Oak Leaves Fall 2010 Web Version

oakleaves Fall 2009

A Faculty on Fire Professional Learning at AFS Alumni in the World Alumni Events

the AFS

Annual Fund Participation makes it work!

Your gift towards our goal of: $500,000 65% parent participation and 25% alumni participation goes directly to work for students and teachers.

Learn more about the Annual Fund and opportunities for giving and volunteering at www.abingtonfriends.net

in this issue

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Life at AFS: Six Month Scrapbook

Report of Gifts Summary

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Alumni Events

Oak Leaves is a publication of the AFS Development and Communications Offices.

Richard F. Nourie Debbie Stauffer Jon Harris Judy Hill Gabrielle Giddings Jenny Bornholdt Hammond ’86

Head of School Associate Head of School Assistant Head for Institutional Advancement Director of Communications, Editor Assistant Director of Development Director of Alumni Affairs

Peapod Design

Publication Design

A Faculty on Fire

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Alumni in the World

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Class Notes, In Memoriam

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letter from the

head of school Just this morning, I welcomed a large group of prospective parents to a school-day Open House. As I thought about how to talk to them about our school, I could think of no better introduction than to share the first 20 minutes of the school day I had experienced before joining them, a beginning of the day that was very typical for me and for the School.

Most mornings, I start the day outside of Lower School, greeting children as they arrive, eager to start the day, carrying the books they’ve been reading on the way to school, projects from special assignments, treats for a birthday or a favorite toy to share with friends. This morning there was special excitement because many were bringing the violas and violins they’ve recently been given as they start their strings instruction in fourth grade. When asked, “Is that a violin you have with you today?” they beam with the special pride and excitement that comes with a first real musical instrument. As a musician myself, I love to see this!

From Lower School, I walked over to the Muller Auditorium where the entire Upper School community meets each morning for morning announcements. As they arrive from their diverse range of city and suburban neighborhoods and fill the auditorium, the place is abuzz. This morning, as always, there were many students with announcements to make. First, though, without any signal, two students stepped onto the stage and the entire gathering fell into a deep and familiar

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OAK LEAVES FALL

2009

silence, a moment of centering and reflection with which to begin the day. The energy level ramped back up as two girls who have formed a book club announced that they would be meeting at lunch to discuss Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth. Another pair announced the start of an animal rights club. Two senior boys, inspired by the story of the gifted, homeless cellist at the center of The Soloist, a summer reading choice, invited the community to a concert they are producing next week to benefit the Nathaniel Anthony Ayres Foundation, which creates arts opportunities for the mentally ill. Amid teachers’ announcements about Model UN and the Mock Trial activity meeting that day, the passion, initiative and leadership of both Upper School students and their teachers was striking.

Following the Upper School Assembly, I dropped by the seventh grade Homebase, where the grade meets as a whole, starting the day holding hands in circle in a moment of silence. There the student leadership and announcements were strikingly similar to those of Upper School. One difference was in how the seventh graders reminded each other of upcoming tests and assignments and materials they would need for specific classes that day. For the end of the seventh grade meeting, the two seniors producing the benefit concert came with the same invitation. Highly accomplished classical musicians, they played their own medley of Michael Jackson songs on piano and cello to enthusiastic applause.

What strikes me about this morning scene, all of which unfolded before 8:15, is how much had already happened in the day before even the first class had begun. I shared with the Open House parents that this environment of engagement, leadership, initiative, passions pursued and appreciation and respect for each other is the environment we very intentionally create to encourage the development of uniquely strong kids.

With educational accountability such a political dilemma, I am clear that it is the culture we create for teachers and children alike that is the single-most important and transformative element of an AFS education.

At the close of our recent 10-year accreditation process, the 16-member visiting team lifted up the vitality of our culture of learning, exploration and growth as most visible to them. Paul Lacey, professor emeritus at Earlham College and a leading voice on Quaker education, often remarks that it is the ethos of Friends schools, how we interact and learn together each day that creates the unique strengths of Friends school students.

As head of school, I find myself paying attention to three essential layers of our school culture. First is our culture of learning. Do we have a passion for

learning, for coming to know ourselves and the world in new ways, for the discourse of the academic disciplines and the way each illuminates our lives in distinct ways? Do we put ourselves in the way of transformative experience? Do we lean into complexity and challenging problems? Are

we honing our skills for inquiry, challenging our own assumptions, refining our ideas? Are we curious and alive to opportunities for new knowledge and skill? My daily experience is that we are and that this learning culture is a creative and self-sustaining force for teachers and students alike, continually drawing us into new territory, questions and growth. In this issue of Oak Leaves, we focus on the thriving professional learning lives of our faculty, a passionate, talented and dedicated group of teachers who share the rich rewards of their continuous learning daily in our classrooms.

The second layer I pay attention to is our culture for spirit and nurture of inner life.

Do we create time for reflection, for paying attention to the quieter voices, for listening for that which is below the surface, for gaining perspective? Are we cultivating humility, openness, reverence? Are we learning to tame the distractions and anxieties in our lives in order to be fully present to the work that we are doing? Are we a community of deep roots and rich connections? Are we open to being changed by what we learn from each other and from reflection? Earl Ball, chair of our visiting committee and long-time leader in Quaker education, was struck by the depth of the spiritual community of our school, by the openness with which we talk about and nurture inner life. The spiritual dimension of our school provides an essential set of roots and values to ground our busy and ambitious daily lives.

Editors Note If you received this issue of Oak Leaves through the mail you may have wondered for a moment or two, “What is this unfamiliar magazine sitting on my doormat?” As you can see, we have a new look for Oak Leaves, and we’re excited to share it with you. In fact, this fresh visual identity is part of a broader rethinking of how we present ourselves to the world.

A little over a year ago we began working with a consultant to help us figure out how the outside world (as well as our own community) sees AFS and how we could more effectively communicate our distinctive vision for a contemporary education through our publications and web presence. What you have in your hands is part of the first phase of our

The final layer I focus on is our culture of commitment, care and participation as a community. Abington Friends School is created each year, each day by the contributions of teachers, students, parents, staff, School Committee, alumni and Meeting members. We are the collective strength of all those who share their ideas, talents, hard work and resources to create an extraordinary learning environment for this generation of children growing up in a world of enormous challenge, complexity and promise. Our Annual Report of Gifts— summarized in this issue of Oak Leaves and available in full online—reflects the broad and committed support of so many who love this school and are committed to our mission and spirited work. I am truly grateful for all who strengthen, encourage and sustain this community with their support.

revamping of communications materials.

Along with a new look for Oak Leaves, we have also—working with Peapod Design in Connecticut—redesigned our viewbook (call us and we’ll happily send you one), produced program guides for each division in the school and come up with a fresh new face for Kanga News, our monthly newsletter.

In the coming months we plan to roll out a brand new AFS website that will offer new features and a more user friendly experience while sharing the crisp, vibrant look of our new print publications. As always, we appreciate your feedback on where we’re going and how we’re doing.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Oak Leaves.

Rich Nourie

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life at AFS:

month scrapbook Science Night » At Science Night, students from every division shared the results of science projects engaged in throughout the year. This year Science Night also featured the Franklin Institute Traveling Exhibit “Electricity!”

Visitors watched as electricity traveled through the air to power fluorescent light bulbs, turning students into a human “circuit.”

