The READ magazine (Fall 2010)

INSIDE FRONT COVER

As part of a new Branksome marketing program, each new Admissions advertisement features a different Branksome student with her individual “equation” for feeling “remarkable.” Whatever her passion — Math, Science, Drama, Sports — the equation is always “to the power of ice cream,” because fun is an essential component to being a Branksome girl! And, as a globally minded school, every equation is “times the world.” The tagline “Be Remarkable” speaks to the unique, remarkable aspects of each girl and of our school.

Features

8 Recap of Reunion 2010

Held May 29 and 30

The weekend in photos begins on p. 8, and features artistic talents that contributed to the success of Reunion!

All photos showcasing alumnae at the Saturday Night reception and dinner were taken by Jennifer Cotman, parent of Claire Matthews (Grade 4 at Branksome Hall). Jennifer specializes in fine art black and white and colour portraits of newborn babies, maternity, children and families.

www.jennifercotmanphotography.ca

A selection of photos from Spirit Sunday! were taken by Jamie FLECK’00, whose profile appears on p. 15.

HOUNG’00 performs a Broadway jazz number to Fame at a dance showcase held recently in Toronto.

Photo: www.marcialeeder.com

by Karen Murton

Looking at the World Creatively, Bravely,

In this issue of The READ, where we celebrate the creative spirit, the canvas is rich. Not only do we recognize the diverse artistic talents of our alumnae throughout these pages, but we can also see the role the school played and the impact Branksome has had on so many women over so many decades. Personally, I cannot think of an environment where it is more important to think creatively than in a school. Upon reflection on the Branksome of today, it is clearly evident that the stature of our school has given us the opportunity to creatively embrace the next leg of our journey.

Lately, many of us at Branksome have been looking at the world a little differently. Witness Branksome Hall Asia: a new school, yet one that will be built on traditions, legacies and solid roots. This is a venerable institution; it is also one that is not afraid of change — a school that models 21st century attitudes and actions. Many people have asked me, “How did Branksome Hall Asia come about?” Upon reflection, the answer is simple: first of all, we put the right people around the table — those who were capable of seeing the possibilities. Second, we fostered an attitude that was open-minded and full-minded. Finally, it came down to

The stature of our school has given us the opportunity to creatively embrace the next leg of our journey.

Differently

“I invite you to embrace your artistic and creative spirit!

Some of us may be pleasantly surprised at where we land. It may be a bend in the road — one you never anticipated, yet one that encourages you to look at the world differently, and with new possibilities.”

GLENN BROWN

perspective: how can we embrace multiple perspectives, be risk-takers (as well as responsible stewards of the school) and ensure the future success of Branksome Canada and Asia?

As they say, the rest is history…but not really. We continue to build the framework and secure the human capital that will keep Branksome Hall at the forefront — as a globally minded girls’ school. Branksome Hall Asia is a step in the right direction, as are the many initiatives that uniquely identify our school as one that challenges and inspires girls to love learning and to shape a better world.

“We must embrace the education of the full mind — the analytical and the artistic, the quantitative and the qualitative,” says Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management. “Students need to learn how to think critically and creatively every bit as much as they need to learn how to crunch numbers. In the end, that is the only way we will create leaders who are capable of facing our toughest problems and answering our most difficult questions.”

I invite you to embrace your artistic and creative spirit! Be brave, be different. Some of us may be pleasantly surprised at where we land. It may be a bend in the road — one you never anticipated, yet one that encourages you to look at the world differently, and with new possibilities.

Our collective, creative spirit delivered Branksome Hall Asia — and this same spirit will prevail as we envision the future of our school.

Branksome Hall moves. It takes action and thinks through problems creatively and collaboratively. Our lens is diverse, broad and filled with possibilities. I

FROM THE EDITOR

During my youth in Montreal, there would be a plain envelope for me under our Christmas tree every year. It would simply read: To Lally, From Stephen — Stephen being one of my older brothers, and Lally being my family’s nickname for me.

by Tanya Pimenoff

The Envelope Effect

After the first year, when the mystery of its contents was revealed, I grew to anticipate “the envelope” as it had such a positive impact on me, greater than any item picked from a store counter and wrapped in a colourful box. Stephen was, and still is, a great lover of all classical music. He would research and purchase tickets for my mom (or aunt) and me to hear, every winter, world-renowned pianists at Montreal’s magnificent performing arts centre, Place des Arts. What a wonderful world of culture and beauty I was exposed to!

Growing up as the only girl and youngest of three children, my parents had introduced me to as many cultural riches as my schedule would permit. It was ballet on Saturday, figure skating on Sunday and piano lessons on Wednesday night. Although I showed promise in ballet and even won a scholarship to study at a prestigious dance school in Montreal, it was piano practice that took over my free time.

By the age of 12, I had outgrown my first teacher and auditioned (playing Chopin’s Grande Valse Brillante) to study under William Stevens, a humorous CBC-TV personality with his own children’s show, Let’s Talk Music, and a magnificent pianist. He took me under his wing; weekly lessons became twice-weekly lessons as I studied the many works of the maestros of the pianoforte.

To this day, my upright grand is still my prized possession. It will always be with me and will stay in our family for years to come. Playing it is a great escape from the rigours of daily life; those 88 keys keep my fingers nimble and my piano’s tone, so deep and rich, fills me with great emotion and contentment. But I do miss the deep-voiced “Bravo!” that, back in Montreal, could be heard from my father’s study as he worked at his desk, all the while enjoying the piano music filtering through our home.

This issue of The READ is a true tribute to the arts. Many talents are revealed in stories and anecdotes of alumnae who are authors, actors, singers, visual artists, musicians and songwriters. They tell tales of highs and lows, hard work, disappointments, perseverance and successes; but mostly, the stories tell of love for their art. Thank you, everyone, for your contributions, which have made our busy world a more beautiful and relaxing place. I

RICK MILLER

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION

by Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82

Art Appreciation

In those days, the art curriculum included a great deal of art history. From the early Renaissance through Impressionism and Modernism, we learned about technique, composition, colour, light and the personal histories of the artists. We studied not only the great painters of these times, but also the sculptors, print makers, weavers and architects.

In our Grade 12 year, Mrs. Simpson and the geography teacher organized a joint culture and urban studies trip to New York City. On this trip, everything that had been taught in the classroom became real to me. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum, Mise van der Rohe’s Seagram building, Van Gogh’s Starry Night at the MoMA and the Roman sculpture garden at the MET. No picture in a book can compare to standing in front of Starry Night and seeing with your own eyes the colour contrasts and the texture of the paint.

I periodically see Mrs. Simpson, and every time I do, I like to thank her for providing me with the foundation on which I have built a lifelong appreciation for beautiful art. What I have come to understand, though, is that

beautiful art is not limited to what hangs in a gallery.

