch this amazing movie together in their respective homerooms while parents were able to watch simultaneously at home. BRAVO to all!!
page 7
The Treehouse Adventures:
The Fortieth Winter Festival Becomes Springfest,The Movie! Winterfest is the heart of our fabulous school. In a typical year, right before winter break, the entire school comes together to put on an original musical. Each grade has their traditional roles: first graders are our brave knights, second graders are joyful jesters, third graders are magnificent wizards, fourth graders create a magical star dance, fifth graders always stun the audience with the Morris dance and of course the seventh graders who have been here the longest have the honor of playing the king(s) and queen(s). PreK and kindergarten students always have a special role in our show and the sixth through eighth graders do everything from playing instruments, becoming the main characters of our show, running the sound and lights, and so much more. Winter Festival is an experience that I just could not imagine excluding from our year, especially as this was its fortieth Anniversary! Because of the pandemic we were not able to do a typical Winterfest in the gym at its scheduled time. But that did not stop us! When I first began working on the script, I knew that the villain of our show had to have a special meaning. Because we were determined not to let the pandemic stop us, I named the villain Divoc - COVID spelled backwards! In our story this evil character stole a magic crystal which helped to power the Land of Unquowa. This crystal was powered by the kindness that each person in the land of Unquowa showed to one another. This part of the script was inspired by the kindness I see every single day working at our incredible school. When it came to costumes, I was lucky enough to have the help of a tireless parent, Missy Howe - mother of Nolan ‘22, Nathan ‘23, and Owen ‘29. Of course, costume design had to be from a distance this year, so working together, we came up with some very creative costumes using a combination of our extensive costume collection, what students had at home, or what Missy, along with the help of some other parent volunteers, could create in their homes and bring in for our students. For set design, we just had to have a treehouse! Director of Operations, Lloyd Mitchell was able to build us our very own treehouse on the playground stage. This really made the outside scenes come to life! For the inside scenes, we had our typical Winterfest set with the allimportant royal thrones! When film day finally arrived, the students were ready! Because of the hard work put into rehearsals, the filming was a huge success! It was so amazing to feel like we were on a real movie set! Since we were creating a movie, it gave us the ability to film throughout our campus. Students had such a fabulous time working with the videographer! Being able to do many takes, and test different angles, close up shots, wide views, special effects, and so much more led to a fantastic result. I was so proud of each and every student for their level of professionalism. If you were to peek in during our filming, you would have thought you were on a professional set! View The Treehouse Adventures movie at: www.unquowa.org/productions/
Megan Kirk, Performing Arts Teacher
page 8
Commencement & Closing Cermonies As Ms. Lauer reminds us, school life has a rhythm that very few other parts of our world do. In general, school’s rhythm is predictable and comforting and important. School is a world where things can come to tidy ends in spring and begin again with fresh promise in the fall. Our school’s Closing Ceremonies and Commencement are part of that rhythm. They are about acknowledging academic accomplishment, celebrating a year well-spent together, and they are about proper good-byes. What a joy it was to be able to hold these traditional ceremonies once again this year! Typically the entire school community gathers the The William J. Grippin Award morning of the last day of school to celebrate the Sabine Wadadli graduates. This year, for safety reasons, we limited the audience to our eighth graders’ families and the seventh The Unquowa Award William Jacobs grade class. Awards were presented and personal tributes written by the faculty for each graduate were read. The Board of Governors’ Award After a special video slideshow devoted to the Class of 2021, the eighth graders formed a Alyssa Roberson receiving line in front of the stage so we could get one last look at them, and Ms. Lauer invited the seventh graders to “take the eighth grade seats.” This symbolic move marked the change in The Headmaster’s Cup Aidan Kavanaugh school leaders from the outgoing class to next year’s eighth graders, the Class of 2022! The Class of 2021 returned in the evening on June eighth, with their families, friends, Board of The Robert L. Cleveland Award Governors, faculty and staff for a ceremony of recognition and closure to mark the end of their Ryley Tate-Padian time at Unquowa and to celebrate their transition to high school. Salutatorian, Ryley Tate-Padian The John P. Blessington Award welcomed everyone to the ceremony. In her speech, Ryley reminded everyone that “originally, the Alex Renzulli word Unquowa meant ‘the place beyond.’ Today, we understand it as a place that has actually prepared us for the world beyond its walls.” Alison D. Gray Award After Ryley’s speech, Ms. Lauer announced the winners of all of our traditional awards before Legare Charney introducing our graduation speaker, Rick Branson, Executive Director of Connecticut Association Sabine Wadadli of Independent Schools. Dr. Branson spoke to the graduates about the beauty and benefits of Janice Shannon Award their growing, developing, adolescent brains and encouraged them to play to the strength of this Jack Barbuto place in their lives. Diplomas were conferred by our Board President, Joan Panagos. Valedictorian and William J. Elizabeth Curtis Award Ryley Tate-Padian Grippin Award recipient Sabine Wadadli addressed her classmates. Sabine spoke about what it means to be a student of Unquowa, that in her memory and how she and her classmates John F. Turlick Award will always have that in common. What is a student of Unquowa? According to Sabine, “in my William Jacobs memory, Unquowa has been a montage of people teaching and guiding and supporting me, Class Agents through both academics and life. That’s what Unquowa is, really. It gives you every skill you need Maggie Looby for high school and beyond, and it gives you friends you can’t forget.” Dylan Phillips The ceremony closed with the school song and the graduates processed down the aisle in a cloud of confetti. As final parting gifts, graduates received a bag filled with their favorite lunch Unquowa Parents Association Award treats from the Unquowa Kitchen and a monogrammed Bryan Wilson tote filled with cards handmade for them by younger Costume Closet Key students. With that, we said goodbye to the Class of Elliott Goodman 2021, excited for everything the future has in store for Mikey Winkler them. While we will miss this class, we wish them all Margaret Travers Award the best and look forward to their return as alumni on Jordan Wilson Founders’ Day.
2021 Awards
Ultimate Unquowans Jack Barbuto, Ryley Tate-Padian Karleigh Schmidt Gator Bowls Jack Barbuto, Jax Hanson, William Jacobs, Aidan Kavanaugh, Alex Renzulli, Ryley Tate-Padian
Karen Williamson, Community Manager
page 9
Our graduates will be attending the following: Jack Barbuto.....................................Fairfield Warde High School Massimo Cacciatore............................................Hopkins School Everett Carrillo-Foote.............Fairfield College Preparatory School Legare Charney........................................Loomis Chaffee School Meryl Cooper................................................Staples High School Jax Hanson.....................................................The Putney School William Jacobs...................................Fairfield Warde High School Aidan Kavanaugh.................................................Hopkins School Nathaniel Lewis.................................................St. Luke’s School Maggie Looby...............................................Staples High School Daniela Lujan...............................................Trumbull High School Phoebe McCance..............................................St. Luke’s School Dylan Phillips.................................................Staples High School Alex Renzulli......................................Fairfield Warde High School Alyssa Roberson...................................................Bard Academy Karleigh Schmidt..........................................Shelton High School Ryley Tate-Padian...................................Greens Farms Academy Owen Tolan...................................................Staples High School Sabine Wadadli...................................................Solebury School Beatrice Zorub....................................................Millbrook School
page 10
Picnic Perfect! The Unquowa kitchen had many hurdles to jump to make daily lunches for the Unquowa student and faculty body this year, including serving from the gym. While the dining experience was certainly different, we were excited to offer something new and fun for the kids: Picnic Fridays! Weather permitting, the last six Fridays of school we prepared boxed lunches for everyone to take outside and enjoy. It was a hit that we hope to continue at the beginning of the 21’-22’ school year. During these last days of summer days we hope you have a chance to whip up this kitchen-tested recipe and maybe enjoy a picnic of your own!
Jess Toebe, Head Chef
Tortellini Salad 1 lb cheese tortellini 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved ¼ cup small diced red onion ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn 2 tbsp red wine vinegar ¼ cup good extra virgin olive oil ½ tsp salt Black pepper to taste Pint jars to pack and serve for your picnic
Ingredients:
Directions: 1. Bring a five to seven quart pot of water to boil. Add tortellini and cook to package instructions. 2. While tortellini is cooking, whisk together the red wine vinegar, oil, and salt. Add the red onion and tomato to allow ingredients to marinate together. 3. When tortellini is done, drain and rinse under cold water. 4. Allow to cool slightly then toss with the tomato/dressing mixture. 5. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. When ready to serve, top with fresh basil. Serve in a bowl for a backyard gathering or pack the salad into jars for a picnic. Enjoy!