« Medieval Feast To celebrate the sixth grade Medieval Feast, a much loved Middle School tradition, two adjoining classrooms were transformed for the day into a great hall from the 1300s, with curtains, banners, “stained glass” and heraldic shields. Geoffrey Chaucer (aka Middle School Director Russell Shaw) addressed the revelers and former AFS teacher Ray Schorle—who first developed the Medieval Feast tradition—set the scene.

The Upper School spring play gave audiences two plays in one, Michael Hollinger’s Serviette and Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

april 4

LIFE AT AFS : SIX MONTH SCRAPBOOK

Lower School Spirit Day

»

« Picasso Plays Dozens of Lower Schoolers stayed after school to take part in a Lower School Spirit Day, where they cheered on Varsity softball and lacrosse teams and demonstrated that it’s never too early to be part of our athletic community. Go Roos!

Arbor Day On May 6 the entire School community gathered together on Smith Field to celebrate the blessings of spring and reaffirm the School’s commitment to caring for the earth.

»

EGIS

May 14 was a big night for eighth graders

Spring Pageant » The end-of-year Lower School Program

as they shared with friends and family the

looked a little different this year. Instead

culmination of a yearlong adventure of

of staging a production in the Muller

learning. This year’s projects included

Auditorium, Lower School Music Teacher

learning how to be a blacksmith, self

Deb Pizzi and Lower School Art Teacher

publishing a book, sewing a collection of

Sam Matlock decided to take advantage of

dresses and learning how to make sushi.

our beautiful campus and create a pageant with outsize puppets and a movable feast of music and dancing, followed by a Spring

Roo Fest

»

Fling in the Meadow.

may

Our third annual Roo Fest, held on May 9, delighted the crowds with traditional carnival

attractions and musical entertainment, including Head of School Rich Nourie’s band The Reckless Amateurs, the Upper School Chamber Singers and student band Mad Awkward.

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c

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LIFE AT AFS : SIX MONTH SCRAPBOOK

commencement On June 10 family and friends gathered in the Grove to honor the 60 members of the Class of 2009. With storm clouds brewing, there were more than a few anxious glances skyward, but the rain held off as we honored the 312th graduating class of Abington Friends School.

Student speakers Kalia Baker and Ilana Breitman spoke eloquently about their years at AFS and Lifers Angelica Adams and Joel Tillman introduced Keynote Speaker Bruce Stewart, Head of Sidwell Friends School, who was Head of School here at AFS from 1984 to 1999.

Bruce spoke affectionately about his time at AFS as among the most important periods of his extraordinary career in Friends education.

Christine Benner presented the School with the class gift, a quilt in honor of former AFS Head of Libraries Rosy Montgomery. Upper School Director Sharon DuPree accepted the class gift. Rich Nourie talked about the class’s sense of agency and expectation of being involved. He also talked about the profound challenges the world is facing and about a shift toward greater awareness and consciousness about the way we live—a shift he sees the Class of 2009 particularly well prepared for.

EC Picnic Early Childhood closed out the year with a picnic held on a beautiful sunny day in the

Golf Outing

»

Grove by the Meetinghouse.

Echo Hill

»

The second annual AFS Golf Outing created to honor the memory of longtime AFS parent and School Committee leader Hank Faulkner drew an enthusiastic crowd for a day of golf and good fellowship at the Huntingdon Valley Country Club. Profits from the day directly support financial aid.

The entire seventh grade spent five days at Echo Hill, an outdoor school on the Chesapeake Bay, learning lessons about ecology, leadership and community. As always, the trip included the infamous “swamp walk.”

september 8

LIFE AT AFS : SIX MONTH SCRAPBOOK

Book Fair » The AFS Book Fair moved from the Hallowell Gym into the Faulkner Library, where members of the community enjoyed story time with Rich Nourie, face painting and a human chess match, not to mention lots of great books selected by AFS faculty.

october

Field Day The whites fought the blues—in friendly fashion—at Field Day 2009 where students from PreK to twelfth grade put classes on hold for a day of athletic fun.

This year, for the first time in a long time, the faculty beat the seniors at the Tug of Conflict.

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a faculty

on fire When faculty enjoy rich learning lives, the whole school community benefits. At AFS continuous faculty learning is thriving.

By: Russell Shaw, AFS Middle School Director and Assistant Head for Academic Affairs

A

ngela Wagner and Roseanne Sessa were stuck. For a week this past July, the two Middle School science teachers had been hard at work re-envisioning the seventh and eighth grade science curricula, supported by an AFS Summer Curriculum Fellowship. Laptops open, surrounded by piles of books, markers and poster paper, and often joined by librarian Toni Vahlsing, they sat at adjoining tables in the Faulkner Library, seeking to design a program that would engage their Middle Schoolers in big ideas and experimentation, even as it led them to a sophisticated understanding of the physical and natural worlds. They knew they were on the verge of creating something exciting, and yet they wanted more perspectives on their work. So, although it was the middle of summer, they got on the phone and called some colleagues.

Early the next week, seven AFS faculty, from different disciplines and divisions, sat together with Angie and Roseanne as the two teachers presented their first week of work. This group already had practice working together—they were members of a Critical Friends Group (CFG), a cross-divisional professional learning community that met monthly throughout the school year. “After a week of work on this project, we were too close to it,” Roseanne said. “By bringing in our CFG, we got to the heart of what we wanted to teach and how we needed to teach it. We were so energized by the conversation that we worked on the project for a third week this summer, even though we had only planned for two. We saved ourselves and our students a year of possible dead-ends.”

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When I asked one of the CFG members why she had voluntarily driven to school in the middle of summer to participate in a conversation about a subject she doesn’t even teach, she replied, “Are you kidding?

I get to be a student! I get to learn with my colleagues. How great is that?”

It was at an AFS School Committee Retreat that I first heard Rich Nourie share the idea that, “great schools are lit from within.”

If the driving force behind a rich, dynamic school community is its faculty, the learning life of the faculty is the fuel that keeps that fire lit. Abington Friends School is blessed with a passionate, talented group of teachers, teachers who are not just skilled educators, but who also are deeply engaged learners.

Why Do Teachers Need to Keep Learning?

Teaching is a Complex, Dynamic Undertaking In America we take it for granted that doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals participate in continuing education to deepen their skill sets and stay abreast of the latest trends in their fields. And yet there is a

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A FACULTY ON FIRE

common misconception in our country that education is static—that once you know how to teach, you just teach.

In fact, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Teaching in the 21st Century is a tremendously complex undertaking, as faculty are asked to remain engaged with and abreast of developments in a staggering range of areas, including: subject area content; pedagogy (encompassing topics such as formative assessment, cooperative learning, motivation, brain science and differentiated instruction); child and adolescent development; technology integration; and diversity and multiculturalism. Each of these realms is both broad and deep, and each has important implications for student learning.

In an article in Independent School magazine, one school head addresses the question, “What’s the most important factor in determining whether a school is a setting in which children grow and learn?”

A growing body of research makes the case that it’s not facilities, course offerings, or even student-teacher ratios that most impact student learning, although each of these is important. The most important factor in determining whether a school is a

setting in which children grow and learn is whether the school is a setting in which adults grow and learn. Or in the words of Stanford education professor Lee Shulman, “any school that wishes its teachers to teach well had better provide the conditions for them to be learning continually.”

