The Bement Bulletin 2016-17

bulletin BEMENT

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T H E M AG A Z I N E F O R A L U M N I , FA M I L I E S , A N D F R I E N D S

PINE HILL A T

B E M E N T

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B E M E N T. O R G

Breaking the Surface INTERVIEWS AND PORTRAITS OF FRIENDS

Bement presented an all-school art exhibit this fall, under the vision and guidance of our visual art instructors, Deb Stewart-Pettengill and Sue Robertson. Students in all grades conducted short interviews of a classmate and then created a sketch of their partner’s face. These sketches were turned into a variety of compositions. Each grade was given specific materials and goals for their pieces, resulting in a terrific array of portraits.

Portraits were hung in the Polk Building in two large displays with an opening afternoon reception for faculty, family, and friends to enjoy this school-wide art exhibit.

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The Bement Bulletin is published yearly by the communications office for current and past parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends of The Bement School.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Meg Britton Clark P’17, FA WRITERS

Alex Bartlett ’87, FA Sara Becton Ardrey P’22 ’24, FA Marcia Bernard FA Barak Blackburn ’85, FA Ken Cuddeback FA Alice Gearhart FA Amie Keddy FA Emily Lent Hemingway FA Katie MacCallum FA Megan O’Brien ’95, FA Carole Pennock PTT, P’90 ’94, PF Charles Sanford TT, P’12 ’14 ’17 ’19 Jim Snedeker FA Deborra Stewart-Pettengill P’01 ’03, FA Anna Wetherby FA

EDITORS

Meg Britton Clark P’17, FA Emily Lent Hemingway FA Amie Keddy FA Kimberly Loughlin P’18, FA DESIGNER

Penny Michalak P’14 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ben Bensen P’86 ’92 ’98 ’01 ’02, FA Tim Young ’61, FA KEY GB ’00 TT PTT P GP FA PF FR HOS FHS GGP

Alumna/us from Grace Bement era (1925-1947) Alumna/us Class Year Trustee Past Trustee Parent Grandparent Current Faculty or Staff Past Faculty or Staff Friend of Bement Head of School Former Head of School Great Grandparent

stay connected Bement is on Facebook

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Follow us on Twitter @BementSchool

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Instagram.com/TheBementSchool

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B E M E N T. O R G

inside this issue 6

@ BEMENT

12

BREAKOUT EDU

16

PINE HILL AT BEMENT

22

SEAS THE DAY

26

BEMENT READS

42

CLASS OF 2017

58

NOTES FROM ALUMNI & DEVELOPMENT

30

BOARDING AT BEMENT

48

FACULTY RETIREMENTS

60

2017 BUSINESS REPORT

34

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS

51

NEW FACES AT BEMENT

38

THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC

54

CLASSNOTES

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LOOK FOR THIS SYMBOL FOR ADDITIONAL CONTENT ONLINE. BEMENT BULLETIN 2017

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A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

IT IS AN HONOR AND A PRIVILEGE THAT I WRITE TO YOU DURING WHAT IS NOW MY SECOND YEAR

as head of The Bement School. This is truly a magical place, where students can explore their passions, find new strengths, and journey through a childhood and school experience with creativity, joy, and hope.

I know many of you who will be reading this Bulletin know this truth about Bement firsthand. You are current and former students, parents, grandparents, faculty members, or friends. You know the smell of the falling leaves on Old Main Street, the sound of lower school students happily running to the playground for recess, or the cozy feel of a Friday morning all-school meeting in the Barn. You remember learning to roast marshmallows over a campfire on the weekend and the excitement of putting on your first Bement team uniform.

These are the uniquely powerful events that knit our community together. We cherish and protect childhood, while challenging our students to explore, stretch, and grow. We learn our multiplication tables while we chase salamanders and score soccer goals. And our faculty teach and inspire while they pursue their own passions as poets, singers, athletes, volunteers, sculptors, and painters. We are a community of lifelong learners.

I hope you find in these pages that Bement continues to protect and raise up the values of kindness, welcome, rigor, and openness that have made it what it is for many years, while you will also gain a sense of how the school is growing and changing in order to meet the challenges of our time and of the future. From the addition of Pine Hill at Bement to the wonderful local, national, and international diversity of our students, Bement provides a powerful local and global experience every day for every member of our community. I hope that after you read this publication you will visit us and see Bement, again, for yourself.

My best regards,

Christopher H. Wilson P’26 HEAD OF SCHOOL

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MR. WILSON’S FIRST YEAR AT BEMENT INCLUDED:

traveling

Maine New Hampshire Denver

Chicago Monterrey Mexico City

Boston NYC

Beijing Bahrain Dubai Abu Dhabi

Miami

visits to

Shenzhen

six

Seoul

to more than

Japan Shanghai Hong Kong

eleven cities in 6 countries including: Bahrain, China, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, & United Arab Emirates

states in the U.S. (Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire & New York)

¡hola!

Ni hao!

howdy!

100+

getting to know more than 100 alumni and past parents near and far has been a highlight of Mr. Wilson’s first year at Bement

drinking more than

500

cups of joe (we estimate)

learning

206

students’ names (not to mention faculty, friends, alumni, and more)

According to campus observers, Mr. Wilson drinks approximately 4 cups a day. He often has his coffee cup in hand as he walks the campus!

150+ welcoming

parents to dinner at Mary Hawks House (not all at once!)

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@BEMENT

#BEMENTGIVES

A Bement this year, there were several in which

mong the many community service projects at

we’re particularly proud to have participated. For Valentine’s Day, students in the Drake Building created nearly 200 valentines for Highland Valley Elder Services to share with the many older adults the agency serves. Earlier in February, Bement families filled more than 60 bags with dinner supplies, and our school was again one of the largest donors to the United Way’s annual Supper for Six campaign, which provides meals to families in need in Franklin county. And on Martin Luther King Day, we were joined by Kathryn Buckley-Brawner of Catholic Charities Agency and two remarkable young men, Adam from Darfur, Sudan, and Justin, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Both young men left their war-torn countries at a young age and spent seven years living in refugee camps before they resettled here in the United States.

They spoke about their loss, the disruption to their education, the challenges of coming to a new country without knowing the culture or even the language, what they are doing now, and how they hope to help others. As we crossed our fingers, hoping that the U.S. remained welcoming to immigrants, Bement families donated supplies for students to pack into kits for the agency to provide to newly-arrived families. In late April, we learned that kits from our collection had been given to two families who were resettled in the Pioneer Valley from Bhutan and Iraq, and more refugees were scheduled to arrive this spring.

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#GIVINGTUESDAY

F in the international day of giving known as

or the past two years, Bement has participated

#GivingTuesday. While we hope our community will support the Annual Fund, we recognize the day as one to encourage giving, and giving back, to any of the many organizations that are important to our families. Second graders baked a loaf of cranberryorange bread for the firefighters who had recently visited their classroom—Captain Brian McCarthy P’22 ’24 and Captain Mike Currie ’02. The first and fourth grade reading buddies (see page 27) teamed up to decorate paper bags for the Brown Bag Brigade of the Franklin County Community Meals Program. The Jackson 1 residents did some baking and Ms. Ardrey and Ms. Clark delivered the homemade cookies to the folks in Deerfield who support Bement every day: the post office, the town offices, the police and fire departments, and our neighbors in Historic Deerfield!

@BEMENT

MUSIC IN THE AIRE

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or more than twenty years, the Dartmouth Aires have been bringing their special style of a cappella singing to Bement! The Aires first visited Bement when former Lower School Head Carole Pennock’s son Chris ’90 was a member of the group, soon to be followed by his younger brother, Alex ’94. Almost every December since, the Aires’ energetic performance has been a highlight of mini-term.

Please Save the Date!

GINGKO DAY

E trees on campus shed their ach autumn, the gingko

leaves in a single day, a sure indicator that another October is drawing to a close at Bement. See pages 2 & 3 for a stunning photo of the gingko tree in front of Barton House taken last October.

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Current grandparents and grand friends, please plan to join us Friday, May 25, 2018 for

A GRAND DAY at BEMENT

SEE THE FALLING OF THE GINGKO LEAVES AT BEMENT.ORG/GINGKO

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@BEMENT

HOUR OF CODE

B global Hour of Code pro-

ement students joined the

gram (which is really a week!) in December. Organized by code.org as part of Computer Science Education Week celebrations, the program introduces students of all ages to computational thinking and programming and boosts confidence in computer science skills. Lower school students came to the Clagett McLennan library to code during their regular library/ computer time and upper school students utilized math and science classes. A wide variety of modules kept students at all levels of coding engaged. Seventh graders spent additional time this year learning to code and designing apps in their computer science class. Coding is widely considered to be a fundamental skill for the 21st century.

AN APPLE-LICIOUS ELECTION

PAPER MAGIC

K own election this fall, to learn about

B share a bit of Japanese culture by teaching the students some

eith Schoolhouse students held their

voting, campaigns, candidates, and the election process. They started with a poll (of course!) on how they most enjoyed eating an apple, narrowing a long list down to two favorites: caramel apples and apple cider donuts. Over the next few days, signs began appearing across campus—in some unexpected places, actually—as the two candidates, Ms. Lent (caramel apples) and Mr. Wilson (cider donuts) went head-to-head in their campaigns. In late October, the candidates held a town-hall style debate, questioned by Keith Schoolhouse students. Both candidates worked hard to win the voters’ hearts and minds—and stomachs, as there were some tastetesting opportunities—and in the closest Keith Schoolhouse election ever, apple cider donut was voted the winner over caramel apple by three votes!

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WATCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE APPLE-ICIOUS DEBATE AT BEMENT.ORG/DEBATE2016

B E M E N T. O R G

ement parent Miki Nakamura P’22 visited the fourth grade to

basic origami. After an introduction to this art form, Mrs. Nakamura taught the class how to fold an origami balloon with her daughter, Miyu, also helping her classmates. As the level of concentration increased in the room, so did the laughter when a balloon was successfully inflated. Bement’s international families increase everyone’s daily learning in the best ways possible.

@BEMENT

FIELD HOCKEY JAMBOREE

A Hockey Jamboree in October, assistant coach t the conclusion of this year’s Bement Field

Martha Price P’07 ’10 presented longtime head coach Dorothy Milne with a special gift. Each year, the Jamboree brings many field hockey alumnae back to campus, as well as Tom Falcon, who founded the annual tournament and continues to serve as the master scorer. Ms. Price spent much of last year seeking out photos and stories from former Bement players, veteran opposing coaches, and others to assemble a scrapbook of Jamboree memories for Mrs. Milne.

Celebrating Mrs. Milne’s years of dedication to Bement field hockey was a perfect end to the day. Join us for this year’s Jamboree on Saturday, October 21!

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Ready, set, go!

Runners of all ages sprinted, jogged, and walked through the north end and Old Deerfield at the Spring Fling Fun Run. 10

B E M E N T. O R G

@BEMENT

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Breakout EDU Written by Marcia Bernard, Librarian, and Barak Blackburn ’85, Director of Technology

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ESCAPE ROOMS ARE ALL THE RAGE THESE DAYS, with participants paying for the privilege of getting themselves out of a locked room by solving puzzles and working together. This idea has moved to the classroom as well, in the form of breakouts (officially Breakout EDU, an immersive learning game), where participants—most often, but not always, students—must work as a team to solve a series of challenging puzzles to open a locked box and discover a prize.

During Bement’s March break in 2016, librarian Marcia Bernard began learning more about these breakouts. A breakout taps into critical thinking and problem solving skills, uses opensource resources shared via Google Drive, and can be customized to any content area—a perfect correlation with the 21st century curriculum at Bement. Fortunately for Ms. Bernard, just across the hall from the library was Bement’s resident gaming expert. Director of Technology Barak Blackburn is an experienced game designer, having written numerous tabletop roleplaying games.

The pair ordered up a box and their first set of locks and scheduled a breakout. It quickly became clear that they enjoyed customizing their games to fit the class, so rather than relying on previously designed games available to them, they started building their own.

Walk into the library office and you will often find a game in the midst of being designed spread across the floor—padlocks, word locks, number locks, and directional locks; QR codes that will lead to videos, digital jigsaw puzzles, or custom Google maps; an invisible ink pen and LED flashlights; or a Google

A “breakout” allows students to practice the crucial 21st century skills of cooperation, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking in a tangible way.

Students work through frustration and develop grit and tenacity as they tackle problems from different angles and struggle through to a solution. It allows kids to make mistakes, struggle, and sometimes fail, in a safe way.

Cardboard virtual reality headset.

