Carolina Friends School
Spring 2013 / Web Edition
We Are Building Friends
From the Principal
What Matters? by Mike Hanas
Relationships matter! At CFS, I’ve never been part of a conversation about curriculum, about teaching and learning, that didn’t focus on the primacy of relationships. We believe (no, check that; we know) that the ways in which and degree to which we know the students in our care animates our work at its best. They inform whether and how we choose to applaud, correct, question, challenge, and/or encourage with a pat on the back or “kick” in the . . . well, you know. Strong relationships contribute to the fertile soil in which CFS teachers nurture learning and leadership. Spaces matter, too! At CFS, we’ve celebrated our commitment to stewardship, our shared responsibility to make the most of our resources, including the physical spaces in which we teach and learn, for nearly 50 years. And we have no plans to do otherwise. But we do see opportunities to
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fortify the spaces in which we teach and learn in ways that will summon more from us and for generations of CFS students to come. Building Friends, our capital campaign introduced in these pages, will make possible renovations, expansions, and new construction that will send powerful messages about our commitment to education for action: CFS is here for the long haul! Opportunities in the arts and science will be stronger than ever. Experiential learning that animates the intellectual, imaginative, and ethical power of students and teachers is our goal. In the pages that follow, you will read about the people who will help frame and inspire the efforts and about the projects, including the renovated and expanded Chapel Hill Early School, the Quaker Dome, the Middle School and Lower School, the relocated wastewater treatment plant, and the new performing arts auditorium that comprise Phase 1 of our master plan. At CFS we expect our students to change the world, the world of their classrooms, their families, their communities, and, increasingly, the larger world of which they’re part. Please join us in shaping the spaces in which our students practice this work.
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Building Friends is a capital campaign launched quietly in November 2011 and publicly on March 2, 2013, with a goal of raising $7.75 million to improve and expand teaching and learning facilities at CFS. Fundamentally, however, Building Friends is about nurturing people rather than building buildings. It’s about giving our children and our teachers the quality spaces they need and deserve. And, by so doing, better preparing our graduates to realize the CFS mission statement:
Inspired by Quaker values‌ we teach our children that it is possible to change the world.
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A Brief Overview &
The Campaign for Carolina Friends School is a multi-year effort that and community members the spaces that they need to do their best work What does Building Friends do? PHASE 1 With a fund-raising goal of $7.75 million, the first phase of Building Friends will make possible enhancements in several areas: the sciences, the performing and visual arts, physical education/athletics, small group and individual learning, and professional work areas. Projects include: 1) Chapel Hill Early School expansion and enhancements (Completed Mar 2012!) 2) Quaker Dome enclosure and renovation for year-round athletics, physical education, and events (Completed Feb 2013!) 3) Middle School expansion and enhancements, including new science labs and new classrooms, art studio, and tutoring and staff work space (Est. Completion: Spring 2014) 4) Upper School spaces made available by relocating a Middle School classroom and studio to the expanded Middle School building (Est. Completion: Spring 2014) 5) Lower School expansion and enhancements, including library, Spanish, art, music, and science space (Est. Completion: TBD) 6) A new 350-seat theater for dance, drama, and music performances and community events (Est. Completion: TBD) 7) A new wastewater treatment system, roadways, and other infrastructure (Ongoing, Completion: TBD) PHASE 2 Additional construction plans and funding efforts will move forward only after the completion of Phase 1. These later projects will include: 1) Campus Early School expansion and enhancements 2) Dance, drama, and music education wings added to the theatre to form a Performing Arts Center 3) A service learning/maintenance facility 4) New tennis courts and a relocated baseball field
All these elements, Phases 1 and 2, will be brought together in a way that makes nature the heart of our campus and continues the tradition and tremendous value of CFS as "the school in the woods.” What led us to Building Friends ? A two-year, grassroots process led to the December 2008 approval by the CFS Board of Trustees of Meeting the Challenge, the School's fourth long-range strategic plan. A Land and Facilities Committee then spent two years working on a campus master plan. We then engaged members of the CFS community in a Spring 2011 feasibility study to determine which Meeting the Challenge objectives could be realized in a capital campaign. The Board of Trustees approved the goals in May and June 2011. We launched the quiet phase of Building Friends in November 2011 with the Board, and by the end of January 2012 had 100% participation from Trustees, who stretched to make incredibly generous gifts at every level. In Spring 2012, a Staff Committee clerked by longtime Lower School teacher Charlie Layman invited the staff to offer their support to the capital campaign. They give so generously of their time and talent, and they're also stepping forward to make financial gifts—now totaling about $100,000—for Building Friends. Thanks to all of our early supporters, including an anonymous $1.5 million lead gift, we have $5 million in gifts and pledges as we launched the public phase of the campaign with a March 2 campus gathering for service and celebration. We look forward to inviting support from all of our community members by the end of Spring 2014 as we then move into the School's 50th Anniversary celebration, 2014-2015.
Please stay tuned for more details, and thanks for your support—together, we are Building Friends!
“[This campaign is] not so much a change, as a way to grow and support the efforts already in place so that they can shine brighter and be more far reaching.” Tammie F. Cruell, parent
Existing Facilities 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Main Entry Lower School Center Middle School Gym Library/Art Resource Center Upper School Upper School Meeting Hall Maintenance Facility Campus Early School Soccer Fields Peter & Martha Klopfer Residence
Proposed Facilities Phase 1 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.
Quaker Dome renovation & addition Middle School addition Lower School addition Wastewater Treatment Field Upper School expanded instructional space Performing Arts Center - auditorium
Phase 2 20. Campus Early School addition 21. Performing Arts Center music, dance, & theater classrooms 22. Relocated Baseball Field 23. Tennis Courts 24. Service Learning Center
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Our Timeline will provide CFS students, staff, as teachers and learners.
