Magazine
Spring 2015
Arts Week
2015
A Celebration of Creativity
Magazine
Spring 2015
| FEATURES |
30 Reprise! Annual Arts Week Applauds Creativity With a dramatic play and open-mic night as its bookends, this Upper School celebration of visual and performing arts unleashes the imaginative spirit. BY AMANDA MAHNKE
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Contents
| DEPARTMENTS | 5 6 9 16 18 22 24 26 28 45 65 68
What’s Online Big Picture Digest Inquiry • Faculty Focus Limelight • Student Profiles Arts Athletics CAG Timeline Class Notes Milestones From the Archives
Her Story Fourth Grade Recounts Lives of Notable Women Each year in Lower School, costume dress serves a greater purpose as students don the personas of important women in history.
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BY WANDA ODOM
40 Different League, All Their Own An eighth grade research project on American Civil Rights Movement leads students into new territory as learners. BY AMANDA MAHNKE
42 Courageous Conversations The Upper School creates a forum for students, faculty and staff to tackle often-difficult discussions as a community.
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BY WANDA ODOM
Opposite page IN EVIDENCE: A graphic recorder (or illustrator) documented the first-ever think tank on STEM education organized by the Center for the Advancement of Girls, held March 19-20. The large-scale drawings (4 feet by 12 feet) captured keynote speeches, panel sessions and small-group discussions. Story on page 26.
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ON CAMPUS
The ďŹ rst of the bulbs planted last fall for Dr. Hill’s Convocation began springing up in early April! Guess how many new perennials were planted; see Digest for the answer.
From the Head of School
Magazine
EDITOR Wanda Motley Odom Director of Marketing and Communications
CONTRIBUTORS Janet Bartholdson ‘06 Associate Director of Annual Giving Programs ~ Corin Brena
Webmaster & Digital Communications Manager
Bridget Carlin Administrative Assistant, Athletics Department
Excitement Abounds
Mariandl M.C. Hufford Director for Academic Affairs and the Center for the Advancement of Girls
Vicki Lynch Freelance Writer
Amanda Mahnke Social Media & Media Relations Manager
Sandra Ulikowski Brand & Creative Design Manager
Dr. Thomas Weissert Director of Technology
Margaret Welsh Director of Development
LAYOUT B&G Design Studios
JARED CASTALDI/AMANDA MAHNKE (OPPOSITE PAGE)
PHOTOGRAPHY Academic Images, Jared Castaldi, Amanda Mahnke, Karen Mosimann, Donna Meyer, Jim Roese, Linda Walters THE AGNES IRWIN SCHOOL Ithan Avenue and Conestoga Road Rosemont, PA 19010-1042 Grades PreK–4 Tel: 610-525-7600 Fax: 610-526-1875 Grades 5–12 Tel: 610-525-8400 Fax: 610-525-8908 FRONT COVER: Freshman Eleanor Parks poses for the camera holding a Fuji X100S amid a variety of artwork and other examples of artistic life in the Upper School. Cover photo by Jared Castaldi.
New beginnings often bring a wave of enthusiasm that is contagious. It’s like spring, when nature slowly emerges from the quiescence of winter and begins to reveal for another season the splendor of new life and growth. My first year as the new Head of The Agnes Irwin School has certainly conveyed such excitement, perhaps more for me than for the school community. The delight of learning more intimately the rich history of this remarkable institution and of getting to know the students and adults who stoke its great traditions continually invigorates me. The gratification inherent in working with a dedicated and talented cadre of educators constantly inspires me. The possibilities that flourish in a dynamic educational environment perpetuate my conviction that one should always dream big. Now I have the opportunity to write my second Head’s Message for the school magazine, and it seems fitting that this Spring 2015 issue introduces a newly redesigned publication. It is through this biannual magazine, as well as other print and digital means, that we share and celebrate all that Agnes Irwin embodies. The news and stories we highlight demonstrate the excellence that has been a hallmark of the school for nearly 150 years. On the cover as well as the pages that follow, we celebrate the school’s commitment to the visual and performing arts as evidenced by the annual Arts Week program organized and executed by our arts faculty and student-led Arts Board. We take note of the creativity in our Lower School curriculum, the scholarship required by our Middle School capstone project, and the open dialogue encouraged in Upper School student life. Of course, we continue to highlight our impressive alumnae, whose personal and professional successes are testament to the manifold ways in which Agnes Irwin empowers girls (and women) to learn, to lead, and to live a legacy. From the practice of corporate law to organic farming, our alumnae demonstrate that accomplishment comes in many forms. I hope you enjoy the new look of the Agnes Irwin Magazine and the wealth of information within its covers.
Wendy L. Hill, Ph.D. SPRING 2015
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About This Issue Retrospective
REFRESH
Good Time for a Change In the summer of 2014, members of the Marketing and Communications Office and the Development Office began discussing a redesign of the school magazine with the goal of bringing a fresh and updated look to the biannual publication. We set about drafting an operating statement for the magazine, mulling over its mission and content strategy, soliciting requests for proposals from nationally recognized design firms, and selecting three firms to present to the redesign committee. We ultimately selected B&G Design Studios, an award-winning design team with over 30 years of combined experience in consumer and corporate communications, including art direction for the magazines of several major colleges and universities. The first step was conceiving a new masthead that would be true to the storied history of The Agnes Irwin School, yet also exude a contemporary flair. Bold, traditional and full of savoir-faire. A subtle bow to the “lamp of learning” flows from the flame that punctuates the lowercase letter “i” in Agnes Irwin Magazine. Next was the development of the magazine architecture, with reimagined standing sections such as Digest and Class Notes, and new features such as Big Picture, Limelight and From the Archives. The new design symbolizes a contemporary and eloquent awareness, a presence befitting a publication that has long hailed the tradition of excellence and achievement embodied in The Agnes Irwin School and the many members of the school community, beginning with our famed founder, Miss Agnes Irwin. – Wanda Motley Odom, Editor
Magazine
The Irwinian The first issue of this monthly paper appeared in December 1898, a year after the formation of the Alumnae Association. It was published for 70 years.
Agnes Irwin School News During the 1970s and 1980s, the periodical was variously titled School News and Alumnae Magazine.
Irwin’s In the 1990s, the publication was known by the school’s popular sobriquet, with various treatments of the masthead that incorporated the lamp graphic.
AIS Magazine This cover design was first published in 2002, using the school monogram for the masthead.
With her crown of curls, junior Nadia Slocum was an equally engaging cover model for the inaugural issue of the redesigned magazine.
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What’s Online VIDEO STORIES
Wondering what we’re up to on social media? You can follow our most recent posts — without leaving the AIS website — on the Owl Nest, our social media mashup page. There you’ll find a stream of activity on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, YouTube and Flickr, in addition to a few featured images from Pinterest. Find it at agnesirwin.org/mashup.
Women in Wax: The fourth grade presented its annual Women in Wax Museum on Jan. 9. The students read biographies and wrote first-person monologues in preparation for the project, then dressed as their notable women for their presentations. Learn more about Women in Wax and hear students share their experiences.
Modern Language: At Agnes Irwin, Modern Language students gain proficiency in interpersonal, presentational and interpretative language skills, which they use to access a wide range of knowledge and a diversity of culture. See how the French program exemplifies the modern language curriculum at AIS.
Art at AIS: Senior Molly Clark filmed and edited this video about the arts at Agnes Irwin, which she shared in Upper School assembly to kick off the annual celebration of Arts Week. Hear from students, faculty and alumnae about what the visual and performing arts mean to them.
AIS BLOG: At the beginning of April, we launched Girls in the World, our new all-school blog! Through reflections by Head of School Wendy L. Hill, other administrators and faculty, we aim to provide readers with a girl-centric lens through which to view our world and the lives of girls. We’ll post on topics ranging from the shortage of women in STEM fields, to the significance of the AIS tradition of senior assemblies, to the importance of emotional authenticity. Through Girls in the World, we want to raise awareness of and appreciation for the unique experiences and voices of girls and women. View it at blog.agnesirwin.org.
TOP SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS TWITTER Impulse Arts Open Mic Night (4 retweets, 10 favorites): Bravo to all the performers at our Impulse Arts Open Mic Night — the culminating performance of Arts Week at AIS, featuring students from Agnes Irwin and other area schools.
INSTAGRAM Rain Chain (114 likes): One addition during last year’s campus expansion was rain chains outside the Student Life Center. During freezing and melting patterns of precipitation this past winter, the chains took on some interesting crystalline shapes.
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AMANDA MAHNKE
FACEBOOK Rosa’s Pizza: (6,632 people reached), 89 likes, 4 comments, 1 share Mason Wartman, owner of Rosa’s Fresh Pizza in Philadelphia, visited during Hunger Week to give a brief talk to Upper School students during lunch. Rosa’s recently gained fame for its “pay it forward” program, which lets customers pay $1 for a slice of pizza for any homeless person who visits the pizza shop. During his talk, Wartman shared a little about his background and the origin of the Center City program.
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Big Picture
ARTS AND SCIENCES
Defining Equations Advanced Math student Sophie Fisher, a junior, uses a Computer Aided Design program and a 3D printer to create a plastic model of a shape defined by mathematical equations. Enterprising students use the resources of the Innovation Center, including iMacs, maker kits, Lego sets, circuit boards and a laser cutter, to turn their ideas into objects, which in turn refines their creative imagination. Classes in media arts, computer science, engineering and mathematics as well as the Middle and Upper School robotics programs regularly use these resources to give students a hands-on educational experience. – Dr. Tom Weissert, Director of Technology and Upper School mathematics teacher
ACADEMIC IMAGES
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the Jane Goodall Institute
Save the Date An Evening with
Dr. Jane Goodall “Sowing the Seeds of Hope” A lecture by one of the world’s most-renowned conservationists. Stuart Clarke
Tuesday, September 15, 7 p.m. The Agnes Irwin School RSVP Required ~ Online reservations to open in May In July 1960, Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in what is now Tanzania. Her work at Gombe Stream would become the foundation of future primatological UHVHDUFK DQG UHGHĆQH WKH UHODWLRQVKLS between humans and animals. In 1977, Dr. Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which continues the Gombe research and is a global leader
in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. The Institute is widely recognized for innovative, communitycentered conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian youth program. Dr. Goodall founded Roots & Shoots with a group of Tanzanian students in 1991. Today, Roots & Shoots connects
hundreds of thousands of youth in more than 130 countries who take action to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment. Dr. Goodall travels an average 300 days per year, speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees, other environmental crises, and her reasons for hope that humankind will solve the problems it has imposed on the earth.
Join us for this extraordinary experience to kick off the new school year! For more information on Dr. Goodall or the work of the Jane Goodall Institute, please visit www.janegoodall.org
Spring 2015
Digest LOWER SCHOOL
| MIDDLE SCHOOL
| UPPER SCHOOL
SCREENING OF A DOCUMENTARY FILM MODERN LANGUAGE
DR. HENRI BORLANT: SURVIVOR AND WITNESS (in French with subtitles)
SANDRA ULIKOWSKI
Monday, March 16, 2015 The Agnes Irwin School 4:30–5:30 p.m. West-Wike Theatre
Chronicles of the Holocaust On March 16, the inspiring story of a French Holocaust survivor was brought to life during the inaugural screening of a short documentary directed and produced by AIS alumna Catherine Wulff ’14 and longtime French teacher Barbara P. Barnett. It was a capstone event in Barnett’s 43-year career at AIS (she and her husband, history teacher Dr. George Barnett, retire in June 2015) and her collaborative film projects based on material from France during the Second World War. The 16-minute film, one of four that Barnett has created with AIS students, chronicles the experiences of Dr. Henri Borlant, who was deported to Auschwitz at age 15 with his father and two of his siblings, survived three years in a series of concentration camps, and became a physician after the war. “I was instantly drawn to Dr. Henri Borlant’s testimony because he struck me as having incredibly admirable character,” Wulff told the audience. “While watching Madame’s interview with him for the first time, I was amazed by his sense of integrity and impressed that even after enduring such an ordeal, he could still achieve so much.” Norman Sargen, chair of the Modern Language Department, which sponsored the screening, praised Barnett’s work and said it honored her students, her department and the school. “This body of work … speaks to your unfailing dedication to your teaching and the ways you have nurtured all of us,” he said. Barnett served as Modern Language chair for 31 years.
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Digest | LOWER SCHOOL
Cooperative Games Over the winter, Lower Schoolers engaged in a cooperative games unit as part of their physical education classes. “Sportsmanship is one of the things we push, and this is an important tool in developing that,” said physical education teacher Suzie McInnes. In PreK, kindergarten and first grade, students participated in cup stacking games and a cooperative hula hoop dance that required coordination, listening to directions, working together, and finishing the task as quickly as possible. Take a look at the video posted on Vimeo to learn more.
OBSERVANCE
Honoring International Women’s Day To mark the International Day of the Woman, third and fourth graders had the opportunity to meet Katlyn Grasso, the founder of GenHERation, a female empowerment network for high school girls. Grasso met with students on March 2 to share her experiences in leadership. In addition to being a senior at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, she is also president of the Wharton Small Business Development Center’s Growth Accelerator Program, the co-president of Wharton Ambassadors, and a member of Wharton’s Venture Initiation Program. Director of CAG Mariandl Hufford said of Grasso, “When we were thinking about the origins of International Women’s Day, and who could embody the advancement of women’s causes around the world, we realized that Katlyn Grasso, as young as she is, would be perfect. Katlyn’s organization, GenHERation, has grown rapidly to become a well-known entity in the world of girls and girls’ leadership development. I could not wait for our young students to hear from her.”
CLASS PROJECT
Picasso Self-Portraits One of the art projects taken on by fourth grade this year was self-portraits inspired by Picasso, co-founder of Cubism and one of the most influential visual artists of the 20th century. Art teacher Trish Siembora showed students examples of the artist’s work and discussed different techniques — including how many of the artist’s paintings have a split view, with half of the face in profile and the other straight on. The girls used oil pastels on their canvases, then constructed a frame and painted it to match their drawing, serving as an extension of the painting. At right is Siembora’s example portrait.
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Space Talk Two scientists at the European Space Agency who work with PROBA2, a satellite being used to validate new spacecraft technologies while monitoring solar activity, talked with third graders via Skype in December. The scientists taught the girls about the satellite, and then fielded a lot of good questions about PROBA2 and working in STEM fields. The girls were very excited to learn that one of the scientists with whom they spoke, Dan Seaton, is the son of PreK teachers Kathy and Paul Seaton.
LOWER SCHOOL | Digest
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EXPERIMENTATION
Writing Ceremony
Rock Science
Audrey Sikdar’s first graders toasted their first “published” stories with their families at a Writing Celebration in December. The students wrote, revised and illustrated the stories over several weeks as part of their “Small Moment: Personal Narrative” study, then shared the stories at the celebration. They appropriately topped the morning off with a juice box and sparkling cider toast to all the authors.
Fourth grade got a fun, hands-on look at the rock cycle of the Earth in January — stacking, mashing and melting Starbursts. They learned the process for creating sedimentary rocks (layers), metamorphic rocks (heat & pressure), and igneous rocks (extreme heat) — the latter of which science teacher Veronika Paluch used a hot plate to demonstrate.
SPECIAL GUEST
Author Leads Class First and second graders had a special guest this winter, Lee Harper, a Doylestown, Pa.-based author and illustrator of children’s books. He has illustrated several books with other authors, including Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano, as well as his own. Harper told students about his start as an illustrator and author, then led them in a drawing exercise.
On Board
480 Bulbs planted in celebration of Wendy L. Hill’s Convocation
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Assistant Director of Lower School for Student Support Dr. Elizabeth “Biz” Sands has been named to the board of the Pennsylvania branch of the International Dyslexia Association (PBIDA). The nonprofit shares dyslexia research to educate its membership and the public about the learning disorder. Sands, a longtime member, will help manage its annual fall conference and other outreach, including teacher training on dyslexia.
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Digest | MIDDLE SCHOOL
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Ocean Summit New to the seventh grade’s Culture Week in February was an Ocean Summit, in which students grappled with a particular scenario — a pirate ship threatening their biomes — based on their alliances and relationships with other culture groups. Culture Week is an annual project in which students explore how cultures develop by creating their own. With eight vocations (such as scientist, linguist, ambassador, architect) and a particular ecological profile, the groups determine how their societies would create language, transportation, and other aspects of culture in an ancient civilization. See Vimeo.
Hunger Pack Middle School students helped pack 20,000 meals for Stop Hunger Now as part of the 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. The event brought together middle school students from Agnes Irwin, Baldwin and Haverford for several hours on a Saturday in January. The meals were sent to West African communities battling the Ebola outbreak.
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THEATER
Got the Beat Middle School played to the ethos of the 1960s and a fair share of musical highlights with its production of the musical Hairspray, Jr. in March. More than 60 students participated in the musical, which the entire Lower School had a chance to enjoy before three performances for the general public on Feb. 27 and 28.
CLASS PROJECT
Puppet Art Miss Piggy, tigers and bears, oh my! Kathy Halton’s sixth grade students took on the task of molding their own puppets out of papier-mâché in February, as well as constructing garments for them. Creations include Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Muppets, Sesame Street characters and more.
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Number of times the annual Philadelphia Dream Flag Project Festival and Celebration has partnered with the National Constitution Center. This year’s event was held in May. Learn more at dreamflags.org.
MIDDLE SCHOOL | Digest
OBSERVANCE
Co-Op Artist
Hour of Code Jennifer White’s fifth grade science classes had a great time participating in Hour of Code, a global movement that encourages students to explore computer science. Some girls played coding games, while others learned the steps to programming their own app!
1200 The approximate number of miles traveled over the course of one year on Middle School field trips.
LEARNING GAMES
Seriously Scientific Seventh grade explored the makeup of cells and DNA over the winter and created a variety of board games aimed at making review of their science facts fun — including one “Operation”-style game. Players who answered a study question correctly took their chances trying to carefully extract a piece of the cell without getting buzzed!
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Spanish teacher José Sevillano had his photography featured in April at the Media Arts Center and Gallery, where he is a member of the Arts Council Co-Op. Now in his 14th year at Agnes Irwin, Sevillano has been a photographer all his life, but has studied the art more seriously in the past four years. “It’s become a passion and a way of life,” Sevillano said. “I went from recording memories — something we all do with our ever present cameras (phone or otherwise) — to developing a sense of vision when I started studying the works of the masters of photography. I felt drawn to some of these images and over time immersed myself in the art form. Now it is simply a form of self-expression for me.” See more of his work at sevijosephoto.com.
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Digest | UPPER SCHOOL
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Madame VP In January, French teacher Rita Davis took on the role of vice president of the American Association of Teachers of French, the largest national association of French teachers in the world (with nearly 10,000 members). A native of France, Davis has taught Middle and Upper School French at Agnes Irwin for 32 years, and currently serves as the school’s French Coordinator.
Malala and the Liberty Medal Upper School students had a featured role in October’s nationally televised 2014 Liberty Medal Ceremony at the National Constitution Center, reflecting on how the autobiography of recipient and Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai brought to life the topics discussed in their global health elective. Ten Upper School students attended the Oct. 21 ceremony in Center City Philadelphia, selected through an essay contest.
