Oak Leaves, Fall 2014

oakleaves Fall 2014

Landscape for Learning Surround students with the right resources and be prepared to be amazed

Six-Month Scrapbook Report on Gifts Alumni Notes 3

The AFS

annual fund Become a part of the 2014-2015 school year with a gift to the Annual Fund!

Together we can directly impact our program with financial support that helps fund every student’s education, every day.

Every gift matters Please visit our website at www.abingtonfriends.net/Giving/AnnualFund for details about the 2014-2015 AFS Annual Fund campaign 4

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in this issue

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Letter from Head of School

Life at AFS: Six-Month Scrapbook

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

Richard F. Nourie Head of School Debbie Stauffer Associate Head of School Jon Harris Assistant Head for Institutional Advancement Judy Hill Director of Communications, Editor Gabrielle Giddings Director of Marketing David Eldridge Director of Annual Giving Jordan Bastien Director of Alumni Affairs Peapod Design

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Landscape of Learning

Athletics Highlights

Alumni Report on Gifts

Alumni Notes

In Memoriam

Publication Design

Abington Friends School main switchboard 215-886-4350

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letter from the

head of school Reading this latest edition of Oak Leaves thrills me as an educator. While the focus is on the ways in which technology offers new opportunities—for building, solving problems, creating, exploring and measuring the world around us—it is the lively and authentic spirit of learning in these stories that strikes me most. The new tools of technology offer exciting new capabilities for students and teachers alike, but their greatest power lies in the context they offer for genuine discovery.

When I was in graduate school, I had a brilliant teacher in cognitive development, Eleanor Duckworth, a longtime collaborator with Jean Piaget. Eleanor taught a course called simply (and grandly!) “Teaching and Learning,” and by taking it I hoped to gain a detailed map of childhood development that would help me understand when a particular concept might be appropriate for, say, a sixth grader studying math.

Eleanor was an inspiring teacher. With her expert guidance, we applied ourselves to the task of figuring things out: predicting the behavior of mirrored reflections, trying to explain the nightly appearance and placement the moon in the sky over several months, solving problems in combinations and permutations, probing possible meanings in a poem or painting.

Through these many explorations, Eleanor insisted on authenticity in our ideas, not allowing us to lean on received explanations, remembered formulas or jargons of any kind and instead pushing for genuine, deeply rooted and lasting understanding. To this day, I can see a moon in the night sky and instantly locate the sun in relation to it and predict what will be seen the next night at the same time.

As for how to assess the developmental appropriateness of an idea or assignment, her key was similarly simple and direct.

If you put a task in front of children and they ask questions like, “Is this what I’m supposed to do?” “How long is this supposed to be?” or “Is this good enough?” you know that you’ve somehow missed

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“ We are born learners, as infants and young children, eager observers, experimenters, risk takers and lovers of many, many things.” the mark. The right question or task will draw children in, set them in motion, puzzle them, surprise them and ultimately change their minds about something.

We are born learners, as infants and young children, eager observers, experimenters, risk takers and lovers of many, many things. Young children learn at an astonishing rate, one that quickly multiplies their ability to interact with the world, make new things and extend their reach literally and conceptually.

But often this zest, creativity and energy for learning is sapped by the ways in which schools, with the best of intentions, overly focus on mastery of information, being “right” and becoming an efficient and disciplined worker. There is no doubt that each of these goals is legitimate and necessary, but they often eclipse the most powerful, empowering and lasting

learning, that which genuinely captures the imagination and sets us in authentic motion.

Authenticity in the realm of intellect is the antidote for student cynicism about school, inviting instead a lifelong habit of genuine learning. Authenticity in relationships, also a prized value at AFS, pushes us to explore not simply how to behave or get what we want but rather to encounter and be challenged by the claims, experiences and enriching perspective of others.

In insisting, as did wonderful Eleanor Duckworth, on authenticity, we open ourselves to the best of being alive and human. This spirit is AFS at its best and I love seeing it reflected so beautifully in this edition of Oak Leaves.

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life at afs:

month scrapbook Candlelight Dinner » During the Upper School Candlelight Dinner, the torch of leadership was symbolically passed to the class of 2015. The evening celebration included a tasty meal and a moving candle lighting ceremony in the Meetinghouse. Upper School English Teacher Don Kaplan and Upper School Math Teacher Erin Bengtson were honored this year by the students.

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Shrek

March

For this year’s Middle School musical, Theatre Teacher Mary Carpenter chose Shrek, the hilarious, heartwarming tale of an Ogre, a princess, a donkey and a villain. Under Mary’s direction, our students put their own spin on this new yet timeless fairy tale full of toe-tapping songs, a little romance, lots of laughs and more than a few surprises.

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life at afs: six month scrapbook

Roobotics »

Mold Symposium

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Malik Mubashshir

Dustin Hill Master Class

We were pleased to welcome Malik Mubashshir, Imam for the Philadelphia Masjid, as this year’s Susan Salesky Rudin ‘57 Distinguished Visiting Professor. As well as being an Imam, Malik is a long-time Upper School History teacher at Germantown Friends School. He spoke to the Upper School students about his own journey to Islam, as well as the history and traditions of Islam and the common misrepresentations of the faith in the popular media.

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For our 34th Annual 4th Grade Mold Symposium students from Plymouth Meeting Friends School, Penn Charter and AFS presented their mold experiments —“Does mold grow better on cheese or bread?”

“Will more mold grow on dragon fruit or cherries?”— and had a fun afternoon of “Moldy Lunch,” relay races and “Mold Songs.”

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Our AFS Roobotics team competed in the FIRST Robotics competition for the third year in a row, advancing to the regionals and winning the Industrial Design Award, which celebrates form and function in an efficiently designed machine that effectively addresses the game challenge.

Dustin Hill ’12, currently a student at The University of the Arts, came back to AFS to teach a saxophone master class to a group of talented Upper School students. Dustin first discovered the sax here at AFS, with encouragement from AFS Music Teacher Chris Buzby.

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April School Committee Visiting Day » Our School Committee (pictured here, Deborra Sines Pancoe AFSA and Carol Frieder P’76 P’80 P’82 P’85, AFSA) spent time in the classrooms and also had the opportunity to attend the Upper School’s Meeting for Worship.

At lunch, our visitors joined Upper School students from the Student Agenda Committee.

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Joe Robinson Signs Letter of Intent

AFS Senior Joe Robinson signed a National Letter of Intent officially committing to become part of the Men’s Basketball program at the University of the District of Columbia. Robinson will receive athletics grant-in-aid to attend Division II UDC, where he will join the Firebirds’ team as a frontcourt player.

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life at afs: six month scrapbook

Science Night Students from Lower to Upper School shared the results of science projects engaged in throughout the year.

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The Crucible

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The Upper School presented Arthur Miller’s explosive account of the famous Salem witch trials, when paranoia, hysteria, and deceit gripped the Puritan towns of New England.

Mid Atlantic Region Diversity Conference » AFS co-hosted the second Mid-Atlantic Region Diversity Conference with The Perkiomen School. The event was entirely led and organized by Upper School students, with support from AFS Director of Diversity and Inclusion Toni Williamson. Rodney Glasgow, NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Chair, was the keynote speaker for the day, where more than 200 participants explored issues of identity.

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»

EGIS Night

Arbor Day

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AFS eighth graders took the spotlight as they presented the results of their yearlong adventure in self-directed learning. Projects for the Eighth Grade Independent Study ranged from learning to play the ukulele to grappling with the art of graffiti painting.

May

Farewell John McCabe!

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The whole school—students, faculty, staff and families—gathered to celebrate the blessings of spring and reaffirm the School’s commitment to caring for the earth. For graduating seniors and their first grade pages, this is the first in a series of events culminating in Commencement. Juniors also step up on Arbor Day to accept their leadership responsibilities for the coming year.

Alumni Day

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After 20 dedicated years of service, Upper School French Teacher John McCabe retired from AFS this year. Faculty and staff celebrated his wisdom, leadership, integrity and friendship at a special reception at a Jenkintown restaurant.

More than 40 alumni returned to campus on May 3 for a special reunion luncheon with Rich Nourie, as well as an alumni Meeting for Worship, class photographs and activities that included campus tours, family playtime on our new Nature Explore playground and watching an AFS Varsity baseball game.

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life at afs: six month scrapbook

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Nature Playdate

Coach C Honored

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In partnership with our friends at Briar Bush Nature Center and to celebrate the second spring season for our new nature playground, we presented a day of imaginative play and crafts for children ages 3-10.

On May 27 AFS’s master teacher-coach Steve ’Mr. C.’ Chadwin was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. “Though his nearly 600 wins as a Varsity Boys’ Basketball coach and 16 Friends Schools League Boys’ Basketball titles are impressive milestones, it is Steve’s compassion and care for all of his students, whether a Kindergartener nervous about P.E. class or a future Division 1 college basketball player, that make him the legendary teacher-coach that he is,” said AFS Athletics Director Jeff Bond.

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Jump Rope for Heart

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

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For the third year in a row, AFS’s Health and Physical Education Department led third through fifth graders in a Jump Rope for Heart event on the AFS tennis courts intended to raise awareness about childhood cardiac illnesses.

Third graders took to the Muller Stage on May 15 to perform their adaptation of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, a novel by children’s book author Grace Lin. The performance followed months of hard work, with students writing dialogue, painting scenery, making costumes, crafting colorful masks and memorizing their parts.

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june commencement

On June 11, family and friends gathered in the Grove on a beautiful late spring day to honor the 71 members of the Class of 2014. The junior class formed the traditional daisy chain and first-grade pages walked down the aisle to join the seniors on stage, where they sang the traditional song, “Make New Friends.”

Student speakers Mrinmoyee Racker and Ahngelicia Watson spoke movingly about their years at AFS and Tom Gurin introduced Keynote Speaker and AFS alum Sonya Jairaj Wexler ’99, chief otolaryngology resident at Temple University.

Jordan Louis presented the class gift, funds for a visit from Diversity facilitator Rodney Glasgow, to Upper School Director Martha Holland. Head of School Rich Nourie and School Committee Clerk Margaret Sayers then began the solemn and joyful task of presenting diplomas to every member of the Class of 2014.

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“ When discussing favorite teachers, students here generally find it impossible to pick just one, because they’re all so excellent. Some make jokes that leave their classes out of breath laughing. Some get so excited about what they teach that seventeenyear-olds grin in anticipation of their classes, even at eight in the morning. Some have brilliant philosophical arguments in the hallways. They are all passionate, interesting scholars. More than that, though, they are wonderful friends, sharing meals, advice, card games, soccer games, and favorite poems with their students. The AFS faculty is inspiring and understanding, serious and playful, both great and good.”

—­Mrinmoyee Racker ’14

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“ In the summer between my freshman and sophomore year my mom passed away from cancer.

Hesitantly, I returned to school, fearful of what to expect. I didn’t want people to have pity for me or to feel awkward around me. The first day of pre-season for soccer everyone ran up and hugged me. I didn’t feel fear. I felt love. And it wasn’t temporary. It carried on throughout the year.