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“For staff, the reality of new facilities represents a decade of envisioning a new dimension of what they are already doing--offering outstanding programs in dance, theater, science, athletics, and more.” Mig Little Hayes, staff, alumni parent
ad Ro l oo ch S 1 ds ien Fr
“CFS is special because it taught my children how to be lifelong learners and people of conscience.” Cindy Kuhn, alumni parent, grandparent
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Complementary Co-Chairs Lead Campaign By Marsha Green, CFS Board of Trustees Clerk Three of the most important ‘asks’ for the Building Friends Campaign took place at breakfast at Crook’s Atrium Cafe, in Mike Hanas’ office, and in the woods surrounding Carolina Friends School. The “asks” were asking Mike Bishop, Martha Klopfer, and Liz Pungello to serve as co-chairs of the Campaign Steering Committee. “We were asking a lot,” says Anthony L. Clay, Director of Advancement, who made the asks along with Principal Mike Hanas. Saying yes meant a three-year commitment of time and energy to the most ambitious fundraising effort in the School’s history. But like students and staff have done at CFS since its beginnings in 1963, Martha, Mike, and Liz chose to stretch themselves. “None of them considered themselves as fundraisers per se, but each has recognized and committed to this transformative opportunity,” says Mike Hanas. “CFS is richer for their commitment.” Since their first meeting in early 2012, these individuals have blended their experience, talents, and knowledge to create a strong foundation upon which staff and volunteers can continue on their business of “Building Friends.” SPIRIT The leaf-covered paths between the School and the adjacent Klopfer property were a fitting place to ask Martha to lead a capital campaign, given that she has spent five decades walking between her house and the School that has grown up on land she and her husband Peter donated in the early 1960s. As a co-founder of the School, Martha has been involved as a Board member in every fundraising campaign CFS has conducted. But she wasn’t expecting to be asked to chair this campaign. “This time I was considering myself retired,” said Martha, who became an emeritus member of the Board in 2009. “I thought it was time to step back and let younger people take the lead.” 6 We&Thee/Spring 2013
But as Mike and Anthony accompanied her on the paths through the woods and pastures (and were introduced to Edmund, the newest of the six horses she keeps), she felt what Quakers call “a leading” to respond with a yes. Her co-chairs are grateful for her response. “Martha is the spirit of this capital campaign steering committee,” says Liz. “When she settles us in at the beginning of each meeting, I feel so grounded, and when she shares her love of the School I am awed.” Martha says that one of the surprises of serving has been the recognition of how she, and the School, have changed in the attitudes toward fundraising. “I used to be leery of the idea of asking for donations and hoped people would just step forward and give,” she said. “But now I see the professional yet Quakerly work of our advancement staff, and I have come to understand that we have to identify our goals and ask people to join us in meeting them.” ENERGY Liz Pungello, parent of Dan (’11), Hope (’14), and Mia (’19), and treasurer of the
Board of Trustees, loves the quiet centering that begins each Campaign Steering Committee meeting – partly because stillness is not a common feature in her life. “Anyone who knows me knows that I have a lot of energy,” she says, the words spilling out in a rush. “I just get excited about what CFS is doing, not just for my kids and the kids who are here now, but for the ones who will be here 10, 20, 50 years from now. When I think about what our first-rate faculty can do with better facilities, I am ready to burst.” Liz, who teaches at UNC-CH in the field of developmental psychology, is no stranger to capital campaigns and the power of philanthropy. Although this is her first capital campaign at CFS, and her first stint as a chair, she has served on four other capital campaigns for non-profit organizations. She also runs the Brady Education Foundation, which supports collaborations between teachers and researchers to address the achievement gap between high- and lowresource families in the U.S. “Liz brings such excitement to our meetings,” says Martha. “She puts her whole self into the projects and her excitement and
B u i l d i n g dedication to each step are contagious.” INCLUSION Mike Bishop, parent of alumni Joseph (’11) and Leah (’12), brings over a decade of advancement experience at CFS to the Building Friends Campaign. He served on the Advancement Committee during the nine years he was a Board member (from 200110). More importantly, he served as the cochair of the Next Step Campaign, which raised over $4 million before it ended in 2008. “When we are talking about the logistics of the next meeting or the next ask, he brings amazing knowledge,” says Liz. “Not just the knowledge of development, but the
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knowledge of our community—what makes sense given our values and processes.” Mike, who is a medicinal scientist with GlaxoSmithKline, says that he enjoys dealing with the details and logistics a campaign presents, but also gets great pleasure from the opportunity to work with the School’s advancement staff to widen the circle of volunteers who are passionate about the school. “It’s great to have the opportunity to bring people who might be outsiders into insiders, and to draw a bigger circle,” he says. That task is made easier by the wholehearted support of the 19 volunteer and four staff who serve on the Campaign
Steering Committee. “I’ll never forget our first meeting in February 2012,” he said. “People were almost jumping out of their seats to get busy. They wanted to make the campaign a reality.” Carolina Friends School is blessed to have these volunteers offering their love and a large portion of their lives to this campaign. “Building Friends will be our most ambitious campaign to date at CFS, and the leadership of our co-chairs will be critical to its success,” says Mike Hanas. “Their love made visible and their willingness to stretch have already inspired many on behalf of our school community.”
Campaign Steering Committee We’re grateful to these community members, who have volunteered to help our Campaign Co-Chairs guide the Building Friends Campaign from Spring 2012 through to its Spring 2014 conclusion. Margy Campion, Alumni Parent, Trustee Trustee Clerk Jennifer Trapani, MS Parent Marybeth Dugan, US Parent, Alumni Parent, Michele Lynn, US Parent, PSA Convener Kevin Trapani, MS Parent Former PSA Convener Natasha Nazareth-Phelps, MS Parent, Former Hawley Truax, MS Parent, Alumni Parent, Laura Edwards, CHES Parent Trustee Trustee, Advancement Committee Clerk Marsha Green, Alumni Parent, Trustee Clerk Steve Nowicki, Alumni Parent, Trustee Coleman Whittier, MS/US Parent, Alumni Lauren Hodge, Alumni Parent Joan Siefert Rose, Alumni Parent, Former Trustee Parent Mark Kuhn, Alumni Parent, Grandparent, Past Chari Smith, Alumni Parent, Trustee
Campaign Staff Committee
We are grateful to the volunteers on the Building Friends Campaign Staff Committee, clerked by longtime Lower School teacher Charlie Layman.