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700 Lunches
EVENTS
Diversity Conference In October, AIS hosted its first-ever Acceptance and Awareness of Diversity Conference (AAD 2014) with the theme Humankind: We Are One. Approximately 60 students from area independent schools as well as a dozen faculty and staff participated in the conference, designed to promote positive dialogue and greater understanding through workshops, group discussions and games.
FIELD TRIP
Model UN Goes to D.C. A group of 12 seniors, juniors and sophomores from the AIS Model UN Club attended Georgetown University’s 52nd annual North American Invitational Model United Nations conference in February. The AIS delegates represented countries as diverse as South Korea, Malaysia, Croatia, Angola and the United Kingdom on committees ranging from INTERPOL to the United Nations Security Council, the World Economic Forum and the British House of Commons. They discussed, debated, formed coalitions, wrote resolutions and reached compromises, experiencing how governmental and diplomatic processes work.
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In November, scores of students from Agnes Irwin, The Haverford School and Episcopal Academy made 700 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to pack lunches for Project Home, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and services to chronically homeless men and women in Philadelphia. The event was a community service initiative of AIS/EA Day!
UPPER SCHOOL | Digest
INNOVATION
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An Assist in Expanding Horizons
Student Apps
In the advanced computer science class taught by Steven Grabania, students can often be found coding in the Anne S. Lenox Lobby, developing web-based apps for Agnes Irwin. The projects range from a local Craigslist-like classified app, Irwinslist, to an athletic apparel app for the school store, allowing users to browse and place orders for items. Another student is working on a task management app customizable for any board or club on campus to use for managing many different tasks as a team.
$10K
Amount raised by Empty Bowls Supper, annual anti-hunger service project with The Haverford School.
GRADUATION
‘Disease Detective’ To Speak at Commencement Alumna Iman K. Martin, Ph.D., an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will be the Commencement speaker at the June 9 graduation exercises for the Class of 2015. Dr. Martin, Class of 1999, is among those the CDC has described as its “boots on the ground disease detectives… our first line of defense … to prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks. They are essential to protect global health security and keep Americans safe.” Last year, she served as an epidemiologist during the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa. She has more than a decade of global and domestic research and applied epidemiology experience. A Philadelphia native, Dr. Martin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with dual bachelor degrees in health and societies and African studies. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health, and holds a master degree in epidemiologic sciences from the University of Michigan and a master degree in public health from the University of Ghana.
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Head of School Wendy L. Hill has been selected to deliver the keynote address at a one-day conference on April 18 organized at Cornell University to foster interest in the fields of math and science among 7th-9th grade girls. Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) provides participants with workshops and hands-on learning that demonstrate the opportunities in math and science-related careers. Although focused on girls, the conference also offers a special session for adults on educational and career opportunities involving science, math and engineering. Each year, the organizers select a prominent woman scientist to deliver a keynote address to the 500 participants. The conference has been held since 1988, and is organized by mostly graduate students and volunteers across the university. “I am honored to give the keynote speech for this important effort,” said Dr. Hill. “My own career grew from the encouragement of a woman scientist, and I hope to inspire those gathered by sharing how rewarding a career in science can be.”
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Inquiry
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Faculty Focus
9 Questions with Gerard Kapral Music teacher Gerard Kapral could certainly qualify as a musical prodigy. He was playing piano by first grade, and his church organ by sixth. At 16, he was a fixture in rock cover bands around Philly. By senior year, he had so many nightly gigs that he was dragging himself to calculus class with less than five hours’ sleep most mornings. One year studying computer science at Drexel University led him back to his first love and a major in piano performance at Temple University. The gigs just kept coming (and paid for college) — special events, beach resorts, cruise ships, a tour of Ireland. Then Kapral brought his wealth of experience back to Philadelphia as a teacher. – Wanda Odom Q: How did your interest in music begin? A: I was eight years old, and I just decided I wanted to play piano. At my grade school they didn’t start lessons until second grade. I decided I wanted to take lessons at the beginning of first grade, and I bugged my parents and the music teacher at my school for four months, probably every couple of days, until around January of that year my music teacher said OK. I guess they decided that if a first grader didn’t forget about it in four months, he was never going to forget about it, ever.
theater where I was the resident music director and sound designer.
Q: What is your favorite part of teaching music to such a wide range of age groups? A: I enjoy seeing the excitement that learning to play music, and being exposed to different sorts of music, can cause in a person. I remember the music teacher when I was a student who instilled in me a love of music. The most special part of teaching for me is being able to instill that love of music in my students.
Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching at Agnes Irwin? A: I love the strong sense of community that prevails in this school. Everyone, from students to staff, is very supportive of each other. This makes AIS a very special place.
Q: What do you envision for the music program at Agnes Irwin? A: As the instrumental music teacher, I look forward to one day having a very expansive instrumental program, including an orchestra, a concert band, a jazz band, and several contemporary bands.
Q: Tell us about your collaborations with Bill Esher, Chair of the school’s Visual and Performing Arts Department. to music at all. In fact, we didn’t have an FM radio in my house until I bought one A: Bill was a founding member and artistic director of when I was in the beginning of high school. My mom would listen to AM; we had an the Living Arts Repertory Theater when we met. Bill AM-only radio and she had two eight-tracks of music, which I rememhired me to be the music director for the ber being played twice in my whole life. season of shows that his theater was ROLES producing, and I was employed at that theater for two years. In that time, I Q: You spent six years after college performing widely. How Teaches cello, trummusic-directed and sound-designed all has that experience influenced you as a teacher? pet, clarinet, flute, percussion in Lower of the musicals that the theater proA: Having a variety of life experiences and dealing with a lot of differSchool; teaches duced. During the same period, Bill and ent people kind of helped in dealing with a diverse student body. … The music classes for I wrote several musicals for the theater’s different styles (of music) that I played — my ensembles did anything 7th and 8th grades, young audience series; Bill wrote the from classical music to jazz, pop, rock — made me very comfortable including guitar leslibretto and lyrics, and I wrote the with teaching all these styles. sons; teaches music theory and harmony music. Since then Bill, and I have in Upper School; worked many different productions, Q: In addition to your musical talent, you are regularly sought Director, Middle including the annual Upper School after as a sound engineer. How did you get interested in the field? School Ensemble musical. I worked on those for several A: I became interested in sound design and engineering early in my and Upper School years before taking the full-time job that performing career. While I was in high school, I remember working on Ensemble; Technical Director for I currently hold at AIS. doing multi-track recordings using two cassette decks and a small Theater, Radio Club, mixer. It didn’t work out very well but it was a start. While in college at Broadcast Studio; Temple University, I was hired as one of the in-house sound engineers Q: What fun fact about you would Advisor for Stage for the jazz studies department. I would provide sound reinforcements surprise people? Crew; Audio/Visual for the student and faculty recitals that the department would present. A: I like to cook and love trying new Engineer for campus events When I graduated from college, I worked at a regional professional recipes.
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Q: What was your first exposure to music? A: My first exposure to music was in music classes in school. My parents didn’t listen
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Limelight
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Student Profiles
Samantha Zimmer LOWER SCHOOL
Her nerves quickly subsided though, as she placed her focus on playing the ball and not on winning — taking the match shot by shot. Her strategy worked — and since she hadn’t been expecting a win, it was an especially big accomplishment. “I totally kicked her butt,” she said with a grin. Samantha is a big fan of reading, baking and sailing — when she gets the chance — and just about anything that keeps her active. She plays goalie on her township travel soccer team, and is mainly happy to run around. Now in her third year at Agnes Irwin, her favorite thing about AIS is how friendly everyone is. “I know I can talk to anyone in my class about anything,” she said. The level-headed student — who, if tennis doesn’t work out, wants to go into engineering — offered some advice for anyone thinking about taking up her sport: “If you start playing tennis and taking it seriously, don’t get mad if you miss a ball, because there’s always going to be another one coming. It won’t be the end of the world if you lose one match.” — Amanda Mahnke
“Don’t get mad if you miss a ball, because there’s always going to be another one coming.”
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JARED CASTALDI
Fourth grader Samantha Zimmer is a wiz in the classroom. The 10-year-old “is an incredible math student and an excellent writer,” said teacher Pedie Hill. “She is now working on fractions, decimals and percents, which is quite far above what generally is expected of a fourth grader.” Agnes Irwin isn’t the only place the Gladwyne Library Junior Author Contest award winner shines, however; Samantha is making a name for herself on the junior tennis circuit. As a young child, Samantha hit balls around with mom Karen — who herself was nationally ranked as a junior tennis player. “She gave me my first racquet, and I loved tennis pretty much right away,” Samantha said. She began taking lessons at age 5, and won her first tournament last year, at age 9 — against a girl three years her senior. “She was about three times as tall as me,” Samantha recalled. “It was definitely one of my proudest moments.” Since then, Samantha has kept competing, and recently won the High Performance Tennis Academy G12 Classic on Feb. 2. The 10-year-old placed first in the 12-and-under division, winning 6-0 and 7-5. “I started playing tournaments last year, but this was the first time I was a little bit stressed before the matches,” Samantha said. “Most of the girls were a little older than me.”
Mia Ciallella UPPER SCHOOL
“I think high school is a time for everyone to develop political stances and learn more about the world in general,” reflects senior Mia Ciallella in a self-assured voice. “It has been so rewarding going to class, having great discussions with cool, interesting girls who all have differing opinions and are able to articulate them — and to be in an environment where girls of all backgrounds and walks of life are able to come together, share their ideas and different perspectives.” Mia joined the Agnes Irwin community four years ago and now as a senior is not only the elected head of the Environmental Board, but also the founder of a feminism club. She attributes her confidence and comfort speaking up in class to the safety and support of her teachers and peers and points to the community as the reason she has felt comfortable stepping into leadership roles. “Being here I have built up confidence through talking in class, sharing my ideas, and have been able to really develop my own personal stance about political issues and social issues,” she said. For the past few years, the main goal of the Environmental Board was to start a school-wide composting system, and Mia led the charge to make the vision a reality. From contacting the Philly Compost/Kitchen Harvest for research purposes to collecting data on campus to writing a proposal for the school administration, the Environmental Board has been thorough, methodical and undaunted in its approach. Data collecting meant going into waste bins and sorting out the trash, compostables and recyclables from lunch. “Before we proposed the idea, we really wanted to have all our bases covered, and present it in a very researched and organized way,” said Mia. Once approved, the board gave a presentation to the
whole school in order to introduce the idea to the student body. “Overall, the goal of the Environmental Board is not just to educate the students, but to take action that will lessen the school’s negative impact on the environment.” ~ — Corin Brena
“It is important to think about our impact on a global level and how our actions are affecting others.”
Sara Yamada MIDDLE SCHOOL
Music is a powerful medium — something fifth grader Sara Yamada knows quite well. “You can make other people happy through it,” said the accomplished violinist. “Verbally, sure, you can make people happy. But with music, you can make someone’s life — inspire them just through what you’re playing.” If that seems like a precocious statement for an 11-year-old, prepare to be further impressed: Sara took first place in the Philadelphia International Music Festival’s Concerto Competition the past two years; she has performed at the Kimmel Center’s Perlman Theater and Weil Hall at Carnegie Hall; and competed in Japan over spring break — her first international competition. The down-to-earth musician took up violin when she was just 4 years old. “My mom and my sister (eighth grader Lisa Yamada) both used to play, which is why I wanted to start,” she explained. She continues to play now because she loves having the ability to express her feelings through song. “It sounds so much better than just talking.” One of her proudest moments was the first competition she won — a concerto competition about three years ago; but the violinist also finds an immense amount of joy in connecting with others through song. Once a year, she plays at a retirement community. “I love getting to meet those people and talk with them right after my performance — and seeing how happy it made them,” she said. Anyone who has seen Sara play can attest to a confidence and poise characteristic of a much
older musician. Her fingers jump from string to string, a look of calm concentration on her face. Her dexterity is something to be envied — but she has her moments. “I have a history of breaking my violin,” Sara admitted, letting loose a giggle. A few years ago, her younger sister, first grader Julie Yamada, had the unfortunate habit of leaving her LEGOs strewn across the floor. Sara tripped, took a dive, and landed squarely on her violin. “It put a huge crack in it,” Sara recalled. “I had a competition the next week and I played with it anyway. The judge was like, ‘How’d you do that?’” “But, I still won,” she added with a slight smile. — Amanda Mahnke
“With music you can make someone’s life – inspire them just through what you’re playing.”
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STEM Club UPPER SCHOOL
“We made a club that we would all want to be in if we were not the heads.”
How do you recognize a rock star? Well in the world of science and technology, engineering and mathematics, juniors like Hunter Sessa, Anisha Mittal and Sophie Fisher would fit the bill. Two years ago, realizing that the student club scene lacked science offerings, they started the STEM Club with the idea of exploring hands-on activities beyond what they were learning in the classroom. Their hope was to demonstrate the really cool ways that science and math exist in everyday life. The first year, 20 girls signed up. This year, attendance has doubled and their meetings are packed every seven-day cycle, with girls sitting at desks, on the floor, in the windowsills. They didn’t expect such popularity, but they totally get the appeal. “Rather than learning in a classroom setting, it’s more like applying what you learn in the classroom to something that you see in daily life. It’s a different perspective for people to
learn about STEM, rather than sitting at desks and watching a teacher write on the board,” said Mittal. “We made a club that we would all want to be in if we were not the heads,” Sessa chimed in, “because it’s really fun for us.” All three girls confess to being uber-into science and math, participate in the Robotics team, and mentor the Lower School math club. Unlike robotics, which draws those who can commit lots of after-school time and have a passion for engineering, STEM Club is attractive to students who aren’t even really sure what STEM is. “It is something where everyone can find fun even if you’re not a STEM person,” said Mittal. The enjoyment comes in the form of special speakers and hands-on activities that the three club leaders, and increasingly club members, plan: spaghetti towers, polymers, fractals, Google Cardboard, which allows users to create 3D virtual worlds with an attachment to an iPhone; the science of food and taste, epidemiology and the spread of diseases, illusions and the brain, the origins
of pi, using math to solve crimes. “Topics we’ve introduced to them, they love and we love. We’ve done mathematical art and looked at Fibonacci numbers in nature (think pine cones and seed heads on sunflowers),” Fisher said. “The traditional way we learn math in high school doesn’t really highlight the beauty of math. We show a different side.” — Wanda Odom
Visual & Performing Arts
MUSIC
| THEATER
| STUDIO
PUBLIC SPEAKING
“Giving a speech is a lot like singing.”
Seventh grader Tarah Paul
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Tarah Paul believes everyone needs someone loyal, and willing to “scratch their back” whenever they need it. Lizzie Dixon believes “in letting children decide their own opinions and form whom they choose to be without judgment or disapproval.” Cate Costin believes that “falling is a part of life,” as in the saying by Confucius that man’s greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising again and again. Waring Fleitas believes that “everything happens for a reason. The hard times that one goes through build character, making one a much stronger person.” As on the popular National Public Radio special series “This I Believe,” the seventh graders in Cara Latham’s public speaking class have plumbed their innermost thoughts and feelings to craft and deliver statements about their personal beliefs. As on NPR, their sentiments range from the light-hearted to the weighty, the philosophical to the pragmatic. Their stories are part of the art of the spoken word, through which Latham, who primarily teaches music, introduces them to the many ways in which the human voice can be used as an instrument: of change, of instruction, even of delightful entertainment. Through five different projects, students learn practical techniques for delivering a persuasive speech and practical tools for writing a persuasive essay for a public address. They learn to speak without filler words or distracting movements, to project their voice without a microphone, to use vocal contrasts and facial expressions in their delivery, and to develop a strong, confident posture. They also learn to write a good essay, speak passionately and persuasively, and introduce another speaker. In addition to their “This I Believe” speeches, the girls must read dramatically from an assigned section of beloved children’s stories (like The Stinky Cheese Man, The King of Ireland’s Son); write and share an “expert” informational speech that teaches the audience something; pen and present a graduation speech that reflects personal truths and wishes for the com-
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Voice as an Instrument
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BRIEFS
Faculty Works on Exhibit Four faculty members of the Visual and Performing Arts Department mounted a Faculty Art Show at Thos. Moser Showroom in Wayne from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28. More than 75 people attended a reception and artists’ talk held on February 19 at the gallery, and the show raised more than $4,500 through the sale of works and a raffle. The funds, which represent 40 percent of the event’s proceeds, will support the Visual and Performing Arts Department. Displaying photography, sculpture and multimedia works were Upper School photography teacher Sarah Bourne Rafferty, Middle/Upper School art teachers Kathy Halton and Terri Saulin Frock, and Lower School art teacher Trish Siembora.
Theresa Frock
Kathy Halton
The Simple Life Second graders create rag dolls in their own images as part of a cross-curricular study of Pennsylvania, learning about the Amish way of life without modern conveniences, such as electricity, and their tradition of handmade crafts (including toys). The girls sew, stuff and embroider faces onto the fabric dolls, and create clothes and accessories over six weeks — all by hand.
Sarah Bourne Rafferty
Trish Siembora
Lessons on Broadway Agnes Irwin’s most advanced theater class, Playwright & Production, spent two days in New York City learning about careers in the arts. The five students had brunch with Paul Canaan (Kinky Boots), named one of the top 10 Broadway performers to watch by Playbill.com, and AIS alum Ginna Le Vine, who recently shot a major motion picture starring Susan Sarandon.
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munity; and, in their most formal address, deliver a pseudo-TED Talk with Powerpoint based in research and designed to inform or persuade their classmates. “Giving a speech is a lot like singing,” said Latham, who gives students on-thespot feedback after their presentations. “We explore how to use voice as an instrument: highs and lows, fast and slow, diction, accent, even silence.” She said the class is challenging because students must consider the best formula for their speeches based on the goals: entertain or excite, teach or convince. It also helps prepare them for the capstone project of all AIS graduates, the Senior Assembly address given to the entire Upper School in 12th grade. Paul likes that the class makes her “feel more confident about herself. It teaches you how not to be afraid, to speak loud and to say what you think. Speaking in front of my class, even though it’s just 14 people, it’s still a little frightening to see what they might think … if they like it or don’t like it, or if I make a mistake.” Paul said the most enjoyable part of the class has been giving their speeches in the West-Wike Theatre. “Going up on stage and giving our speeches, that was a lot of fun,” said Paul. “We actually got a feel for what it would be like saying our speech in front of a lot of people.” — Wanda Odom
Behind the Scenes In fall 2015, Upper School girls will be able to participate in a new class — broadcast studio. Open to any student, the class will cover topics such as video production, how to be a sound engineer, mixing and recording music, lighting design. “If you don’t see yourself as an artist but like technology, this is for you,” said Arts Chair Bill Esher.