The love that I had felt from my mom was dispersed throughout this community. I knew there were teachers I could go to if I needed to cry or needed some encouragement. And yes, there were people here who made sure to offer me some tough love when I needed it. This community has given me that unconditional love that my mom gave to me. I really began to fully see that AFS was my home away from home.”

—Ahngelicia Watson ’14

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“ One of my attending colleagues used to say there are three keys to success: being affable, able and available.

I don’t think this is just applicable to medicine. From what I know of your class I can say you’re all affable, maybe some days more than others, and that you certainly are able. Just look at what you’ve accomplished so far!

For the available part of the trifecta just open yourself up to opportunities that may bring you closer to your goals and therefore your success. Of course when you make yourself available you have to be prepared that you may no longer take the fastest path to your goal, but it could still be the better or best path in the end.”

—Commencement Keynote Speaker, Sonya Jairaj Wexler ’99

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Greek Day

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Lower School Program

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Following their study unit on Greek mythology, 5th grade students spent a fun and educational day celebrating all things Greek. After Greek Olympics in the Hallowell Gym, the students dined on a typical Greek feast and then performed skits based on Greek mythology for family and friends in the John Barnes Room.

Our Lower School community came together for a joyful and inspiring performance of music and dance to celebrate the culmination of the school year.

8th Grade Moving Up »

Senior Arts Showcase

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June Families and friends spent an evening at AFS enjoying performances and artwork from our Upper School arts students.

Gift from Class of 1974 » Two alumnae from the Class of ’74, Paula Webster Grant and Jill Berger presented a donation on behalf of members of their class to the AFS Arts Department in honor of their 40th reunion. The class gift will be used to take a group of students on a weekend field trip to the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA.

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life at afs: six month scrapbook

We honored our eighth grade class in a special gathering in the Meetinghouse where an appreciation of every student was read and the class passed the light of leadership on to the 7th grade class.

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Juliet Koczak ’95

As we get set to embark on renovations to the Josephine Muller Auditorium and Tyson Arts Wing, Juliet Koczak, principal of Juliet Koczak, Architect, visited campus to discuss the project with Head of School Rich Nourie.

Our ultimate plan is to add technical theater space, enlarge and modernize the lobby, provide climate control in the choral and instrumental rooms and renovate the Tyson hallway. Thanks to the generosity of Sandy Muller, Marie Louise Jackson and Karin Borgmann-Winter, we are able to complete some interior design renovations right away, as well as install new lighting and a new soundboard for the Muller Auditorium.

Special thanks to Juliet, who is providing pro bono architectural services for this important project.

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Creek Work

Folks from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Tookany/TaconyFrankford (TTF) Watershed Partnership visited AFS to chat with Lower School Science Teacher Rosanne Mistretta and Middle School Science Teacher Jim Pierson. The School will be partnering with TTF, which has been awarded $160,000 in grant money to build a riparian buffer along the banks of our creek and a rain garden at its head.

This work is part of a far-reaching $35 million effort by the William Penn Foundation to improve the overall health of the Delaware River.

July

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AFS

Athletics Highlights from 2013-14 AFS student-athletes earned 29 All-Friends Schools League 1st team and Honorable Mention recognition during 2013-14. Pictured on these pages are some of the recipients, Alex Graul ’16 (#10 Varsity Boys’ Soccer), Alexa Middleton ’16 (#24 Varsity Girls’ Basketball), David Naitove ’16 (Varsity Boys’ Cross-Country) and Alex Woods ’14 (Varsity Boys’ Swimming).

Ten members of the class of 2013 plan to continue their interscholastic athletics careers at the collegiate level. Pictured at right is Joe Robinson ’14 (#33 Varsity Boys’ Basketball) who, along with teammate Jordan Greene, will play NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball next year. Both Robinson and Greene ’14 also received All-Friends Schools League honors in 2013-14 and scored their 1,000th career points.

AFS’s Varsity Girls’ Track 4x400 relay team of (pictured L to R) Lizzie Bolger ’16, Keira Jones ’15, Erica Groomes ’15 and Nicole Kurtz ’14 set a new Friends Schools League record of 4:01.26 in blazing to a 1st place finish at the FSL track championship. Kurtz totaled five All-Friends Schools League honors for Varsity Cross-Country and Varsity Track during her high school career.

Emrakh Karimov ’16, pictured competing for Varsity Wrestling above, and Scott Chhay ’16 helped lead AFS’s ‘Rasslin’ ‘Roos to a bounce back season on the mats under the

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tutelage of Head Coach Max Manstein ’08.

Karimov and Chhay both placed in the top 6 at the Pennsylvania state independent school meet and qualified for the National Prep tournament in their weight classes.

Seventy five percent of the School’s 5th-8th graders participated on two or three teams during 2013-14. Laura Bradley ’21, pictured at right, was one of many key contributors to another undefeated season for Head Coach Kristine Long’s Middle School B Softball team. A host of other AFS Middle School teams produced winning records while introducing the School’s youngest student-athletes to the fundamentals of sports. Nick Sinni ’18, pictured top left playing for AFS’s Middle School A Baseball team, helped lead that team, Boys’ A Soccer, and Boys’ A Basketball to strong seasons.

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AFS ALUMNI

all-stars

Thank you, alumni students, for your many gifts to AFS this year.

Your financial support makes an AFS education possible for today’s students. Many of you also gave gifts of time and talent, helping shape the next generation of AFS alums. We are grateful for everything you do!

ANNUAL FUND PARTICIPATION PRIDE

1999

Largest reunion year class gift and largest class gift overall, $20,087

1982

Largest non-reunion year class gift, $12,050

Biggest increase in participation %, non-reunion year, from 22% to 44%

1978

Biggest % increase in class gift amount: increased by 62%

2009

Best young alumni participation from a reunion year, 10%

2014

First class gift, funding a speaker to lead a workshop on diversity for next year’s AFS parent body.

2012

Best young alumni participation from a non-reunion year, 17% (Winner in this category for the 2nd year in a row!)

AFS alumni students collectively donated over $126,000 to the Annual fund, leading the way to record highs of donors and dollars raised!”

1940 1943

100% participation!

1934 1949

Best participation from reunion years, with over 60% each

1956

ANNUAL FUND GENEROUS GIVING

SPECIAL GIFTS

GIFTS OF TIME AND TALENT

SIP Mentors

Peter Schorsch ’75 and Bonnie Dawson Schorsch ’75, P’03 P’10 P’13—funds to support the Faulkner Library collection

Roo Roundtable Speakers Mariah Rose Butler ’09 Benjamin Barnett ’85

Rebecca Foxman ’07, Ben Barnett ’85

Scott Krase ’85 and family—funds to support a climbing structure in the Nature Explore classroom Jon Makler ’95—a major gift to establish the Hope Welsh Makler Travel Scholarship Members of the Class of 1974—funds to support a theater trip for Upper School students. Anonymous, Nancy Bernardini, Amy Buchan, Mary Buckman, Paula Grant, Alexandra Hanson, Carol Johnson and Melanie Schectman.

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Reunion Organizers: Judy Notley Burke ’79 Janet Atkinson Gottshall ’64 Jenny French ’69 P’09 Bart Hemmerich ’69 Christine Harkins Hosay ’84 Rebecca Zaslow-Lowe ’84 Amy Somers ’84 Christopher Hall ’84 Shana Washington ’94 P’23 P’25 Jeremy Sullivan ’94 P’27 Christopher Wolf ’94 Missy Kosmin Renfer ’94 Amy Wynn Pastor ’94

Gifts of Expertise Alexa Bowman ’13, Anthony Casola ’04, Molly McDonald Foley ’92, the family of Evan Greenberg ’97, Dustin Hill ’12, Nathan Hopson ’94, Juliet Koczak ’95, Ryan Luquet ’12, the family of Diana Parks Marshall ’61, Susan Rudin ’57, Ryan Samson ’07, Sonya Jairaj Wexler ’99

Volunteer Fundraisers Jill Berger ’74, Mark Green ’85, Rebecca Fisher ’13, Alexandra Nuzhdin ’13

Dear Friends,

Annual Fund After last fall’s production of “The Crucible,” an AFS parent told me of her frustration at not being able to hear the actors well, adding that she would happily provide funding for new sound equipment if that was needed.

Thanks to her timely donation, we now have a new soundboard that is a wonderful asset to the auditorium.

In January I received an email from an alum who wanted to honor his late grandmother with a special gift to the School and Meeting. She had been a firm believer in the transformational power of travel and he wanted to honor her memory by providing that experience for students here who would not otherwise be able to afford it. Through his generosity, we were able to support a rising senior’s trip to Liberia this summer and another student’s volunteer adventure in Nicaragua.

Recently, a School Committee member who knew of our plans to renovate the Muller Auditorium let me know that her mother (a grandmother of an AFS student) wanted to make a significant contribution to that project. Though she had only visited the School on a couple of occasions to see her granddaughter, she wanted to do something to support all of our students.

None of these gifts were solicited, nor were they part of a formal campaign. They happened because people who care about our students saw that they could be helpful.

While each story is unique, they all speak to a shared belief in the mission and vision of AFS that is truly heartening, and humbling.

Jon M. Harris Assistant Head of School for Advancement

Ever think of Planned Giving….

The Light Keepers Legacy Society honors those who have arranged to support AFS through a planned or estate gift. Members of the Light Keepers Legacy Society have made a provision for AFS in their wills, named the school as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or individual retirement account (IRA), or established trusts to benefit AFS. The Light Keepers Legacy Society enables members of the School community to plan for the future and benefit from tax advantages available through giving to AFS during their lifetimes.

These legacy gifts ensure that AFS can continue to nurture the light in every student now and for the future. If you have made a provision for AFS in your estate plans, please share this information with us so that your generosity can be acknowledged.

For more information on making a planned gift to support AFS, please contact Jon Harris at 215-576-3956.

Highlights We did it! In 2013-2014, 1,049 donors (+21%) raised $552,408 (+10%), the highest donor and dollar totals ever We met the $75,000 AFS Challenge by exceeding 1,000 donors and inspiring top donors to increase their collective giving by nearly $100,000 Gifts ranged from $1 to $45,000 and $562 was the average gift per donor We received 93 gifts at the leadership levels of $1,000 or more 100% of our School Committee members (trustees), 92% of our faculty and staff, 47% of our parents, and 13% of our alumni students contributed (please see page 18 for the Alumni Annual Fund Report) 26% of our students gave a gift, including 42% of the Upper School—the Class of 2017 achieved 80% Our deepest thanks to our 1,049 donors for being such an important part of the 2013-2014 school year. Keep a look out for information about our goals for the 2014-2015 AFS Annual Fund.

Total Contributions to the AFS Annual Fund for the 2013-2014 Fiscal Year: $552,408 Note that these numbers are estimates pending the completion of our audit.

Please visit http://www.abingtonfriends. net/Giving/13-14AnnualReportofGifts to view donor honor rolls. We are grateful for everyone who supports AFS financially and in many other ways.

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Landscape for

Learning At AFS we have always valued active, meaningful learning that puts the student squarely in the driver’s seat.