1st Row (L to R): Michael Bonsignore (LS), Mary Deborah Englund (MS), Felicia Fleming (Center), Alex Gordon (Athletics), Jamie Hysjulien (US), 2nd Row (L to R): Charles Layman (Committee Clerk), Jon Lepofsky (US), Sara Orphanides (ES), Kate Pendergrass (MS), Jim Rose (MS) Carolina Friends School 7
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The Quaker Dome
The Evolution of By Michele Lynn, Upper School Parent and Campaign Steering Committee Member
Students, staff, and campus visitors enjoyed watching the Quaker Dome be transformed before their eyes. Eight months of construction turned the iconic structure into an enclosed recreational and athletic practice center by spring. The Quaker Dome—which served as the School’s gym when it was built more than 40 years ago—will continue to offer recreation and practice facilities and so much more. The project includes two additional exterior walls and a sports floor. The abundant glass for light and views to the outdoors helps preserve the feel of the Quaker Dome much loved by generations of students. Attached modules of 1,400 square feet house an office, bathrooms, and a heating and cooling system. A greenhouse will serve the MS and US science programs. The newly enclosed space will provide a large and flexible meeting facility close to the Middle and Upper Schools. Athletic Director Alex Gordon is excited about the impact the new building will have. “This space is a wonderful gift to the athletic program and PE,” he says. “It will provide a practice space in addition to the gym, so teams will have more flexibility in scheduling practices.” Alex says that the additional space will 8 We&Thee/Spring 2013
help ensure that both MS and US athletes have practice spaces, particularly in the winter and on rainy days. “For teams that practice outside in the fall and spring, another practice space means that practice won’t have to be cancelled on rainy days,” he says. “It can’t be overstated what it will mean to have this space.” In addition, the new Quaker Dome will offer the MS and US another indoor climate-controlled space for PE classes. But the new building’s impact isn’t limited to athletic endeavors. MS advisory groups will have space in which to do activities together while MS Exploratorium groups will have another space in which to meet. Annie’s dance classes will be able to rehearse and create their magic. Students in the MS AfterHours program will play and explore in the new Quaker Dome. The summer program will be able to expand its offerings. The community will have a lightfilled and inviting space in which to join together. In keeping with CFS’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the Quaker Dome is heated and cooled geothermally. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, geoexchange systems, like the system at work
in the Quaker Dome, are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems available today. This past spring and summer, wells were dug on the MS fields, an integral part of the system which will result in lower operating costs and a reduced environmental footprint. Assistant Principal John McGovern says that this geothermal project fits in perfectly with CFS’s environmental concerns. “This is very much in keeping with our board’s commitment to being as green as we can,” he says. “The system will make an incredible difference in our need for electricity.” He says that the decision to use a white roof should also keep the cooling costs down in the summer. Alex says that the new Quaker Dome is perfectly suited to CFS’s mission. “In our mission statement, we say that ‘we foster active exploration and quiet reflection, individual endeavor and collaborative engagement,’” he notes. “This building will help us provide experiences for kids that challenge them and bring out the best in them. As we continue the evolution of the Quaker Dome, the truth about the building is continually being revealed to us.”
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a Campus Icon
Going Green(house) Carolina Friends is often referred to as the “school in the woods.” We have a long history of utilizing the land, creek, and natural habitat of our 126-acre main campus to teach environmental studies and laboratory-based science classes. In 2007, Upper School Environmental Studies students built our first do-it-yourself greenhouse, near the Middle School’s garden plot. One special aspect of the Quaker Dome renovation is the inclusion of a professional-quality, glass greenhouse to extend science (and gardening) opportunities for our students. Here’s one Upper School example…Frances Brindle earned her B.A. in Botany with Biochemistry and her Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Dublin, Trinity College. This North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Educator of Excellence (an honor shared by her Middle School science colleagues Jim Rose and Tommy Johnson) teaches Advanced Biology. The demanding curriculum follows that of an Advanced Placement Biology course. A new greenhouse will be a significant asset for students conducting plant propagation and other experiments as part of their coursework and then
sitting for the AP Biology exam (our students’ mean score is 4, with a median score of 5 on the 5-point scale). Across units, our new greenhouse—partially funded through the generous support of the Ohio-based Benedict Foundation—will provide additional minds-on, hands-on engagement for our budding young scientists. Carolina Friends School 9
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Middle School The original Middle School opened in the early 1970s. Its open floor plan was replaced in a major reconstruction completed in 1997. Fifteen years later, it’s time to make additional improvements to Middle School teaching and learning spaces, beginning in the next few months! • Students and teachers who currently trek to Upper School and Annex spaces for classes will be able to enjoy connections to Middle School space in new classrooms. • The expansion will include tutoring and small group teaching spaces, enabling the
Middle School to take full advantage of its new Learning Specialist and implement fully its expanded program for meeting diverse learning needs. • A new art studio space located in the Middle School will enhance visual arts instruction and integration into our middlegrades curriculum. • A First-Year Block wing will foster the collaborative, interdisciplinary studies inherent in our language arts, social studies, and visual arts curriculum for our youngest Middle Schoolers.
• New staff work areas will foster advisorteacher conversations, dialogues with colleagues, and individual class preparation. Teachers will be able to integrate technology more efficiently and focus on pedagogy rather than logistics. • An enlarged Commons will facilitate Middle School settling in, meetings for worship, and other community gatherings. • A new entrance/courtyard will offer a clearly designated and more welcoming entryway for students, families, staff, and visitors.