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Athletics
IN REVIEW
It’s frigid and dark outside, but 15 Middle School girls have risen before dawn on ers in the country. Their wins placed both at different a wintery morning and made their way to the Pierce Squash Center for a 7 o’clock times during the season in the top 5 ranked players in practice. the country. Glaser played up in the high school Varsity The girls did so five times a week, for 45 minutes each day, learning the sport and team at number 2 string all season. honing their skills as the first members of the new Middle School Junior Varsity team. Stait said it has been great fun getting the Lower “All 15 have been turning up every morning and did throughout the season. I was School girls onto the courts and giving them access to surprised at the commitment, especially in December and January when it’s pretty the Upper School athletic facilities, adding that cold and dark in the morning,” said Alex Stait, Varsity squash coach and director of the although squash is “a pretty hard sport physically,” in center. “I think it actually got them pretty awake for school.” Lower School the main focus is exposure, encouraging With the opening of four international squash courts at AIS, the relatively exclusive hand-eye coordination, and learning to love the sport; racquet sport has become highly popular among students, so much so that Stait and for older girls, squash serves as an excellent crossAthletic Director Sheila Pauley decided that a fourth, developmental team was needed trainer for other sports. this school year to support the growing interest. “It’s so dynamic and so fast. It teaches you to be comSuch necessity was precipitated by good fortune — the Middle petitive with your strokes. There is nowhere School Varsity squad is stacked with talent; its A Team captured third to hide. It’s an individual sport and you have place in this year’s national competition at Yale, while the B Team won to step up when you play,” said Stait, who gets “In Lower the consolation match. Middle School girls seeking to get into the young girls playing games fairly quickly so School, the they can enjoy friendly competition and start sport had a very slim chance of making it onto the Varsity roster, main focus to work on their skills. which carries a maximum of 12 players although only the top five compete at the national level. Another plus is a squash player can pracis on One year after its introduction, the squash program has become intetice alone, with just a racquet and a ball, and exposure.” gral to the physical education program as well, with all third through sixth just about anyone can play. “You don’t have grade students learning the sport. The Upper School fields Varsity and to be tall, you don’t have to be small; that’s JV teams; Varsity took fifth place in its division at last year’s national not necessarily an advantage or a disadvancompetition, where upward of 2,000 youth compete; the Varsity was bumped up to tage. All shapes and sizes can be good at squash. There’s the first division at this year’s Nationals. no sort of prejudice with that. It depends on your skill Stait anticipates the AIS squash teams will only get better as more students begin level and it comes down to hard work,” he added. to develop their skills at a younger age. With a mandate to make squash accessible to all AIS “There have always been some good players at Agnes Irwin, but they have always girls, Stait, who joined the athletics staff as Varsity done it on their own club time,” he said. “What’s really changed is that because we have squash coach two years ago, believes he has “a good nucleus of a strong team for many years to come. But it the courts here it makes it more accessible to people who aren’t members of a private is going to take time for those girls to come in. I guess club. And even for the ones who are, it gives them the opportunity to combine their my big focus is strengthening the Varsity team as soon school work and practice a lot more economically.” as I can, but also making sure the girls below also aspire In fact, Middle School 7th grade students Katherine Glaser and Rachel Mashek to be at that level.” — Wanda Odom both won successive Junior Championship Tour events, which attract the top 32 play-
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ACADEMIC IMAGES
One Year Later, Squash Still a Smash Hit
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ON THE FIELD
AIS-EA Day Hits 10th Year Every fall, The Agnes Irwin School and Episcopal Academy compete in a day of spirited contests comprised of four sporting events — a cross-country race, tennis matches, a field hockey game and a soccer game. This annual competition between the two schools not only involves the day of the contests, but also includes a week’s worth of activities leading up to it. AIS/EA Day has become a full-blown community event for the school, focusing on service to others through a canned food drive, as well as a Spirit Week involving all three divisions. Events such as the Lower School Carnival, theme days, poster competitions, a family pasta night and a staff vs. AIS volleyball game all Senior Nicole help to showcase school spirit and build pride. A Paradis prepares pep rally and a dance competition among the fall to unload. sports teams wrap up the festivities on Thursday night and exuberantly lead AIS students, parents, faculty, staff, alumnae and friends into Friday’s contests. November 2014 marked the 10th anniversary of AIS/EA Day and of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, established in 2004. Celebrating and helping to preserve our rich tradition and history of success in athletics, the Hall of Fame inductees are honored every two years to coincide with the years Agnes Irwin hosts the competitions. Inductees are recognized at halftime of either the field hockey game or soccer game on Friday afternoon, and honored at a Hall of Fame Ceremony Saturday evening. “It has been a great decade of competition between two great schools that believe in the power of girls’ athletics and the important life skills that
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BRIEFS Lacrosse Player Goes Global Junior Sarah Platt will represent the United States as one of 18 high school lacrosse players on the 2015 U.S. Women’s National Under-19 Team. The team will travel to Scotland in July to defend gold at the Federation of International Lacrosse Under-19 World Championship.
come from participating in competitive sports,” said Sheila Pauley, AIS Athletic Director. “No matter the outcomes each year, the athletes and the fans learn and see spirit, heart and exemplary effort on both sides.” — Bridget Carlin, administrative assistant for Athletics Department
A First in AIS Sports For the first time, two fall athletes were named 2014 All-Delco Player of the Year. Senior Sophia Tornetta (right) was recognized for field hockey, and junior Hannah Keating was named for soccer. Tornetta will play at Princeton next year. Keating has verbally committed to Harvard for lacrosse.
Setting a Record The Varsity swimming and diving team placed fifth (out of 23 teams) at the 115th Annual Eastern Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships, held at LaSalle University in February. It was the highest finish in the school’s history. Easterns is the largest prep school aquatic event in the United States for men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
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RESEARCH
CAG
| PARTNERSHIPS | PROGRAMS
Participants work to build an icosahedral sphere from cardboard shapes.
STEM & TEACHING
It was an audacious idea. How might The Agnes Irwin School and its Center for the Advancement of Girls (CAG) take a giant step forward into the growing public discourse about STEM education and the “leaky pipeline” for girls and women? How might we foster more conversation about the roots of the problem? Why did girls and women find it difficult to persist in four of the most important fields of the 21st century — science, technology, engineering and mathematics? On a Thursday afternoon in March, as the last of the students left the building in anticipation of spring break, the staff of the Center for the Advancement of Girls as well as school administrators, faculty and staff were preparing to welcome 100 guests from across the nation to engage in the Center’s first-ever think tank and conference, Sharing Solutions: Advancing Girls in STEM. The conference brought together high-level leaders in the corporate world, in K12 and higher education and from the policy arena — all the stakeholders who share an interest in attracting and retaining girls and young women in the STEM fields. With internationally recognized keynote speakers such as Jill Birdwhistell, COO of the American Association of University Women; Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and D’Arcy Rudnay, Chief Communications Officer and Senior Vice President at Comcast Corporation, the conference focused on three key themes that have proven to be effective in solving the persistent problem often referred to as the “leaky pipeline.” Birdwhistell gave a sneak preview of the AAUW’s latest research report on women in STEM, “Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in
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Engineering and Computing,” updating the status of women in STEM fields today. Expert panelists discussed the important role of mentors in the lives of girls and women in STEM fields, curriculum design and teacher preparation at all levels, and the powerful impact that can be affected when partnerships are created that reach beyond the boundaries of individual industries. Follow-up discussion sessions were designed to generate a robust exchange of ideas, with the goal of actionable ideas and concrete commitments to make immediate changes in each individual’s organization. CAG Director Mariandl Hufford noted: “It has been exhilarating to see this program come together — and to witness the deep commitment and engagement of our participants. I owe a debt of gratitude to our planning committee, our sponsor and our conference partners. It is because of their commitment to fostering the most advantageous conditions for girls and women in STEM fields that we were able to host this important conversation.” — Mariandl Hufford, Director of Academic Affairs and the Center for the Advancement of Girls (CAG)
ACADEMIC IMAGES
Sharing Solutions: A New Think Tank
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Gauging Appeal of Science, Math Last fall, Agnes Irwin and CAG partnered with Dr. Nilanjana Dasgupta, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in a five-year, national study of peer influence on student engagement in science and math. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the findings will help schools understand the factors that contribute to girls’ interest, performance and aspirations in these subjects. “In the past 30 years, a national debate has been brewing about the scarcity of American students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and its grave implications for the American economy and workforce. This scarcity is even more glaring when one looks at girls, women, and racial/ethnic minorities,” said Dasgupta. “Science and math are often stereotyped as nerdy, geeky, and masculine. Sometimes these subjects seem too abstract and disconnected from real world problems, and they require lots of hard work. Collectively, these reasons may undermine girls’ confidence, motivation, and aspirations to pursue STEM classes and careers. And these problems are known to develop in For more info visit AGNESIRWIN.ORG
BRIEFS Girls’ Can Network, by the Girls’ Council The student-led Council for the Advancement of Girls has launched a new program: Girls CAN. The aim is to inspire girls in schools across the Mid-Atlantic region to create their own girls’ councils to tackle women’s issues. For more information on Girls CAN, visit the Council’s website at caggirlscan.org.
‘‘Science and math are often stereotyped as nerdy, geeky and masculine.”
middle and high school,” she continued. The purpose of the study, which involves student surveys, classroom observations, and then teacher and parent surveys, is to identify educational and psychological factors that promote girls’ interest in math and science by focusing on peer relationships in the classroom and educational styles that enhance student interest and persistence in STEM. For a week in October, a team of UMass researchers observed all eighth grade math and science classes at AIS, and eighth grade students completed two short surveys about their interests and aspirations in science and math. During this time, research teams conducted similar visits at both coeducational and all girls independent schools throughout the country. In May, the research team will return for another round of surveys and observation with eighth grade girls. “We focus on adolescents in the eighth grade because that is when students learn advanced math and science concepts that become the foundation for high school classes. This is also a time when gender stereotypes and peer norms begin to influence students’ interests and sense of self,” said Dasgupta. — Wanda Odom
Headliners at Leading for Change In September, CAG and the Council for the Advancement of Girls welcomed 130 high school students for the 2nd Annual Leading for Change (L4C) Conference. CNN politico Zerlina Maxwell and Megan Murphy, head of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, were keynote speakers. Maxwell touted the power of social media to affect change, while Murphy pressed the need for more girls and women to take leadership roles.
Partners with SPW In December, CAG partnered with the Main Line Chapter of the Society of Professional Women to host a panel of women who shared the “do’s and don’ts” of leadership. The event welcomed mothers and daughters to listen and ask questions about the paths of four businesswomen who have experienced success in their respective careers.
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Timeline ACADEMIC LIFE
A Day in the Innovation Center Innovation is more than just a buzzword at Agnes Irwin. In a 1,500-square-foot flexible and customizable learning space for applied technology, girls get their hands dirty, figuratively, and stretch their thinking, literally, by tinkering with Legos and circuit boards, microcontrollers and design software, graphics tablets, laser cutters and 3D printers. Here the focus rests squarely on a “maker mentality,” with hands-on projects that bring out the creativity inherent in science, technology, engineering and, yes, mathematics. Full of profes-
sional-grade tools for digital media arts, state-of-the-art systems for robotics and control technology, and lots of can-do ingenuity, students from fifth grade through senior year are finding inspiration and joy in the regular practice of taking an idea through both requisite and unexpected paces to its fruition. Constructing meaning, altering their thought processes, drawing deeper interdisciplinary connections — hands down, with our Innovation Center, students are echoing all those 21st century hallmarks. — Wanda Odom
11 A.M. 8:45 A.M.
Students in New Media Narrative, open to juniors and seniors, are at various phases in a “wayfinding” project (also known as location-based or environmental graphics). Asked to create visual markers, junior Kathryn Robbins depicted the Marauder’s Map from the Harry Potter series, complete with graphics drawn on a graphics tablet.
How does a graphic designer bring a product’s packaging to life? Media Arts 2 students are in the midst of a unit on package design, adding to “mood boards” that will help direct the font, color, logo and aesthetic strategies of their imagined product.
10 A.M.
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11:45 A.M. The yearbook staff spends Lunch 1 on B and D days using Photoshop and InDesign to lay out the 2015 Lamp, the AIS yearbook. Here, junior Meghan Dillon lays out the “Student Year in Review” page.
AMANDA MAHNKE
Innovation Through the Arts students Grace Williams and Liz Correll, both seniors, meet to work on independent study projects: Williams is making Tracks, the school’s online academic notebook, more visually pleasing through new CSS coding and other additions, and designing a bracelet that can house a FitBit; Correll is creating a “grown-up music box” — an icosahedron capable of playing Kanye West on a tiny speaker, via a micro-SD card.
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4:15 P.M.
Middle School Robotics Club takes up residence every Wednesday afternoon. When the team isn’t prepping its robots for a competition on the room’s robotics obstacle course, students have a chance to build a robot of their own choosing.
TIMELINE BY AMANDA MAHNKE
1 P.M. Media Arts 1 is working on a visual branding unit. Students develop a business idea and design a letterhead set and brochure, creating a logo in Adobe Illustrator. The brochures must include a 3-D component. Here, ninth grader Ellie Kirkpatrick assembles her logo for Chappy Dock & Dine, with hand-painted cardboard letters made on the laser cutter.
2:30 P.M. Eighth graders spend time in the Innovation Center as part of their quarterly arts rotation (visual arts, music, theater, wellness). This day, students conceptualize and design an image in Illustrator using the graphics tablet, then etch the design on acrylic. The finished piece will be displayed in a stand with LED lights at its base, illuminating the etching. Pictured is the work of Lisa Yamada.
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REPRISE Annual Arts Week Applauds the Creative Process BY AMANDA MAHNKE PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMANDA MAHNKE
Students pack into the Student Life Center for the annual Impulse Arts Night coffee house.
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I
mages of two famous paintings sit side by side on a whiteboard: Emanuel Leutze’s “Washington Crossing the Delaware” and Hans Hofmann’s “Song of the Nightingale,” a chaotic set of splatters, punctuated by colorful squares. Katy Perry’s song “Firework” plays in the background. “Which painting best matches this song?” visiting lecturer Dr. Jonathan Wallis asks a class of about 30 students. Then he changes tracks, and the distinctive four-note “short-shortshort-long” motif of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony starts to play. “How about now?” The girls begin debating the question, with a few offering their evaluations. “At first, I was thinking — of course Katy Perry fits better with the abstract piece,” one student shares. “But ‘Firework’ is all about standing tall — and did you see her at the Super Bowl? Riding that tiger? It reminds me of Washington on the boat.” Another chimes in, “In Beethoven, we hear a lot of crescendo — but we see distinct focal points in the abstract piece, the same way Katy Perry’s music is all about the chorus.” The lively conversation continues for about 10 minutes. From there, Wallis launches into a passionate discussion of the varying philosophical theories of art in ancient Greece, while 30 Upper School students sit transfixed. Wallis’ visit was just one highlight of Arts Week at Agnes Irwin, held each winter in the Upper School to celebrate visual, written and performing arts and to encourage the “artistic spirit” in every student. For more than a dozen years, Agnes Irwin has dedicated one week to learning about and participating in a variety of artistic and creative processes. Organized by the student-led Arts Board and faculty advisors, Arts Week is designed to put a spotlight on the arts through workshops, lectures and the culminating Impulse Arts Night, a highly-anticipated open mic event showcasing student talent both at AIS and at peer independent schools. This year, Arts Week opened with the AIS Repertory Company’s production of ThornFreshman Tyler ton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Lynch and senior Our Town. Mercy O’Malley improvise at “The Arts Department is really a family,” workshop (top); Arts Board president and senior Shelby Brisfreshman India bane said. “So during the play, and during Dixon performs at Impulse Arts Arts Week, we open our ‘house’ up to the Night. community and invite people in.”
Visiting Artists Dawn Morningstar, a dance therapist and an assistant clinical professor at Drexel University in the creative arts therapy department, shared with students how she uses dance to help clients with differing needs, such as autism, and led students in a 30-movement activity used in her work.
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Curlee Holton, founding director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute at Lafayette College, led a printmaking workshop for students and faculty. Holton shared his background and samples of his work, and demonstrated various printmaking techniques alongside students.
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Dr. Jonathan Wallis, associate professor of art history at Moore College of Art & Design, lectured on “Illusion Versus Abstraction: Changing Ideas about Visual Representations,” discussing historical philosophical debates between the arts of illusion and abstraction in Western art history.
Nestor Gil, Lafayette College art professor, presented a lecture on the experience of art. Gil’s work, which often draws on his Hispanic heritage, centers on relational aesthetics: a form of art requiring participation from the audience. Much of his work centers on art installations and performance.
Each year, the 13-member Arts Board decides what theme, message or idea to focus on during Arts Week. In years past, Arts Week has focused on service-oriented art, spotlighted careers in the arts, and engaged in a study of art in different cultures. One year, Nancy Heller, author of the pioneering women’s art history book Women Artists: An Illustrated History, was a featured speaker; another time, the entire Upper School participated in a full afternoon of art workshops. While Wallis’s lecture was geared toward students already passionate about discussing themes and philosophies of art, the main focus of this year’s Arts Week, held Feb. 2-6, was to make art more accessible to everyone in the community, including those who aren’t naturally drawn to conventional modes of art, Brisbane said. “I live in the arts wing,” said Brisbane. “But for students who don’t come into this side of the building a lot, there’s a tendency to say, ‘I’m not good enough. I can’t draw, so I can’t come here — I’m not a painter, I play sports.’ But our goal for this year was to break down that stigma and the misconception that you have to be an ‘artist’ to do art.” Wallis (below) This year’s Arts Week activities included asks students to workshops about dance therapy from compare painting styles; students Drexel professor Dawn Morningstar; printblock print making from the founding director of the at workshop Experimental Printmaking Institute at
Lafayette College, Curlee Holton; philosophical foundations of art from Jonathan Wallis, associate professor of art history at Moore College of Art & Design; and art as experience from Nestor Gil, assistant art professor at Lafayette College. “While each artist works in a different medium, they all see art as a way of expressing themselves, a way of life, and a means of understanding the world around them,” said art teacher and Arts Board co-advisor Keri Farrow. “They are all driven by a strong desire to create — to shape their own world and rephrase it — and to move through life in a different kind of way.”
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orningstar, a movement therapist and an assistant clinical professor at Drexel in the creative arts therapy department, shared how art can be not only visual and emotional, but also physical and practical. Movement therapy, she explained — defined as the psychotherapeutic use of movement that furthers the emotional, cognitive, social, and physical integration of the individual — focuses on how the body can heal the mind. She led students and faculty in a 30-movement exercise she uses with her clients. “Everyone from dancers to athletes to those with emotional or physical challenges can benefit from this kind of therapeutic activity,” Farrow said. Throughout the week, several visual artists also shared with students their vision for art as a means of making sense of their own experiences and sharing that with others. Holton, who has taught printmaking and African American art history at Lafayette since 1991, led a printmaking workshop for students and faculty, shared his background and samples of his work, and demonstrated various printmaking techniques alongside students. Prior to Lafayette, Holton worked with famous master printmaker Robert Blackburn at his Printmaking Workshop in New York City. During his visit to Agnes Irwin, he shared with students his unique experience as an African American printmaker, as well as the inspiration he draws from the generation of “art rebels” who re-contextualized and appropriated image-making processes in the form of abstract expressionism in the first part of the 20th century. His prints speak to human experience through the lens of his heritage, giving voice to significant personal, political and cultural events through symbolism and figurative representations. Similarly, Gil’s art also draws on his heritage, and his work tends to take a socio-cultural bend — though the medium is quite different. Drawing on his Hispanic heritage, the Lafayette professor’s art often explores cultural and social issues through site-specific installations. Azucar, one such piece, features a boat bisected by a white picket fence, crashing into a mound of white sugar. The piece “evokes the physical, psychological, and psychic disruptions brought about by immigration, both in the literal sense of moving from one place to another and in the symbolic sense that underlies personal quests and transitions of all kinds,” a curator’s description reads. At the same time, such pieces require viewers to bring their own interpretations to the display — reflecting Gil’s emphasis on relational aesthetics, or art requiring participation from the audience. He
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explored that focus on the experience of art in his lecture at Agnes Irwin. “Most of his work is intended to evoke a response in the audience,” Farrow explained. “It’s very nontraditional: it’s not on a canvas, it’s not a sculpture he manifested with his own hands — he works with the mind, seeking to invoke the reactions of others.”