Naturally, the resources and tools with which we’ve been able to surround our learners have changed over the years. Recently the School purchased two 3D printers and outfitted a lab with computers capable of running high-powered software for CAD (computer aided design). A 1:1 laptop program is beginning this year in Middle and Upper schools, and students now have opportunities to become involved in robotics, engineering and computer programming.

While technology permeates the learning life of the School and enriches and extends our students’ experience in mind stretching ways, our longstanding vision of what education should help develop—empowerment, creativity, mutual learning, resilience, connection—remains constant.

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Here we talk to some of the movers and shakers in our growing landscape of learning. Some are teachers, some are students and some are administrators. All are active, engaged learners excited to discover, create and innovate in an atmosphere where intellectual curiosity is always in fashion.

“ Recently the School purchased two 3D printers and outfitted a lab with computers capable of running high-powered software for CAD.”

In the

Classroom

Chris Hunter’s Genetic Engineering students use digital microscope imagers to stream what they are seeing live to their laptops. This way the teacher and student can look at the same thing at the same time. Chris also equips her students with spectrophotometers that can measure the amount of chlorophyll in a leaf, for example, and feed the data directly into a graphing program.

One of her favorite gadgets is an electrophysiology tool called a SpikerBox designed to give kids access to neurobiology, measuring nerve impulses from worms, cockroach legs, etc. and feeding them into a laptop or smartphone.

Mark Smith engages his sixth grade social studies students by having them start a civilization using the popular video game Minecraft. He uses a specially designed educational version of the game to get his students thinking about how geography influences the ways in which civilizations evolve, and how those civilizations develop once the basics of finding shelter and a sustainable source of food have been handled. “It’s not about me telling them what the problems are, but about them getting to live it and find out why it was so hard.”

In Lower School Carol Wolf had fun with her Catbirds students creating super hero self-portraits on iPads. First off, the youngsters took photos of each other in the playground in their super hero poses. Using a program called You Doodle, the children searched the web for a background and then they “erased” the wall background from their photo using their fingers on the iPad. They then drew on capes, dresses, hats, masks, even butterflies, until they were satisfied.

Finally they printed out their photos and glued them to boards, so they could be hung up in the classroom for all to see.

In Wayne Kurtz’s Upper School Computer Aided Design class, students are introduced to technology, engineering and computer aided design (CAD) through hands-on projects, such as tackling the planning and design of a hypothetical new athletic complex/facility. Visits by professional architects (last year Maarten Pesch, AIA, a principal at Wallace, Roberts & Todd stopped by) enrich the classroom experience.

Students come away from the class with an enhanced understanding of the Design Process, Systems Analysis, the Manufacturing Process and other engineering principles.

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Connect, Create,

Communicate Technology Director John Rison describes how technology is threaded through the program at AFS

How has our relationship with technology at AFS evolved over the last few years?

Q

School wide there has been a purposeful shift in expectations.

Teachers are using technology in the classroom both for their own learning and research as professional educators as well as for their students to work, explore, create and design.

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In Upper School technology has become pretty threaded throughout the curriculum, with assignments and resources posted online, notes taken online and papers submitted online via Turnitin or shared as a Google Doc. So the learning and writing and creating is all happening online, in the cloud.

In Middle School I think Mark Smith’s incorporation of Minecraft into the 6th grade social studies curriculum is a good example of an interactive use of technology, and Jane McVeigh Schultz has really used Google Docs heavily for feedback on students’ writing, further instilling the idea that writing is a constant process of revision.

Roseanne Liberti has used her classroom Twitter account to connect students to the larger community of science educators and thinkers and has been successful in starting dialogues with professional scientists. She has also made use of social bookmarking tools like Diigo, where you can tag and share

interesting resources via the web. [Science teacher] Jim Pierson does a lot too, including a virtual pond simulation where kids get to introduce substances into the environment virtually and see how that affects the eco system. They do measurements and collect data, all in a virtual space.

adopted Google Apps as a cloud based platform that freed us from the local network and provided a way to connect and communicate both at school and at home.

We phased out the computer labs and replaced those with computer carts because we wanted to bring technology directly into

“ It’s all about letting the kids create and play and imagine, helping them become empowered as learners and putting them in control of their learning.”

In Lower School and with the younger grades it’s adults modeling learning and utilizing technology more than kids in front of screens. I like the very hands-on approach of giving kids cameras and microphones, having them recording things and making movies rather than just sitting in front of an iPad playing a phonics game. They’re actively creating things and using technology to help with that.

Q

This fall AFS is moving to a 1:1 initiative. Talk to me about that.

Its been something we’ve been working toward for the last five or six years. We went 1:1 with the faculty, with everyone getting a mobile device. We also

A

the classrooms. Then we invited students in the Upper School to bring their own devices in to the classroom and use them there.

Now we’re moving past the cart model to every student having their own device.

Q

What are the advantages of this approach?

It gives students the chance to use technology when they need it. They can pick up their devices and use them for a few minutes and then put them away, the way they use them in their day-to-day lives.

Teachers are already doing a lot with sharing of documents, sites, resources and information online, so this gives students a way to access all of that more readily.

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For me the other big piece of it is that they’re using these tools to figure out how to stay organized and connect with each other and with the larger world. It circles back to our work with the teachers, too. They had to figure out how to use these tools for learning before they could help their students get to that level. We worked with faculty on developing personal learning networks and ways to connect to the bigger world of educators and thinkers. Once the faculty got fluent it was easy for them to help students transition and model the learning.

A lot of times schools make the mistake of getting students there before the teachers.

We were intentional about getting the faculty there first.

For example, Ben [a senior] is going to make instructional videos on how to run our new 3D printer, which I can use in turn with my 7th grade class. He’s already way ahead of me because he’s spent hours and hours with it. And everything he knows about it is self-taught. He’s learned it all through YouTube and doing his own research.

This shifts the control and ownership of learning back to the student and if they feel they own their own learning it’s a very powerful thing. It’s the amazing evolution from being a consumer of information and learning to being a producer. When the kids are producing content and videos and instructional things and responding to other learners, that’s a really cool thing to see.

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I think too in a bigger, global context we’re preparing kids for a world that’s rapidly changing and will continue to do so. Tech is at the forefront of that change. It’s what’s driving our economy right now and it’s where a lot of the brainpower is headed after graduation. It’s a huge draw for entrepreneurs and thinkers.

Talk me through the logistics of how the program will work.

In Middle School we’ll be providing students with Chromebooks. We chose them because they are designed to work seamlessly with Google Apps and for me the Chromebook is a better content creation device than the iPad. An iPad is a

A

great content consumer device. It works really well for reading and watching videos, for example. For creating, the Chromebook is a better tool. It’s also about half the price.

In Upper School we’ve been allowing students to bring their own devices for two or three years now and we’ve seen an uptick.

We did a survey to find out how many of our students already have a device that meets our criteria—it could be an iPad, a Chromebook, a Mac, or a pc—and it turned out that close to 80% of the student body had something, whether or not they were bringing it to school.

We decided to go with a BYOD (bring your own device) program in Upper School because older students like choice and they like different devices. Some kids are really great at using an iPad all day while others want a keyboard, or a lighter computer, a bigger screen. It should be their decision.

Letting them choose which device meets their needs helps create buy in, and the chances are when they’re going off to college

they’ll be faced with similar decisions. This gives them the opportunity to find out what works for them. It also teaches them responsibility to some degree. They’re taking care of their equipment as opposed to using what the school gives them.

“ When the kids are producing content and videos...and responding to other learners, that’s a really cool thing to see.”

It’s certainly a challenge for us to support that many devices but again using Google apps and the cloud-based model of having everything online now has made it much easier to support a range of devices.

become empowered as learners and putting them in control of their learning. My sevenyear-old son is fascinated by origami.

He looks up videos online and spends hours making his creations. I have no idea why he does it, but the point is you have to keep that fascination with learning and creating alive in kids as they grow older. You have to keep it fun and engaging. Even as an adult, if you look back and think of what was fun to learn, a lot of it was probably hands-on things.

I think that’s why a lot of people really love cooking.

What does supporting all this learning through technology look like for your office?

Q

For me the biggest thing is infrastructure, creating a fast network that can support 700 devices. We have more devices than people at this point, if you include smart phones and laptops. It’s certainly a challenge to stay ahead of.

A

A lot of my job has to do with things as mundane as projectors, which all the rooms are outfitted with. We have one designated computer lab, which we reserve for the high-end resource intensive software used for our engineering CAD program, which we began two years ago. You can’t run that software on a Chromebook and you really need big screens and mice. We also do video work in there and now we have a 3D printer, it’s become a multi use space with tools and resources housed in one central location.

Q

Tell me about the 3D printer.

This is actually our second 3D printer.

John Silvers brought one in to use with the Upper School robotics and engineering students in the spring. 3D printing is in its toddler stage as a technology so there’s a good learning curve. It lets kids create “and design prototypes and walk away with a tangible piece of it.

A

For me too it’s all part of this maker movement that’s afoot in cities and schools and colleges that’s helping to empower

Apart from the recently introduced CAD course, what other classes at AFS focus directly on technology?

Q

For several years we’ve had a programming component, where we’ve taught Python and Java, and I currently teach a course for 7th graders where we expose kids to a range of technology from things like Photoshop and Illustrator to Excel and spreadsheets as well as basic computer trouble shooting, website design and careers around technology. We talk about what people in the real world do with technology.

What do different majors look like? Last spring we took the class on a visit to Drexel’s computer science department.

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individuals to create and design and make and think creatively. The whole maker movement has real potential for schools, helping to connect them to the bigger world.

Typically a “maker space” has the tools and resources and 3D printers and stuff you wouldn’t normally have access to, and if you have an idea you can go in and print a prototype for a new iPad holder or whatever you have in mind. Colleges have these spaces too, and they’re very cool learning labs. Some are focused more around programming, some around graphic design.

In Lower School our science teacher Roseanne Mistretta is moving in that direction with circuit boards and electronics. It’s all about letting the kids create and play and imagine, helping them

Q

Is it important for you to spend time in the classroom?

Teaching definitely helps keep me connected with the students and gives me a great sense of what they’re interested in and how far along they are in their own learning and adoption of technology. And it gives me a chance to expose them to a range of tools and ideas and ways that technology is impacting our world.

A

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Building Skills

by Building Bots Upper School Math, Science and Engineering Teacher John Silvers talks about the robotics program at AFS, now in its fourth year.

“We always get the rules for the FIRST Robotics Competition announced every year the Saturday before we come back from winter break. Once we know what the parameters are we get together as a team and start to brainstorm ideas. What type of drive train makes sense? Do we need to focus on maneuverability?

So we figure out what’s the most important aspect of the design. Last year we had to pick up a ball, pass it and shoot it. We prioritize since we know we may not be able to do everything. We draw things on the board and start to design it in CAD. After we build it in CAD we prototype it, not the whole thing, but components. This year we made a prototype for launching the ball based on surgical tubing and PVC pipe. After several attempts we realized it wasn’t going to do what we needed it to do so moved on to a catapult design.