The Students Are Watching In their important book on developing a moral culture in schools, Ted and Nancy Sizer exhort us that “the students are watching”. Students notice how the adults in their school community talk to each other, whether they are open to new ideas, and importantly, whether they themselves are learners. Our AFS Mission and Philosophy states that, “Abington Friends School expects to instill in each student a life-long love of learning.” For this not to become a hollow promise, our teachers must model life-long learning for the students in their care. An engaged, collaborative faculty learning community is a critical ingredient in developing students who are active, engaged learners. As Deborah Meier writes in The Power of Their Ideas, “Our schools must be labs for learning about learning. Only if schools are run as places of reflective experimentation can we teach both children and their teachers simultaneously.”

Professional Learning at AFS From Congeniality to Collegiality

ROSEANNE SESSA Middle School Science Teacher Critical Friends Group leader

“My first experience of Critical Friends Groups was going to a conference held at Brown where we were asked to bring a unit of our work. I sat at a table with six strangers and presented all my work and for two hours they talked about this one unit. I came back and was so excited I asked Russell if we could start a Critical Friends Group at AFS. At one of the very first faculty meetings in the fall Russell allowed me to run one in the Middle School faculty meeting. Erin Timmer [Eighth Grade Social Studies teacher] presented a piece of work and we picked people from the faculty meeting and put them in the group. They were alittle leery. At the end of the protocol Erin said, ‘Wow, this is so amazing.’ The buy-in was by example and it was really powerful. It started people talking. Initially six of us met once a month. That led to thinking about what would it look like to do it schoolwide.

The shift that’s happened here is the intentionality about speaking about our work and critically supporting it. In the first meetings you’re getting to know one another and seeing each other as teachers and adults. That experience of sharing time together makes it feel safe to present your work. Teachers do feel anxious about putting their baby out there, but after you’ve done it once it’s so rewarding you’re ready to go back for more.

In teaching you can get trapped in your own world, and all of a sudden in a CFG you have six more perspectives. You feel so supported and honored in your work.

Sometimes you bring work you think is terrific but as folks look at it all of a sudden new directions come up. The cross-divisional nature of it is great, too. You would think if an Upper School teacher was presenting a science unit the Lower School folks would say ‘huh?’ but there’s a universal quality to teaching that removes that.

At times we do have to say ‘We want to remind you we’re working with middle schoolers; we need to roll with their energy, not contain it.’ But the universal quality to teaching continues to rise up. We’re all doing the same thing. That has been really rich.

I think some folks think you learn to be a teacher and that’s it. I think there are skills you learn as you go along but there’s also this thoughtful engagement about what does effective teaching look like and what does rich learning look like. For me I never want to feel like I have it right. I have to continually be on this journey of evolving as a teacher, continually being more effective.”

At an August 2007 Administrative Council retreat, the development of a new system for professional development was named as a critical initiative for our school community. While faculty at AFS were already engaged in learning in a variety of important ways, including attending a range of regional and national conferences, workshops and graduate programs, much of this work was happening in isolation. Episodic, individually-oriented adult learning is not unusual in schools. While educators are often expert at facilitating collaborative learning and group work in their classrooms, sharing expertise among faculty is more often the exception rather than the rule.

Educational theorist Judith Warren Little makes an important distinction between congeniality and collegiality, noting that schools often confuse the two. Many school environments are congenial—faculty enjoy lunch together, sharing stories and insights about weekend adventures, sporting events, movies or politics. While a friendly, relational culture is indeed important amongst faculty, true collegiality requires more than the sharing of hobbies and interests. A collegial school environment is one in which teachers intentionally and systematically wrestle with professional challenges and problems together, working collaboratively to plan units, share best practices and sharpen each other’s craft. The following are some of the initiatives that have been important to fostering a culture of collegiality at AFS that benefits faculty and students alike.

Professional learning opportunities at AFS are directly supported by gifts to the Annual Fund and the Vision in Action campaign.

“Our teachers must model life-long learning for the students in their care.”

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Professional Learning Communities

HOWARD STEVENSON Associate Professor of Education, Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania Consultant, MAP (Multi-Racial Action Pedagogy), a two-year initiative at AFS focused on multi-racial pedagogy

AFS received a grant from the E.E. Ford Foundation to study multi-racial pedagogy and to develop tools for teachers to use in the classrooms. Why do diversity initiatives often fail?

By getting this grant AFS jumped the gun and committed to teacher training at a whole new level. These kinds of initiatives often go wrong when you don’t target the program itself and you treat all diverse groups as if they’re the same. If you do that you stay on the surface without getting into the particular challenges of each diversity issue.

How do you make it go right?

Specific training is more useful than generalized training, and in particular role playing experiences that are racially stressful. The tension is solvable if you know the skills and how to use them. That’s a big difference from training that’s more about lecturing and explaining to people through didactic methods how to become more culturally competent. We have two doctoral students who have made a commitment to return to AFS monthly, which is another important difference. They will do more examples of role playing and work with teachers and give feedback as they practice the strategies in the classroom.

What did you notice during your time at AFS? At AFS I was struck by the way in which folks spoke up eagerly on a variety of topics. People were in different places with the work but were not afraid to talk and I found that refreshing. The fact that people had diverse opinions led to a better opportunity to disagree and work through it, to have meaningful debate.

Do you think teachers see clearly what’s happening in their own classrooms?

Sometimes as a teacher you feel you’re serving everyone equally but you don’t have access to their perception of you. The way your students see you sometimes is shocking. People are always trying not to say the wrong thing, trying not to offend, as opposed to being prepared to be open and listen when the conflict occurs. Folks often start out saying, ‘How can I learn not to say the wrong thing?’ That’s too hard of a task, but you can be much less likely to be thought of as unhelpful if you engage the conflict. Fear of being called racist is a big issue for everyone.

What would you want to see develop over the course of the project?

I think you’d want to see over time commentary on how this influenced curriculum and how it’s influenced relationships with parents. I think another thing you’d expect is different disciplines would have a better sense of how to integrate diversity issues differently. What you do for math is going to be different than other topics.

If this were to be replicated I think you’d also want to have teachers serve as consultants based on their experiences. They’re in the process of becoming experts and my hope is that they would feel confident to help others beginning this process elsewhere. I can envision a blog with new teachers just beginning this process that could also help others stay in the fight and not give up. That’s always the biggest fear, that people will give up.

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A FACULTY ON FIRE

Each month during the 2009-2010 school year, 10 different groups of faculty from all divisions of our school are gathering to grapple with questions of teaching practice. While faculty participation in these professional learning communities is voluntary, the groups are widely subscribed, with more than 80 participants across the school. These Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) provide a forum for individual teachers to present to their peers a teaching challenge, unit, assessment or body of student work. This provides invaluable insights for the presenter, stimulates thinking among all group members, and creates a network of resources and collaborators here at school.

Another professional learning group called BUS 21 (see sidebar) challenges faculty to develop innovative, effective strategies for integrating technology and Web 2.0 tools into their teaching.

A third initiative known as MAP (Multi-Racial Action Pedagogy), is bringing faculty groups together to work toward providing teachers and students with the tools and skills to navigate and learn from an increasingly diverse, multicultural world.

We know that faculty learning happens best when it is sustained over time, is shared among colleagues, and is grounded in trusting relationships.Together these groups support a culture of continual, collaborative, engaged faculty learning.

Summer Fellowships Each year, AFS teachers receive grants to fund summer learning experiences that support and energize their teaching lives. These fellowships fall into two categories: grants to support travel that will be intellectually stimulating and will positively impact the school’s academic program; and grants to encourage and support the development of especially innovative, collaborative new curriculum.