Our new science labs and classrooms will give us the flexibility to teach more effectively, and the storage and preparation area will allow us to take full advantage of our classroom labs as we engage and motivate our students. The larger, dedicated science spaces will let students spend less time worrying about bumping into a classmate during a chemistry lab or having to wait in line to use a microscope and more time learning and exploring. My science colleague Tommy Johnson and I will spend less time juggling materials and trying to figure out how to manage ongoing student work and more time helping our kids explore the natural world. The new labs will also expand our ability to make the best use of our wonderful outdoor “laboratory”—the woods and fields that make CFS unique. ~ Jim Rose, MS Teacher With the exception of two new ranges and a new refrigerator, the kitchen has changed little since it opened 15 years ago, despite its steadily increasing use for teaching cooking classes each trimester, each week of Exploratorium, and each week of Summer Programs. Dedicated spaces for planning meals will permit students to peruse cookbooks and on-line sources and then move a few steps into the kitchen for preparation. Larger workspaces within the kitchen means that one cooking group’s onions and celery don’t interfere with another group’s pastry crust! Increased shelving and storage means separate tools and equipment so that an advisee group has access to supplies they might need without interfering with a cooking class’s needs. On any given day, the kitchen could be home for pizza lunch serving (Afghan Sister School Partnership), smoothie preparation (Advisee Group Fundraiser), Sweet Rice Pudding and Onion Fritter cooking and eating (Multicultural Cooking Class), and Pasta Snack (AfterHours). The addition of another refrigerator, cabinetry, dishwasher, closets, and work surfaces with adjustable heights will not only allow these activities to take place, but will also assure a safer, better functioning, more aesthetically pleasing, and delicious learning environment. ~ Mary Deborah Englund, MS Teacher 10 We&Thee/Spring 2013
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Lower School Name the Campaign Originally designed in the 1960s as our first Main Campus building and then expanded 20 years ago, the Lower School is poised for enhancements. Assistant Principal John McGovern and architect Ellen Weinstein are now working with the staff of the Lower School to translate dreams into tangible plans. The priorities they’re considering include a classroom for our Spanish-language program; spaces to facilitate hands-on science instruction; an expanded library; new tutoring and small group areas; designated art and music studios; a larger staff workspace; a more defined and welcoming entrance; and covered outdoor classroom/play venues. Stay tuned!
Upper School The Upper School complex in the 1990s grew with the construction of the Resource and Shared Buildings. The endowmentfocused Next Step Campaign of the 2000s included one building project, the Upper School Meeting Hall. While the Building Friends Campaign addresses pressing needs in other units, the Upper School will see tangible benefits, including the Quaker Dome and Performing Arts Auditorium. In addition, expansion of the Middle School will free up two classroom spaces in the Upper School that have long been occupied by the Middle School. Consequently, the Upper School will have additional flexibility in accommodating its rich menu of core and elective courses. And, heading into the 2012-2013 school year, we also made a significant investment in new science equipment (some of which is pictured above) for use in our Upper School laboratories, thanks to a campaign gift from a current family.
In Fall 2011, members of the CFS community were invited to suggest possible names for the upcoming campaign. Director of Advancement Anthony L. Clay made PowerPoint presentations in Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools explaining capital campaigns and our plans (the slide with Bob the Builder was a particular hit with Lower Schoolers!) and inviting name suggestions. Here are a few of the campaign names proposed by CFS Lower School students: > Animal Lovers > Be Nice > Building Big Buildings > Caring for Our Community > Dream and Believe > Friends Working and Building > Helping Us and Helping You > Imagine New Spaces > More Friends and More Buildings > Peace Campaign > Share and Care > We Need More Buildings > Your Kindness Helps Us Build From among more than 80 suggestions from students, parents, and staff, we chose Building Friends, submitted by Anna Lynch then only a few months into her tenure as Middle School Learning Specialist! Thank you, Anna!
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Performing Arts Center
The arts are woven into the curriculum in all units, and the excellence of CFS performances shines especially bright—Lower School’s Springfest (an exuberant celebration of dance and song guaranteed to melt hearts), the remarkable decades-long history of Henry Walker’s Middle School productions, the impressive creativity of Upper School musicals, student-written and directed one-act plays, and the performances of Middle and Upper School dancers under the guidance of Annie Dwyer. The commitment and level of professionalism of students and staff is widely recognized. Carolina Friends School is rightfully known for its vibrant performing arts programs. More than half of the Upper School student body participates in any trimester while about two third of
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Middle Schoolers take performing and visual arts courses each trimester. New performing arts space will strengthen community and increase quality. A theatre building—the nucleus of the eventual Performing Arts Center—will afford performers, technical theatre students, teachers, and audiences the opportunity to experience productions in a space designed for that purpose, with wonderful acoustics and ample performance, rehearsal, backstage, and storage spaces. In addition to providing sufficient seating for our own community members, we will finally be able to welcome visitors for performances and special events, expanding our reach and reputation for excellence throughout the Triangle. With alumni involved as performers, teachers, and/or
audience members, and alumni parents returning to enjoy productions, the circle of community is complete. Phase 2 of our plan envisions three wings, one for dance instruction, one for drama instruction, and one for music instruction, thereby creating a courtyard for outdoor performances and events.