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allis, associate professor of art history at Moore College of Art & Design, also works with the mind: through observing and making connections between various aspects of our world — linking philosophy, pop culture, history and individual artist intentions. Through his lecture “Illusion vs. Abstraction: Changing Ideas about Visual Representations,” he engaged students on campus in historical debates between the arts of illusion and abstraction in Western art history. The lecture focused on Aristotle and Plato and the differing ways the philosophers sought to make connections between aspects of the world we live in — and through that, to talk about the meaning of art. “He takes them into a different world,” Farrow said. “It starts them thinking about using art as a major way of navigating the world.” “Each of our visiting artists is standing in a different corner of the playground, but each is bursting with enthusiasm to share their knowledge and experience. They have the same goal: energizing our girls to see the world through new eyes,” Farrow said. Throughout the week, students also led hands-on workshops in improvisation, creative writing, painting with light, and metal jewel-
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ry-making, creating opportunities not only to learn from adult artists, but also to teach their peers as well. Brisbane, who will head to Bennington College in fall to study theater and writing, is just one of many students who have found their niche in the arts at AIS. “There are students here who really align themselves with the arts, and Arts Week is an opportunity for them to be in the spotlight,” said Visual and Performing Arts chair Bill Esher. He added that he hopes one day, Arts Week will become as anticipated an annual tradition as the week leading up to AIS/EA Day. “If I don’t identify as an athlete, this gives me a chance to say, ‘I belong to this community too, and I feel good about that.’” Senior Molly Clark is another student who has made her home in the arts since coming to AIS. The student filmmaker has filmed and edited more than two-dozen videos profiling life at the school and held several film-related internships in the past few years. Spending a summer at Second City in Holton demonstrates Chicago two years ago sparked her love his printmaking for improv, a passion she brought back technique. to AIS this year in the form of an Arts Week workshop, attended by about 25 students and several faculty members. “Improv can be hard, especially in an environment like this, because we’re so used to looking for the correct yes or no answer on a test, paper, or quiz,” Clark said. “Improv forces you to get away from that conventional way of thinking. It’s about doing, not thinking.” During the workshop, students shouted out suggestions for situations, and many took to the stage to try their hand at the new activity, with Clark encouraging them along. By the end, everyone was laughing and clapping, including the faculty members in the audience. One of the most rewarding aspects of the workshop was seeing girls participate who wouldn’t normally end up in the arts wing, including some student-athletes, Clark said. “If five kids who do athletics or don’t do art found something cool this week, or found a niche in some way … that’s part of what’s so great about Arts Week. Art is for everyone. It’s not a specific mold of kid. Yeah, you have to train to be a great artist, but anybody can do art to some degree,” Clark said. “We want arts to flourish here,” Farrow said. “The arts are not always a priority for everyone, and we don’t say it needs to be necessarily: but we want to say it’s important in society, important in school, and important to people in ways they may not even realize. You don’t have to be special to be an artist: You can be someone who participates in the arts by being an observer, by being an audience member, by being a cheerleader of the arts, and most people probably do it already in many ways — without even knowing.”
On New Terrain with Our Town
KAREN MOSIMANN
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he lantern lights glowed softly in the alternative space to the West-Wike Theatre. distance, swaying gently with the “The actors get to experience what it’s like to be next to an footfalls of the townspeople as they audience,” said Esher. Such proximity requires a different level strode the length of the courtyard of composure than when an actor or actress works from the after an evening gathering. They distance that a proscenium stage provides, he explained. were the good citizens of Grover’s Senior Nile Harris, who played one of the Stage Managers, Corners, New Hampshire, and they agreed. “On stage when you have that distance, it’s much easier were settling in for their roles in the to slip up but catch yourself before anyone really notices. But scrutiny of ordinary life in Thornwhen you’re in such a small intimate setting, you have to be ton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town. really spot on about everything that you do and very intentional When it debuted in 1938, Our Town caught the notice of with all of your movements. You have to remember that you’re many critics, with mixed reviews. Its lack of scenery, Spartan a character.” use of props and mimed performances made the three-act “One thing that’s pretty magical about our winter play is the play a novelty among Broadway’s usual fare of elaborateamount of time that we get it done in,” said senior Molly Clark, ly-produced theater. But Wilder’s unconventional who played Mrs. Webb. The cast received their work would, in short order, receive great critical lines just before winter break. “We really only acclaim, and he would be hailed as the “Picasso” of had eight practices and one dress rehearsal. Cast members American theater. Everybody gets very stressed, but that stress cross the Hamilton At the time, Our Town was beyond original. It was comes from just wanting to do a really phenomCourtyard outside groundbreaking. enal job. The magic of theater is that it can all the Student This year, the Upper School Repertory Comcome together in a short amount of time.” Life Center. pany used Wilder’s seminal play to plow new terri— Wanda Odom tory of its own, staging the production in the Student Life Center with little more than a dozen wooden crates and two wooden slabs for tabletops as props. The venue was perfect, enabling the set design and stage crews to create the intimate atmosphere of a black-box theater and remain true to Wilder’s theatrical intent. RepCo changed some aspects of Wilder’s script, casting three actresses instead of one in the main role of Stage Manager, the narrator who introduces the audience to the facts and themes of each act; and using a roving trio of violin and viola players performing original music, scored by AIS instrumental teacher Jerry Kapral, to transition in and out of scenes. Bill Esher, Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department, said that despite being written more than 70 years ago, Our Town remains relevant today, exploring run-of-the-mill, yet universal themes of human experience the world over. “This is really a piece about getting back to simplicity of life. It’s about the intentional choices of daily life, love and romance, and eventually death,” said Esher, who was excited to have the cast, which included students from The Haverford School and Conestoga High School, stage the piece in a smaller,
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Fourth Grade Wax Museum Brings Notable Women to Life BY WANDA ODOM
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMANDA MAHNKE
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT Lilly Press
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DR. ELIZABETH BLACKWELL Natalya Russin
MARGARET BOURKE WHITE Lorna Petrizzo
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hen the coins land in their plastic cups, the girls begin to speak — recounting adventures, achievements and challenges during their lifetimes. Dressed in period costumes and contemporary attire of various sorts, they talk about being Dr. Jane Goodall, a pioneering scientist studying chimpanzees in the wild, or Amelia Earhart, the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic, or Clara Barton, a nurse who rose to prominence during the American Civil War and went on to establish the American Red Cross. Their monologues and performances are part of an annual fourth grade tradition in Lower School known as the Women in Wax Museum, the culmination of an interdisciplinary project that combines research, note-taking, writing and public speaking through the study of one woman’s biography. The Museum, held each winter, is an all-day affair: Students stand on pedestals throughout the Buck Pavilion, where fellow students, families and teachers are invited to come learn about significant women in history through each fourth grader’s five-minute, first-person, completely memorized monologue. For those few hours, students become the women they’ve studied for several months. Fourth grade teacher Pedie Hill credits a former AIS teacher, Teodora Nedialcova, with introducing the concept as a special project in her homeroom. Everyone loved it, and the project quickly became a capstone experience in the fourth grade curriculum. The girls start by selecting a biography of an accomplished woman to read, and each section of fourth graders reads another biography
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ABIGAIL ADAMS Abby Blejwas
“IT’S ONE OF THOSE EVENTS IN THEIR LIVES THAT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER”
as a homeroom to teach them how to read a biography, take notes, and organize the notes, Hill said. During classes with the Lower School librarian, students learn the difference between a biography and an autobiography, picture books and chapter books, and how to write citations. Librarian Michelle Burns has an extensive list of titles about women from which the girls can select a biography. “But the girls aren’t held to only biographies we have in school,” said Julie Haines, who also teaches fourth grade. The girls are encouraged to visit their township libraries to find chapter books on notable women and to search for women whom no one has chosen before. Helen Keller and Jane Goodall are perennial favorites — but this year’s chosen women include Margaret Bourke-White, the first female war journalist; Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school; and Julia Butterfly Hill, an American environmental activist.
AMELIA EARHART Casey McIntyre
SUSAN B. ANTHONY Julia Layden
The teachers have to approve a chapter book as a primary source, but the girls are also required to use a secondary source to gather information about their notable women — such as an encyclopedia, anthology or online references. “We want them to get a full scope and sequence about the person’s life. So a chapter book accomplishes that,” said fellow fourth grade teacher Susie Hagin, adding that the second source encourages the girls to investigate a little more and find a few facts not contained in the chapter book. Sometimes they discover “interesting twists in the facts,” said Hill, which requires them to critically analyze the information. In library, the girls are taught how to write citations, an ability they will need when they move on to Middle School. “The criteria is supposed to be someone who has made a mark in history, and someone who will stand the test of time. We’re not looking for celebrities. We talk about synonyms all through the year and what makes someone notable, that essential question,” said Hagin. The project is the beginning of report writing for AIS students, and similar to the Senior Assembly presentation required in Upper School. “It is the same kind of thought process that they go through, of picking a topic, presenting to the whole Lower School, and being graded on that. It’s really a launching pad,” said Hagin. “It’s also one of those events in their life that they will always remember,” said Haines. “They all have seen it if they have been here in the years leading up, and they all think, ‘Oh my gosh that’s going to be so hard. I’m never going to be able to do that.’ At the end of the year, I always ask the kids what was their favorite thing of the year and I always have about half of the class say, ‘I never thought I was going to be able to do that, but forget that. I did it.’ ”
MADAME C.J. WALKER Anahla Thomas
NOTABLE WOMEN IN WAX FROM THE CLASS OF 2023 Helen Keller (3) Jane Goodall (3) Abigail Adams Clara Barton (2) Princess Diana Marie Curie Wilma Rudolph Billie Jean King Queen Elizabeth I (2) Julia Morgan Beatrix Potter (2) Serena Williams Elizabeth Blackwell (2) Jacqueline Kennedy Susan B. Anthony Anne Sullivan
Sally Ride Julia Butterfly Hill Amelia Earhart (2) J.K. Rowling Margaret Burke-White Eleanor Roosevelt Betsy Ross Dolley Madison Coco Chanel Ruby Bridges Oprah Winfrey Madame C.J. Walker Frances Perkins Queen Rania of Jordan Althea Gibson
BETSY ROSS Peyton Reidenbach
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Different League, All Their Own Eighth graders explore notions of home, voice and citizenship in capstone research project on Civil Rights Movement
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page research paper analyzing the subject’s most important contribuiane Nash. Ella Baker. Bayard Rustin. Fannie tion to the Civil Rights Movement. But students start from the beginLou Hamer. Jo Ann Robinson. They’re lesser ning. For about two weeks, students spend each history period in the known than Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa library, take notes and create a timeline, and from there develop a theParks, but each of these courageous men and sis for their paper. This is turned into an outline, which is turned into women played an integral role in the American a rough draft, which becomes a final paper with a bibliography and Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s parenthetical citations — with evaluations and feedback along the way. — and each is explored in detail by an eighth “They’re very proud of it, as they should be,” Ramsey said. “The grade student every year. project is designed so they can write the best paper they can write in The Civil Rights Research Project “is a little bit of a rite of passage eighth grade.” for eighth graders,” said history teacher Ann Ramsey. The two-month Throughout the process, the project also teaches students the assignment is the students’ first real experience writing a research important skill of time management. Students are expected to spend paper in the Middle School, and serves as a capstone that prepares 20 to 30 minutes per day on the project, even if they aren’t meeting them for the requisite research they’ll encounter in Upper School. in class. They are encouraged to use study hall time and to manage “We say the project takes them from soup to nuts: Given a broad topic, their workload in an independent way. it teaches them how to research, learn forms of note-taking, cite The project helps girls further explore the concepts of “home” and sources, and come up with a thesis statement,” Ramsey explained. “voice,” two overarching themes examined during eighth grade It can be a daunting task for students, Ramsey said. “But at the end, through an interdisciplinary unit on immigration, readings such as it’s something they will own.” To Kill a Mockingbird and Raisin in the Sun, and topics in science, The middle part of the eighth grade year is spent exploring the conincluding an in-depth study of our planetary home and sustainability. cept of citizen, and how its definition has evolved throughout Amer“Girls on the cusp of entering Upper School are becoming increasican history. In the research project, students are assigned one of ingly aware of their place in various groups and their community,” said about 15 names — unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, many Middle School Director Lynne Myavec. “They are starting to evaluate of whom were not much older than the girls themselves — on whom the causes that intrigue them and stir their passion — and as they they will focus for eight weeks. mature, they look outward more and more, away from their day to day “We look at the student and try to match level, personality, or someexperiences, and find themselves caring in profound ways about one I think might be inspiring to them,” Ramsey said. “For example, issues like social justice and global citizenship.” Fannie Lou was a spunky, sassy, in-your-face woman. She Over and above the critical research skills acquired, had about a sixth-grade education, but was absolutely A range of books the Civil Rights project demonstrates to students that fundamental in getting the right to vote in Mississippi. So, assists with students’ first one person, with enough “gumption,” as Ramsey called I’ll sometimes assign her to one of my girls who can appreforay into major it, can significantly impact the quality of life for generaciate that kind of gumption.” research writing. tions to come. The result of the project will eventually be a four- to five-
BY AMANDA MAHNKE PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMANDA MAHNKE
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Courageous Conversations Upper School creates forum for difficult topics
The bell rings at 12:10 and bunches of Upper School students head pell-mell from every quarter to the Student Life Center for lunch and an afternoon break. But a few dozen girls also stream toward an empty classroom to talk, debate, and ponder some major issues of our times. Charlie Hebdo, Ferguson, domestic violence, race relations, cell phone malaise, and “screen sucking,” or being entranced for hours by the Internet. They have arrived for “critical conversations,” an emerging program to help students grapple with topics that might be troubling them, confusing them, or just plain angering them. “It really is meant to be a student-driven process,” said Upper School counselor Anastasia Grillo ’03. “This isn’t the administration saying here’s what we want to talk about.” Only a handful of sessions were held in the fall, but during the spring semester the meetings have occurred twice a month; students are primed for the discussions by video clips, news stories, even TED Talks, sent to them via email in the morning announcements from Upper School Dean of Students Jenn Fiorini ’97. One of the first conversations was about satire and its role in politics, following the terrorist attack on the Paris office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The students viewed a TED Talk about the influence of Comedy Central shows such as “The Colbert Report” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” which have become iconic in pop culture for lampooning national politics, international issues, current events and prominent leaders of every stripe. “Even though it’s satirical, a lot of people get their news from (those
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shows), and somewhat more accurate news, so that ended up being one of our best conversations yet,” said Grillo. “The girls said that if we’re more interested in what (Colbert and Stewart) have to say, we are going to go and do our own research.” Grillo, who has organized the discussions with Fiorini, said one great aspect of the initiative is that faculty attends as well. Grillo comes prepared with bullet points to help guide the conversation if talk wanes, but generally the students freely share their opinions for a full 40 minutes. “I felt it was important to talk about all those things that people don’t want to talk about. But also let’s make them not always super deep and intense lunches; let’s talk about the show Gossip Girls,” said Grillo. “What purpose does gossip serve?” Attendance has steadily grown for the five sessions held so far, but Grillo is hoping to gain more and more participants during the second semester. She plans to survey students about the topics they want to discuss, and consistently provide a forum for multiple voices to be heard. “It has also become a place where students who might not feel safe saying something … who might not want to say something about their political views, can voice those opinions and not fear being attacked … it’s not in the classroom setting or in the lounge or in this big assembly,” said Grillo, noting that the conversations also reinforce the benefits of listening “even when you don’t agree.” Grillo added that with students, faculty and administrators attending, the conversations provide an opportunity for students to express their issues (such as “why can’t we use cell phones in the hallways at school”), and faculty and staff to give their rationale for certain school policies. “That’s where it’s cool for the adults to be there and say here’s our view on it, but its really interesting to hear a different point of view,” she said. “It’s good forum for everyone to come together and to hear one another’s voices. The number one goal is for students to know and understand that they have a very powerful voice here.”
ACADEMIC IMAGES
“It was important to talk about all those things that people don’t want to talk about.”
BY WANDA ODOM
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EITC and OSTC Funds &IRI¿X +MVPW EX 8LI %KRIW -V[MR 7GLSSP K “It is extremely rewarding to participate in the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program. It affords deserving students an opportunity to obtain an AIS education while enabling our company to direct its state tax dollars.
It is truly a win-win program
for Elwyn Specialty Care and The Agnes Irwin School.” — Nick Karalis, P ’27 and Jim Karalis, P ’22
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he Commonwealth of Pennsylvania offers a unique opportunity for businesses in the state to reduce tax liability by contributing to registered scholarship organizations. Gifts to scholarships at AIS can generate a tax credit equal to 75% of the contribution, up to $750,000 annually. Two-year commitments receive a 90% tax credit. If your business is authorized to operate in Pennsylvania and pays one of the following taxes, you can apply. • Corporate Net Income Tax • Capital Stock Franchise Tax • Bank and Trust Company Shares Tax • Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax • Insurance Premiums Tax • Mutual Thrift Institution Tax • Insurance Company Law of 1921 • Personal Income Tax of S corporation shareholders or Partnership partners
AIS received more than $900,000 in funds through the EITC/ OSTC program during the 2014–2015 academic year.
The one-page application is now available online at www.newPA.com/EITC. Tax credit applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. New businesses can apply starting July 1, 2015. Businesses enrolled in the two-year commitment may apply on May 15, 2015.
