Winter 2011 Now & Then @ Wheeler Magazine

Wheeler Roots — A Global Reach

Now&Then @Wheeler winter 2011

Now&Then @ Wheeler Vol. 9 Issue 1 Winter 2011 Editor: Laurie Flynn Board of Trustees President: Alan Litwin Alumni Association President: Kim Chazan Zwetchkenbaum ‘83 Parents Association President: Mary Gagnon Director of Institutional Advancement: Geoffrey Liggett Cover: Ted Mooncai ‘08 with students whose school is supported by his nonprofit Hope Scholarship Fund begun while he was a student at Wheeler.

Nondiscrimination Policy: The Wheeler School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or handicap in the administration of its educational, admissions, and financial aid policies, faculty and staff recruitment and hiring policies, athletics or other programs or activities administered by the school. www.wheelerschool.org Published by the Office of Institutional Advancement The Wheeler School 216 Hope Street Providence, Rhode Island 02906 401-421-8100

Nursery students enjoy the playground.

Photo by Sloane DeAngelis Pilgrim ‘86

Message from the Head of School As many readers will know, Wheeler assigned Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea to the entire student body and faculty this past summer – our first “all-school read.” We were confident that this story of one man’s remarkable effort to build schools in the poorest regions of Afghanistan would create a touchstone for all sorts of productive conversations, both in and out of the classroom. And it has. In and across grade levels the book has prompted teaching and learning in a range of academic areas – geography, politics, history, religion – and offered powerful lessons that transcend any discipline – lessons about empathy and the world beyond Providence and lessons about the power of any individual to make a real difference in the world.

But any educator also knows that every new initiative has a shelf-life with kids.

Too much of a good thing and we lose our audience, particularly those adolescents whose shift into jadedness can be almost instantaneous. As one beloved and occasionally snarky 14-year-old put it to me recently, “I think I’ve drunk enough tea this year, don’t you?”

Point well taken – sort of. For one thing, if we let middle-schoolers drive the curriculum…well, enough said. For another, the teaching connections to this book and to Greg Mortenson may well become more powerful as they become less explicit. As you will read in the following pages, one clear take-away for students is the confidence that small gestures, individual initiatives, can matter. How else do we explain why our student body contributed over three hundred thousand pennies in a “Pennies for Peace Drive” to support schools in Afghanistan? How else do we explain the number of students at Wheeler (some profiled in this magazine) who have become involved in meaningful social action, both locally and abroad?

There is much lamenting in the media about the disaffection of today’s youth, of their pre-occupation with video games, and Facebook, and their general selfabsorption. I would argue that most young people are deeply idealistic and extraordinarily eager to do something important. They just need role models who have made it work, and that’s why Three Cups of Tea resonates so powerfully. At a time when many of the world’s problems seem insurmountable and too broad to understand, let alone address, the optimism and activism of our students is inspiring. They believe they can make a difference, and so, of course, they will.

Dan Miller

At a time when many of the world’s problems seem insurmountable and too broad to understand, let alone address, the optimism and activism of our students is inspiring.

All-School Reading Selection Sparks A Campus-Wide Focus On Global Needs

Students raised more than $3,000 — collecting mostly pennies in jugs around campus — as part of the Pennies For Peace campaign, an offshoot of the Central Asia Institute, begun by Greg Mortenson, the subject of the book Three Cups of Tea. Art by Third Grader Joha Sam

Focus On A Global View

Promoting Peace with Pennies

By Cybele Greenberg ‘12 and Meg Hughes ‘12

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ver last summer 2010, Wheeler students, their parents and their teachers participated in an all-school read of Three Cups of Tea co-written by humanitarian Greg Mortenson. This recent bestseller recounts the endeavors of Mr. Mortenson as he undertook the challenge of building schools and bringing education to the remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In 1993, after failing to ascend K2 and straying from the rest of his alpine team, he stumbled, lost, into impoverished Korphe, a village nestled in the Karakoram Range.

Korphe’s leader Haji Ali and his son Twaha nursed Mr. Mortenson back to health and inspired him to return – once he had collected the necessary funds – and oversee the construction of the village’s first school.

Using education to combat intolerance in an area prone to terrorism, Mr. Mortenson went on to build more than 60 other schools.

Not only were these schools the first in many Pakistani and Afghan villages, they also embraced girls’ education, defying the traditionally male-dominated culture.

Mr. Mortenson went on to found an international organization, the Central Asia Institute (CAI), to raise awareness and money for his campaign.

The School’s Academic Council, led by Judy Poirier, Assistant Head of School, believed the book’s message would connect to Wheeler’s mission, bringing together an N-12 experience, place-based work in Providence, service learning, and unity and diversity. Since the book’s publication, two other versions – a short narrative for middle-school young adults and a picture book for elementary children – have been adapted from the original book to allow a wider audience to understand and enjoy Mr. Mortenson’s story. “Carolyn Hilles, our School librarian at the time, noted the availability of three reading levels of this book — a unique opportunity,” said Mrs. Poirier when asked what compelled Wheeler to choose this book for the all-school read. “It’s a chance to build community

cohesiveness.” As predicted, Three Cups of Tea not only united the Wheeler community, it also promoted awareness about current international issues, especially regarding education. Wheeler already has connections to both local and international schools, and many students started programs similar to the CAI including the Hope Scholarship Project, Rebound for Tomorrow, Wishes for Water and Life, and the recently-added Pennies for Peace initiative. (See additional reports in this section.)

Pennies for Peace was started as an offshoot of Mr. Mortenson’s CAI to collect funds while fostering the idea that even small amounts of money, even pennies deemed worthless by our society, can make a difference in under-privileged countries. Inspired and ready for action — especially after learning about this summer’s devastating floods in Pakistan – Wheeler students set up a campus version of Pennies for Peace. The idea originated with Wheeler’s Model UN club, which then engaged other clubs, such as the Women’s Issues, Philanthropy, and the Community Action Program mentors in a school-wide effort to collect as many pennies as possible.

Two delegations of Upper School students volunteered to work with the Lower and Middle School, while others coordinated the effort in the Upper School. Materials were eagerly assembled, posters were decorated and displayed, and big water jugs were collected to use as penny containers.

To increase participation, the club leaders introduced a competitive dimension to the project, particular to the interests of each division. In the Lower School, a purple versus gold competition was arranged, with a pizza party promised for the winning team. Under the supervision of teacher Trevor O’Driscoll, the Middle School Student Council presented slides illustrating the effects of the Pakistani floods and underlining the importance of mere pennies: in Pakistan and Afghanistan, one penny can buy a pencil, two an eraser, fifteen a notebook, $20 a student’s school supplies for one year, $600 a teacher’s salary for a year, and $5000 will support an existing school for a year. The competition was organized by grade, and an extra hourNow & Then @ Wheeler

long recess instead of a ‘boring’ study hall period was promised to the winners. Sam Abeshouse, a new 6th grade teacher, even proposed to allow the winning grade to give him the haircut of their choice once all the money was counted and collected.

As for the Upper School, the Community Council Heads organized “Penny Wars” between freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Each penny would count as one point, while any other donations (such as other coins or the occasional $20 bill) in the jars of other grades would count as negative points.

After much energy, enthusiasm, and effort, Wheeler’s Pennies for Peace drive ended December 10th with a grand total of $3,197 raised by the Lower, Middle and Upper School divisions. Sarah Thomson, author of the middle-school version of Three Cups of Tea, who spoke at Wheeler this fall, also generously donated to the fund. The Middle School Student Council added an additional donation of $100 out of its own treasury.

In addition to the competitions, the annual Upper School Student Art Auction chose Pennies for Peace as one of its beneficiaries this year. Thanks to the bids of parents, teachers, fellow students, and outside community members, the auction raised $375, greatly contributing to the overall effort.

So what did the school take away from the campaign? The Upper School leaders faced and overcame the challenges that come with organizing and coordinating a schoolwide effort and successfully advertising a cause they were passionate to support. The drive also increased awareness about a very prominent current international need for education that enormously benefits from US aid and support while presenting the project at the various assemblies. Wheeler students realized that they were part of a bigger national effort started by Mr. Mortenson.

Ultimately, the Wheeler community learned that by promoting individuality, commonality, opportunity, and awareness, a single school can make a significant difference in another school’s future.

Cybele Greenberg and Meg Hughes are both juniors who helped organize Wheeler’s Pennies for Peace Project. Cybele is the Model UN Club’s vice president and Meg is the Women’s Issues Club vice president.

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“Why wait until I’m an adult to make change happen in the world?”

Aman Mehta, Class of 2011, founder of nonprofit Rebound For Tomorrow

Wheeler Roots

TED MOONCAI ‘08 BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE THROUGH EDUCATION BY ELIZABETH GAO ‘11

Seated onaplane headed hometowardsAmerica, Ted Mooncai knew he had to do something.

For the past few weeks of his summer break, he had taught English at a rural elementary school located in China, where he had witnessed poverty firsthand. “It was one thing to learn about poverty in school,” he recalled wryly in a recent interview, “but it was a life-changing experience when I actually saw it face to face.” And it was the powerful memory of the rural children he had grown close to that brought Ted to the startling conclusion that he wanted to establish a fund to support the education of these students.

While many individuals can claim to have had similar moments of inspiration, it’s rare that the desire to do something actually translates into action. However, after various meetings with a lawyer, a seemingly endless application for tax exemption, and all sorts of legal jargon, Ted proved himself to be one of the rare few people who have enough determination to carry out their aspirations. After many months of grueling, hard work, he successfully established the Hope Scholarship Fund in the spring 4

of his sophomore year at Wheeler. Even today, as a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, he continues to raise thousands of dollars for Hope Scholarship Fund with the same, strong resolve with which he founded his organization.

Officially, the mission of the Hope Scholarship Fund is to give children who come from families caught in the cycle of poverty the opportunity to break free of their socioeconomic status, pursue their passions, and achieve higher echelon jobs and careers that would otherwise be unobtainable for them. Currently, the non-profit supports 17 students from various locations in both China and Kenya.

Most of the sponsored students attend the Dandelion Middle School for migrant children near Beijing. In Ted’s opinion, nothing beats the wonderful feeling of knowing that the Hope Scholarship Fund has truly made a difference in the lives of many of his students, who now face brighter futures thanks to the education they have been able to receive. For instance, recently two Kenyan students for whom the fund has provided educational Now & Then @ Wheeler

resources over the past years have begun to attend college.

While there are other organizations that have similar goals to the Hope Scholarship Fund, the unique aspect of this particular non-profit organization is that 100% of all the profits raised goes directly to the fund and is set aside for the use of the students.

Moreover, because Hope Scholarship Fund is still a grassroots organization, it is easier to get to know all the students supported by the fund on a personal level and to witness the direct effects the donations have on their lives.