Collectively these fellowship experiences fuel an explosion of teaching creativity and passion whose impact echoes into the school year. Recent travel grants have included travel to China and Cuba with the George School Global Service Program, a research trip to Viet Nam by a Lower School teacher and travel to the Bard Institute for Writing and Thinking by a Middle School teacher. Curriculum fellowships have sparked a range of exciting programs, including: new, year-long fourth grade study of Philadelphia from the Lenape era to the present; a move toward digital portfolios in the Early Childhood division; and the design of a model “21st Century Classroom” in the Upper School.

JOHN RISON Technology Director Bus 21 founder

“Through a Ning we created we’re looking at different tools for learning plus bigger philosophical questions on learning in the 21st century. It’s part of a shift in technology in schools from it being about the tools themselves to being about what does it look like to be engaged and to be responsive.

When we started out with this technology cohort group, we wanted to open it up to the whole faculty. We called it Bus 21 after a story Will Richardson [a well known speaker on technology and education] tells about how the kids are driving the technology bus and parents and teachers at least need to get on it, since right now a lot of us far behind.

That metaphor and the story he shares resonated. Plus we needed something catchy.

We did a couple of sales pitches and made a video we showed at faculty meetings. It evolved organically. A nice thing is it’s always there. You can come back and read something posted four months ago and for you it’s brand new. In meetings some people are very quiet because they’re processing. In a day or two, they might come back and share ideas. It’s this idea that the discussion lives on and continues that’s so powerful.

The model we’re embedded in through this cohort and through this way of learning is also a model a teacher could take to a classroom and share with students, so students are contributing and collaborating around ideas.

We’re also doing five or six face-to-face meetings/workshops throughout the year and they’re check-in points where we talk about things that came up on the Ning. But mostly it happens online. It didn’t have to be a Ning but that’s something I’m pretty familiar with.

Seven or eight years ago this would have been a tough road. Having Rich’s leadership is huge and the fact that he mentions 21st century learning and living in a resource rich world in his meetings with faculty. They’re tapped into that and see it as important, and the directors do the same thing in their faculty meetings. AFS seems to be a particularly ripe environment for such discussions.

The idea too of a personal learning network is something I’m trying to foster with this group. If you’re really tapped into your interest through these different tools—Twitters, blogs, whatever—it becomes transformative, it really changes who you are as a learner and that’s got to carry through into the classroom. Instead of just teaching, we’re modeling learning. That’s the shift.”

MEREDITH DECHABERT Director of Diversity, Rye Country Day School, NY Facilitator, MAP (Multi-Racial Action Pedagogy)

“What I witnessed back in September was a remarkable beginning to a meaningful project. I saw a faculty committed to a project that they would help shape over the course of the next two years. Their commitment manifested itself in enthusiasm, openness and curiosity, which was sustained over the course of a long and sometimes emotional two days. What struck me most about the faculty was their almost immediate willingness to grapple with tough issues.

Curriculum and pedagogy are where the rubber hits the road when it comes to diversity work in schools. While much information exists on the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of diversity in schools, there remains precious little of the ‘how.’ We can offer our students as many assemblies and guest speakers as can fit in our daily schedules, but if we are not being inclusive when we teach—both in what we teach and how we teach it—we run the risk of perpetuating gaps or differential patterns in achievement.

This AFS project is important because it will provide teachers with a model of the ‘how,’ which builds on all of the good theory that exists and fulfills the larger goal of making education more equitable for all students.”

“The most important factor in determining whether a school is a setting in which children grow and learn is whether the school is a setting in which adults grow and learn.”

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J O HN MCCA BE Upper School Language Teacher Critical Friends Group leader

“At the beginning we wondered if our Critical Friends Groups should be within the division.

Everybody said it should be cross divisional and we did it and they’re right. You get a totally different perspective. When you have to explain to someone who doesn’t know, you have to do it more clearly. Questions are more out of the box.

Toward the end of last year the Early Childhood folks took us to the lobby and had a big presentation on evolving curriculum. Those of us in Middle and Upper school didn’t understand it at first, but we were blown away by the sophistication and complexity of it, the idea that all curriculum evolves from the needs and questions presented by the student. The Early Childhood faculty came back with a feeling of being understood and respected. That was a major advantage of doing it cross divisionally. It also made me a more reflective teacher. I’m thinking more about how I can treat the class more like a CFG group. You begin to become more conscious about equity issues in the classroom. I do a little more listening than talking. I have kids drive the curriculum with their questions.

Leadership has made this possible, enthusiastic leadership and willingness to take some risks with it. Also the fact that we have a faculty that is anxious to go out and learn. That well has always existed, but we hadn’t figured out how to tap into it.

We’ve developed a cadre of leaders and it’s something we want to build. The school is willing to say it’s such a priority we’re going to make it a key element in the capital campaign and the school is willing to provide time and coverage. Time was always the big issue. The fact that the administration was able to take time out of the equation was huge.

For me as a faculty member in the classroom for 30 plus years this is absolutely rejuvenating and exciting. It allows me to play the kind of role senior faculty in most schools would love to play, to be able to try out something brand new. I think that’s really a very positive thing.”

Sharing What We Learn Educators know that one of the best ways for students to internalize a new concept or skill is by having the opportunity to teach it.

Not surprisingly, the same is true for teachers. It is not only important for faculty to have active learning lives—it is also essential that this learning be shared with others. At AFS, faculty share outside professional learning experiences at inservice days, divisional and department

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A FACULTY ON FIRE

meetings and through written reflection.

providing opportunities for faculty to

By reporting back from conferences,

engage in continual conversations about

workshops and graduate courses, teachers

their learning, we are ensuring that our

are able to deepen their own understanding

school remains “lit from within.” It is

of new ideas, even while feeding their

inspiring to work with a faculty that is so

colleagues with the latest in research and

passionately engaged in learning and so

educational innovation. Increasingly, our

dedicated to their craft. As one outside

faculty are learning together online as well,

consultant recently observed about our

sharing resources and engaging in dialogue

teachers, “the AFS faculty is on fire.”

using a range of social networking tools, from Nings to wikis to listserves. By

Abington Friends School

annual report of gifts

You asked, and we heard you –we’re saving trees and money by publishing the Annual Report online. It’s just one of the many ways we’re honoring our commitment to stewardship at AFS Visit www.abingtonfriends.net./support AFS to find a full copy of the report.

If you would like a paper copy of the full report, or if you would like a .pdf version of the report e-mailed directly to you, please contact the Development Office and we will be happy to provide one.

Annual Fund Highlights

Dear Friends, While there is no doubt that we are living in challenging philanthropic times, our Annual Report of Gifts suggests that our community is strong and resilient. We set a new record for our Annual Fund and were one of the very few schools in our region that actually surpassed its Annual Fund goal. Additionally, we received some strong gifts toward our $4M goal for our Campaign, Vision in Action. My hope is that we can close out the Campaign long before the three year completion date of June 30, 2011.

In 2008-2009, we raised $466,562 for the Annual Fund Giving to the Annual Fund increased 6% over the previous year 168 alumni, parents and friends gave to the Annual Fund for the first time 626 donors made repeat gifts to the Annual Fund 467 donors increased the size of their gift

This year, we have moved to an online version of our Annual Report, in order to be good stewards of our financial resources and of the world in which we live. If you would like a paper copy of the full report, please contact the Development Office and we will be happy to provide one.