For more information, contact Julie Kalis Director of Major and Corporate Gifts 610-672-1279 jkalis@agnesirwin.org
Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) l Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC)
Spring 2015
Alumnae CLASS NOTES
| PROFILES
| MILESTONES
| ARCHIVES
Dr. Molly MacGregor ’00
A Life Helping Others Manage Death Shouldering more than a few major duties simultaneously was nothing new for Dr. Molly MacGregor ’00 during her combined residency in pediatrics, adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. But she admits that it was a challenge to train in three different medical specialties at the same time. “On a given day, I could go from adjusting the medication regimen for a patient with chronic schizophrenia in the morning to seeing a healthy newborn baby for her first check-up in the afternoon,” MacGregor, a 2004 graduate of Wesleyan University, recalled. “At Agnes Irwin, that sort of multi-tasking was the norm — you weren’t just an athlete or an artist or on Student Government; everyone was encouraged to explore a variety of interests.” Today, MacGregor’s interests are as varied as ever: yoga, marathons and providing psychiatric care for children and adults who are being treated for cancer and for their families. A 2009 graduate of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, she is currently a Clinical Fellow in Psychosomatic Medicine and Psycho-Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. “I trained in pediatrics and psychiatry, and the fellowship has been an amazing opportunity to combine these specialties. My favorite part of my job is spending time with patients, most of whom are very sick. Many are dying. But I am inspired on a daily basis by how strong people can be when dealing with life-threatening illness — their own or in their loved ones. It’s a privilege to spend time with people who are facing some of the most difficult situations of their lives. I’m also lucky to have fantastic colleagues, people who truly care for their patients and for each other,” said MacGregor. During medical school, she became a certified yoga teacher. Although she doesn’t have much time to teach anymore, she loves to wake up early, practice yoga and
On medical service trip to India in 2008
With sister, Christy (right), father and brother-in-law at 2014 Raleigh, NC, marathon.
‘‘The faculty at Agnes Irwin had a way of seeing our potential.”
meditate before work. On the weekends, she carves out time for running in Central Park or along the East River. For nearly 10 years, she has been meeting up with her sister Christy ’04 to compete in half-marathons and marathons. Their father and Christy’s husband join in as well. “It’s a great way to spend time together, since we’re all living in different cities,” she said. MacGregor has lots of favorite memories from her 13 years at Agnes Irwin, including performing the role of the cactus in the first grade play. “I was a pretty shy little girl and somehow got picked for this role where I had a duet with one of my classmates, Erin Lanahan, and a special dance. The faculty at Agnes Irwin had a way of seeing our potential and encouraging us to try things we didn’t know we were capable of,” she mused.
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Alumnae | CLASS NOTES
1940-49
continued from previous page
During her junior year at AIS, she spent a semester at the Mountain School of Milton Academy, in a program based on an organic farm in Vermont. “It was something I had dreamed of doing, and something that the school and my classmates supported me in, even though it was sort of unknown territory. Growing up in an educational environment that supported me in pursuing my dreams has certainly helped me to think and dream big in my life.” Looking back, MacGregor said, her time at Agnes Irwin was invaluable to her, creating lasting friendships and special moments with family and friends. In Drama Club, she recalled writing a spring play with Megan Doughty, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream that they called Summer in Love, Summer Not. “Writing and performing in the play with some of my closest friends was truly memorable,” she said. “Senior year was pretty great too. For our class prank, we snuck into school and stayed overnight. I guess that really says something about how much we loved Agnes Irwin.” — Wanda Odom
very fortunate to live in a beautiful retirement home in independent living. Being a widow can be a lonely life, but here I have a lovely four-room apartment and lots of old friends, and we play lots of bridge. Springfield provides programs and movies, and the food is delicious. There are also lots of exercise classes.”
it’s more convenient than a move to a retirement home. There is a large property I inherited from family that I have donated to Lower Merion Township to be kept as is and used as a wildlife nature area. My husband, Klaus Hummeler, passed away in 2002 and was a doctor in medical research at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia until he retired in the 1990s.”
Jean Rowntree Davis ’40
Ann Haydock Schwarz ’40
is blessed with five grandchildren, 17 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren, and is expecting three more!
cannot believe her 75th Reunion will be this spring! “Horace and I are still active but limited to walking. We still feel we could participate in all the sports we so enjoyed, but unfortunately that is not the case. We live in a wonderful community
Marjorie Rauth Blass ’40 writes, “I am
Mary Billings Hummeler ’40 is widowed and living
in a family house. She says, “I am living here as
2.
outside Lancaster, which has kept us ‘on the go’ for the last 11 years. Our traveling days are over; two of our daughters visit several times a year — Alice Schwarz Miller ’65 from California and Leslie Schwarz Moneta ’64 from South Carolina — while Carolyn Schwarz Martin ’66 keeps in close touch from St. Michael’s, MD. We have six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren — luckily one grandson and his family live close by. Alice Roberts Connolly ’45 is living quietly, play-
ing bridge with friends and has two great-granddaughters ages 3 and 6. Her daughter Robin works for Delta Airlines and her son, Greg, lives in Peterborough, NH. Her other daughter, Susan, lives in Beverly, MA, and looks after her. “I don’t know who is still alive at this 70th Reunion, but I would love to know who they are! Carry on the good work!” Jean Comly Dennis ’45 is a decorator for the thrift shop at her retirement home, Winter Park Towers, in Florida. Elisabeth Barker Hallock ’45 writes, “I am recently
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3.
1950-59 1. Josephine Lippincott Winsor ’55 in her art studio 2. Judy Barnes Luke ’55 3. Ann Lahens Ashton ’59 and her family.
Back row (left to right) Thomas G. Ashton Jr., Thomas G. Ashton III, Gracen Ashton, Ryan Snead. Front row (left to right) Owen Thomas Snead, Ann Lahens Ashton, Rebecca Ashton Snead, Olivia Ann Snead and Davis Ashton
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widowed from John Henry Hallock, who passed away on Jan. 30, 2014. I am the mother of four children (Bill, Molly, Beth and Sally) and the grandmother of nine living grandchildren (Bob, Tom, Melissa, Chris, Pat, Sarah, Dan, Kevin and Sherry). I am the great-grandmother to six children (Lexi, Siana, C.J., Joe, Simone and Kiera). I
CLASS NOTES | Alumnae
For more info visit AGNESIRWIN.ORG
am living in Fort Washington Estates and celebrated my 87th birthday on Dec. 29, 2014. The majority of my family celebrated with me. What a joy! I no longer do much singing, but I am still a member of Savoy.”
Anita Saville ’70
1950-59
Supporting and mentoring women comes naturally to Anita Saville ’70 — so it should be no surprise that she spends her workdays as executive director of Budget Buddies, an organization that provides financial education and mentoring to low-income women in Massachusetts. Saville helped found Budget Buddies in 2010, when she saw an obvious need for financial literacy in post-recession America, especially for low-income women. Armed with her own skills and a desire to make a truly meaningful difference in the lives of women, she tion, Irwin’s gave me the self-confidence I needed to helped establish a six-month program that combines make my vision for the organization a reality. Then, instructional workshops with one-to-one coaching. of course, there was the profound respect for our Saville describes the one-to-one coaching as a potential as young women. At Agnes Irwin, I devellynchpin for the success of Budget Buddies, because oped a keen interest in a woman’s place in the world it allows the program to be tailored to the specific that has lasted a lifetime.” needs of each client. Amazingly enough, Saville’s work with Budget Bud“I enjoy all the tasks — big and small — of launching dies is only one aspect of her career. She simultaneand sustaining a start-up, and get indescribable satis- ously serves as a freelance writer and editor for Choice faction from seeing the women in our program Communications, a company that she co-founded in achieve the economic empowerment that brings them 1990. closer to their personal goals,” she said. Her work as writer, editor and vice president for The transformational work that Budget Buddies Choice Communications grew out of more than 30 undertakes has recently been honored with a substan- years of business writing for companies such as SAP tial grant from a well-known women’s and Fidelity Investments. She also clothing designer, which will allow the founded the company’s Purse Strings organization to expand to serve even News Service, which provides informamore women in need. tion on money management tailored to ‘‘I enjoy all “There’s no question that Agnes Irwin women. the tasks of helped prepare me in many ways to lead Prior to embarking on her journalism launching Budget Buddies — my proudest accomcareer, Saville taught middle school for and plishment,” Saville said. “From the many five years in Maryland. It appears that leadership opportunities I was given her career choices and experiences have sustaining while a student there, to the high expecdovetailed to help Saville contribute so a start-up.” tations that were placed on us to make meaningfully to the success of Budget the most of our incredibly robust educaBuddies. — Janet Bartholdson
Jayne Berguido Abbott ’50 writes, “I don’t know
how long it has been since I sent in any news, but nothing has changed much since Tom died in 2011. I retired as an office manager at an environmental consulting company in 2012. Reaching 80 years old, it seemed time to retire after 37 years with Local Marine Research, which became part of Normandeau Associates Inc. with offices in other areas of the U.S. My children are doing well. Kathy is now the CEO of Tower Hill Botanic Garden near Worcester, MA, after years in the environmental field. Peter retired from the Navy, where he flew helicopters, and now works for a company giving financial advice to naval personnel and families. Alex is doing GIS work for U.S. Fisheries & Maine, living in Freeport, ME. I still live on Waquoit Bay in Falmouth, MA, and have friends and activities that keep me busy. My two grandchildren are also Mainers.” Edith Robb Dixon ’50 is still living in Whitemarsh Valley at the Hill at Whitemarsh. She goes to Palm Beach in the winter and Maine in the summer. She is busy on boards
Drawn to Mentoring Women
Saville (third from left) with Budget Buddies
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has been put to good use writing to donors and foundations for support,” she explained. “Self-confidence and public speaking learned at Irwin’s, plus a family background of giving back to the community, provided a foundation for the work I do now.” “Looking back on my 12 years at Agnes Irwin, I appreciate it much more now than I did then. Our class was diverse, with girls from different backgrounds and cultures, but Agnes Irwin was a level playing field where each of us had a voice. We listened to and respected one another. Upperclassmen were role models. Teachers such as Mrs. Gaul, Dr. Barnett, Madame Barnett, Mr. Cresson and Mr. McCullough supported us. I compare the safety and security I felt at Agnes Irwin with the children and families I work with now. These working poor have little security, no representation, and few advocates. I am privileged to be their voice,” Moran said. Moran’s current major focus is helping to expand the Caridad Center, a free medical and dental clinic for the uninsured working poor of Palm Beach Caroline A. Moran ’85 County. It is a nearly full-time commitment. “Caridad Center impressed me from the beginning,” Moran said. A small staff and over 400 professional volunteers provide families with access to medical and dental care and social service programs that offer everything from emergency assistance to educational opportunities. Although Caridad is the Caroline A. Moran ’85 lives in Wellington, FL, where largest clinic in Florida, handling over 26,000 patient her love of people and animals define her life. Moran’s visits annually, it cannot keep up with the increasing first exposure to nonprofits occurred in Upper School, need without expansion — so Caridad will break when she had a summer internship fundraising for ground on an expanded facility this spring. “It is the Thorncroft Therapeutic Riding Center and the because the clinic serves many of the workers in the Chester County SPCA. A second opportunity pre- equine industry that it is especially dear to my heart,” sented itself when she moved to Virginia after college Moran said. “Without it, many of them would have and helped establish the Middleburg Classic Horse nowhere else to turn.” Moran also supports animal rescue organizations, Show to benefit AIDS-related charities. To this day, therapeutic riding groups and education she remains actively involved in the at Agnes Irwin. “I am fortunate to be able weeklong, annual event. When she to sponsor a student at Agnes Irwin,” moved to her home in the equestrian Moran said. “I cannot think of anything community of Wellington, Moran ‘‘An AIS that would have a greater impact on a became a bridge between horse owners education girl’s life than the foundation for life that and nonprofits. opens Irwin’s provides. An AIS education Moran is an AIS “survivor” who purdoors to opens doors to the endless possibilities sued her interest in writing at Emerson available to women today. It gives me joy in Boston. She credits the poetry portfoendless lio written as an Agnes Irwin student for possibility.” to know that I have played a small part in changing a life for the better.” her acceptance into college. “I never used — Vicki Lynch my degree in a professional way, but it
A Love of People and Animals
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and in her church. She enjoys meeting new friends and keeping up with the world and travels when she can. Anne Fox ’50 writes, “I greatly enjoy retirement, though I miss Stafford, who is in his fourth year in a nursing home with dementia and Parkinson’s syndrome. I now have seven grandchildren, ages 2 to 33, and am expecting my first great-grandchild in August. Three of my children live close by and one son lives in Salt Lake City, UT. My 29-year-old grandson just got married in a fantastic Polish wedding in Staten Island, NY. Many nationalities were there — Polish, Peruvian, English, German and Ecuadorian. It was great fun!” Dorothy Brewster Hansell ’50 attended the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania for two years after graduation. She married her husband, Martin K. Hansell, 44 years ago. Together they have three wonderful sons, 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She has been widowed for 19 years and is now living very happily in West Norriton, PA. “I really do enjoy getting together for Reunions — especially this one!” Devereaux “Devy” Rose Bruch ’55 has devoted
her life to the nurturing and helping of others – downtrodden and in need or neglected. “As a stolen baby, I was sold illegally for enormous profit; my book, No Mamma I Didn’t Die – My Life as a Stolen
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Baby, was written to make people aware that human trafficking is rampant. My next book will explore what we can do with the lost years of our lives, and will also cover the abuse and neglect of senior citizens. I am very involved with my church, singing in the choir and cooking for others.”
III, and our daughter, Chandler Luke, both live in Wilmington, DE, within minutes of our home. We have three grandchildren close by in different schools and colleges. Our winters are spent in Vero Beach, FL, where we enjoy golf and are involved with our community in several facets.”
Katherine Hempstead Humm ’55, “Although it
Mary Knox Tatnall ’55
doesn’t seem possible, Bill and I have been living the ‘retirement life’ as condo dwellers in the Grand Rapids, MI, area for three years. The golf course is right outside our front door, the small pond off our deck hosts migrating birds in the spring, and we are only a three-hour drive from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. Michigan and Grand Rapids are gems — lots to do and lots to see. I’m still volunteering as a weekly docent at the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, which this summer will include an eight-acre, world-class Japanese Garden. Our children and grandchildren are well and super active. Bill and I seem to divide our time between playing taxi, Disney Cruises, Denver childcare weeks, and Michigan swimming and water polo meets. There seems to be little time to worry about what may lie around the next turn in our road of life.”
lives in Radnor and spends several months a year on Hilton Head Island, SC. She enjoys playing tennis and croquet. Her husband, Frank, is a railroad historian, her daughter Edythe and family live near Atlanta, and her other daughter, Pegge Nelson ’85, teaches in Seattle. She
writes: “I continue my involvement with nonprofits and currently serve on the board of Main Line School Night.” Josephine Reeves Winsor ’55 is a full-time artist,
teaching part-time, illustrating a book, and enjoying the privilege of using the historic Blacksmith Shop in Edgemont, PA, for a studio and gallery (josephinewinsor.com). Much of her work is naturally inspired by the surrounding farmland and equestrian atmosphere. Studies pertaining to our species evolutionary process are an ongoing source of creativity as well. Nearby Rushton Farms is part of the Willistown Conservation Trust
and where she enjoys being an occasional volunteer. She and her husband, Henry Winsor, just moved to a small white farmhouse on 225 acres, only three miles from her studio. She writes, “We love it! We needed to move from our previous location, and feel as though we are starting out much the way many of us did when first married ... in a not-too-spiffy, but charming fix-it-up house. It is perfect for us! We spent five months in New Zealand last year (have a house there; want to visit?) and plan some time each year for gorgeous exploration and connecting with good friends “down under.” Both my sons were mar-
ried in the 80s and one of them has three boys. The eldest grandchild is having a first child in May. I’m wondering how many great-grandmothers are in our class so far? For the last five years, I have been participating in online courses. It is a superb opportunity to learn and connect with others of like mind worldwide … a major advantage of this technological era. Two of my favorite teachers are James Odea, a renowned international peacekeeper; he retired as head of Amnesty International and was CEO of Institute for Noetic Sciences, and Barbara Marx Hubbard, a Bryn Mawr grad who is recognized as the world’s
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Judith Barnes Luke ’55
says “After 55 years of marriage to Bill, we are still enjoying life and the benefits of a wonderful family. Our son, Bill Luke
1960-69 1. Susan Clattenburg Kemp ’60 (in purple) and her family 2. Bentlie, granddaughter of Wendy Boenning Noll ’65
3. Marian Godfery ’65
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foremost “futurist.” What a gift to be able to access anything of interest on the Internet! I visited Tesie Rakeshaw Pew last May, and attended her youngest child’s wedding as well last August — both in Montana. What wonderful memories are woven throughout our lives! I think with great fondness of so many who are no longer with us, especially Kendall Eisenbrey Chew, Betsy Wickwire VanPelt and Natalie Donaghue Urian. Gay Firestone Wray ’55
keeps very busy serving on the board of the Smithsonian National Board and the Sandra Day O’Connor House, where she was a founding member. She is the Chairman of the Roger S. Firestone Foundation and an advisory trustee of the Phoenix Country Day School. Ann Lahens Ashton ’59
and her significant other, Charlie Van Doren, took their children and grandchildren to Club Med Sandpiper Bay for a weeklong vacation over the New Year holiday. Including Charlie’s family, there were 18 people in all.
1960-69 Sally Macon Dixon ’60
moved to Coldstream Crossing, a 55-year and older community in Kimberton, PA. It’s a very active community, and she absolutely loves it. Emily “Bunny” Zug Huebner ’60 writes, “The
Huebner family is fine.
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Steve and I have been married for 53 years, and our two sons and their wives have given us five wonderful granddaughters to enjoy and cheer. In sorting school papers recently as we worked on downsizing, I found an article I’d written as an Irwin’s senior about the 1959 fall Bazaar. The article reminded me that I had been eyeball deep as head of the Welfare Committee that organized the Bazaar to raise money for charity. I laughed because some 55 years later, I am up to my eyeballs as president of the Smithsonian Women’s Committee that raises some $400,000 annually for two fine craft shows and awards these funds as grants for Smithsonian education, exhibits, research or conversation. I’m having a great time. The women are like Irwin classmates: talented and accomplished. Meeting monthly in one of the Smithsonian’s museums, archives or research centers, and having a behindthe-scene tour led by a curator or staff member, is both a reward and an opportunity for learning. Susan Clattenburg Kemp ’60 writes, “Dan and I are
still living in Wellesley, MA. We haven’t downsized yet — probably a good thing since our son, Andrew, and his significant other moved back from New York and are living with us for the present. We spend June through October in Holderness, NH, enjoying the outdoors and visits from friends and family. In Wellesley, I keep busy with various volunteer
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jobs: the local food pantry, choir and the Revels organization. It’s fun to live right next door to Wellesley College — beautiful place to walk and an intellectually stimulating environment.” Priscilla Tuttle Parsons ’60 is well into her retire-
ment years and is enjoying lots of time at the gym and serving on the Delaware Co-Senior Games committee. Her family keeps growing — great-grandchild number eight is due in June. She says, “We visit our three kids in NY, NJ and CO. What great options — but I must say Colorado is the BEST for hiking! My husband, Sam, is still active, playing trombone in two bands. My mom will be 101 in May and is anxious to hear about our Reunion — she has fond memories of our years at Irwin’s and all my wonderful classmates.” Nancy Plummer Robertson ’60, “John and I con-
tinue to enjoy retirement. We have traveled by car and trailer to Minneapolis, MN, Hilton Head, SC, Indianapolis, IN, and Charlotte, NC, in the past two years. Family vacations include Punta Cana, Jamaica and Ocean City, MD. We continue to work locally with clubs and the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital benefiting crippled and burned children. Cooper, our golden retriever, works with us entertaining patients. Our children and families live within two hours of us. We are fortunate to see them often for holidays, vacations and our grandchil-
dren’s sporting events. Our four grandchildren are in high school and the oldest graduates in May. I can’t believe it’s been over 50 years since AIS graduation!”