The final message that Ted would like to convey to the Wheeler community is simply, “Do it.” Once you discover your passion, the best way to go about pursuing it is to just constantly work toward achieving your goals and not let any opportunity slip by. Through his story, Ted hopes that other students will similarly be motivated to take action and chase after their dreams. “All you need is inspiration and the rest will fall into place.”

To learn more about the Hope Scholarship Fund, please visit the official website at http:// www.hopescholarshipfund.org.

A Global Reach

LARKIN BROWN ‘06

AFFECTING CHANGE THROUGH SOCCER ONE GIRL AT A TIME BY ELIZABETH GAO ‘11 When Larkin Brown was first introduced to Soccer without Borders shortly before her senior year at Bowdoin College, she had no idea that this would be the beginning of an unforgettable journey that would lead her all the way into the heart of Central America.

As a high school student at Wheeler, Larkin developed a great passion for community service through Wheeler’s Community Action Program (CAP), which taught her about socioeconomic limitations and sparked her interest in helping the socioeconomically disadvantaged improve the circumstances of their lives. In part, Larkin’s passion for other people also stemmed from her strong belief in the school motto of “The Spirit Giveth Life,” which continued to strongly resonate within her even as a college student. She says, “Over the years, the idea of giving and sharing yourself with other people and letting yourself learn from their experiences is something that just never grew old for me.” Therefore, when she witnessed the challenging lack of resources that Nicaraguan girls face daily during her trial period with Soccer without Borders,

she felt inspired to help the program and these girls in any way she could.

Soccer without Borders is a non-profit organization that strives to utilize soccer as a vehicle for change in the lives of marginalized youth. Currently, Larkin works year-round at the project site located in Granada, Nicaragua, where the target population is young girls who are generally excluded from sports-based and extracurricular opportunities. There, Larkin and her coworkers strive to empower local girls by teaching them life skills, such as teamwork and leadership, through soccer.

Being part of a close-knit team also provides these girls with a stable platform for personal growth by offering them a safe space where they are able to voice their own opinions and explore new ideas with their peers.

Larkin’s dedication to Soccer without Borders derives from her desire to offer the girls many of the resources and opportunities she herself received growing up in the United States. The most striking observation she shares is the fact that even though the only thing that truly seems to separate her from the little girls she works Now & Then @ Wheeler

with is the location of her birth, yet they lead such different lives. Larkin hopes that her work will inspire the girls to change their own lives so that they too can achieve their dreams and pursue a brighter future In Larkin’s opinion, “being involved at the ground level in a non-governmental organization has definitely been an unparalleled experience.” While she knows that a lot of hard work and dedication will be required, Larkin sees herself working with Soccer without Borders and other smaller grassroots organizations that incorporate teaching in the future. For other individuals who are thinking of similarly pursuing nonprofit work, she leaves a few last words of wisdom: “Oftentimes, it’s really easy to want to make big changes that affect largescale populations, but sometimes it’s also important to take a step back from the big picture and appreciate the small changes and interactions as well.”

If you are interested in learning more about Larkin’s adventures in Nicaragua, please visit her blog at http://larkininnicaragua.blogspot. com/ 5

Inspired by Lessons In Giving Students Take Action Today

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reate a non-profit while still in high school? Or Middle School for that matter? Wheeler students are doing just that as they take their inspiration from sources as varied as their families, their classmates and their curriculum. As senior Aman Mehta said of the wave of social consciousness evident on campus: “Why wait until I’m an adult to make change happen in the world?”

Recently, a panel of students presented to the Education & Student Life Committee of Wheeler’s Board of Trustees about the “Greg Mortenson-style” work they are doing with non-profit organizations. Three of the students started and manage their own education-based non-profits and the fourth presenter is continuing the non-profit work established by Wheeler alumnus Ted Mooncai ‘08, as well as leading the Pennies For Peace drive in all divisions of the school. Assistant School Head Judy Poirier wrote after the presentation, “Perhaps the most impressive take-away from these presentations (apart of our admiration for the achievement of the students) was that we saw clear evidence of the way that Wheeler supports and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit of its students, especially in areas of social responsibility. Here is a quick summary of the organizations that we learned about:

Jiawen Tang ‘11

The Wheeler N-12 Pennies for Peace Project Jiawen was inspired to start a P4P drive here at Wheeler after reading about the floods in Pakistan and realizing that many of Greg Mortenson’s schools were impacted by the floods. The P4P project helps students understand the importance of giving by highlighting that “a penny buys a pencil” and that 200 pennies covers a teacher salary for a day in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Jiawen helped organize penny collections in all divisions of the school.

She was further inspired in this work when she had a chance to meet Greg Mortenson at a conference in New Bedford, MA in October with fellow student Molly Nickerson (right).

The Hope Scholarship Fund Continuing the work begun by Ted Mooncai ’08, the HSF is a student organization at Wheeler raising funds in support of the Dandelion School in Beijing, China. The Dandelion School was founded to meet the educational needs of the children of poor migrant workers, one of the most under-served groups in China. Jiawen’s experiences as a Chinese immigrant herself strengthens her support and leadership of the group.

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Student non-profit leaders — Nick Lowinger, Tyler Ropolo, Jiawen Tang and (via video) Aman Mehta.

Spreading The Word Easy for Today’s Tech-Savvy Non-Profit Entrepreneurs Facebook, YouTube and websites devoted to their missions are tools of today’s teen nonprofit leaders. Find out more about all of these organizations by going online.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GottaHaveSoleFoundation YouTube for Aman and Tyler’s work: http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM0Qo_DyKMA Websites: www.ReboundForTomorrow.org and www.hopescholarshipfund.org

Now & Then @ Wheeler

Focus On A Global View

Aman Mehta ‘11

Community Service director Cali Almy with seniors Aman Mehta and Tyler Ropolo (above) at their successful joint fundraiser many students and parents attended at Ropolo’s Pasta Beach restaurant in Newport. Another event is planned in Boston in the spring.

Nick Lowinger ‘16

Gotta Have Sole As a 5-year-old, Nick’s mother, an art therapist, brought him along to her work at a Providence shelter. He saw the needs of the shelter residents firsthand over the course of several years. As a bar mitzvah community service project, Nick, now a 7th grader, responded to seeing kids in shelters who needed shoes by collecting new shoes to donate. His project branched out collecting donations from shoe companies to distribute.

In September 2010 (on the first day of this school year), Nick incorporated Gotta Have Sole Foundation as a non-profit charity. At presstime, Nick had been contacted by producers of NBC Nightly News for a possible “Making A Difference” feature on his efforts.

More than 10 RI shelters are receiving

Now & Then @ Wheeler

Rebound for Tomorrow Aman’s work starting this non-profit organization was also inspired by alumnus Ted Mooncai’s work in establishing the Hope Scholarship during Ted’s Wheeler years. RFT raises money in support of students at the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya School in Ena, Gujarat, India. Students who wish to attend this excellent public school often come from low-income, tribal families who live quite far away. RFT raises money to pay for the dormitory and boarding fees for these students, including health care. It costs a dollar a day to support a student. RFT sponsored one child in its first year and Aman commented that he was so inspired by the resilience of that child, whom he spent time with in the summer of 2009, that he decided to do more.

RFT sponsored 7 children in years two and three as a result of Aman’s efforts to get business sponsorships. Aman has also prepared for future work by training in Bangladesh at the Grameen Bank, founded by Nobel Prize winner Mohammed Yunus.

Tyler Ropolo ‘11

Wishes for Water and Life Tyler began his non-profit work as an 8th grader at his school in Italy.

Working with a teacher there, he learned about the need for community wells in Burkina Faso and that the cost of each well amounts to only $13,000.

On coming to Wheeler, Tyler established his non-profit, Wishes for Water and Life, and has organized fund-raisers, most recently at the Pasta Beach Restaurant in Newport, to raise $8,000 for the building of a well. Tyler showed a presentation about the recent installation of a well and the school children who benefited from having access to water.

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Campus Finds Creative Ways to Build From Three Cups of Tea Reading From hosting an author in a fun talk show format, studying the effects of flooding in Pakistan or helping to complete a reading room in Kenya, teachers, students (and even parents and alumnae in their own reading group events) embraced the lessons from the all-school summer read.

YOUNG ADULT AUTHOR CHARMED BY MIDDLE SCHOOL CREATIVITY Author Sarah Thomson, who adapted the young adult version of Three Cups of Tea visited Wheeler in October to discuss writing fiction and nonfiction.

While her schedule led her across all divisions of Wheeler’s campus thanks to the work of librarian Brooke Strachan, Thomson was most impressed by the fun, talk show format run by Middle School students for their portion of her visit.

A ‘house band’ warmed up the crowd, while runners brought the microphone to audience members with questions all while 8th grade hosts Kyle Blacklock and Grave Evans interviewed the author from a cozy living room set in Wheeler Hall. Thomson was so taken by the effort shown she made her own donation to the Pennies For Peace drive as a thank you.

Challenges of Pakistani Terrain Are Subject of Hamilton Science Class TEACHER BOB SCHMIDT’S HAMILTON 7th grade science class discussed the main geographical features of Pakistan after reading Three Cups of Tea and the difficulty encountered to access some of the villages in which to build schools. Students looked at the catastrophic flooding that was happening concurrently there earlier this fall. Their stream table plans and eventual construction not only simulated the mountainous terrain and the stages of flooding in a scientific context (flood plains, erosion, deposition, drainage patterns, etc.) but also addressed the broader concept of an individual taking an idea, doing some research, making a plan and executing it.

Teams were charged with trying to design a way to alleviate extreme amounts of water released onto their models. Solutions included trying combinations of controlled damming, increased flood plains, changing the load (amount of earth material being moved) of the stream and varying the substrates (kind of material coming in contact with the water).

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Now & Then @ Wheeler

Focus On A Global View

Second Graders Lead Effort to Build Reading Room in Mwea, Kenya

IEAW Founder Is 2011 Fox Family Speaker

Second graders from Wheeler & Hamilton (and many former second graders) learned this fall that their multi-year efforts to raise funds to build a reading room for the families of Mwea, Kenya have succeeded. Through bake and bookmark sales led by teachers Terri Clayman, Sue Palmieri, Rita Wheatley and retired teacher Linda Atamian, students have worked to help the 900 Kenyan students have their own building dedicated to learning. A plaque thanking Wheeler has been placed inside. You can watch a video of the celebration at http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgVzqHH7UWg.

Rhode Island is home to a national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating young women from Afghanistan. Paula Nirschel, founder of the Initiative to Educate Afghan Women (ieaw.org) has been selected as the 2011 Fox Family Speaker this year and will visit campus with four students.

The Fox Family Speaker Series brings an extraordinary individual to campus each year to share a passion for learning with students in Grades Nursery - 12. The series is funded through an endowment by Lucy & James Fox AP ‘03, ‘05.