The program has evolved. In past years we all tried to do everything because no one really had a skill set. It’s more clearly defined this year since the kids’ skills are really starting to emerge. Our juniors in particular have developed a lot of skills in robotics and they have the technical ability to do a lot on their own. I help them with the project management aspect of it, how to work together as a team, how to train new members.

Within the team we have a group focused on programming and coding and another focused on design and build. We also hope to add another group for the non-technical aspects of robotics such as marketing, outreach and recruitment.

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oak leaves fall

2014

There was a part on the robot this year that connects to a motor and shaft that allows us to pick the ball up. That collar is no longer available but can be 3D printed.

Another team printed one for us but it wasn’t quite the right dimensions so we weren’t able to use it. Now we have the 3D printer we’regoing to create the file for ourselves.

The kids pick up a lot of skills that they don’t necessarily learn in the classroom, a lot of hands-on practical skill building that can be applied to any discipline.

Almost any way you think of it there are opportunities to use this program for more than just learning how to build a robot.”

Student Voices Ben Hollinger ’15, 12th Grade “Before I was interested in robotics, I was interested in programming. In Lower School we did this rudimentary thing called Scratch, and I didn’t even realize it was programming until I did a summer program at Villanova the summer after 8th grade. In 9th and 10th grade I did programming with Hossein [Kholghi, AFS educational technology specialist].

When I started with the robotics team we programmed with a language that was entirely graphical. You drew boxes and lines and connected them together. It was very confusing. We really had no idea what we

were doing. I was one of only two people on the team who had any programming experience at all. We only figured out how to get anything to move at all two weeks before we had to go to competition.

But we figured things out.

Last summer I made a couple of android apps at a workshop in Princeton. I also got an Arduino board. It’s a little micro controller and it has many inputs and outputs that allow you to control almost anything you like that you can program to take input or give output. A lot of stuff carries over from robotics. We had a lot of

snow days last year so on one of them I used my Arduino to prototype something we eventually put on the robot.

The thing that interests me about programming is the same thing that interests me about design and build, it’s being presented with a problem with no obvious solution and figuring out how you’re going to tackle it, and actually getting to see the solution you’ve created work, or not work.

The national organization calls robotics the hardest fun you’ll ever have. It is a lot of hard work and you put in a huge amount of time and effort, but you’re part of a team where you have people from many different backgrounds coming together with everyone working on their own thing while bringing it all together. You can’t sleep for days in advance of a competition, thinking how are we going to do this, but in the end everything works out and you’re like, ‘We did it! We have a robot that works.’

You see a lot of teams where it’s clear that the students have taken a backseat in the design and build, where the mentors are the ones doing it. John [Silvers] did terrific amounts of organizing and research for events, but he allowed me to take a leadership role and run with it and for the whole team to organically grow.

I can’t lie, teamwork is incredibly difficult but when you get it working it really pays off. None of it could happen without every single person there working.

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Chip Starr ’15, 12th Grade “I started coming in and hanging out with the robotics kids after Personal Fitness and I just got interested. The first thing we had to do was wire up all the electronics for the robot then build the base and build it up from there.

We had no idea what we were doing. I did do Java in 10th grade but coding wasn’t really my thing. I mostly just wanted to build. I love putting things together.

Being one of the oldest people in the group now I have a bigger role than some of the newer people and I have to remember to teach the new kids so they can teach it to the kids that come later.

Joseph Rotella ’20, 7th Grade With three classmates, Joseph designed a ”choose your own adventure” online game after the one they used in his 6th grade social sciences class turned out to be “terrible.”

“We ran through the game and just decided it was not a very fun experience so after doing a bit more research we decided to make our own. We studied the Punic Wars and wrote up our own scenarios and then wrote up the code. We worked on it during several munches and also at home.

I don’t know a lot of programming languages. I know HTML and CSS and I know some Java script and PHP and a little Swift. Nobody knows a lot of Swift since it only came out about a month ago. I was having some issues with a sequel database query in PHP that wasn’t working so I exchanged some emails with [10th grader] Henry Pitcairn.

I’ve been interested in computers for a long time. It was always something I was really fascinated by, the potential to learn stuff. I saw what Daniel Gorziglia ’12 did with AssignLink [an assignment scheduling app that the AFS community uses] and I thought, ’Oh, wow! Four people coded this. There must be a lot of backend.’ It played to my interest in mathematics, and it just went from there.

I’ve talked with Henry, used some online resources and talked with Hossein [Kholghi], but mostly I learned a lot of it on my own. In the last year I’ve really started to get into coding but I’ve been interested in technology for the last two or three years. My parents are not huge computer people but they’ve helped me and they recently purchased a new computer I was able to set up with some of my coding tools.

On Many Voices One Community Day I had a lot of fun teaching other students to code. Some of them caught on and it was cool to see other people doing what I did. I enjoy being able to share. I’m still learning and working at it. This summer Marnie [Christian] helped me find a couple of summer courses that allowed me to pursue my interest in Java and Final Cut Pro.”

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oak leaves fall

2014

This really combines electronics, programming and building.

You can do all three or focus on one thing and refine it. It’s always different every year. We all figure out what we need to do and if we have a problem we’ll go to John and ask clarifying questions, but mostly it’s just us doing our projects. It’s very fun and very satisfying. I feel like it improves problem-solving skills, both in a group setting and on your own. In the very beginning of the season we’re all throwing out ideas about what it can look like, and then we narrow it down to what we think would be best and what’s achievable taking into account our past experiences of success and failure.

I always like to put my idea out there and stick to it unless it’s absolutely not possible. I’ll really push for it. It could fail but I’m confident it won’t. Usually my ideas are completely different from others because I like to pull myself out of a situation and think in a broader way.

I hope to do some sort of robotics program in college focusing on engineering and design. I’ve started on my own working with CAD and I’ll be doing the CAD and engineering program here next year.”

Anna Nicolais ’17, 10th Grade “I always liked playing with computers and electronics, figuring out how they work. I wanted to join robotics because it seemed like a lot of fun and I wanted to learn more. I’m someone who loves math and science and loves to figure out how things work. My parents always have stories about me when I was 2 and 3 taking their computer and figuring out how to

do something on it. For me it was natural to play around with things until they worked.

For robotics I was on the programming team. In the four months before we started building, people helped me learn Java and the programs we would use. As we got closer to the competition we would be here

until 9 pm and come in on Saturdays.

It was really fun though because you built bonds with other people while learning about things you’re interested in. If you don’t know how to do something and someone else does, they help you do it and make it a fun experience.

John [Silvers] made sure we didn’t burn ourselves but it was mostly us students building the whole thing. In the first few weeks we just designed the robot. We didn’t have a specific group that designed it; it was just anyone who had an idea. A lot of creativity goes into it and you have to be really imaginative. Then you have to figure out how to make it go backwards and forwards and shoot the ball by pressing a button. There’s negative and positive numbers and if you get it wrong it will do the opposite of what you want so you just fiddle with it until it works, and once it works you have to do it 10 more times at least to make sure it really works.

At the competition I was one of the drivers and I somehow bent the forklift so we had to figure out how to fix that. Everyone on the other teams will help you out, so even if something big goes wrong you’re ready for the next match. You always have to learn how to work with others even if you’re not that good friends with them.

I love coding because you can make anything you want. You have full creative use of your imagination to create anything and I find it so cool that you’re just using a few numbers and letters but with them you can make amazing things and have such a huge impact. If something doesn’t work you can go back and keep working at it until it does and when it finally does you feel so happy.

I guess being interested in computers as a girl is sort of stepping out of what girls have traditionally done. Do I think more girls should do this? Yes indeed I do. Next year I’m going to try to make sure we get plenty of freshman girls interested in robotics.”

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Library Without Walls

Director of Libraries Toni Vahlsing talks about what surrounding students with resources for active learning looks like in 2014

Q: How has the library changed as a resource for students since you arrived at AFS in 2007?

A: I feel like everything the library does now reaches outside of the library. It’s much more web based. When I walked in seven years ago you had to go to one central computer to figure out what we had here.

Now you can find out what’s in the library from anywhere and you can check out ebooks and get to many other resources without even coming here. It’s no longer just a place.

The collection is also significantly leaner and more current. We have one collection of fiction ebooks that we started using last year and quite a few non-fiction ebooks, on several different platforms. We’re certainly spending a larger percentage of resources on ebooks versus print books, though there are still kids who prefer “real” books.

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interacting with them. I work hard to make this a place worth coming to. During free periods the library overflows sometimes with 80 or more students.

Q: What kind of strategies do you use to keep kids coming to the library?

A: I have a jigsaw puzzle in the back. Why? I have my regular puzzlers, people who come in and work on the puzzle often, and after a while they stop to get a book from the display. I also make book displays very interactive, asking them to guess the theme of the display or to answer a survey about it.

Or I might play Stump the Librarian, which gets them really involved, because of course it is possible to stump the librarian!

Q: How has your role as librarian changed?

Then I have my maker space area, which is fledgling and growing. This year the kids did mainly craftsy things like making origami, creating sculptures with pipe cleaners. They would come to use that space and might stop to get a book off the display.

A: I’m still doing what I always did, which is pointing out resources and getting students

My job is to surround the students with authoritative resources and to try to get

oak leaves fall

2014

them to use those rather than the first thing that pops up on Google.

Some of them go off on their own and try and do it without me and then come back for help. Science students have figured out that Laura, my assistant, has a PhD in biochemistry. You have to know your resources, including your people resources.

Q: What’s new for the coming year?

A: I’m looking forward to getting a whole new set of ebooks. We’re paying to get access to 35,000 books and in the end we’ll own the ones we use the most.

We’ll have access to those forever. In the meantime when a history paper comes up or EGIS or a science project, students can search for and choose from the whole catalogue. It’s impossible to stock a physical library with everything they could need. This way we have access to tens of thousands of ebooks and whatever we use the most we’ll own. It’s called user-driven acquisition and it’s a new kind of model. Instead of guessing, I’ll be purchasing what they actually use.

alumninotes Alumni Faculty & Staff Alliance (AFSA) The Alumni Faculty & Staff Alliance (AFSA), a new chapter of the AFS Alumni Association, is off to a roaring start! We hope all former employees of AFS will join us on Wednesday, November 26, for the 2nd Annual AFSA Homecoming Breakfast.

Over 20 Alumni Faculty & Staff attended last year and the event was enjoyed by all. If you would like to be contacted about AFSA news and events, please be sure to let us know by emailing alumni@abingtonfriends.net. And send us your Alumni Notes to let your former students, parents and colleagues know what you’ve been up to!

Watching God that the greatest human longing is to be truly known by another person. I truly thank God for all the amazing, kind and loving people who came to “ know” my children Mark and Kerry Green ’88. So from all of the “Green people” thank you!

Beverly Green P’85 P’88, AFSA Nothing could have meant more to me than AFS holding a special Meeting for Worship for Healing for my son Mark, aka “Moose”, Green ’85. Looking out at a room filled with classmates, teachers and friends who knew Mark was truly overwhelming. I know Mark felt the light as did we. Mark is at the very least feisty, almost charismatic, but far more a lover than a fighter. Now, as most of you know, he is fighting for his life and willing this horrid tumor to stop! So he has no choice but to be a fighter! Please know that he and we feel the strength of that light you hold him in. Please keep it shining!