5 classes of parents met or exceeded the participation goal of 65%

As I talk to friends and alumni of the school, I am often asked why our Campaign is critical now and why we feel it is so necessary to press forward even in this tough economic environment. The answer lies in the quality of the interactions between our students and our teachers. If we want the optimal learning environment for them, we need to allocate our resources accordingly. Our Campaign does just that.

The three initiatives of Vision in Action focus on making our academic program superior, our faculty salaries competitive and our cafeteria and student commons flexible and dynamic. It is a compelling blueprint and please don’t hesitate to call me if you would like to discuss it in more detail.

113 Faculty and staff members made an Annual Fund gift

To those who are listed on this report, I want to thank you for your generous stewardship of Abington Friends School. Your donations are an expression of your faith in the school. My wife and I support the school to the best of our ability because I am awed daily by the level of professionalism and dedication I see every day from our teachers, staff and administrators. I see this in the hallways, in the cafeteria, in assemblies and in my role as an 11th Grade advisor and part-time coach of tennis and golf. Abington Friends School is an incredible school with an important mission. Your support helps the School get better and better.

Before I close, I want to thank those who help us in other ways as well. To those friends who see to it that our scholarship program is supplemented by donations through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (PAEITC) program, thank you very much. To those friends who gave more to our Annual Fund so that we could meet the E.E. Ford Challenge Grant for the purpose of designing multi-racial curricula, thank you very much. To those who supported the Hank Faulkner Golf Outing and have helped us raise over $40,000 to date for general scholarship, thank very much. And to those who have had the wonderful foresight of including the school in your wills or planned giving, thank you very much.

30 alumni classes met or exceeded the participation goal of 25%

Our deepest thanks to our 899 Annual Fund donors for making 2008-2009 such a successful year.

Vision in Action Campaign Highlights Capital Funds Pledged: $1.18M Annual Fund pledged and raised: $816K

What we’ve accomplished so far: Supported faculty summer fellowships for travel and curriculum Launched 8 Faculty Professional Learning Communities Distributed new laptops to all faculty members Kicked off the ECCO program Hired a School Counselor for Middle and Upper Schools

We have much to give thanks for and for all of us in the Development Office, please know that we appreciate every dollar of your support!

Total FY 08-09 Contributions to AFS

With Regards,

$2,250,599

Jon M. Harris Assistant Head of School for Institutional Advancement

How did you first become an AFS parent?

Brad Sheares and Adrienne Simmons

Brad: It started with my oldest daughter, Adrienne. She was in middle school in Central Bucks. It was a good school system but she was falling through the cracks. At parent teacher meetings it was clear the teachers really didn’t know my kid. They weren’t reaching into her soul. We thought she can do better and we can do better. We made the normal round of schools in the area. We came to AFS and met faculty and staff, as well as students. You could see the focus on the individual and bringing out the best in the individual, and we liked what we were hearing about Quaker values, where everybody has something to contribute. We sent her here and she blossomed. After a couple of years we sent Alicia, and Anita said, ‘I want to go, too.’ They all have very different personalities but all of them have been able to find themselves at AFS. For one it might have been sports, for one taking advantage of AP courses, honors classes or other extracurricular activities.

What inspires you as a philanthropist?

School Committee member and AFS father Brad Sheares and his wife Adrienne Simmons are energetic supporters of the School. As well as contributing to the ECCO Program (Exploring, Connecting, Committing to Opportunity), they have established a scholarship fund to increase access to the School for qualified minorities. Brad’s oldest daughter, Adrienne, graduated from AFS in 2005 and attended Spelman College. Alicia took the same path in 2008 and youngest daughter Anita is set to graduate next summer.

Brad: Adrienne and I recognize how fortunate we are. One of the things that has allowed us to have the opportunities is the families we grew up in. Another is the education we received. I grew up in a family that valued education. My great grandfather went to college and for somebody who was black in Louisiana before the turn of the century that was a big deal. If I go back in the family to see who had success and opportunities, way before there was a Brad in the world, it was always those who had educational opportunities and took advantage of them. It was especially important in the black community where by law or practice there was such rampant discrimination. Ever since I was a little boy it was stressed that you’re going to college, that’s the key to success, the key to overcoming injustice, and my life has borne that out.

Check out the rest of this interview online at www.abingtonfriends.net/ annual report

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alumni in the world We are always excited to hear what our recent graduates have been up to. Here we share news from three who are making their mark in the world both near and far, from the hills of Ecuador to a stage in California to our very own Archives Room.

especially when there is something you HAVE to do that’s important and you can’t understand. It takes a lot of patience, from both you and the people you talk with. It can be very frustrating at times, especially when you’re trying to make new friends. It feels like you can’t really get to know someone on a deeper level because it’s so hard to have deeper conversations. I am so glad that I had as much Spanish as I did because some people here have almost no Spanish, which is even harder.

Elena Coleman Where: Ecuador Why: Spending her gap year attending a local high school through the Rotary Club’s Youth Exchange program.

“I arrived in Ecuador on August 21. My flight was delayed by two hours, so when I got to the airport it was already pretty late. There I was greeted by 14 family members, each one kissing me on the cheek in turn. We then all squished into a small van for the three hour ride back to Machala (my town). Everyone was talking to me in Spanish, I was tired,

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OAK LEAVES FALL

2009

and it was quite overwhelming. About half way through the car trip we were stopped in a line of traffic because a truck had flipped over across the whole road, so no one could get through. We waited for three hours for the police to come and clear away the truck while we stood around next to a banana plantation, so I didn’t get home till 4:30 in the morning. As I was trying to go to sleep at 5, the roosters started crowing, and from that moment I knew I was in for an adventure…

Speaking, hearing and trying to understand Spanish ALL the time is very difficult,

“There is more to this world than just academics … there’s who you are, what the world is and the people that occupy that world.”

I live in a middle class family and I have two ‘sisters’ (one is 20 and the other is 14). I’ve never had siblings before so it’s definitely a change, but I’m glad to have them because sometimes we’ll just hang out and talk. The food is difficult, especially because I’m

have two seconds to get dressed. There are really not a lot of plans, everything is up in the air and random.

Dan Walber Where: AFS Archives Why: Dan volunteered to catalogue and transcribe a collection of historic documents.

These last six weeks, especially the first two, have been the hardest in my entire life. But being here I appreciate what I have in the US so much more, even the little things. My parents especially. We’ve never been super close, though we’ve never hated each other either. But being here I realize that they are friends too, and I feel comfortable telling them almost anything now. Now that I don’t have so many things from back at home it makes me realize how much I had there, how great AFS was (I miss not only the people but the opportunities, from theater to track, everything). vegetarian. I have no choice but to eat fish, but almost everything is fried here, so I’ve been trying to find other foods. Also, the meals aren’t very balanced. For example, a typical lunch (the main meal of the day eaten after I get home from school) is a bowl of soup then a plate of rice with potatoes, fried fish and patacones (a type of plantain, fried).

Family is very important, and I see my cousins and uncles and aunts all the time!

School. Where to start…EVERYTHING is different. EVERYTHING. School starts at 7 a.m. (I walk to school), we have a uniform (most people go to private schools because the public ones are really bad and each private school has a different uniform) and we have majors. Everyone chooses a major heading into the equivalent of seventh grade.

Unfortunately I was put into the Chem-Bio major, which is very difficult for me because I don’t remember much because it’s been over three years since I’ve had either. We have a block schedule (four classes per day) with two breaks, 15 minutes each. School ends at 1:30. I then go home for lunch.