SHARING CUPS OF TEA ­— (Above left) During Alumni Day over Reunion Weekend, Diversity Director Philip Hall shared tea and led a book discussion of Three Cups of Tea with four members of the 50th Reunion Class of 1960: Nancy B. Anderson, Sara H. Keast Fisher, Faith McClellan LeBaron, and Pamela Saute Dumas. Hall led a similar book club event for parents. (Above right) Barbara Simpson’s 4th Grade homeroom shared gratitude for what brings them happiness in a display of things they deemed “their cup of tea.”

Now & Then @ Wheeler

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Fall Athletic Season Highlights

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BOYS VARSITY 13-2-3 RECORD SOCCER POSTED A AND A PINGRE E WIN! VARSITY GIRLS SOCCER WON THE SENE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE 4TH CONSECUTIVE SEASON WITH A 17-0 LEAGUE RECORD AND AN 18-1 OVERALL RECORD.

Middle school teams were the first to debut the new ‘retro’ purple and gold athletic uniforms this year. Athletes were ‘uniformly’ pleased with the new, brighter look that echoes the School’s original colors of purple and gold.

Check out sports highlights and scores 24/7 at www.wheelerschool.org/athletics

A NEW CROSS COUNTRY TEAM DEBUTED IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!

Wylie Barker (above) and Nick Codola (left) both earned All-New England at the NEPSAC Race, and were invited to run in the New England All-Star Meet.

SPORTS WIRE • VARSITY GIRLS TENNIS Sara Barone earned RIIL 2nd Team All-State and 2nd Team All-Division honors, while Sarah Cantor earned 2nd Team All-Division.

• BOYS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY The team won a school record 5 meets, and finished 2nd at the SENE Championships. Nick Codola (3rd), Wylie Barker (5th), Doug Kaiser (6th), Charlie Horkings (10th), and Will Lupica (15th) were All-SENE. • BOYS VARSITY SOCCER Zack Rubin and Kevin Gil earned 1st Team All-SENE while Dan Tripp and Micah Wisen earned 2nd Team All-SENE. Telvin Lopes was named Honorable Mention.

• VARSITY FOOTBALL Charlie Ward First Team All-Division IV Offensive Line. Sam Shwartz Honorable Mention Division IV Linebacker.

Middle S red Arc chool and Va h at Wh rsity ru olds a n e n ew fea eler Farm by a ners found th ture on this sea r e son. their cr tist James Rey n oss cou ntry pa th

GIRLS VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY-The team won the school’s first-ever Girls Cross Country SENE Championship with an incredible performance in the league meet. Cybele Greenberg (5th), Rebecca Greenberg (6th), Mari DeBare (7th), Kay Todesco (9th), Catha Metcalf (11th), and Lily Barker (15th) were All-SENE.

It’s Not Your Grandmother’s Library Anymore!

Or is it?

By the Librarians of The Prescott Library at Wheeler Christine Smith, Brooke Strachan, Ben Goulet and Kate Covintree

In 2001, there was no Wikipedia. No iPhones, Blackberrys nor Netbook computers.

Librarians must adapt and adopt at a dizzying pace.

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n his groundbreaking article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” Marc Prensky illustrated the divide between educators and students in relation to the rise of information technology. He argued that Digital Immigrants had a new world thrust upon them, one with new languages, mores, and learning styles while Digital Natives were already embracing, even challenging, the ways information is retrieved, stored, and disseminated.

The article was published in 2001. At that time, there was no Wikipedia. No iPhones, Blackberrys or Netbook computers. The first iPod had been introduced that year, holding 5 gigs of storage and costing over $400. The founders of Google had just moved their startup out of a Menlo Park garage. YouTube was still four years away. Can anyone stay ahead of this tsunami of information?

Librarians adapted to, and adopted, the changes in information technology at a dizzying pace. In turn, the challenges and rewards of student research have taken on a higher profile. Although Digital Natives have access to the avalanche of information at their fingertips, they need to be even more skilled at research than their digital immigrant “ancestors” were. When research was limited to print and geographic constraints it was much easier to decide what information was best suited to answer our research needs.

In the digital world, learning how to assess, evaluate, navigate and choose the appropriate resources takes on greater importance. There is just so much more information; often without the benefit of an editorial eye to authenticate and evaluate for you. “Information literacy,” meaning the ability to identify, retrieve, evaluate, and use information, has become an invaluable set of skills that students need in order to succeed in our highly technical, information overloaded world.

Developing information literacy skills begins very early at Wheeler. These skills are explicitly and implicitly included in the research experience in every division

and across disciplines. We often make the assumption that digital natives , while skilled users of the hardware that delivers their music, e-books, and social networks, are also skilled at finding and using information effectively and honestly.

Just as students need to be guided to the literary canon or to the works of the finest historians or brilliant scientists, so too must they be guided to the best sources to meet their information needs, especially when delivered digitally.

If we accept the premise that research and effective use of digitally-managed information are important skills for today’s student, then librarians can be the guides through this sometimes overwhelming digital landscape. We are practiced in this research and evaluation field and work to disseminate that information to all members of the school community. The fact that kids can find answers to questions outside of the library makes expressly teaching them to be educated consumers of information essential. Teaching them to find and use information in a deep and meaningful way requires professional guidance and the opportunity to practice the process with success. With independent library research, students can make mistakes, explore at their own pace, and follow their own Now & Then @ Wheeler

passions without the burden of a grade or a requirement.

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e can help foster learners who are curious, independent risk-takers.

Graded curricular projects provide students the opportunities to practice these essential 21st century skills. Projects created in collaboration with classroom teachers and librarians provide students with the value-added experience of investigating these resources with purpose and guidance.

Effective searching, authenticating information and using it to discern new meaning and understanding takes time and practice at all developmental levels.

Using technology as one of many delivery systems now vital to the research process, the Information Literacy aspect of Wheeler’s Library curriculum is integrated throughout the department and divisions. Our goal is to prepare our students to be critical thinkers, creative problem solvers, effective and ethical users of information and technology and good collaborators in the process of deriving meaning from the wealth of information at their fingertips.

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Quill’s Centennial Evokes Memories from Decades Of Writers & Editors The campus literary and art publication, The Quill, will

celebrate its centennial in 2011. At the beginning, its editors hoped to create a ‘permanent school paper,’ noting in their first issue that they realized they weren’t the first to honor student writing and art, as the School had earlier published a literary publication: The Maelstrom (inset) from 1895-1897. The 1911 Quill staff wrote that they would create a publication that would ‘draw all into good fellowship.’ The publication was created by the students of English III, who elected Esther Whitmarsh as their Editor-In-Chief, and the first issue reflected the interests of the students who created it: the class colors of “Alice blue and black” adorned the cover shown at right, along with the class flower, the jonquil. No Issue No. 1 from 1895 explanation is found for the of the school’s earliest origin of the name, except an literary publication, introductory note by the ediThe Maelstrom tor describing the thought to be original rather than using the earlier name, The Maelstrom. Advertising was sold to fund its production and the first issue included ads from businesses as diverse as the nearby Meeting Street Stable to “Miss Schmitt, Teacher of Pianoforte.”

While the modern-era editions feature creative writing and art by Upper School students alone, earlier editions welcomed submissions campus wide and included news items, a calendar of events and class notes for alumnae of the School and original Studio.

Among the interesting pieces included in the first issue in 1911 was a Valentine to the School founder which gave a nod to her pet project, the recent construction of Hope Building: “Mary, Mary quite contrary How does your building grow?

With mortar and water The way it ought’er And pretty maids all in a row.”

Art has always been as important for inMay the clever, creative nature of The Quill continue to clusion in The Quill as has writing. At be led by our students and guided by their teachers. right, Jacob Kramer ‘02’s cover for that

By Laurie Flynn year’s edition.

Archives Coordinator Editor, Now & Then At Wheeler

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By Marcie Cummings ‘72, Michael C. Brown Faculty Chair, English Department Faculty

o commemorate the 100th anniversary of The Quill, Wheeler’s literary magazine, The Now & Then asked alumni for memories of writing or editing for the publication. What is most striking about the alumni responses is just how similar they are: anyone who was involved with editing or writing for The Quill recalls the experience as one of their favorite times at Wheeler.

For many, like Andree “Nooky” Pages ’74, it was the first time their work was published. As Nooky, who is still writing, so eloquently states: “…little compares with that first thrill of seeing my name under two poems in The Quill.”

Sybilla Avery Cook ’48 was on The Quill Board from 1944-48. Sybilla fondly remembers Jane Esty, whom she followed as editor in the ’47-’48 years. Priscilla Luke Vail and “Babs” MacLeish are also two other students whom Sybilla fondly remembers.

Sybilla wrote: “I do remember editing those awful galleys—I am SO glad they have gone the way of the ditto machine.” She adds, “…I am currently writing a biography of Berta and Elmer Hader, Caldecottwinning 20th century writers…”

Jackie Weinstein Brookner ’63 was editor of The Quill for 1962-63. Says Jackie, “In my editorial, which I think was entitled ‘More Fuel for the Fire’ and which was very influenced by Thoreau, I called for more activism and political engagement amongst the students…”

Post Wheeler she explains, “…I have lived a very engaged life as an ecological artist…” Jackie also remembers wanting a photograph (a close up of a tattered Wheeler

sweater) as opposed to a drawing, which was the tradition, for the cover.

According to Jackie, it was considered “very radical” to have a photograph, but the photograph was allowed.

Dede Cummings ’74 wrote of her Quill memories, “My first poem published was there —”Old Men Deserted The Park” or something.

That got me interested in poetry and I just had a poem published by connotationpress.com, so I still love to write!

Amy Brier ’78 was a co-editor with Vivina Ree. Amy remembers “…the feeling of rightness when things came together.”

Alex Cummings ’78 was on The Quill Board and she evocatively reminisces about Quill meetings. “I do recall that Quill meetings were in some small cupboard office on the third floor of Hope. I very much remember the sun coming through the southern window (an afternoon affair as, at that point, most of us had eschewed sports) and we did all our work on the floor--no desk in sight.”

Molly Johnsen ’06 was also on the Board and she remembers “…loving the huge stack of creative writing submitted by all of my peers — tangible proof that we, as a student body, loved to write.”

And that has not changed. There are still fabulous student writers at Wheeler and they are still submitting great work to The Quill. Catherine Reed, formerly a faculty advisor to The Quill has fond memories of shifting through “dogeared, folded, crumpled, occasionally hand written, often typed” student submissions.

When it was time to choose what would go into The Quill, Catherine says, “Some of the best discussions about

literature and writing ensued in those off-hours around a big table, the beautiful trees flowering outside in the courtyard.”

Catherine also notes that The Quill is not just a literary magazine for “… the art editors would work with the art teachers to include photographs, drawings, paintings and collages…”

S

ometimes when I am feeling nostalgic, or when I want my Wheeler students of today to be inspired, I leaf through The Quill and the pieces still strike me as stunning.

This year’s Quill co-editors are Rosa Congdon, Jack Christie and Seth Neel and they will also be the art editors; the faculty advisors are Ann Lightcap Bruno, Sue Carroll and Annie Funnell. In their able hands the 2011 publication will be as memorable as those that have preceded it. Here’s to one hundred years of great editing, amazing writing and art, as Catherine put it: “…as moving as the written word.”