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Chapel Hill Early School
By Michele Lynn, Upper School Parent and Campaign Steering Committee Member
“I am excited about the dramatically enhanced performance art space. Improvement of the facilities will enhance the effectiveness of the school's programs.” Mark Kuhn, alumni parent, grandparent, and past Trustee Clerk
It seems fitting that we close our section on the projects of Building Friends with a feature on the very first project undertaken using funds raised for the campaign. While the 350 square feet of space that this project added to Chapel Hill Early School between November 2011 and March 2012 may not sound like much, CHES Head Teacher Sue Caldwell Donaldson says the impact has been huge. “Having this additional space has made life much easier and much more organized,” says Sue. “We are so appreciative.” The addition offers a dedicated work space for staff, enhancing their ability to provide an even more enriching experience for the children in their care. “Before this addition, we had one 10 by 15 foot office that was used by me, the other four teachers, and our eight UNC work-study students,” says Sue. That crowded and limited space housed much of the School’s equipment and supplies, along with the copy and fax machines, audiovisual equipment, office supplies, and the library. With only one small closet to hold classroom manipulatives, toys, and other equipment, storage space was severely limited. Teachers couldn’t easily access curricular and holiday materials, needing to climb on counters to reach some items. Staff mem-
bers had no private space for writing confidential reports or conducting meetings. The new addition has positively impacted daily life at CHES. “Luckily for us, Ellen Weinstein, the original architect of the building, came over and helped us think over possibilities for this addition,” says Sue. “As a result we now have a wonderful space that holds all of our unit boxes, curriculum materials, and holiday materials.” While life is easier for the teachers, the students benefit as well. “Now, when a child says, ‘Hey, can we open a flower shop?’ the teacher can say, “Sure!” because she can easily find that unit box,” says Sue. She adds that teachers incorporated the construction project into the curriculum and the children enjoyed the building process. Says Sue: “Teachers need their space so they can feel organized, prepared, and professional.” She says that teachers now have more opportunity to collaborate because they are in the same space for their planning time. Sue says that this project affirms the critical role that teachers play. “Sometimes the professionalism of early school teachers gets missed by other people who think that we are just playing all day with kids,” she says. “This new space does something to honor the teachers’ craft, and we are profoundly grateful.”
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B u i l d i n g One CFS Student’s Role in Building Friends
Designing Our Future By Kyle McConaughey Last year, at the end of my sophomore year, I chose to intern as my End-of-Year Experience. I have been interested in architecture for a while, and I got the opportunity to intern at Weinstein Friedlein Architects (WFA). One of the coolest things was that WFA, involved in CFS building projects since the 1990’s, was the firm selected to design the Middle School additions and to redo the Quaker Dome. I was lucky to be working there at the same time that the design processes for those new buildings were taking place. I got to help plan what the addition to the Middle School will look like, and helped out with the Quaker Dome as well. I also learned a little bit about landscape design, and put that into use sketching concepts for a new path system connecting the Middle School, the parking lot, and the Center. While interning with Ellen Weinstein and her colleagues, I learned a number of skills necessary for architecture and design. I was taught to use 3-D modeling systems, and employed those skills to create walkthrough models on a computer for the new Middle School layout. I was taught all the skills necessary to make physical models, and made many such models for the Quaker Dome and the latest conceptual design of the Middle School. Of course, I needed someone to teach me a majority of these skills. This was another part of my experience that I found to be very cool. In Middle School, my advisor was Mary Deborah Englund. While interning, my supervisor was her daughter, Mary Englund. I had taken classes from Mary at CFS before, and she is a CFS alumna (Class of 2002). Because of all this, it was very easy for us to connect, which made my time interning that much better. As End-of-Year experiences go, picking an internship related to or directly in a career path you’re interested in is a great way to try out that career. I am very glad that I was given the chance to work at Weinstein Friedlein Architects. And I am grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute, no matter how little, to all the amazing changes happening throughout the CFS campus. 14 We&Thee/Spring 2013
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Expressing Our Thanks The coverage of Building Friends in this issue of We & Thee would not be complete without an expression of our gratitude to five people who have had key roles in building Carolina Friends School over the long term, and three people who have been of immense help in building and implementing this campaign.
We’re grateful for the ongoing collaboration with architect Ellen Weinstein of Weinstein Friedlein and with contractor Scotty McLean (also a former CFS parent) and project manager Kevin Wood of McLean Building Company. They’ve worked with us on projects dating back 20 years (to the Lower School addition)!
Many thanks must also be offered to staff members John McGovern and Terry Pendergrast, who for decades have overseen the School's buildings and grounds and facilitated all our construction projects, including the Quaker Dome.
Building Friends has benefited from the experience and expertise of our fundraising counsel, Mary Moss, Susan Ross, and Wendy McCorkle of moss+ross. They’ve respected the distinctiveness of our community, asked us good and tough questions, shared their observations and recommendations, and helped keep fundraising and friendraising fun!
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Visionary Friends
The Visionary Friends on the staff of CFS—pictured here decked out in heart-shaped glasses—have given from their hearts to support the future of CFS. Imagine the joy of making a much bigger difference than you thought possible for CFS. Picture yourself as a leader creating a bright future of great teaching and learning at CFS. Imagine yourself as one of the visionaries who are ensuring that CFS thrives and changes children’s lives for decades to come. You can. And you don’t need to be “wealthy” to see yourself in this company. These gifts are different from the cash donations to the Building Friends Campaign that will continue to fund new construction across the next few years. These unique gifts are planned today as a promise for a better future. Yet, the actual donation occurs many years from now. So, these planned gifts cost you nothing today while they create a brighter tomorrow for generations of children. These are visionary gifts. And the people
who make them are true visionaries. Their commitment to the future will help CFS realize our highest aspirations. And, that
We’re making a difference in the future of CFS. And our planet. students not yet born will be able reach their highest aspirations. It’s easy for you to have this kind of impact. Simply make CFS one of the beneficiaries in your retirement plan. Or include CFS in your will. Or make CFS a benefici-
ary of your life insurance. There is even a way to provide guaranteed annual income to you for life. There is real joy in making a planned gift. As one donor recently remarked, “We love CFS because it lives its values. Including CFS in my IRA ensures our values live forever.” Another said, “Adding CFS to our wills feels great. We’re making a difference in the future of CFS and our planet.” Simply by making a planned gift of any amount (or telling us if you have done so), you become a member of our Visionary Friends circle. We’ll then look forward to thanking you at our annual Visionary Friends celebration on May 18th. One of our goals for the Building Friends Campaign and our 2014-2015 50th Anniversary is to double the number of our Visionary Friends to 100. To help by making a planned gift, please contact John Ladd at jladd@cfsnc.org or 919.383.6602 x270. Carolina Friends School 15
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And on March 2, 2013, the public phase was launched...