Sharing the Blooms The Unquowa Garden is currently in full bloom. Tomatoes, peppers, and green beans are well on their way. Garlic has been harvested and hung to dry and cucumbers are at their peak. So many treasures are underway, beneath grow lights or in the rich soil of the garden beds. We diligently worked on growing over 300 plants for eight weeks this past spring, including several varieties of tomatoes, flowers, peppers, kale, cabbage, and many others. A number of these can be found in our garden right now, and we can’t wait to incorporate them into the dining program in the fall. Many plants also were sold to families in our Spring Plant Sale. Many thanks to the families who participated in the plant sale that will help support the constant growth of our school garden.
Will Heyne, Assistant Chef
page 11
Cross Country Spring Training 2021 When the cross country team wasn’t able to practice on the field this spring due to student cohorting, it became the perfect opportunity to take its training to the neighborhoods surrounding Unquowa. A host of new courses quickly became favorites as our runners conquered Church Hill Loop, Blossom Falls (aka Wiegand Loop), and Infinity. Precedents were set as the team completed three + miles at a time. Toilsome Hill continued to be the treasured workout, with Mrs. Young’s sweet reward. Our team relished some exhausting play time with their favorite tagging game at Owen Fish Park. The final practice was remarkable as our athletes posted significantly faster times compared to their initial run at the start of the season. Way to go, cross country! Go Gators!
Sarah Pollex, Cross Country Coach
Soccer Players Rev Up For a Proper Fall Season After a long hiatus, the Unquowa soccer program finally took to the field again! Spring training provides a great opportunity to get back into the swing of things and to prepare for the upcoming fall season. Students were excited for the return of after school practices and
Lloyd Mitchell, Soccer Coach
we all look forward to the excitement of the competitive games ahead.
Joys Of An Ice Cream Truck
Explosive Learning!
What a treat! An ice cream truck surely marks the start of
What makes soda erupt when Mentos candies are dropped in?
summer and a fully loaded one seemed to be a regular feature
Fourth graders presented this question, made predictions, created
in our campus driveway at the
a hypothesis and headed outside
end of our school year. Offering
to experiment with a scientific
sweet treats to all our students
method. After investigation and close
and teachers it made for some
observation, students discovered that
delicious cool fun in the sun
the reaction is not a chemical reaction
celebrating the end of a happy
as some predicted but actually a
and successful school year.
physical reaction. Unlike a chemical reaction, where a new substance is formed, with Mentos and soda, all of the pieces of the reaction are still there; they just get rearranged! A carbonated beverage is packed full of dissolved carbon dioxide gas, which forms bonds with water. While the soda is in the bottle, the gas is kept in solution by the bottle’s pressurized conditions. The Mentos help to break the bonds between the dissolved carbon dioxide and water, releasing more bubbles, which cause the explosive reaction. Who knew???
Carlene Gordon, Fourth Grade Science Teacher
page 12
Behind The Scenes 2020-2021 was no typical school year. We couldn’t do our usual Winterfest, we couldn’t bring an audience in, we couldn’t join our normal grades to cast a show. You would think all that would stop us! But no, it only made us pivot to something better. Once the season was upon us, Ms. Kirk started discussing what we were going to do this spring. First, we started with Springfest in place of Winterfest. Working behind the scenes to make a movie happen was a big change but the tech crew was up to the challenge. Immediately following that filming, we quickly began to strike the set and prepared for not one spring musical but two! While this presented its own challenges of trying to practice for two shows on the same stage, we managed to pull out two flawless filmings of Dear Edwina and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown! Wow, what a spring! At graduation, we recognized our backstage crew leaders, eighth graders Sabine and Will, both of whom have been a part of the tech crew for the last four years. These two students have led our productions and really managed all aspects flawlessly for the last few years. As the year closed, they trained their new crew members, who will assume the roles that they have filled for so long. The good news is the new crew have been trained well. We thank them both for their tremendous dedication to making everyone on our stage shine under the lights and sound so good.
Lloyd Mitchell, Director of Operations
Two Spring Musicals! Without skipping a beat, only two short weeks after all the students at The Unquowa School finished filming Springfest The Movie: The
Treehouse Adventures, we went right into major rehearsals to put on two full staged musicals. The seventh and eighth graders filmed their spring musical, Dear Edwina and the sixth graders filmed their musical, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown! Filming these musicals was
quite the experience! Students had to put forth enormous effort and energy to bring these shows to life without an audience. And boy did they deliver! We could not be more proud of the incredible actors and tech crew that brought these shows together! View both musicals at www.unquowa.org/productions/
Megan Kirk, Performing Arts Teacher
page 13
Upper School Science Exploration! Can A Mousetrap Do More Than Catch A Mouse? Eighth grade science students used the incredible spring tension of a mousetrap to power cars they built using cardboard and CD’s. Students had a goal of either creating a fast car or a longest riding car using just the spring of a mousetrap as a source of energy. The spirited race occurred in the dining room with different winners in each category.