Sykes. It is so meaningful to share our lives, including memories from preschool — almost 70 years ago!”
Ruth Hallowell Shepherd ’60 says, “October found
Bill, have been traveling extensively for the last 10 years or so. Health limitations have crept up, keeping them closer to home lately but they still go “somewhere” at least twice a year. “I am just starting my 35th year as a tax pro with H&R Block — a job I always loved. Our son’s family (two daughters) lives only 15 minutes away and our daughter’s family (four sons) is two hours away. We all get together often.”
Ray and I making the exciting transition to a life-care community in Virginia where we live in a cozy (read tiny) cottage overlooking a nature preserve. Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge, in the foothills of the mountains, is friendly as well as intellectually, spiritually and physically challenging, and just plain fun! Ray and I plan to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary with 16 immediate family members at Tanque Verde Ranch in Arizona. The grandkids particularly enjoy beating the grownups at a ‘sport’ that involves herding uncooperative cows around obstacles and into pens from horseback. My lifelong passion for children, particularly those with special needs, continues, as does my interest in promoting peace and justice worldwide and locally. Traveling with one grandchild, aged 10 or 11, for the past three summers to Costa Rica, Honduras and Croatia has been an amazing opportunity to experience a country for the first time through the eyes of a child. This summer, Anna Grace, 13, and I plan to volunteer at a Peruvian orphanage for two weeks. Reading remains an important part of my life, as does my friendship with Mary Ferguson
Elizabeth Allen Shertenlieb ’60 and her husband,
Charlotte Biddle ’60 has been happily retired for five years from her career with the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Curtis Institute of Music. She says, “My life is full with traveling, volunteering, gardening, hiking, tennis, singing (Mrs. Zimmerli gave me my only singing lessons) and raising funds to support Historic Rittenhouse Town, the 1690 site of British North America’s first paper mill located in Fairmount Park. With the families of nieces and nephews located in various U.S. cities, we always treasure our summer gathering in Jamestown, RI. My mother turns 95 during Reunion Weekend and is doing well in nearby Gladwyne. Sadly, my brother Nick died in 2014, and my dad died at age 95 in 2013. Looking forward to seeing my AIS classmates at Reunion!”
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Alice Dayton ’60 is cur-
rently retired and living at The Quadrangle in Haverford, PA. After graduation, she worked as an economist for Unilever in London, then returned to Philadelphia, where she was married and divorced with no children. She worked at Scott Paper, N.W. Ayer and moved to New York, where she owned her own public relations business, Wisteria, Inc. Kathryn Oram Why ’60
says, “We moved to Wolfeboro, NH, 17 years ago and have not regretted that decision for a minute (with the exception of a few extra frigid and snowy days this winter!) One of our sons owns the two cottages next door, and the summers are wonderful with young people coming and going and enjoying the lake and all there is to do in this area. Hank and I have not taken any big trips recently, but we have been going down to The Villages in Florida for the month of April — the perfect place for our kind of golf and relaxation. Hank continues to be very involved in antique boating on every level, and my main volunteer activity is our church thrift shop — a big shop that serves our community well. Now that we have celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary, we’re planning for the next step — a retirement community in southern NH. We will begin by spending winter months there and summers in Wolfeboro. That’s the ‘plan,’ and we’ll see how that works out. I am so
Joan Kellett Harvey ’50
Recalling the Joys of Lower School Looking back on the 65 years since her high school graduation in Goodhardt Hall, Joan Kellett Harvey ’50 has many fond memories of her time both near and far from Agnes Irwin. Beginning at Agnes Irwin as a first grader at Kyneton, which became the Lower School in 1939, in a class of only three girls, Harvey spent the next 12 years of school growing academically, forming friendships, and developing a bond with Agnes Irwin that still holds fast today. In the 1940s and 1950s, many girls left Agnes Irwin to attend boarding school; however, Harvey knew that was not for her! She managed to broker a deal with her parents, promising them that she would attend college if they let her stay at home to remain at Agnes Irwin. After completing both sec- tinued this fun and busy work for 11 years until she retarial school at the Philadelphia School of Offi ce retired in 1983. Training and attending Wheaton College (MA), she Harvey hopes that Agnes Irwin will remain a place was married in 1954. where tradition and history are kept as a part of the Then in 1972, Harvey approached then-Headmis- school life, especially with regard to events such as tress Anne S. Lenox for a position in the Lower School May Fair, which she remembered beginning as a fundand became the Lower School secretary, a job she raiser for the World War II efforts in Europe — mayremembers as being filled with hugs from kindergart- pole and all. She also hopes that the school will conners. Reminiscing fondly, she described times when tinue to care for all of its students, and develop each she runs into some of her “girls,” now adults in the girl as a whole person, providing support and guidance local area, and how good it feels to be remembered by as they grow. She notes that so many faculty members them. spend nearly their entire careers at Agnes Irwin, and During her time in the Lower School, she saw a credits them for their dedication to the school. She young Murray Savar come to Agnes also sees this as a tribute to the school Irwin to teach music and the enthusiitself. asm, joy, and skill he brought with him. As an enthusiastic volunteer, Harvey A place In her role as secretary, she often took has enjoyed working on committees to prospective parents on tours of the preserve historic sites, the Philadelphia where Lower School, and she remembered Orchestra, interests in Maine, and her tradition their awe when they saw Savar’s music church as well as various Agnes Irwin and history activities. Of course, her daughter and class — a room full of young girls who are part of were all so full of confidence that every grandchildren are a priority, and Lydia hand in the class went up to volunteer Fitler Kimball ’80 is also celebrating a school life for a solo. She noted that is what an allReunion this May, making it a family girls education is all about. Harvey conevent! — Janet Bartholdson
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Adrienne Lucier ’90
On the Waves of Global Finance No two days are even close to identical for Adrienne Lucier ’90. In the volatile world of global investment, Lucier serves as a Managing Director in fixed-income credit project at Credit Suisse, leading international financial services company headquartered in Zurich, where she began her career in 2000 after earning an MBA at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. “I enjoy the complexities of deal-making in a challenging global marketplace, where every investment decision can be influenced by a countless number of macroeconomic factors,” said Luctheir careers. ier, who was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as Despite her demanding schedule, she always a Woman of Note for 2015. seeks ways to balance her work life and her personal “In addition, many specific credit and individual life. She enjoys golf, tennis, Pilates, ballet, photogracompany factors play a role in determining relative phy, travel, cooking and interior design. She also value. No two days are the same and increased vola- enjoys stints as an adjunct teacher of classes in small tility creates multiple business opportunities. Facing business and brand management, and bond and capinstitutional clients and developing lasting trading ital markets. relationships is also paramount.” Lucier said there were many types of leaders during Lucier, who graduated from Franklin and Marshall her years at Agnes Irwin, as well as many different College with dual bachelor degrees in economics and types of success, which one could see even at a young French and a minor in art history, considers her big- age. “It became apparent early on that there are many gest achievement to date to be how quickly she has different roads to take to get to the same finish point. risen in the ranks in a business dominated by men. Being open to different ways of thinking in order to She said it is “a rarity” for a woman to achieve results was something that was advance to senior status as quickly as she ingrained in me not only in my home life has, and credits the values she developed growing up, but at AIS,” she said. at Agnes Irwin for her success. She has many fond memories of her ‘‘I enjoy the “It underscores the importance of AIS school years, including the special complexity working hard, doing something you are days set aside for celebrating the move of dealpassionate about, and believing in yourfrom Lower School to Middle School, making in self. Each achievement creates more and Middle School to Upper School, AP opportunities, despite the fact that they history classes and AP English classes. “I the global may not be apparent at the time,” said would be remiss if I left out the photogmarket.” Lucier, who finds it rewarding to mentor raphy shows,” she quipped. other young women as they embark on — Wanda Odom
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sorry to be missing our 55th, but it’s trumped by our first grandchild’s graduation. Have a wonderful time together – girls of the Class of ‘60!” Christine Carlisle Blair ’65
is living a retired life with her husband, Carrick, in Redding, CT, after raising two children who are now in their 40s. She spent 25 years working in public relations at a major pharma company and currently keeps busy with local women’s clubs, golf, tennis, traveling and summering on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Jacqueline Earle-Cruickshanks ’65 worked as a
learning specialist/school psychologist in upstate New York and moved to Vermont in 2000. She became a learning specialist/senior diagnostician for 20 years for Stern Center in Williston, VT. Her husband, Paul, died in 2012, and she married an old friend in 2013. After she retired, she became an archetypal dream analyst. She has two children and one grandchild. She is living in Montpelier, VT, and loves working on other people’s (and her own) dreams. Marian Godfrey Gardner ’65 writes, “In November
2007, I married Tom Gardner at our farm in Richmond, MA, in Berkshire County; it is a first marriage for both of us. Tom runs his family business, the Gardner Pie Company in Akron, OH, from the farm, where he pursues his long-time interest in heritage breeds of both livestock
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and vegetables. We keep sheep, poultry and many dogs, and maintain the beautiful gardens mixing vegetables, flowers and fruit trees that he has developed over the years. We also have a home in Vinalhaven, ME, on the property where my family has lived since 1963, and travel there as often as possible throughout the year. In December 2011, I retired from The Pew Charitable Trusts, where I had directed Pew’s cultural initiatives for more than 22 years. Currently I serve on the boards of directors of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, ME; the League of American Orchestras, a national organization based in New York City; and the Poetry Foundation, based in Chicago. I also serve on the Curtis Institute of Music’s Board of Overseers in Philadelphia and on the Founders Council of Arts Emerson in Boston. I am the cultural advisor for the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, where Tom and I have a donor-advised fund. After many years of professional writing about arts funding and arts policy, I have begun to develop a personal creative writing practice.”
also had adventures traveling to Turkey in 2013 and Kenya and Zanzibar in 2014. “I am looking forward to seeing classmates at our Reunion!” Anne Clement Monahan ’65 is retired from Sidwell
Friends after 42 years and is now coaching parttime at the Madeira School in McLean, VA. She coaches field hockey,
squash and lacrosse, which is ideal because work is so close to home and it’s great fun. She has two grandchildren (more on the way!), and two of her three daughters live close by. She says retirement is quite an adjustment both emotionally and physically. Wendy Boenning Noll ’65
says, “I have no career
news, I have no public service news ... but I have had an amazing few years. My first grandchild, Bentlie Marie Noll, was born on Feb. 24, 2013. Bright red hair and a personality to match! Last year, I became involved in a project to find some missing film from ‘Woodstock 69’ for Melanie (Safka) Schekeryk (long story). It seems that the
producer of Woodstock, Michael Lang, had done a small shoot for (Melanie’s) documentary about the original Woodstock and showed the entire ‘set list’ she had performed. He promised her a copy, as she had never seen the original set in its entirety. It was not delivered so a call went out — could anyone find this? I jumped in ... I
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Keith Manley ’65 lived in
Smithers, British Columbia, for 35 years before moving to Vero Beach, FL, in 2008. She enjoys being close to her sister, Langie Manley Mannion ‘57. During the summer, she travels back to Canada to visit her three daughters and two grandchildren. She has
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1970-79 1. The family of Barbara Roche Wille ’75 2. Anita Saville ’70 and her wife, Emily 3. 1970 classmates (l-r) Pamela Moyer Fernley,
Katharine Norris, Alta Wister Hamilton, Wendy Griffin Palmer, Lindsay Huffman Smith 4. Virginia Pratt Nemir Lukefahr ’74
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had already researched Laurence Owen’s life (another long story), and felt that I could find this. I went on a journey of contacting film companies, Michael, and ended up with satisfying results. Michael wasn’t able to deliver, as he didn’t own the ‘rights’ to the film. Warner Bros. had some; Sony had the rest. Michael had given me the name of a woman at Warner who was so incredibly nice ... she worked some magic and we were able to deliver to Melanie at least part of her performance. To the best of my knowledge, Sony hasn’t relinquished any of her performance to her for her personal library — a shame to say the least. Stay tuned ... my life has truly been a day-to-day experience.”
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Margaret “Margie” Clark Stevens ’65 writes, “I
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1980-89 1. Anne Rock Maurer ’80 with her husband, Gus, and son Jimmy, awaiting the arrival of Stage 3 finishers at the USA Pro Cycling Tour, Monarch Pass, CO, in August 2014 2. Lilah ’26 and Jimmy Simpson, children of James Simpson and Trudy Rosato ’85 3. Meg Schrader Walton ’85 with her children; Pete, 12; Elizabeth, 15; Andrew, 18; Maggie, 20 4. Tracy Defina ’85 and her family celebrate Easter in April 2014 5. Sara Eryn Perkins ‘17, daughter of Audrey Silverman Perkins ‘80
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have retired from my 30-year career as a physical therapist and am now a real estate agent for Keller Williams. I live in Paoli and see fellow classmates Patsy Moyer Walls, Lisa Robinson O’Connell and Debbie Boas Pakradooni from time to time. Recently I joined Anne Clement Monahan and her family at a luncheon to honor and induct their mother, Barbara, into the National Squash Hall of Fame. My sons, Keith and John, live nearby and we get together for family visits along with my grandson, Paxton Carrington Stevens (Keith’s son). It’s hard to believe my grandson just had his 5th birthday! Another thing that is hard to
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believe is that it’s our 50th Reunion ... has it really been that long? I look forward to seeing all my ‘sister’ classmates from the Class of ‘65 very much. It will be so special!”
Lydia Fitler Kimball ’80
Prepared for Life
Jeanne Knight Wentling ’65 is “happy to say that I
am very lucky to be living in Maine, with both my children, Ben and Polly, living within half a mile with their families (four grandchildren — the joy of my life). I am a member of a wonderful Episcopal church here and do flowers for the altar, altar guild and am a coffee hour hostess. It is a friendly, family-oriented church. I am also a member at a wonderful garden club that is informative and fun. I see my friends and family often.”
1970-79 Linda Kelly Graves ’70
writes, “I continue to work full time as a nurse practitioner at RMA of Philadelphia — an infertility practice. My son, Robin, is married and a captain in the U.S. Army stationed at West Point. He and his wife, Abby, presented us with our first grandchild, Thomas, in August 2014. I’m too young to be a grandmother, but loving it. Our daughter, Kathryn Graves ‘06, is living in NYC and working in experiential marketing as an assistant producer with MKG Productions and loving it. I get to see a lot of Sally Nassau, Randy Taylor-Craven, Nancy Fay ’71 and occasionally Lydia Biddle Thomas. I serve as
Agnes Irwin runs in the family for Lydia Fitler Kimball ’80, as her mother, Joan Harvey, is a graduate of the Class of 1950. In anticipation of her 35th Reunion, Kimball reminisced about what made her time at Agnes Irwin meaningful, and instantly the quality and dedication of the faculty came to mind. She describes a school with a larger-than-life Headmistress Anne S. Lenox and Dr. George and Mme. Barbara Barnett — before they were a couple! In describing the rigor and variety of the CORE program, Kimball says that it truly prepared her for life beyond AIS. After graduation, she attended Middlebury College, where she majored in art history and followed that with a M.Ed. in Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University. Kimball says the Harvard coursework was “a perfect degree for a generalist” such as herself, and it even reminded her of the CORE program at Agnes Irwin. With these degrees, she transitioned into a career in the art world, putting them both to good use. (CORE was an interdisciplinary study of English, history, art and music in 11th and 12th grade, studying the Renaissance, Reformation and U.S. history; it included a whole-grade the variety of work is what makes her role as a consullecture twice a week and seminars the other days.) tant with Christie’s so interesting. Currently, Kimball is an International RepresentaIn addition to her busy career, Kimball volunteers in tive and Consultant for Christie’s, which is the world’s several capacities for regional nonprofit boards and largest fine art auction and private sales company of its committees, and her special interest lies in preservakind. Acting as a liaison for both private clients and tion of the historic treasures of the New England area institutions to Christie’s salesrooms that she loves so much. Kimball also around the world, she travels extensively enjoys the art museums in Boston, such as throughout the New England region prothe Boston Museum of Fine Art, the HarVariety is viding a full range of auction-related and vard Art Museums, and the Isabella Stewappraisal services. She assists potential art Gardner Museum. Spending time in what consignors to bring a single work of art, a Maine, where the rest of her family has ties makes her large collection, or an entire estate to aucas well, is also important. The wide range role at tion. She also provides advice on bidding of experiences that have made up KimChristie’s in Christie’s auctions both domestically ball’s time since graduation certainly echo and abroad. Kimball works with museinteresting. the variety that existed during her time at ums and other nonprofits, as well as Agnes Irwin. financial and legal advisors. She says that — Wanda Odom
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Americans caught abroad in political violence and natural disasters. They send out alerts when an overseas flight crashes or a grenade hits a U.S. Embassy. They connect, at all hours, the Secretary of State to foreign leaders.” Wang and her team must be on constant alert for any and all crises and be ready to respond at a moment’s notice. She says, “It’s a mostly fun, occasionally tedious, but always interesting job!” From July 2013-2014, Wang was a press officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her role as a press officer entailed arranging press conferences, briefings, and interviews for Afghan and international media outlets, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, and the Associated Press. She was also responsible for responding to emergency media inquiries, including those during and after the attack on the U.S. Embassy on Christmas, which was reported on by more than 100 media outlets. During her time in Afghanistan, Wang also chose to focus on the issues facing Afghan women, as she helped to create the first professional organization for female Afghan journalists and worked closely with U.S. and coalition military public affairs officers on messaging related to women’s issues. Mimi Wang ’05 “This focus on women, of course, reminded me of Irwin’s. The status of women in Afghanistan has come so far in the past 15 years, but there’s still so much progress to be made,” she said. Despite the intensity and seriousness of her work in Afghanistan, she still found time for fun, such as an appearance as a guest judge on the Afghan version of Iron Chef, a program Life is an international adventure for Mimi Wang called 59 Minutes, an experience that allowed her to ’05. After graduating from Agnes Irwin, and then Yale highlight some traditional American treats — like in 2009, where she earned a B.A. in history and inter- apple cobbler — on TV! Wang credits Agnes Irwin with many formative national studies, she turned her attention to internaexperiences, especially giving a senior assembly, and tional affairs. Her work with the U.S. Department of State has sent although she does not like public speaking, she knows that she will always be able to give a her from Washington, D.C. to the Philipspeech if she needs to thanks to that pines, then Afghanistan and back again. preparation. Wang also thanks the Since 2010, Wang has been a Foreign Serschool for “instilling in me, and my classvice Officer with the State Department, ‘‘There’s mates, the sense that anything is possiand she is currently a Watch Officer in the still so ble. At Irwin’s people don’t tell you ‘you Operations Center, which is the State much shouldn’t do that’ or ‘you can’t do that.’ If Department’s 24/7 breaking news and progress you want something, you can figure out a crisis monitoring center. way to get it done; or if there’s an opporThe Washington Post described the yet to be tunity to do something, you take that Operations Center as “60+ foreign sermade.” opportunity.” vice officers and other civil servants — Janet Bartholdson operate a worldwide 911. They support
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a Stephen minister at St. David’s Church — a very fulfilling ministry. I am looking forward to catching up with classmates!” Virginia Nemir Lukefahr ’70 writes, “I am a retired
elementary school art teacher and currently active in the schools. I am a portrait artist in drawing and painting and had a one-woman show at the San Antonio Branch Library in 2014. My husband, Jim, is a pediatrician practicing and teaching at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. I have four grown children. Helen is a grant writer and currently enrolled in the physician assistant program at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Catherine is the financial director of a mental health case management company in Houston. Nathaniel is a writer for a Houston-based oil and gas company, and Joseph is a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. I have five grandchildren: Luke, 4; Caroline, 3; Elizabeth, 2; Joseph, 1, and Charlotte, 5 months. They are precious and I am blessed.” Barbara Bell Shea ’70 has
been working for several environmental nonprofits for the past 15 years. She was the founding president for Casey Trees in Washington, DC, and is still on the board. They restore, enhance and protect the trees of the District of Columbia. She is currently also the chairman of the Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA). The company is the private partner of the
CLASS NOTES | Alumnae
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U.S. National Arboretum. She is also the past chairman of the Board of the Irvine Nature Center, an environmental education organization, and currently chairing their endowment campaign. Theresa Bailey Baker ’75
and her family moved to Michigan 15 years ago to pursue career opportunities for her husband. She retired from a long career in corporate law to focus her attention on her two sons and new community. “My community involvement includes service as president of our homeowners association, president of the Parent Teacher Association and president of the board of a 501(c)(3) organization involved in mentoring middle school girls in Detroit. My sons are young adults now and starting careers of their own. My husband and I are planning to travel extensively now that we are empty nesters. Life is good!” Joanne Lloyd Butler ’75
has two children — a daughter, Kaci, 33, and a son, Matt, 28. Kaci is a kindergarten teacher, and Matt is a medical assistant. She has one grandson, Dylan, who is 4. Her daughter is getting married, and she is excited to welcome her soon-to-be son-in-law, Dominique, to the family. She has a grand dog named CoCo and a dog named Reina. Linda Christie ’75 says, “I
am living on the southern border of the Adirondacks with my husband, Curtis Mills. I am blessed to have my dream job as
Eleanor Funkhouser Doar ’75 is living in Indianapolis
William at Colby and Andrew at the University of Richmond, both majoring in economics. I’m working as a consultant for the Boston office of Christie’s, the auction house, focusing on marketing and business development. I also do volunteer work with a number of nonprofits focusing on the art, historic preservation and conservation. Travel is my big hobby, as well as spending time in Northeast Harbor, ME, where we have a house. My Reunion plans are unclear, but I hope to get there for some of the weekend.”
and Chicago with her husband, Michael.