First, We Gathered
Then We Committed SERVICE CFS community members of all ages gathered in the Gym and in less than two hours packed 35,425 meals for the Raleigh-based global non-profit, Stop Hunger Now, which has used the meals to help feed Syrian refugees in Turkey: www.youtube.com/CFSNC.
CELEBRATION Then, we launched the public phase of the Building Friends Campaign with a noon ceremony in the Quaker Dome. As part of the ceremony, we watched Mig Little Hayes’ campaign 16 We&Thee/Spring 2013
video; heard Mike Hanas announce to great applause that we are at $5 million (two-thirds of the way to our ambitious $7.75 million goal); read and signed a Certificate of Commitment; cut the ribbon on the new Quaker Dome; unveiled the vision for our Middle School project; enjoyed music from the Upper School a cappella group Quaker N’Oats (directed by Head Teacher Carrie Huff) and a jazz combo featuring alum parent Ira Diamant; had a light lunch in the food tent; shot hoops on the new court; viewed architect’s renderings of our projects; and read information about special aspects of the Quaker Dome construction. Kudos to the Campaign Launch Committee, co-clerked by Lower School parents Kate Bottomley and Robyn Yig ̄it Smith, who planned this magical day!
B u i l d i n g
F r i e n d s
to Stop Hunger What can you do? Please:
• Learn more at www.cfsnc.org/Building_Friends (including how to take a Building Friends campus tour). • Think about helping as a campaign volunteer. • Be open to volunteer outreach, giving you more information and inviting your support at whatever level feels right for you and your family.
to Building Friends
• Continue your support of the Friends of Friends School annual fund to meet the School’s budgeted day-to-day needs, www.cfsnc.org/donate. • Help us double the number of our Visionary Friends (see page 15), a goal for the campaign and our 20142015 50th Anniversary.
Thanks!
Together, we are Building Friends!
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Happenings Here 1
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1) Alumni at the annual CFS Turkey Trot in November; 2) Players in January’s CFS alumni-staff basketball game; 3) Graduates of the Classes of 2009 and 2012 reunite with each other and staff at the annual Life After CFS luncheon after winter break; 4) Campus Early School students and families celebrate their Thanksgiving feast; 5) 18 We&Thee/Spring 2013
Alumni from various classes speak at the annual Life After CFS evening panel for the Parent-Staff Association; 6) Members of the Alumni Committee, meeting at the Haw River Ballroom as part of their planning for the April 27 FriendsFest; 7) College Counselor Elise London introduces Class of 2009 graduates to share their Life
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After CFS experiences with the junior and senior classes; 8) Graduates of the Classes of 2009 and 2012 pose at the annual Life After CFS luncheon; 9) Amy Knight, parent volunteer extraordinaire with her five children (all at CFS except for the baby) and Mary Jo Knight, their grandmother from Indiana, at Grandparents and Family Friends Day; 10) The cast of Peter Pan; 11) Upper School Head Teacher Carrie Huff, Director of Advancement Anthony L. Clay, and Principal Mike Hanas, along with Jennifer Rotella, celebrate Upper School staff member Wilhelmina Rotella at her retirement dinner in December; 12) Upper Schoolers perform in a student-choreographed piece at the Winter Dance Concert in December.
Stay updated on Twitter @CarolinaFriends and on Facebook @CarolinaFriends and @QuakerDome (alumni site).
Breaking News
Nick MacLeod ’13, Wins Morehead As We & Thee was preparing to go to press, we learned that CFS senior Nick MacLeod has been selected as one of 64 recipients from around the world of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship at UNC-Chapel Hill. Read more at What's New at CFS (www.cfsnc.org) and look for full coverage of Nick and our other 2013 graduates in the next We & Thee. Congratulations, Nick!
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And a Great Time Was Had By All! On Saturday, April 27, 2013, hundreds of members of the greater CFS community and beyond gathered at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC for FriendsFest, an afternoon and evening of music, magic, arts and crafts, and celebration. The event was created by the CFS Alumni Committee, and featured the talents of our alumni, both as performers and as organizers of the family fun activities. While estimates of attendance for the day ranged from 800 to 1,000, no guesswork is required to say that the event was a huge success and the biggest CFS event yet. As the photos on the following pages demonstrate, a good time was had by all! Additional photos, acknowledgements, and links to videos of the evening performances can be found here: www.cfsnc.org/FriendsFest2013
The Emcees
Bradley McDevitt (‘89) Magician Joshua Lozoff ('89)
Reflections on FriendsFest
from Leon Ikenberry, CFS Middle School teacher "Now affectionately known as the "LoveFest," FriendsFest was an amazingly beautiful day of celebration and reconnecting teachers, students, parents, and friends. Folks even came from out of town—from cities all over the country: Philadelphia, Chicago, New York City, Asheville, Austin, Atlanta, and San Francisco. 20 We&Thee/Spring 2013
Alumni from classes as early as 1978 all the way to current students enjoyed seeing each other and experiencing their common bond. At CFS, love is the overriding theme of all we do. We understand that children learn through love. FriendsFest was a day of deep gratitude and acknowledgement of all this Love."
