The Bement Bulletin T H E M AG A Z I N E FO R A LU M N I , FA M I L I E S , A N D F R I E N D S
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Bement Welcomes Mike Schloat P’24 ‘26, 10th Head of School
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
See yourself among the students studying? Email us at alumni@bement.org.
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contents I N E V E RY I S S U E F E AT U R E S
13 Journey to Bement
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A Message from the Head of School
A student chronicles Head of School Mike Schloat’s journey to Bement.
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Today at Bement
16 No Blueprints
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Bement’s new Student Health Services navigates a pandemic and beyond, plus a Q&A with Director of Counseling Ellen Carter.
20 Alumni Spotlights Three alumni—a food stylist, a physician, and a filmmaker—offer a peek at their professions.
8 Athletics 26 Class of 2021 32 Class Notes 34 Faculty & Staff News 38 Report of Giving
ON THE COVER
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Head of School Mike Schloat P’24 ’26 walks on campus with Tice Gilmore ‘21, Yosola Dawodu ‘21, and Margarette Howland, passing Tianni ‘23 and Ezra ‘24.
A M E SSAG E F R O M T H E H E A D O F S C H O O L
“The impediment to action advances action.” FA L L 2 0 2 1 The Bement Bulletin is published yearly by the communications office for current and past parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends of The Bement School. MANAGING EDITOR
Megan Tady FR DESIGNER
Penny Michalak P’14 WRITERS
Rachael Carter FA Jill Craig P’29 ’29 Jerry Dobosz FA Evelyn Lee ’21 Megan Mahoney FA Meg O’Brien ’95, FA Will Paulding FA Cori Scagel ’21 Terry Shields P’19 ’21 ’25, FA Megan Tady FR EDITORS
Sara Becton Ardrey P’22 ’24, FA Kimberly Caldwell Loughlin P’18, FA Emily Mikolayunas Rich P’24 ’28, FA PHOTOGRAPHERS
Sara Becton Ardrey P’22 ’24, FA Erin Cromack ’07, PF Alice Gearhart FA Katie MacCallum P’29, FA David Michalak P’14 Emily Mikolayunas Rich P’24 ’28, FA Bradley Walker P’24 ’27 KEY
’GB ’00 TT PTT P GP GGP FA PF FR HOS FHS IHOS
Alumna/us from Grace Bement era (1925–1947) Alumna/us Class Year Trustee Past Trustee Parent Grandparent Great Grandparent Current Faculty or Staff Past Faculty or Staff Friend of Bement Head of School Former Head of School Interim Head of School
When Marcus Aurelius wrote these words nearly two thousand years ago, he was likely mulling a specific concrete problem of his life or Roman politics; he could never have imagined the challenges faced by schools, families, and communities in the last year and a half. Yet the implacable optimism of his maxim captures exactly the spirit that led Bement through an unforgettable year of living and learning together. Forced to adapt in the face of global upheaval, Bement students, families, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends responded with characteristic resilience, creativity, selflessness, and grace. Their stories await you in the pages of this edition of The Bement Bulletin. The evergreen elements of the Bement community are here, too: a foundational sense of partnership between the school and its families; the integration of Bement with its place in Historic Deerfield; and an enduring emphasis on cultivating wonder, curiosity, and joy in the minds of young people. Truly, it is the interplay between these forces—tradition and innovation, predictability and novelty—that makes Bement the transformative place that it is and sustains the school decade after decade, through challenges and progress. My first year in the head of school’s office taught me the power of this dynamic, most evident in the spirit and fellowship of Bement’s students. Drawn to Bement by myriad impulses, they craft a school to call their own and fuel our shared work with their talent and passion. In the turbulent year and a half just passed, their resilience and determination inspired our faculty and staff at every turn. Honoring their promise and ensuring that every child finds success are the beacons guiding Bement’s continued evolution. In a few short years, Bement will celebrate its centennial, one hundred years of education and service that began with Grace Bement’s simple, powerful commitment to children. Such a milestone will inevitably force our gaze rearward to honor our history, even as we chart a course for Bement’s next century. I invite you to add your voice to that conversation and visit us often in the years ahead; in the meantime, I hope these snapshots of today’s Bement resonate with your Bement experience.
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T O D AY AT B E M E N T
And the Band Played On The pandemic didn’t silence Bement’s band students. During the fall term, to comply with CDC guidelines, students rehearsed outdoors under a large tent, standing on dots spray-painted on the grass, while others rehearsed on the athletic fields. In the winter, students were allowed to play instruments indoors, at 10 feet apart. Band Director Megan Mahoney used the band room and the Barn, and some grades rotated between in-person rehearsals and asynchronous online work. As the weather warmed, students returned to rehearsing outdoors. “While it was challenging at times to practice outside, especially when the wind blew our music across the athletic field, I think the students had fun with the new environment and were just happy to play their instruments,” Ms. Mahoney recounted. “At times there were distractions: bees that wouldn’t leave us alone, wind, people walking by, and sometimes even squirrels distracted students. Still, we managed to prepare quality music and continue to improve on our instruments.” To uphold Bement’s COVID-19 cohorting requirements, Ms. Mahoney met with each upper school grade separately, rotating by term, which allowed for new leaders to emerge. “Because the groups were so small, this called on students to step up and play with confidence, as there were usually only one or two players on a part,” she noted.
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Students had fun with the new environment and were just happy to play their instruments.”
MAIN STREET
Student-Published Magazine Bement’s first student-led Magazine Club published its inaugural edition of Main Street magazine in the spring of 2019. Distributed once per term to students, faculty, alumni, and parents, each issue reports on campus news, performances, athletics, student work, and global issues, and it offers students a forum where they can express their opinions. During the pandemic this year, students adapted to producing the magazine remotely. They held Zoom meetings to discuss editorial ideas, and they used a platform called Canva to design the magazine, which allowed all participants to view and participate in the design process.
TO VIEW ISSUES OF MAIN STREET MAGAZINE, GO TO ISSUU.COM/BEMENTMAGAZINE.
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Evelyn Lee ’21, the outgoing editor-in-chief of Main Street, said it was particularly important to keep publishing the magazine during the pandemic. Evelyn felt that restrictions during the pandemic limited students’ abilities to express themselves. She said, “This club allows students to show a sense of their personalities, and to highlight issues that are important to them.” For Evelyn personally, she saw the magazine as a place to write about social justice issues. “I was able to write about Black Lives Matter, which is something I really wanted to share with the community.”
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Fun in the Snow!
T O D AY AT B E M E N T
Drawing the Water Cycle 2020 demanded that teachers reinvent the way they teach. Science teacher Eric Bordua asked his sixth-grade students to move their desks to the side, and then he handed out markers. The assignment: draw the water cycle. “How many times as a kid have you been told not to draw on this or that?” Mr. Bordua said. And then he announced to the class, “‘We’re going to draw on the floor today,’ and their eyes lit up. Because of physical distancing rules, it was also a safe way for students to show what they had learned about the water cycle and to not be on a screen.” Students plopped down and began illustrating the seven steps of the water cycle, the tile floor providing a larger landscape than a piece of paper. Mr. Bordua stepped around each drawing, crouching down to ask each student to talk him through their work. “It was so interesting to see how each student’s brain works and where they decided to start their water cycle, whether it was with rain, with bodies of water, or with evaporation,” Mr. Bordua said. “It’s a circular shape, so students could start from anywhere. . . . It was important for them to realize that it wasn’t as formulaic as science can sometimes be.” Their floor drawings weren’t as permanent as handing in an assignment. Students could make real-time edits as they discussed the water cycle with Mr. Bordua and their peers. Because students already had sanitizing wipes available, wiping away the drawings was easy. Throughout the rest of the year, thanks to the joy of this project, it was typical for students to raise their hands during other lessons and ask Mr. Bordua, “Can we draw this on the floor, too?”
Protecting Pine Hill’s Turtles Being cold-blooded, painted turtles require significant time basking in the sun each day, but with no floating logs in the pond at Pine Hill, turtles were balancing precariously along thin overhanging branches or clambering along the banks of the pond seeking a warm clearing. The solution: build turtle platforms perfect for basking. During a warm spring day, the fifth-grade class, with guidance from Outdoor Education Coordinator Jill Craig P’29 ’29, constructed two floating turtle platforms using old decking wood and pool noodles. Students pre-drilled and screwed their precut pieces together, then they attached pool noodles to the bottom to provide flotation, as well as anchors to keep the platforms afloat on the pond’s sunniest locations. Within 24 hours, one platform held 20 turtles soaking up the sun!
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After reading about food insecurity, sixth-grade students volunteered at Stone Soup Café’s Saturday meal service in Greenfield.
Maeve ’24’s artwork represents both the poem “You Got a Song, Man” by Martín Espada and her own original poem, “Just Stand.” Of her artwork, Maeve said, “I made a crack in the wall representing hope and a better future. The people in my painting are standing up together and looking at the crack in the hope that the better future represented by the crack will happen.”
SIXTH GRADE
Diversifying English Curriculum
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s Bement looks to be mindful about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of campus life, sixth-grade English teacher Rachael Carter has been honing her curriculum to be more culturally responsive and inclusive. Reflecting on the themes of individuality and community, Ms. Carter assigned poetry by a diverse range of New England poets—including Martín Espada, a Latinx poet and professor from Amherst; George Abraham, a nonbinary Palestinian poet from the Boston area; and Tracy K. Smith, an African American poet from Falmouth, Massachusetts. Students then read selections from Nikki Grimes, a Harlem resident who wrote her recent collection, One Last Word, after feeling inspired by famous Harlem Renaissance poets local to her community, such as Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. Ms. Carter also collaborated with Visual Arts Teacher Caitlin Dembkowski, who helped students create artwork representative of both their original poem and the poem that inspired them. In the spring, Ms. Carter assigned the book A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, a Korean American author. The novel centers around a young boy named Salva who becomes one of the “Lost Boys” from South Sudan due to the local civil war. His story is told alongside Nya’s, a fictional character who lives in the same village as Salva about 25 years later. After reading the book and writing critical essays about food insecurity and water scarcity, students visited Stone Soup Café (SSC), an organization in Greenfield that provides healthy meals in a paywhat-you-can model. Sixth graders volunteered by chopping vegetables and preparing other foods and materials for SSC’s Saturday meal service. “Students learned about an issue that plagues real people in their home community and had the opportunity to be part of the solution by volunteering their time and energy at the café,” Ms. Carter said.
Middle School Students of Color Conference Five students and one faculty member attended the virtual Middle School Students of Color Conference on February 6. Through speakers and workshops, participants learned more about diversity, equity, and inclusion in society and how to apply those values in their personal lives and in their school community. Students also joined virtual affinity groups to support and connect with other students who share their identity, and white students explored how to be allies in this work. The students presented what they learned during a Friday all-school meeting.
Art by Ethan F. ’24
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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Eating in the dining hall, family style, is a main component of the Bement experience. We look forward to returning to shared meals once again, a favorite part of everyone’s days.
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Lower School PE Gets Creative
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hen the pandemic hit, lower school PE teachers Jerry Dobosz and Will Paulding had to adjust their PE classes. Using blue construction fencing and fence posts, the pair quickly created an enclosed, outdoor mini-sports arena nicknamed the Phoenix Nest. Inside the arena were 6� × 6� squares spray-painted 10 feet apart to keep the students physically distanced yet give them each room to move around as they played games like soccer and dodgeball. The baseball diamond on the playground also came in handy, allowing students to spread out along the baselines for exercises and warm-up activities that easily transitioned into kickball and Wiffle ball. To play games of tag but not touch each other, the teachers handed out six-foot-long pool noodles, which became “tag hands.” During inclement weather in the fall and spring, PE was held in a tent, and students were stationed inside hula hoops to maintain distance. In the winter, PE shifted to the Barn, where the teachers opened doors and windows for ventilation. “It was actually a lot of fun to be on campus, and it made for more class time because we did not have to transport students back and forth [to Deerfield Academy],” Mr. Dobosz said. “The kids were the real stars last year. They gave us the energy and motivation to keep trying new things.”
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The kids were the real stars last year. They gave us the energy and motivation to keep trying new things.”
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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AT H L E T I C S
Give It a Shot
Students tried new sports during the pandemic. Just like nearly every program at Bement, athletics had to adapt to COVID-19 physical distancing and safety measures, which meant that some of the school’s triedand-true sports offerings, as well as interscholastic competitions, were temporarily paused. Other sports were able to continue, but they looked quite different from previous seasons. Dance, for example, took place in the Mary Hawks House, while the dance studio was
converted into a COVID-19 testing station. In the winter, students participating in soccer and basketball could perfect their skills at Indoor Action in Greenfield. As athletics shifted, students were also introduced to a new slate of sports at Bement, widening their horizons and stretching their mental and physical muscles. Here are the six new sports that students were able to try this year.