Anne Rock Maurer ’80
the medical director of an organization that provides care to people with developmental disabilities. I have three sons. Two of them will soon be deployed as pilots for the military (one in the Navy and one in the Army). The third, Thomas, lives in a group home and would LOVE to talk sports or politics with anyone willing to do so. My husband started a new business as a licensed Adirondack guide teaching rowing, kayaking, sailing or fly fishing. Please visit. Life is good!”
1980-89 M. Catherine Cornell ’80
is living the dream in Colorado! Her oldest son graduated in December from the University of Rochester and is spending the winter working as a snowcat operator in Aspen. Her youngest son is a junior at the University of Denver. After 30 years in the corporate world, she is looking for a position that she feels passionate about and which will make a difference. Lydia Fitler Kimball ’80
says, “Very sadly my husband, Dan, died in August 2013 after fighting auto-immune issues for a number of years. Since then, my 20-year-old twin boys/men have been adjusting to our new normal and moving on with our lives. Both are in their second year of college,
and her husband, Gus Maurer, live in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia with their son, James, a sophomore at J.R. Masterman. After 10 years of teaching at Chestnut Hill Academy, Anne switched careers and spent two years in the outdoor industry working in sales & marketing at Nathan Sports. This career diversion turned her into a running enthusiast and took her to a variety of U.S. cities, including Austin, Salt Lake City and Chicago. Despite her love for the outdoor industry, Anne left Nathan Sports to pursue an opportunity at AIM Academy in Conshohocken. When not teaching, she competes in a variety of bicycling disciplines around the Mid-Atlantic and New England. When time permits, she volunteers for Gearing Up, a Philadelphia nonprofit that teaches women in transition to ride bikes for
transportation and exercise. She loves traveling with her husband and sons, and is always plotting their next adventure. “I hope to one day visit Cindy Whitman Lawes in England and Kathy Moran in Belgium, the cycling capital of the universe. “ Tamara Schrader Normington ’80 writes,
“My sons Steven, age 21, and Stuart, age 18, are graduating from college and high school this year, so my husband and I will be empty nesters. Not sure quite how I feel about that! I work part time as an RN in my husband’s medical practice and am a part-time supervisor at a local nursing home. I am an avid baker, scuba diver and traveler, and keep busy with that and volunteer work. I won’t be able to make the Reunion this year, as we will be biking from Bruges to Amsterdam then. I will be visiting Kathy Moran during this trip however, and we will both miss you all!” Elizabeth Goldstein Beeby ’85 writes, “I live in South
Salem, NY, and have three awesome boys: Charlie, 16 and in 10th grade; Tommy, 15 and in 9th grade; and Jack, 12 and in 6th grade. I work in NYC at Discovery Communications as director of account communications in our programming sales distribution department.” Cassandra Byrnes Billig ’85 has been living in
Connecticut the past 14 years. “We are happily raising two teenage boys Lucas, 16 and Nathaniel,
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13. I work as a designer for Lillian August in Norwalk, CT.” Tracy Yancey Defina ’85
and her family live in Malvern, where her kids are in school at Great Valley — an artist, a scout and an athlete! “I love my job as director of family ministries at Church of the Good Samaritan. When Mike isn’t working at Comcast or birding, we love escaping together on vacations. I catch up with Laura DePhillippo Sullivan, Cynthia Krall Dionne and Jill Juda Marshall a few times a year for dinners full of laughs!” Leigh Morrissett Foltz ’85
says, “The Foltz family has been busy. My daughter, Sydney, is in her freshman year at Columbia College in Chicago, majoring in theater with a concentration in comedy writing. Our son Cameron is completing his junior year with hopes to get accepted into a university or college with a good astrophysics program. Yes, two extremes for sure! Our youngest, Charlie, is in 8th grade and loves playing football, wrestling and lacrosse (Cam too). I have been busy serving two years of a four-year term on our local school board (who knew?). My husband, Bob, is a wealth manager at Merrill Lynch. Everyone is healthy, thriving and keeping busy! Come visit!” Susan Tecce Kailis ’85
has been working for Comcast ad sales for 14 years. Susan and her husband live in Bryn Mawr and have two
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daughters. The kids are very busy with school and music and all sorts of stuff that keeps them running! “I look forward to catching up with everyone in the spring!” Karen Foky Randazzo ’85
is working full time in commercial insurance as the education industry practice leader for a large regional agency, Riggs, Counselman, Michaels and Downes (known as RCM&D). She has been in Baltimore,
MD, since 1993 and is married with three sons — ages 17, 14 and 6. Gertrude “Trudy” Rosato ’85 recently moved back
to the area after living in Princeton, NJ, for three and a half years. She is a member of the NJ State Council on the Arts and continues to be a fine arts appraiser and adviser. Her daughter, Lilah ’26, is attending AIS as a first grader and her son, Jimmy, is in Pre-K at Rosemont
School of the Holy Child. Margaret Schrader Walton ’85 writes, “My
husband, Scott, and I moved to Baltimore in June 2013. Previously we lived in Chapel Hill, NC, for eight years and Atlanta, GA, for 11 years. We are closer to my family now, which has been very nice. We even joined Merion Golf Club because we both love to play. We make our way to the Main Line pretty often. Our kids are ages
20, 18, 15 and 12. Our eldest, Maggie, is a sophomore at UGA. Our senior, Andrew, is still undecided about college. The youngest two, Elizabeth (15) and Pete (12), are enjoying school and sports and figuring out their new city and school. I have reconnected with Stacey Macklin Grandy here, and she has been very kind to me — introducing me to friends and teaching me what is neat to do in Baltimore.”
1990-99 Daniele Laws Dillard ’95
is currently working at Morphotek as a senior QA specialist, where she supports pilot plant activities. She is also involved in clinical operations, specifically clinical QC. Her daughter, Morgan, 6, is in kindergarten. Morgan enjoys swimming and playing with her American Girl doll and our dog, Della. This April, Daniele and her husband will celebrate their 10th anniversary. Anne Thompson ’95 says,
“My life is wonderfully busy with Charlie, 3, and Trixie, 1, keeping life interesting.” Susan Joan Mauriello-Orlando ’95
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writes, “My daughter, Charlotte Francesca, was born on March 11, 2014 and my son, Elliott Joseph, was born on Feb. 18, 2015. I live in Pasadena with my husband, Paul, and our family. I am a second year medical student at Keck School of Medicine at USC. I switched careers while living in Hong Kong for seven years, where I started and ran an education consulting company.” Jennifer Nagel Suttmeier ’95 writes, “I live in Cran-
5.
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1990-99 1.Wendy Rhoads Costa ’90 with her husband, Paolo, and sons Lucas and George 2. Julianna and Luke Tiso, children of Bernadette Spina Tiso ’95 3. Michael and Page Callaghan Pisapia ’95 with their children in Winston-Salem, NC 4. Emily Eleanor Vassalli, daughter of Emanuel and Allie Keen Vassalli ’95 5. Children of Elizabeth Wasley Reese ’99
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bury, NJ, with my husband, Steve, and our beautiful children Robert, 3, and Emily, 7. We love to travel and spend time with family and friends. I work at Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals as an associate director on the Levemir brand team. Working in a high-profile role is an exciting experi-
CLASS NOTES | Alumnae
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ence, though balancing work and family is always a priority. To support other working moms, I’ve created a blog called Work-Mom Balance and would love to share with the class.” workmombalance.com Mary Beth Noel Todd ’95
says, “In June we welcomed our third child and first daughter, Elise Noel Todd. With the scales tipped out of balance, I retired from my job as assistant athletic director at San Francisco University High School. I am starting my own business helping youth sports organizations administer their programs. I will also be coaching youth lacrosse this year... should be an adventure!”
Sandra DuBarry Laflamme ’95
Embracing Opportunities for Success
Allie Keen Vassalli ’95
writes, “I’m still happily living in Lugano, Switzerland, teaching at TASIS Elementary School. My big news of 2014 is that last summer I married Emanuele Vassalli. It was a beautiful wedding in Lugano, and I was so happy that Heather Roehrs Galgon and Ecy McIlvain Hughes made the trip over here to be a part of our Swiss-American wedding. The big news of 2015 is that we welcomed a baby girl in January. Emily Eleanor Vassalli was born on Jan. 25. She is keeping us busy and amazing us every day! Sadly, I don’t think that I can make it to our Reunion. The timing fits in perfectly with my maternity leave, but I’m not sure I’ll be quite ready for a trans-Atlantic flight solo with Emily. I will miss seeing everyone; hopefully I’ll make the next one!”
Since her days at Agnes Irwin, Sandra DuBarry work together as one on the water to reach their goal. Laflamme ’95 has experienced firsthand how lead- Agnes Irwin gave me the confidence to lead my team ership opportunities can present themselves in many and to be a strong athletic role model. I used leaderforms and situations. ship skills gained at Agnes Irwin to teach others how From presiding over the Ecology Club, to coaching to fully embrace an opportunity for success. This is an underdog collegiate crew team to a second-place something that I have always carried with me in everychampionship victory, to teaching bright-eyed first thing that I do, whether it be in a job or in a running graders, to starting a healthy living blog, Laflamme race.” has lived the legacy of leadership Agnes Irwin has She credits Agnes Irwin with allowing her to find instilled in its students for nearly 150 years. her voice in sharing her passions. Participating in “After I graduated from Colby College, I took my sports taught her how to lead by working with others. first job as the Bates College freshmen women’s rowToday, Laflamme is self-employed as a healthy living coach. When I started, I was nervous about lead- ing blogger for the blog Organic Runner Mom ing a mostly new group of rowers and (organicrunnermom.com), her blog, and helping them to form a cohesive team on a freelance writer for fitness and health the water. I wanted to inspire my athwebsites as well as athletic apparel, letes and to share my passion for rowhealth and wellness, and organic food ing,” said Laflamme, who was part of the brands. She also handles social media ‘‘I love the inaugural crew team at AIS and is now marketing for her family’s business, Pete flexibility an avid runner who has conquered marand Gerry’s Organic Eggs and and Nellie’s of what I athons and triathlons. Cage Free Eggs. “I love the flexibility of “Not only would I need to teach them what I do, as it allows me to spend time do.” proper rowing form and technique as with our children Piper, 6, and Brock, 4, well as train them to be fit and strong, while doing something that I am passionbut I also needed to teach them how to ate about,” she said. — Wanda Odom
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Kinna Thakarar ’99 mar-
Theresa Bailey Baker ’75
Empowered to Meet All Challenges
After graduating from Columbia University Law School in 1982, Theresa Bailey Baker ’75 spent six years on Wall Street practicing corporate and capital markets transactions law. Her career path led to an 11-year tenure with Prudential Financial, a Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both retail and institutional customers in the United States and more than 30 other countries. She eventually became the chief attorney for the firm’s “My biggest personal achievement is raising my two Treasurer’s Department. sons, with my husband, to become accomplished The Princeton University alumna (A.B., 1979) says young adult men,” Baker said. she has been blessed with many accomplishments Since her retirement from practicing law in 2000, since graduating from Agnes Irwin, and credits her Baker moved from New Jersey to Michigan and has experiences at AIS with laying the foundation for her had greater opportunity to focus more on volunteer success. work. In addition to serving as president of her home“Agnes Irwin encouraged me to be a leader in all owner’s association and of the PTA at her son’s school, aspects of my life by allowing me to take charge of my Baker took on the responsibility of President of the educational experience to pursue my Board of SHILOH Girls Inc., a noninterests to the fullest extent, including profit organization involved in mentorfour years of Spanish and Latin,” said ing middle school girls. She is a past Baker. “I felt empowered by my experitrustee of Agnes Irwin and current mem‘‘Agnes ence at AIS to pursue my interests and ber of the National Alumnae Advisory Irwin tackle any challenge. (It) gave me the encouraged Council. confidence to know that I was capable of Her fondest memories of AIS are me to be a achieving all that I set out to do.” many: conversations with classmates in That empowerment, she added, the library, SSP, senior assemblies, “Mrs. leader in enabled her to practice law successfully all aspects.” (Adele) Sands, (Head of School) and at the very highest levels of private pracSeñora Bonetti, with whom I was partictice and corporate America for 18 years. ularly close.” — Wanda Odom
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ried Neal Mower in Lancaster, PA, in May 2014. “He was a good sport about enduring a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony! I’ve spent the last four years as an Infectious Disease (ID) fellow at Boston Medical Center, most recently doing research on health service utilization issues involving HIV, Hepatitis C and addiction. I’m happy to report that Neal and I will be moving to the land of foodies, hipsters and outdoor enthusiasts, i.e. Portland, ME, in the summer. I’ll be working as an ID physician at a local primary care practice as well as the academic hospitals in Portland, and I will also be continuing my research on ID and addiction issues through the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation. Hope to see some AIS alumnae in Portland next year!”
2000-09 Jennifer Vanett Bretz ‘00
and her husband are looking forward to the second birthday of their miracle micropremie twins! “These amazing kids have overcome all odds after being born at only 25 weeks gestation to be incredible, thriving toddlers! We are so proud! In an attempt to give back to the Lehigh Valley Health Network for their phenomenal care, I have joined the Board of the Children’s Hospital Patient and Family Centered Care Advisory Board and the NICU Board of Directors. To spend more time with my
CLASS NOTES | Alumnae
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precious children, I assumed a new role at Ernst & Young, now working part time in Global Customer Operations.” Alison Dillihay-James ’00
says, “On Feb. 23, 2014, I got married to Rasheed James. My sister Alicia Dillihay Suber ‘93 was a bridesmaid, and my niece Anais Suber ‘23 was a flower girl.”