On another note, I am working with private students, and I keep telling the students with whom you have entrusted me how lucky they are to be in the sacred space of AFS! Not only are they taught by the most dedicated and wise teachers, but they are taught with kindness, love and respect. The writer Zora Neale Hurston says in Their Eyes Were

Bob Stamper, AFSA It’s amazing: 20 years have flown by since I taught biology at AFS. Since then Christa and I have moved to Southern Lehigh County, where we live in a small town called Zionsville. We have four acres of land on the side of a large hill and we garden 3 1/2 acres extensively with a small vegetable garden and a collection of rhododendrons and azaleas (over 250 varieties, some one-of-a-kind.)

Reflecting the remarkably cohesive nature of our community, the AFS Alumni community includes all former students, both graduates and non-graduates, as well as alumni parents, alumni staff and alumni faculty. Once a Roo, always a Roo!

wonderful safaris in Africa (Botswana and South Africa, and Tanzania and Kenya) China and Tibet, Chile and Patagonia, Costa Rica twice (for wildlife studies, mostly birds), Guatemala (to study the Incas and volcanoes), Thailand, Japan (for the gardens), Morocco, Egypt and the Nile (love those temples), Jordan (the history, Petra and Roman ruins), Peru twice (Machu Picchu is so amazing), the Galapagos and India.

I give lectures to environmental groups and garden clubs on a variety of subjects. For winter fun I belong to a writer’s group and have been writing a mystery novel and a series of short stories about Americans in Hispanic America.

We have five grandchildren. Our son Christopher has retired as a Commander in the Navy but still teaches for the Air Force in Montgomery Alabama and also in Africa.

Rick lives locally and is a successful architect. That’s it in a nutshell—it’s time to get back to the garden.

I have been teaching biology and oceanography at Muhlenberg College since leaving AFS and have enjoyed every minute of it. I do miss the intimate and friendly atmosphere of AFS and the interaction of faculty and students, and appreciate the various publications that bring me up-to-date on events in AFS land.

Besides gardening, we have been doing much worldwide traveling including two

Bob after a tough climb to the top of this temple in Tikal.

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Alumni Parents & Grandparents Did you stand on the sidelines and cheer for the Roos in all seasons? Were you a dedicated Book Fair volunteer? Have you seen every single play in the Muller Auditorium? Did you watch alumni students grow up, graduate and come back home? Alumni parents and grandparents, AFS is richer for your contributions to the community, and we want to hear from you!

Please let your fellow alumni parents know what you’ve been up to since your last child graduated. Submit your Alumni Notes to alumni@abingtonfriends.net.

Judy Schatz P’02, P’06, P’10, AFSA, writes, “I have been editing and writing for the books, blogs and website for Beyonder. My next Beyonder project will be purely creative: a blog written in the voice of a 15-year-old girl of that world. I miss my Home and School friends! Coffee, anyone?”

Alumni Students

1939 Deborah Bernstein Silver writes, “I am fine, in good health, and I keep busy by going to lecture classes at Florida Atlantic University, going to symphony concerts, and reading a lot. I am still able to drive my car, I have a great family and am very happy. I read the AFS magazine and am so impressed with the wonderful education the students are receiving.”

’40 75th Reunion Class of 1940, please join us on Saturday, May 2, 2014, for Alumni Day and the celebration of your 75th reunion!

1941

Margine McVey Holland writes, “I am living with my husband of 68 years in a very nice Senior Living apartment in Grand Forks,

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alumni notes

North Dakota. 2014 seems like a long time from AFS sometimes and just yesterday at other times. I started in third grade at AFS the last year for many when it was co-ed. We were in the old stone building until high school when our classes were in the then pretty new building. That was when women’s basketball was with the divided court. I remember being told by Lib Smith that I should just continue to shoot until I made a basket. I might still be there, for it never happened. My years at Abington were pleasant with good teachers, good friends and an education that prepared me well for some 90 years. Keep up the good work!!”

’50 65th Reunion Class of 1950, please join us on Saturday, May 2, 2015, for Alumni Day and the celebration of your 65th reunion!

’55 60th Reunion Class of 1955, please join us on Saturday, May 2, 2015, for Alumni Day and the celebration of your 60th reunion!

’45 70th Reunion Class of 1945, please join us on Saturday, May 2, 2015, for Alumni Day and the celebration of your 70th reunion!

1949 Members of the Class of 1949 gathered to celebrate their 65th reunion on Alumni Day with a luncheon followed by an all-alumni Meeting for Worship at the Abington Monthly Meetinghouse. A wonderful time catching up with friends was had by all!

1958 Suellen Fisher Newman has sent in a recent photo. We hope her classmates will send in more!

1959 Katie Lindig Moser writes, “A few of us from the Class of 1959 meet for lunch 2 or 3 times a year—to chat about us!”

’60 55th Reunion Class of 1960, please join us on Saturday, May 2, 2015, for Alumni Day and the celebration of your 55th reunion!

1963 Judy Chestnut Fuss writes in that Barbara Hutchinson Hartman, who swam for AFS during high school, competed in a minitriathlon on June 1, 2014. As part of a relay team, Barb successfully completed a 0.5 mile leg in the over-60 class. Her team’s goal was to finish and so was pleased to come in first in their class—even though they were the only team in that division! Barb swims regularly with her grandchildren in the lake at her home in Connecticut.

Susan Lynn Pollack writes, “I would like my classmates to know how sorry I was to miss our 50th reunion. 2013 was my “annus terribilis”. In December of 2012, I suffered a heart attack from stress, Takostubo Cardiomyopathy, or “Broken Heart Syndrome.”

Just as I was recovering, in February, 2013, my beloved husband, Philip Margolis Jr. relapsed for the second and last time to Primary Lymphoma of the Central Nervous System. He had been diagnosed first exactly 20 years ago, and had been paralyzed on his right side since 1993.

My father, Charles Pollack, former head of the “Home and School Association” at AFS, died in March, and five weeks later Philip died at home, in my arms, following 10 weeks with hospice’s help.

Two days after his funeral, I was again admitted to Abington Hospital for major abdominal surgery.

Members of the Class of 1959, including: Penny Stephano Blechstein, Diane Morton Arbaugh, Katie Lindig Moser, Shirly Goetz, Carolyn Lindon Laumer, and Martha Yoder.

Four months later, his sister, and my best friend, died suddenly in August at the age of 66. I had another major surgery five days after her funeral. I was unable to work for over a year.

I’m glad to say that I’m back at work, as a Licensed Professional Counselor, at The Philmont Guidance Center in Huntingdon Valley, three days a week, and in private practice one day a week.

My mother, Connie Pollack (Friends Select School, Class of 1939) who had been looking forward to our 50th reunion, so she could see many of you she had known from the time I entered AFS at age 4, is 92!

Becoming widows five weeks apart has enabled us to support one another through the difficult first year of widowhood.

I have two sons. Evan Sandman (GFS, Class of ’92) lives in Los Angeles with his wife and my two-year-old granddaughter. He works for TV, most recently as a writer for “American Dad,” while his brother, Vaughn Sandman (Friends Select, 1993), works for the Quaker

Meeting Center in Philadelphia. In addition, I have three stepsons, all married and living out of state.

When I married Philip, all five boys were between the ages of 11 and 16! Philip had promised me that life wouldn’t be dull, and it wasn’t. Widowhood means having the opportunity to look to my own needs and to develop a new identity as a single, working independent woman. I had over 23 years of a wonderful marriage to the man I had dreamed of since I was 10 years old, who always treated all of us with dignity and respect. I am so grateful for his adoring love, and as I move forward without Philip and the “boys,” now 36 through 42 years of age.

I look back on wonderful memories.

Much to Miss Huey’s dismay, Philip, who attended most of my proms at AFS, could always be found on Fridays when the bell rang, sitting in his Classic MG outside the Triangle Building, waiting for me to come out and start the weekend. In my yearbook, my classmates listed the song, “He’s a Rebel,” and so he remained for 69 years.

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1964 Janet Atkinson Gottshall writes, “Fifty years of life had separated us from our AFS graduation day in 1964, but it was old times as usual as soon as we got together! What fun we had renewing our friendships, reminiscing, sharing memories and catching up! We started with the alumni luncheon and then Meeting for Worship, followed by a school tour and a visit to some of our old homesteads. We topped off a wonderful day with 16 classmates at a delicious dinner hosted by Marcia Mount Martin. Sunday morning a few of us were able to join Gail Rosenau Scott for brunch.

It was so special to have classmates from Florida, Texas and Virginia make the effort to come to the reunion. Those who couldn’t attend were missed, and we are hoping we can have more get-togethers soon.”

’65 50th Reunion Class of 1965, please join us on Saturday, May 2, 2015, for Alumni Day and for the celebration of your 50th reunion!

1974 Montgomery County Elder Law Attorney Michelle Coopersmith Berk has been appointed to the Advisory board of Montgomery County Aging and Adult Services and the Board of the Elder Abuse Roundtable and also to the Advisory Board of the Visiting Nurse Association. She continues to serve as a Director of the Montgomery Bar Association and Co-Chair of its Elder Law Committee and on the Board of Temple Sinai in Dresher, PA.

1975 Class of 1975, please keep an eye out for information from AFS about your upcoming 40th reunion! If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the AFS Class of 1975 group for updates. E-mail alumni@ abingtonfriends.net with your current contact information to be on the reunion mailing list or if you are willing to help organize the event.

Sindy M. Paul, MD, MPH, FACPM, writes that she was promoted to Medical Director for the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners (NJBME). NJBME is the medical licensing board in New Jersey. “I am looking forward to taking the skills that I learned at the New Jersey Department of Health to help address the major epidemic of the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs which can lead to heroin use and overdose deaths.

Overdose deaths are now the number 1 cause of accidental deaths in New Jersey, exceeding motor vehicle accidents.”

Jeffrey Wildrick was recently elected Moderator of the Presbytery of the Northeast in the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (otherwise known as ECO). He continues as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Dunellen, NJ, and transferred with them to this new Christian denomination in 2012.

’80 35th Reunion Class of 1980, please keep an eye out for information from AFS about your upcoming 35th reunion! If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the Abington Friends School 1980 group for updates.

E-mail alumni@abingtonfriends.net with your current contact information to be on the reunion mailing list or if you are willing to help organize the event.

The Class of 1964 at Alumni Day Sue Fox, Laura Reeves Lafferty, Susan Sjostrom, Gee Gee Guckes Dalton, Janet Atkinson Gottshall, Cherry Dean Gallagher, Sally Goldschmeding Branch, Molly Zindel Hoyle, Barbara Zoe Baberick Simonds, Ellen Hucke Collins, Cathy High Harris, Sheila Iobst Shinn, Meredith Specht Massi, and Marcia Mount Martin.

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alumni notes

1985

1986

Class of 1985, please keep an eye out for information from AFS about your upcoming 30th reunion! If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the Abington Friends School 1985 group for updates.

E-mail alumni@abingtonfriends.net with your current contact information to be on the reunion mailing list or if you are willing to help organize the event.