Physics Fun - Always A Favorite! The physics exploration of Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion historically tests the ingenuity and knowledge of forces of an eighth grade student. The classic way to demonstrate student understanding is to have an Egg Drop Contest. While all the other grades watched and cheered them on, egg contraptions were dropped and relevant data was recorded to determine the best designs.
Tallest Tower in The Wind Mother nature’s natural engineering and the design in living things is often explored in and out of the classroom by Unquowa students. Outside in the wind and using just balloons and tape seventh grade students
Muscle Reflex Lesson
were asked to
The seventh grade completed a unit in Life Science
think about such
about Digestion. Students learned that the swallowing
designs and use
muscle reflex (Peristalsis) is involuntary. But how do
their engineering
you get a student to remember something like that?
talents to see
Students had fun learning this lesson first hand by
who could
trying different methods of swallowing something while
make the tallest
keeping their heads upside down!
towers.
Craig Knebel, Science Department Chair
Like so many other things, this year we needed to reimagine a way to make A Summer At Unquowa camp as safe as possible while still ensuring a fun, engaging and educational program. With Covid making even local bus travel uncertain, we completely revamped our program to create an on-campus sampling of all we do best at Unquowa. First, our own teachers came on board to offer daily Physical Education and Performing Arts classes, hallmarks of an Unquowa day. Each day our school chefs amazed us with an array of organic, locally sourced items to build our own ultimate Unquowa-style lunch. The afternoons were rounded out with art and science classes using our outdoor classroom environment. The Sweet Peas, our youngest campers, had a great summer spending time in our garden, making snacks with our school chefs and doing fun nature inspired crafts. Weekly yoga sessions made camp even more enlightening. It is safe to say that camp is back and better than ever!
Faith Barbuto, Camp Director
page 14
Notes From the UPA It is hard to believe that the school year has come to an end! We felt it fitting to have our final UPA meeting in the same place we kicked off the year – at Owen Fish Park. It was a bittersweet moment as we said good-bye, but not farewell, to many of the eighth grade parents whose children were graduating; and at the same time welcoming many of the new families who are joining our wonderful community. It was exciting to see all the many new faces. Even though this past year was like no other, the UPA was able to accomplish many of the events we hold annually. The spring Teacher Appreciation Lunch was a success with individually prepared lunches and potted flowers for all our magnificent teachers and staff to enjoy, and during our Annual Book Drive we collected over 1,000 books to donate to Achievement First Bridgeport Academy. In addition to planning and hosting a fabulously successful online version of our traditional fall wine tasting, the Social Club committee was also very creative in organizing online evening gatherings for our families to attend, such as an intriguing Family Magic Night for which Chef Jess and her team provided savory and sweet treats for us to enjoy online “together.” The Green Committee remains hard at work coming up with new items to support our sustainability efforts as a school and larger community and in February hosted a virtual composting workshop with presentations by local Certified Master Composters. Our biggest fundraising event of the year, the Spring Gala - A New Dawn, A New Day, I’m Feeling Good - was a huge success and was once again held online. There were fantastic items to bid on and an online Closing Night Bash, complete with a comedian - our own Abby Tolan, mother of Owen ‘21, and party game room to virtually visit - ended this event perfectly. Ticket holders were supplied with picnic style swag bags containing a bottle of rose, charcuterie treats and sweet snacks to set the mood. The committee chairs and volunteers worked tirelessly to pull the online auction and fundraiser together. Even though this year proved to be tremendous fun, we are hopeful that we will soon be able to gather, again, together. We want to thank Kathy Tate-Padian for agreeing to stay on as UPA Co-Chair during this unprecedented past year. We are going to miss her and wish her daughter Ryley success as she moves on to high school in the fall. Heather Winkelmann will remain on as Co-Chair for the upcoming school year and we are thrilled to welcome Missy Howe as new Co-Chair of the UPA next year. Thank you, as always, to our special Unquowa Community.