The box is locked with a hasp and six locks, and when students solve the puzzles and unlock the box, they “Breakout!” Many of the custom games begin with the signature video piece, “Talking Grace,” in which the well-known library portrait of Grace Bement comes alive to deliver the first clue.

To date, Ms. Bernard and Mr. Blackburn have designed more than a dozen games for all grade levels. During mini-term (see page 23) the Keith Schoolhouse students successfully navigated their way out of an ocean-themed breakout.

Other games introduced a class’ next reading assignment, using a series of clues based on the lead character’s journey or the book’s famous author.

Upon successfully opening the box, the fourth grade found copies of the Newbery Honor-winning Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis and the ninth grade had copies of Hamlet awaiting them. Ms. Dubie’s seventh grade math class solved equations, ordered lists, and earned homework passes as their locked-up treasure.

Ms. Bernard and Mr. Blackburn have designed customized games for math, English, drama, and science classes, an insect study, and even a mini-breakout for Dr. Seuss Day. The possibilities are endless.

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In the largest breakout to date, the full faculty participated in a threepronged breakout as part of opening faculty meetings in September.

The game introduced new faculty members to pieces of Bement history and personnel, and offered a fun, collaborative way to get to know their new colleagues.

Extending the learning opportunities of breakouts even further, Ms. Bernard and Mr. Blackburn coached a class of students through designing their own games. This spring, Elie Shuman’s sixth grade health class successfully designed a breakout to teach fourth graders about nutrition.

Each breakout takes place in Bement’s Clagett McLennan Library.

As a 45-minute timer counts down on one of the easily-viewed computer screens, students search the library for clues and work as a team to solve them. They collaborate on critical thinking and must try again when they fail. It is active learning at its best. Teachers can observe the students’ approaches to problem solving, see their ability to collaborate and work creatively, and assess their communication skills. When all the pieces come together and the final lock clicks open, you will hear “Breakout!” shouted from the happy participants.

Once the box has been opened and a photo taken, the students debrief with their teacher to go over what worked well and what they would do differently. And then they begin asking when they can do it again...

WATCH THE BEMENT FACULTY BREAKOUT! BEMENT.ORG/BREAKOUT

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Two Trustees Retire

It’s clear that Bement holds a special place in the hearts of both Dolly Glennon P’08 ’11 and Wendy Moonan ’60, who completed nine years of service as trustees this spring.

Dolly Glennon P’08 ’11 In the autumn following the graduation of her son, Bradley ’08, Dolly Glennon became a trustee. Her younger son, Andrew ’11, was still a boarding student here. Dolly is a visionary whose generosity has been an inspiration, in particular for the founding of the Bement Bridge Grant, which has helped Bement grow in a brand new way. As we strive to carry out our mission, the Bridge Grant has broken new ground at our school by increasing our economic diversity and opening Bement’s doors to the local community by providing qualifying children with a complete, ten-year Bement experience. Dolly’s contributions to the Development Committee and to the school have been instrumental to the success of the Building Community Campaign and the Bement Bridge Grant. We are incredibly grateful for all Dolly has done for Bement.

Wendy Moonan ’60 An alumna from the class of 1960, Wendy returned to Bement as a trustee in 2008. Her pride for her alma mater was always apparent during her tenure, notably as she helped lead the effort to fund the purchase of the Mary Hawks House in 2009. Her perspective as an alumna is always valuable, and her great love for the school is admirable. Wendy’s generosity to Bement and her involvement on the Development Committee have benefitted the school tremendously. Along the way, she has shared many stories and memories, as well as creative suggestions to help guide the work of supporting Bement’s mission.

Certainly, Wendy’s love of Old Main Street and Historic Deerfield will keep her close to the school and on campus whenever possible. We are all deeply appreciative of Wendy’s service to Bement. .

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THE BEMENT SCHOOL

Board of Trustees 2017-2018 Riché Barnes P’15 Andy Beall P’15 Kimberly Petelle Butz P’19 Raymond Chen P’15 ’17 Stephen Chen P’12 Mary Cohn P’03 ’06 John Gardiner P’14 ’18, Secretary Caroline Haines ’04 Anthony Kwame Harrison ’85, Vice-President Christine Hart, P’02, Treasurer Bob Howe P’18 ’18 Sheehan Lunt Jenkins ’00 Lisa Kittredge P’18 ’21 Pamela Klonaris P’11 ’13 Niki Lankowski P’20 ’22, Parents Association President Lad Nagurney P’09 Jane Plager P’12 ’16 Rebecca Pond ’95, PF Charles Sanford P’12 ’14 ’17 ’19, President Rich Shuman P’10 ‘14 Littell “Tell” White ’GB, Alumni Association President Wayne Wilkey P’11 ’16 Yi Zhang P’12 ’15 EX OFFICIO

Sara Becton Ardrey, P’22 ’24, FA Kenneth Cuddeback, FA Emily Lent Hemingway, FA Amie M. Keddy, FA Kimberly C. Loughlin P’18, FA Christopher H. Wilson P’26, Head of School HONORARY TRUSTEES

Joseph T. Bartlett ’49, P’80 ’82 ’87 Cathy Esleeck ’GB, P’62 Mike Kittredge P’06 ’18 ’21 Xingping “Simon” Lu P’09 Stephanie W. McLennan ’85 P. William Polk ’52 J. Peter Spang

Trustees of The Bement School, May 2016, from left to right: Raymond Chen, Lad Nagurney, Wayne Wilkey, Yi Zhang, Mary Cohn, Christopher Wilson, Frank Henry, Anthony Kwame Harrison, Charles Sanford, Jane Plager, Rebecca Pond, Rich Shuman, Dolly Glennon, Christine Hart, Tell White, Caroline Haines, Wendy Moonan, Andy Beall, Kimberly Petelle Butz, and Sheehan Lunt Jenkins

A New Trustee Joins The Board Bob Howe P’18 ’18 Bob joined Bement’s board of trustees this spring. He and his wife, Amanda, are current Bement parents to daughters Cammy and Kelly, who are ninth graders, and also have two older daughters, Erin and Samantha.

As the athletic director at Deerfield Academy, Bob brings his expertise in school leadership in athletics as well as deep experience in boarding school environments from his previous years at The Loomis Chaffee School (his alma mater) and Millbrook School. Bob also serves as the vice president of the board of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council. Welcome, Bob!

With Grace and With Gratitude We were honored to have alumnus Tell White ‘GB join us at our all-school morning meeting on Grace Bement’s birthday to share stories of what The Bement School was like when he and his sister, Sheila ‘GB, attended. Hearing the history of our school first-hand was a wonderful experience for all.

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welcome to

PINE HILL A T

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B E M E N T. O R G

B E M E N T

It seems the more people one speaks with, more connections between Bement and Pine Hill are discovered. A hidden gem full of history, opportunity, and excitement in our midst, Pine Hill seems to have been quietly connected to Bement all this time.

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With its natural pathways, tall trees, and open clearings, Pine Hill offers opportunities for on-campus experiences that, often over the years, Bement faculty and students have had to travel to acquire.

By Meg Britton Clark P’17, Director of Communications

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B E M E N T. O R G

“It wasn’t very long after we moved into Mary Hawks House last July that I learned the property next door was for sale,” says Head of School Christopher Wilson. “We were still unpacking boxes and I had been head of school for only a matter of weeks, but I had come to know enough about Bement to realize this might be an incredible opportunity for our school.”

Mr. Wilson looked into the property and presented this possibility to Bement’s board of trustees for consideration (see page 21). Just a few months later, in October, Bement’s trustees approved the plans to expand the campus by more than ten acres. In February, Bement purchased the wooded hilltop known as Pine Hill that overlooks Mary Hawks House and the athletics fields in the north end.

The property, with a residence, a large barn, a pond, and acres of woods, provides Bement with extensive outdoor space for learning, living, and exploring. Being outdoors has always played a significant role at Bement. On nice days it’s not uncommon to find several classes being held outdoors as our students conduct pond studies, investigate insects, examine trees, or discover the wealth of historical information our neighbors at Historic Deerfield hold. Louise Smith’s Noticing Nature after school group is consistently popular with lower schoolers, season after season, year after year. Even on the not-so-nice days, recess is still

outdoors (unless it’s colder than 20°F), our athletes still take the field, and students and faculty still criss-cross the campus to get to classes, the library, or lunch. The legendary “hardiness” that Grace Bement encouraged in the students in her care continues to guide our efforts to get outside as much as possible.

Pine Hill has a long history as part of Old Deerfield. Local lore says the French and Native allies made their camp behind Pine Hill before the raid on Deerfield in 1704. There has been a residence on the hill off and on since the 1830s when the Dickinson family first made their home there. “Pine Hill” appears on the maps Bement fourth graders examine during their colonial studies of Deerfield. Our resident historian, Tim Young ’61, and other former faculty recall playing hide-andseek and roaming the scenic woods there. Pine Hill’s most recent resident, Chuck Hall, spent many years repairing the buildings in Old Deerfield and can tell plenty of stories about the property, having explored every inch of it over the years. Mr. Hall, in fact, constructed the fine podium where our graduates deliver their commencement addresses each June out of chestnut wood salvaged during renovations of The Barn. The Halls’ former residence will now become a home to Bement’s new director of residential life, Terry Shields, his wife, Julie, and their three boys, and will also provide an academic space at Pine Hill for our faculty.

“I knew that Pine Hill would be perfect for the kind of natural world experiences that Bement encourages daily,” says Mr. Wilson. With its natural pathways, tall trees, and open clearings, Pine Hill offers opportunities for on-campus experiences that, often over the years, Bement faculty and students have had to travel to acquire. A large shady grove just above the residence is the ideal place to hold an outdoor class or find a quiet reading spot. A second, smaller clearing could easily be

“I knew that Pine Hill would be perfect for the kind of natural world experiences that Bement encourages daily,” says Mr. Wilson.

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a campsite for overnight adventures and team-building activities. The acres of woodland provide plenty of opportunities to identify trees and plant life, look for animal tracks in winter, and search for artistic inspirations.

The small pond and a natural spring at Pine Hill will provide an expanded resource to classes in all grades to study ecosystems and observe the natural beauty of the environment. Wooded trails and paths will offer nature walks, exercise, and the chance to explore the 10+ acres in all seasons. The class of 2017, with the help of Bement parent and carpenter Jim Fountain ’18, built six large, portable benches this spring as their class gift, which will certainly be put to good use as soon as possible by the groups that visit Pine Hill this summer and fall. The benches were given by the class in honor of Ben Bensen, who has, like a pied piper, led hundreds of students outdoors for PE class, improv games, play practice, song rehearsals, and more in his 27 years at Bement (for more on Mr. Bensen, see page 48).

The facilities at Pine Hill will enable service to the wider community as well. Bement’s summer programs host local and international students who are eager to spend time exploring Pine Hill. Mr. Wilson hopes that other community agencies will also be able to use the indoor and outdoor classrooms to build their own students’ affinity for nature. “Pine Hill at Bement is a wonderful opportunity for students, faculty, and the community to begin to develop or expand upon one’s sense of place. As we investigate the

“Pine Hill at Bement is a wonderful opportunity for students, faculty and the community to begin to develop or expand upon one’s sense of place.” —Jill Craig, Pine Hill Coordinator

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B E M E N T. O R G

The legendary “hardiness” that Grace Bement encouraged in the students in her care continues to guide our efforts to get outside as much as possible.

potential of Pine Hill, so will students unlock their own potential to lead, explore, create, and broaden previous skills,” says Jill Craig, Bement’s Pine Hill coordinator.

It seems the more people one speaks with, more connections between Bement and Pine Hill are discovered. A hidden gem full of history, opportunity, and excitement in our midst, Pine Hill seems to have been quietly connected to Bement all this time. As we begin the 2017-2018 school year, we’re eager to welcome everyone home to Pine Hill at Bement.

Over the summer, groups of volunteers donated a Saturday morning to join Jill Craig for several work days at Pine Hill. The volunteers arrived armed with loppers, shovels, and wheelbarrows, ready to begin clearing out the overgrown brush. Their work was immediately rewarding, with the visible sign of a trail system emerging after the first day.

A note from the President of the Board of Trustees on Pine Hill at Bement

Bement’s Board of Trustees could not be more pleased or excited about the purchase of Pine Hill. The benefits for Bement are hard to overstate.

The opportunities to expand and enrich the curriculum across all age groups and multiple disciplines are bounded only by our own creativity. Science classes will literally come to life as we move back and forth between the classroom and Pine Hill to reinforce and test topics learned in the classroom and validated in the field. Pine Hill’s rich local history spans 10,000 years. While it is one thing to read about the raid on Deerfield, it is wholly another to be looking down on Deerfield from the top of Pine Hill right where the raid was actually launched. The ropes course and other outdoor facilities we plan to build will help our students gain self-confidence and “fly on their own wings”.