One other thing I want to mention is Ecuadorian Time, Hora Ecuatoriana, which basically means, if a party starts at 8, you show up at 9:30. Time is so weird here and it’s really hard to get used to; you have to have a lot of patience. Sometimes my family says, ‘Okay, let’s go,’ so I get ready…and they we don’t leave for another hour or so. Other times they say, ‘Oh my God, we have to leave NOW,’ and I literally

I feel like I have really had to rely on myself through all this. At times I feel very alone, stuck in the house in my room with nothing to do or sitting in class and not being able to talk to anyone. It’s really made me have to take a step forward and make things happen. I feel I really learned from AFS how to act, how to find things and make things happen. So it was quite a shock when I got here, to realize that you can’t always just make things happen. This is really challenging me in a way I’d never imagined. I’ve had to learn to be more patient and to accept how things are.

At first you want to say, well this is different therefore it’s bad, but you have to learn to accept how things are.

I definitely recommend a gap year between high school and college, especially for students who have been very stressed during high school. It’s a year to find yourself, a year to experience new things and just be away.

College will always be there and one year isn’t going to change anything. But the gap year is really a year for you, something completely different and something to give you new ideas about the world and yourself. There is more to this world than just academics, even more than sports and clubs, there’s who you are, what the world is and the people that occupy that world. It’s about new ideas, thoughts and experiences, which we can get in college, yes, but even more so being on your own in a new place.”

AFS received three binders of primary and historic documents from the late 1700s and early 1800s through a donation in 2006 from Nancy Bodman of central Pennsylvania. They were found in the attic of Bodman’s grandfather, who inherited them from an elderly neighbor, Bessie Heston, a relative of the Tyson family.

The collection includes indenture papers, wills, deeds, receipts, household inventories; more than 250 pieces in all, including a paper from the Abington Monthly Meeting in 1767 denying Abraham Tyson, Jr., any further right to membership in the religious society for “proceeding in marriage by a priest with a person not belonging to our Religious Society...” signed

by Wm. Hallowell, Clerk.

In the summer of 2009, Dan Walber ’07 (currently majoring in History and Italian Literature at McGill University) volunteered many hours to the cataloging and transcribing of these documents in order to make them more accessible to students and faculty, of special importance to Bodman who was a school teacher. One of the more whimsical documents was “Ann Tyson’s Cure for Breaking Out,” providing step-by step instructions of how to “Cure for the each or any other Breaking out.” The ingredients included “half an ounce of red precipitate finely powdered, three quarters of an ounce of vence turpentine, one pound of fresh butter without salt.”

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was very exciting because I had never been there before. When I got there, it was great to finally meet all the people involved with the performance in person, including the composer of the song who is a college-aged student like myself.

Going into the performance, I had no idea what to expect. Watching the performance was surreal to say the least.

The finished product was outstanding and I really enjoyed the performance.

Both the composer and the singers proved to be very talented. I’m very grateful that my poem was chosen by WomenSing and that they provided me with this amazing opportunity.”

The performance can be seen on Youtube at: http://tinyurl.com/witandfright.

A poem for two voices words for owl / words for mouse

Eric Pierson Where: California Why: A poem Eric wrote in fifth grade was selected to be set to music by WomenSing, a San Francisco area women’s chorus.

When Eric Pierson ’08 (pictured above with his father, AFS Science teacher Jim Pierson) was 10 years old and a student in Anne Fields’ fifth grade class, he wrote a poem, “Wit and Fright,” that became a finalist in the 2001 River of Words Poetry Contest, an international competition organized in affiliation with The Library of Congress Center for the Book that inspires young people to explore the natural and cultural history of the place they live.

Now, eight years later, his poem has been set to music and was performed last June by San Francisco area women’s chorus WomenSing. The vocal arrangement was

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ALUMNI IN THE WORLD

created by Ryan Harper, a young composer commissioned by WomenSing for its 2008/2009 concert season, who set the poem for women’s chorus, children’s chorus and piano.

Sleep all through the day, at night capture your prey.

WomenSing is in the first year of a three-year project titled Youth Inspiring Youth, where young composers are invited to choose the text of a River of Words poem from a list of 15 selected by WomenSing’s artistic director.

In your eyes, lanterns burn bright, golden rays illuminate the night.

Eric had this to say about the experience: “I was completely shocked when I found out that my poem was going to be turned into a song and performed by a choir. I hadn’t thought about the poem in years and all of a sudden an adult choir from the other side of the country wanted to perform it. The people involved with WomenSing were extremely generous and even offered to pay for my flight out to California. Going to California

Savor the sun, it’s almost noon, darkness is coming soon.

Scrunched down low, trying to hear, your eyes ablaze with fear.

Flying, flying up on high swimming in dark pools of sky.

Dark shadow hides the light not a speck of moon in sight Dinner Gone

2009

alumni events Class of 1994 attendees: Ben Workman, Melissa Osorio Siegrist, Katherine Medori Barthlet, Nathan Hopson

Alumni Weekend

At Alumni Weekend, Jonathan Verlin ’84 and Larry Wilkins

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Class of 1947 attendees: Beatrice Foedisch, Joan Humphreys and Barbara Cleeland

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« Some attendees from the 70s: Ellene Felder-Scharnott ’79, Howard Sullivan ’76, Paula Webster Grant ’74, Wendy Frisby ’74, Patty Balestrini de Sanchez ’74, Richard “Brooks” Robinson ’75, Jill Berger ’74, Melanie Evans Shectman ’74, Mary Buckman ’74, Karin Schwartz Czaplicki ’74

Class of 1989 attendees: Elizabeth Shope, Nicki Toizer, Dina Silver Pokedoff, Michael Hecht (not pictured: Jocelyn Upshur Greenberg)

Class of

1969

Reunion on Martha’s Vineyard On June 18 through 21 of this year, the class of ’69 celebrated our 40th reunion. I cringe at the huge number I’ve written: 40! It seems like only yesterday we were carrying our desks from the old building on the Triangle Building site to the new building on Washington Lane.

Anyway, I digress. This June, seven of the 13 graduating classmates reunited on the beautiful island of Martha’s Vineyard, where our own Barb Coles Oberfest makes her home. Barb and her husband Peter hosted us graciously in her architect-designed house in the middle of the woods. We made lots of tasty (yet healthy!) food and beverages, and talked about old times and new.

Despite unusual cold and occasional rain (like most of the Northeast this year), Barb led us on a picturesque hike to the beach for a picnic, and a drive to elegant Edgartown and hip Vineyard Haven. We stopped as well at the famous Morning Glory Farm, which was celebrating its anniversary with special treats under tents.

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The construction was still underway in September of ’68, so we were allowed for the first time to actually wear pants to school. Our senior lounge was where one of the math or history rooms is at present, and we had a record player there to play Joni Mitchell and Donovan and Laura Nyro and Tim Buckley during our frees.

The Class of 1969 held their 40th reunion at Martha’s Vineyard on June 19-21, 2009.

Classmates pictured from L to R: Jenny French, Laura Conkey, Nan Harbison, Nancy “Bart” Hemmerich, Robin Becker, Barb Coles Oberfest and Betsi Eisman Caprara.