Despite the Pandemic, the Ski Team Competed! Bement’s ski team was fortunate to have interscholastic competitions this year. Coach Dan Bensen ’01 said, “Ski season was very different this year, but we had plenty of success in a modified format. While it was certainly more complicated than normal, it was a great season.” As a JV coed team with 13 athletes, the squad competed in four races: one panel slalom, two giant slalom, and one slalom. Bement athletes earned the top four finishes in all four races. Winners were Matt ‘22, Jake Brook ‘21 (twice), and Ying Kay ‘23. Evie ‘24 was the first girl in all four races, earning her honorable mentions after each race.
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PADDLE TENNIS This racket sport has elements of tennis, squash, and pickleball, and it’s played with a solid paddle instead of a strung racket. Students practiced and competed with each other in teams of two on Deerfield Academy’s paddle tennis courts. The courts are smaller than tennis courts and are enclosed with screens to keep the balls in play. Heaters underneath the courts helped to melt the snow and ice, although big snowfalls required students to start their warm-ups by shoveling the courts! Paddle tennis is a game of placement, patience, and teamwork, and students loved it.
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I had never played paddle tennis before, but I quickly got into the sport. Every time we went out on the freezing courts and began playing, I seemed to forget about the frigid weather. I focused completely on the ball, and my quick improvement in the sport was solely because of my concentration. I wanted to do better, and I reminded myself to remain focused. Stability in the mind is the key to success in sports.” —Elena ’22
2 STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING Led by personal trainer Jeff Peddar, this athletic offering focused on the fundamentals of developing and improving balance, stability, flexibility, functional movement, and strength. Workouts were tailored to each student’s individual abilities and goals, and the students used indoor and outdoor Bement spaces, Deerfield Academy’s turf field and track, and Peddar’s personal training studio, Peddar Fitness, in Amherst. Together, students completed a 6.5-mile fast walk/ jog, engaged in calisthenics and interval training, learned a basic weight routine, and deepened their knowledge of major muscle groups and nutrition.
fall & winter 2020–21 GYMNASTICS In the winter term, students ready to tumble traveled to the Franklin County YMCA in Greenfield to participate in gymnastics with instructor Karma Phillips. The gym was outfitted with gymnastics equipment, and after a stretching warm-up, students jumped on the Tumbl Trak (a narrow, long trampoline) and practiced beam balancing, vaulting, and floor exercises using the foam pit. A proper cooldown ended each session.
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I was grateful for the opportunity to try gymnastics. This new activity taught me new tricks on bars, beams, the floor, and vault, and it helped my peers and I grow closer. We supported each other, clapped when we achieved our goals, and laughed together often. This atmosphere guided us individually and as a whole to learn and have fun together during this unprecedented year.” —Caledonia McKeon ’21
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WINTER TRACK AND HIKING Bement’s group of intrepid winter explorers went outdoors every day to enjoy the seasonal beauty of the surrounding valley, the trails at Pine Hill, the meadows of Historic Deerfield, the playing fields and trail segments at Deerfield Academy, and many of the mountain-biking trails on Pocumtuck Ridge. A new supply of traction-enhancing spikes strapped to boots and shoes allowed students to walk briskly and even run. Each day, students hiked between 2.5 and 5 miles, then returned to campus bolstered by the fresh air and ravenous for the lunch that followed.
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The experience was fantastic! Multiple team members were new to mountain biking, including myself, and at first we had trouble doing small drills that we now consider light work.” —Channing Doran ’21
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MOUNTAIN BIKING For the fall term, Bement welcomed back mountain biking. Students spent time at Pine Hill working through various drills in order to get comfortable with the terrain and confident with the positioning and control needed to mountain bike. As students demonstrated coordination, balance, and control, the crew took nearly daily trips to the Pocumtuck Ridge Trail, which provided a great variety of terrain and opportunity for further skill development. Another key component of the mountain-biking program was stewardship. Students gained a sense of responsibility for the trails and an understanding of their impact on the surrounding environment. In coordination with Outdoor Education Coordinator Jill Craig P’29 ’29, students built and maintained trails at Pine Hill.
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COED SOFTBALL In the spring, many students inquired about the possibility of softball or baseball as an athletics option. The compromise became a coed softball option for the upper school, with Margarette Howland ’21, an experienced softball player, helping to lead the charge. Softball was open to students at every experience level, and it proved to be a fun way to have an intramural experience. The players took to the groomed baseball diamond at Bement’s North End field, where some students warmed up with a baseball, some with a softball, then proceeded with drills and scrimmaging. THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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QUICK QUESTIONS WITH MR. SCHLOAT Hobbies? Reading, playing golf, exploring the outdoors, and fly-fishing with my sons Favorite movie? Chariots of Fire Chinese New Year sign? Goat Favorite sports team? Yankees Favorite poem? “Bereft” by Robert Frost If you could have dinner with one famous person, dead or alive, who would it be? Harriet Tubman or Susan B. Anthony What superpower would you have, and why? Flying, so I could go anywhere anytime Favorite place you’ve visited? Barcelona
Head of School Mike Schloat P’24 ’26 with his wife, Julie, and their children, Macrae and Carter
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HEAD OF SCHOOL MIKE SCHLOAT’S
Journey to
Bement BY CORI SCAGEL ’21
Ninth grader Cori Scagel sat down with Head of School Mr. Schloat to learn more about his career path and his vision for the school.
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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In early March, Head of School Mike Schloat P’24 ’26 turned on the Hamilton soundtrack in his office and opened up an Excel spreadsheet. Just like every week last year, he was tracking COVID-19 case counts in the area, and while the stakes were extremely high, he found crunching numbers surprisingly calming. “That’s the nerd part of me,” he said. “I’m not afraid to admit that playing with numbers on a spreadsheet actually relaxes me.” For a boost of positive energy, Mr. Schloat often walks over to Keith House to spend time with lower schoolers. “I love hanging out with kindergartners and first graders when they’ve just arrived at school,” he said. “Their enthusiasm is infectious.” It wasn’t a typical year to become a head of school. Mr. Schloat, who was appointed to lead Bement on an interim basis in June 2020 before being selected as the head of school after a national search, has guided the school through the challenges of returning to in-person learning during a pandemic—all while getting to know the students and employees behind masks. It’s a task that required all hands on deck, and Mr. Schloat has been deeply impressed by his new colleagues. “I’m inspired by every single employee that I work with here at Bement, whether they work in the kitchen, or they’re a teacher, or they work on the grounds crew, or they’re in an administrative office,” Mr. Schloat said. “I’m inspired by their daily commitment to our mission and to the sacrifices that they make to work at our school.”
and worked at Blair Academy in New Jersey, and Mr. Schloat joined her at what would be his first boarding school. At Blair, Mr. Schloat lived in the dorms, taught English, and coached track and field, and two years later, the Schloats were married. Although the couple enjoyed the boarding life, Mr. Schloat wanted to pursue a graduate degree and Mrs. Schloat wanted to experience city living. The Schloats moved to New York City for one year, where Mr. Schloat earned a master’s degree in school leadership and Mrs. Schloat explored the city while working at a nearby school. Having completed their goals, they both took jobs at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts.
Up for the Challenge Mr. Schloat worked at Deerfield for 12 years, and in that span of time, Mr. and Mrs. Schloat had two boys, Carter ’24 and Macrae ’26. Both boys began attending Bement as kindergarteners, which provided Mr. Schloat with an early introduction to the community as a parent. At Deerfield, Mr. Schloat served as the chair of the English department and the assistant dean of faculty, and he coached cross country and track and field. He felt himself gravitating toward more leadership roles, so when the interim head of school job opened at Bement, Mr. Schloat applied.
The Early Years Long before Mr. Schloat was living and working in Deerfield, he grew up in Mount Kisco, New York. In high school, he ran cross country and track, wrote for the literary magazine, and was a member of the photography club. He attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Faced with the challenge of deciding his major, Mr. Schloat says he, “initially fell back on English, to be perfectly honest, and then I fell in love with it again and realized that it was a real passion of mine.” Mr. Schloat’s first job fresh out of college was teaching fourth-grade reading at a school in New York, where he taught for two years before meeting and falling in love with his now wife, Julie Schloat. Mrs. Schloat lived
“I wanted to move into a significant administrative role, but I also didn’t want to move my family from Deerfield,” he said. “When the opportunity came up to apply as interim, I was up to the challenge, and it was also perfect for my family.” The interim head of school role was designed to be a one-year position with a specific focus on helping the school get through the pandemic.
A Permanent Post During March and April of 2020 when Mr. Schloat was the assistant dean of faculty at Deerfield Academy, he took on the difficult task, along with his colleagues, of organizing Deerfield’s first-ever virtual learning program while the school helped boarders return home safely. When he was selected as Bement’s interim head, beginning his role in July 2020, he was already familiar with COVID-19 protocols, and his experience at Deerfield coupled with his understanding of Bement allowed him to hit the ground running. 14
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In the fall of 2020, Bement reopened its campus to all students and faculty for full in-person learning, which required faculty and staff to revamp nearly every aspect of the school day in order to adhere to COVID-19 protocols. Mr. Schloat says this achievement was obtained through the hard work of every member of the Bement community. In the meantime, Bement was still in need of a head of school, and the board of trustees and the search committee worked with the firm RG175 to narrow down the candidate field to three people, who were each invited to campus and underwent a two-day interview process that involved many different groups from Bement. At first, the committee did not consider internal candidates, including Schloat, but it became clear that he was the right choice to continue leading the school in a permanent capacity. “In the end, the obvious choice for us, if we were true to the mission of selecting the very best person for the job, was Mike Schloat,” said board of trustee member Bob Howe P’18 ’18. “Mike had made an immediate favorable impression on everyone since taking on the interim head’s
role over the summer. There was no one we spoke with throughout the process that this committee felt would be a better fit for our beloved Bement School.” Mr. Schloat gladly accepted the position. “I fell in love with the job and felt closely connected to the school because of my kids and from working with a team of adults who are so committed to this school and its mission,” he said. “I’m getting to know all the students, and the work that we’ve been doing during COVID-19 has been really inspirational to me. It was an easy decision for me to continue the work that I’d started.” Students and faculty have described Mr. Schloat as empathetic, humble, compassionate, and resilient. His favorite part of his job is “daily interactions with students and hearing about their passions and things that are making their experiences memorable.” The most challenging part, he shares, is navigating the everyday hardship of natural human phenomenon, such as receiving news that a member of the community is ill.
Approach to Education Mr. Schloat brings to his position an understanding of students’ perspectives, and he believes wholeheartedly in Bement’s mission to prepare students to live a life of integrity, joy, and significance. “It’s great to achieve in life, but if you spend all of your time thinking about getting into college and developing yourself for that, at some point that’s going to end, and you’re still going to be really young,” he said. “There will be no more schools to get into. What’s going to matter then is that you’ve found a way to make a difference in the world and share your passions with other people. I’m hoping we can keep cultivating that here.” When he describes his approach to education, Mr. Schloat harkens back to advice passed down from his father. “My father likes to say that ‘Life is a collection of your experiences,’ and I’ve found that to be helpful both for myself and for talking to young people in my work,” he said. “We’re all going to go through ups and downs. We’re
going to get into colleges we want to get into, and we’re going to get denied from colleges. You can never predict how your life’s going to go. If you step back and say, ‘Everything that happens to me is an experience I can learn and grow from, that gives you some perspective.” Among his many goals, Mr. Schloat strives to further diversify Bement by first building a baseline of knowledge and capacity within the adults to understand the lived experiences of students and employees of color and their families, and then learning how to support them. Mr. Schloat says he values others’ sense of belonging, aiming to create a safe and welcoming environment for all. As Mr. Schloat finished his first full year at Bement, he prioritized getting to know students. He tried to greet students each morning during drop-off, invited the boarders to his home several times, and joined the upper schoolers on a ski trip. “I want to get as much face time as I can with kids,” he said. “I’m so fortunate to have a job that I love.” Last spring, Bement’s ninth graders gathered around a campfire at Pine Hill as part of an overnight camping trip, and they reflected on their time at the school and their experiences during the pandemic. It was a heartfelt evening that also included a dose of levity—faculty and students shared hidden talents, and Mr. Schloat surprised the group with his own impressive skill: juggling. Then again, the talent should come as no shock given all that he’s balanced this year. “Charting a course for a school through a year as turbulent as this one required a lot of adaptation and equipoise, and I would have been nowhere without the core values and spirit of Bement to keep me pointed in the right direction.” THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S AT B E M E N T
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Blueprints Bement’s new Student Health Services navigates a pandemic and beyond.
BY MEGAN TADY FR 16
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On a wintry February day, lower school students lined up outside the Polk Building in their snowsuits after recess. In a quick procession, each student walked into the dance studio to get tested for COVID-19, a test administered by the school’s two nurses, Brittany Tuttle and Meaghan Killeen. Despite the masks and winter wear, both nurses had no trouble identifying each child as they filed through the testing center. “The testing is almost nice because students get to take their masks down, and we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s what you look like!’” Tuttle said. “Yes, we’re swabbing noses, but we get to see everybody’s faces.” Keeping the Bement community safe, healthy, and largely inperson in the midst of a pandemic was a herculean feat, and Tuttle, Killeen, and the school’s doctor, Margit Walker P’24 ’27, all played instrumental roles in this achievement.