My mother-in-law’s garden, to me, is as beautiful as Michelangelo’s David; so is a dress designed and sewn by my friend, Susan; or the mixed berry pie my sister, Karen, makes every July from freshly picked berries. Appreciating the creative process and effort is what I find most interesting.

As is clearly evident in this issue of The READ, Branksome Hall has fostered the talents of many exceptional artists over the years — musicians, dancers, actors, writers and visual artists. And, the exciting Alumnae Association event, take pART (see p. 36), that took place recently, certainly further acknowledged the outstanding talents within our community. These days, I channel my creativity through food and my catering business. Though hard to hang on the wall, at least I get to tackle an empty canvas, of a sort, every day.

I look forward to meeting many alumnae as I settle into this challenging new role as your President. I

As a Branksome art student, I was very eager but not very talented. This never seemed to faze my ever-patient teacher, Mary Simpson. She guided all of her students regardless of their capabilities and, although there were a few girls who were destined for greatness, the ultimate goal for the majority of us was to learn to love the process and to truly appreciate great art.

Retiring and New Alumnae Association Executive

Heather ADAMSON Wicken’99

Heather attended Branksome from Grades 7 to 13 and was involved with the crosscountry running and rowing teams. After receiving a B.A. (Hons) in Economics from Queen’s University in 2003, Heather joined Accenture as a Management Consultant. In 2006 she joined Shoppers Drug Mart as Manager of Corporate Strategy, followed by Director of Strategic Analytics. Heather completed her M.B.A. part-time at the Richard Ivey School of Business in June 2010, and began a new career as Senior Manager of Client Services with Precima, a retail analytics consulting company under the Loyalty One brand. Heather enjoys running, skiing and golfing, and volunteering at Camp Oochigeas. She lives in Toronto with her husband Andrew.

Susan ANDERSON Thornburrow’75

Susan attended Branksome from 1969 until 1972, and reconnected with the school when her daughter, Nicole THORNBURROW’10, entered Grade 5. Susan has a B.A. in Psychology from York University. She also earned credits taking jazz, modern, ballet and flamenco! With a 30-year career in magazines, Susan is currently on contract with Roger’s Publishing, specifically for HELLO! Canada. With son Will, 20, and Nicole both at Queen’s Unversity, Susan, husband Michael, and miniature schnauzer Archie are empty nesters residing in Leaside. Outside of work, Susan is a dedicated volunteer for Ovarian Cancer Canada and enjoys dance class, tap and jazz. Susan looks forward to staying connected to the Branksome community.

Claire BASINSKI’04

Claire was the Middle Division Prefect. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, majoring in Urban Planning. She currently works as a Transportation Planner at MMM

Devon DOMELLE Parsons’95 and Sue STRAK Rosenblat’76 retire from the Alumnae Association Executive.

In 2002, Devon joined the Alumnae Association Executive. For the first five years she served as a Member-at-Large and participated in events such as the Poinsettia/Spring Plant sales, Plaid Tidings, Golf Day and Residence Night Out. She was also a member of the Alumnae Awards Selection Committee during Branksome’s Centennial in 2002–03.

Devon served as President from 2005–07 and as Past President for these past three years. With the recent birth of her daughter Tenley, we hope that Devon will, one day, add “parent” to her volunteer and executive member roles at Branksome.

Sue joined the Executive in 2005, serving initially as a Member-at-Large and, since 2007, as Vice-President. Sue has worked on events that include Plaid Tidings, Golf Day, Reunion Weekend and the Poinsettia/Spring Plant sales. Also a parent (Sarah ROSENBLAT’10), Sue took on expanded roles as a staff member in November 2009 when she joined the Advancement Department in the role of Development Officer, handling both Annual Giving and Special Events. In this new capacity, she remains a key liaison to members of the Executive. Her skills have been put to good use as the Alumnae Association launched its newest fundraiser, take pART, held earlier this fall.

Thank you, Devon and Sue, for your tireless work, your dedication, your grace under pressure and your good humour. We wish you health and happiness as you take on new interests and challenges.

Group, where she is responsible for the coordination of public and stakeholder consultation as well as policy writing and development. Claire is currently working on a number of projects throughout the GTA and Ontario. She is also exploring further professional development and learning in the field of pedestrian, cycling and active transportation policy development and planning. She continues to be involved in a number of professional committees.

Christine CZASCH’83

Christine was the Student Rep on the Alumnae Executive in her graduating year. She obtained a B.A. from York University, and completed degree programs at Ryerson and

George Brown, the latter two while working for various financial institutions, legal firms and Visa Canada Association. In 2002, she left corporate life and embraced a stay-athome mom position to her now 7-year-old daughter. She now works for a medical specialist practice in Pickering and lives with her daughter in the Beach.

Katie McCABE’03

Katie was the McLeod Clan Chief tain. She has a B.A. in Sociology from Dalhousie University and a Marketing Management Certificate from Humber College. After university, she travelled to Asia, New Zealand and Australia. She currently works at Canadian Tire

Jane CONNOR’84, Past President (continued

on next page)

Seven new members began their three-year terms in September. We welcome…

Sue STRAK Rosenblat’76

Devon DOMELLE Parsons’95

as an assistant buyer for kitchen appliances. Katie is also involved in various charitable projects throughout the GTA.

Jeanette SEYMOUR’94

Jeanette attended Branksome from Senior Kindergarten to Grade 13. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Huron College and went on to study the Montessori teaching philosophy at the Toronto Montessori Institute. She lived and taught on the island of Sint Maarten for three years. Upon her return to Toronto, she was introduced to the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program at The York School, where she taught Senior Kindergarten for five years. To further her own education, Jeanette moved to Devon, England, for a year and received a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from Exeter University. Jeanette teaches Junior Kindergarten at Branksome and is thrilled to be back. In her free time, she works as a children’s artist using paper collage as her medium. She enjoys travelling and recently participated in a Habitat for Humanity build in La Paz, Bolivia.

Lucy Gall Advancement Student Rep

Lucy has been at Branksome since Grade 7 and has been involved in a variety of cocurricular activities over the years. She participates on sports teams each year and is involved in theatre arts, acting in the Senior School production in the fall and assisting backstage for other performances throughout the year. Lucy devotes most of her time to community service — sitting on the school’s Community Service Council, volunteering at the Saturday Morning Literacy Club at Rose Avenue Public School, teaching children with physical and mental challenges to ski with the Ontario Track 3 Ski Association, tutoring fellow students in French and, last year, travelling to South Africa on the school’s service trip to QGAP. Lucy looks forward to being on the Peer Support Executive this year where she will hold the portfolio of Grade 7 Girls’ Circles Coordinator. As Advancement Student Rep, she will attend the monthly Alumnae Association and Parents’ Association meetings, reporting about the activities of the student body and acting as a liaison between the Associations, the Advancement Office, and the students. I

Volunteering Is Simply Fun!