In And Out Of The Classroom

ABOVE — Jodi von Reinhart’s 8th graders enjoy creating raps and rhymes based on mythological notables such as Zeus (above).

CENTER — 7th graders look forward to their chance to experience the body density project Dorothy Garfield runs each year. In fact, senior Bergina Francois referenced the unit in her speech to members of Wheeler’s Founders Society at their donor recognition event this fall.

BELOW — Juniors took a day trip to Concord, MA to meet School Founder Mary Wheeler’s relative Richard Wheeler, who led the group on a tour of Author’s Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery with a stop at Ralph Waldo Emerson’s grave.

Senior Seth Neel’s article “Introduction to Sieve Theory” has been selected for publication in the Harvard College Mathematics Review. Neel was also the only RI high school student named a semifinalist in The Siemens Foundation Competition in Math, Science & Technology which recognizes remarkable talent early on, fostering individual growth for high school students who are willing to challenge themselves through science research.

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AERIE MURAL PROJECT ADDS TO LOWER SCHOOL

Hamilton 8th Grade Uses Blogs of Today To Discuss Slave Life Teacher Martha Richardson used blogging this fall as a way to engage her Eighth Grade Hamilton homeroom’s study of American history. As the students researched slavery, they posted photos of their plantations as well as essays on their reasearch online for others to read and remark upon.

In addition to learning about America’s past, the students also used their studies to reflect on the all-school summer reading about humanitarian Greg Mortenson.

Most of the class agreed in their essays that building schools for slaves would have had a direct impact on their future, much as Mortenson’s schools do today.

Add mural-painting to the list of interesting Aerie electives on campus.

Artist Lauren Scotto works with Middle School students to create beautiful murals for Lower School walls. A new one based on Egypt is underway this semester.

THIRD GRADE DONATES ART TO HASBRO HOSPITAL

Third graders parade at Lower School Community Meeting before their circus art is sent to Hasbro Children’s Hospital to brighten walls — and spirits — in a project run for several years by their art teachers Bobbie Berking & Annie Gillett.

Now & Then @ Wheeler

17

Performing Arts When not performing for area community groups, Wheeler’s Concert Handbell Ringers hosted nearly 90 ringers from schools across New England at the annual RingOUT event held at the Van Norman FIeld House at the Wheeler Farm.

The 18 Wheelers had their cover of the song “Mercy” selected as a track on the 2011 Best of High School A Cappella CD. This is the sixth time an 18 Wheeler track has earned a spot on the national CD. Hear the song on the Wheeler website’s main portal. The group will also compete this year in the International High School A Cappella Championships.

The Wheeler Jazz Ensemble (shown here at a local Whole Foods) perform in January at Chan’s Restaurant in Woonsocket with teacher Francisco Cardoso’s quintet.

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Now & Then @ Wheeler

Performing is the purpose for Wheeler’s talented students as they took their acts on the road to entertain at venues large and small such as Central Park, a school-hosted handbell conference, local markets, malls and jazz clubs (such as Chan’s) as well as the 25th anniversary Aids Walk RI. In addition, audiences were wowed by two school theatrical events this fall. See some performances on thewheelerschool channel on YouTube or at www.wheelerschool.org/performingarts or use a smartphone to scan the code at right!

Middle School Chorus Sings at Lennon Event As CNN Crew Records Tribute Middle School music teacher Jeff Griffith takes his student singers to Central Park every five years to pay tribute to singer John Lennon and at this year’s 30th anniversary event, a CNN news crew recorded and broadcast the young students as they performed for an international audience. Above 8th grader Nora Stolzman, daughter of alumna Faye Granoff Stolzman ‘81, answers a reporter’s questions about the experience.

Alum Marc Trachtenberg ‘94 wrote the score and book with Performing Arts Dept. head Lisa Brackett for an original Lower School musical based on Robin Hood. Caity Sprague ‘09 did the art (at right) for the t-shirts and posters.

Now & Then @ Wheeler

19

At Last!

Hamilton School Has An Exceptional Building To Match Its Exceptional Program

A dedicated science classroom in the Wharton P. Whitaker Building.

The addition nearly doubles the size of the original building with 13,829 sf.

Head Dan Miller speaks at the Ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Hamilton parents Betsy & Rory Smith in the Smith Conference & Resource Room.

Hamilton director Jon Green with Kathi Whitaker and her daughters Courtney and Kelsey, both Hamilton alumnae, after they cut the ribbon.

A new classroom allows for a variety of teaching methods.

IT SEEMS PROGRAM HAS ALWAYS COME BEFORE PLACE AS

Hamilton/Wheeler alumnus Miles Stenhouse ‘09 performs.

The Hamilton School at Wheeler’s first classes in 1988 happened in the basement of a nearby church. Headmaster William C. Prescott, Jr. took a chance that year to create a new educational model for children with learning differences.

The idea succeeded and the quickly-growing program spent more than two decades in its second home, a Victorian on the Brook Street corner of the Wheeler campus. The Hamilton School at Wheeler (named in memory of Wheeler alumna Judith Toy Hamilton ‘53) grew into a program with international scope but a small local footprint. No longer, as this August 31, on a sweltering day before the start of the school year, hundreds gathered to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the Wharton P. Whitaker Building and its expansion of the original “schoolwithin-a-school.” Alumni, parents, former faculty and family of “Whit” Whitaker (in whose memory the new building has been named) came to tour expansive classrooms in both new and old parts of the school, marvel at the bright lighting and colorful tile artwork in Hale Family Assembly Hall and appreciate the stateof-the-art Smith Conference Room along with numerous teaching and tutoring spaces. Smart architecture along with smartboards now embrace the teaching ethos that all children can learn. photos by Pam Murray

Public Art Initiative Welcomes Two New Pieces To The Campus

Two new works of art commissioned as part of Wheeler’s Public Art Initiative joined the works already installed on the Providence and Seekonk campuses just as school opened this year. Glass sculpture SPECTRUM

by Richard Easton (this page) can be seen in the Nulman Lewis Student Center and tile art FIFTY-SIX WAYS

by Coral Bourgeois AP ‘09, CP ‘13 is found inside the Wharton P. Whitaker Building at The Hamilton School at Wheeler. Videos by filmmaker Richard Goulis recording the artists at work and explaining their inspiration can be seen on the school’s website at www.wheelerschool.org/publicart. Each work in Wheeler’s Public Art Initiative, begun in 2007, has been commissioned by former trustee and alum parent and grandparent Dr. Joseph Chazan in memory of Helene Chazan.

Fifty-Six Ways by noted tile artist Coral Bourgeois draws upon the educational program of The Hamilton School at Wheeler with tiles paying homage to famous dyslexics such as Albert Einstein and well-known Hamilton classroom projects of the past such as the human body ‘operation.’ The fun piece invites close inspection where the viewer can find Wheeler founder Mary C. Wheeler at her easel and a clock forever marked at five minutes until the school day ends. See videos with the artists by scanning the code below with your smartphone or go to www. wheelerschool.org/publicart.

Coming in 2011, noted Ecuadorian muralist Agustin Patiño has been selected by the Public Art Initiative Committee to create a mural on the playground side wall of Madden Gymnasium. At left, Art Department head Bob Martin and School Head Dan Miller view “The Plaza of Art and Culture” by the artist in South Providence.

Wheeler Ropes Course In High Demand at The Farm More than 1500 students and business professionals from local high schools, universities and business organizations made use of the School’s Challenge Ropes Course at The Farm in 2010; balancing their way through the course, increasing teamwork and confidence. For most participants, this was their first introduction to the School’s second campus.

Below are two responses to the ropes course program.

“Eighty individuals from our staff came away from the experience with one common sentiment...

It was INCREDIBLE! Most felt a great deal of nervousness going in, but that was quickly replaced with trust in the facilitators and each other. Confidence, communication and a sense of accomplishment followed. As a company, we were looking for an activity that would promote team building and encourage and enhance the relationships between our employees. We got all of that and more!”

Barbara Mulcahy, Koch Eye Associates “Just a quick thanks for all of your help with Brown Adventure Day this year. As always, it was the highlight of orientation week! All of the comments we received on the evaluations included words such as awesome, fun, fantastic, great, etc. They really had a great time and got to know one another--so thank you for another successful year "in the woods!”

Orientation Director Brown Medical Students

Photo and story by Donna Baer, Ropes Course Manager

Alumni Titles

Andrea Cohen Reiser ‘84 released a new book titled Letters From Home: A Wake-Up Call for Success & Wealth which explores American virtues and profiles of individual success stories including some Wheeler-related folks: sister, Meredith Cohen Fried ‘85; dad and former Wheeler Trustee, David Cohen; and Ellis Waldman, father of current student Edie. The Reisers are donating through their publisher 100 percent of the royalties and other income from the book to charity—specifically Share Our Strength (www.strength.org), Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (www.mskcc.org), and FORCE (www.facingourrisk.org).

Lynn Ducoff Belkin ‘99 has written and published a children’s book, Home In Time For My Birthday. The book is about her own experience surviving a brain tumor as a child. In addition to RI-area book signings, Lynn was interviewed for the Health Check feature on NBC Channel 10 Providence.

Rebecca Maizel ‘98, author of Infinite Days, visited campus this fall to sit in on David Michel’s class, talk to students and seek out her book among the Alumni Author section of the Prescott Library. Maizel’s first novel for young adults features Lenah Beaudonte, a 16-year old girl/centuries-old vampire queen.

Brian Feldman ‘09 took his Aerie Independent study project to greater heights by publishing a workbook of exercises for the study of Ancient Greek. Watch for it on Amazon.com.

Michelle Gagnon ‘89 released her latest thriller KIDNAP & RANSOM this fall. Set in and around Mexico City, the story is loosely based on a real-life kidnapping. More information is available on her website www.

MichelleGagnon.com Nico Muhly ‘99 has released two choral music CDs: A Good Understanding and I Drink the Air Before Me. Movie bloggers report Muhly is composing music for the upcoming thriller Limitless. The movie stars Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro and Anna Friel. In the film, a copywriter discovers a topsecret drug which bestows him with super human abilities. Muhly has worked on such scores as The Hours, Notes on a Scandal and Cassandra’s Dream. Limitless marks Muhly’s first big feature assignment since the Academy Award-nominated 2008 drama The Reader starring Kate Winslet.

Reports say to watch for a release of the thriller on March 12, 2011.

Now & Then @ Wheeler

25

REUNION 2010

They came from around the country and across the world to gather at 216 Hope to sing, to laugh, to cry, to share. It was one of — if not the — largest alumnae/i Reunion Weekends in school history with the Classes ending in 1’s and 5’s showing how The Spirit Giveth Life continues even after high school. Kristen Bruno McClusky described it best on her blog as: “The best social event of the year” (www.motherloadblog.com)

At their request, members of the 25th Reunion Class of 1985 gather for their group photo in the room named in memory of classmate Jas Tereszcenko.