Jennifer Bornholdt Hammond, AFSA,

On March 1, 2014, Lisa Renee Reeves married Kyle Lee Norton at St. Luke’s Church in Germantown. They met in 1986 at Clark Atlanta University. It was a beautiful day shared with family and friends. Carla Fisher, Suzanne Alston Hodges and Kimberly Gray ’87 were bridesmaids. Dana Wissow Bower and Christie Michener Corolla were also in attendance for the festivities.

writes, “I’ve finished my fourth year at Deerfield Academy in the Alumni Relations/Development department. In addition to my job, I have been blessed with opportunities to present my transracial adoption experiences at three conferences this past year in addition to smaller audiences of graduate students and youth.

Through Facebook and Instagram, I’m connected to many AFS friends...too many to list by name here. Actually, my AFS friends are part of my life on an almost daily basis! Most recently, I was able to visit Mark Green ’85 in New Hampshire in early June while friends and family gathered to hold him in the Light at a Meeting For Worship at the Abington Meetinghouse.

Any Abington Friends folks who are heading to western Mass are welcome to contact me for a visit.

Marguerite Johnson Steele

’90 25th Reunion Class of 1990, please keep an eye out for information from AFS about your upcoming 25th reunion! If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the Abington Friends School 1990 group for updates. E-mail alumni@ abingtonfriends.net with your current contact information to be on the reunion mailing list or if you are willing to help organize the event.

1992 Jason Ritchie writes, “Living and working in Maine continues to be a joy! I’m very proud to say I watched the new season of ’Orange is the New Black’ in one night...and with any luck my probation will be lifted by July so that I may travel out of state. Best wishes to the class of 1992!”

Marguerite Johnson Steele writes, “Aloha, Roos! The Steele family has moved to Ewa Beach, Hawaii, which is on the island of Oahu. I accepted an ER position at a new hospital, Queens Medical Center, in west Oahu. We are the island’s only magnet trauma center. My husband will also be working for the city and county of Honolulu.

It will be a little far to travel for Alumni Day but I’ll keep a watchful eye. If anyone travels to the Pacific, look me up.”

1994 Nathan Hopson writes, “After completing my PhD at Penn, a year teaching at Grinnell College (IA), and another as a Postdoctoral Associate with Yale University’s Council on East Asian Studies, I will be returning to Japan as a Designated Associate Professor at Nagoya University. This is a big adventure for the whole family, and especially for Noah (10) and Minami (8). Would love to meet up with AFS alums in East Asia.”

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’95 20th Reunion Class of 1995, please keep an eye out for information from AFS about your upcoming 20th reunion! If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the AFS Class of 1995 group for updates. E-mail alumni@ abingtonfriends.net with your current contact information to be on the reunion mailing list or if you are willing to help organize the event.

1998 Amanda Grosso Kaminis writes, “I just received my BSN from Jefferson University this past May (my second bachelors degree), graduating with magna cum-laude honors. I also had my 3rd child last July as well.”

Joshua Siegel writes, “I’m presently living in Brooklyn with my fiancé, Julie Remus of the Jenkintown Remuses. We’re getting married in Doylestown this November. I’m working at Google in NY, but we’re hoping to return to the Philadelphia area sometime down the road, ideally to a farmhouse surrounded by Border Collies. Hey, you never know!”

1996 Karen Meshkov and Matt Pillischer are celebrating their two-year wedding anniversary in July! Karen is in her 6th year running her 5th-generation family business, Philadelphia Eyeglass Labs (with a new store just across the street from AFS!).

She recently completed her Yoga Teacher Training from Integral Yoga, where you can catch her teaching in her spare time. Karen is excited to join the Board of their awesome reconstructionist synagogue, Mishkan Shalom in Manayunk. Matt is now working as an “attorney-mediator,” helping couples navigate separation and divorce outside the court system in a healthy, inexpensive way, with a company that pioneered divorce mediation in Southeastern PA: Alpha Center for Divorce Mediation. You can still catch him organizing for criminal justice reform around his awardwinning documentary, Broken On All Sides, which has screened all over the U.S., in Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Canada and England.

Laura Zingle, AFSA, writes, “Hello! In San My husband is Michael Kaminis and my children are Nikko (behind me in the photo), Athena (to my left), and Kallista is the baby who I am holding.

1999 Jordan Gatenby writes, “My wife Sarah Gatenby, AFSA, and I live in Orlando Florida. She teaches 4th grade and I am the stage manager for a show called ’Fantasmic!’ at Walt Disney World. Last summer we welcomed our first born son Matthew into our family on August 29, 2014. Hope everyone is well!

Diego, I am still working as a freelance AEA stage manager and production manager. I recently closed “El Henry,” a world premiere site-specific adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV Part 1” by Herbert Siguenza of Culture Clash, which included a few low-rider classic cars and a motorcycle. Next up is a San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus concert and another production at La Jolla Playhouse.

I love keeping in touch with other alums living on the west coast or visiting southern California!”

’00 15th Reunion Class of 2000, please keep an eye out for information from AFS about your upcoming 15th reunion! If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the AFS Class of 2000 group for updates. E-mail alumni@ abingtonfriends.net with your current contact information to be on the reunion mailing list or if you are willing to help organize the event.

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alumni notes

2001 Philip Block writes, “My wife, Dina and I had our first child, Olivia Jane Block, on April 5, 2014.

Simon McEntire writes, “I’ve started my own online marketing business (specializing in copywriting) called Wyvern Marketing.

We work directly on the perception of our clients’ value in the minds of their customers to let them charge more, bring in more clients and grow faster. It’s actually doing quite well and growing at a very rapid clip!”

Benjamin Roth writes, “I recently completed my Orthodontic Residency at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. I am moving to Littleton, MA, with my wife Dana and our dog Uno. I’ll be joining a private practice in the area, and will always look fondly back at my time at AFS.”

’05 10th Reunion Class of 2005, please keep an eye out for information from AFS about your upcoming 10th reunion! If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the AFS Class of 2005 group for updates. E-mail alumni@ abingtonfriends.net with your current contact information to be on the reunion mailing list or if you are willing to help organize the event.

2006

2002 Jordan Campbell (son of AFS Dean of Students Renie Campbell) and Selena Goss were married on June 7, 2014 at the Abington Art Center, right across the street from AFS (they even came across the street to have pictures taken in front of the Meetinghouse, and included a period of Meeting for Worship in their ceremony).

They met at Vassar College, where Jordan majored in math and Selena studied pre-med. They currently live in New York City, where Jordan teaches math and tech theater at Brooklyn Friends School and Selena is a resident in surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital. Several AFS alumni attended the wedding, including Jordan’s brother and best man Dan Campbell ’04, groomsman Simon McEntire ’02, Caleb McEntire ’06 and Jacob McEntire ’10. To add to the AFS connections, the caterer for the wedding was Joshua’s--owned by David Hall, father of Dylan ’11 and Josh ’15 Spelman-Hall!

out in the cellar. I am now enjoying life as the sommelier at Chef Marc Vetri’s newest restaurant, Osteria, in Moorestown, NJ.”

Caleb McEntire will begin Columbia University Medical School in August, 2014.

2008 Rachel Sigman writes, “Hello! I just received

2004 Catherine Fanelli writes, “Last Fall I spent three weeks in Italy working for a small winery called Pacina, just outside of Siena, Tuscany. I harvested the grapes and helped

my Master’s at Rice University, and I have been given the position of Soprano Resident Artist at Utah Opera. I’ll have a contract with them for at least a year. During the year I’m going to be covering roles in “The Pearl Fishers,” “Cosi Fan Tutte” and “The Rake’s Progress” while performing in outreach concerts, Handel’s “Messiah” and a concert version of “The Magic Flute.”

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2009 Michael Theophano writes, “As of this May I am an alumnus of Wagner College. Directly out of college I was hired by Stonehouse Productions, an independent publishing house that exclusively manages the works of Warren Adler, author of the infamous The War of the Roses. In my free time I am writing a book! A recent classmate sighting (of sorts), is the following: I play the card game Magic: the Gathering, and was drawn into the game by AFS teacher Jordan Burkey, who was my advisor throughout high school.

Recently he and his Magic Club (of which I was a participant) was featured in “Walking the Planes,” the official video podcast of Wizards of the Coast, which is the company that manages Magic! It absolutely floored me that our little private school was featured on such a high-profile podcast!”

Mariah Dillard recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s degree in Family Science and Human Development. She will continue her career at UMD this fall and attend graduate school for her Master’s in Couple and Family Therapy.

Christopher Engel writes, “After graduating AFS, I went off to Berklee College of Music in Boston. However after two years I decided to take some time off from school to pursue some opportunities that had come up. Fast forward two more years and now I am a professional music producer, sound engineer and studio and record label founder. Over the past two years I have co-written a score for a film called ’Obey the Giant’ and I have produced the music for an E-Boost energy drink commercial. I co-founded a record label and event promotion company called HNDMD with an awesome roster of artists and residencies at many venues throughout the city of Boston. I also work as the creative director there.

I run my own mixing and mastering studio through HNDMD and have begun working as a producer for up-and-coming artists in the Boston electronic and folk scenes. All the while I am interning at a major studio in Boston called Cybersound with plans to be brought on as an engineer this fall. Hope everything is going well back there and hope to be able to drop by for a visit soon!”

Michael and his mother, Jenny French ’69, at his graduation.

2010 Class of 2010, please keep an eye out for information from AFS about your upcoming 5th reunion! If you are on Facebook, be sure to join the AFS Class of 2010 group for updates. E-mail alumni@ abingtonfriends.net with your current contact information to be on the reunion mailing list or if you are willing to help organize the event.

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alumni notes

Jacob McEntire graduated from Vassar in May with a double major in math and physics, having spent his junior year at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.

In September, he goes back to Dartmouth for his second year in the Thayer School of

Engineering dual degree program, and will graduate in May with a B.E. in engineering.

Samantha Williams writes, “After graduating from Barnard in May I have joined Dr. Cliff Hudis ’77’s research team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The team’s research focuses on the link between obesity, inflammation and breast cancer. I am learning not only about the process of clinical research, but also about the treatment of breast cancer as I shadow doctors in clinic and meet patients every week. I am looking forward to continuing in this position while I am in the process of applying to medical school.”

2011 Taylor Harding writes, “I am a rising senior at South Carolina State University. Currently I am in the Honors College on campus, which has earned me a full academic scholarship for my 4 years in attendance at the university, I am the newly elected Student Government Association Senator-At-Large 2014-2015, a member of the National Biological Honor Society, a brother of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, Inc., a Student Orientation Leader, as well as a Junior Board Member of KinderSmiles Foundation. Last summer I interned at the University of Michigan Dental School doing stem cell research specifically involving oral tissue regeneration.

Recently, through the KinderSmiles Foundation and with help from monetary donations from loved ones, I was able to travel to Jinotega, Nicaragua where I assisted several dentists on a service trip to provide free oral health care and education to children in an orphanage as well as the neighboring areas. We provided care to almost 200 children in 2 days. Abington Friends School has always taught me to remain active and involved in my community, and to always pay it forward.