Top: Surrounded by a roomful of paper and boxes, volunteers share a laugh during the Reunion 2010 invitation mailing blitz on April 15. Standing: Melanie Reiffenstein, Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82, Louise COFFEY Hastings’55. Seated: Katie REIFFENSTEIN’04, Meredith SHAW’00 and Andrea LAWRENCE Gall’77.

Bottom: 1990 reunion reps take over the Advancement Office phones on May 19. From left, Lisa RAEBURN Laurin, Stephanie CRAIG Munro, Erin POLLOCK Ellis and Vanessa AVRUSKIN organize their call sheets before phoning classmates regarding Reunion 2010.

Back

in the Classroom A volunteer’s perspective

by Lesley BREWER’75

On May 1, I had the honour of being a judge at the Nora McRae Public Speaking Tournament, an event held annually at Branksome Hall. As I had not been back to the school in 35 years, I was in a state of shock to see the many positive changes — Branksome had become a modern facility for the young women of today!

Branksome Hall hosted students from 30 schools around the Toronto area. Competitors were from both Junior and Senior Divisions. Entrants had various categories to choose from: interpretive reading, declamation, after-dinner speaking, persuasive speaking, dramatic interpretation, impromptu speaking and radio newscast. Each contender was required to participate in three.

As a judge for the Senior Division, I was as nervous as the speakers, given that it was my first experience as a judge! Every student was fabulous and I found it extremely challenging to choose “the best.”

At the end of the day, the winners were announced in the Allison Roach Performing Arts Centre. Branksome achieved 1st place in the Senior Division, and Country Day School was awarded 1st place in the Junior Division.

This day of volunteering stirred a strange mix of feelings in me. I was nostalgic, but also filled with a sense of pride in what Branksome has become and will become moving forward. I was delighted to meet fellow alumnae and I was left with a sense of awe at the speaking skills of those young people!

I look forward to volunteering again next year. I

If you would like more information about volunteering at Branksome, please contact Tanya Pimenoff at 416.920.6265, ext. 285, or tpimenoff@branksome.on.ca.

Roads Well Travelled

Alums in the Classroom

1 Songwriter Amy FOSTER’92 spent a day in October 2009 with Senior School music students. It was a treat for the various classes to be critiqued in singing and musical composition by the Grammy Award winner. Here, Amy connects by phone with her friend, Michael Bublé, who listened to the girls singing Home — a song they co-wrote and which won Michael a Juno award for Single of the Year.

2 On November 18, 2009, Grade 12 chemistr y students were regaled during class time by scientist and entrepreneur Linda SCHABEREITER Stephenson’83. Linda, who has guest lectured at the Schulich School of Business, is a member of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. In 2007, using her skills as a biologist, chemist and botanist, she launched Mèreadesso Woman (a one-step skin-care product). Linda spoke about her time at Branksome and the many fascinating twists and turns her career has taken over the years. Her products can be purchased online at

BULLETIN BOARD

If this is the first time you are seeing this masthead, then you are not on our e-mail list! Or even worse, you are on our e-mail list and your spam catcher is filtering us out!

The Road, which complements and supplements

The READ, was launched in May 2010. Through this e-newsletter, we will provide more alumnae profiles, timely updates, upcoming events with links to easy registration, and hot-off-the press news, so you can stay connected to the Branksome community throughout the year.

You will still receive The READ, our full-colour magazine, every fall and it will continue to feature profiled alumnae, class notes, marriages/births/ deaths, and a host of other stories and information that is of interest to all alumnae.

Without your e-mail, The Road will not reach you. So please send your e-mail address to Tanya Pimenoff, Editor of both The Road and The READ, at tpimenoff@branksome.on.ca.

Hong Kong Admissions and Alumnae Reception

www.mereadesso.com or at select skincare boutiques.

3 Marissa BRONFMAN’04 (Reporter, Huffington Post), Meling VON MOLTKEPAO’95 (Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Acutoronto) and Kim ENGLISH’03 (Trip Guide and post-grad student) engaged students with their life stories on January 14.

4 Teacher Di Watson greets career speakers and 2000 classmates Anna KEREKES (Client Manager, IBM), Caroline HOUNG (Communications Officer, Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games Organizing Committee) and Laura GIBSON (Visitor Services Manager, Bata Shoe Museum) on January 15. The alumnae, all in interesting and diverse jobs, returned to Branksome to tell their stories to Grade 10 career studies students.

For details, visit branksome.on.ca/news/ and click on Januar y 2010.

Principal Karen Murton is joined by, from left, Jacqui SZETO Meiers’87, Rachel Meiers and Mrs. Yvonne

Szeto, at the Hong Kong Admissions and Alumnae

Reception on March 9, 2010. Jacqui, who boarded at Branksome for three years, spoke at the event

about her family’s commitment to the school and her own appreciation of the education she received at Branksome. Jacqui, her husband Brad, and daughter, Rachel, who is in Grade 1 at Branksome, were in Hong Kong, where Mrs. Szeto resides.

Reunion 2010

Alumnae from near and far returned to Branksome for a nostalgic weekend with friends, classmates, teachers and staff. For a cyber visit — a video of weekend highlights — please go to www.branksome.on.ca/alumnae/reunion/ and click on the link. All Saturday Night photos: Jennifer Cotman

1940 70th Reunion

1945 65th Reunion

2 Congratulations to Marion MORTIMER Thomson’40, who celebrated her 70th reunion on May 29. Marion enjoyed this milestone event in the company of her daughter, Patti THOMSON MacNicol’75 (attending her 35th reunion), and granddaughter Meghan MACNICOL’04.

3 Enjoying lunch in the Weston Drawing Room on May 30, classmates from 1945 are Mary RITCHIE Campbell, Sally BROUGHALL Paterson (Thornbury), Joyce FRANKEL Kofman, Mary BASTOW Lawrance (Collingwood) and Dodie ROBINETTE MacNeill.

4 Joan NEILSON’46, Claire DIBBLE Shales’46 and Nancy PATTISON Campbell’42 at the luncheon on May 30.

5 Seated in the Allison Roach Performing Arts Centre prior to the award presentations are 1949 classmates Ann LOWNDES McVittie, Ginger CROSSIN Tafel and Marg Ann ROBERTSON Van Wyck (Hamilton).

1 Mardi EASTBURY Kersell’37 and her husband, John, drove from their home in Waterloo to attend the Alumnae Award Presentation and luncheon on May 30.