Shown are Row 1: Elizabeth Duffy Makin, Donna McNally Woods, Debra London Row 2: Stacey Dogan, Maria Renzulli Gould, Margaret Dillon Brabham, Kristen Bruno McClusky, Christine Medeiros Silverman, Robin Rollo, Susan Cohen Gastel, Story Lewis Savage Row 3: Susan Clegg, Leigh Feldman, Pamela Aaronson Hamilton, Meredith Cohen Fried, Diane Prescott, Kerri Hicks, Tracey Phillips Tisler Row 4: Leslie Molson, Barrie Daneker, Dan Wood

50th Reunion

ABOVE: Row 1: Sara Keast Fisher, Susan Munger, Mary Adelaide Tourtellot Lalime, Faith McClellan Lebaron, Judith Valcourt Thibodeau, Alexandra Eames, Nancy Anderson. Row 2: Linda DeAngelis-Aboites, Claire Senecal Cabot, Anne Outhwaite Maurer, Holly Adams ABOVE LEFT: Claire Cabot, one of the founding editors of the SPOKE student newspaper at Wheeler, was interviewed by today’s editors during her visit for her 50th Reunion. Cabot’s new book Write Is Wrong has just been published.

LEFT: Attending the Alumnae/i Weekend activities, including the annual Half-Century Club Dinner were Constance Payan Danforth ‘50 and Nancy Haley Lyle ‘44. Any alumna who has celebrated her 50th Reunion is invited to the annual dinner.

45th Reunion

Charlotte Eschenheimer Johnson, Emily Greene Waterman Mooney, Sarah Williamson Whinery, Christine Johnston Beehler, Anne Harvey Grote

40th Reunion

Row 1: Cynthia Chace, Marie Moody-MacLeod, Beth Stalzman AaronsonRow 2: Leslie Powell Knowles, Spencer Billings Nineberg, Marjorie (Line) Gavin Lewis Row 3: M. Christine Benoit, Elizabeth Phinney, Joan Dickson, Judith Pretat Seaman, Christine Armbrust Rooks LEFT: Line Lewis ’70 gave the School a keepsake drawing of Columbine Hill House she has had for 44 years. She and the other Boarders who lived at Columbine received this “Farewell to the Farm” drawing from their house mother and Wheeler teacher, Mrs. Hebbard. Line said when giving it us, “it was time for Wheeler to enjoy it.”

Row 1: Josephine Adams, Patty Capaldi Trant, Spence Waugh Hobbs, Kate Hancock-Cooke, Sara Pardee Row 2: Adelaide Tingley, Sky Wild, Mary Louise Fazzano Row 3: Lisa Ballou Tyler, Susan Scher Chase, Heidi Brown, Merry Murray Riggs Meade Row 4: Rebecca Trowbridge Walsh, Susan Trowbridge Young, Susan Wall

35th Reunion

30th Reunion Row 1: Janet Pipkin, Ann Marie Petteruti Barone, Paula Colella, Elizabeth Cuzzone, Jonathan Salinger, Jane Forman Gobie, Michele Steckler, Kathy Chazan Starr, Karen Finklestein, Barbara Somlo Row 2: Lisa Rollins, Sally Ann Ledbetter, Margot Geffroy, Hope Martin Walker, Monica Gorham Darcy Row 3: Sarah Woodhouse, Cristiana Quinn, Deborah Melikian

20th Reunion

Row 1: Cindy Mckinnon Hawkins, Andrea Latina Martin, Valerie Cioci Sorensen, Sara Cordeiro English, Bethany Karmozyn Kapadia, Melanie Rubin Sagan, Beth Orenstein Franklin, Jill Horwitz, Sarah Daunis Row 2: Edward Turnbull Jr., James Martin, Damon Symonds

15th Reunion

Row 1: Jessica Adams Green, Monica Francisco H ‘07, Amanda Reil, Bonnie Thompson Yezukevich, Katherine Kraig Mumma, Julia Daunis. Row 2: Marya McAndrew Baldwin, Etienne Granito Mechrefe, Thomas Parker, Megan Moore, Scott Dvorin

Row 1: Joel Scanlon, Monica Francisco H ‘07, Lauren Berk , Jeremy Katzen, Paolo DePetrillo, Stephanie Markoff Cohen, Peter Kammerer Row 2: Anthony Kahr, Suzanne Shah-Hosseini, Daniel Cohen, Samuel Coale, Eliott Levine, Timothy Johnston

10th Reunion

5th Reunion Row 1: Alix Levine, Andrea Younes, Janee Wallace, Jamie Wainer, Monica Francisco H ‘07, Samantha Cohen, Leidy Valencia, Elizabeth Dunn, Xander Marcus, Talie L’Europa, Bethany Crudele Row 2: Philip Hall, Michael Gorun, Justin Weinberg, Jason Sherwin, Will Rennie, Owen Brady, Ray Mathieu, Sam Rubin RIGHT AT ALUM-STUDENT ROUNDTABLE LUNCHEON: Jared Saletin, Nick Curtin, Owen Brady and Philip Hall.

Class of 2005’s Top Five Reasons to come back to their 5th Year Reunion

1. To hang out in the senior room like it’s 2005!

2. Open Bar! 3. To check out the new buildings on campus.

4. To catch up with old friends, outstanding faculty members, and to be reminded of how we got to be where we are today.

5. To see Mrs. Francisco (& Mr. Hall!)

Class Notes In Memoriam The Alumni Office has been notified of the following deaths: Sally Drury Howe ‘35 6/29/2010 Emily Stone Cocroft ‘34 9/3/2010 Ruth Riley Campbell LaPointe ‘39 7/25/2010 Anne Riggs Rhodes ‘40 4/28/2010 E. Louise McKee McCoy ‘45 8/19/2010 Sheila Eckstein Mackie ‘48 10/15/2010 Vicki Tonna Pastorelle ‘53 6/20/2010 Diane Ripley Olson ‘60 4/1/2009 Joan Adams Harris ‘60 4/22/2010 Eleanor Davis ‘65 6/24/2010 Christine Wallace Laidlaw ’53 10/28/2010 Kevin Dimeo ’08 11/7/2010 Mary Ann Farroba H’10, advisor, coach 11/16/10 Jerry McCarthy, teacher 12/2/2010

1939

Mary-Francis Lyon Vaughn writes, “I spend the summer in Jamestown, RI. I am still running an income tax business and have a 99-year old client. I have promised to do taxes free when any client is 100 years old.”

1945

Marilyn Blackall Wheeler writes, “Have had another great year here in Florida in spite of a really, really cold winter. It was great for riding which I

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Use the Wheeler website’s online Alumni Directory to reconnect!

It’s password-protected at www.wheelerschool.org/alumni. Lost your password? Email us as alumnioffice@wheelerschool.org.

still do almost every day but Sunday.

I still have my dog - everyone knows my dog (they don’t necessarily know me!), as he is pretty spectacular - a big beautiful, white Samoyed with an unbelievable fur coat! My family is all doing well! I have six grandchildren, a boy and a girl in each family - two out in the working world in NY - CT area, one at Middlebury College in VT, another going to UVM in the fall and two in high schools in California!!

I’m still ‘hanging in there,’ riding my horse “Montego Bay” (Tego for short) loyally 5-6 times a week, and keeping busy with all that Wellington has to offer (horse shows, polo, steeple chase events, etc., as well as getting together with good friends, and so on). In June, I went up to Harwich Port on Cape Cod to my summer home as usual, taking my “Sammie” dog “Kasper” and Tego (he stayed in a barn nearby!) and enjoyed a very hot summer there (it was pretty much like Florida with no air conditioning!) but lots of fun, nonetheless! My daughter, Gary Hayes ‘71 and I went to the mini Wheeler Reunion in Hyannisport. We had a good time getting together with classmates from way back and hearing about all the new stuff at Wheeler. In late September, I came back South and have gotten back into the routine here.

It has been pretty quiet, but things are beginning to pick up with the arrival of the snowbirds! I’m sorry I missed the reunion at Wheeler in October. The timing never seems to be right for me, but who knows, maybe some year, I’ll get there!”

1960

Nancy Anderson writes, “My life’s work has been in the field of child study and early childhood education. I began as a teacher of children with learning Now & Then @ Wheeler

“disabilities” (a 60’s term) - a tough place for a young teacher to begin, but I certainly learned a lot! In the 70’s I went back to school to earn a Master’s degree in the psychology of reading, and got my PA teacher’s certificate in tandem; I taught kindergarten and pre-school during this time, and loved the work! In 1978 I began work as a reading specialist with an Intermediate Unit in Philadelphia - giving 200 diagnostics a year for 5 years, consulting with principals, teachers and parents, and presenting some workshops, as well; it was good work, but I missed teaching. So-o-o . . . in the mid-80’s I took a job teaching 2nd grade at Penn Charter, an independent school here in Philadelphia. I just retired from Penn Charter 2 years ago, after 43 years of teaching work! - Now I’ve traveled some, “interned” once again (to become a Wilson Reading tutor), begun to tutor a number of young students, taken on some antiracism work with my church; and I’ve just spent a week on Star Island off the coast of New Hampshire taking a course in watercolor. So I’ve been busy! ”

1965

Deirdre Byers writes, “Egad, 45 years since Wheeler! I have fond memories of some of the Wheeler experience, but not some others. Listening to records for French class, with someone’s thumb on the edge to stop it so we could all madly write a translation.

Construction of the buildings, making all space cramped for everyone. Miss Tooker, who looked like such a sweet lady, and was actually one of the toughest (and, in hindsight, best) teachers in upper school. As Ann Grote remembers, the whole JFK assassination news spreading instantly when leaving Mr. Keating’s class. I remember my

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sister Candy (‘68) falling on her bike behind the middle school, and breaking her wrist. Being a perennial bench sitter in basketball. Morning assemblies. Our very small basketball court, where you had to stand sideways when you were throwing in from the sidelines. Running up and down stairs to get between classes. In 7th grade being given permission by the middle school head to play mumblypeg when she decided that running around after lunch wasn’t healthy (until she realized it was played with knives). Mrs. Wright and 30 lashes with a wet noodle and the Humptius Dumptius translation for extra credit in Latin 2. Running around the field many, many times out at the Farm.”

Anne Harvey Grote writes, “Dear Classmates, Where are my cohort boarders? Had lunch with Tory Eames in N.H. What a riot and good to catch up after eons. Memories: “Scoffers” is still a part of my identity! Kit and I going to the Farm for a “Special” last day (because we had cut class.)

I recently walked around there as my daughter is living nearby. Many positive changes...tried to figure out if the pond still exists? Columbine Hill was my only trusty landmark. I like hearing what classmates remember: strategies to pass inspections: uniform, room dust, wandering off campus.