Charles Sanford P’12 ’14 ’17 ’19, President, Board of Trustees

Pine Hill provides Bement the opportunity to promote and solidify ties to our broader community. We are just beginning to explore several exciting ideas with Deerfield Academy, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, and Historic Deerfield. Pine Hill provides an opportunity to give back to and work more closely with these groups that are so generous to Bement. Summer camps at Pine Hill will introduce Bement to some local families who may not have previously known us. Expanding and deepening our local connections is mutually beneficial to all of us.

The benefits of Pine Hill are not just in the future. Watching Bement’s senior leadership team come together to develop the long term vision of Pine Hill was just wonderful and gave the board and me tremendous confidence that they will be able to handle any challenge that comes their way. When we first went to see the property, I can say that its great potential was not immediately apparent, at least to me. The house needed significant renovation, the owner’s creative projects, while interesting, covered much of the property and needed to be removed, and the price, while not high, was significant for a school of our size. Several of us on the board needed convincing. But then we saw the faces of Amie Keddy, our new upper school head, and Emily Lent Hemingway, our new lower school head, light up as they started talking about the exciting and innovative curricular uses for Pine Hill. Kim Loughlin P’18, our director of admission, saw the potential of Pine Hill to increase inquiries and excite new families about the Bement community. Sara Ardrey P’22 ’24, our director of alumni and development, knew what the board was going to require before we had a chance to tell her—raising the money for the purchase before we bought the property—and she was already developing a plan. Ken Cuddeback, our business manager, was working with the town, the owners, and the inspectors to make sure all the details of the purchase were taken care of. The real magic was in watching Chris Wilson P’26, our new head of school, work with the senior leadership team to bring all these ideas into one coherent and compelling vision.

He communicated this vision with such passion that he was able to raise the purchase price of the house from very generous donors before the closing and is on track to raise the money necessary to cover the renovations. Seeing this whole process unfold gave me great confidence in the future of Bement and its leadership.

Pine Hill will provide our students significant new learning opportunities, strengthen Bement’s ties to the local community, and has shown the board the strength of the new senior leadership team. The Bement Board of Trustees could not be more pleased.

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B E M E N T. O R G

Written by Alice Gearhart, Upper School Latin

SEAS THE DAY!

M I N I -T E R M 2 0 1 7

A group of Bement students rolled up their sleeves and leaned over the touch tank at the New England Aquarium, eager to experience the sensation of dozens of cownose rays and epaulette sharks brushing past their hands in the water. On a Friday afternoon, the Barn rang with the sounds of sea shanties, and a week later it was filled with the giggles of Keith Schoolhouse students as they tentatively handled sea stars and hermit crabs, part of the New England Aquarium’s “Tidepools Alive” traveling exhibit. Oil pastels and colorful paper transformed into five large collage murals depicting different ocean habitats. Students listened in rapt attention as Dr. Tundi Agardy P’17, a marine conservationist, described the feeding habits and size of leatherback turtles.

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There is nothing quite like the learning that happens during mini-term, and the oceans mini-term of 2016 was no exception. We explored three essential questions: How do the oceans regulate and support life on our planet? How does aquatic life support such a proliferation of animals and plants? Why is it important to protect the oceans, and how can we do it? Hands-on experiences, collaborative art projects, eminent guest speakers, and films meant that students and teachers were fully immersed in the pursuit of the answers to these questions for the three weeks of mini-term.

Dr. Agardy, the mother of ninth grader Christopher Spring, helped the mini-term committee develop resources and ideas for the ocean theme and enlisted some of her friends and colleagues as guest speakers.

Dr. Greg Skomal, a fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries, spoke about his recent projects, including tagging and tracking white sharks using underwater drones and shared amazing shark videos captured by the REMUS SharkCam developed at Woods Hole. Kevin Macintosh, CEO of Baird & Associates, explained how his career as a coastal engineer incorporates math, science, language skills, and art, plus showed some examples of his firm’s problem-solving work on beachfronts and harbors.

A highlight of mini-term for Drake Building students and the upper schoolers was a day-long visit to the New England Aquarium in Boston. In addition to

enjoying the aquarium’s touch tanks and marveling at the four-story, 200,000-gallon coral reef tank, students and teachers explored the many exhibits. Clarese Gardiner ’18 said, “I really enjoyed actually seeing so many creatures we had already learned about.” After lunch, everyone headed to a showing of the IMAX film Great White Shark 3D before boarding the buses to return home. While the youngest students (kindergarten through second grade) did not travel to Boston, they had their own oceanic close encounters when NE Aquarium educators paid a visit to Deerfield with their traveling tidepools.

Lower school classrooms were busy researching, experiencing, experimenting, and creating for the duration of mini-term. The Keith Schoolhouse had their own Shark Week and was invaded by a giant jellyfish with 200 foot long tentacles! (Don’t worry, the second graders are expert jellyfish wranglers!) The Drake Building students spent time studying the impact of humans and pollution on the world’s oceans. Mr. and Mrs. Fish, well known marine educators, visited campus from Maine and gave a lively presentation on sea life to Bement’s lower school, as well as to children from Deerfield Elementary and The Girls Club of Greenfield.

Upper school students enjoyed maritime electives, including knot tying, making sea glass jewelry, and writing and performing an original (ocean-themed, of course) musical. Students viewed several episodes of

(This page, clockwise from the left) Dr. Greg Skomal discusses tracking great white sharks; Bement students at the New England Aquarium; creating jellyfish artwork in the Drake Building; upper schoolers perform their original ocean-themed musical at the mini-term showcase; Mrs. Currie and second graders exploring the Aquarium’s traveling tidepool touch tank in the Barn. (Opposite page, top to bottom) The horseshoe crab tank at the Aquarium; upper schoolers learning to tie knots during a mini-term elective.

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OCEAN MURALS

the BBC documentary series The Blue Planet and played a heated round of Blue Planet Bingo. An identification game challenged students to recall pictures of 115 different sea and shore creatures, everything from blue whales and polar bears to leafy seadragons and tasselled wobbegongs. In the final week of mini-term, Brendan Butz ’19 won the top prize at the challenge when he correctly identified over eighty different creatures in five minutes. A memorable afternoon was spent with David Coffin, a musician and performer who specializes in seafaring music; students learned about the musical traditions of the sailors on whaling ships, learned whaling vocabulary, and sang along on shanties and work songs.

As a new member of the faculty, Sandy Perot appreciated the community joy in learning together. “As a teacher of history it is relatively easy for me to find ways to weave in various conversations that give meaning to learning,” she commented. “But what was most meaningful and most apparent to me experiencing mini-term for the first time was how engaged the students and faculty were in bringing together so many layers of what “oceans” means to so many different people—whether in music, art, dance, research, advocacy, business.

Authentic, project-based learning makes us all own what we learn, how we learn, and how we share those ideas.

It was a really beautiful, organic process, and I can’t wait to see what the next mini-term will bring.”

A final musical showcase brought mini-term to a close, and students and teachers alike headed off to the winter break with many new memories and a better understanding of the critical role the oceans play in all of life on our planet.

Our oceans mini-term included an all-school art project that paired reading buddies from lower and upper school divisions. The objective was to focus on different regions of the ocean and create murals depicting the plant and animal life in each of these habitats—polar, beach/ shoreline, coral reef, estuary/wetlands, and the deep sea.

The art teachers, Ms. Robertson and Ms. StewartPettengill, began by gathering reference images of each region and making quantities of paste papers for students to use in creating both environments and creatures. Paste paper is made by painting colors suspended in paste over the surface of paper, then combing or pulling various tools over the surface to create textures. Then a variety of art materials were assembled for students to use in their creations. These included oil pastels, colored papers of all weights and textures, recycled materials, bubble pack, glitter, ribbons, translucent materials, cardboard, foam core, and matboard. Upper and lower school buddies gathered for brainstorming and researching, collaborating with each other and teachers in determining content, layout, and design. Several meeting times allowed students to work together and layer the murals, as well as to create individual creatures to be included.

Ms. Robertson and Ms. S-P installed the final murals along the Polk Building gallery walls just before the end of mini-term. The second grade added a giant jellyfish— with actual-length, finger-knitted tentacles—which was suspended over the deep sea mural. Students and teachers visited in small groups to enjoy and examine the different regions of the ocean and the other groups’ creativity. Families viewed the murals while attending the Holiday Tea, held in the library, and students were eager to identify their particular contributions to the project. Each mural also had accompanying notes to explain the habitat to the viewer. The collaborative project was a unifying highlight of mini-term for everyone.

By Deborra Stewart-Pettengill P’01 ’03, Upper and Lower School Visual Arts

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#BementReads Books have been an important part of a Bement education since the very beginning. Recently Nate Tufts ’GB recollected, “Grace Bement taught us to love books; to treat them physically with care as well as for their contents. I am sure hundreds of us developed our libraries with her in mind.” From the first days of kindergarten to the last days of ninth grade, reading and the Clagett McLennan library are integral parts of the school day.

upper school

During the upper school’s Tuesday morning “Bement Reads” time, everyone reads.

The rules are brief: students (and faculty) read something for pleasure (no homework assignments allowed) and everyone reads together.

Sprawled across the Tim Young Meeting Room, readers are deep into novels, magazines, e-books, graphic novels, and if they’ve forgotten reading material, perhaps a favorite from Ms. Gearhart’s TinTin collection.

lower school

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B E M E N T. O R G

Lower school students have their own version “KBAR”—Kick Back And Read— which includes reading on your own, being read to, or reading aloud to a parent. Twenty minutes of pleasant reading is logged each day, giving children and adults a good excuse to curl up and share a book together.

BY THE NUMBERS 2017

BOOKS! 804

books checked out by the second grade this year

reading buddies “Reading buddies” have been a cherished Bement tradition in the lower school for many years. Janice Currie began pairing kindergartners with fifth graders when she was a fifth grade teacher early in her Bement career. Her intention was to bridge the gap between the oldest and youngest students in the lower school, giving the fifth graders special time with kindergarten friends before moving up to become upper school students. Reading together proved equally engaging for the kindergartners, giving them cherished time with older students and aspirations for their future fifth grade selves. The odds are quite good that most Bement students remember their reading buddy from kindergarten. This year, Ms. Lent and Ms. Keddy determined to re-work weekly schedules and introduce allschool reading buddies. What a joyous sight to walk through the buildings and see ninth graders and second graders reading to each other, fourth graders thoughtfully choosing books to read with seventh graders, and of course, kindergartners listening to fifth graders with rapt attention.

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Varsity Readers, who read 20+ of the 25 books on the MCBA* Award

9,942

materials in the library collection 32% fiction

68% non-fiction

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copies of books by Bement author Amy Gordon P’99 ’03

409

new books added last year

286

active borrowers

*Massachusetts Children's Book Award

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hooked on books

With the support of a Helen C. Murphy grant from The New England Reading Association, the Drake Building students were “Hooked on Books” in their after school book club this year. In the fall, the group focused on mysteries. Winter term brought historical fiction, and spring term covered fantasy.

With 3-5 book choices each term, students chose the book they wanted to read (some read more than one) and then created different projects based on the books. Some of the projects have been dioramas, posters, breakouts, original short films, trading cards, and more—resulting in an impressive array of final products!

thank you Mr. Cleary! faculty book club

Where: in the Clagett McLennan Library When: 7:30 a.m.—before school!

Reading List:

The Road to Character by David Brooks Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

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Guest readers are always welcomed at Bement.

Vincent Cleary, a retired classics professor and the father of lower school teacher Rosemarie Gage has read regularly to Mrs. Gage’s third grade class on Wednesdays. This year, after 15 years (and at least 172 eager listeners), Mr. Cleary is retiring from his role as guest reader and he will certainly be missed. Over the years, Mr. Cleary’s favorites have become favorites of third graders, too: The Wind in the Willows, The Trumpet of the Swan, The Indian in the Cupboard, and the books of local author Natasha Lowe, who also visits annually to share her books and a cup of tea with students.

author visit

author-illustrator day 2017

On Wednesday, January 25, Bement welcomed Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author and illustrator of 30 books for children, including the hugely popular Lunch Lady graphic novel series, Platypus Police Squad series, and a number of picture books. Mr. Krosoczka gave four separate presentations to share his work and life story with students, faculty, and parents. The eighth and ninth grade heard a version of the very successful TED Talk the author gave in 2012 at Hampshire College about how he used his imagination and art to overcome a difficult childhood. Sixth and seventh graders learned first-hand about the creative process and the importance of revision. Drakesters got an up-close look at how sketches and notes evolve into a finished graphic novel. The Keith Schoolhouse took an illustrated tour of how Krosoczka’s Punk Farm picture book came to be. Author-Illustrator Day, a biennial event, is generously sponsored by our Parents Association and coordinated by librarian Marcia Bernard. Learn more about Mr. Krosoczka’s work at his website: StudioJJK.com. j

CHECK OUT MR. KROSOCZKA’S TED TALK “HOW A BOY BECAME AN ARTIST” ON YOUTUBE.