1955

55th Reunion

1 Back: Janice McBRIDE Fountain, Mary Lou COSSER Dickinson, Lynn PRINGLE MacLennan, Jane ARNOTT Stephenson, Ann LLOYD Plummer, Mary BOLTON Armstrong, Louise COFFEY Hastings and Marion ANDERSON Hinton.

Front: Paula CHERRIE McTavish, Maxine McCUAIG, Jane BRIGGS Van Buskirk, Marilyn MOORE Wynn and Elizabeth McMULLEN.

1960

50th Reunion

2 Back: Sandy BELL McDermott, Lorna LUKE, Pat STRATHY Davidson, Anne ROSS Nichols, Dianne GROVE Widlicka, Diana STYLE Tweedy and Linda MATTHEWS Brown.

Front: Quita MAINGUY Longmore, Martha

CORRIGAN Feilding, Sheila MORRISON Collins, Bev BOTHWELL Norrena, Donna BULL George, Joyce WHITELY Wiltse, Heather TAYLOR Hall and Heather WALDIE MacLean.

Missing

2 Jane BRIGGS Van Buskirk and Ann LLOYD Plummer.

3 Paula CHERRIE McTavish and Lynn PRINGLE MacLennan.

4 Marion ANDERSON Hinton and Marilyn MOORE Wynn.

1 Bev BOTHWELL Norrena and Susan BROWN Harris.

from photo: Susan BROWN Harris.

Taking advantage of a night to celebrate memorable moments from the past, and share stories of the present, the eight classmates shown here enjoying their 45th Reunion look forward to many more friends joining them for the 50th in 2015!

Standing: Kathy WOOD

Sykes (Sharon, ON), Nancy HARRIS (Orillia, ON), Janice CAVANAGH

Halderson (Wilmington, NC), Kristina SZANDTNER Burke (Ridgewood, NJ), Lynn HUGHES Clappison and Valerie ATTWOOLL

Fraser.

Seated: Margo CARRUTHERS Hilton, Merrill FEARON (Vancouver).

1970

40th Reunion

1975 Classmates from 1975 celebrating their 35th Reunion at the pre-dinner reception are Beth DONALD (Pefferlaw, ON), Barb OSLER (Montreal), Lesley BREWER, Susan ANDERSON Thornburrow and Janet THOMSON Campbell. Missing from photo is Patti THOMSON MacNicol.

AT THE PRE-DINNER RECEPTION

Standing: Ann WILTON, Judy SHYKOFF Millard, Valerie RALLING Wilbur, Linda McQUAIG, Clayton STUART

Scott, Barb DUNLOP Mohammad, Mimi OELBAUM King and Beverley WILKINSON Brady.

Seated: Elizabeth CHAPMAN Gibson, Elizabeth McCUTCHEON Svilans, Carolyn BROWN, Catherine GARTHA Foldvary and Cynthia FARQUHARSON.

Judy SHYKOFF Millard and Aubrey Millard at the Alumnae Award Presentations and Luncheon on May 30.

1980

Former

Reunion Keepsake

Thanks to an idea generated by Suzie DINGWALL Williams, news and photos from 1980 classmates were submitted to the Alumnae Office. The information was then compiled into a special 30th Reunion keepsake booklet. The project was so successful that it has now become a feature of reunion, however, going forward, it will be a project undertaken only for the 25th Reunion Class.

1985 25th Reunion

Head Girl C.K. PURKS Hoffler (Stuart, FL) chats with her former English teacher, Miss Susan Kenny, at the breakfast on May 29.

The Class of 1980 celebrates their 30th Reunion at the pre-dinner reception.

Far left: Carrie CAMERON Degroote and Janet MOLLENHAUER Omstead.

Left: At the dinner, from left, are Genevieve PERRON Dufraisse, Jennifer PIERCE, Susan HIGGINS Asper, Rachel SUTHERLAND, Melinda BRADSHAW Robertson, Annabelle FELL and Barbara HALL.

JAMIE FLECK’00

The group at the pre-dinner reception.

1 The group at the pre-dinner reception.

2 Standing: Alex HARTNETT, Lisa RAEBURN Laurin, Erin POLLOCK Ellis, Erica SESSLE Duefield (Kampala, Uganda) and Vanessa AVRUSKIN.

Seated: Suzanne CRYSDALE Graham, Stephanie CRAIG Munro (Cambridge, ON), Patty LAMPROPOULOS, Reesa DOWE Hughes and Wendy SCHAAL Oldham (Whitby, ON).

3 Amanda RUSSELL (Edmonton) and Barb O’CONNOR (Meaford, ON) at the breakfast on May 29.

4 Binnie BARIA Capstick (Wellington, NZ) with former Principal Allison ROACH’51.

5 Romney JONES Pieros (Yarker, ON), Lisa CHESWORTH and Angela TOMLINSON (Haliburton, ON).

6 Standing behind Sally MACDONNELL Paradine, left, and former Head Girl Brenda WELSH Poutawera (Wellington, NZ) are Andrea LENCZNER, Andrea BENT, Leanne SON HING (Guelph), Binnie BARIA Capstick (Wellington, NZ), Melissa THOMSON, Judy AMELI, Leslie DICKIE, Francesca JOHNSON (Alexandria, ON) and Sally ARMSTRONG Conrod.

Ellyn SENNEMA Lusis’95 Illustrator

Ellyn attended Seneca@York to study graphic design and graduated on the President’s Honour List for Highest Academic Standing in 2001. She then entered the post-graduate Advanced Illustration Program at Sheridan College, graduating with the Silver Medal Award for Academic Excellence in 2003.

Ellyn’s digital illustrations combine a traditional design aesthetic with vintage woodblock prints. As a freelance illustrator, her focus has been on editorial work, but she has recently begun exploring the world of children’s illustrations. Her collection of traditional cultural folk tales has appeared in magazines, books and on television.

She currently lives in Guelph, ON, with her husband, Tom, daughter Annika, 6, and son Noah, 1.

Ellyn provided original artwork that was used in all Reunion 2010 promotional materials and on the covers of the invitation and weekend program. The art has been framed and hung in the school.

1995 15th Reunion

1 Reunion Weekend 2010 co-chairs Jessica ZACKHEIM Hurwitz, left, and Deena PANTALONE Reale, far right, with Jennifer SULLIVAN Willmot and Courtney WISE.

2 The pre-dinner reception.

3 One of the 1995 tables at the dinner — Standing: F iona CLIFF, Heather GRAHAM McCourt, Megan ROSS Cuming (Wolfville, NS), Robyn THOMPSON Cunningham (Peterborough, ON) and Katie EARLE Tyler’94 (Newmarket, ON).

Seated: Erin GRIMES, Kristy TAYLOR Davidson, Jennifer JARVIS and Sam WEISS (Vancouver, BC).