Obscure flashlights while playing bridge in the closet after lights out. Also the importance of those mailboxes, dances, glee club concerts, the sunroof, water fights. Changing rooms 3 times a year, lugging all our stuff from 3rd floor Wheeler Hall to 3rd floor of the Morgan house. Getting snowed in while skiing in Vermont, arriving back late, JFK assassination news by word of mouth as we left Keating’s English, LBJ in limo down Hope St., The Beatles on Ed Sullivan “shoe,” invitations by

day students., i.e., Sarah, great fun. The Agawam. Enough of my memories.

What are yours? Love and hugs”

Susan Smith Talbot writes, “Big Purple and Gold shout outs to Anne Harvey Grote for getting us going on our reunion plans! I love the little memories that Harve and Deedee added to their notes - and they flooded my own memory, particularly the JFK assassination news, which I heard crossing the courtyard towards the Hope Building on a beautiful day.

Here’s a confession: Tory Eames and I were rooming together (in Archangel, I think?) and were caught smoking in our room. Mr. Keating was actually very kind about that - we didn’t get thrown out! Other memories: I roomed with Franny Ross Kipp one term (in Angell, I think)? I had an illegal pet: a canary (named Cazzie Russell) which she hated. She brought back a big glass jug of apple cider to our room after a weekend (legal), and put some raisins in it (still legal), and then set it on the radiator to “ferment.” Of course, it exploded! Other trivia: Betsy Fentress getting a doctor’s note so that she could have a sunlamp. Tormenting “Mish” Moore with juvenile tricks (Saran Wrap on the toilet seat, etc.) Popovers and coffee on Sundays. Smoking teas!

Chain smoking on the porch after study hall, playing the fastest hands of bridge ever with Ellen Bemis, Hillary, Nina. Di Robbins walking around after breakfast with her arms in the air, letting her antiperspirant dry. Jamie Ford giving us all makeup lessons, Nina giving us all dancing lessons.

Mrs. L-M and Miss Allaire and their wonderful Spanish classes (after the torture of Miss Erlenmeyer’s French class).”

Now & Then @ Wheeler

1970

Dana DeLuca-Shechtman writes, “I learned tonight when I picked up my Emma, 7th grade at Wheeler, that Ms. Farroba had died. An incredible sadness overtook me and Emma in that moment. Ms. Farroba had spanned the generations in our family...For me, she was my coach and my mentor. She “allowed” me to indulge my fantasies of playing basketball ( I am 4’10”). She put me in and let me play even when we were losing. She cheered me on at every jump shot against girls three times my size. “DeLuca, you can do it!” she would yell from the sidelines.

Her encouragement, her true love and devotion will always be my memory.

When Sarah, now 24, attended Wheeler, Ms. Farroba took her under her protective wing making sure that she found success at every endeavor. Last winter, I caught up with Ms. Farroba at the Farm as she was serving her famous cookies to the middle schoolers playing basketball, Emma, my daughter, being one of them. Emma being a true “tween” was giving me some kind of sassiness as is her style. Ms. Farroba snuck her a few extra cookies winning her over. Not missing a beat, she gave Emma the cookies but told her they were conditional on giving her parents the respect they deserved. She never missed an opportunity to teach and to nurture. What a wonderful woman!

Mamma Farroba, you will be loved and remembered for all your kindness and devotion to our children. What greater legacy.”

Read Mark Harris’ remarks from the services for Mary Ann Farroba later in this issue.

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Maria Renzulli Gould ‘85 and her daughter at the Farm enjoying Fall Fest activities during Reunion Weekend 2010.

Class Notes 1975

In November, Jody Adams was featured on WGBH’s Greater Boston. In her conversation with Emily Rooney she talked about Rialto and her induction into the Massachusetts Hospitality Hall of Fame. Adams was also honored as the 2010 Humanitarian of the Year by Share Our Strength, a national group which fights hunger.

1977

Anne Shroeder writes, “Having been unofficially voted “least athletic” of my class, I’m proud to say that I now engage seasonally in one of the most

1984

On October 12, 2010 Andrea Cohen Reiser released a new book titled Letters From Home: A Wake-Up Call for Success & Wealth. The book was published by John Wiley & Sons and Andrea writes that, “a few Wheelerrelated folks are featured in the book, including my sister, Meredith Cohen Fried ‘85; our dad and former Wheeler School Trustee, David Cohen; and Ellis Waldman, father of current student Edie.”

1986

Congratulations to Ethan Colaiace for his SECOND selection to Providence Business News 40 Under Forty!

Michelle Gagnon Fritz-Cope

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Modern Family received 14 Emmy Nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series, five Supporting Actor and Actresses nods and Outstanding Writing. On Emmy Night, Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh were part of the writing team that took home an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series!

1993

Christopher “Jed” Fluehr writes, “A bit late as many parents out there

In an interview for MediaBistro.com, Carley Roney of The Knot gave advice to working women on how to avoid mistakes in the business world. She was also the keynote speaker at the MediaBistro Career Circus. Carley shared her hardwon wisdom on how to survive and thrive in today’s media marketplace.

1989

physically demanding activities that there is: sheep shearing. I shear sheep, as well as goats, alpacas, and llamas commercially at over 80 farms in the mid-Atlantic region annually as part of a fundraising tool to bring in money for my non-profit farm animal sanctuary in Maryland (www.stargazingfarm.org).

My “day job” is running a consulting firm that specializes in multi-lingual web site development.... but the shearing is much more challenging!”

1990

released her latest thriller KIDNAP & RANSOM this fall. Set in and around Mexico City, the story is loosely based on a real-life kidnapping. More information is available on her website www.MichelleGagnon.com

will understand but we’d like to proudly announce the birth of our son, Christopher Graham Fluehr on 7/30/2009 - here he is enjoying cake on his first birthday!”

1994

Anna Davis Grandstaff-Rice was

Dr. Michael Malik visited campus recently to speak to the BioMed Club about a career in medicine and his chiropractic practice. born to Matthew Rice and Emily Grandstaff-Rice on October 7, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. She weighed 6lbs. 12 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches.

Now & Then @ Wheeler

Mark your calendar for Alumni Day & Reunion Weekend 2011: October 14-16. All Alumni are invited with special celebrations for classes ending in 1’s and 6’s. In 2010, Rob “Otter” Brown reunited on Alumni Night with some of his former students Jamie Martin ‘90, Ted Turnbull ‘90 and Ben Chan ‘01.

1994

Marc and Stephanie Trachtenberg write, “We are happy to announce the arrival of Abram Grant Trachtenberg! Born Tuesday,

1997

The Wheeler Alumni Office recently received news about Seth Brown’s recent publication. “His newest book is a self-published translation of the Bible, The Five Books of Moses, into rhyme. It is called From God to Verse, and is available on Amazon or directly from Seth (if you would like a signed copy). If you would like to get a feel of the book, check out either the website: www.godtoverse.com, or Seth’s website: www.risingpun.com, which will have a link to the book.

Scott Harelick was featured in November 16 at 8:09 am weighing 7 pounds, 12 oz. Stephanie and Abram are doing great.”

Marc also wrote the original score and the book with Lisa Brackett, Performing Arts Department Head, for the Lower School fall play HOOD.

SouthCoastToday.com. The Fairhaven, MA dental practice of Harelick Dental Associates, LLC has kept it all in the family. Scott and his wife Natalie both received their doctorate in dentistry from Tufts University School of

Alumni-Parent Marlene Strom P’99, P’06, P’08 & P’09 caught up with Josh Schwartz at Comic-Con 2010.

on David Michel’s class, talk to students and check out her book among the alumni author section of the library.

She is doing research for her next book.

1999

Lynn Ducoff Belkin has written and published a children’s book, Home In Time For My Birthday. The book is about her own experience surviving a brain tumor as a child. In addition to RI-area book signings Lynn was interviewed for the Health Check feature on NBC Channel 10 Providence.

In September, Nico Muhly released two CDs: A Good Understanding and I Drink the Air Before Me. He was the feature of an article in the New York Observer titled “Generation Nico: Meet the 29-Year-Old Philip Glass Protégé You’ll Be Hearing About This Fall.”

2001 Lily Gillett and Ari Berenson Dentistry last May and have joined the family practice which was started by Scott’s father, Robert, over 35 years ago.

1998 1995

Michael Brown writes that son Gustav was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year. He is currently in Indonesia for the year, with his wife Diajeng, doing field work for his doctoral dissertation.

He is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at UCLA.

Seth Seigle was married November of 2009 to Lori Szuchman. He was listed in the August 21 issue of Billboard as one of the Top 30 Execs under 30. He is a music agent at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

Rebecca Maizel, author of Infinite Days, visited campus this fall to sit in Now & Then @ Wheeler

were married July 11, 2010. They both live and work in DC.

Adam Seigle married Bridget Raspallo in June 2009 and is teaching kindergarten at Nathaniel Greene Elementary School in Pawtucket, RI.

Kennon Kay was featured in www. ediblecommunities.com this fall.

She is the director of agriculture at the Queens County Farm Museum, 35

You never know who you’ll find on the Wheeler twitter feed. Join us! Twitter @ twitter.com/wheelerschool.

presiding over two acres of vegetables and a large stable of livestock in the city’s oldest continuously working farm.

For more info go to the museum’s website www.queensfarm.org

My brother Brad Balukjian ‘98 was a groomsman in the wedding and other alums in attendance were classmates Chris Cicchitelli , Todd

Benjamin Lesco writes, “I am now

All-State goalkeeper Lauren made a surprise appearance at the Varsity Field Hockey game v. Lincoln this fall. She played 4 years at Dartmouth. Coach Carlson was thrilled to see her.

working as a professor of History at Southwestern Oregon Community College, the oldest and largest Community College in the state.

Currently I am teaching a course on Extremist Groups in American History; in the fall I will begin teaching required US History courses as well as teaching a course examining the History of the Holocaust during World War Two. I love living on the west coast.”

2002

Lauren Balukjian Offers writes, “I got married August 1, 2010, to a Dartmouth 2006 classmate, Sean Offers, who played on the Dartmouth Men’s Hockey Team.

Sean and I met our freshman year at Dartmouth.

After we graduated, we moved to Germany together.

While in Germany I taught business English for Inlingua while Sean played professional ice hockey in Munich. After traveling around Europe for a year, we moved to San Francisco, CA. I currently work in the Marketing Department for Autonomy, a leading software company.

I travel all over the country to represent Autonomy at industry events and help recruit employees from top universities.

36

2003

Talia Clare (Gursky) Brinkman ‘03 and

Stupell, Kelly Clifton, Madeline Kitzes, and Adam Weinberg.”

Taylor Brinkman married October 16, 2010 at Belle Mer in Newport, RI. Amelie (Granito) Tartaglione ‘03 was among the bridesmaids.