This mindset continued into my college experience and has shaped me into the

service driven person that I am today.

Thank you AFS for providing me with the foundation to truly indulge in and experience all of the opportunities that life has to offer!”

Jasmin Velez writes, “The ending of my junior year at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania flew by right before my eyes.

Currently I am studying Anthropology, the study of humans past and present, with a double minor in Psychology and Spanish along with a concentration in Family, Children and Youth. My junior year consisted of much exploration and discovering what it was that I was passionate about.

Had I not gone to such a supportive school I sometimes wonder where I would be today.

With the preparation that Abington provided me with for college I feel as if I’ve truly taken on any task thrown at me without hesitation.

So when I was approached in March of 2014 with an idea to go on an archaeological excavation with my university, I embraced the idea with arms wide open. Only 12 students would go on this trip and we would be working alongside SUNY at Geneseo students on a 2,000-year-old site of Native North Americans in Ohio.

What brought attention to his farm was the amount of artifacts found by a technique referred to by archaeologists as “surface survey,” including a large collection of spearpoints, bladelets, flint-ridge flakes and many more items. After a month of working in the hot Ohio weather, our trip came to a close. Our findings were far greater than we expected. We found pottery, fire pits, tons of flakes and bladelets which were made from flint for hunting equipment, and I personally came across the most intact spearpoint ever

found on the farm. By the end of our trip we were even more convinced that we had found a home site of a small native group.

This fall I will be beginning my senior year with an internship at St. Columba Catholic School teaching a 6th grade class about Spanish Civilizations and Cultures in hopes of fusing all my studies together.

I plan on continuing my education for a MA/MS in Environmental Anthropology.

Since my time at AFS I’ve truly valued what I learned there about being a good steward of natural resources, and I would love to make an impact in preserving as much of our environment as possible.”

2012 Daveed Buzaglo writes, “I’m still pursuing classical voice performance. This past year I’ve sung the role of Frank in “Die Fledermaus”, the father in “Hansel und Gretel” and Sid in “Albert Herring” all with Oberlin opera theater. This summer I’m spending time in California, first at the Colburn School where I’m a Schubert Fellow at Songfest and then in San Diego where I’m singing the role of Papageno in “The Magic Flute” with OperaNEO.

Marlee Miller writes, “I’ve recently declared myself an English major with a creative writing concentration. I’m still doing theatre here and there. I actually got initiated into the theatre honors society at my school (Alpha Psi Omega). I got to dress up as favorite characters from various plays and musicals for initiations. My writing is improving everyday and I’m starting to get involved in the publishing world. We’ll see how that goes. I miss you all and am sending all my love!”

Elliot Williams writes, “This summer I am one of 11 rising juniors selected to participate in the two-summer Washington Program at the Institute for Responsible Citizenship. As Institute scholars, we take a graduate level course with a professor who is an Institute alum, and gain experience through an internship in our field of interest. This summer, I am interning with The Atlantic magazine. It has been a worthwhile experience so far, and I’ve joined a brotherhood of over 100 African American men who’ve achieved great things and set great examples. Check out the website for more info on this opportunity: https://theinstitute.net/scholar-profiles/ I encourage any recent African American male graduates to work hard and prepare to apply for the program after their sophomore year of college. As always, my heart is still at AFS. I miss it dearly.”

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Class of 2014 Graduate Notes Bianca Adams: “Remember we always

Jenna Blum: “317. WE MADE IT! You

Marissa Cotroneo: “317! You watched me

represent AFS, class of 317, so think about what you do and remember it will have a long-lasting effect on all of us.”

guys were my family for 13 years. It’s weird not having you all around anymore, but I know no matter what, I can always count on all 71 of you to have my back. I miss you guys and I can’t wait to see all of you at homecoming!”

grow from the girl who wore short shorts freshmen year to the one who wore leggings all of her senior year and always backed me up when I was told to change. We supported each other through it all and let me just say, we left the biggest mark at AFS so far.

Good luck in all of your ventures and let me leave you with this quote: ’You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.’”

Rachel Adler: “Being a part of the AFS community and the Class of 317 has been an incredible experience. Thank you for your good humor, friendship and kindness over the past 13 years. I wish you all the best.

Go get it, 317.”

Emily Agoglia: “Dear 317, we’ve had struggles and we’ve had successes, but I think we’ve had more successes.

All in all, I think it was a winning season.

Good luck at all of the great places you are going next year and beyond, because every member of our class has the potential to go far, including you.

Remember the people that have helped you get this far. Remember to act as the person you want to become. Remember all the best stories so you can tell them at the reunions!”

Alan Asriants: “Go get ’em 317!”

Becca Barth: “I hope everyone is having a great time at college and I can’t wait to see you all at Homecoming!”

Sydney Bierhoff: “Class of 2014, Thank you for always supporting me over the last 13 years and allowing me to be myself.

I hope that all of you are enjoying your new journeys, and hopefully our paths will cross soon.”

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alumni notes

Jonathan Blum: “As a lifer, I will always value and never forget the experiences I have had at AFS. I wish 317 the best in their future endeavors.”

Ben Borgmann-Winter: “You are an amazing group of people, and I’m so proud to have graduated with 317. I’ve loved watching us grow together into a strong, cohesive unit, and I know that I’ve learned a lot about teamwork, community and trust because of that. I hope that you all have had similar takeaways and that you keep them in your hearts and minds as you go out into the world to create your own new communities.

Good luck wherever life may take you.”

Kelly Boyd: “Take advantage of the small class sizes, it’s a lot more helpful than you even know.”

Richard Cai: “Fight on, Class of 2014.”

Jess Chromiak: “I think that people tend to refer to life outside of AFS as the ’real world.’

I’d have to disagree with that statement because I think that AFS is, indeed, real.

The people I met, the things I learned and the memories I have are all very real. I’m thankful for all that AFS has given me and I wish everyone luck in the future!”

Joyce Dong: “I was hugely lucky to share three years with you guys. It will never end. Go get it 317!!!!!”

Barbara Donskoy: “Even though we are all going our separate ways, I know that we will take a little piece of each other wherever it is we go.”

Cassandra Fiorino: “I hope that everyone is having fun and working hard in college!

Remember all the lessons you learn and make sure to have lots of stories to share when 317 sees each other again.”

Matthew Fleisher: “I would like to say that I had an amazing experience with the class.

Although I did not have a strong personal connection to many individuals, I still had a wonderful high school experience. This is in large part due to the wonderful pride and love this class shows for one another.

I really felt a cohesiveness, especially this year, between all the various groups within the grade. There was a rallying spirit that helped me to get through the struggle that is 12th grade. I wish everyone the best and I truly do see tremendous potential

in everyone. I think AFS just had the opportunity to graduate one of the highest achieving classes they have ever graduated.”

Jeremy Goode: “Hey 317, I hope you are all doing well and enjoying college! You have all had a positive impact on me, and it was an honor to be in the same classes and represent such a fantastic grade. I can’t wait to see you guys again and hang out like we used to.”

Carolyn Goode: “When I arrived at AFS in 10th grade, you welcomed me fast. You made my transition so easy and so great, I sometimes forgot I was new! I’ll miss you all so much, and I want to thank you for making my AFS experience the most amazing it could be. I love you 317! We’re the absolute best!”

Jordan Greene: “To the class of 2014, hope things are going well as your enter your first college experiences! I know that everyone in the class has the potential to achieve their goals and become successful. I would suggest exploring any and all new opportunities that are provided, and make the best of your college and after college experiences as life moves on. Wish you guys the best!”

Echo Gu: “We still have a long way to go.

Keep going 317!”

Monica Guest: “I think it’s really amazing that we all are where we are.

I always think I’m never going to change and I’m going to stay in my own little box, but somehow I’m realizing that I’ve taken risks and really grown at AFS. I’m so happy to have experienced everything with the classmates I did.

While some of our memories may fade as we move on, I’m grateful that we were all in each other’s lives at such a formative time to both support and challenge each other. Good luck to everyone!”

Tom Gurin: “I’m so glad I got to spend

Reggie Kramer: “It was a pleasure to go

these years with you, 317; I couldn’t have imagined being with any other class.

I love all of you guys (except Mini), and thanks for putting up with me for four years.”

to school with all of you.”

Nicole Kurtz: “Congratulations 317! I am so

James Han: “Make almost perfect plans

Maria Lebedev: “I have loved being a part

and stick with them. And most importantly, smile more.”

Joey Harding: “Hey guys! Just wanted to wish you all the best of luck wherever you are. I’m enjoying myself at Fairfield and wanted to let you know that I’ve brought a little bit of each of our relationships with me. I cherish our friendships. I know you’re doing great things!”

Meqai Herder: “I am really excited to explore the world outside of my comfort level and become what greatness is possible in the coming years.”

Sean Hyland: “Never forget the community that we have created as the 317th class. Never cast aside the relationships that have been created at AFS. I will never forget what was said by Mr. Lies in the awardwinning play Angels in America. The quote is ’motion sickness, it’s the price of ruthlessness. The only cure, to keep moving.’

Fortunately this is not true. Whenever you need to stop and take time to let the wind die down, AFS will always be there.”

proud of every individual who contributed to this great community!”

of this class. Everyone has contributed something in one way or another and I’m really going to cherish the relationships that I’ve made throughout my time here.”

AK Leong: “Live long and prosper.”

Adam Leopold: “Keep your head up, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel and AFS gave us the tools to get to that light.

Stay golden and live life to the fullest.”

Tyler Li: “However I can help.”

Michael Lindy: “Rather than waste your time with the pseudo-wisdom of some high school student you probably never met, here’s some advice from a guy who actually knows what he’s talking about: ’For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others.

You’d be surprised how far that gets you.’

-Neil deGrasse Tyson” James Liu: “If you want it go get it.”

Cherise Lynch: “Best of luck to 317!

Erin Jiang: “Move on to be the best.”

Have fun with whatever you all pursue in the future!”

Raquel Kahn: “Good luck, everyone.

Maddie McCarren: “I can’t begin to explain

Stay cool.”

Jennifer Kahn: “Thank you class of 2014.

We did it! By now we are all off at college or wherever we are, probably doing amazing things already. I am so proud to have been a part of the AFS Class of 2014 and will never forget the times we had together. Thank you for the memories.

Will miss you all. Go get it 317!! :)”

what an experience I had at AFS. I really don’t think I would be going where I am today without my time spent here! I’m currently planning a summer cross-country road trip, along with other various adventures for my gap year!”

Isabel McPeak: “I’ll miss you all but it’s been real. We definitely killed it, Class of 2014! Stay classy!”

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Jason Navon: “It has been a great experience! Thanks for all the laughs, and I hope we meet again!”

smile on your face and love in your heart.

Go get ’em 317! Your Friend, Lilz”

Max Sachs-Knapich: “Drill Sergeants Kadir Okumus: “Work hard. Work hard.

Work even harder.”

are mean.”

Lily Segal: “Live in the moment and fully Sam Pardys: “Sup 317! I miss everyone and I hope everyone is healthy and well! I hope everyone is having fun with whatever you are doing! Can’t wait to see you guys soon!”