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Boarding at Bement

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B E M E N T. O R G

“Our location in this beautiful old New England village enables us to preserve a simplicity of living. The ideal of the school is the maintenance of a normal, healthy, happy life — training children for responsibility, developing initiative, guiding rather than repressing, disciplining rationally, creating a love for study and reading, and providing an environment in which each child finds a wholesome outlet for their own personality.”

an excerpt from a 1935 admissions booklet written by Grace Bement describing life at her school

By Emily Lent Hemingway, Lower School Head, Dorm Parent

MRS. BEMENT COULD HAVE BEEN DESCRIBING LIFE AT BEMENT IN 2017. In the most

important of ways, nothing has changed in the decades since our founding head wrote those words.

We still delight in our location in Historic Deerfield (perhaps now more than ever with the advent of Pine Hill at Bement) and value the lifestyle this place allows us to have.

Health and happiness remain our goals for our students, and as dorm parents, we strive to raise children who are independent thinkers, responsible citizens, helpful community members, and lifelong learners.

We eagerly get to know our students and recognize their competencies in the classroom, in the computer lab, on the stage, in the studio, on the sports fields, and beyond, in an acknowledgement of individuality

and voice that Mrs. Bement called “a wholesome outlet for...personality” and we know now as “flying on your own wings.”

Of course, in other ways, everything has changed since those early years. Grace Bement could never have imagined how cell phones and computers would transform the way we teach and communicate, and she could certainly never have guessed that every nook and cranny of the campus, from Barton House all the way to Snively, would have Wi-Fi access. When she purchased Barton House in 1936 to use as a dorm for boarding students, Mrs. Bement could not have known that, 81 years later, our campus would extend to the north end of Old Main Street where Haas House and two new, state-of-the-art dormitories would create a residential campus. I think

she would be delighted to find out that our boarding students now hail not only from the United States but also China, Japan, Mexico, Qatar, and South Korea.

In the timeline of Bement, many of these changes to our boarding program have happened relatively recently. Barton House was used as a dormitory for our younger girls just a few years ago; I lived there from 2008 to 2012, when we moved in December 2012 to what is now called Jackson House. We all felt bittersweet about this change; as excited as we were to be shifting into a larger space that would feel more comfortable and have a dishwasher, the girls expressed sadness about leaving Barton House, which looked and felt like “a real home.” I’ve always thought Grace Bement would appreciate knowing that, decades

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after she began a boarding program, students still felt at home in the original building.

Now, in 2017, the boarding students I moved to the new dorm with are mostly in college, and the students who currently live with us are too young to remember a time when half of us lived on the main campus and half lived at the north end. But my memory just scratches the surface of what our Bement faculty members can recall about the boarding program over the years.

Out of our 63 faculty and staff in the 2016-2017 school year, 25 have been involved in the boarding program during their time at Bement, either as current, past, or upcoming dorm parents, adjunct dorm parents, study hall proctors, or, in the case of Tim Young ’61, as a student himself! Two of our current dorm parents, Dan Bensen ’01 and Megan O’Brien ’95, were raised in the dorms by their own parents, who were also teachers and dorm parents at Bement. The younger Mr. Bensen and Ms. O’Brien have since returned to boarding as second-generation dorm parents.

They easily recall a time when Jackson, Jiayi, and Blydenburgh Houses didn’t exist and the north end of campus looked quite different, and yet boarding at Bement felt the same.

The idea of the old becoming

new again fits well into our ethos at Bement, perhaps because of our historic location where it is not unusual to have lunch in a farmhouse from the 1730s, visit the dean of boarding at his Victorian-era home, or wave at a horse and buggy on the walk back from school in the afternoon. Think of Mr. Young as a boarding student at Bement returning as a member of the faculty and of Mr. Bensen and Ms. O’Brien as young faculty children living in the old dorms moving into the new dorms as dorm parents themselves. Consider Mr. Belcher, who served as a dorm parent and dean of boarding early in his career at Bement, left to raise his family, and returned for another ten years of service before stepping out of that role this spring. Remember Haas House, once a longtime dorm called Wright House, that will become a dorm again in the 2017-2018 school year.

And of course, there are Grace Bement’s words, written in a markedly different period of time but still ringing true today. Mrs. Bement was right about so many things, not the least of which is her recognition of the importance of “our location in this beautiful old New England village.” For those of us lucky enough to call the Bement dormitories home, her words will always be true.

The idea of the old becoming new again fits well into our ethos at Bement, perhaps because of our historic location, where it is not unusual to have lunch in a farmhouse from the 1730s, visit the dean of boarding at his Victorian-era home, or wave at a horse and buggy on the walk back from school in the afternoon.

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BOARDING AT BEMENT: A TIMELINE

1936

Bement’s campus enlarged with the purchase of Barton House, establishing a dormitory for boarding students

1940s

Snively House, moved here from the town of Dana when it was flooded to form the Quabbin Reservoir, provided housing for 4 boys, who would flip a coin to see who slept in the loft

1965

72 boarders live in 6 dorms including: Abercrombie House, Dickinson House, Stebbins House, Wright House, Smith House, and Barton House

1978

An addition was put on Stebbins House for more rooms and “Phillips House” was built. Phillips House was the assistant head of school’s house and then became home to the dean of boarding

1984 - 85

Bement had 47 boarders from 14 states, plus China, Gambia, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia

2010

The new boys dormitory, Jiayi House and Blydenburgh House, was completed in 2010. Students moved in over the February long weekend with help from day families

2012

The new girls dorm, Jackson House, was finished in the final days of 2012.

Boarders returned to new rooms in a new building in January 2013

2017

Haas (Wright) House is renovated to again house boarders in the 2017-18 school year

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2

3 4

5

6 9

1 Taking on a baking project in the Wright House kitchen with Fusako Miyashita. ’96 2 Meg O’Brien ’95 and Ben Gladdys ’95 spending time with dorm parent Janice Currie FA and her son Matt ’99.

3 Anuva Kolli ’21 and Miyu Nakamura ’22 share a snack back at Jackson House.

4 Stuart Nelson ’77 skates on the ice in front of Wright House.

5 Boarders in the 1950s enjoying time in their dorm room.

6 Nels Hanson ’76, Bill Dana ’77, and Kip Clauss ’77 in Stebbins House.

7 Stebbins House boys celebrate at graduation: Andy Chiu ’92, Midori Tabery PF, Sam Kim ’92, and Jun-Won Kang ’92 (in front).

8 Abir Muhaisen ’88 studies in her room at Wright House.

9 Giles Gordon ’18, Sebastian Klem ’20, and Ngoni Maodzwa ’19 relax at Jiayi House.

10 The Wright House girls pose for photos before cotillion in the late 1990s.

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8 10

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From the beginning, Bement students have been athletes. Whether continuing an existing passion or trying a new sport, our student-athletes learn the value of determination, physical fitness, and being a good teammate, and they carry those skills into their lives beyond Bement.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS AFTER BEMENT I had a successful basketball career at the Williston Northampton School, where we played in several Class B Final Fours. After graduating from college, I continued to play basketball, playing in the Springfield Summer Pro-Am and Boston Summer Pro Leagues.

I spent 4 years at Bement as a dorm parent in Stebbins House and a lower school P.E. teacher. During that time, I also coached lacrosse, basketball, and softball and served as a ninth grade advisor. I have been an athletic director at several schools, working to develop their sports programs. Throughout it all, I’ve continued to coach and teach. I spent five years as an assistant mens basketball and softball coach at Emmanuel College before coming to West Prep Academy.

ATHLETIC HONORS At Bement, I held the unofficial record for most points scored in a two-year period in basketball. Maybe I still do?? As a basketball coach, my teams have won a Boston charter school middle school championship and a New York City championship at my public school in Harlem.

CLASS OF 1992

Howie Harrison PLAYED Soccer, Basketball, and Baseball FAVORITE COACH/FAVORITE MEMORIES Mr. Smith was my favorite coach. All of the team road trips were full of laughs and jokes the whole time.

LESSONS LEARNED Bement athletics played an integral part in my development as a young man. I built relationships with teammates and coaches and had so many great experiences while playing sports at Bement. I have always been into athletics and my time at Bement enhanced my love for sports.

1 1 Chris Lake ’93 and Howie take the field for Bement in 1991.

2 Howie, front row at the far right, on Bement’s basketball team, 1990-91.

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TODAY Athletics are still a big part of my life. I am currently the athletic director at West Prep Academy in NYC, which has won another city championship and has produced numerous All-City track athletes.

I continue to coach and am the assistant mens basketball coach at Hostos Community College (Division III), a community college in the City University of New York system located in the South Bronx. I am currently an AAU coach and the Education Director for the Castle Athletics program, frequently traveling across the country for tournaments. I also started my own company, S.U.P.E.R.S. Elite Training (Strong Untouchable Players Educated Refined Stars), working with basketball players and coordinating basketball events. And in my spare time, I’m finishing up in the master’s program in Educational Leadership at Columbia. Bement remains a monumental influence in my life to this day and helped to foster my love for athletics. The camaraderie of being part of a team is something I thoroughly enjoyed at Bement.

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A LU M N I S P OT L I G H TS

LESSONS LEARNED It’s hard to imagine my time at Bement, my childhood, or young adulthood without sports. Learning how to become a valuable part of a team is an important skill in life. Not everyone can be the best player, and there’s always someone out there better than you. Learning this at a young age, figuring out how to contribute to a team, and learning how to be a good teammate with the skills and qualities you possess is what makes you successful in life. When I was involved in track at Bement I was good at throwing events, but was probably the worst person on the team at jumping. I remember being so impressed with the kids who did high jump and long jump. Being part of a team teaches you how to appreciate the success of a teammate and how to graciously lose knowing you tried the best you could. You don’t need to be good at everything, you just need to give 100% effort at what you do best and rely on your teammates to do their best.

CLASS OF 1995

Bridget Waitkus PLAYED Soccer, Ice Hockey, and Track Still the Bement record-holder in shot put and discus throwing FAVORITE MEMORIES I remember loading our hockey bags into the pick-up truck and walking to the rink at Deerfield Academy. Our hair would freeze on the way back from practice to lunch.

I also remember the wild cucumbers that grew along the edge of the soccer fields, which, for some reason, fascinated everyone, and daily mile runs up and down the streets of historic Deerfield that often felt like five miles. But I think playing four square all through recess was one of my favorite memories at Bement…it was quite competitive!

FAVORITE COACHES Some of the people who stick with me are Mr. Hendricks (ice hockey), Mr. Belcher (track) and Mrs. Williams (PE teacher). All of them made sports and exercise fun.

ON SPORTS AT BEMENT I attended Bement starting in kindergarten, so [for me] every sport began at Bement. In general, there were not many girls who played ice hockey at that time, but we had 4-5 girls who played on the boys team. I feel fortunate to have attended a school where girls were allowed and encouraged to play sports such as soccer and ice hockey.

It can be tough being a girl on a boys team, but I think we all held our own. Ice hockey became a huge part of my life after Bement.

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AFTER BEMENT Starting in tenth grade, I attended The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT and played soccer, ice hockey, and softball. After graduating from Hotchkiss I attended Dartmouth College where I played ice hockey for two years and then began playing rugby. After college I continued playing rugby and ice hockey in adult leagues at the club level. In my late 20s I stopped playing sports competitively and began refereeing women’s ice hockey at the high school and college level.

ATHLETIC HONORS At Hotchkiss I was the captain of the soccer and ice hockey team. In college I was the captain of the rugby team my junior and senior years.

Rugby became one of my favorite sports. After playing for a couple years I was selected to the U-18 USA National Team and was the captain of the team while on tour in England. As an ice hockey official I have had many opportunities as well; I have been able to work the women’s Division I NCAA Final Four Tournament two times.

TODAY Exercise and fitness is still a big part of my life. I joined a CrossFit gym about 5-6 years ago and have really enjoyed the Olympic weightlifting aspect of CrossFit. I get to the gym at 5:30 a.m. about four days a week. I still play hockey a couple times a year in local tournaments, and I continue to referee college and high school hockey in the winter.