Starting from the Ground Up “There were no blueprints on how to handle a pandemic,” Dr. Walker said. “There were some guidelines from the state and CDC, but we built a lot of this from the ground up. We’ve had to develop policies and procedures pretty quickly to keep our community as safe as possible in a way that fits Bement and at the same time comply with guidelines and standards of care.” Last year also marked the first time that Bement had its own consulting physician and a dedicated Health Center, located in Snively House. Outfitted as a tried-and-true health center, Snively included a triage room, two wellness beds, and a separate COVID-19 treatment area. Compared to past years, when students would see a nurse at Bement, who could then consult with the physician at Deerfield Academy’s Health Center, Student Health Services at Bement today is more streamlined and better suited to the needs of younger children. “We had new staff, a new building, a new electronic health record [system], and a pandemic,” Dr. Walker said. “It’s pretty
amazing as a group what we’ve been able to accomplish in such a short period of time. It speaks to the strength of our team. We also couldn’t have done it without this wonderful community.” Dr. Walker is a family physician with Valley Medical Group in Greenfield, Massachusetts. She helped establish the Student Health Services’ overall guidelines and protocols, as well as Bement’s COVID-19 protocols. She also consults weekly with Tuttle and Killeen, and she cares for Bement boarding students at her Valley Medical Group office.
L to R: School nurses Brittany Tuttle and Meaghan Killeen with Bement’s doctor, Margit Walker P’24 ’27
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“
I LOVE WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE. I’M DRAWN TO THEIR POSITIVE ATTITUDES AND RESILIENCY.” —MEAGHAN KILLEEN
The school nurses administer COVID-19 tests in the Polk Building.
On a day-to-day basis, Tuttle and Killeen run the Health Center, and their roles include administering medications to students, communicating with parents, seeing patients, addressing students’ health questions and concerns, helping to teach health class for upper school students, and collaborating with the school’s counselor, Ellen Carter.
Open-Door Policy For Killeen, who was an ER nurse before joining Bement, seeing patients is the highlight of her day. “I love working with young people,” she said. “I’m drawn to their positive attitude and resiliency.” But more than anything, the nurses’ days have been dominated by COVID-related issues. “If a student comes in with symptoms, the first thing we have to rule out is COVID,” Killeen said. “We have to monitor that everybody’s taking the proper precautions. If a student calls out of school sick, we have to find out what the symptoms are and if they’re COVID-related.” Tuttle and Killeen are passionate about establishing an open-door policy at the center, and they want to create a warm and nurturing environment, which they hope can truly take shape after the pandemic. “Students would normally come to us for little things, like, ‘My stomach hurts,’ but they don’t necessarily need to go home,” Tuttle said, who’s worked as a nurse for 10 years. “They just need a little TLC, and in a normal year we’d say, ‘Let’s have something to drink and just chill for a little bit.’ But students are more hesitant to come here this year because we have to be so strict with COVID and every symptom could have implications.”
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Important Life Skills Oftentimes students—particularly boarding students—are interacting with health-care professionals without their parents for the first time, and Dr. Walker believes that teaching students how to advocate for their health needs is an important life skill. “We really don’t teach young people how to navigate health care, which can be really complex,” Dr. Walker said. “I’ll usually take care of young people in the presence of a parent, but when they suddenly turn 18, that parent doesn’t accompany them anymore, and the young people are like, ‘Oh, wow. How do I do this?’ It’s a real learning opportunity. I’d rather see young folks start to get those skills now, stumble a little bit, and we can be there to catch them, as opposed to all of a sudden trying to figure this out on their own in college.” As the trio reflected on their first year, they each expressed excitement about the strength of the Student Health Services that they’re building at Bement, which Dr. Walker said will be a continual work in progress. “One of the positive things about it being so new is that we’re constantly evaluating where we are and if we’re meeting the needs of our students and our staff,” Dr. Walker said. “We’re asking, ‘What can we be doing better?’ There’s been lots of tweaks and adjustments as we continue to move forward, and like any good organization, we should always be reevaluating. We’re looking forward to continuing to serve the Bement community.”
MEET
Ellen Carter DIRECTOR OF COUNSELING
Ellen Carter devotes her time at Bement to supporting students, faculty members, and families. She joined the Bement community in 2016 and she’s worked in education for more than 25 years. Ms. Carter earned a BA from Brown University, an EdM from Harvard University, and an MSW from the Smith College School for Social Work.
What’s your role at Bement? I spend time in the classroom working with students on a variety of themes, from developing mindfulness skills to guiding discussions around topics that are of relevance to them. I also support teachers and advisers as they support their students. I meet with students who would benefit from having a place to discuss their concerns and receive support and guidance. Topics might include: healthy friendships, developing skills in conflict resolution, naming and expressing emotions in healthy ways, how to ask for help, what do you do when you are worried about a friend. And I offer a lot of parent guidance work, especially during this pandemic: How do we support our children? What can we do about anxiety?
Why is it important for students to have access to a counselor? It’s important to normalize for students that we are all human, we all have big feelings, and we need to have trusting adults with whom to talk. That is the kind of community we want to develop and support. In addition, sometimes students are dealing with really difficult issues—whether it’s friendship issues, conflicts with peers, big worries, anxiety around school expectations, loss and grieving, depression, etc. We want students to know that there is a place they can go to get support.
What do you enjoy the most about your work? It’s an honor when students trust me to support them and they tell me their story. It’s magical. I don’t take it lightly. I love working in educational communities. There’s something powerful about the collaboration between teachers and the school counselors and the way that we can support students from very different perspectives and with different skills. I also look forward to working with the staff at the Health Center: Margit, Meaghan, and Brittany all bring so much expertise and an ability to connect with the students in a genuine and thoughtful manner. I believe that we all share the goal of helping to create a sense of belonging in a community where students feel known, seen, and heard. What’s more important than that?
What is challenging about your role? This period during the pandemic has been the most challenging time in my profession, ever. What it’s taught me is that we need to be really intentional about checking in with students and creating a sense of community. That’s always been an important part of my work, and during this time, we have to do it even more. Perhaps moving forward, when we’re back to life as we know it, we’ll pay even more attention to community and connection to one another.
What’s your approach to working with young people? For younger students, I like to infuse my work with a sense of creativity and metaphor. Young children between the ages of four and 11 really work best when you meet them where they’re at. Often, they’ll use making art or creating imaginary stories and play as a way to express what is going on for them. Recess offers so many opportunities to make connections and to help students navigate the everyday experiences of conflict in play. The teachers at Bement are also really skilled in that area. Older students need adults who are honest, direct, and authentic. Some students benefit from having a safe space that has boundaries and is confidential, where they can talk about who they are and what they’re worried about. Other students benefit from a community approach. When I meet with classrooms, I focus on building community and creating a safe space where students can talk about real things with one another and be respected and listened to. I like to help students access the tools to move through difficult feelings—naming them, sharing them with an adult they trust, and gaining perspective to know that big feelings come and go.
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
SARA MELLAS ’07’S WORK CELEBRATES PEOPLE THROUGH FOOD AND ART.
Food People Love to Eat Sara Mellas ’07 taught herself culinary skills because no one in her family likes to cook. After years of working professionally as a choir conductor and music teacher in San Francisco, Mellas decided to put those skills to use beyond her own kitchen, launching a career in food. Among other things, she’s a food stylist and the author of three cookbooks: The Easy Baked Donut Cookbook, The One-Pot Casserole Cookbook, and Quick & Easy Breakfast Cookbook. She is the original recipe developer behind the Whirlpool smart cooking appliances Guided Cooking recipes, creating over 750 original dishes. In December 2018, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi named Mellas the winner of the first ever Kellogg’s Holiday Baking Championship. She now lives in Nashville, from where she travels the country working as a visual stylist, and she recently gave a TED Talk in Gainesville, FL, called “Creating Your Life’s Work.” She still thinks fondly of the love-filled community at Bement, particularly the moments spent in music and art classes and around the tables in the dining hall.
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Photos provided by Sara Mellas
What’s your approach to food? I make the food I like to eat, and the food people I love like to eat. I feel there is a lot of elitism in the food industry and it can be very exclusionary, and I want my food to be inviting and communal. I love “grandma recipes” and comfort foods—dishes that evoke feelings of nostalgia—but as a recipe developer, I strive to elevate these familiar dishes using fresher, more wholesome ingredients. Food and cooking should always be fun and colorful.
What’s a common theme in your cookbooks? When I write my cookbooks, I strive to do so with a touch of humor and whimsy. I want the recipes to be approachable. I remind myself that while a mixing spoon feels like an extension of my limb, many people look at a recipe and feel just as lost as I do when I’m looking at instructions on how to build furniture. So I try to present my recipes in a way that is straightforward and encouraging.
What does “food styling” entail? My job as a stylist is to make food and props look beautiful for a camera, and what this entails varies based on the job and whether the food is being photographed or videotaped. For instance, when you buy a blender and the picture on the box is of a blender filled with a bunch of fruit, a stylist had to chop that fruit and position it in the blender as aesthetically as possible. Or anytime you see a commercial for a restaurant, there was a stylist on set plating the food and refreshing it to tell the brand’s story. It takes way more time than anyone would ever imagine. This winter, I was doing a photoshoot for Rubbermaid containers. Each container had different food: marinated salmon, sliced red onions, salad, etc. It’s not unusual for me and a photographer to spend an entire day and a half on a single photo, altering the finest details to get the client’s approval. I’ll be standing there with a pair of tweezers, Windex, paper towels—anything that will
help make the food and props look pristine— waiting to make adjustments based on the client’s feedback. It’s typical to have an art director circle a single lima bean in the corner of the container and say, “Can you shift that bean 90 degrees?” And it’ll be at the bottom of a container of 200 beans. I travel with a kit of tools I use to make the food look more photogenic, as I’m usually working with real food, not fake food. I’ll use glycerin to make vegetables look like they were just washed, and toothpicks to prop up bread on a sandwich. I have an electric grill starter for if I’m doing a shoot where the food needs to appear grilled. I don’t put it on an actual grill but rather brand it like a cow to make grill marks, which I then paint with caramelized sugar. As tedious as the work can be sometimes, I don’t take for granted that my job is not unlike being in art class!
What’s an early food memory? My first visceral food memory was when I was around three years old, when my family lived in a very suburban neighborhood in the Bay Area of California. One of our neighbors would make a super decadent chocolate cake with raspberry sauce for everyone’s birthdays. I requested it for every birthday until we moved away, and I remember it so vividly. Not only was it delicious, but I think it made an impression on me at such a young age because I recognized how we can use food to celebrate a person’s life. To this day, birthday cakes are my favorite thing to make because I love the opportunity to celebrate someone for who they are, and I always try to evoke the person’s personality through the flavors and design of the cake.
What’s one ingredient you can’t live without? Salt. One of the suggestions I give most often when people ask me to troubleshoot their recipes is that they need to adjust the salt levels. It’s one of the most critical ingredients in cooking and baking because without it, the flavors just don’t come out.
If you ever want people to go crazy over something you’ve baked, just sprinkle flaky sea salt on anything with chocolate. I promise you’ll get countless compliments.
Can you describe your experience at Bement? I tell my parents that Bement was the best investment they could have ever made. My experience was absolutely foundational to who I am. The education at Bement goes well beyond the classroom; it really is about raising good people—people who are kind, respectful, and hardworking, and have an enthusiasm for making the world a better place.
How did Bement influence your career path? Bement instilled in me a deep sense of personal responsibility, independence, the commitment to being a lifelong learner, and the desire to use my knowledge and skills in service of others. At Bement we were given a lot of freedom in the educational structure. It was like, “We’re going to guide you and set you up to thrive, but it’s up to you to think critically and do the work.” From as young as kindergarten, we were encouraged to explore and empowered to make choices, but always under the guidance and genuine care of the teachers and staff. Bement kids are really provided the means with which to become diligent, self-motivated adults. I still remember, verbatim, many of the things teachers at Bement told me that have been so pivotal to my career and personal growth. Deb Stewart-Pettengill P’01 ’03, PF would say, “If you make a mistake, make something out of it.” That is advice I use quite literally every day, and how I continue to improve professionally and personally.
For more information, visit saramellas.com and follow along on Instagram @sara.mellas.
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
DR. ELEANOR BUENO ’91 VALUES LISTENING TO HER PATIENTS—WHETHER VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON.