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Adrienne LaFrance Jordan ’00 is working as a senior
editor for The Atlantic magazine. She and her husband, Kwig Jordan (Haverford ‘99), welcomed a daughter, Edith, in August 2014. Megan Doughty Shaine ’00 and her husband, Al,
welcomed their first child, Samuel Robert Shaine, into the world on March 10, 2014. “We have loved spending time with Clare Putnam Pozos and her daughter Caroline, born at the same hospital just three weeks later! I am also in the final (dissertation) phase of my Ph.D. in counseling at George Washington University, where I have been teaching classes, seeing clients and doing research for the past seven years. We currently live on Capitol Hill and love our neighborhood.” Brookie Burrows White ’00 and her husband,
Brad, are living in Wayne, raising their three boys: Jake, 9; Wesley, 5; and Rhys, 2. She has been busy running her event services company, Feel Like a Guest, where they supply servers and bartenders to events. She volunteers a lot at her
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2000-09 1. Allison Dillihay ’00 and Rasheed James on their wedding day 2. Elizabeth Kovich ’05 and David Bilsky on their wedding day 3. Alyson Laynas Hoffman ’04 and her bridesmaids at the Union League of Philadelphia (left to right): Alaina Sosangelis, Sarah Bromley, Elizabeth Hird Webb ‘04, Christina Vaganos ‘07, Leighann Reilly, Caroline Applegarth, Kristin VanArsdale Edgerton and Anita Herrera 4. Kevin and Jennifer Vanett Bretz ’00 with their twins 5. Anita Sellers Helfrich ’05 gathers with AIS alumnae at her wedding 6. Dana Marchetto ’03 7. Giuliana Vetrano ‘05 and her classmates Anita Sellers Helfrich and Katie Zagrabbe in Harvard Yard. Giuliana is at the Tuck School of Business, Anita is at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Katie is a resident at Massachusetts General Hospital 8. Nicole Marchetto ’06 9. Elspeth Fergusson ’04 married Jeremy Knighton in Nantucket, MA. Left to right: Hilary Craig ’04, Blaire Stoveld Osberg ’04, Alexandra Fergusson Powell ’00, Elspeth Fergusson Knighton, Whitney Hatch Smolczynski ’04, Debbie Aikens Laverell ’67, Jamie Lynch ’04, Kendra Daniel ’04, Jennifer Donohoe Pizzitola ’04, Leslie Frondorf ’04 10. Katie Zaggrabbe ’05 and classmates at her wedding (left to right): Melissa Jefferis, Jen Blechschmidt, Giuliana Vetrano, Mimi Wang, Sarah Chappell 11. Children of Brookie Burrows White ’00; Jake, 9; Wesley, 5; Rhys, 2
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Before
Leslie Bailey Hardy ’55
An Eye for Transformation Leslie Bailey Hardy ’55 sits in her studio in Winter Park, FL surrounded by her three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and reflects on her days as a student at Agnes Irwin. After Although it is nearly 60 years since she graduated, the experiences and passions she developed as an AIS student continue to define who she is today. Moving from her childhood home in Cincinnati, OH, Hardy entered Agnes Irwin in the 10th grade. She recalls how welcoming her new AIS classmates were. Agnes Irwin teachers went out of their way to enhance student’s learning, says Hardy. For instance, Miss Lent not only taught English literature and grammar but made sure her students were well versed in business correspondence — a skill Hardy uses today. However, it was in athletics, especially tennis, and in the arts, that Hardy hit her stride. She soaked in Mrs. Ridpath’s art classes, developing a love of drawing and painting and an appreciation for the history of art. After graduating from AIS, Hardy entered Bennett College (Millbrook, NY). She majored in art history and after graduation continued her studies in Europe. While there, she discovered a love of architecture and design that is evident in her work. Hardy married in her early twenties and along with her husband moved to Syracuse, NY, for nine years. She poured her creative energy into decorating their and exquisitely paneled interior walls, moldings and home. An admirer of Hardy’s efforts commissioned her for some design work, mantels. which ended up giving her the impetus to start a business. With three daughters Today, she resides in her fourth and largest projunder the ages of three and a half, Hardy opened an interior design firm. The busi- ect. She oversaw every detail of the construction and ness thrived, but when Hardy and her family had the opportunity to move to Win- even painted the trompe l’oeil paneled ceiling in the ter Park in 1973 they seized the chance to live in the warmer climate. living room. For the time being she does not have a Hardy maintained interior design clients in Florida but concentrated most of her new construction project on the horizon but continefforts on her family, including three daughters and a son. She continued studying ues to study painting each week, currently working painting and design whenever she had the time. In fact, she took courses at the noted to perfect her skills in portraiture. She manages to Isabel O’Neil Studio in New York City. Under the tutelage of O’Neil, Hardy learned the find time for tennis two to three times a week. When art of painted finishes and began creating decorative painted furniture and interiors. asked if any of her children inherited her love of art In the early 1990s, Hardy was yearning for a new challenge when biking through and design she says “not really,” but was quick to add town she noticed a small cottage. She sought out the owner, negotiated the pur- that all of her children developed her love of tennis. chase of the property, and began a collaboration with Winter Park On Saturday mornings, she gathers with architect Steven Feller that has resulted in the design and construction her children and grandchildren on the of four houses. tennis courts for a game. Starting with the single-story frame cottage, Hardy and Feller expanded This spring, Leslie looks forward to ‘‘Leslie ... the structure to two-and-a-half stories featuring banded windows and an taking time out of her busy schedule to will spend articulated gable entrance. According to Feller, “Leslie loves the process return to Agnes Irwin for Reunion hours to of design and will spend hours to get every detail perfect.” The renovation Weekend and to celebrate with the get every even attracted the interest of Southern Living magazine, which featured friends she made in school, visit the the residence in an article entitled “A Cottage Transformed.” Barnes Foundation with classmates for detail Hardy has undertaken three more residential design and construcmore creative inspiration, and to play a perfect.” tion projects in Winter Park. Each house fits beautifully into its surgame of tennis on the new courts at AIS. roundings and features a variety of rooflines with molded overhangs — Margaret Welsh
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MILESTONES | Alumnae
kids’ school with library duty and class mom. Dana Marchetto ’03, before entering medical school, worked in research at the Neuropsychiatry Section, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, her alma mater. There she published two research papers. One is a meta-analysis of olfactory deficits in schizophrenia, which examines the degree to which olfactory deficits in schizophrenia are moderated by psychophysical, clinical and demographic variables. The paper, “The Influence of Semantic Processing on Odor Identification Ability in Schizophrenia,” was published in the March 2013 online edition of the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. The other paper, published in the January 2014 edition of the Schizophrenia Bulletin, examines the contribution of semantic difficulties to olfactory identification deficits in schizophrenia. In this study, no correlation was found between odor identification and semantic performance in patients, which implies that olfactory deficits are largely independent of the semantic difficulties in schizophrenia. Dana will graduate from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in June 2015. Kathleen Bonner Benjamin ’05 was married on
Nov. 8, 2014, in Palm Beach, FL, to William (Bill) Benjamin. Many AIS grads were in attendance. She began a job
Priscilla Sands ’65
In Her Mother’s Footsteps Priscilla Sands ’65 is likely a familiar face to many in the Agnes Irwin community. After graduating in 1965, she returned to Agnes Irwin in 1985, serving as a drama director, English teacher, Director of Community Service, Director of Admissions and ultimately, from 1990 to 1996, as the Assistant Head of School. For 15 years, she served as Head of the all-girls Springside School in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood — then became president of the merged co-ed Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, a post she has held for the last four years. This summer, she will embark on a new adventure as Head of Marlborough School, an all-girls school in Los Angeles. “Having attended Irwin’s, and then working in a girls’ school, I’ve loved the opportunity to help girls find their voice and develop the confidence that you can achieve anything,” Sands said. And while she has Valley Independent Schools, and as the regional vice enjoyed the process of transitioning Springside and president of the National Association of Principals of Chestnut Hill to one merged school, “It will be fun to Schools for Girls, president of the Head Mistresses close out my career with an all-girls’ school.” Association of the East and a commissioner for the Sands was “not a particularly standout student at Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools. AIS,” she admits. “I was not the child my mother (forHer passion lies in education, and she considers mer Head of School Adele Sands) would ever have some of her greatest accomplishments to be the relathought would follow in her footsteps — it was some- tionships she has built professionally and with the thing of a shock to her.” But the confidence she gained children in her care. “Your legacy is in the small at Agnes Irwin — through drama teacher Kate Reiser, moments,” she said. “I hope my greatest accomplishthrough Eliza Kellogg’s English classes, through the ment is being able to say, ‘Look at what we all did process of creating her senior assembly together.’ What I hope I brought to — has stayed with her. “I had teachers Springside Chestnut Hill is a sense of colwhom I loved and who cared for me and laboration and joy in working together.” ‘‘Your really helped me believe in myself. I The same is true of the time she spent learned significant skills of self-expresat Agnes Irwin. It’s not one particular legacy is in sion, I learned to speak, and I learned to moment that stands out, but the central the small feel confident in the public arena.” theme of sisterhood from her time here. moments Those skills have served her well, as “We were sisters who may have fought of life.” Sands has held many public roles in the and gone through many different stages past 40 years — including serving on the of life together, but also, we’re the women board of directors at The Haverford who know one another better than most.” School and the Association of Delaware — Amanda Mahnke
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Alumnae | CLASS NOTES
in Palm Beach at a trusts and estates law firm and completed her U.M. in tax law from Villanova in July 2014. Ann Duckett ’05 lives in
Center City Philadelphia and is earning her master’s degree in speech language pathology at LaSalle University. Annie is interested in exploring the therapeutic benefits of yoga, music and theater with speech and language disorders. Danielle Kays Garcia ’05
graduated from Loyola University in June 2009 with a B.B.A. She is an
account executive for a biotech lab. She married Alexander Garcia in November 2013 at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA. They reside in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood, and she is pursuing an M.B.A. at Villanova University. Anita Sellers Helfrich ’05
is living in Cambridge, MA, and pursuing a Master of Architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Prior to that, she lived in NYC for four years with Kate Archer. She got married this past August, and
Melissa Jefferis ’05 is currently teaching second grade for North Penn School District. In 2013 she received her master’s degree and reading specialist certificate. She is currently living in Wayne, PA with her fiancé. Natalie Jones ’05 writes,
“Since graduating from college in 2009, I have lived in Boston and New York City. I currently live in New York City and work at a hedge fund called Coatue Management in investor relations and marketing. I have worked at Coatue since January 2014. I feel fortunate to live close to some of my best friends who I went to AIS with, including Olivia Romeo, Libby O’Toole, Charlotte Hamilton, Sara MacIntyre and Kate Morsbach in NYC and Carley Razzi Mack and Katie Best in Philadelphia. I look forward to seeing them and everyone else from the Class of 2005 in May!”
1.
2.
Mary McCarty ’05 is
Giuliana Vetrano ‘05 is
fundraising for Generation Citizen, an NYCbased organization working to bring action civics education to every student in the United States. When she’s not raising money to help strengthen our democracy, she’s slipping away to Charleston, SC, as often as possible for magic hour bike rides and fried green tomatoes.
currently a first-year MBA student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. This summer she will be interning at Bain & Co. in Boston.
Olivia Romeo ’05 says, “I
have been in New York for close to six years now, working at Sotheby’s for five and a half years. In addition to being completely engrossed in the contemporary art world, I feel so lucky to have my Agnes Irwin friends around me constantly. For those who live in New York, you can find us exploring Manhattan and Brooklyn on any given night. Additionally, I have been able to schedule various vacations throughout the year visiting with AIS friends in amazing places globally from San Francisco to Dubai. If the past 10 years are any indication of my close relationship with this community, I am so looking forward to what the next 10 years (and beyond!) will bring.”
Jessica Marzelli ’05
2010-15 1. Olivia Tarbox ’01 (fourth from left) with an SSP group in Paris 2. Elee O’Neill ’10 commissioning into the Army
Reserve, with (left to right): Chloe Carabasi, Lydia Berlacher, Katie Nelligan, Monica Stone, Caroline Kraeutler, Mary O’Neill ’04, Kathleen O’Neill ’90 and Colleen O’Neill ’94. Not pictured: sister Laura O’Neill ‘93
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AIS was very well represented at her wedding, with five out of seven bridesmaids having attended Agnes Irwin as well as many of her cousins. “Looking forward to catching up with everybody in May!”
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bought a new house in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood in May 2014 and is recently engaged. She is planning a wedding for the early fall.
Julia Merriman Traggorth ’05 lives in Boston with
her husband, Dave, and infant twins born in September, Ellie and Whit. She teaches middle school social studies.
Kathryn “Katie” Zagrabbe ’05 graduated
from medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in May 2014. In June, she moved to Boston to start her residency in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is planning to specialize in women’s mental health, particularly in mood disorders during and after pregnancy. She also got married on Oct. 11, 2014, to Matthew Wellenbach (St. Joseph’s Prep ‘05) in Gladwyne, PA. “We have been dating since I was at AIS, and we had some pictures from AIS junior prom at our wedding! I so wish I could make it to Reunion, but I will be on call that weekend. Hope the Class of 2005 has a wonderful 10th Reunion!” Nicole Marchetto ’06
presented her thesis for a Master of Public Health, “The Effect of Intrauterine Exposure to Maternal Stress on Telomere Length in Offspring,” at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s February 2015 Annual Pregnancy Meeting in San Diego, CA. Her findings indicated that maternal psychosocial stress might lead to long-term adverse health outcomes for the developing fetus. Nicole completed her master’s degree in spring 2014 as part of a five-year pro-
CLASS NOTES | Alumnae
MILESTONES gram at Drexel University’s College of Medicine. She will finish her MD program in May 2015. In addition, her undergraduate research work at Bucknell University on Monomorphic Ornamentation Related to Oxidative Damage and Assortative Mating in the Black Guillemot was published in the journal Waterbirds in its March 2015 edition. At Bucknell, Nicole was a student of Dr. Mark Haussmann in the Department of Biology, with whom she collaborated on both projects. Amanda Becker ’09
graduated last May from Northeastern University (five-year co-op program) and is living and working in New York City. She landed her dream job in the marketing services department of American Express, and is a digital marketing analyst in their global merchant services division. She loves her experience and is in touch with other AIS alumnae who also are living and working in NYC. Lydia Berlacher ’10 says,
“I am now an aunt to three nieces and nephews: Owen, 4; Henry, 2 and Audrey, 1. I was recently promoted at Microsoft from an operations program manager to a strategic account manager working on Kraft. I am also working as a mentor for young women in Kenya through Global Give Back Circle, which sponsors college education through volunteer time
and financial support.
BIRTHS
Susanna Grundstein ’10
writes, “Time for the shameless business plug! I am a freelance theatrical electrician and a swim coach in the summer. For those who don’t know what a theatrical electrician does — she allows the actors be seen on the stage and the night scenes to actually look like night.”
1992
1997
2001
To Brian and Gyll
To William and April Tellam Timmerman, a girl, Harper Austin November 11, 2014
To Kyle and Kirah Miles George, a girl, Kennedy May October 23, 2014
To Erik and Jennifer “Jenga” Gatmaitan Watkin, a girl, Emi Joy
To Brent and Allison Scanlan Abbott, a boy, John Walker September 5, 2014
Anderson Samson,
a girl, Clare Gallagher December 9, 2014
1994 To Jacob Skeeters and Sandra Moser, a boy, Holden James October 3, 2014
December 19, 2014
2000 Hilary “Elee” O’Neill ’10
1995
was commissioned into the Army as a Second Lieutenant on Dec. 19, 2014, after completing four years in the Army ROTC program at University of Pennsylvania. Elee was branched in the Nurse Corps and will be serving in the Army Reserves with the U.S. Army Hospital 5501 located in San Antonio, TX. She is living and working in Austin, TX.
To Paul and Susan Joan Mauriello-Orlando, a boy, Elliott Joseph February 18, 2015
Molly Becker ’12 is in her
third year at University of Pennsylvania in its nursing program. This past summer, she did an internship with New York University Hospital, where she shadowed nurses in the post-anesthesia care unit and in the pediatric intensive-care unit. She also was an intern at the Transplant Institute of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and learned much from that experience. This fall, Molly did her clinicals in different Philadelphia area hospitals, as required by her core program. She continues to love the field of nursing and medicine.
To Emanuele and Allie Keen Vassalli, a girl, Emily Eleanor January 25, 2015
To Ryan and Stephanie Haldy Kelly, a girl, Lena Catherine February 15, 2015
To Thomas and Katie Comlo Seward, a girl, Isabelle Aldrich January 22, 2015
2003 To Alexander and Megan Doughty Shaine, a boy, Samuel Robert March 10, 2014
To Jonathan and Joanna Johnston Stott, a girl, Charlotte Sophia November 18, 2014
MARRIAGES
2000
2005
Katie Zaggrabbe
Allison Dillihay
Kathleen Bonner
To Rasheed James February 23, 2014
To William “Bill” E. Benjamin November 8, 2014
To Matthew Wellenbacj October 11, 2014
2004 Elspeth Fergusson
Elizabeth Kovich
To Jeremy Knighton October 25, 2014
To David Bilsky October 18, 2014
Alyson Laynas
Anita Sellers
To Drew Hoffman November 22, 2014
To Austin Helfrich August 9, 2014
IN MEMORIAM
1942
1970
1974
Barbara Gibbon Rowland
Laura Mercer
Margaret Durham
March 9, 2015
June 5, 2014
January 25, 2015
1948
1971
Jean Tomlinson Holdsworth
November 12, 2014
Anne Legnini
January 14, 2015
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REGIONAL EVENTS 1. 2014 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees (l-r) Noel Spahr Cappillo ’92, Suzy Pitman O’Kane ’62, Keeneh Gaffney Comizio ’85, Pam Egan ’88, Lynn Keyser Tierney ’78 2. Alumnae gather to meet Head of School Wendy L. Hill (third from left) in Vero Beach, FL. Pictured are (l-r): Anne McIver Dunn ’59, Nancy Day Sharp ’61, Ann Laupheimer Sonnenfeld ’77, Judy Luke Barnes ’55, Langie Manley Mannion ’57 and Laura Thomas Buck ’49
1.
3.
2.
3. Abbe Wright ’03, at our Alumnae Lunch Series, speaks about working in publishing at Glamour magazine 4. Anne Fritchman Hamilton ’92 and Lori Weitzman Bernstein ’92 attend an alumnae luncheon in Palm Beach, FL 5. Young alumnae enjoy reconnecting with History Department Chair Wigs Frank in Washington, DC
4.
5.
6. Alumnae paint ceramic bowls for the Empty Bowls community service project held with The Haverford School each year to fight hunger 7. Director of Alumnae Relations Brooke Norrett ’95, Whitney Roller ’06 and Laura Wheeler Golding ’64 (l-r) show their spirit at AIS/EA Day in November
7.
6.
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CLASS NOTES | Alumnae
8. Olivia Romeo ’05, an Alumnae Lunch Series speaker, (third from left) is pictured with Shelby Brisbane ’15, Sophia Weintraub ’16 and Grace Williams ’15 9. Dr. Wendy L. Hill meets alumnae in Palm Beach, FL 8.
9.
10. Members of the Alumnae Board get their turn in the photo booth at 100th Night dinner, which signals 100 days until Commencement 11. Tockie Townsend Baker ’44 and Anne Clement Monahan ’65 enjoy brunch at the Sulgrave Club in Washington, DC
10.
11.
12. Alumnae mothers and their daughters 13. Guest speaker Katie Wymard ’08 (center) with Upper School students as part of the Alumnae Lunch Series
12.
14. Head of School Wendy L. Hill, former Head of School Penney M. Moss and Board of Trustees Chair Ann Laupheimer Sonnenfeld ’77 at the Laurel Society Tea
13.
15. Kelly Coyne ’07, who spoke about her job at Pax World Management LLC as part of the Alumnae Lunch Series
14.
15.
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From the Archives Class of 1892
EARLY YEARS
Miss Irwin’s School, as it was known in its earliest years, was not expected to thrive with the departure of its founder and guiding hand for 25 years, Miss Agnes Irwin, for Radcliffe College in 1894. But three years later, the school was indeed flourishing under the leadership of Sophy Dallas Irwin, her younger sister. The seeds of the school’s longevity were no doubt planted by Elizabeth Elliot, Class of 1892 (front row, second from left). Elliot gathered 149 former students on Nov. 29, 1897, and urged the formation of an alumnae
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AGNES IRWIN MAGAZINE
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association. Its creation would, she argued, “promote ‘a feeling of kinship to the school … foster and extend school spirit,’ and through annual receptions renew friendships and, even more important, enable the grades to be again with Miss Agnes.” They held a Christmas tea with her. The women labored for 12 months. Executive committee selected, constitution and bylaws adopted, and membership criteria and annual dues set. They designed a pin, chose colors (blue and gold), and even embraced a motto, Non Sibi Sed Aliis, Not
for Ourselves But For Others. With the organization’s structure complete by early 1898, they had just one more issue: what should they do? “A purely social organization, pleasant thought that might be, could never satisfy Miss Agnes’s girls. They must be, in the words of their President, ‘an honor and a credit to our beloved Miss Irwin, and … a power for good in the community.’ ” — Wanda Odom; adapted from Miss Irwin’s of Philadelphia by Joanne Loewe Neel. Copyright 1969.
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY, FORMERLY SCHOLL
The Roots of Kinship
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on The Agnes Irwin School with
a gift to the annual Agnes Irwin Fund. The Agnes Irwin Fund supports every area of the school, DQG LW EHQHĆWV HYHU\ $JQHV ,UZLQ VWXGHQW *LIWV to this annual giving program are essential to maintaining the excellence of an Agnes Irwin education. Because of your support, Agnes Irwin girls will continue to make their
!
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