I remember sports at Bement as organized games. I don’t remember feeling pressure to win or feeling bad when we lost. I’m sure we did at the time, but it’s not what I remember. I have a 19-month-old old son now and, of course, I would love for him to play sports. However, I want him to learn to love sports in an environment like Bement. There’s too much pressure on young kids and youth sports now. Being able to look back at my participation in childhood athletics and only remember having fun is priceless and undoubtedly influenced my lifelong involvement in athletics.

4 3 Bridget on the 1992-93 Bement hockey team, back row, second player on the left.

4 Bridget competing in the hurdles during a track meet in 1995.

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A LU M N I S P OT L I G H TS

“ The best coaches and

teachers learn the most from their players so I’m continuing the learning process, still.

”

at NMH. At Colorado College, I played lacrosse for four years. After that, I returned to NMH to coach lacrosse and football for several years. I played professional lacrosse for three summers in Canada and two summers in the U.S. for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League. I coached lacrosse at St. Andrews School in Delaware and at Vermont Academy and then coached the Vermont Voyageurs (Quebec Senior Lacrosse League, semi-pro) up until last year.

ATHLETIC HONORS I was team captain in all sports in high school. Playing with the Buffalo Bandits, we won the National Lacrosse League Championship in 2008. And even though it was an unofficial game, it was exciting when the Voyageurs defeated the USA box lacrosse team in 2015.

CLASS OF 1997

Tony Sorci PLAYED Soccer, Basketball, and Baseball FAVORITE MEMORY I remember playing in the soccer jamborees and walking to basketball practices and soccer practices during the fall and winter...so beautiful there!

FAVORITE COACH Mr. Smith was my favorite basketball coach—but playing Frisbee with Mr. Belcher was the most fun. I’ve crossed paths with Mr. Belcher several times over the years at the NMH track.

LESSONS LEARNED At Bement, I learned that each team was very diverse and clear lines of communication were necessary for success. As a lacrosse coach, I am constantly thinking about team play and how to get the most from my players. The best coaches and teachers learn the most from their players so I'm continuing the learning process, still.

AFTER BEMENT I played football, basketball, and lacrosse at Northfield Mount Hermon. My Bement athletic experiences helped me become a leader

5 5 Coaching the Vermont Voyageurs at the Laxallstars Tournament in Syracuse, NY last September.

6 Tony tending goal for the Bement soccer team in 1993.

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TODAY Tony is a member of the Navajo nation and has become an activist on behalf of the longstanding issues faced by indigenous peoples. His connection to water, and awareness of how water connects all of us, has led him to paddle for peace. “I paddle for the children of today who need to disconnect from their phones and reconnect themselves to the natural world. I paddle to inspire the youth to fight for their culture, our land, our dignity, our human rights…” Tony participated in the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign Paddle in 2013. In September 2015, he joined with the Onandaga Canoe and Kayak Club to paddle from Onandaga, NY, to Philadelphia, PA, to urge Pope Francis to renounce and rescind the Doctrine of Discovery, which has been used for hundreds of years to support colonial imperialism and invalidate indigenous peoples’ possession of land. Most recently, Tony spent a great deal of time in Standing Rock, North Dakota, peacefully protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline and seeking to promote a greater connection between people and the natural world.

He has written several articles on his time at Standing Rock and other paddles, which you can read here: http://bit.ly/2uespu4 (Paddling for Peace) http://bit.ly/2whNOjx (Why I Paddled to the Pope)

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SWIM TEAM As part of their overall great season, the swim team had one particularly rewarding win this season, defeating the Deerfield Academy JV and Rectory School teams in a meet held at DA in late January. It all came down to the final race, a 4x100 freestyle relay in which the Bement teams took first and second place to clinch the victory.

2016-2017

Sports Highlights

GIRLS LACROSSE For two straight years, the girls lacrosse team has gone undefeated, a perfect 21-0 in the regular season. This May the team also won the annual Pine Cobble tournament, held in Williamstown.

The season included victories over Deerfield Academy, MacDuffie School, Williston Northampton School, Northfield Mount Hermon, the Academy at Charlemont, and Amherst Middle School, many times playing against high school JV teams. With a strong core of returning players, we anticipate another great season for the team in 2018!

SKI TEAM The Bement ski team had a very exciting season this year. Several individual racers delivered personal bests, new racers competed at high levels, and overall the teams did very well within the league (Mt. Institute Ski League). In the final standings, the boys JV team finished third, with Mark Ma ’17 finishing tenth in the league. The JV girls finished first, with five of the top eleven spots being Bement skiers: Ryan Blanchard ’20 (3rd), Eve Andon ’19 (4th), Kelci ’18 (5th) and Keira ’20 (10th) Lewandowski and Anne Ott ’19 (11th). Bement’s top skier, Claire Patton ’18, finished in second place at the varsity level

and had a number of first place finishes at races throughout the season. Claire is the first Bement varsity racer to ever rank in the top five overall. We look forward to following her ski career at Burke Mountain Academy next year. Peter Sanford ’17 finished twelfth among the varsity boys. There were quite a few Bement alumni listed in the final standings, too, and notably two Bement lower schoolers, Daighan LeBlanc ’21 and Shane Bussard ’22, who took first and third places in the final JV standings. Congratulations to all the Bement skiers for a terrific season!

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MUSIC SHOWCASE

The Sounds of Music Music continually surrounds us at Bement. Particularly on a perfect fall afternoon or the first really warm days of spring, anyone on campus, and even sightseers in Old Deerfield, may very well encounter a strings class practicing on the front lawn, hear strains of band rehearsals pouring out the open windows of the Arts Wing, or observe lower schoolers joyfully continuing their singing from morning meeting on their way to the playground.

Music is an integral part of who we are. In the early days of The Bement School, Grace Bement ended every lunch with ten minutes of singing and to this day, very few morning meetings go by without including music. Band instruction begins in the fourth grade, with the opportunity to learn to play string instruments beginning in sixth grade. Singing happens nearly every day in every grade in one form or another and culminates with the spring performance of a musical by our ninth graders. Performances by all of our musical ensembles bring another school year to a close at baccalaureate and commencement.

CHORUS Lower school students sing often with Anna Wetherby, who teaches music to students in kindergarten through sixth grade. A more formal study of music begins in second grade with singing games and dances (almost always outside when weather permits), singing rounds, and learning to read and write rhythmic notation. The classes experiment with different percussion instruments, learn about the musical scale, and explore the range of their voices in traditional children’s songs from around the world.

In the Drake Building, songs become longer and students learn to compose original verses. Dances become more complicated, games introduce music theory concepts, and students learn to play the recorder. The lower school music curriculum also reflects studies in the classroom. Every Bement third grade student can successfully sing all 50 states in alphabetical order.

Learning to dance readies fourth graders for the Colonial Ball. Students learn to read sheet music and to shape musical phrases, and in fifth grade, their cumulative musical knowledge helps them create original songs, using the computer to layer backing tracks and record and modify their voices.

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Bartlett, his guitar swinging around his neck, because he has convinced them that going to perform in the post office or Deerfield Academy’s alumni office will be a great opportunity to practice their newly learned songs. Becoming more comfortable singing music in all venues, learning to sing confidently in two to four parts, and even composing their own songs are just a few of the group’s goals.

The singers in grades seven through nine, typically work on three to five songs at a time, chosen by Mr. Bartlett with student input and ranging from original work to a cappella songs to classic rock or pop. The size, scope, and interest of each class often determine the group’s focus and work. Generally the goal is to sing harmonies in three parts, but sometimes for these tween and teenage singers it is an art just to sing the melody of a song in two octaves, working on matching pitch and creating a harmonious blend. Singing in rounds, introduced in the lower school, remains great practice for ear training at this age.

As a group, students examine the lyrics and tone of each song and work on expression in their performances, which might be at an all-school Friday morning meeting, baccalaureate, or on the spur of the moment.

These pop-up serenades help break down the barriers

THE UPPER SCHOOL SINGERS AND MR. BARTLETT ON THEIR WAY TO A CAMPUS SERENADE

around performance, as students move from performing for each other to performing for an audience.

Like other music classes, the singers meet in individual classes as smaller groups to learn the music and come together as a whole ensemble once a week to make a cohesive sound.

Over the last three years, the singers have crafted two original songs—lyrics, music, and arrangements—

with Mr. Bartlett, “Home is Where the Heart Is” and “I Wanna Take My Sweet Time,” both of which have become audience favorites on campus.

Wherever a student’s musical path may have begun, the hope is that these singers move on from Bement with the confidence and competence to perform in any group and that making music was pivotal in their Bement experience.

“When you choose to do chorus at Bement, you are signing up for so much more than just learning to hit the notes and memorize the lyrics to songs. Chorus at Bement exposed me to all of the incredible skills I needed to join the chorus program at Loomis Chaffee. Between the years of 2013-2016, I was tossed into new situations which tested my confidence, spirit and energy. By the end of my ninth grade year at Bement, I was perfectly prepared to sing on my own without fear, think optimistically about different styles of music, and of course, use my voice to its full potential…I couldn’t be more thankful for the upbeat group of young singers I worked with for granting me the confidence and memories I take with me every day.”

Ally Gray ’16

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THE UPPER SCHOOL BAND PRACTICES UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MR. SNEDEKER

This winter three Bement musicians were named to the Western District Junior Concert Band after auditioning in December: Jay Zhou ’18, Philips He ’18, and Ben Chen ’17, who was selected for the third year in a row. At the auditions, students must perform a prepared solo, a series of scales, and an unknown piece given to them that day. They are then judged on all aspects of their musicianship.

There are many applicants, but only a select group is chosen for the band. This was the first time every Bement student who auditioned was chosen for this honor.

After a full day of rehearsals, the band performs a concert at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in March.

STUDENTS BEGIN BAND INSTRUCTION IN THE FOURTH GRADE

BAND The Bement band program offers students a chance to learn and play woodwind, brass and percussion instruments and perform in concerts for the school and parents. Margaret Merrigan P’95 ’97 ’01 ’02, PF, started the band program in 1989 and ran it until 2005 when she retired. Jim Snedeker picked up the conductor’s baton and has been the band director ever since. Currently, Bement has four different bands: individual fourth, fifth, and sixth grade bands, and a combined band for grades 7, 8, and 9. Each group practices weekly and performs at least twice each school year.

Mr. Snedeker’s goal is to make band fun and so he tempers the challenges of practicing an instrument with light-heartedness and encouragement. Mr. Snedeker’s diverse musical background playing in orchestras, jazz bands, musicals, chamber ensembles, and pop/rock groups helps him meet a second goal: to choose music from as many different styles as possible to broaden students’ musical experience. “We may play a piece of music that a student thinks isn’t necessarily their cup of tea, but they will remember this music when they encounter it as adults and that ‘a-ha’ moment of recognition will be quite wonderful,” says the band director.

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Over the years, the bands’ song lists have included jazz and swing pieces, opera, Latin, classical, novelty, 20th century avant-garde, program music, Broadway, African, South American, and a diverse assortment of folk songs.

Like the other branches of Bement’s music program, some students may have begun in the lower school and played for years, while others are brand-new to playing an instrument. All band students—no matter their ability level— are included on each piece and know they are capable of playing it. Mr. Snedeker emphasizes the value of regular practice at home, encouraging students to find the time in their busy day to make time for music. The reward of that accomplishment is summed up best by a recent band member, “I practiced and it worked!”

Being a member of the band lets students of different ages and backgrounds come together with common goals in mind: to sound good together, to enjoy playing music together, and to offer their music to an appreciative audience. Every culture on earth has music; it’s one of the few universal human languages. Being in the Bement band invites students to join that part of humanity, to nurture their musical interest and talents, and carry a love of music forward into their lives beyond Bement.

MUSIC SHOWCASE

STRINGS Just over ten years ago, a Bement parent whose son took viola lessons from Anna Wetherby approached her, hoping she might be interested in beginning a string program at Bement. That first year, eight students participated in sessions held in the Grace Bement Reading Room and thus began the string program at Bement. Since then, the program has grown every year in number of participants, number of performances, and strength, to the extent that it is now a fully developed orchestra program with 46 students in grades 6 through 9 this past year. Approximately half of these students came to Bement already experienced musicians on their chosen instruments; the other half began their orchestral playing at Bement starting in sixth, seventh, and even eighth grade. At the heart of the orchestra is the intrinsic reason Ms. Wetherby teaches: learning to perform in an orchestral setting needs to be both challenging and rewarding. “Listening to and taking directions from the students needs to be in equal measure to my own requests that they listen and follow my direction,” she explains. From the outset, the orchestra has been a democratic program, strongly encouraging the students to recommend repertoire and vote on the pieces performed in concerts. Ms. Wetherby finds that giving members this voice and outlet deepens their connection with the orchestra and their investment in practicing.