3

2000 10th Reunion

Musical talents are showcased at the Awards presentation ceremony at Spirit Sunday!

Meredith SHAW’00

Performed Angel by Sarah McLachlan

Meredith SHAW’00 was Head Girl and played key roles in school musicals such as Anne of Green Gables. After Branksome, Meredith completed a Theatre and Music degree at Queen’s University, and then went on to work in theatre, film and television. She has had lead roles in Evil Dead The Musical, Cabaret, Little Shop of Horrors and Rocky Horror. Meredith was selected as a finalist for both Canadian Idol and Popstars.

In 2008, she started to explore her visually artistic/ entrepreneurial side and started “muffymade” — a greeting card and gift design company, which has shown at The One of a Kind Show, and whose products are available for sale at the Branksome Hall Alumnae Shop. Meredith has done custom work for, among others, Toronto Fashion Week and wholesales to stores across the country. Meredith is also a pop/folk singer/songwriter and has just recorded an album, Place Called Happy, in Austin, Texas. www.myspace.com/meredithshaw

Student Talent

Arielle Domb, Voice, Grade 12 Arielle performed Das verlassene Mägdlein by Hugo Wolf and Les Oiseaux dans la Charmille by Jacques Offenbach, and was accompanied by her mother, Elizabeth Watts Domb.

1 The pre-dinner reception.

2 Lauren PHILLIPS and Valerie NICOLETTI.

3 Robin McCABE’00, left, with classmate Kelly DRINKWATER’00, middle, and Kelly’s sister, Jennifer DRINKWATER Jones’95.

4 Jennifer CLARKE, Erin FLOM and Tristan DOMELLE.

Claire Moffat, Pianist, Grade 9 Claire has been a student of the Young Artists Performance Academy at the Royal Conservatory of Music for four years.

JAMIE FLECK’00

Jamie was born in Clearwater, Florida and moved to Toronto at an early age. She came from a very artistic family who both supported and participated in the arts.

While at Branksome, Jamie cultivated her love of photography by taking the headshots of students in the Drama program. She also took photographs for the SLOGAN and Fashion Studies department. Her step-father, Gary Ray Rush, a professional photographer, acted as her mentor and helped her to develop her technique and photographic eye.

Jamie received a B.F.A. in Photography from Parsons School of Design in 2004.

2005 5th Reunion

Her thesis project consisted of a series of staged night portraits that focused on the beauty and isolation of urban existence. This series was exhibited in solo and group shows in Toronto and New York City.

Focusing on the portrait as a basis for her photographic exploration, Jamie is inspired by dancers, musicians, children and people from many walks of life. She has photographed in Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, Nashville and Los Angeles. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Darren Kennedy.

jdayfleck@hotmail.com

1 The group at the pre-dinner reception.

2 Teacher Edith Louie with the three “Ks” from her advisor group: Kathr yn HIGGINS, Kathleen DOHERTY and Kate LANGILL.

3 A group at the dinner

Jamie Day FLECK’00 Photographer

JULIE MACHADO

and was invited to judge the World Championships in Ottawa in 1984. This was followed by many other international events and, finally, the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer in 1994. With such contributions to her sport and her career, she was awarded the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada in the early 1990s, the Confederation Medal in 1992 and the Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.

Frances is the proud mother of two sons, Blake and Adrian, grandmother of four little girls, and is married to Paul Bogin.

The following are excerpts taken from Frances’s acceptance speech, delivered at the Allison Roach Award Presentation on May 30, 2010. The full speech can be found at www.branksome.on.ca/ awards.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned being here today to accept this distinguished award. The only other individuals more surprised would have been Miss Read and Miss McMichael! They and I viewed my seven years at Branksome as being a bit of a square peg in a round hole.

Frances DAFOE Bogin’48

World Champion Figure Skater and Olympic Medalist

As a student at Branksome Hall, Frances would begin her day at an ice rink, hours before she or any of her friends would arrive for their school day. No one (except maybe Frances herself) knew that she was a champion in the making.

At the 1956 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Frances and her partner, Norris Bowden, earned a Silver Medal. This trailblazing duo was the first to perform high lifts above the shoulders as well as daring jumps and catches never before seen. Other trips to the podium included a first-place skate in both the 1954 and 1955 World Championships, and second-place finishes in 1953 and 1956.

Frances later pursued a career as a costume designer, creating costumes for shows such as Wayne and Shuster on CBC, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Charlottetown Festival. She designed outfits for Stars on Ice and for performers in the 1988 Calgary Olympics Closing Ceremony.

Over the years, Frances always maintained a relationship with the skating world,

I am sure most of you watched the past Olympics in Vancouver with great pride. It was pretty special. The skating competition was held on perfect jet ice in a warm arena. It wasn’t always quite like that when we competed. The events were held out of doors on natural ice. The University of Toronto gave us ice whenever their hockey teams weren’t using it and we were grateful to be able to train on heavily cut-up ice. The worse the weather, the happier our coach was!

In Oslo, Norway, our first Olympic competition, we trained before the Games on a little piece of ice outside the Olympic dormitory. We trained there each day before breakfast after shoveling off the snow. On the day of our competition the temperature suddenly rose, necessitating smoke bombs be set up around the full stadium to keep the sun from melting the ice. The judges sat on chairs on the ice and I was afraid if I fell I would knock them all down!

Two years later, we won our first World Championship back in Oslo. It was -4C. We felt we were skating on sticky coca-cola because skaters depend on the friction of the blade to melt the ice for glide and, when it is that cold, this does not happen. The next gold medal we won, under great political pressure, was outside in Vienna during a driving blizzard. The rink had to be shoveled between each pair but there was no place to put the snow except around the rink, which got smaller and smaller.

The greatest experience for an athlete is not

GLENN BROWN

winning a medal but standing on a podium hearing your national anthem being played while your country’s flag is rising behind you.

Our second Olympic Games were in Cortina. We did not skate a perfect performance and the result was only a silver medal. The World Championship followed in Garmisch, Germany, again under extreme weather conditions. I can honestly say it was the very best performance we ever skated and, although it did not result in a gold medal, we were both satisfied and quite happy to retire.

My life has been a great experience, a challenge, and I have loved every minute of it! Branksome’s contribution to me is irreplaceable. The school gave me the gift of enduring friendships that shaped my world and kept me focused on the true values in life. I am deeply grateful for being part of this family. I

Art and Figure Skating

Frances is currently working on a book about all the many forms of art that have taken their inspiration from the sport of figure skating — from the early paintings in the 14th century up to the present day. The book will encompass the countries and individuals who have been the inspiration for the many works of art. Legacies — Art and Figure Skating will be published in late 2010 and will include photographs of paintings, tapestries, crystal, sculptures, lithographs, trophies, early blades and early skating costumes.