The Good Doctor
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s a young girl, Dr. Eleanor Bueno ’91 dreamt of becoming a doctor. Her father was an anesthesiologist in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and she has fond memories of visiting him at the hospital as he emerged from the operating room to greet her in his scrub cap and face mask. “Medicine was always a part of our lives,” Bueno said. “Seeing my father’s role serving others in the community and being part of the hospital network was near and dear to me.” Bueno is now a board-certified family medicine physician at Village Primary Care in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts. She completed her residency in family medicine at Concord Hospital’s NH Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency and received her doctor of osteopathic medicine at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. She lives with her husband and three children in Nashua, New Hampshire. As a physician who deeply values face-to-face interactions with her patients, Bueno had to adapt to a virtual setting in 2020, caring for most of her patients through telehealth visits because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s not how I imagined I was going to practice medicine as a little girl when I was playing with my little Fisher-Price doctor’s kit,” Bueno said. “Who would have thought that we would have needed to overhaul what we were doing on a daily basis? It’s been challenging. But it’s made me really think outside the box in terms of how you reach someone and how you maintain a connection with patients on the phone or by Zoom and in 2D settings. It’s made me a better listener and improved my ability to look at the whole picture of medicine.” Bueno’s favorite aspect of her work has remained the same: “Listening to people’s stories and connecting to people.” She enjoys serving a wide range of patients, from newborns to the elderly, and she incorporates a mind, body, and spirit approach to treat the whole person. Medical school, however, put her “love of medicine to the test.” She continued, “It was like drinking from a fire hose—assimilating
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all the information needed to move on to the next level. There was always something you’re working toward. You couldn’t rest on any laurels. You had to move on to the next challenge.” Bueno was able to draw from her strong educational foundation, first built at Bement and carried forward at Deerfield Academy. She arrived at Bement in the sixth grade following her older sister, Therese ’88. Their younger brother, Gerard ’98, also attended Bement. Bueno was in awe of all the choices presented to her. “I could take an art class and participate in field hockey—there were so many opportunities that extended the learning experience outside the classroom,” she said. As an eighth grader, Bueno had what she describes as a “lifechanging” experience on the France trip with Ms. Nancy Pond P’89 ’95, PF. Initially thrilled to travel, Bueno found herself intensely homesick and unable to embrace the trip. “I had an international phone card, and I would call home all the time in the first week,” she recalled. “My mom said, ‘You really wanted to go on this trip, so just enjoy it.’ And something clicked. After that I would walk around the town with friends from Bement and I just took everything in. I really grew up, and I felt so independent, even though I knew my heart was still at home. My mom passed away in 2019, and I am so honored and grateful for what she and my dad gave me—my wings to fly! I still love Bement’s motto.” Last spring, Bueno saw her patients in person again after she received her second COVID-19 vaccine. She was feeling hopeful that a new, better normal was on the horizon, a time when we can “do what we need to do for each other as humans, by greeting each other face to face.” Reflecting on Bement students who, like her, have been eyeing the medical field from a young age, Bueno offered some sage advice: “Remember to have fun and get the most out of where you are right now. Appreciate where you came from, because your roots are going to serve you—you’ve got really good roots at Bement. It sets such a great groundwork for any field you want to go into, so enjoy all the opportunities that you have there.”
“Remember to have fun and get the most out of where you are right now. Appreciate where you came from, because your roots are going to serve you—you’ve got really good roots at Bement.”
(top) Bueno’s ninth-grade Bement yearbook photo; (middle) Bueno (center) after her graduation from medical school in June 2005 with her parents and siblings, Therese ’88 and Gerard ’98; (bottom) celebrating graduation from her family medicine residency. Photos provided by Eleanor Bueno
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Abbe directs a shoot in the vineyards of Domaine La Bastane in Rions, France.
DAKKAN ABBE ’85 REFLECTS ON FILMMAKING IN THE TIME OF COVID.
Pressing Pause
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n March 2020, filmmaker Dakkan Abbe ’85 was in France filming his latest project for PBS, A Vintage in Bordeaux, when countries around the world began to shut their borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Abbe’s film was set to follow three châteaux in France through one single growing season as they produce their wines, and he was excited to draw on his background as an editor for Wine & Spirits Magazine, a post he held for five years. Instead, he found himself packing up his equipment
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to fly home, unsure if he would be able to return to film the remaining episodes. More than a year later, the project is still on hold as the pandemic stretches on, but despite the uncertainty, Abbe is unfazed. A self-taught filmmaker and producer, he’s no stranger to changing course on a dime, shoring up funding for projects he believes in, and trusting his creative process. In 2004, with no formal training on how to make a documentary, he created, produced, and directed the PBS series Inside the Tuscan Hills, which garnered over
three million viewers. Abbe launched his own production company, Trivium Films, and he then co-created and co-produced the public television series Dream of Italy, which is currently in its third season. Dakkan has also directed and produced series for A&E, ABC, The History Channel, and The Travel Channel. As he awaits the green light to return to France, he’s been working on other projects, including doing postproduction on the show New York Homicide from his home office in Northampton, Massachusetts.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
How did your first documentary, Inside the Tuscan Hills, come about? I didn’t know anything about cameras or how to make a movie of any kind. I took a three-day filmmaking course to learn the basics. My girlfriend and I went to Tuscany with a one-way ticket, and we had a free place to stay in an old farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere. We were learning Italian with language tapes. And we started getting introduced to people and making little portraits of winemakers, chefs, artisans, and craftspeople of Tuscany. We shot for three months. Little by little, we got it in someone’s hands at PBS in Washington, and they said, “We think it’d be a great show for PBS.” I thought they were going to give me a bunch of money to make it. They didn’t give me a penny. With public television, independent producers have to raise the money with foundations or corporate sponsors to fund the show. I ultimately got America Online, AOL, to fund it.
Abbe finds the perfect shot in the wine cellar at La Bastane.
What are the stories you are drawn to telling? All the shows that I’ve made for myself feature a combination of people who are driven either by their own personal passion or by some deep tradition that they’re a part of.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your current project, A Vintage in Bordeaux? With the travel restrictions, we still can’t return to France. Luckily, this is an “evergreen” project. There are some projects where a delay means death. There’s just no way to pick it back up because it’s now or never. But this project is still waiting for me, and next year will happen sooner than you expect. This fall, I’ll be reinvigorating it and reaching out to potential sponsors.
How are you coping with that uncertainty? You have to take a leap of faith to know that you’re going to figure it out. A lot of us filmmakers are gamblers at heart. Sure, it’s best to have it all lined up, but it’s basically like an experiment. You’re always experimenting, and you’re always failing and learning from it. You have to have a resilient attitude and be an optimist. Filmmaking is a business for optimists. If you are a pessimist, do something else, because no one’s going to give you money or support your project unless you’re the number one believer in it.
What is your role when you are post-producing a project? In post production, I am editing all the material for a project—the interviews, transcriptions, the actual video. I take the interviews and I move little moments around, one sentence here, one sentence
there, to find the best way to tell the story. It’s very time consuming. If it’s a true story, you’re trying to tell the truest version while keeping it easy and understandable in very specific time constraints.
How did your time at Bement impact you? Like any good, small school, there’s a sense of community at Bement, and you have a richness of experience with the teachers. Being in Deerfield is such a special place. There’s no aboveground wires, and it has a lost-in-time feel to it, which was really special for a young kid and for people from around the world. I also remember one year watching some of the boarding students at Bement see and touch snow for the first time. It was an interesting experience to see that there are people from other parts of the world who haven’t experienced the same things. That’s the beautiful thing about Bement. You’re meeting people from around the world, which wouldn’t happen at a public school. That was another rich part of that experience on the very basic level that I have an unusual name, and I encountered other people who had unusual names. Ms. Gordon was my drama teacher. I was really into acting and writing little plays I had in my head back then, and she was very encouraging. Ms. Hawks was my English teacher, and I remember the classroom was in a historic house and we sat on the floor and in chairs. It was just this very different kind of school experience, even from the rest of the school, and having a diversity of experiences— not just different teachers but also very different classrooms— was very special.
a sense of community at Bement, and you have “There’s a richness of experience with the teachers.” Photo credits: Thomas Ballarin
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2021
C E L E B RATI NG THE CLASS OF
Bement’s Commencement celebration honored the strength and resilience of the ninth graders, who are all truly soaring on their own wings. Congratulations!
CLASS OF 2021 SECONDARY SCHOOL PLACEMENT
Jake Brook | Suffield Academy
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Yosola Dawodu | Stoneleigh-Burnham School
Caledonia McKeon | Williston Northampton School
Channing Doran | Williston Northampton School
Toler Poole | Deerfield Academy
Manuel Gavito de la Vega | Portsmouth Abbey
Cori Scagel | Deerfield Academy
Charlotte Gilmore | Stoneleigh-Burnham School
Jonny Scagel | Deerfield Academy
Tice Gilmore | Fulton Science Academy
Durgin Shields | Williston Northampton School
Grace Guo | Concord Academy
Greg Stone | Smith Academy
Margarette Howland | Emma Willard School
Angela Wang | Blair Academy
Casey Kittredge | Deerfield Academy
Jeffrey Warner | Williston Northampton School
Evelyn Lee | Choate Rosemary Hall
Mike Wu | Pomfret School
B E M E N T. O R G
CLASS OF 2021
NINTH-GRADE
Musical
This year, the ninth graders, with support from drama teacher Casey Ahern P’31 and Upper School Chorus Director Katryna Nields, created an original musical titled Welcome Back, Class of 2021, June 2026, which takes place five years from now. Due to pandemic guidelines, the students prerecorded all the singing, but they performed the dialogue live under a tent on the Bement campus.
Farewell Celebration Bement upheld one of its most beloved traditions, Farewell Evening— only this year, it was Farewell Morning. Held under a tent in person and on Zoom, the morning event accommodated our international remote students.
In typical fashion, upper school teachers honored the ninth-grade class through speeches and toasts, bringing tears, laughs, and rounds of applause from students and families. THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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CLASS OF 2021
This year, Commencement and Baccalaureate were combined in a grand celebration under a tent on Bement’s campus during a beautiful, sunny June day.
Commencement
Ninth graders received their diplomas from proud faculty members and Head of School Mike Schloat.
The recordings/videos of the musical, Farewell Morning, and Commencement are all public on Bement’s Vimeo channel.
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“Today, all of Bement is proud of you for what you have accomplished in your time here, whether it lasted 10 years or two, but that pride is fleeting, replaced instead by the hope and optimism that all teachers feel when their students fly the nest.”
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the arts!
Fifth graders performed a radio play, complete with sound effects, that was broadcast to the school during an all-school meeting.
Elena ‘22
Melanie ‘25
Anabel ‘27, Blaine ‘27, and Jack ‘27
Family members and visitors typically marvel at the student art that adorns Bement’s walls, and at the sounds and sights of students singing, dancing, and performing. COVID-19 restrictions kept visitors from campus last year, so here’s a sampling of what folks would have seen and heard. Enjoy!
Tyson ‘29 and Charley ‘29 recording Frog and Toad in front of a green screen.
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Abby ‘30
Talia ‘29
Christian ‘26, Ryan ‘26, Mac ‘26, Isaac ‘26 filming Turtles on the Bus.
Cleo ‘23
Ella ‘24
7,233 Miles, Grace Guo ‘21
Sam ‘24 and Amitav ‘24
Ms. Robertson leading creative movement with first graders.
Anna ‘28
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class notes Constituency Codes* ’GB ’00 TT PTT P GP GGP FA PF FR HOS FHS IHOS
Alumna/us from Grace Bement era (1925–1947) Alumna/us Class Year Trustee Past Trustee Parent Grandparent Great Grandparent Current Faculty or Staff Past Faculty or Staff Friend of Bement Head of School Former Head of School Interim Head of School
Keep in Touch! Recent marriage? Exciting adventure? New baby? Visited with fellow alumni/ae? *Constituents are listed with their Bement affiliation following each name. For example, John ’72 and Alice PF Smith P’95 means that John is an alum from the Class of 1972, and Alice is a past faculty member. Together, they are parents of a student who attended Bement Class of 1995.
Keep your classmates updated on the latest happenings in your life. All Class Notes also appear in the magazine’s online version. To report your entry, you can visit bement.org/alumni or contact us via phone or email. PHONE 413.774.3021 EMAIL alumni@bement.org
Pamela Lee Cranston ’64 writes: “My husband, Ed, and I are enjoying retirement in Oakland, CA. As an Episcopal priest, I continue to assist at a local church here in the San Francisco Bay Area. One benefit of being in lockdown in 2020 is that I was able to write a lot. In 2020, my newest book, Searching for Nova Albion, was a semi-finalist in the Poetry Society of Virginia 2020 North American Poetry Contest. Also, I won fifth place in the national 2020 Writer’s Digest Poetry contest for my poem ‘My Grandfather’s Typewriter.’ My niece, Rebecca (daughter of David C. Lee ’67, who sadly died in 1995), and her husband now have two adorable girls, ages three years and ten weeks old.”
Phil Barreda ’82 is doing well and enjoying time fishing with his son under the Rickenbacker Causeway in Key Biscayne, FL.