Collaboration is encouraged and projects are often

student-driven. The orchestra has provided live accomaniment for an original performance by the dance class. Ninth grade band members joined the orchestra a few years ago for the first ever full symphonic experience at Bement and in 2016, students from the band and orchestra created Bement’s first “pit orchestra” for the ninth grade musical, Into The Woods Jr. The musicians sometimes serenade Bement’s trustees from the balcony overlooking the Tim Young (TCY) meeting room. The orchestra has also provided a musical welcome to a large group of visiting admission officers. These informal concerts increase both the orchestra’s exposure and their physical performing spaces.

Fitting the ever-expanding group has been the biggest challenge. By their second year, they had outgrown the Reading Room. The full orchestra now rehearses in the TCY room, and classes take place in the front room of Bement House, although occasionally, even that is too small. Like the band members, orchestra students expand their community and development by participating in auditioned and highly selective groups such as the Western Regional District Orchestra, Pioneer Valley Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Springfield Symphony Youth Orchestra programs, and many students continue their musical studies in secondary school and beyond. Ms. Wetherby’s teaching came full circle last December when she collaborated with one of her former students, musician Tommy Song ’13, on a movie soundtrack (see page 52).

MS. WETHERBY AND STUDENTS DURING ORCHESTRA PRACTICE IN THE TIM YOUNG MEETING ROOM BEMENT BULLETIN 2017

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9TH GRADE MUSICAL

Fiddler on the Roof Jr. 1 The cast of the ninth grade’s produc-

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tion of Fiddler on the Roof Jr. with director and drama teacher, Emily MacLeod.

2 The wedding of Tevye’s daughter Tzeitel and Motel the tailor.

3 The fiddler. On the roof, of course!

4 Lazar Wolf negotiating for the hand

of Tzeitel with a mistaken Tevye, who thinks Lazar is bargaining for a new milk cow.

5 Tevye’s daughters wonder what the

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matchmaker has in store for them.

6 The Constable informs Tevye and the villagers of the coming pogrom.

7 The sons in the village of Anatevka sing “Tradition”.

8 Golde answers the question posed by her husband of 25 years, Tevye, “Do You Love Me?”

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WATCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PLAY AT BEMENT.ORG/FIDDLER2017

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C L A S S O F 2 0 1 7 | B A C C A L A U R E AT E

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Baccalaureate

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1 The upper school singers perform.

2 Keishi Kimura’s reflection draws laughs.

3 The upper school orchestra entertains.

4 Nick Clark reveals his Bement Top 10 list.

5 Mr. Wilson and his daughter Madeline ’26 lead the procession.

6 Our own little mermaid,

Minji Shin, serenades the audience.

7 Ashley Brennan wore

her famous King Licorice crown.

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FA R E W E L L E V E N I N G

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Farewell Evening 1 Ms. Lent knew Min Jung Kim was our own Hermione Granger all along 2 Mrs. Mugnani celebrates Tiffany Lin’s global grace.

3 Mr. Bensen honors Marc Ma’s pursuit of excellence.

4 Ms. Gearhart pays tribute to Sara O’Keefe’s inner strength.

5 The case of the missing cough drops. Oh, John?

6 Ms. Brown celebrates Christi Ashenden.

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READ MR. WILSON’S COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AT BEMENT.ORG/COMMENCEMENT2017

COMMENCEMENT

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Commencement Bement’s annual commencement was held on the lawn, Friday, June 9, 2017.

1 The ninth grade performs “Sunrise, Sunset” one last time.

2 Ashley Brennan and

Taylor Lunt swing on the playground before commencement.

3 Elliot Johnson greets his reading buddy, Patrick McCarthy ’24.

4 Posing for a group photo before the ceremonies.

5 Ushers Kate Loughlin ’18 and Kylie Kittredge ’18 lead the students and faculty in the commencement procession.

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6 Seth McKenzie smiles at

teachers and schoolmates.

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7 Mr. Wilson welcomes the crowd to Bement.

8 Board of Trustees President Charles Sanford hugs his graduating son, Peter.

9 Presentation of the class gift:

six benches for Pine Hill at Bement, given in honor of the retiring Ben Bensen.

10 New graduates Alice Cai and Victoria Che.

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SEE WHERE OUR GRADUATES ARE HEADED THIS FALL AT BEMENT.ORG/SCHOOL-PLACEMENT

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FA C U LT Y

R E T I R E M E N T S

LOWER SCHOOL THEATER, PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Ben Bensen How many hats does it take to be Ben Bensen?…or…

How many hats has Ben Bensen worn at Bement?

These are questions to ponder as Ben—our beloved “Mr. B.”—retires from Bement after 27 years.

When Ben arrived at Bement in 1990, he was officially the lower school science coordinator. Before long, his computer skills made him the de facto lower school technology advisor. As the lower school grew, Ben became a part-time P.E. instructor and the lower school drama teacher. But drama teacher doesn’t cover all of the hats that Ben wore in that job…he was a playwright, a set designer, a costumer and, most impressively, a creator of the most imaginative props ever. Monsters? Timemachines? Long arms with grabbing hands at their ends?

No problem, Ben could concoct them!

At the same time, Ben was a Bement parent, and he and his children Patrick, Daniel, and Mollie lived upstairs in Bement House, where Ben was a dorm parent. He helped with the yearbook until he became its editor, and turned out many years’ worth of yearbooks that mirrored his unique style. When the Drake Building needed a song leader, Ben stepped in. In fact, one of his constant hats was that of willing volunteer. If you needed something, all you had to do was ask, and Ben was there.

Through it all, Ben was a bread baker, a tie maker, a storyteller, and a photo taker. He was a food composter, a boarding student hoster, a songwriter, and a constant jokester. He was our traffic cop—the man’s hats never stopped!

BUT—the hats that most Bement students will remember when they think of Mr. B. are the real hats that he created and wore on Halloween. We all waited with excitement each Halloween (which the lower school 48

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celebrated as HAT DAY) to see what amazing chapeau would grace Mr. B.’s head. One year, he wore a pile of hats (à la Caps For Sale). One year, he arrived with a fishbowl hat—complete with live fish inside. One year, he had on a home-made giraffe head that added at least a foot and a half to his height. And who could forget the year he wore a computer on his head—with a working monitor and keyboard?

Yes, Ben Bensen has worn many hats at Bement.

Now that he is retiring, Mrs. Bensen says that she’s been looking forward to packing up the Bensen-mobile and going places with Ben. Can’t you imagine a car trip with Mr. B?? There will be stories galore, songs from Drake, jokes, games, and lots of laughter! He will wear so many of his hats from Bement on these journeys! Mrs. Bensen will have lots of fun—just as all of us have had over the past 27 years with Ben. Thanks, Mr. B., hats off to you!!

BY CAROLE PENNOCK PTT, P’90 ’94, PF

FA C U LT Y

R E T I R E M E N T S

BUSINESS OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Marty Smith

“Good Morning, Bement School!” That familiar greeting has been spoken tens of thousands of times over the past twenty-seven years by Martha (Marty) Smith, our business office administrative assistant. Marty’s cheerful voice will be remembered fondly by thousands of Bement families as their first contact with the school, and her cheerful demeanor and positive can-do attitude have graced the business office throughout her tenure at Bement.

Marty joined Bement in June 1989 after six years as a pre-school teacher in Greenfield. She came to Bement as a young mother and has built a lifetime of Bement memories. Marty has seen much change at the school, having worked under four different heads of school and business managers and watched as school enrollment grew from 165 to 245 students.

Marty has seen the transformation and expansion of the Bement campus through the addition of the Barn and Arts Wing project, the Drake House, Kittredge Building, and the Polk Building renovation on our main campus. She has seen the transformation of our boarding campus with the demolition of the Brown House, Stebbins House, and Barn followed by the construction of two new dormitories and renovation of the Haas (Wright) House. She has seen the school purchase Mary Hawks House and move our head’s residence from Billings House to this beautiful setting, and this year has been witness to the acquisition of Pine Hill. Through it all, Marty has remained one constant, that breath of light air to welcome people to Bement each day.

Marty still recalls the joys of working in her original business offices in the Barn, where her office adjoined the performance and rehearsal area on one side and the boys locker room on the other. She recalls telling callers early in the year who remarked on the apparent inabilities of our orchestra ensembles to call back later in the year to hear how wonderful they would sound. She also recounts hearing “a lot of conversations I did not want to hear” emanating from the boys locker room on the other side.

Marty’s many roles as administrative assistant include receptionist, mail distribution, student billing, student insurance plan administrator, laundry company liaison, shipping/receiving, re-enrollment and enrollment processing, and numerous other “duties as

assigned.” In my seventeen years at Bement, she has kept me grounded, helped me keep track of my calendar of appointments, shared family events, and always, always provided a smiling, helpful presence in the business office for colleagues, students, parents, and our vast extended Bement family. Marty is the consummate receptionist, one who will recognize voices from ten or twenty years ago and greet them like a long-lost brother or sister. She knows how to handle calls effectively and efficiently. Hers is the professional “reception” people should expect to receive when they call Bement, the voice that defines the start of a conversation with Bement.

Marty has chosen to move on from Bement at a time when her life is changing and she seeks another new tack in her course through life. Daughter Elizabeth ’03 has grown from her days as a Bement kindergartner to a young adult on her own. Husband Charlie, and Marty, are moving into Marty’s parents’ home and plans are being made for their new future together. Marty takes with her an institutional history and knowledge not easily replaced, along with a Rolodex memory box of birthdays, anniversaries, and special events from countless Bement lives that I know will continue to be remembered with a kind word and a smile. I know I am not alone in saying thank you to Marty, wishing her all the best in her next venture in life, and letting her know she will be missed! “Good Afternoon, Bement School.”

BY KEN CUDDEBACK, BUSINESS MANAGER

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FA C U LT Y

R E T I R E M E N T S

LOWER SCHOOL, FIFTH GRADE TEACHER

Karen Lutsky

Small, but mighty. I’ve heard this phrase said about Mrs. Lutsky many times this year. A formidable force, the beloved fifth grade teacher has an uncanny knack for positioning herself to see everything on the playground, so that she can help navigate mediation with any Drakesters who are in need. And yet, it isn’t hard to see why Karen is so loved by her students.

Non-judgemental, encouraging, and realistic are all phrases that come to mind when I think about how she has supported me, as my mentor, this year. More are added when I see how she engages with students.

Warm, understanding, honest, patient, and funny. To loosely quote another colleague, there isn’t anyone at Bement who has been more mindful or such an advocate of students’ needs. Even in this, her last year, she was still learning as a teacher and employing new ideas, new curriculum, new projects. To me, when I asked Karen what her lasting memory of Bement will be, it was no surprise to hear, “Foremost in my lasting

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memories will be the students. They have approached learning as an adventure, and worked so very hard to do well. Every day my students brought smiles and laughter to my working life, which has made teaching them a joy. I’m so grateful for such appreciative and kindhearted children.” Anyone who holds this kind of mindset will re-invigorate themselves many times. And she did. Her experiences and lessons are woven into the fabric that is Bement. She gave all of her students a wonderful experience and she gave me a wonderful role model.

So, even if Karen is hiking the mountains of Italy, solo, growing a garden of flowers, working on her Latin dance moves, volunteering, or spending special time meeting her newborn grandson, she will still be here— in the education of all those droves of fifth graders, in the values she imparted to younger faculty, and in the lifetime of friendships. Small, but mighty.

BY KATIE MACCALLUM, FOURTH GRADE TEACHER

New Faces at Bement in 2017-2018 HANNAH DANCER Third Grade Hannah Dancer grew up in Deerfield and is a New Englander through and through. Before coming to Bement, Ms. Dancer taught in kindergarten-first grade and fourth-fifth grade mixed classrooms in Easthampton, MA. Ms. Dancer has also enjoyed working at Bement 's summer camp since 2012.

JILL CRAIG Pine Hill Coordinator Jill Craig returns to the eastern U.S. from Arizona where she was education director for a natural history center devoted to sharing the power of nature-based education with people of all ages. She spent time in the most beautiful parts of the country working for the Student Conservation Association before teaching fifth through eighth grades at a charter school. Ms. Craig’s passions lie in hiking and rafting, renovating her home, and reviving neglected furniture. She and her husband live in Conway with their twins and two grateful rescue dogs.

JENNIFER BOYDEN Administrative Assistant, Business Office Jennifer Boyden comes to Bement from a local sales company where she worked in the accounting office and as a sales administrator. She can balance a spreadsheet or create a sales brochure as needed. When she is not at work Ms. Boyden enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters on their family dairy farm.