Amy VERNER’98

Fashion and Lifestyle Journalist

“I approach style as a curatorial process. Like art. Style is how you use a concealed label to your advantage.” It seems Amy VERNER’98 has remained true to these words since they were first published in The Globe and Mail Style Section in 2007.

As a student, Amy took every opportunity to widen her world and improve her understanding of everything around her. As teacher Dina Watson recalls, “Amy showed great aptitude in, not surprisingly, my English classes.” For Amy, the Branksome experience was “one indelible notebook of pleasurable memories.” After graduation, Amy attended New York University, where she studied Media Analysis. In 2001, she was just blocks away from the collapse of the Twin Towers, and her eloquent account of this devastation was later published in the

Frances with Allison ROACH’51 after the awards ceremony.

GLENN BROWN, ON LOCATION AT THE HOLT RENFREW CAFÉ

JAMIE FLECK’00

Toronto Star. Also during her university years, Amy interned at Us Weekly, gaining a first-hand look into internal workings of the publishing world.

In 2003, when back in Toronto, Amy began contributing articles to publications such as FLARE, Canadian House and Home, the National Post and The Globe and Mail. With sharply honed writing skills and a non-conformist sense of style, Amy assumed the position of Globe and Mail Style Reporter in 2007. Assignments led her into the media spotlight on all sorts of lifestyle trends — from interviewing fashion designers, to assessing hot new gadgets such as the iPad, to schmoozing at the Toronto International Film Festival’s party circuit, to guest appearances on CTV and CP24.

Amy has also returned to Branksome many times — as Installation Speaker, Career Speaker and, in June 2010, as guest speaker at the Green Carpet Senior School Closing Ceremony.

The following are excerpts taken from Amy’s acceptance speech, delivered at the Young Alumna Award Presentation on May 30, 2010. The full speech can be found at www.branksome.on.ca/awards.

Inever actually planned to become a writer. It was one of those serendipitous moments where everything just fell into place. What followed was akin to a chick lit plotline complete with the glitzy parties and

boldface names. The hardest part of my job has nothing to do with deadlines; it’s the endless schmoozing.

One question I will inevitably ask people during interviews is some variation of “What did you want to be as a kid?” To answer my own question, I was 13 when I created an ambitious plan that started with being a fashion designer in New York. I wanted to spend my 30s in Los Angeles as a film producer. By the time I turned 40, I would open a restaurant and attract everyone who I’d worked with in film and fashion. Let’s just say the world is better off without an Amy Verner–designed menu.

It took a few years before I could call myself a journalist. To me, a journalist was someone who covered wars, financial meltdowns, elections and scandals. Not exactly the same subject matter as the clothes in Sex and the City 2.

But I can say with certainty that my interest in writing is in large part owing to Ms Watson’s English classes. She was my John Keating, the teacher played by Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society. I didn’t even care that she doled out marks that brought down my average. It’s been 12 years and I continue to speak to Ms Watson almost weekly. It seemed as if I kept in better touch with her than with many of my fellow classmates.

Then, something funny happened. Many of us started orbiting each others’ lives once again. Samantha and Caillianne BECKERMAN’99 had become fashion designers who I profiled for a magazine. I was the first person to write about Andrea LENCZNER’90 and Christie SMYTHE’90 and their now hugely

successful clothing label Smythe. I started working with Alex SCHMIDT’99, who co-founded a public relations company, and I would stop into Rachelle TURNER’s eclectic furniture store, Hawk Eyes, on Roncesvalles. Joanna FOSTER’98 re-entered my radar as a talented photographer as did Jen and Fiona LEES’96 with their funky Balmshell beauty brand.

Jacqueline VONG’98 has a blog that I follow for restaurant ideas and I go to a Pilates studio founded by Amy BROWN’93. And whenever I appear on CP24 or eTalk, I always catch up with Lindsey DELUCE’99, who has become quite the news anchor.

What this suggests to me is that our collective experience at Branksome primed us for being confident women who could go out into the world and excel at anything.

I still get excited about telling stories and I hope I always will. For every bout of writer’s block, there’s a wonderful high that comes with being passionate about an article, and translating that passion in a way that will resonate with all readers.

From elementary school through to my time at Branksome and even now as an adult, there is nothing I value more than the love and support of my parents and my sister, Jane. And, if I can reciprocate that love not only with affection but with integrity, intelligence, sensitivity and a strong work ethic, then I know that I have made them proud.

Even today I cannot look at tartan without getting nostalgic, and I consider Ms Watson and my many teachers at Branksome to be among the best editors I’ve ever had. I

“I can say with certainty that my interest in writing is in large part owing to Ms Watson’s English classes. She was my John Keating, the teacher played by Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society.”

JAMIE FLECK’00

Someone’s in the Kitchen with Josie

In the year since my retirement from Branksome, I still need a daily planner, as life has been extremely busy! These past months have included travelling back to my roots to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Holland’s Liberation, visiting family, planning activities

with friends, cleaning and de-cluttering the house, and tackling the dreaded kitchen reno!

After 36 years of teaching, I know well over 3,000 alumnae and what better way to do a renovation than to call on alums in the business? So, I contacted Jane LOCKHART’87, who was so helpful in designing a plan and connecting me with AYA Kitchens, where we met Margaret MACDONALD’86, the senior designer, to choose cabinets and finalize the layout. What a coincidence — two alumnae working on my kitchen!

Some think the hard part of renovation is the dust, destruction and decisions. Not me. The hard part is being patient. I am beginning to view renovation as a series of personality tests. At each stage, you find out

Grade 10 Career Studies

just how flexible, patient, creative, collaborative, etc. you are...or aren’t.

The kitchen renovation is taking shape. Thank you, Jane and Margaret, for your support, accessibility, expertise and professional manner in designing our new kitchen.

Josie Kizoff, Toronto Former Teacher and Guidance Counsellor

At press time, the kitchen renovation h ad not yet been complete. Stay tuned — the fi nished photo will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Road. Be sure we have your e-mail — contact Tanya Pimenoff at tpimenoff@branksome.on.ca.

Tenley GIBSON’94 (Interior Designer, Perfect 10 Design), left, and Nicole LEVESQUE’95 (Co-Founder and National Program Director, National Pardon Centre in Montreal).

Criminologist, Tour Guide, Event Planner, Doctor, Entrepreneur and Interior Designer — six alumnae unite in the Grade 10 Career Studies classroom on May 28 and 31.

Houston MAUSNER’04 (Event Planner, Uniq Lifestyle), left, Binnie BARIA’90 (Tour Guide and Event Planner, Wellington, New Zealand) and Meredith SHAW’00 Singer/Songwriter, Artist, Entrepreneur.