Ned Reade ’67 writes: “I have officially ‘retired’ from teaching art
and Samantha Lawson welcomed William Castle Barnard Lawson, born December 12, 2020. Besides being a proud new dad, Nick’s mom, Amy Gordon P’99 ‘03, PF reports, “Nick is a psychiatric social worker and therapist working in a New York City Mobile Behavioural Health Unit that functions as an alternative to re-incarceration for a population coming out of Rikers Island, many of whom have been diagnosed with severe mental illnesses.”
and art history at the Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, NY. I taught my last classes via Zoom in May 2020 during the pandemic, and the school graciously allowed us to stay in our campus home for one more year as ‘artists-in-residence.’ So with time on my hands, I opened the Live 4 Art Gallery in Pawling, featuring the work of local artists and others in the greater Hudson Valley area. I also taught an eight-week and a six-week session of watercolor workshops online through the winter into spring. A highlight was having Jennifer Montgomery Bethlenfalvay ’68 join my class from her home in Denver! The wonders of remote education!”
Richard Herchenreder ’75 writes: “I’ve reached age 60 and hope I have achieved some wisdom to build on my Bement education. I am continuing my practice as a Certified Internal Auditor and was recently elected to the board of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Southern New England Chapter. Every day I use skills I learned at Bement from Miss Hawks, Tim Young, and others as I perform planned audits for banks and credit unions all over New England. I really enjoyed the recent online gathering of Bement alumni/ae, which is something I hope is repeated. My best regards to all members of our Bement family.” 32
B E M E N T. O R G
Phil Barreda and son
Nick Lawson ’99
Nick with William at almost seven months old
Joanna Pasiecnik ’06 sold a comedy/fantasy web series project, The Campaign, to the Fantasy Network.
CLASS NOTES
Wilder McCoy ’12 writes: “I now live in the Netherlands and am pursuing a Master of Science in water management and governance. Studying water resource management is something I’m passionate about, and it allows me to address one of the world’s most pressing problems. Upon graduating, I hope to bring my skills learned here in Holland and apply them all over the world to create more equitable access to drinking water and sanitation for people everywhere.”
Madeline Surgenor Richards PF “Hello! I hope this note finds the Bement community healthy and well! Two newsy items: (1) I was married in May 2020 in a ‘pandemic perfect’ ceremony—10 people in person at my parents’ farm and the rest on Zoom! (2) I am the head of the upper school at Worcester Academy!”
Rachel Pfeffer ’01 writes: I’ve been living in DC for a while now, and I recently moved just over the line to Takoma Park, MD. My husband, Ben Terris, is a journalist at The Washington Post, and I have my jewelry business: rachelpfeffer.com. We had our first son, Ralph, in 2017, and we had a pandemic baby, Jack, in 2020. I live 10 minutes away from fellow 2001 alumni Emily Platt, and we keep in touch regularly with Daniela Jacobson ’01!”
Marc Qianyi Ma ’17 (Columbia University ’24), Jamie Jaeyoon Lim ’18 (Carnegie Mellon University ’25), Daniel Dongmin Shin ’17 (New York University ’24), and Keishi Kimura ’17 (University of Chicago ’24) have been working on a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that allows individuals to transact funds at their convenience. Without having to undergo set procedures of financial institutions, users of the upcoming platform will be able to borrow capital and trade assets on their own terms and interest rates. Amid the pandemic, the founding members are geographically dispersed in their own personal “offices.” Keishi is living in a house share in Tokyo, Marc is travelling between Beijing and Shanghai, Jamie is temporarily staying with family in Seoul, and Daniel is on a road trip in the States while meeting potential investors.
Nailah Barnes '15 was a finalist for the national 2021 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. Spelman College celebrated this honor with a banner and image of Nailah.
Ralph and Jack
Ross PF and Sarah Feitlinger welcomed Noah
Shelley Borror Jackson FHS, P’00
Tate Feitlinger on April 5, 2021.
had lunch with Noah Tate Feitlinger
Seth McKenzie ’17 before he headed off to Brown University this fall.
In Memoriam
We are deeply saddened to have lost the following members of our Bement family this year: Ann H. Adams ’68
George Gogel ’73
Jeri Bannister PF
Pamela Wick Lincoln ’65
Susan Wendell Beebe ‘60
Matthew McGuire P’27 ’28
Marc Bernier P’15 ’19
Mary Merriam P’74 ’75 ’80, GP’98
Ralph Boody GP’13 ’16
Theodore Pina PF
Kathleen Casey FR
Richard Schattin GP’26
Joanna Creelman P’87 ’89 ’95
Bob Shields GP’19 ’21 ’25
Olohiye (Lohi) Ehimiaghe ‘18
Bernice Shuman GP’10 ’14
Peter Gerquest P’80
Michael Walsh GP’27 ’30
Philip Gladue GP’12 ’16
Merle Willman FR
Virginia D. (Chorlton) Gladue GP’12 ’16
Edward Yazwinski PF
L to R: Kim Loughlin P’18, FA, Minji Cho ‘12, FA, Jiyoung Jeong ‘13 and her cousin, a prospective student
Jiyoung Jeong '13 stopped by Bement for a visit. She recently graduated from Stanford University, and is going to Taiwan for a one-year Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program.
The list of names included in the In Memoriam section is reported from September 2020 to August 2021.
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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faculty & staff news
Emma O’Neal and Donnell Jackson PF Lizzie Mae Jackson
Amie Keddy
Assistant Director of Residential Life Emma O’Neal and Donnell Jackson PF welcomed Lizzie Mae Jackson on August 21, 2021.
Upper School Head Amie Keddy and Josh Bell were married on July 17, 2021, in Walpole, NH, and Emily Lent Hemingway PF served as the officiant at their wedding.
Meg O’Brien ’95
Linda Temby
Meaghan Killeen
This past summer, Director of Residential Life Meg O’Brien ’95 completed a master’s degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University. In the spring, Meg attended Dignity and Justice for All: Stories of Protest, Resistance, and Change, a virtual conference presented by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Upper school French teacher Linda Amie Keddy Temby was invited to present at the Voces Summer CI Conference 2021, a five-day virtual experience with session topics ranging from platform training to comprehensible input–based strategies. Linda led a workshop on how to explore, curate, and incorporate authentic multimedia resources to deepen cultural understanding in the world language classroom.
Kara Barrett
School nurse Meaghan Killeen and her husband Justin welcomed Peyton Mackenzie Killeen on July 23, 2021.
Meaghan, Justin, and Peyton Mackenzie Killeen
Rachael Carter Upper school English teacher Rachael Carter recently earned a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in reading and literacy from Southern New Hampshire University.
Will and Jack Barrett
First-grade teacher Kara Barrett and husband Adam Barrett welcomed William Barrett on November 6, 2021.
Renee Wu and Tom Mangan
Connor Alexander Mangan
Dorm parents Renee Wu and Tom Mangan welcomed Connor Alexander Mangan on July 10, 2021.
Caitlin Dembkowski, Frank Massey, and Meg O’Brien ’95 Last fall, Visual Arts Teacher Catilin Dembkowski, Director of English Language Learning Frank Massey, and Director of Residential Life Meg O’Brien ’95 attended the AISNE Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Conference.
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B E M E N T. O R G
Bement Summer Programs Alumni Staff The following Bement alumni came back to work at Bement Summer Programs this summer: L to R: (back) Jordan Bernier ’15, Ben Michalak ’14, Adam Sussbauer ’17, Jason Cooper ’16 (front) Paige Bernier ’19, Matt Plager ’12, Ben Plager ’16
Faculty & Staff Milestones We are pleased to announce the following anniversaries:
5 YEARS
Ellen Carter Ann Dubie Katie MacCallum P’29 Meg O’Brien ’95 Leslie Rockwell Linda Temby Brie Wisniewski
15 YEARS Alex Bartlett ’87
20 YEARS Rosemarie Gage P’10
40 YEARS Janice Currie P’99 ’02
A LU M N I & D E V E LO P M E N T
Staying Connected During the Pandemic To stay connected this year, The Bement School Alumni Association hosted two Zoom calls: “Cookies & Coffee with Mike Schloat P’24 ‘26,” and “Happy Birthday, Grace Bement!” in celebration of our school’s founder.
FEBRUARY 2021
COOKIES & COFFEE
APRIL 2021
with Mike Schloat P’24 ’26
GRACE BEMENT’S Birthday Zoom
To commemorate the birthday of Bement’s founder, Grace Bement, alumni and past faculty were invited to join a Zoom call to share memories of “Menty,” celebrate the founding of our school, and express gratitude for Bement experiences.
Alumni and past faculty attended a Zoom call to get to know Bement’s new head of school, Mr. Schloat. After Mr. Schloat answered a few questions, attendees shared memories and stories about their time at Bement. As the call ended, everyone agreed that, even while we wished we could have gathered in person, we were grateful for the chance to gather virtually.
WAY S T O C O N N E C T
Bement Is Heading Back on the Road!
We’re Turning 100 in 2025!
Become a Pen Pal!
Stay tuned for alumni events in 2021– 2022 in the Pioneer Valley, Boston, and New York City! Visit bement.org/alumni for information about upcoming alumni gatherings.
Bement will celebrate its 100-year birthday in 2025! We’ll be organizing lots of ways to reconnect with fellow alumni. Watch for details.
The Alumni Pen Pal Program is back for the 2021–2022 school year! To participate and correspond with a Bement fifth grader this year, email alumni@bement.org or visit bement.org/alumni.
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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Thanks to your generosity, we surpassed our Annual Fund 2020–21 goal!
Bement parents set a new record of 95% participation from returning families, and Bement received a $10,000 matching gift from a generous family.
Thank you!
We are grateful for the support of our Bement family.
WE BELIEVE IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH VOLUNTEERING AND COMMUNITY SERVICE.
The Bement Gives Back Challenge 2020 Participants from all corners of our community—alumni, students, parents, faculty and staff, and grandparents— volunteered 216 hours during the month of December!
Parents and students volunteered to help prepare the December 2020 holiday meal at Stone Soup Café in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Students decorated meal delivery bags for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts for their Brown Bag: Food for Elders program.
Brian Pearson TT, P’24 and Brad Walker P'24 '27 organized a winter clothing and gear donation drop off for the Friends of the Hampshire County Homeless.
Thanks to the generosity of the matching donors, $100 was matched for each hour volunteered. These volunteers raised an extra $21,600 for Bement in volunteer hours matched (in addition to their personal donations)!
thank you
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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BEMENT REPORT OF GIVING | 2020–2021
A Year Like No Other
W
ow, what a year it’s been! When we agreed to co-chair the Annual Fund at the start of this school year, we really didn’t know what to expect given all the uncertainty that still existed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were certain, however, that Bement was a special community, and we’ve been absolutely amazed by how everyone pulled together and contributed in numerous ways, making this year one of the most unique and special in anyone’s memory. In a year when we couldn’t even be face to face for gatherings, we managed to exceed our Annual Fund 2020–21 goal and set a record for parent participation at 95%! We received 100% participation from our board of trustees, and we had numerous families step forward to provide matching donations that helped enhance the impact of our individual donors. These results are humbling and can only be attributed to one thing: the ethos of Bement, which shined brightly through the challenges of this year. We’re most proud of the fact that we incorporated many different forms of giving during this year’s Annual Fund drive. The Bement Gives Back Challenge provided us all with the opportunity to give back through volunteering and community service. Participants from all corners of our community—alumni, students, parents, faculty and staff, and grandparents— volunteered 216 hours during the month of December, and these volunteers raised an extra $21,600 for Bement in volunteer hours matched (in addition to their personal donations)! We hope that you’ll join us this December 2021 as we embark on this challenge again. We are so grateful for all the ways in which the Bement community thrived this year: faculty and staff going above and beyond to ensure our children’s safety and implementing hybrid teaching; families stepping up with considerable generosity to support the school and teachers as we operated hybrid classrooms; parents volunteering to help the Bement Family Association hold safe community-building events, including the annual Faculty and Staff Appreciation Luncheon under a tent at the closing employee meetings in June. The list could go on and on, and we are truly grateful. While this school year was one that could certainly be remembered for its many challenges, I know we will remember it as the year that highlighted the resilience and uniqueness of our Bement community. Thank you for believing in a Bement education and for this amazing demonstration of your support during this unusual year. We are so proud to be a part of this amazing school, and we are extremely grateful for your generosity to Bement! .