The Performers
The Oblations
Woodman Brothers and Sam Last at Appomattox (Lucky Strikes) Sam Huff ('05), Spencer Woodman ('05), Thad Woodman
David Hughes ('99), Grant Thomas ('99), Noah Sager, Greer Thomas ('02), Wes Jordan
CFS Upper School A Capella Group, Quaker N'Oats
The Ayr Mountaineers
Dmitri Resnik & Bootleg Beat
CFS Upper School Jazz Ensemble
Susan Wells and Tim Wells (‘86) Humble Tripe
Jennifer Curtis (‘96)
Kodiak Farm Boys
Joe MacPhail ('11), Daniel Fields ('11)
Ella Bertram ('12), Alan Best, Jennifer Curtis ('96), Jack Fleishman, Stacy Harden
Dmitri Resnick ('84), Dave Aduddell, Eric Mrozkowski, and guest Jim Henderson
Jess Shell ('97), Shawn Luby, Abigail Green, Josh Stohl
Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba
David Henderson ('05), Sam Huff ('05), Diali Cissokho, Jonathan Henderson ('01), Austin Matthew Rubin ('06), Nathan Case-McDonald ('07), McCall, Will Ridenour, John Westmoreland Jesse Jordan, Wes Jordan Carolina Friends School 21
The People
22 We&Thee/Spring 2013
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Additional Images from Grandparents and Family Friends Day, 2013
24 We&Thee/Spring 2013
Panel Discussion on Girls and Education in Afghanistan:
Facing Challenges ~ Sustaining Hope
As part of a CFS celebration of 10 years of our Afghan Sister Schools Partnership, created in response to the 9/11 tragedy, from 6:45 - 9:00 pm on Thursday March 21st, an impressive panel of guest speakers led an audience of CFS students, parents, faculty/staff, and community friends in a fascinating and challenging conversation about the cultural and political issues impacting Afghan girls' education. The panel, with Abdullah Antepli, Muslim Chaplain and Adjunct
Faculty of Islamic Studies at Duke University, Hassina Sherjan, founder of Aid Afghanistan for Education, and Fahima Vorgetts, founder of the Afghan Women's Fund, a collective of Afghan and non-Afghan women who are committed to ensuring the human rights of Afghan women, was moderated by Philip Gary, CFS Director for Cultural Mindfulness and Upper School Teacher. And the evening included a sampling of both food and crafts from central Asia.
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Sports Wrap-up Involvement in athletics continues as an important part of the CFS experience, with almost half of the students in the Middle and Upper Schools participating on a fall team. Those teams included girls’ and boys’ cross-country, boys’ soccer, girls’ tennis, and girls’ volleyball. The fall season was highlighted by the boys’ soccer and girls’ tennis teams’ high finishes in the state tournament. The soccer team again made it to the championship match of the state tournament. The tennis team finished third in the state. Look for a complete wrap-up of 2012-2013 athletics in the next issue of We & Thee.
26 We&Thee/Spring 2013
The Good News About Supersizing So many CFS supporters chose to supersize their giving, we’ve reached our $30,000 matching grant goal for new and increased gifts! Thank you to the more than 400 donors who have contributed to the Friends of Friends School Annual Campaign so far! Donations to Friends of Friends School help provide the everyday essentials for our 480 students. If CFS students use it, donations may have helped provide it: lab equipment, art supplies, musical instruments, many Exploratorium and End-of-Year program expenses, computers and other learning technology, and much more. In addition, donations help fund ongoing staff development and our tuition aid program that provides financial assistance to
over 26% of our students. WE HAVE EVEN MORE GOOD NEWS: we have been given an additional $10,000 matching grant to help us reach our record goal of $375,000! In particular, the grandparents who have extended this challenge would like to encourage 125 additional gifts from current CFS families and 60 additional gifts from CFS alums.
The challenge is on! It’s your participation, not the amount of your gift, that matters most.
An Award Winning
You may remember last year’s Friends of Friends School Annual Campaign, which featured Annie Dwyer’s 2nd period dance class. The campaign included the image above, as well as a website that described the process used to create it. This package of materials was recently chosen by CASE (the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, a professional organization) for an INSPIRE Award! There were almost 1,000 entries in 68 categories for the ninestate district. Only one independent school won one of the 55 Grand Awards. In our Annual Fund Publications category, the other winners with CFS were five much larger institutions of higher education:
Florida's Barry University (Grand Award), the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Radford University (VA), and the Ringling College of Art and Design.
Want to Save a Tree?
We & Thee is now available online at www.cfsnc.org. To stop your paper copy and receive an electronic copy, please email: lshmania@cfsnc.org.
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Meet Our Newest Staff In 2012 CFS welcomed talented new staff members in the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools and in the Center.
Tomeiko Carter, Ph.D., served as the Upper School librarian in Fall 2012 and in January 2013 became the Upper School's administrative assistant. A Columbia, South Carolina native, she comes to CFS after extensive work at the National Urban League and the Institute for the Arts and Humanities at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Tomeiko additionally has served as the CFS Writer-in-Residence, guest teaching a Writing Workshop class in the 2011-2012 school year. She earned her Ph.D. in English with a focus on African American Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill. Katie Collini joined CFS in March 2012 as the Director of Finance and Human Resources. A native of Durham, she earned a B.S. in Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from Georgia Tech and is a Certified Public Accountant. Katie has worked for the North Carolina Office of Rural Health, Enron London, and Ernst & Young LLP out of Atlanta. Katie returned to Durham in 2007 and worked with the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics until joining CFS. Katie and her husband Chuck have two children at Friends School. She enjoys reading, running, and traveling, although she's quite happy sticking close to home, exploring Durham and its surrounding areas, and appreciating what her hometown has become. Peggy Craft teaches math and computer science in the Upper School. An Alabama native, she earned an M.S. in Math and a B.S. in Math, both from the University of Houston and then worked in the Boston-area computer industry. Peggy brings to the CFS community years of 28 We&Thee/Spring 2013
teaching experience at the high school level (the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and Durham Academy) and at the college level (Elon, Guilford, and North Carolina Central).