TERRY SHIELDS Director of Residential Life For 20 years, Terry Shields has focused on improving equity in our educational system for students from economically-poor families in urban areas. He has studied high-performing public charter and private faith-based schools and supported the school leaders committed to their success. He established the Nativity Miguel Coalition, which shares best practices, reports data, and provides professional development on operational, instructional, and financial norms for Nativity Miguel Schools. He also launched The Network for Building Excellent Schools and coordinated leadership development and strategic growth initiatives. Mr. Shields also taught at the middle and high school level and served as a pastoral associate.

SKYLAR LEIGH MEAD Upper School History, Dorm Parent, Jiayi House Skylar Mead joins the Bement community as a history teacher, dorm parent, and coach. Ms. Mead received her B.A. from Dickinson College, where she majored in history and music with an education minor. In addition to her education coursework and student teaching experiences, she has worked with young people as a camp counselor and at an after-school program. She values student-directed learning and meaningful learning experiences. Outside of the classroom, Ms. Mead’s passions include biking and running, playing the piano, and 19th century British literature.

CASEY AHERN Upper and Lower School Drama, Dorm Parent, Jiayi House Casey Ahern has had a passion for the performing arts for as long as she can remember. She recently returned to the east coast after spending 15 years in Los Angeles, CA. There, she took and taught a plethora of acting and performance classes and has been teaching theater at an independent secondary school for the last seven years.

Ms. Ahern believes the art of theatre can challenge us creatively, as well as be a means for children and adolescents to express themselves. Her lessons challenge students to be better artists, while teaching them communication skills that will benefit them in all aspects of life. Ms. Ahern is a dorm parent with her husband Jerry and their young daughter.

SARA SABELAWSKI Health Educator Sara Sabelawski is a nutrition consultant at two long-term care facilities and serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst teaching women’s health and various nutrition courses. Prior to that, she held various positions at UMass Amherst in dietetics and women’s health and has worked clinically for over 25 years in both acute care and long-term care settings.

She lives in Greenfield with her husband, their three daughters, and their black Lab. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, skiing, baking, and watching her girls swim competitively.

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Faculty & Staff Updates

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WE HAVE AN EVER-WIDENING CIRCLE OF COMPETITIVE RUNNERS AMONG THE BEMENT FACULTY. Will Paulding (1) competed in the NYC marathon this past fall and showed off his Bement pride as he ran! Dave Belcher (along with his son Sam ’07) ran in the Austin Marathon, despite a nagging foot injury.

Rachel Sadler and Suzanne Martino are part of a local running group here on The Street and have competed in marathons and half-marathons in the region. And at this year’s Hot Chocolate Run in Northampton, Ross Feitlinger (2) began his daughter Evelyn’s running career!

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WELCOME TO THE BEMENT FAMILY!

congrats!

This year marked the anniversary of the following faculty and staff: 5 YEARS

Marcia Bernard, Librarian Tammy Powell, Bookkeeper 10 YEARS

Emily Lent Hemingway, Lower School Head, Dorm Parent, Jackson House 2 Anna Wetherby, Orchestra Director, Upper and Lower School Music

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15 YEARS

Amie Keddy, Upper School Head, Upper School English 20 YEARS

Karen Lutsky, Fifth Grade 25 YEARS

Theresa Mullens P’99, Fourth Grade, Lower School Liaison

Renee Wu and Tom Mangan (3) added one more to the children they care for in Jackson House when they welcomed their first child, Thomas Francis Mangan V, this past May. Raquel Paulding (4) was born June 9, 2017 at 12:34 a.m. to proud parents Will and Lauren. The family is doing well making the adjustment to being a trio!

MAKING MUSIC This past December, Anna Wetherby (5) had the wonderful experience of collaborating with a former student, Tommy Song ’13, in recording the soundtrack for the short film Fortune, by Rob Jackson P’00, PF. Writing and recording with a former student was an amazing experience for Ms. Wetherby. “Working with Tommy in the studio was incredibly natural; despite the years apart, the time was comfortable and familiar. He has developed into an astounding person. I stand in awe of his musical abilities and intelligence.”

the Secret LIves of Bement Faculty & Staff TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH THIS FUN MATCH-UP PUZZLER 1 2

I am a zip line guide at Berkshire East in the summer.

I am a NASA-certified Lunar and Metorite Sampler handler.

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I grew up in a historic hotel and country-western music venue that was modeled after a steamship.

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I taught horseback riding to Pat Carroll, who voiced “Ursula” in The Little Mermaid.

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I am a direct descendant of General George Gordon Meade, commander of the Union Army at Gettysburg.

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I lived and taught in France for 25 years before coming to Bement.

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I am a native of England and was a formidable rugby player.

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I play in a band called Umbral and our album Predawn to Postdusk was released—on cassette!

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I entertained the boarders on Karaoke Night with “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” by Journey.

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I lived in Kenya for two years working with refugees.

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I operated a balloon delivery service called “Balloon Tycoons.”

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As a high school student, a hitchhiking adventure to Cape Cod actually led me to college in Appleton, Wisconsin.

I have rocks in my head...literally! (Actually, it’s one rock—a pebble from a childhood biking accident.)

The collection of hand-painted kimonos that my business produced is now part of the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

a. Dan Hales

b. Martha Price

c. Ross Feitlinger

d. Dave Belcher

e. Theresa Mullens

f. Marcia Bernard

g. Deb Stewart-Pettengill

h. Alex Bartlett

i. Linda Brown

j. Amie Keddy

k. Frank Massey

l. Christopher Wilson

m. Doc Potter

n.

Katie MacCallum

answers on INSIDE BACK COVER. No peeking!

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Class Notes Keep in Touch! Recent marriage? Exciting adventure? New baby? Keep your classmates updated on the latest happenings in your life. All class notes also appear in the magazine’s online version. Phone: 413.774.3021 Fax: 413.774.4256 Email: alumni@bement.org

’GB

children. He is in business with his brother, and fellow Bement alumnus, Juan Cervera ’84.

Nate Tufts ’GB sent us a lovely memory of his family’s time at Bement in response to our celebration of Grace Bement’s birthday this past spring. “My sisters, Mary and Grace Tufts, and I, spent 27 years (!) collectively at Bement as day students; we lived in Greenfield. They were immensely formative and positive years under a great faculty—Bob and Mary Elizabeth Snively, Lidy Keith, and Johnny Friedman. Bob was a fine skier, gymnast* and photographer (*at Princeton) and I went on to ski competitively at Deerfield Academy, winning national college races in Aspen and Williams as Yale’s Captain ’50-’51...The portrait [of Grace Bement in the Clagett McLennan Library] was done by my mother, Dorothy Day Tufts, who taught art for a year or two.

Mary Bean (Smith) was head of the kindergarten.

Johnny Friedman went on to manage our first astronauts. I was with him to pay last respects a few days before he died in Washington, D.C. Grace was a frequent guest at our home in Greenfield after she moved to the Weldon Hotel. I am sure my oldest sister, Grace, who attended from the first classes in 1933 was named after her.”

Kwame Harrison ’85 writes, “For over a decade now, I’ve been teaching anthropology and sociology at Virginia Tech. This past year, I was elected President of VT’s Academy of Teaching Excellence and reappointed as the Gloria D. Smith Professor of Africana Studies.

Far more exciting, in fall 2016, Allie Nagurney ’09 came to Blacksburg to start a Ph.D. program in Metamorphic Petrology. By all reports, Allie’s off to a wonderful start. I often see her at coffee shops around town and occasionally on campus. On days when I wear my Bement sweatshirt, it’s fun to think that I might bump into someone who ‘gets it’. As a current trustee, I am fortunate to travel back to Bement regularly. My goal for 2017-2018 is to make it to a few of these alumni events. Class of ’81 through class of ’88, I hope to see you there!”

1980s Pedro Cervera ’83 stopped by Bement this past fall with his wife. He spent time touring the campus and reliving memories in the alumni and development office. While visiting, he was able to catch up with his former teacher, Mr. Young, who is still on campus. Pedro currently lives in Merida, Mexico, with his wife and

class notes key ’GB

Alumna/us from Grace Bement era (1925-1947)

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Alumna/us Class Year

TT Trustee PTT Past Trustee P Parent GP Grandparent FA

Current Faculty or Staff

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Past Faculty or Staff

FR

Friend of Bement

HOS Head of School FHS Former Head of School GGP Great Grandparent

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Jay Bonnoitt ’86 shared the following, “I went to Loomis Chaffee after Bement, then to the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Degree in business, played in a rock band traveling around NC, SC, GA for a few years. Then worked for a retail computer corporation in their headquarters. After that, got a job offer back in Myrtle Beach doing on-site sales for a development company. Been doing that for about 12 years now. And that, in a nutshell, is what I’ve been up to.”

Tom Mahoney ’86 writes, “I am currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada, and working as a Maintenance Quality Assurance Auditor in the aviation industry.”

Mike Benedetti ’88 shared that he is doing well, and living in Greenfield. He still has fond memories of Bement and thinks often of his history teacher Mr. O’B. Sean Bush ’88 writes, “I spent 25 years as a firefighter and enjoy taking my crews out west to provide support where needed in handling fires that have broken out. I love teaching and I know my foundation came from my time at Bement. The teachers and friends I had there will never be forgotten. Between sitting in Ms. Hawks’ wingback chair doing English to math with Mr. Young to learning history from Mr. O’Brien, these teachers, as well as many more, helped to shape who I am today.

The institution of Bement is outstanding and I cherish every moment I spent there.” (1) Macha Ross ’89 stopped by campus this fall for a quick visit. She walked around campus and remarked how much it had changed over the years. She wanted classmates to know what she has been up to since graduating. “I am living and working in NYC with my son,

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Ryder, and husband, Peter. I still talk to Joanna Proctor and a few years ago, I ran into Wiebke Brewer and her husband in the city and had a drink with them!” (2)

1990s Chance Hawkins ’90 let us know that he is a lawyer focusing in appellate law and lives in San Diego. He rock climbs and surfs as much as possible and “still enjoys reading a historical tome every now and then, thanks to Mr. O’Brien!”

Eleanor Bueno ’91 shared a wonderful update on what she has been up to: “I am practicing family medicine in Chelmsford, MA. Three kids 8/6/3 who keep me the most busy! One of my med school classmates’ daughter graduated from Bement three years ago, so I’m always finding happy Bement connections! I also want to share that my sister Therese Ern ’88, Tina Robinson ’91, and I had a holiday meeting with Marianne Bourbeau PF this past December.” (3) Howie Harrison ’92 and Chris Lake ’93 met up this past March to enjoy some basketball at this year’s NCAA tournament in Arizona. (4) Did you see the photo of these two on page 34?

Momo Kaji ’95, Fusako Miyashita ’96, and Hun Kim ’96 had a mini Bement reunion this past fall in Tokyo, Japan. Our alumni even had time to make sure they said a quick hello to their old teacher, Mr O’B. All three are doing well and try to make time to meet up with fellow Bementers who live in that area whenever they have the chance. (5) Past faculty member Amy Gordon shared an update on her son, Nick Lawson ’99. “After ten years of following a dream to become an actor in New York City, Nick has decided to switch gears, and is now attending graduate school in social work at New York University. His decision was in part influenced by his ‘day job’ of the past few years, where he has been responsible for providing companionship and care to an elderly gentleman.”

Brian Tierney ’99 dropped by campus for a quick visit with two of his five children, Frank and Brock. After Bement, Brian attended Cardigan Mountain School and then joined the Marines. He served several tours in Iraq during and after the first Gulf War. While here he remembered fondly former teachers: Mrs. Currie, Mr. Bensen, Mrs. Mullens, Mr. Belcher, Mr. O’Brien, Mr. Young, as well as Mme. Pond, Ms. Price, Mrs. Gordon, and Mrs. Bensen. (6)

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2000s Hannah Frank ’05 wrote in letting us know about a fun mini Bement reunion. “I joined three other Bement alumni from the class of 2005 in San Francisco this past weekend to catch up and enjoy the beautiful weather.” Pictured from left to right: Taylor Williams, Sarah Boudreau, Hannah Frank, and Kara Fabella. (7)

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James Pettengill ’01 and his wife, Alyssa Robb, welcomed their son, Ozzy, last summer. The family is very excited about the new addition and Ozzy’s grandmother, Deb Stewart-Pettengill FA, can’t get enough of his cute smile. (8)

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Former Head of School, Shelley Jackson shared this photo of Emily Zea ’07, Tao Tao Holmes ’07, and Stephanie Yoon ’07 (L-R) who remain best of friends.