So what have we been up to? In a nutshell, Barb and Peter co-own and help run the local newspaper, the Vineyard Times. Betsi Eisman Caprara has been keeping in shape with a trainer in Penllyn, PA, traveling, and doing extensive painting in water color. Laura Conkey is a professor of geography at Dartmouth College, focusing on the forests of the Northeast. Robin Becker is professor of English and women’s studies at Penn State University, main campus, and is working on yet another book of poetry. Nancy “Bart” Barto Hemmerich is a school counselor in Londonderry, New Hampshire; she had just finished training for a 250-mile bike trip to raise money for muscular dystrophy when we gathered in “the Vineyard.” Nan Harbison is a web developer and webmaster for her local

school district in Concord, Massachusetts.

And I, Jenny French, am doing some freelance proofreading, tutoring and part-time bookselling while I study to become an elementary school teacher.

Our children, if any, are almost all grown up at this point, but still figure prominently in the conversation. Where children were absent, we managed to lavish much attention on the two dogs who happened to join the fun.

We all felt lucky to be able to get together again, and hope for another opportunity in a few years, if not sooner, that might include even more folks from our class. Will it be in New York City or Philly? Only time will tell.

Class of

1974

Roo Scoop By: Jill Berger ’74 In April my classmates and I returned to AFS to celebrate our 35th reunion. Some of us had been back to campus in the past few years and for some it was their first trip back since graduation.

Either way it was just an amazing experience to see the sprawling new campus and the incredible growth that has touched AFS. The class of ’74 was the last all girl graduating class. We were the last single section class (we were all of 20) and the first class to be able to wear jeans to school.

We reminisced as we walked through our hall astounded at the remarkable changes compared to 35 years ago. What serves as the main corridor today was the entire upper school back then and the gym was our lunch and assembly room! The Faulkner Library and the Muller Auditorium are just fantastic.

How fortunate to be a student at AFS today.

My business partner, Paula Webster Grant and I were delighted that we were able to participate in an AFS first, the kickoff of “Conversations with Alumni.” We talked about how we started Phillybass’d Records and BGR Media. Needless to say our years at AFS played an integral part of what we are doing today.

After a delightful reception on campus we gathered for dinner at West Avenue Grill where Director of Alumni Affairs Jenny Hammond ’86 took our reunion picture. Missing from the picture is Alex Hansen who joined us on campus the previous day. (Alex was already on her way home to California). Earlier in the month I had a wonderful dinner with Patti Happe and her daughter who were in from Port Angeles, WA and Paula and I met up with Anne Borthwick DeAngelis for a fun lunch. It was a thrill to see Patty Balestrini deSanchez (our exchange student from Argentina) and her husband again. They have made the long trip 2 years in a row. At dinner Donna Worrell Layden surprised us and called from Denver.

It was a special alumni weekend for the class.

We had a great time catching up and we look forward to our next milestone reunion.

« The Class of 1974 met in Jenkintown at the West Avenue Grille on Sat. April 25, 2009.

From left to right is Patti Balestrini deSanchez, Mary Buckman, Wendy Frisby, Karin Schwartz Czaplicki, Melanie Evans Shechtman, Paula Webster Grant, Sharon Blatt Pots, Jill Berger, Michelle Berk.

Class of 1979 » The Class of 1979 gathered for dinner at the Kitchen Bar after the Alumni Weekend activities on April 25, 2009.

« Stewart Reception Sarah Churchill ’08 catches up with Upper School Language Teacher John McCabe; Former Faculty Eddie Mensah and Lynne Mass reminisce about AFS at the Reception for Bruce Stewart; Head of School Rich Nourie (right) presented Bruce Stewart with an honorary diploma from Abington Friends School.

Pictured L to R: Carolyn Jangdharrie, Ellene Felder-Scharnott, Jim Hutchison, Abby Goldberg (former student), Keith Gladden, Jonathan Rubin

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Young Alumni Baseball-Softball Celebration « Softball players pictured L to R: (front row) Chrissy Benner ’09 (lying down), Lindsey Garrison ’08, Logan McGill ’07, Jane Esslinger ’07, Kristine Long; (back row) Kelsey Clark, Jillian Stauffer ’08, Katie Gross ’08

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Alumni baseball players in attendance were: Brian Burke ’06, Randall Collins ’05, David Contosta ’09, Jeffrey Ellis ’08, Jeffrey Israel ’08, John Lee ’05, Justin Lee ’07, Joshua Leopold ’08, Benjamin Lockman ’05, Max Manstein ’08, David Molotsky ’05, Jacob Perch ’05, Gavin White ’06.

Class of 1957 On April 24, 2009, members of the Class of 1957 gathered for the Susan Salesky Rudin Distinguished Visiting Professorship Lecture series where John Richardson was the guest speaker. The class donated a shadbush in Susan’s honor, in appreciation for her generosity to AFS.

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26

ALUMNI EVENTS

John Richardson (pictured in the center) was the guest lecturer the Susan Salesky Rudin ’57 Distinguished Visiting Professorship Lecture. John teaches Environmental Sciences and Environmental Studies at the Gereau Center for Applied Technology and Career Exploration, a high school/middle school hybrid that serves as a Magnet school, offering a problem-based learning model with an emphasis on holistic learning.

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» Karen Solomon ’84, Rob Lee ’84, Nick Achterberg ’84.

The Class of 1984 gathered to celebrate their 25th Reunion in King of Prussia, PA on Sat. September 26, 2009. Pictured here are: front row (L to R) Nathan Balsham, Jennifer Hamburg Daugherty, Kathy Alter Hazen, Christopher Hall; back row (L to R) Joyann Kroser, Eric Tucker, Amy Somers, Karen Solomon, Christine Harkins Hosay, Rob Slutsky.

Christine Harkins Hosay ’84 and Scott (Trey) Crease ’84

Class of

1984

25th Reunion By: Joyann Kroser Schmoyer On Saturday September 26, 2009 we celebrated our 25 year reunion at the Radisson Valley Forge Hotel. We had a great time reminiscing and getting reacquainted over cocktails and dinner.

In no particular order, and with apologies to anyone I may omit, here are some highlights from our night. Acerbic wit and sarcastic humor were very much in the air.

Libations flowed throughout the evening which may account for some of the sketchy details in this summary of the event.

Nick Achterberg, Nate Balsham and Howard Stein entered en masse and, except for Howard’s beard and Nate’s short hair, looked very much like they did back in the 80s.

Joyann Kroser Schmoyer attended with husband Jason Schmoyer. Joyann and Karen Solomon both brought their yearbooks which

provided a lot of memories. Robert Slutsky, a successful lawyer in Plymouth Meeting, and wife Dr. Jill Cohen were two of the first to arrive, but sadly also made a relatively early exit. Amy Somers also works as an attorney, but her passion is for cycling. Eric Tucker lives in Philadelphia. He looked great and had the same laugh and smile I remembered.

Kathy Alter Hazen arrived late, but managed to get upgraded to a fantasy suite at the hotel (more on that later). She and Christine Harkins Hosay enjoy careers in nursing.

Howard works as an urgent care doctor in Oregon, and Joyann practices gastroenterology at Drexel University College of Medicine. Nick has an interesting career as an engineer and lives with his family in York, PA. Nate teaches physics and retains his dry sense of humor. Jen Hamburg Daugherty is also an educator. Coincidentally, she works as a reading specialist in the Garnet Valley School District where Joyann’s two daughters attend school.

Chris Hall did not seem to have aged at all.

As always, he had interesting stories and great delivery.