Justine Johnson became a Middle/Upper School librarian at CFS in February. Prior to this, she was known around the Gym as a coach of the Upper School cross country team. An avid runner and reader, Justine was a book publicist for many years before making the move to become a librarian. She is the parent of two homeschooled teenagers and loves connecting people to the information they want or need. A native of northeast Pennsylvania, Justine now lives in Durham with her family and various furred and feathered companions. Mallory Konell is our newest Middle School math teacher. While an undergraduate at UNCChapel Hill, she worked alongside her mother, teacher Barbra Conger, at the Chapel Hill Early School. After finishing her B.A. in Psychology, she moved to New York City for a job at PBS station WNET Channel 13. Mallory then pursued her passion for children with employment at Greene Street Friends and a Masters in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She is certified in Middle School Mathematics, as well as in general curriculum K-6. A 2004 CFS alum, Mallory had most recently completed a long–term substitute appointment at Friends Select in Philadelphia and is excited to return to her own Middle School. Ellin Porterfield is a certified Montessori teacher with an M.F.A. in Children's Theater from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a B.A. in Theater (with a minor in English) from Appalachian State University. She has written 15 plays and produced seven of them. For the past 20 years, Ellin has been teach-
ing acting, creative drama, playwriting, theater technique, puppetry, directing, theater games, movement, and Shakespeare to young people. She joined the Upper School staff as the theater teacher and is very happy to work at the school her two daughters attend! She’s currently working on a book, Theatre Games for Peaceful Living and Cooperation. As a visual artist, she works in clay, jewelry, and textiles. Lillemor Ross, mother of two CFS Middle Schoolers, has joined the Lower School as its administrative assistant. She grew up in Southern California and graduated from Stanford with a degree in Psychology and continued in a master’s degree program that integrated teaching and technology. She did consulting work with IBM and then took a full-time job with its educational software development group. After stints in Florida and Atlanta, she and husband Ted moved to North Carolina. They often travel to California, Michigan or Sweden to visit family. Shan Wevill is a graduate of the University of Texas (Austin) with a Masters of Arts from the University of Houston. Most recently, she taught at Durham Academy and The Latin School of Chicago, but earlier lived and worked in Mexico. In addition to Spanish language, she also offers world culture courses, teaching Upper Schoolers that language is useful as a living experience. She models a global orientation through frequent travel experiences— including India, Morocco, Peru, and Turkey—and family visits to Spain. Shan lives in Durham with her two children, dog, and cats. Randall Williams now teaches language arts full-time in the Upper School. Since 2010, he has offered classes and workshops in the Middle and Upper Schools, focusing on philosophy, advocacy,
and leadership. A published poet and writer of non-fiction, Randall has taught creative writing and debate at a variety of local schools, including Durham Academy, Duke Young Writer's Camp, and the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools. He has also worked as a private tutor and curriculum consultant for the past
several years. Randall earned a B.A. in English and Philosophy from the UNC-Chapel Hill. Randall and his wife, Lisa (a CFS Middle School teacher) tend a farm in Northwest Orange County where they raise goats, herd chickens, keep bees, and grow vegetables.
Good Luck, Thank You, Willy Christel Christel Greiner Butchart has enjoyed teaching a variety of subjects, ranging from Ancient Greece to Watercolors, in the CFS Middle School since 2006. She has a background in and a love of art, which she studied at Elon University. Christel received her certification in Middle Grades Education at North Carolina Central University. She’s been instrumental in creating new courses that utilize theatre techniques as an approach to conflict resolution. Her students share what they've learned within the Middle School as well as with other North Carolina schools. She’s served on the Peaceful Schools NC project of the North Carolina Psychoanalytic Foundation, working with area schools to develop their conflict resolution practice. This spring, a Rotary Peace Fellowship has taken her Down Under to study Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Queensland. We wish her and husband Charlie, also an educator, all the best as they pursue this grand learning adventure!
Dutch-born Wilhelmina Rotella joined the CFS staff some 40 years ago. She served in every unit of the School, but spent most of those years with multiple responsibilities at the heart of the Upper School. Her roles included teacher, advisor, secretary, registrar, and yearbook sponsor, but she was as often described as the “cruise director.” So, it was with mixed emotions that students, parents, alumni, and staff bid her farewell upon her retirement this past December. Fortunately, we still see her on campus for special events and for tasks related to this year’s yearbook and our 50th Anniversary planning.
We Mourn
the passing of two alumni, Earlham College student Lenore Edwards ’11, who died November 25th 2012, and Nick Gwyn ‘94, on January 20th, 2013. To learn more about them, please visit www.cfsnc.org/memorium. We hold them and their families in the Light.
We & Thee is published twice a year by
Carolina Friends School 4809 Friends School Road Durham, NC 27705 Mike Hanas, Principal Anthony L. Clay, Editor Kathleen Davidson, Assistant Editor Doug Johnston, Designer Laura Shmania, Staff Photographer
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FriendsFest 2013
A Few Final Words of Thanks
In addition to thanking all of the talented performers and family fun activity folks who played such important roles in making FriendsFest so entertaining, we wish to thank Heather ('87) and Tom LaGarde, and Margaret Jemison for hosting us in the Haw River Ballroom and Amphitheatre in Saxapahaw, NC. It was the perfect venue for our festival. And their support staff served us with grace and goodwill. Thanks also to the Alumni Committee, whose vision for this event came to fruition after a full year of planning and organizing. Members organizing FriendsFest include: Lisa Crabtree Hess ('89) and Hopie Fulkerson Mooney ('97) – cochairs, Will Gordon ('01), Jason Parker ('05), Jonathan Henderson ('01), Tim Wells ('86), Sadie Bauer ('93), Heather Harding-LaGarde ('87), and staff members Jim Henderson and Laura Shmania.
One Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words Which is why there simply aren’t enough words to express our gratitude to all of the photographers who contributed to this issue of We & Thee. But we would be remiss if we failed to acknowledge the huge contributions of Anthony Lau, Caperton (Andersson) Morton, and Laura Shmania, for their photographic record of FriendsFest, and to Brian Whittier for his remarkable work documenting the student athletes of CFS. Thanks to all!
Carolina Friends School