The classmates are all doing well and working to keep an informal monthly philanthropy club going to promote awareness and encourage giving. (9) Anna Reid ’09 sent in a wonderful update to let us know the following: “I am writing to say hello and send an update. I graduated from Bement in 2009 and am about to graduate, May 2017, from American International College with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and as a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. I think of my time at Bement often and try to keep in touch with some of my teachers; many of my Bement classmates are still some of my dearest friends. Thank you for all that you do to make Bement the wonderful place that it is.”

Sam Belcher ’07 graduated from the University of Texas and is excited to be heading to Jordan at the end of this summer to teach at King’s Academy. He will be following in his father’s footsteps and teaching history. (10) Jil Pasiecnik ’06 shared a note about herself and her sister, Joanna Pasiecnik ’06. “After we graduated from UMass in 2013 we moved to Atlanta and started our own production company. We got into the sketch comedy and improv scene here in Atlanta and began making short sketch comedy videos. Since then, we’ve produced 12 videos—8 of which we’ve written—and two web series. Our videos have been featured on Adult Swim, Funny Or Die, and WhoHaHa. We’re currently in production for the second web series we’re producing called SIDES, written by a local writer. In the fall we’re launching a crowdfunding campaign to fund our first short film, which we will write and direct.

Bement always encouraged us to explore our creativity and unique ideas which instilled a great sense of confidence in us to pursue our dreams. Just wanted to check back in and let you know how we’re doing and how Bement has helped us succeed!” (11) When current Bement students Brendan Butz ’19, Nick Clark ’17, and Patrick McCarthy ’24 arrived at golf camp at the Crumpin-Fox Club in Bernardston, MA, they were thrilled to find their instructor was also a Bement alum—John Jackson ’00. John is the

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Director of Golf at the club and encourages everyone to get out and play a round! (12) During Fire Prevention Month this past October, Captain Mike Currie ’02 visited with lower school students to explain his job as a member of the Turners Falls (MA) Fire Department. (13) Harrison Alexander Hunter ’08 graduated from MIT this past spring.

2010s Will Sanford ’14 had a successful spring rowing for Deerfield Academy’s crew team. At the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, FL, his boat won the gold in the Men’s Youth 4+ Event. Will’s boat went on to also compete at the Henley Royal Regatta in early June.

J.D. Pruett ’16 wrote to Mrs. Mugnani, Bement’s Spanish teacher, to let her know this exciting news: “I just heard back from Youth for Understanding (YFU) and I was accepted into their program to live and study in Ecuador for the fall semester of next year! I’m leaving in late August and will return some time in January. I also just applied to be a tutor for Spanish immigrants at the International Language Institute in Northampton.”

Recently on a trip to South Korea, Kim Loughlin, Director of Admission, had the chance to catch up with some alumni and reported back the following updates.

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Class Notes

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Joo Sung Kim ’11 graduated from Taft and is currently studying at Johns Hopkins. Minji Cho ’12 is now at Smith College after graduation from St. Paul’s, and Yuri Lee ’12 is attending Georgetown after graduating from Deerfield Academy.

A number of Bement alumni were visible at Deerfield Academy’s TEDX talk held in February. Among the presenters were Neil Nie ’16, Mark Beaubien P’14 ’16, and Mark Ott P’17 ’19. (14) You can see more photos from the event here: www.flickr.com/photos/deerfield academy/albums/72157677130761323 Whitney Roberts ’10 wrote in and shared a picture of her Keene State graduation with fellow Bement classmate McCallum Price ’10. “I graduated from Bement in 2010. Since graduating from Keene State in 2016, I have obtained a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and a minor in Substance Abuse and Addiction. I have been working for the Key Program Inc, in Pittsfield, MA. I do outreach work with troubled youth. My year mark will be August.

I am currently seeking to obtain my Social Work associate license to continue growing in my field.” (15) Anya Shevzov-Zebrun ’13 graduated from Deerfield Academy and is excited to be heading to Tufts next fall, where she will be playing for their field hockey and lacrosse teams.

Hannah Williams ’10 graduated from Santa Clara and will be moving to Hawaii with some college friends.

(16)

In Memorium Dennis Beckius GP’11 ’16 Cynthia Davis Carr P’77 '80 Lowell Gray P’16 Ernest Green ’61 Cynthia Harris P’99 Sarah "Sally"Ann Bailey Houck P’96 Eleanor Lee GP’18 Phyllis Magoon P’97 Dennis Mosselson GP’22

Susan Platt P’97 ’99 ’01 Judith Allen Smith ’62 Charlotte Stinson PF Edward “Ted” Stinson ’51 PF Nancy Zewinski GP’13 Bernard Zewinski GP’13

NOVEMBER 28, 2017 REMEMBER BEMENT ON GIVING TUESDAY! In our third year of participation in this global event, we hope you will also support the organizations that mean the most to you and your family. We encourage random acts of kindness on and off campus (see page 6). Please consider a gift to Bement’s Annual Fund in recognition of a favorite teacher, classmate, or Bement experience! #GivingTuesday #BementGives

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NOTES FROM THE

Alumni & Development Office Thank you to our loyal supporters and everyone who helped us to exceed our fundraising goals this year. Each gift makes a difference in our ability to live our mission every day at Bement. We’re grateful for the many supporters who continue giving back to Bement each year to help provide this exceptional Bement experience to our students.

Planned Giving: How to help Bement SOME GIFTS TO BEMENT COST YOU NOTHING NOW BUT LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY AND IMPACT ON THE SCHOOL. Planned gifts can be made through a trust, by making Bement a beneficiary in your will, retirement plan, life insurance plan, or bank account documents. Giving this way will help ensure Bement remains strong for years to come. To learn more, contact your attorney or Bement’s alumni and development office at 413.774.3021. Two of our Phoenix Society members share why they have chosen this gift.

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Sara Becton Ardrey, Megan O’Brien

The American poet James Russell Lowell said, “It is not what we give but what we share.” My husband and I are truly blessed and grateful for what life has offered to our family and feel strongly that such blessings compel us to share our good fortunes with others.

We feel that education in its broadest sense is the gift that keeps on giving. We have not restricted our gift, because we have complete faith in Bement to deploy our gift in the way that would best benefit the school and all of those who pass through it.

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PAMELA KLONARIS TT, P’11 ’13 Phoenix Society member since 2012

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For me, joining the Phoenix Society was as simple as designating Bement as a beneficiary in my will. The process is incredibly easy and it is gratifying to know that the people and organizations I care about, including Bement, will eventually benefit from my planning.

Bement was my home for the first 15 years of my life and I have so many great memories from those years.

I want my gift to honor the people like Marianne Bourbeau, Scott Smith, Pam O’Brien, Tim Young, and so many other teachers and friends who truly impacted my life. I hope my planned gift to Bement will help the school continue to attract students from all over the world and provide a supportive, yet challenging, academic environment for future generations.

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MATT DRAKE ’96 Phoenix Society member since 2007

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A New Record OUR SUPPORT HAS GIVEN US A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR! This year our Annual Fund broke three records: the first by dollars raised, the second by percentage growth of 34%, and third, our returning family participation reached 90%, breaking new ground in registering our community’s generosity.

Additionally, 100% of our trustees supported the school with donations.

We offer our sincerest thanks to all of our supporters— those who donated to the Annual Fund, those who helped us expand our campus and develop other areas, and those who volunteered their time and talents in other ways—for showing us how much they care about Bement and its future.

We couldn’t, and wouldn’t, be Bement without everyone’s support.

Our Report of Giving will be published online this fall and will be accessible through our website at bement.org/donors.

Alumni Events Save the Date COME HOME FOR BEMENT DAY OCTOBER 6 AND 7, 2017 All Bement alumni are invited to come back to campus for a homecoming on Bement Day! Cheer on our athletic teams at the north end and on the main campus: soccer, field hockey, and cross country will all have matches. Then join us for an alumni reception at the Deerfield Inn Friday evening to reconnect with friends and faculty. On Saturday, there will be a hearty breakfast in Bement House, a campus tour, and a dedication ceremony for Pine Hill at Bement.

There’s lots to do in the Deerfield area, too, and we have a list of fun activities to complete your fall weekend in New England as you revisit your favorite spots with your family and friends. You can find more information on the alumni page of our website, bement.org. Look for an emailed invitation soon— please make sure we have your current contact information and if we don’t, update it by sending a note to alumni@bement.org.

BOSTON | MAY 4, 2017 Bement alumni met for drinks at Post 390 in Boston’s Back Bay on May 4. Master sommelier Brahm Callahan ’99 (see last year’s Bement Bulletin!) helped choose the delicious wines the group enjoyed as they mingled. Faculty members Alex Bartlett ’87, Amie Keddy, Leif Riddington P’18 ’20, Megan O’Brien ’95, head of school Chris Wilson P’26 and his wife, Stephanie P’26, and past faculty member Nancy Pond P’89 ’95 attended, too, to reconnect with their former students and friends.

As an extra treat, everyone took home some Adams Donuts as a remembrance of the upper school’s traditional Donut Day!

A New Website Drumroll please...Bement has a brand new website at bement.org! Check it out and read about what’s happening at Bement, alumni events, and other campus news. If you would like to be included on the website and have a testimonial about your Bement experience that you’d like to share with us, please let us know at alumni@bement.org.

Stay in Touch Please send us any address changes, including email and mailing addresses so we can stay connected. Share your updated contact information with us at alumni@bement.org.

NEW YORK CITY | FEBRUARY 9, 2017 Determined alumni weathered a winter snowstorm (12 inches of snow!) to reunite with Shelley FHS and Rob PF Jackson P’00, who hosted an alumni gathering at their apartment on February 9, 2017.

Also joining them was Bement’s current head of school Chris Wilson and his wife, Stephanie. Alumni reconnected with old friends and met new ones, too, while sharing Bement memories and laughter.

Please Join Us UPCOMING ALUMNI EVENTS: New York City, Thursday, February 22, 2018 Boston, Thursday, May 3, 2018

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2017 Business Report from Ken Cuddeback, Business Manager

The 2016-2017 school year marked the first year of leadership for Christopher Wilson as head of school and was highlighted by effective transitions in many areas of the school along with an addition to the campus.

In an exciting development for the school and its future, the Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a new property for the school on Pine Hill in Old Deerfield in October (see page 14), which offers opportunities to provide experiential learning and curricular growth for the school in what is envisioned to become an educational resource for Bement and the greater Pioneer Valley.

The summer months of 2016 involved the school’s work on installation of a campus wide Wi-Fi and data network along with a review of our database management procedures and training for our administrative staff. All of this laid the groundwork for an overhaul to Bement’s website, a project which began in December and resulted in the new site’s launch at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. The new website will provide significant enhancements to admissions and communications, both internally and externally.

The year began with an enrollment of 204 students, of which 41 were boarders. Bement students come from 17 states and countries and 42 nearby towns. Financial aid totaling $852,034 was provided to 36% of the school population. The geographic and economic diversity of our student body continues to be one of our strengths.

Having concluded the 2016-17 school year, the board of trustees, administration and Bement community continue to build the school through careful management of our resources and planning for the future. Certainly, Mr. Wilson’s first year has seen much continued attention to the mission and objective of the school and signals continued growth for Bement.

THE BEMENT SCHOOL FINANCIAL REPORT Budget year ending June 30, 2017 TOTAL REVENUE $5,596,270

TOTAL EXPENSES $5,540,500

83% Tuition and Fees (net of Financial Aid)

66% Instructional Services

2% Investment and Interest Income 6% Contributions and Gifts

4% Summer Programs 5% Student Services

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3% General Institutional

10% Operation and Maintenance

11% General Administrative 10% Development and Admissions

ANSWERS TO THE SECRET LIVES OF BEMENT FACULTY & STAFF (P. 51): 1c, 2f, 3j, 4b, 5m, 6i, 7n, 8a, 9l, 10h, 11e, 12k, 13d, 14g

THE BEMENT SCHOOL 94 OLD MAIN ST., P.O. BOX 8 DEERFIELD, MA 01342

Parents of Alumni If this publication is addressed to a child who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Bement Alumni and Development Office with a new mailing address. Call 413.774.3021 or email alumni@bement.org. Thank you!

INTRODUCING THE NEW BEMENT.ORG Introducing a whole new way to look at Bement. Check out our new website on your desktop, tablet, phone, or other mobile device. It’s the bement.org you love, but better.

Keep up on Bement news through email and social media. To join the Bement Community email list, send a message to alumni@bement.org.

Alumni, parents of alumni, grandparents, past faculty and staff, and all Bement friends may be included.

Bement is on Facebook

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Please forward address changes to: The Bement School 94 Old Main Street, P.O. Box 8 Deerfield, MA 01342 413.774.7061 alumni@bement.org