Emily Taradash recently updated Wheeler’s Alumni Office with some of her current projects. “I moved to Georgia for a job working as Costume Shop Supervisor and Production Manager in the Theatre Department at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville (where Flannery O’Connor is from). I was the guest services coordinator at the Tennessee Williams Festival, so I was in charge of making sure all of the guests were happy and comfortable. I got to meet some amazing performers, directors and producers while there, and had lunch with William Jay Smith and his wife Sonja, a friend of Tennessee Williams in the 1930’s when they were both in school at University of St. Louis.

Smith is an amazing man, former US poet laureate in the 1960’s, a Vermont Statesman and the most active 93 year old I’ve ever met. I’m also making bow ties on the side for my line, Haberdash

by Taradash. The ties on facebook are going on OoOtie.com, and I’ll be selling my wears at the Atlanta I.C.E. in November.”

2004

Jason Tartaglione and Amelie Granito ‘03 were married on June 17,

2010 at Lakeview Pavilion in Foxboro, MA. Several Wheeler alumni were in the wedding party, including: Etienne

Granito Mechrefe ‘95, Talia Gursky Brinkman ‘03 and Anthony Mechrefe ‘92.

2005

Bethany Crudele, of CNN, covered an inspiring story about a widow honoring her late husband at the Marine Corps Marathon in DC. To read her story go to CNN.com and search for Bethany Crudele.

Marshall “Gripp” Gillson and Jack Horkings ‘08 released simultaneous free rap albums. You can download them at www.glassEyeballs.com

Now & Then @ Wheeler

STEPHEN HALL ‘10 EARNS HIS TEACHER A YALE EDUCATOR AWARD. HERE’S WHY:

A few weeks after the college acceptance letters came out, Yale University gave me a rather unique opportunity. The institution asked its accepted students to nominate a teacher from their high school who had inspired them. I started to think back over history discussions, Hamlet recitations, even hunting for horseshoe crabs, but in the back of my mind when I thought “inspire” there was a very clear choice. I was reminded of a day, perhaps in the spring of my Sophomore year, when another student approached Mr. (Chris) Perkins after class, and asked if an AP Chemistry course at Wheeler would ever be possible. I jumped right in, wanting the answer too, but, sadly, Mr. Perkins said he did not think it could happen.

Fast-forward to my Senior year, when, suddenly, AP Chemistry had become a reality!

As we advanced through the course, we found that Mr. Perkins had spent his summer at conferences, sitting on email lists, and planning. He had booked the test calendar with every test for the year by the first day of classes. I would pop into his office with questions daily and he always took the time to answer them. In my Junior year I even participated in a physics lab with his class of two juniors! As if he did not give up enough time for us outside of class, he coached me through the process of making a ferrofluid (neither of us had done it before), taught part of the Gr. 10 Community Action Program, and assisted in managing the course schedule! I remember one instance in which Mr. Lau came into the classroom and asked Mr. Perkins if they could relocate a class on the 4th floor. Someone had a broken foot and could not make it upstairs. It was in that moment when I realized how stressful a position Mr. Perkins holds; in addition to class planning and outside help he was responsible for the schedule year-round too. This is what I think of as inspiration. Mr. Perkins is connected to every student and teacher at Wheeler, yet how often do we really see it? After the AP exam, our class bolted to the second floor of Morgan in search of Mr. Perkins. “I have never seen an AP class,” a surprised Mrs. Berthiaume said, “where everybody has a smile on their face after the exam!” This is why I believe Mr. Perkins deserved this award, and why I nominated him. Congratulations Mr. Perkins, and thank you for all the hard work you do. You have been an inspiration to your classes, and an inspiration to me. (photo by Kelly Foss of Stephen last year with Wheeler’s 2010 robot.)

KENNON KAY ‘01 DIRECTS AGRIWORK AT THE QUEENS COUNTY FARM MUSEUM

By Jesse Hirsch, reprinted with permission of Edible Queens What She Does: Kennon Kay is the much-beloved director of agriculture at the Queens County Farm Museum, presiding over two acres of vegetables and a large stable of livestock in the city’s oldest continuously working farm. Centuries before the crew behind Brooklyn Grange hit paydirt in Long Island City, this farm had carved out a 47-acre niche in the far eastern reaches of Queens. Under Kay’s careful eye, the farm produces a full range of organic produce including eggplants, basil, potatoes, summer squash, melons, beets, chard, celery, fennel, peas, kale, mustard greens and okra (much of which is sold locally to city restaurants and greenmarkets). She also oversees a large menagerie of well-tended farm animals, including fleece-producing Cotswold sheep, heritage breed pigs, Rhode Island Red laying hens, dairy cows and goats. All the animals are given space to roam and the produce is grown sustainably and chemical-free.

Why We Love Her: Kay arrived at Queens County Farm in early 2009, already boasting an impressive resume. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz’s venerable Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems program, she went on to earn her stripes under superstar organic farmer Eliot Coleman, then at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Westchester. “I bet she wouldn’t even know how to spray pesticide if you asked her,” jokes farm manager Leah Rutherford. Kay combines her deep-seated passion for ethical farming with a vast storehouse of acquired knowledge and the easy comfort of a leader. Oh and did we mention - she’s only 27?

Where to Find Her: Though her home is in Brooklyn, Kay carpools to the outer reaches of Queens all week for 10-hour days at the Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Floral Park, 718-347-3276. Phone may not be the best way to reach her though; with 47 acres of land to roam, chances are Kay won’t be sitting in the office.

LAUREN NOCERA ‘95 MANAGES SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN FOR NEW PROVIDENCE MAYOR, CREDITS WHEELER 2ND GRADE PROJECT AS INSPIRING A SENSE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE Wheeler alumna Lauren Nocera ‘95 served as the campaign manager for Providence Mayor Angel Taveras’ winning bid this election season. After Wheeler, Lauren received her Bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College, a Master’s in Social Work from Rhode Island College and a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University.

A Providence resident, Lauren brought a wealth of community and political organizing experience to the Mayor’s team. Lauren understands the connection between political involvement and systemic social change, and cites that as the driving force for her involvement in electoral politics.

“I’m an issues advocate at heart – but the line between policy advocacy and politics is blurred,” said Lauren. “Mayor Taveras is the type of leader who understands that. He is serving the City because he knows he can effect change, and it’s the type of change I know Providence needs. When I met Angel I had no doubt that the commitment to equality and social justice he talked about was real. And I knew he’d carry that commitment with him to City Hall.

That’s why I committed myself to his campaign and to building a people-powered grassroots movement to get him elected.”

Lauren credits a second grade class project at Wheeler on Ethopia as the beginning of her commitment to social justice and helping others. Her entire career has been in non-profits including Comprehensive Community Action Program, Thundermist Health Center, AIDS Project RI and Youth Pride, Inc.. Her extensive community volunteerism includes Mount Pleasant Crime Watch, Marriage Equality RI, and Connecting Children & Families.

In 2007, she was the campaign manager for the successful special election campaign of Representative Frank Ferri (D-22) who was the first legally married, openly gay man to be elected to office for the first time in the country. Ferri won 57% of the vote in a three-way primary and notably defeated the party-endorsed candidate. In 2006, Lauren trained volunteers for the Democrats coordinated campaign and worked heavily with community-based voter turnout efforts. In 2008, she was appointed alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

When asked what she learned about herself during her time as the Mayor’s campaign manager Lauren said, “I learned how much I love this city and all it has to offer.

And I learned how wonderful the residents of the City are, and how much they want to see Providence move forward.”

CAROLINE WOOLARD ‘02 IN JOINT EXHIBIT OPENING MARCH 17 AT WHEELER’S CHAZAN GALLERY Alumna Caroline Woolard — who will exhibit this March in Wheeler’s Chazan Gallery — makes products, sculptures, and environments that connect people. Her work in barter experiments a “Trade School” and OurGoods.org are supported by The Field, GO Public Projects, e-flux, The Walker Art Center, Cooper Union, the optimism of strangers, and unemployment benefits. Caroline’s subway swings, public seats, and other tools for action are supported by a collectively-run studio group called Splinters and Logs, a MacDowell Colony fellowship, a Watermill Center residency, Esterni Milan, the curiosity of strangers, and a grant from iLAND. What do I do?

I am a co-organizer* of a barter network for artists, designers, and craftspeople in NYC and beyond (http:// ourgoods.org/). Bartering skills, spaces, and objects based on mutual agreement rather than strict market value allows social, environmental, and aesthetic rationales to drive exchange behavior between members of the creative community. After a year and a half of research and development, we launched OurGoods.org to the public. In the past year, I’ve presented OurGoods.org at The Museum of Modern Art, The Walker Art Center, Cooper Union, Pratt, Parsons, VCU, and The Feast on Good Salon. To get the word out about barter, Rich Watts, Louise Ma, Saul Melman and myself run an alternative learning space called Trade School (http:// tradeschool.ourgoods.org/ ), where students barter for instruction. We introduce the idea of alternative value systems by asking students to agree to “pay” the teacher with barter items that the teacher requests. All students can become teachers, as everyone is invited to teach a class on a technique, tradition, or tactic. We had 76 classes in a month on everything from grassroots organizing to making butter, and will open again in an e-flux project space February with a Friday night showcase at The Whitney Museum of American Art. *Other co-founders of OurGoods are: Carl Tashian, the senior site engineer from Zip Car, Rich Watts and Louise Ma, two of the best designers in NYC, and Jen Abrams, a self production expert.

Visit www.CarolineWoolard.com for more information.

Image above is from a house she built at the MacDowell Colony residency.

Rachel Aaronson ‘01 and her fiance Jamie Auslander are planning a September wedding.

Class News

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at universities around the country to brand the Cisco name and pipeline topnotch quality students/recent alums to join Cisco. In my free time, I am enjoying exploring as much of the Bay area as possible, whether that be hiking, biking or via my new Honda Civic Hybrid. Any Wheeler graduates of any class interested in learning more about Congratulations to Chef Nick Curtin Cisco opportunities should feel free to contact me. Of course, I can’t wait to whose restaurant and cocktail bar Compose opened in Tribeca December hear what so many of my classmates are doing now!! Personal email: toddresly@ 3. Check it out at www.composenyc. gmail.com” com.

2006

The Mount Holyoke Riding Team took a first place finish at its home show on October 23rd, led by first-year Cali Zimmerman. The event took place at Mount Holyoke Equestrian Center and Cali was named Reserve High Point Rider and Intermediate High Point Rider after taking first place in her sections of the intermediate fences and intermediate flat divisions.

FACULTY & STAFF

2009

Caity Sprague made terrific graphics

for the Lower School fall production of from Bowdoin College and is currently HOOD which were turned into t-shirts for the 87-member cast. working for Soccer Without Borders in Nicaragua (see story earlier in this issue). She is the on-site co-director for a program whose mission is to empower girls through literacy and sports. She organizes educational activities and soccer training for about 250 girls (ages 6 to 18) in a very poor area. If you want to follow her escapades and adventures, check out her blog: http://larkininnicaragua.

Stephen Hall nominated US science blogspot.com/ teacher Chris Perkins, recipient of the 2010 Yale Educator Award which Todd Resly writes, “I graduated recognizes “educators from around the from Davidson College in May cum world who have inspired and supported laude to earn my bachelor’s degree. their students to achieve at high levels.”