L to R: The McCarthy Family, Maddy ‘22, Lisa TT, Braden ‘28, Brian, Molly ‘30, Patrick ‘24
Lisa TT and Brian McCarthy P’22 ’24 ’28 ’30
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B E M E N T. O R G
BEMENT REPORT OF GIVING | 2020–2021
A Look at Fiscal Year 2020–2021* 0.1% Summer Programs 2.0% Student Services 4.8% Endowment Draw
0.7% Interest Income
2021–2022 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Kimberly Petelle Butz P’19, VICE PRESIDENT
8.8% Contributions and Gifts
Raymond Chen P’15 ‘17 Jennifer Chibani ’05 Caroline Haines ’04
REVENUE
Anthony Kwame Harrison ’85, PRESIDENT
Bob Howe P’18 ’18, TREASURER
83.6% Tuition and Fees
Desiree Kicza P’25 ’27 ’30 ’30 Lisa Kittredge P’06 ’18 ’21, SECRETARY
Lisa McCarthy P’22 ’24 ’28 ’30 Brian Pearson P’24 6.8% Operations and Maintenance 6.8% Development and Admissions
Brian Thompson P’24 ’26 Timothy Van Epps P’21 ’23 ’25 Craig White P’03, PF Wayne Wilkey P’11 ’16
EXPENSES
HONORARY TRUSTEES
Cathy Esleeck ’GB, P’62 Xing Ping “Simon” Lu P’09
25.8% General Administrative and Institutional
60.5% Instructional and Student Programs
*Totals are unaudited, and percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.
Stephanie McLennan ’85 Bill Polk ’52, PF
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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Of all who gave to Bement this year,
24% 21% 25%
8%
11% 11%
Thanks to the following donors to all Bement funds between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021:
were Current Parents GRACE BEMENT CIRCLE ($25,000+)
were Parents of Alumni
Anonymous (3)
were Alumni and Current Students
B Charles PTT and Sarah Sanford P’12 ’14 ’17 ’19 Lei Xu and Shuping Zhang P’23 Weiqing Ye and Caie Ma P’26 Xun Zhang and Xue Zhao P’24
B Henry and Jeannie Becton GP’22 ’24 Cheng Cui and Yi Cheng P’25 B The Kittredge Foundation
were Grandparents (current and past)
B Brian and Lisa TT McCarthy P’22 ’24 ’28 ’30 B George PTT and
were Faculty and Staff (current and past)
1925 SOCIETY ($1,925–$4,999)
B Lisa Kittredge TT, P’06 ’18 ’21
Pamela Siguler P’98 ’00 ’02 ’05 ’14
Jing Zhou and Wei Huang P’22
Anonymous (2) B P Guy Ardrey and Sara FA Becton Ardrey
P’22 ’24
P Mike Banas and Emma Chen-Banas P’28
were Friends (this also includes vendors, matching companies, and foundations)
B Richard Brook and Shawna Pazmino-Brook
BLUE AND WHITE SOCIETY ($10,000–$24,999)
P’19 ’21
B P Joan H. Butler P’83 ’84 B Joe Butz and Kimberly TT Petelle Butz P’19
Anonymous (2)
B James and Erin Cherewatti P’19 ’21 ’24
B Steven and Sheri Andon P’19 ’22
Ivan and Celeste Enriquez P’22 ’24
Roger and Ilona Cherewatti GP’19 ’21 ’24
B Allison Neumeister Fry ’98
Ho Chun and Jung Lee P’20 ’21
B Anthony Kwame Harrison ’85, TT
Ming Guo and Aoran Wang P’21
B Jason M. and Desiree TT Kicza P’25 ’27 ’30 ’30
B Caroline Haines ’04, TT, Sidonie Haines P’04, and
Eugene Kim and Hyo Jung Park P’24
Constituency Codes*
B Lilia Levine ’03
B Greg ’85 and Caroline Holden
Moujie Liu and Lihong Tang P’20
’GB ’00 TT PTT P GP GGP FA PF FR HOS FHS IHOS
B John Longmaid PTT, P’93
Johnny Lok and Vily Ku P’23 ’25
B Philip and Elizabeth Rosenberry P’13 ’15
B Patrick and Wheaton Mahoney P’23
Seungho Shin and Yoonkyoung Park P’23
Jianhua Mao and Minying Na P’23
B P The Estate of Joseph Peter Spang PTT
B The Honorable Juliette McLennan ’60, PTT, P’85
Timothy TT and Wendy ’88 Van Epps P’21 ’23 ’25
B P Stephanie McLennan ’85, PTT
B Rob and Robin ’62, PTT Whitten
B P Ted and Carole PTT, PF Pennock P’90 ’94
Peter and Michelle Wirth P’24 ’26 ’28
B Mike HOS and Julianne Schloat P’24 ’26
Zhongmin Wu and Wenlan Shi P’21
B Jeffrey and Linda ’83, PTT Schutzman
Ning Zhou and Meixuan Zhang P’23
B Rich PTT and Elie PF Shuman P’10 ’14
Lei Zhu and Ji Wang P’24
Yandong Sun and Binbin Xu P’22
451
Total Donors
Alumna/us from Grace Bement era (1925–1947) Alumna/us Class Year Trustee Past Trustee Parent Grandparent Great Grandparent Current Faculty or Staff Past Faculty or Staff Friend of Bement Head of School Former Head of School Interim Head of School
Pendery Haines
B Greg and Katie Vadasdi ’91
*Donors are listed with their Bement affiliation following each name. For example, John ’72 and Alice PF Smith P’95 means that John is an alum from the class of 1972, and Alice is a past faculty. Together, they are parents of a student who attended Bement Class of 1995. BEMENT LOYALISTS Donors with a B preceding their name have donated for five or more consecutive years.
PHOENIX SOCIETY Donors with a P preceding their name are Phoenix Society members who have named Bement as a beneficiary in their will, life insurance policy, retirement policy, or bank account documents.
Haiwei Wang and Yun Han P’25 B George Withington ’52
HEAD’S CIRCLE ($5,000–$9,999)
Nicholas and Carla Zayac P’29 ’31 B John Levine and Susan PTT Clopton P’03 B Robert PTT and Mary PTT Cohn P’03 ’06 Lei Guo and Lihong Gong P’22 Lin Jiang P’21 Scott and Jill Keiter P’27 ’30 Jonggoo Kim and Sumin Lee P’24 The Rev. Nicholas and Dorothy Porter P’17 ’17 Mengze Qi and Limin Zhang P’22
B E M E N T. O R G
Xiaosong Xu and Weihong Xiong P’23
Bruce Biagi and Tricia Yacovone-Biagi GP’29
B Fred and Susan Pazmino GP’19 ’21 ’24
40
Yuguang Xie and Qiong Zhang P’24
BEMENT HONOR ROLL ($500–$1,924) Anonymous (3) James and Justyna Arcoleo P’16 ’19 ’29 ’30 ’31 Edward Arron and Jeewon Park P’28 B Andy PTT and Hut Beall P’15 Willson ’76 and Vickie Beebe Deborah Bernier FR
Jason Chen ’21
Brian TT and Julie Thompson P’24 ’26
B Kimberly Caldwell Loughlin P’18, FA
Jianhan Chen and Xueying Qin P’23 ’25
Vermont Community Foundation
B Tinka Lunt P’82
Yanis and Jennifer ’05, TT Chibani
Qingsheng Wang and Beili Yuan P’23
Matthew Lustig and Carolina Aragon P’29
Craig Creelman ’87
Craig TT, P’03, PF and Amy White
Joan M. MacLean ’56
B Edie Drexler Denney ’50, GP’14
B Wayne TT and Kathy Wilkey P’11 ’16
P Christopher S. Maniatty PTT
Salvatore DeSimone FR
Tommy Won Yoo and Chin Hong P’24
B Frank FA and Suk Massey
Mike and Tiffany Doyle P’29
P Joshua and Hollis Young FR
Carol Polk Meenan ’55
B P Peter FHS and
Gregory Yu P’23
B David and Penny Michalak P’14
Runkai Zhang ’20
Alexander Milne ’04
B Qin Zhou and Min Tang P’19
B Amelia Mosley P’21
Nancy PF Drake P’90 ’93 ’96
Jim and Joan Edzwald P’95 B William PTT and Suzanne Flynt P’01 ’09
B Michael and Barbara PF Parry P’98
Margaret Fox ’88
B Douglas and Alice Patton P’16 ’18
B P John Gardiner PTT, P’14 ’18
B Brian Pearson TT and Sira Berté P’24
Robert Gilmore and Amy Burnside P’21 ’21
B Rebecca Pond ’95, PTT, PF
B Perry O. Hanson III and
Michael Posever and Anne-Marie Demetz P’10
BEMENT MERIT LIST ($250–$499)
Susan Easton Hanson ’56
B P Christine Hart PTT, P’02 Howard and Jinx Hastings GP’21 Jordi Herold and Elizabeth Dunaway P’24 Matthew Paul Herrick FR Edward Ho and Karmen Wu P’20 ’22 B John ’63, PTT and Lee Holstein John and Phelicia Howland P’21 B Margo Jones PTT, P’07 and Philip Elmer B Don and Mimi Kirk GP’23 Kylie Madison Kittredge ’18 Larry and Deb Klein GP’28 B P Charles and Pamela PTT Klonaris P’11 ’13 Dylan PF and Kristyn Korpita The Leung Family P’23 William Lidwell FR Martha Lyman ’58, PTT Sherry Marker P’87 ’91 Jay and Mimi PF Morsman P’87 B Virginia Morsman ’87, PTT, PF B Ladimer PTT and Anna Nagurney P’09 B Peggy Nathan PTT, P’83 Rafal Nowak P’23 Jisoo Oh ’96 B Thaddeus ’00 and Marisa Olchowski Neville and Catherine Orsmond P’28 ’28 ’31 B Mark and Lori Ott P’17 ’19 ’24 B Michael and Jane PTT Plager P’12 ’16 B Bill ’52 PTT, PF and Nancy Polk Zhijian Qiao and Lingyi Rao P’24 B Ned ’67, PTT and Maria Reade Jim and Lauren Schattin P’26 Annette Schettino FR Janet Schloat GP’24 ’27 B Warren Schloat GP’24 ’26 The Schmucki Family FR Kathryn Shanahan ’85 B Nathaniel and Amy ’89 Snow B Bob and Sally Spencer P’98 ’00 B P Melissa Stetson P’14 ’18 B William King Stubbs and
Dace Stubbs ’61, PTT, PF
Anonymous (3) Charles Altmiller ’72 Jim and Joan Ardrey GP’22 ’24 B Daniel ’01, FA and Rachel Bensen B Jason and Jaime Billings P’24 ’30 Leslie M. Bitman ’76 Ken PF and Karen Boudreau P’05 ’09 Harris Bucklin ’67 Zerah Burr ’99 Alexander Byron ’83 B Fred Byron P’80 ’83 Rebecca Caplice FR B Raymond TT and Julia Chen P’15 ’17 Andrew Ciccarelli and
Ann Cooper-Ciccarelli P’22 ’25
Jaime Correa and Juliana PF Camacho P’27
B Don and Tammy Powell FA B Suzanne T. Purrington ’52, PTT B Sam and Julie Owen ’57 Rea John ’69 and Masumi Reade Todd and Paula Rees P’16 B Christian Rojas and Alexandra Andino P’23 ’29 Sumeet Saxena and Ambreen Bawa P’29 The Schatz Family P’23 ’25 ’29 Benjamin and Kathleen Simanski P’30 Timothy and Kayla Snow P’30 Qiye Sun P’23 ’26 Elena Tillman ’02 Stephanie Vassar ’02 The Walker Family P’24 ’27 Marc Warner and Bonnie Burke P’21 ’23 Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. PF and Perry Wheelock Dingguo Zhou ’22
B Jennifer Cox P’25 B The DiBari Family P’22 B Mark Donovan and Anne Lozier P’24 B P Matthew Drake ’96
FRIENDS OF BEMENT ($1–$249)
B Matthew PF and Sara Evans Clark Flynt ’01
Anonymous (10)
Merrill and Jenn Gagne P’24 ’27
Bob Adam and Stephanie Velez GP’25 ’27 ’30 ’30
B Amy Gordon P’99 ’03, PF
Jerry and Casey FA Ahern P’31
Justice and Elizabeth Hammond P’23 ’25
Ronald and Carol Aleman P’87 ’97 ’99
Dianna Hannett GP’24 ’30
Bill and Nancy PF Ames
B Viva Hardigg ’78
Julie Anderson FR
Nicholas Hayes ’55 and Sheila Donovan
Thomas Anderson FR
B Adam and Emily Lent PF Hemingway
Donna Andon GP’19 ’22
B Greg Hills and Deborah Weaver Hills ’88
Alex Bagley ’20
B Gabriel and Kristin Hmieleski P’26
Victoria Bagley ’19
Megan Ho ’20
Shel Ball ’64
B Jeanet Hardigg Irwin ’73
B John PTT and Kay Bardzik P’88 ’91 ’95
B Rob PF and Shelley FHS Borror Jackson P’00
B Darnel and Riché PTT Barnes P’15
Cheri Karbon P’22 ’23
B Alexander Bartlett ’87, FA and Megan Tady
B Yasuyuki and Nobuyo Kimura P’17 ’20 ’22
B Wilson Becton FR
B John and Marcia Lannon P’98
Steven and Jessica Benjamin P’27
Emily Latham ’12
Stephanie Bennett ’82
Edmund L. Lincoln, Lucy A. Lincoln, and
B Ben PF and Pamela Bensen P’86 ’91 ’98 ’01 ’02
Emily T. Lincoln FR THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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B Carla Bernier GP’15 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’23 ’24
B Richard A. Herchenreder ’75 and
Jennifer Montgomery Bethlenfalvay ’68
B Barak Blackburn ’85, PF
Rachel Hobbie ’79
B P Ralph Parady and Bunny Boyden Parady ’GB
B Terrence and Wendy Blanchard P’20 ’20
B Susan Conant Holden ’GB
B Marlisa Drexler Parker ’52
B P Mary V. Boeh ’60
P Fred Houck P’96
Claire Patton ’18
Catherine Boody GP’13 ’16
B Bob TT and Amanda FA Howe P’18 ’18
B Will Paulding FA and Lauren Cerillo
Sarah Boudreau ’05
Ron and Lorene Ishimaru GP’17 ’19 ’24
Nicole Pelc P’25
William and Jennifer FA Boyden
B Stephen and Evelyn Jakub P’99
Shirley Pelletier PF
Joseph Brook ’19
Griffin James ’94
Joy Perry ’98
Preston P. Brown ’91
Betty Johnson GP’23
Jeffrey Pilgrim FA
B Robert K. Brown ’62
Cary and Sue PTT Jubinville P’98 ’00 ’06
Adam Pistel ’04
Allison Call P’28
Yusa Kanamori ’05
Benjamin Plager ’16