Brenda WELSH Poutawera’90 Paediatrician, Wellington, New Zealand.

Margaret, Josie and Jane

SCHOOL SCOOP

History in the Making

Starting in 2012, a greater number of students will have access to a quality Branksome Hall education, thanks to the establishment of Branksome Hall Asia, on Jeju Island, South Korea.

Last year, the South Korean government researched the top independent schools worldwide and approached them to see if they would consider opening a school on Jeju Island.

“Branksome Hall is honoured to have been selected as one of those 12 top

schools,” says Principal Karen Murton. Branksome was asked to participate in the new Jeju Global Education City, a project aimed at providing world-class education in an environment where the official language will be English.

After in-depth research, Branksome’s

Board of Governors recognized that there would be significant benefits to the school in accepting the South Korean government’s invitation. On July 7, an agreement was signed to establish Branksome Hall Asia. Expected to open in September 2012, the new school will be guaranteed by the South Korean government; there is no risk to Branksome Hall.

The new campus will allow access to a Branksome education for new students in Northeast Asia and other parts of the world. It will also have many benefits for Branksome students in Canada.

“An international campus will be in keeping with our vision to be globally minded and with the spirit of the International Baccalaureate curriculum,” said Mrs. Murton at the July 7 signing ceremony. The new campus will complement existing Branksome programs through student exchanges, residential trips and shared facilities. The project will also help generate revenue to enhance and update the Toronto campus in the years ahead.

“We know that our students will proceed to post-secondary studies and careers in a global environment,” said Mrs. Murton. “As such, increased access to international opportunities and global understanding will only help them in their efforts to shape a better world.” I

opportunity will bring an expansion of Branksome Hall’s international reputation throughout Asia and Oceania. I believe Branksome Hall Asia will be the leading school that equips students to be globally minded learners and cultivates the leaders who will make the world a better place. I’m so pleased to hear such exciting news. Congratulations, Branksome Hall!”

Then Board Chair Jim Christie (centre) and Byon Jong-il, Chairman & CEO of the Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC), which spearheaded the Education City project, seal the agreement as Principal Karen Murton looks on.

“This

Hannah KANG’01, Seoul, South Korea

CALEY TAYLOR

Branksome Welcomes New Board Chair, Raj Chandaria

the last few years” and realizing the school’s vision — to be the pre-eminent educational community of globally minded learners and leaders.

To achieve this vision, “we must continue to challenge and inspire girls so that they will make a difference,” he said. “Each year,

‘Keep Well the Woodlot’

more than 100 young women graduate from Branksome and head off to the top universities in Canada and around the world. These graduates leave, imbued with a sense of confidence and, more importantly, a set of strong values that will set them apart. The full impact of these young leaders on the world will be felt years from now in ways that we cannot imagine. We owe it to them, and to our future, to continue to support them and invest in them.” I

More than 200 nature lovers pitched in to Keep Well the Woodlot during a weeding and planting event in the Branksome ravine on May 5.

ne of the most striking things about Branksome Hall is the sense of community that it engenders — in short, Branksome pulls you in until you are completely captivated and committed to it,” says Raj Chandaria, the new Board of Governors Chair.

Selected by the Board in the spring to succeed retiring Chair James R. Christie, Mr. Chandaria assumed his new volunteer duties at the September 29 Annual General Meeting.

“As someone who has been drawn into the Branksome orbit — willingly and completely — I am honoured to serve as the school’s new Board Chair,” he told AGM attendees in the Performing Arts Centre.

The father of Grade 7 Branksome student Mallika, Mr. Chandaria brings to his role extensive experience in international business as well as a deep commitment to Branksome’s long-term success. He is Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Aegis Logistics Ltd., an oil, gas and chemical logistics company operating primarily in India.

A member of Branksome’s Board of Governors since 2004, the new Chair sees his role, in part, as “building upon the hard work that has been done by the Board in

This school-wide effort — involving students, parents, faculty, staff and alumnae — marked the establishment of a new Butterfly Garden near Ainslie House. It also included the planting of two native Carolinian trees to replace the diseased willow that was removed from school grounds earlier this year. Volunteers helped to remove debris and weeds such as garlic mustard and seedlings of the invasive Norway Maple.

For about 20 years, the woodlot has been diligently tended by Branksome Green Committee members and volunteers who were current and former faculty, parents, alumnae and other environmentally minded individuals. “We’d like to thank our Branksome Green volunteers for all that they have done to beautify our campus, including the creation of our beloved Ribbit’s Path,” says Principal Karen Murton. “Their conservation initiatives were recognized, both in Canada and internationally, as inspirational and leading edge.”

An informative plaque will be installed in the woodlot this fall to honour the long-standing contributions of Branksome Green and to help identify invasive species versus native Carolinian plants.

Branksome has a long history of

Student volunteers

environmental stewardship, and the Branksome Green Committee was a powerful precursor to the school’s current commitment to environmental sustainability. Branksome is working to ensure its campus is a sustainable site with environmental learning opportunities for students, and others, in a variety of areas. The Branksome community is encouraged to pick up where Branksome Green volunteers have left off in their dedicated efforts to remove weeds from the ravine and stop the spread of the Norway Maple.

Details of the next Keep Well the Woodlot event will be publicized on the Branksome website. I

SCHOOL SCOOP

Centennial celebrations. It was a huge undertaking and a truly incredible time to celebrate the school and its storied past. The alumnae volunteers who worked on the project were incredibly talented, dedicated and accomplished. It made me realize that the Branksome experience we share as fellow students can last well beyond graduation.”

A born volunteer, Kathryn says, “My mother set an excellent example. She worked outside of the home and still found time to volunteer in the community.” For years, Kathryn followed in her mother’s footsteps and was a Unit Leader for Guiding as well as District Commissioner. She also volunteered for many years at her children’s primary school and, although she is now quite focused on Branksome, she still helps out at her son’s high school and with Guiding.

After graduating from McGill University in 1985, Kathryn built a career in marketing that led to the position of Director of Marketing for Tourism Toronto. In 1992, she decided to follow her dream and earned her chef papers at the National Gourmet Cookery School in New York City and then apprenticed under Jamie Kennedy at his renowned Palmerston Restaurant. Kathryn Champion Catering was launched soon after and has kept Kathryn professionally busy for close to 20 years.

Kathryn is married to Robert Champion and they have two children, Nigel, 16, and Franny, 14. Franny joined Branksome in Grade 7 and is now in Grade 10.

2010 VOLUNTEER AWARD RECIPIENT Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82

For more than a decade, Kathryn has been generously donating her time to Branksome Hall.