Trey Crease was one of the last on the scene. I think everyone would agree that he looks the most unlike his yearbook photo. (The years have been kind to you, Trey!) We all had fun calling Jim Galt in Spain, but I’m glad I won’t be paying the cell phone bill for that call.

At least 10 of us closed down the hotel bar at 2 a.m. and were up until almost sunrise hanging out in Kathy’s Cleopatra Suite. All in all we had fun sharing memories, recounting our personal journeys over the last quarter century (scary thought), showing pictures of our kids and laughing at ourselves.

Thanks also to Jenny Bornholdt Hammond ’86, who attended as a representative of AFS, for taking pictures and keeping us informed about current events on campus.

Becky Zaslow Lowe and husband Tristan, both artists, enjoyed catching up with Rob Lee, who works as a freelance photographer in NYC.

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Former Faculty James Achterberg shares, “I am happily retired in Florida and am delighted that I have not seen snow or ice for four years! We travel a great deal – north in the summer to visit family and friends. We’ve been to Europe namy times and coast-to-coast in the USA. We’ve taken 10 to 12 ocean cruises and happily live in a senior community with lots of activities. At 73, I’m really enjoying life!”

Charlotte Andersen writes, “Since retiring from AFS in 1982, I have taught gifted students at St. Peter’s Junior College, practical photography at Pinellas County Science Center and art history at St. Peter’s Museum of Fine Arts. At present, I am teaching art history at Eckerd Senior College and creative writing at St. Peter’s Leisure Centers.”

Alice Conkey writes, “At my age (88.) I have given up travelling, except to go to Maine every summer, where the family has had a home on a mid-coast area lake for nearly 50 years. Hanover (NH) is a stimulating community, with a chance to attend many concerts, theatre productions and lectures. I have had to give up volunteering but still take courses at the adult-education institute.”

Lynne Koolpe Mass won the George A. Salverian Award for Excellence in black and white photography in an art showing at the Abington Memorial Hospital in Spring 2008.

She had two other pieces selected in juried art shows in Florida and both were displayed in the Boca Raton Art Museum. One piece was selected in the All Florida Artists 57th Annual Juried Art Show (one of 55 accepted out of 1200 pieces submitted) and was also selected as the logo image for the show.

Please submit obituary announcements of the greater alumni community to the Alumni Office. Submissions are welcomed with or without a photo (at 300 dpi or greater).

Electronic files are preferred and may be sent to alumni@abingtonfriends.net.

Elizabeth Smith Keator ’35 passed away at home on March 8, 2009. She was a member of the Merion Cricket Club, and of the Welcome Society of Philadelphia. Elizabeth was the niece of beloved teacher “Lib” Smith, who taught Physical Education from 1930-1950 and for whom the current Smith Field is named, located adjacent to the Meeting graveyard. A memorial Service was held on March 11, 2009, at St. David's Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA. Janet “Jaydee” Wilson Malcolm ’35 of Shelburne, VT, died September 11, 2009 in Shelburne. She was born in 1917 in Philadelphia, PA, the youngest of five children of John L. and Janet Wilson.

Jaydee grew up in Philadelphia and Jenkintown, PA and attended Abington Friends School for 12 years, graduating in 1935. She continued her education at Swarthmore College, graduating in 1939 and at the Moore Institute of Art in Philadelphia.

Liz Mosley is enjoying retirement. She shares, “We spend our summers in New York State – entertaining friends and family, reading and listening to music. In winter, Abington Meeting keeps me busy. We enjoy time with our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and our many friends. It is a joy to have leisure time to read and write.”

Class notes are compiled by the Alumni Office, and we hope to hear from all of you!

You can submit a class note by calling Jenny Bornholdt Hammond ’86 in the Alumni Office (215-576-3966), via e-mail to alumni@abingtonfriends.net or through the AFS website: www.abingtonfriends.net Please submit photos as .jpgs at a resolution of 300 dpi or higher.

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CLASSNOTES

Jaydee married James A. Malcolm, Jr. in 1942.

They lived in Rydal and Abington, PA. In 1950 they moved with their three children to the Malcolm farm in Jericho, NY. In later years they spent much of their time at their farm in Pawlet, VT, and then retired to Shelburne. She also enjoyed their family summer home in Bayville, NY, and their house in Vero Beach, Fla. Jaydee taught First Day School at Jericho Friends Meeting, was active in parent and school groups, and served on the Board of Trustees of Friends Academy in Locust Valley, NY. She was a member of the women’s organization PEO and the Pawlet Home Dem.

Jaydee had a zest for life, was always busy and well organized, and she was a friend to all. She loved being a wife, a mother, a grandmother and great-grand mother. She loved to welcome people into their home with hearty meals, to sew quilts and make draperies. She braided and hooked many rugs and knitted hundreds of sweaters and Afghans for family and friends. Her numerous deep friendships followed her and stayed with her throughout her long life.

There will be a memorial remembrance in Shelburne, VT at a later date.

Amelia “Amie” Faught Van Itallie ’38 died June 20, 2009.

Born March 19, 1920, Amelia entered AFS in 1925 and attended until her graduation, 12 years later.

The quote from her AFS yearbook reads, “Mighty work must be done with few words.”

Raymond Furlong, husband of retired AFS teacher Carol Leckey and an AFS parent, passed away on June 25, 2009. His memorial service was held on Sat., July 11, 2009 at Abington Friends Meeting.

Debra Symonette, AFS alumni parent, passed away on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 from complications due to endometrial cancer.

Born in Philadelphia on Feb. 23, 1957, Debra was the first of five children born to Florence Pinder Sheppard and Herbert Lloyd Pinder. She was the wife of Alan A. Symonette, whom she met while both attended Swarthmore College. They enjoyed 26 years of marriage and were the proud parents of Andrew (AFS ’05), Matthew and Jason.

Quaker education was a constant in Debra’s life, beginning with attending Friends Select School. In addition to completing her undergraduate work at Swarthmore, Debra and Alan sent all three boys to Friends schools.

Debra’s most enduring Quaker-school affiliation was with Greene Street Friends School, where Debra taught five different grade levels, as part of a teaching career that spanned two decades. At the time of her death, Debra was on the faculty at the William Penn Charter School.

A memorial service was held on July 31, 2009 at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown.

ACORN: alumni community outreach network Just you.

No solicitation. No kidding.

We want to know about you.

Our goal: to contact every single alumnus/a. By phone. Over coffee. Whatever works for you. That’s about 2,100 people. And we’re starting in January 2010.

Why? AFS can be a lifelong resource for you: socially, academically and professionally.

The more we know about you, the more we can connect you with fellow alumni and to today’s AFS. You’ll be hearing from one of our faculty, alumni or staff members, and we want to hear all about: Your AFS experience Your life after AFS Your thoughts about today’s AFS

Go ahead. We’re listening.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Bensalem, PA Permit 182 575 Washington Lane, Jenkintown, PA 19046

Calendar Highlights Alumni Basketball Game Saturday, January 2, 2010 Admission Open House Saturday, January 23, 2010 Philadelphia Alumni Reception Thursday, February 4, 2010 New York Alumni Reception Thursday, March 4, 2010 Middle School Play Thursday-Friday, March 11-12, 2010 Admission Open House Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Upper School Play Thursday-Saturday, April 22-24 Arbor Day Friday, April 30, 2010 Roo Fest Saturday, May 8, 2010 Commencement Friday, June 11, 2010

life at Abington Friends School