Ellen Carter FA
Kirsten Kapteyn P’07 ’08, PF
Matthew Plager ’12 FA
Rachael Carter FA
B Amie Keddy FA
B Rickey Poor ’60
Jillian Chaffee ’07
Jae Ho and Sonia Kim GP’22
B R. Sargent ’53, PF and Elizabeth Potter P’92
Minji Cho ’12, FA
John and Martha Knight P’21
B David Powell FA
B Howard and Carole Cohen GP’13
Tea Kodua P’22
Edward Raymond, Lynn Sibley, and Family FR
Michelle Conant FA
B Estate Kokosadze and
Sarah H. Reloj ’80, P’23
Lance Cooper GP’22 ’25
James Ricci II ’93
Philip and Anne Corrinet P’94
Terry Kopinto FA
James and Margaret Ricci P’93 ’95
Brian PF and Toni FA Costa
Kerry O’Brien Krause ’09
B Emily Mikolayunas Rich P’24 ’28, FA
Tim and Jill FA Craig P’29 ’29
John Kulsick and Kate Brandt P’30
B Madeline Surgenor Richards PF
Erin Cromack ’07, PF
Paul and Christine Lapuc GP’14 ’17
Robert Richardson P’22
B Michael and Janice FA Currie P’99 ’02
B Joan Williams Laundon ’58
B Richardson’s Candy Kitchen
B P Emet Davis ’80 PTT
Richard and Tally Lent FR
Donald and Sara PF Robinson P’85 ’91
B Lawrence Dean P’89
Kathleen Liberatore FR
Leslie Rockwell FA
Assunta DeSimone FR
Lu Ji and Fang FA Liu P’16
Jeanine Rodriguez P’24 ’27
Pawan Dhingra and Charu Gupta P’24
MaryBee Eberlein Longabaugh ’GB
B Bill Rogers ’65
Jacob and Emily Ditkovski P’26 ’29
Kate Loughlin ’18
B Greg and Kate Rolland P’20 ’23 ’23
Jerry and Ann FA Dubie
James and Dorothy Lucey P’86
B Mary Ann Rolland GP’20 ’23 ’23
B Paul and Renee Duseau P’12 ’12
Katie MacCallum P’29, FA
B Josh PF and Kate ’73 Rosenblatt P’05
B Kate Echeverria ’95
B Benjamin Hart ’02 and Wendy MacKinney
Jamie and Sara Rourke P’20 ’22
Edward E. Emerson Jr. ’55 and May S. Emerson
Mary Mahoney GP’23
Jim and Nancy Rourke GP’20 ’22
Nancy Fagan FR
Jeremy Mailloux and Stacey Mimnaugh P’24 ’27 ’30
Katrina Rowe FR
Thomas PF and Lyudmila Falcon
Dean Matweecha FR
Julie Russell ’50
Paula Farrell FR
B Nancy Maynard P’97 ’98
Avery Rymes ’19
Nancy Forrest P’82 ’93
Mac McCoy and Polly Byers P’10 ’12
B John and Amanda Rymes P’19
Jeanne M. Sojka
Anna Japaridze P’21 ’22 ’25
B Jeanne Hinckley Orlando ’95 Melissa Osborne P’27 ’30
Robert Franklin and Cheryl Roberts P’05
Brad and Rebecca ’93 McCutcheon
Sabra Sanwal FR
B Brian and Mayumi Fraser P’19 ’23
Sharon McGuinness P’25
Jonathan and Stephanie Scagel P’21 ’21
Jeremy Galvagni FA and Kimberly Pinkham P’24
Gary and Lisa Mead FR
Sheri Wills Schettino FR
B Dody Phinny Gates ’65
Leon and Frances Meier GP’13 ’16
Robert and Bette Schmitt GP’19
David Gendron and Amanda Gendron GP’26
Madeline Merin ’04
Martin and Margaret ’71 Schumacher
Mabel Gerquest P’80
B Nancy Mihevc P’12
John and Lisa Seelen PF
Gretchen Gordon P’18
Dorothy Milne PF
Justin Serpone and Angela McMahon P’27 ’29
William and Quaneta Greenough P’75
John Minor ’GB
Terry FA and Julie Shields P’19 ’21 ’25
B Sally Cook Gregg ’55
B Phoebe Montgomery Moeller ’72
Louis Sikkelee FR
Vikram Sood and Ruchi Grover P’24
Wendy Moonan ’60, PTT
Michael Silipo and Lydia Hemphill P’01 ’04
B John Gundelfinger ’08
B Roberto Mugnani and Silvia Ribes-Mugnani FA
B Charles and Marty PF Smith P’03
Mark Gutkowski FR
Peyton Mullins ’17
Scott Smith PF and Sally Reid P’98 ’01 ’03
Valerie Haggerty P’12
Fred and Lusi Murad PF, P’24 ’26 ’28
Snow and Sons, Inc.
Robert and Kathleen ’66 Harvey
B Bernard and Rose Murley GP’20
John and Shiang Sobieski P’24
Chance Hawkins ’90
B Ronald and Donna Murley GP’20
Barry and Linda Stacy P’08 ’11
Michael Hayes and Sarah Hayes P’26
Alexandra Nagurney ’09
Jonathan and Susan Stark P’15
Jonathan Heard ’72
Ryan Noble ’91 and Kerry Shaw P’23
B Alan Stefanini and
Frank and Kathryn Hegy GP’22
B John O’Keefe and Lynne Stopen P’17 ’19
Frank Henry Jr. PTT, FHS and
Bukola Olode P’22
Jane Stewart FA
Wanda Henry P’05 ’08
B Martha Olver ’84
Michael and Mia Sullivan P’22
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B E M E N T. O R G
Dianne Bensen Stefanini P’98 ’01 ’02
Colin Sweeney and Iris Chelaru P’26 ’31 Mark and Emma Theriault P’16 ’16 ’28 Gary Therien ’78 Joseph Torras and Michele Johnston-Torras P’13 ’16 Philip and Nancy Torrey FR B Jean Pitman Turner PF Chen Wang and Jia Xu P’24 P Ted and Sarah ’90 Weihman Anna Wetherby FA B Peter Whalen and Janna Ugone P’14 B Tell ’GB, PTT and Conni White John and Emily PF Whitney Mary Wickwire P’82 Elizabeth (Lee) Harding Williams ’55 Maria Williams P’13 ’20 Waltraud and Rainer Wirth GP’24 ’26 ’28 William and Sandra Wittig GP’29 Pam Wolanske P’91 Nicole Barriale Wong FR Chad Wrisley ’05 Larry and Donna Wrisley P’05
Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Ted and Carole PTT, PF Pennock P’90 ’94
Pamela Wick Lincoln ’65 by Edmund L. Lincoln, Lucy A. Lincoln, and Emily T. Lincoln FR
Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Edward Raymond, Lynn Sibley, and Family FR
Francis Malone PF by Viva Hardigg ’78
Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Snow and Sons, Inc.
Amy O’Hare ’87 by Thomas PF and Lyudmila Falcon
Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Pam Wolanske P’91
Amy O’Hare ’87 by Anthony Kwame Harrison ’85, TT
Marianne Bourbeau P’75, PF by Matthew Drake ’96
Amy O’Hare ’87 by Sherry Marker P’87 ’91
Marianne Bourbeau P’75, PF by Shirley Pelletier PF
Ann Osborne GP ’27 ’30 by Melissa Osborne ’27 ’30
Marianne Bourbeau P’75, PF by Donald and Sara PF Robinson P’85 ’91
Theodore Pina PF by Kirsten Kapteyn P’07 ’08, PF
Marianne Bourbeau P’75, PF by Charles and Marty PF Smith P’03 Lee Boyden P’49 by Ralph Parady and Bunny Boyden Parady ’GB John N. Butler FHS P’83 ’84 by Joan H. Butler P’83 ’84 Pasqualino Ciccarelli GP’22 ’25 by Andrew Ciccarelli and Ann Cooper-Ciccarelli P’22 ’25 Jacob and Helene Cooper GP’22 ’25 by Andrew Ciccarelli and Ann Cooper-Ciccarelli P’22 ’25
Mrs. McDonald PF by Viva Hardigg ’78
Bernice Shuman GP’10 ’14 by Andy PTT and Hut Beall P’15 Amy Spencer ’00 by Bob and Sally Spencer P’98 ’00 Edward Stinson ’51, PF by Harris Bucklin ’67 Michael Walsh GP’27 ’30 by Melissa Osborne ’27 ’30 Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Anonymous Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Jim and Joan Edzwald P’95 Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Matthew PF and Sara Evans Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Katie MacCallum P’29, FA Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Dorothy Milne PF
Joanna Creelman P’87 ’89 ’95 by Ted and Carole PTT, PF Pennock P’90 ’94
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Ladimer TT and Anna Nagurney P’09
Scott Creelman PTT, P’87 ’89 ’95 by Craig Creelman ’87
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Thaddeus Olchowski ’00
Sarah Young ’02 Paul and Linda Zayac GP’29 ’31
Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Thomas Anderson FR
Jeff Zilch and Kathy Zilch P’27 ’29
Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Assunta DeSimone FR
Sam Wyllie-Cain PF Nancy E. Yarmac PF
GIFTS MADE IN MEMORY OF William S. Armour ’47 by Louis Sikkelee FR Kay Bartlett FHS, PF by Edie Drexler Denney ’50, GP’14 Kay Bartlett FHS, PF by Marlisa Drexler Parker ’52 Kay Bartlett FHS, PF by Elizabeth (Lee) Harding Williams ’55 Elizabeth Beebe PTT, P’60 ’63 ’65 ’76, PF by Willson ’76 and Vickie Beebe Grace Bement FHS, GP’62’s birthday by Joe and Kimberly TT Petelle Butz P’19 Grace Bement FHS, GP’62 by Ladimer TT and Anna Nagurney P’09 Grace Bement FHS, GP’62 by Tell ’GB, PTT and Conni White Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Julie Anderson FR Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Carla Bernier GP’15 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’23 ’24 ’25 Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Deborah Bernier FR Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Rebecca Caplice FR Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by John Levine and Susan PTT Clopton P’03 Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Evans and Frank Family Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Nancy Fagan FR Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Paula Farrell FR Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Rob PF and Shelley FHS Borror Jackson P’00 Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Cary and Sue PTT Jubinville P’98 ’00 ’06 Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Gary and Lisa Mead FR Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Amelia Mosley P’21 Marc Bernier P’15 ’19 by Pazmino and Brook Families
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Brian Pearson TT and Sira Berté P’24
Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Salvatore DeSimone FR
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Peter Pettengill and Deborra PF Stewart-Pettengill P’01 ’03
Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Mark Gutkowski FR
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Peter L. Phillips FR
Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Kathleen Liberatore FR
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by William Reid ’03
Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by William Lidwell FR
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Matt Rich P’22 ’23
Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Mark and Lori Ott P’17 ’19 ’24
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by John and Lisa Seelen PF
Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Katrina Rowe FR Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Sabra Sanwal FR Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Annette Schettino FR Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by The Schmucki Family FR Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Maria Williams P’13 ’20 Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Sheri Wills Schettino FR Aiden Francesco Day ’13 by Nicole Barriale Wong FR Mary “Gug” Drexler FHS, PF, PTT, P’50 ’52 by Edie Drexler Denney ’50, GP’14 Mary “Gug” Drexler FHS, PF, PTT, P’50 ’52 by Marlisa Drexler Parker ’52 Mary “Gug” Drexler FHS, PF, PTT, P’50 ’52 by Elizabeth (Lee) Harding Williams ’55 Gretchen Fox PTT, P’86 ’88 by Margaret Fox ’88 Philip Gladue GP’12 ’16 by Andy PTT and Hut Beall P’15 Mary Hawks ’GB, PF by Harris Bucklin ’67 Mary Hawks ’GB, PF by Richard A. Herchenreder ’75 and Jeanne M. Sojka Mary Hawks ’GB, PF by Wendy Moonan ’60, PTT
Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Charles and Marty PF Smith P’03 Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Scott Smith PF and Sally Reid P’98 ’01 ’03 Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Joseph Peter Spang PTT Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Ruth Stevens FR Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Cyrus and Nancy Todd FR Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Gene and Susan Venable FR Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Brian ’74 and Danette Wadman P’03 ’05 ’10 Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Wendy Waller FR Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Jeffrey Whipple FR Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Tell ’GB, PTT and Conni White Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Nancy E. Yarmac PF Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Robert and Beverley Yoon P’05 ’07 Timothy C. Young ’61, PF by Joshua and Hollis Young FR