Retirement News After 15 years at Unquowa, Bob Kelley has retired! Whether it was starting your day saying hello to Mr. Bob in the gym or by the entrance, or at the end of the day, Mr. Bob’s willingness to help, his positive spirit and hard
Unquowa Parents Association
Condolences It is with great sadness that we share with our community the recent death of Joanne Karow Steichel, Unquowa’s admissions director from 2016-2021. Joanne was a takecharge, energetic woman, and upon coming to Unquowa after a long career in independent
work kept the school
school admissions, she embraced Unquowa
looking tip top. He will be
and brought fresh ideas to welcoming new
missed by students and
students and parents to our school, not the
staff alike and we wish Mr.
least of which was her ambassador program.
Bob all the best for a well
Sadly, Joanne lost a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer on July 25th,
deserved retirement!
2021. Joanne will be truly missed by everyone here at Unquowa.
Thank you to all our generous donors for a successful 2020-2021 Fund For Unquowa campaign. Thanks to you we raised over 100% of our yearly goal. To give to The
Fund For Unquowa 2021-2022
go online at unquowa.org/giving or use the enclosed green envelope
page 15
Alumni News Condolences Former student Daniel Kennedy Lincoln (1940’s) passed away last spring on April 11, 2021 at the age of 83. A graduate of Emory and Henry College, he had a lifelong career as an educator, starting in Virginia and later in the Fairfield Public Schools. He founded the Whole Earth Learning Program at Roger Ludlowe High School in Fairfield, CT and taught film and photography at Camp ICC in Westport, CT. Daniel was an industrious civil rights activist and loved to spend time outdoors and boat building. He will forever be remembered by his four children and five grandchildren whom he often spoke about his fond memories of being a student at Unquowa. Ms. Carolyn Streets, ‘89 was recently
Graduated just last year and recently
awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Award
back for a visit, Unquowa alum Roy
in Teaching. Ms. Streets’ research focuses
Krueger ‘20 certainly grew a little
on the relationship between student reading
taller and happily updated us on his
achievement and how academic language
fun and successful freshman year
is taught. Ms. Streets developed a unique
at Berkshire School. Making the
methodology for teaching academic language
most of boarding school life in spite
and will use the Fulbright award to research and
of Covid restrictions, Roy played
develop best practices that conceptually align
football and hockey, rowed crew
with student growth model frameworks and
in the spring and participated in
confirms the fundamental goal of education that
Berkshire Improv. Keep up the great
all students can succeed.
work, Roy!
Jean Carpenter Winton Distinguished Alumni Award
Abbie Winter ‘11, reminiscent of her time at Unquowa farm
Established in 2011 in honor of Jean
camp with Mrs. Faulkner and with true Unquowa spirit, is
Carpenter Winton, Unquowa class of
starting a community garden in her hometown Andover, CT!
1934, this alumni award is given to an
Best of luck, Abbie, and keep us posted on the progress!
Unquowa graduate who, like Jean, exhibits a strong sense of loyalty to the school and a personal commitment to its motto, The future is in our care. Congratulations go out to
Sammy Brownlow ‘08 who is the deserving recipent of this year’s award.
Best Wishes to our Class of 2017 Admidst these uncertain times, Unquowa students from the Class of 2017 have recently graduated high school and are now preparing to follow these paths in the Fall. We wish them the very best of luck as their next chapter unfolds. Go Gators!!! Tommy Brennan....................Northeastern University
Adam Jehle..................................St. Louis University
Lisi Chapin.............................Wake Forest University
Ethan Klein............................Northeastern University
Mimi Coghlan..............................American University
Nolan Kocsi................................ Brandeis University
Ruby Coleman............................American University
Noah Markus....................University Of Rhode Island
Shepherd Currie..........................Syracuse University
Sophia Mughal.....Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Daniel DeGirolomo.......................Southern University
Lola Panagos.........................Wake Forest University
Charlotte Dworski.......................Neumann University
Charlotte Robins......................University of Maryland
Jenna Foote................................................Gap Year
Grace Rosow.................................Dickinson College
William Geary.........................Northeastern University
Maya Rubino...................University of Central Florida
Aaron Gruen.......................................Tufts University
Drew Slager..........................Northwestern University
Alexandra Halas.....................Wake Forest University
Ella Stalowir......................................Drexel University
Will Hansen..................................Providence College
THE UNQUOWA SCHOOL 981 Stratfield Road, Fairfield, CT 06825-1697
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www.unquowa.org
Unquowa Culture: Unafraid Spirits!
~ obis N i r tu Care u r F u a O Cur re is in Futu The