After traveling around the States

Larkin Brown recently graduated

and Germany for several weeks to visit family and friends, I moved out to the San Francisco Bay Area in late June to start working for Cisco Systems in University Relations (which is part of Human Resources) at their Headquarters. At Cisco, I am a University Relations Specialist/HR Rep., which means that I serve as a liaison between the business and students

2010

Alumni who joined the faculty-staff community at Wheeler this year are Dacia Read ‘04, Summerbridge VISTA Alumni Coordinator; Sean Kelly ‘02, Varsity Basketball/Admissions/English; and Nicole Brissette Jennings ‘99, LS Performing Arts. (photo above)

Drew Manville won GWU’s

FORMER FACULTY Long time former Wheeler Athletic Director, Coach, and Physical Educator Julie C. Baldwin was recently inducted into the Arcadia University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Knockout Contest. Out of 167 players, an unofficial world record, freshman Drew was named the knockout king of George Washington. The event was part of Spirit Week and included participants from the school’s basketball teams as well as the student body.

Now & Then @ Wheeler

39

Back to Campus

For Reunion Weekend 2010 only, alumni had a special ‘senior room’ all their own where they could visit, take a break, look at yearbooks and enjoy old photos looping on laptops. The auxiliary gym was transformed by Tom Kraig ‘98. After Tom finished with the space you would have never known you were hanging out in Madden. Thanks, Tom, for lugging in the furniture, rugs, "walls," etc. to transform the space. Tom owns Conceptual Image Designs and has worked on the decor for Wheeler’s Big Event Celebrations each April.

Irene Mak Hsi ‘76 and her sister Christina Mak Lee ‘74 returned for a visit to see changes in Providence and at Wheeler this fall.

The sisters were barely on campus before being recognized by Mark Harris as he was walking across campus. Irene lives in Vancouver and has two daughters. Christina lives nearby in Natick, MA., with two children as well.

Thanks to Julie Snyder ‘83 for organizing the Reunion Field Hockey game vs. Lincoln School held the same day as the Pingree Games this year. Dan Forman ‘86 played goal and Jean MacIntyre returned to coach.

Thanks, also, to all of the Alumni Men’s & Women’s Soccer and Field Hockey players who came out to the Farm to take on the Varsity teams before their Thanksgiving turkey had digested. We certainly weren’t keeping score but let’s just say it was another example of wisdom over youth!

And in January, a Winter Alumni Weekend was held around two varsity basketball games, adding to the athletic activities!

Alumni In The Classroom Sam Green ‘06 (near left) brought his yo-yo skills to Hamilton and Wheeler assemblies. Sam Green is YOYOSAM.COM’s in house yo-yo trick expert starring in tutorial videos, available on YouTube. Green is shown with current student Graeme Vosit Steller ‘13, who also has yo-yo product sponsorship!

Above: Jared Saletin ‘05 is introduced by senior Maddy Litwin before his talk to the Bio-Med Club about his UC Berkeley doctoral sleep research. Left: Bart JohnsenHarris ‘08 sings with his Brown a cappella group, the Bear Necessities, at US Assembly. Bart also returned as an alum-singer at the Winter Chorale Concert this January.

Software developer Rob Hafer ‘83, back to surprise Mary Ann Farroba at her Alumni Night @ Wheeler party, taught an AP Computer Science class during Alumni Day, sharing his ‘real world’ experiences.

Now & Then @ Wheeler

41

In Memoriam Mary Ann Farroba remember, clearly, sitting stunned in my geometry class in 1963, watching for an entire hour, as my teacher silently wept at the front of the room, for our slain president.

Mary Ann Farroba was the kind of woman who’d make sure there were cookies and brownies at her own wake.

DID YOU SEE THAT? I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT! SO MARY ANN: YOU JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE A COUPLE OF HUNDRED IN THE FRIDGE? In Moby Dick, Captain Ahab came back to beckon….This week, two people in this room have already been visited with notes from Mary Ann, after the fact.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT FARROBA 11/22/2010 My name is Mark Harris and I’ve been a colleague and friend of Mary Ann’s for a bit over 38 years. Over that time I’ve been her assistant basketball coach, the umpire at her softball games, occasionally her confidant and chauffeur, and the recipient of countless cards, sweets and gifts marking the milestones in my children’s lives. I’ve been asked to say a few words.

Barely a month ago, many of us gathered to reflect upon and celebrate a career.

And now, while the glow of that happy event has not yet faded, we look back not on a career, but on a life lived. Nice of her to arrange this particular day, November 22nd — one already tinged with sadness for anyone of her or my generation. I 42

Legend has it that some years ago one of Farroba’s former students was reading a piece in the newspaper about The World’s Best Brownies and wrote in, “NO WAY- Nothing touches the brownies up in Farroba’s kitchen at The Wheeler School!”

So the Journal sent a reporter up to the East Side to find Farroba and concluded the interview with a request for the recipe.

“Nope! Nobody’s gettin’ my recipe,” was the frosty response and the reporter was sent on his way. By the way : For those unfortunate enough to be too far back in the line yesterday to get a cookie or brownie, I wouldn’t be too surprised if there were a “Care Package” coming to you soon. You know what I mean!

I met Mary Ann in 1972. Since then I’ve met a lot of people in a lot of places. And I can honestly say that in all of that time I haven’t met one — NOT ONE — person in Now & Then @ Wheeler

this world who reminded me of Farroba.

• Yes, I’ve met folks who worked so hard and long you would have thought the only fun they had was at their jobs…

• And yes, I’ve met folks who were instrumental in bringing changes to this state, even folks who’ve pioneered opportunities for girls…

• And I’ve met the occasional woman who could talk sports around any rabid man-fan alive…

• And I’ve met people who know the importance of family, even people whose extended families were much larger than the ones that can fit around a big Thanksgiving table.

But never has one of them seemed to me to capture what Farroba was about.

She was completely unique.

SO FARROBA: CONNECTED UNTIL THE END, RIGHT? The Quinn family sent two kids through Wheeler!

This past summer I happened to be in the great city of Chicago one weekend with my family. On a hot summer afternoon we wandered through Millennium Park and then into the air-conditioned confines of the Chicago Art Institute. Eventually we came upon one of the most famous paintings ever produced in this country. A little marker said “Grant Wood: American Gothic.”

You’ve all seen the image countless times: a stern-faced man, obviously a farmer, with a woman who may be his wife, may be his daughter.

He’s holding a pitchfork. In the background is a simple white house.

Grant Wood painted this image just about the time Farroba was born; it won a $300 prize and provoked controversy from the start. People

Aerie Director Mark Harris shared these words at the service for his longtime colleague and friend.

Mama Farroba was honored at the 2010 Reunion’s Alumni Night.

A website tribute page can be found at https://www.wheelerschool.org/farroba

thought the artist was making fun of heart-of-the-country Americans.

Countless takeoffs, sketches, caricatures and advertisements have used the image for humor or commentary on the dour, puritanical side of American life. But there’s more to this painting- much more.

Simplicity can be very deceptive. It’s kind of like a person beneath a rough exterior; there’s often remarkable depth and meaning. Otherwise, how would such an image become an icon of our culture for nearly eighty years?

I stared at that canvas for quite a while, not knowing then that the artist had originally been captured by the HOUSE now in the background of the painting. He had decided to create a painting of the people he imagined would live in such a house. He got his sister and his dentist to be the models.

They never stood together in real life. And when completed, the image carried some clear messages. In the faces of the couple you can see hard work. Independence. Responsibility. A comfort with their place in the world.

A complete lack of pretention. The painting says a lot about America and what is important from its past. It has become an icon. It’s something special.

the school were celebrating a time of release and relaxation, Farroba was already working at the Club, in Cumberland. I went up there once and saw her and her family working on Lobster Roll Day. And the customers lined up for treats at the counter were just like the Wheeler families who have for decades greeted her at funerals and weddings and christenings and birthdays.

Everyone had a story. A story of gratitude: for the cards, for the gifts, for the advice, for the thoughtfulness in responding to a family emergency.

Why did so many generations call her Mama? One of her kids carved the words into a cedar plank that hung over her empire for years. Her answer to that question was as simple as everything else she said, “Because I treated them like they were my own.”

Farroba was just at ease chatting with the maintenance crew as she was with visiting coaches and captains of industry. Bank presidents asked her for advice. Ex-students made sure their own children got to know her. 35 years after graduation, her “kids” still checked in on her, made sure she got to her appointments, kept her in their

lives. For a woman with one child she sure had a big family.

You don’t get that kind of love with flash or tricks or quick handshakes.

You don’t generate that kind of loyalty with simple greetings and helpful platitudes. You get that – THIS- with a life’s body of work, with loyalty, with the investment of serious effort. No shortcuts.

It’s kind of like an important painting.

There’s more than meets the eye.

Get past the rough exterior and there’s a warm, powerful center.

How many of you have eaten a Farroba Brownie? Raise your hands…

I’ll bet not many of you ever went for a second one…

ONE WAS PLENTY. Just like Farroba herself.

Big. Rich.

Lasts a long time.

Something you remember.

For us, Mary Ann was an icon, something special. When I met her in 1972, she was already oldfashioned. She was a throwback.

She was someone who worked a full day and then worked some more. If a kid didn’t have a ride after a late basketball practice, Farroba didn’t leave her sitting on the corner — she drove the kid home. She once mentioned to me that she always carried a million dollar insurance policy on her car, because “There’s always going to be a kid who needs a ride.”

Every spring, two hours after graduation, when most of us at

Mary Ann Farroba with former students at her Wheeler party last October.

Now & Then @ Wheeler

43

It Takes Two To Equal One BIG EVENT! Wheeler’s Big Event is really two: The Clothing & More Sale, April 14-16 & The Celebration, April 30.

We want YOU to participate!

Volunteer • Shop • Donate • Party There’s something for everyone.

And it’s all to benefit our greatest Wheeler asset: the students!

See you there.

www.wheelerschool.org/bigevent

The Ties That Bind

Although more than 60 years have come and gone since her Wheeler graduation, Edith Swanson Middleton ‘50 keeps her Wheeler connection strong with visits to campus, her annual leadership gifts and her membership in the School’s Heritage Society for planned giving.

See the names of all those who joined Edie with a gift to Wheeler in 2009-2010 in this year’s Annual Report of Philanthropy online (and saving paper) at www.wheelerschool.org/ donorreport.

Parents of Alumni: If this publication is addressed to your son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address with you, please notify the Alumni Office of the new mailing address.

Office of Institutional Advancement The Wheeler School 216 Hope Street Providence, Rhode Island 02906-2246

A new tower for Wheeler’s radio station WELH FM 88.1 has expanded the station from 150 to 4,000 watt coverage. Listen online at welh.net

Non-Profit Org. US Postage

PAID

Providence, RI Permit No. 1023