Mini Racker: “I’m struggling so much to

memories and learning moments and I hope that you treasured our time just as much as I treasured each one of you. I know we will all be successful so let’s go get ‘em!”

appreciate all the resources that you have at AFS, whether it be teachers, peers or extracurricular activities. AFS is such a special community in that everyone has their own place, has the opportunity to be the pilot of their own life and can easily touch everyone else’s life.”

Alexa Weldon-Wight: “I want everyone to know how much I have appreciated our class, 317. Our class has been a steady stream of support for me whenever I needed it. I always knew that I could trust the people in our class. I hope, despite distance and time, we can all still support each other throughout our lives.”

capture all that you guys have meant to me in this little text box. (It’s kind of like that moment when you’re in the middle of an in-class essay and you realize you only have five minutes left...) I could not have asked for better classmates and friends. You’re smart, talented, caring, warm, wonderful. If you’re ever anywhere NEAR California, please come visit me!”

Sasha Stepansky: “Congrats you guys!

I’m going to miss all of you and will never forget the amazing memories we made together. It’s been a great 4 years!”

Terren Robichaw: “317 has got be the one

Lauren Thompson: “I have appreciated

of the best classes AFS has ever had. We rarely caused any issues for the teachers as a class. We worked well together as a unit in and outside the classroom. As we go out into the world, I hope we all maintain this sense of community.”

having the opportunity to have each and every one of you in my life. I wish that things did not have to end, but I hope that we can all connect again in the future as we move on and do amazing things for this world.”

Joe Robinson: “This class has provided me

Sam Valerio-Sacks: “I wish all the best

with a second family. Although we may take different paths in life, we will always stay together.”

for 317.”

Alex Woods: “Good luck!”

Maddie Vouros: “I want to thank all my classmates for their continuous support throughout the years. I have loved getting to know each and every one of you.”

Billy Xiao: “Stay classy, AFS people.”

Jack Wellhofer: “Reach out to your Brandon Stark: “Nothing is impossible with a willing mind.”

teachers! If I had done that sooner, the aquaponics system would have started much earlier than the end of my junior year!”

Ian Williams: “Have fun next year. Can’t wait to see everyone at Homecoming!”

Jessica Williams: “Hey guys! I hope you’re

Lily Roth: “Hey 317, I miss you guys so much. I miss your smiles and your hugs and just seeing your faces. I know you are all off doing your own things and making a difference in the lives of everyone that you meet. I can’t wait to see you guys on TV, or running for president, or curing cancer, or doing something you absolutely love. And remember, if you ever need to talk, I am always here! Keep up the good work with a

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alumni notes

Ahngelicia Watson: “Hey Class of 317, I love you guys from the bottom of my heart and wish you all the best of luck in everything you do. We have had some great

all having a great first semester, wherever you ended up going! If you ever find yourself in the Greenwich Village area of New York City, let’s hang!”

Adam Wilus: “I will miss all of you and I know that anything you put your mind to will succeed.”

in memoriam Mimsey had two daughters, both future AFS alumnae: Susan Peterson Maxfield ’62 and Anne Peterson Ogan ’65.

Grace ’Mimsey’ Peterson Potts P’62 P’65, AFSA Abington Friends School mourns the passing of Grace ’Mimsey’ Peterson Potts P’62 P’65, AFSA, who was our Lower School librarian from 1956-1963. Mimsey passed away on February 13, 2014; a remembrance service was held by her friends and family on April 12, 2014, in Pennswood Village, Newtown, PA. Mimsey was born on July 16, 1920. Tragically, her mother passed away 2 weeks after she was born. Luckily Mimsey grew up within a large group of family and surrounded by her father’s many friends. Mimsey was an excellent student, an avid athlete and a talented musician. She attended Vassar to major in music, graduating in 1942. The summer after graduation she married Harold ’Pete’ L. Peterson, Jr., with whom she then settled in Maryland and ran a ’homestead,’ growing and preserving their own food from a garden and a few farm animals. While in Maryland Pete and

Like her father, Mimsey developed many lifelong friendships. These became a true necessity when polio struck Mimsey in October of 1947. After a 10-month recovery period, Mimsey and Pete realized the constrictions of life after polio would force them to give up their homestead dream.

They moved to Jenkintown, Philadelphia where Mimsey immersed herself in civic activities. Valuing a Quaker education for their daughters, she and Pete enrolled them at Abington Friends School in 1956. As the Lower School librarian, Mimsey was a perfect fit: she embraced the long held Quaker emphasis on a caring education, for each other and worlds outside their own.

Her daily negotiation of the staircase—no complaints, just do it—to deliver her love of literature to wide-eyed 10-year-olds was a gift mutually shared.

In 1958 Mimsey and Pete moved to an 18th century stone house ’fixer upper’ on 11 acres, following the urge to ’farm it again.’ Sadly, the building burned to ground in 1963, claiming Pete’s life. Serendipity in the form of Maria Peters, an AFS colleague, found Mimsey and her daughters living at Bryn Gweled Homesteads. In 1965 she went on to gain a M.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by an 18-year career as a guidance counselor at William Tennent High School.

In 1967 Mimsey married again, to Edward ’Eddie’ R. Potts, creating a large extended family and the kind of full, lively home she always enjoyed. She went on to help found a Quaker school for children with learning differences, and to serve in many other leadership positions in the Quaker community. Her wise words to her Vassar classmates on the occasion of their 50th Reunion sum up her attitude perfectly, “My life with polio has taught me to tolerate major drawbacks, to be intolerant of ’the petty,’ to slow down, to accept help graciously (usually!) and to appreciate the kindness of others. In coping with these inevitable tragedies of life I have had unbelievable support: two devoted husbands, our five children, and a huge network of family and friends….

How fortunate I am.”

Mimsey leaves her daughters, Anne and Susan, step-daughters, step-son, nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, as well as a legion of adoring cousins, nieces, nephews, grand and great.

She will be missed.

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in memoriam Mary Wolfe Lusignea DiRenza ’42 Mary Wolfe Lusignea DiRenza ’42 died peacefully Monday, February 3, 2014.

Mary was one of three daughters born to Walter and Clara Wolfe.

She is survived by her sister, Jane Moore, living in Salisbury, Md.; her sister Nancy passed away 10 years ago. Mary and her husband Richard B. Lusignea (now deceased) had three sons, Richard living in Boston, Mass., William living in Ambler and Mark living in Allentown, Pa., and one daughter, Mary Elizabeth (Betsy), who passed away in 2005. Mary had five grandchildren, Lauren, Lindsay, Brian, Kevin and Kyle.

Mary was born in Providence, RI, on February 1, 1924. She graduated from Cheltenham High School, followed by a post graduate year at Abington Friends School. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Skidmore College and remained active in Skidmore’s Alumni Association.

Mary and her family lived in Philadelphia, Mystic, Conn., Warwick, RI, and Huntingdon Valley, Pa. Mary led her young family forward by taking on part-time jobs including substitute teaching, and supported her children’s various activities. Mary was active with Abington Presbyterian church where she taught a Special Needs Sunday school class for many years.

Mary met and married Joe DiRenza in 1978.

With Joe, Mary renewed her interests in golf, becoming a member of the women’s

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golf team at Torresdale Frankford Country Club, where she was a three-time women’s champion. Joe and Mary began an interest in worldwide travel. She also began a Girl Scout Troop for Betsy and other residents of the Melmark Home in Berwyn, Pa. After 20 years of marriage, Joe passed away.

Once again, determined to land on her feet, Mary turned to her past high school friendships. At a Cheltenham Class Reunion, Mary renewed her friendship with Bob Hunter, whom she had known since elementary school. They soon began a relationship that included travel, golf and daily enjoyment of each other’s lives. Their relationship continued until Mary moved to Arden Courts and Bob passed away several years ago.

Throughout Mary’s life she was an active volunteer with Holy Redeemer Hospital, Huntingdon Valley Women’s Club, Christian Women’s Club, Huntingdon Valley Garden Club and Philadelphia Women’s Golf Association. Mary was skillful with knitting, sewing, weaving and needlepoint. She played the piano and had a lifelong interest in music. Mary’s loving personality was always evident though her bright eyes and eternal smile.

master’s of Music and master’s of Education. Lois was a high school guidance counselor and gave her time to serve as organist and choir director. She was an active member of Sigma Alpha Iota Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter. Described by all who knew her as generous of time, talents and treasure, Lois chose to donate her body to the Humanity Gifts Registry as her final act of generosity. She will be missed. Published on Philly.com from Feb. 7 to Feb. 10, 2014

Donna Worrell Layden ’74 Donna Worrell Layden ’74 was born on April 30, 1957, and passed away February 1, 2012. She is survived by her mother, Ida M. Levins, of Hatboro, PA. Donna grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Williams College in 1978. She received a medical degree from the University of Colorado in 1985. Donna was a long-time employee of the CAC Group. Published in Denver Post on Feb. 12, 2012

Excerpted from The Intelligencer, 2/10/2014

Lois S. Ruth ’48 Lois S. Ruth ’48 died peacefully on February 5, 2014, in Philadelphia. Lois’ passion for music and desire to share that passion led her to pursue both a

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

Homecoming Wednesday, November 26, 2014 Go Well, Stay Well, Come Home

9:00 am Alumni Faculty & Staff Alliance (AFSA) Breakfast Abington Monthly Meetinghouse, Short Stable All former employees of Abington Friends School are warmly encouraged to join your colleagues for a casual breakfast with Rich Nourie.

10:00 am All Alumni Association Breakfast Abington Monthly Meetinghouse,John Barnes Room All former students, parents, and employees of AFS are invited to join us for breakfast prior to Meeting for Worship.

11:15 am Meeting for Worship with Upper School Abington Monthly Meetinghouse. Celebrate our shared tradition.

12:30–2 pm The entire AFS community is welcome to campus for food and fun!

3rd Annual Alumni, Faculty and Student Theater & Music Jam Josephine Muller Auditorium.

Alumni, Faculty and Varsity Soccer Game Varsity Field? Smith Field? Hallowell Gym? The location of this decade-long pickup game, which is fun for players and spectators alike, is dependent on weather.

First Annual Alumni Ultimate Frisbee game Meadow Field. Weather permitting.

Tournament of Champions: FREE Magic Draft & Temple of Doom with Jordan Burkey Upper School Rooms 17 & 18

Join the Alumni of Abington Friends School Facebook group to receive updates and links to photos of the day.

Keep your eyes peeled for other new Homecoming events.

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Life at Abington Friends School Calendar Highlights Book Fair /Admission Open House

October 18

Early Childhood Harvest Festival

October 31

Upper School Play

October 13-15

Homecoming

November 26

Middle and Upper School Concert

December 10

Lower School Winter Program

December 19

Middle and Upper School Concert

January 28

Martin Luther King Day of Service

January 19

Admission Open House

February 7

Middle School Play

March 12-13

All-School Science Night

April 16

Upper School Play

April 23-25

Upper School Concert

April 29

Arbor Day

May 1

Alumni Day

May 2

Middle School Concert

May 21

Commencement

June 10