Sarah “Sally” Ann Bailey Houck P’96 by Fred Houck P’96 Yang Hua GP’23 by The Leung Family P’23 Mariam Ismail by Sumeet Saxena and Ambreen Bawa P’29 In-Ae Kim GP’24 by Eugene Kim and Hyo Jung Park P’24 THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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GIFTS MADE IN HONOR OF Sara Becton Ardrey P’22 ’24, FA by Wilson Becton FR Dave Belcher P’07, FA by Zerah Burr ’99 Dave Belcher P’07, FA by Claire Patton ’18 Emma Billings ’30 by Dianna Hannett GP’24 ’30 Jason Billings ’24 by Dianna Hannett GP’24 ’30 Jacob Brook ’21 by Joseph Brook ’19 Jacob Brook ’21 by Richard Brook and Shawna Pazmino-Brook P’19 ’21 Joseph Brook ’19 by Richard Brook and Shawna Pazmino-Brook P’19 ’21 Minji Cho ’12 by Valerie Haggerty P’12 Kylie Jean Donaldson ’20 by Bernard and Rose Murley GP’20 Beckie Duseau ’12 by Paul and Renee Duseau P’12 ’12 Brie Duseau ’12 by Paul and Renee Duseau P’12 ’12 William Franklin ’05 by Robert Franklin and Cheryl Roberts P’05 Rosemarie Gage P’10, FA by Philip and Nancy Torrey FR Clarese Gardiner ’18 by Melissa Stetson P’14 ’18 Emily Gardiner ’14 by Melissa Stetson P’14 ’18 Alice Gearhart FA by Jason Chen ’21 Sharon Hughes PF by Harris Bucklin ’67 Shelley Borror Jackson FHS, P’00 by Erin Cromack ’07, PF Shelley Borror Jackson FHS, P’00 by Emet Davis ’80, PTT Amie Keddy FA by Yusa Kanamori ’05 Barrett Kicza ’30 by Bob Adam and Stephanie Velez GP’25 ’27 ’30 ’30 Emma Kicza ’27 by Bob Adam and Stephanie Velez GP’25 ’27 ’30 ’30 Jason Kicza ’25 by Bob Adam and Stephanie Velez GP’25 ’27 ’30 ’30 Lane Kicza ’30 by Bob Adam and Stephanie Velez GP’25 ’27 ’30 ’30 Casey Kittredge ’21 by Lisa Kittredge TT, P’06 ’18 ’21 Emily Lynn Dean Lawrence ’89 by Lawrence Dean P’89 Katie MacCallum FA, P’29 by William and Sandra Wittig GP’29 Austin Wade MacKinney by Christine Hart PTT, P’02 Benjamin Hart MacKinney ’02 by Christine Hart PTT, P’02 Wilder Mary Mahoney ’23 by Don and Mimi Kirk GP’23 Wilder Mary Mahoney ’23 by Mary Mahoney GP’23 Tom Mangan FA by Shel Ball ’64 Kenneth O’Brien P’95 ’00, PF by Anonymous Kenneth O’Brien P’95 ’00, PF by Adam Pistel ’04 Carole Pennock PTT, P’90 ’94, PF by Ben PF and Pamela Bensen P’86 ’91 ’98 ’01 ’02 Phoebe Pliakas-Smith ’13 by Howard and Carole Cohen GP’13 Rebecca Pond ’95, TT, PF by Rob PF and Shelley FHS Borror Jackson P’00 Rebecca Boone Porter ’17 by The Rev. Nicholas and Dorothy Porter P’17 ’17
Thea V. Porter ’17 by The Rev. Nicholas and Dorothy Porter P’17 ’17
THE PHOENIX SOCIETY
John Reloj ’23 by Sarah H. Reloj ’80, P’23 Sydney Elizabeth Rourke ’22 by Jim and Nancy Rourke GP’20 ’22 Mike Schloat HOS, P’24 ’26 by Ted and Carole PTT, PF Pennock P’90 ’94 Mike HOS and Julianne Schloat P’24 ’26 by Rob PF and Shelley FHS Borror Jackson P’00 Forrest Schmitt ’19 by Robert and Bette Schmitt GP’19 Louise Smith P’95 ’97, PF by Matthew Lustig and Carolina Aragon P’29 Louise Smith P’95 ’97, PF by The Schatz Family P’23 ’25 ’29 Kalia Sobieski ’24 by John and Shiang Sobieski P’24
Thank you to the following members of our community who have named Bement as a beneficiary in their will, life insurance policy, retirement policy, or bank account documents: Anonymous Guy Ardrey and Sara FA Becton Ardrey P’22 ’24 Mike Banas and Emma Chen-Banas P’28
Francis Spalding ’71 by Bill Rogers ’65
Terry Belanger ’63
Anna-Lise Torras ’16 by Joseph Torras and Michele Johnston-Torras P’13 ’16
Nancee Bershof PTT, P’97 ’98
Jean-Pierre Torras ’13 by Joseph Torras and Michele Johnston-Torras P’13 ’16 Littell White ’GB, PTT by Christine Hart PTT, P’02 Littell White ’GB, PTT by Rachel Hobbie ’79 Littell White ’GB, PTT by Rob PF and Shelley FHS Borror Jackson P’00 Renee Wu FA by Shel Ball ’64 Talia Zayac ’29 by Paul and Linda Zayac GP’29 ’31
Mary V. Boeh ’60 Joan H. Butler P’83 ’84 Emet Davis ’80, PTT Matthew Drake ’96 Peter FHS and Nancy PF Drake P’90 ’93 ’96 James ’54 and Katherine Dunn Cathy Esleeck ’GB, PTT, P’62 Kathleen Fontaine ’80
GIFTS MADE IN KIND Elya Rowa P’22 Rich PTT and Elie PF Shuman P’10 ’14
John Gardiner PTT, P’14 ’18 Lester and Burdine Anderson ’54 Giese Dolly Glennon PTT, P’08 ’11
MATCHING GIFT COMPANIES AND FOUNDATIONS 2021 We are most grateful to the companies and foundations listed below for participating in the Matching Gift Program, which offers the donor the opportunity to increase their gift to Bement.
Christine Hart PTT, P’02 Fred Houck P’96 Robert and Ellen Fuller PTT Kaufmann P’94 Charles and Pamela TT Klonaris P’11 ’13 Debra MacLean P’04
Dell Technologies, Inc.
Christopher S. Maniatty PTT
Facebook, Inc.
Brad and Rebecca ’93 McCutcheon
Google Guidehouse, Inc.
Philip PTT and Deborah McKean P’84
Johnson Controls, Inc.
Stephanie McLennan ’85, PTT
Nasdaq, Inc.
David and Joyce Milne P’69 ’75, PF
Netflix, Inc.
Ralph Parady and Bunny Boyden Parady ’GB
Pew Charitable Trusts Société Générale S.A.
Ted and Carole PTT, PF Pennock P’90 ’94 David PTT and Nancy PF Pond P’89 ’95 Katherine Stenson Lunt PTT, P’00 ’02 and
We have made every attempt to publish the names of our donors accurately. If your name has inadvertently been omitted, misspelled, or listed incorrectly, please accept our sincere apology and bring the error to the attention of the Alumni and Development Office so that we may correct our records.
Rob Stenson
Melissa Stetson P’14 ’18 Ellen Waldinger PTT, P’11 ’14 Ted and Sarah ’90 Weihman Tell ’GB, PTT and Conni White Ann Wright ’65 Joshua and Hollis Young, FR
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B E M E N T. O R G
ENDOWED AND SIMILAR FUNDS In addition to the Annual Fund, the Bement funds listed below provide for a diversity of programmatic funding. Income from these funds not only strengthens our operating budget but also provides donors the option of designating their contributions to areas of specific interest.
Bartlett/Drexler Scholarship Fund Established in 1977 as a challenge grant from an anonymous donor wishing to provide general scholarship support in honor of Kay Bartlett and Mary “Gug” Drexler, former co-heads of the school.
Beebe Memorial Fund Established in 1973 by the trustees in memory of William H. Beebe P’76, former business manager, for the general needs of the school.
The Bement School Bridge Grant Established by Dolly Glennon PTT, P’08 ’11 in 2014, the Bridge Grant provides complete financial support for an incoming, local lower school student with demonstrated need of full financial assistance to attend Bement. Financial aid, along with a Bridge Grant, will provide a qualified family with 100% of the tuition cost of enrollment each year.
Clagett Professional Development Fund Established in 1978 as a bequest of Nancy L. Clagett P’60, GP’85. The fund has been augmented by gifts from C. Thomas Clagett Jr. P’60, GP’85 and family. Income from the fund provides Bement faculty with opportunities for professional development.
Nancy and Peter Drake Scholarship Fund Established in 1999 by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Flynt Jr. GP’01 ’09 in honor of the years of dedication and service of Peter Drake P’90 ’93 ’96, a former head of school, and his wife, Nancy Drake PF, P’90 ’93 ’96. This fund supports financial aid awards.
Fox Family Scholarship Fund Established in 1999 by a gift from John and Gretchen PTT Fox P’86 ’88 to support financially deserving students who represent diversity at Bement, providing them with the opportunity to participate in all activities and services offered at the school.
General Scholarship Fund Established by the board of trustees to provide financial aid to those who would otherwise be unable to attend Bement.
Virginia Honnold Houck GP’96 Piano Preservation Fund Established by Fred Honnold Houck and SarahAnn Houck P’96 to ensure the systematic and professional maintenance of the Mason & Hamlin grand piano presented by them and their children, Charlotte, David, and Brent ’96, to Bement on October 19, 2010, in memory of Virginia Honnold Houck GP’96.
Library Endowment Fund Established in 2004 by the board of trustees as an endowment for the Clagett McLennan Library.
James Mullins Athletics Fund Established in 2009 in memory of James Mullins P’14 ’17 by his family and friends to support athletics.
O’Hare Scholarship Fund Established in 1988 by a gift from Peter Risatti, a friend of Bement, in memory of former Bement student Amy O’Hare ’87. Recipients of awards are to be upper school students of strong character who show athletic promise.
Carole Pennock Lower School Fund Established in 2016 by her family, this endowed fund supports the lower school in appreciation of Carole Pennock, recognizing her 34 years of dedication to Bement as lower school head, trustee, Parents Association president, kindergarten teacher, and proud parent of Chris ’90 and Alex ’94.
Phillips Scholarship Fund Established in 1997 by a bequest from Bessie Wright Phillips, a friend of Mary “Gug” Drexler, to be used for scholarships.
Nancy Pond World Language Fund Established in 2016 by her family, this endowed fund will support language programs in celebration of Nancy’s 31 years of dedication to the growth and nurture of Bement students and the World Language Department.
Reader’s Digest Scholarship Fund Established in 1972 by a matching gift from the DeWitt Wallace Fund. Income from the fund is to be used for scholarships to deserving middleincome students from families demonstrating the potential and willingness to pay a portion of tuition and fees.
Siguler Family Fund Established in 1999 by a gift from George PTT and Pamela Siguler P’98 ’00 ’02 ’05 ’14 for general endowment growth.
Timothy C. Young ’61 Fund Established in 2020 by the family and friends of Timothy C. Young, this endowed fund honors Tim’s devotion to Bement by supporting financial aid and tuition remission for faculty and staff children attending Bement.
THE BEMENT BULLETIN 2021
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THE BEMENT SCHOOL 94 OLD MAIN STREET, PO 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!
UPCOMING EVENTS
DECEMBER 2021
Bement Gives Back Challenge 2021 Join us for this challenge in December and make a difference in your community through volunteering and service! To learn more, visit bement.org/bementgivesback. Students, families, faculty, and staff volunteered more than 200 hours of community service last December, including trail maintenance, food delivery, and trash cleanup.
Grand Day Friday, May 27, 2022 Visit bement.org/grand for more information.
Alumni events in Boston, NYC, and the Pioneer Valley
BEMENT
GIVES BACK CHALLENGE
Visit bement.org/alumni for information about alumni gatherings.
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.
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The Bement School 94 Old Main Street, PO Box 8 Deerfield, MA 01342 413.774.3021 alumni@bement.org