Kathryn started volunteering at the school in the late 1990s, but really jumped in with both feet in 2001 when she joined the Reunion Weekend Committee. She so enjoyed the experience that she happily agreed to stay involved by taking on the role of Chair the next year. In 2003, she moved into the role of Chair for the Alumnae Centennial Weekend celebrations.

In 2007, Kathryn became a member of the Alumnae Association Executive and also joined the Plaid Tidings committee, taking on Co-chair responsibilities for the 2008 and 2009 shows.

When asked which time period truly stood out, Kathryn fondly recalls, “It was the two years I was involved with Branksome’s

Kathryn is a true advocate for stepping out of one’s comfort zone to learn something new. In her new role as President of the Alumnae Association, she will truly be hitting her stride. And her message to fellow alumnae is crystal clear: the community you knew and loved as a student is alive and well in the community of alumnae volunteers who have returned.

Congratulations, Kathryn, on receiving this honour and we thank you for your continued commitment to the school. I

— Brigitte KOPAS’88

As a member of the Advancement Department for eight years, Brigitte worked closely with Kathryn on projects including Centennial and Plaid Tidings. Brigitte recently relocated to Collingwood, ON.

1996–97

Branksome Hall Day Committee

2001–04

Reunion Weekend Committee

Chair in 2002, 2003, 2004

2007–09

Plaid Tidings Committee

Co-chair in 2008 and 2009

2007–present

Alumnae Executive

Vice-President in 2009–10

Current President

2009, 2010

Chair, Alumnae Awards Selection Committee

GLENN BROWN

2010 VOLUNTEER AWARD RECIPIENT Christine Harman

This busy parent gives generously of her time and attention to the school she calls “extended family.”

When Christine Harman first enrolled her daughters in Branksome Hall, she discovered a “dedicated community of individuals working together as a team to enrich the lives of my daughters.”

Impressed by the commitment she witnessed daily, she says “it’s clearly more than a job” for the faculty and staff of Branksome Hall. For Christine and her family — husband Jamsheed Mehta and daughters Alyssa, currently in Grade 9, and Sophie, in Grade 8 — Branksome is clearly more than a school. “It’s like an extended family,” she says.

And Christine has been giving back to the community she so cherishes, almost since the day she enrolled her first daughter in the school, in 2002.

When she’s not dropping by the Senior and Middle School to drop off her girls for 7 a.m. sport practices, or zipping to afterschool squash meets — her daughters are both national squash

champions in their respective age groups — she can be seen helping out at school events or, for the past three years, serving as President of the Parents’ Association.

In her most recent role as President, a title she relinquished in September 2010, Christine oversaw an ambitious effort to craft a new Strategic Plan for the Parents’ Association. Finalized in recent months, the plan included new executive roles and a new Association mission statement.

Christine also does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work at Branksome, pitching in wherever her talents might be needed. Friends describe her as hard working, well organized and extremely supportive of Branksome Hall. She has volunteered in the Junior School Library, as a Junior School Grade Parent Rep, and acquiring donations for the school’s Puttin’ on the Plaid gala. She oversaw the popular Welcome Back BBQ for three years and also volunteered in the Alum Shop and in the school’s Annual Giving Campaign.

Since her girls enrolled in Branksome — Alyssa started in Grade 1 and Sophie in Senior Kindergarten — Christine has seen them thrive in academics, athletics and co-curriculars.

“My daughters are globally minded and caring thinkers and risk-takers,” she surmises. “They’re well rounded, and I think they embody many, if not all, of the attributes outlined in the IB Learner Profile.”

With the ability to juggle busy family duties and myriad volunteer positions, Christine has proven her ability to draw on her own IB Learner Profile attributes, such as “balanced.”

“I think I should have been an IB girl!” says Christine with a smile. I

— Julia Drake Executive Director of Communications and Marketing

2002–10

Numerous hours over the years helping with Junior School Library, Welcome Back BBQ, Branksome Green, Alum Shop, field trips, Junior School Bingo, Junior School Ambassador, Parent Annual Giving, Puttin’ on the Plaid, Grandparents’ Day and Plaid Tidings.

2004, 2005

Junior School Grade Parent Rep

2004

Centennial Project Personal Visit Solicitor

2005–Present

Parents’ Association

Executive Committee

2006

Puttin’ on the Plaid Acquisition Committee

2002, 03, 05, 07

Plaid Tidings Committee

2007–10

President, Parents’ Association

2007–10

Board Member

2009–10

Governance Committee

Currently

Past President, Parents’ Association

GLENN BROWN

SCHOOL SCOOP

Fearless in the Spotlight

Last winter, television producer Alissa MORRISON’91, Head of Production and Development for Fusion Television, contacted the school to see if any alumnae would be interested in participating in the cooking show Fearless in the Kitchen.

The show promises to take people from clueless to fearless in the kitchen, with the help of a crash course from Chef Christine Cushing, the host.

After poring over the many submissions from interested alumnae, the producers chose Ania RUSSOCKI Lindenbergs’88 as their culinary trainee. Ania spent a couple of days in May with Chef Cushing, shopping for and cooking some Italian dishes. Her training culminated with a surprise challenge, held at Branksome Hall.

A blindfolded Ania was driven to the MacNeill Dining Hall, where she was to make ravioli for 65 hungry residence students. The budding chef earned a thumbs up and a collective “Thank you Ania!” from the young diners.

“It was definitely a trip down memory lane for me and one that opened my eyes to all the amazing things that have been happening at Branksome over the past few years,” said Ania after her taping.

Green Carpet Ceremony

June 17, 2010

The show first aired August 21. Watch for re-runs of Fearless in the Kitchen’s Season 2, Episode 24 on the Viva and W networks, or visit http://www.myviva.ca/ shows/all-shows/fearless-in-the-kitchen/ for an upcoming schedule. I

Green Carpet is an annual event to celebrate the accomplishments and creativity of all students from Grades 7 to 11.

Lindsey DELUCE’99 presented the Bill and Ann Deluce Award, on behalf of her parents, to Veronica Lopez Lampre and Alex Techar. These students, now in Grade 11, have shown a remarkable commitment to the school, fellow students, and to the community at large.

Amy VERNER’98, recipient of the 2010 Young Alumna Achievement Award, an honour presented annually by the Alumnae Association, was also the guest speaker at the Green Carpet ceremony. Excerpts from her speech are on p. 18.

Above: Ania’s blindfold is removed and the surprise revealed that she is at Branksome Hall!

Left: A cameraman captures Ania slaving over a boiling pot of pasta as Chef Cushing looks on.

Alex, Veronica and Lindsey

Archive Update

On June 30, Cindy, Marg and Penny closed the door on the Branksome Archives, now located on the second floor of Buccleuch House, for the last time as “official” volunteers.

For more than a decade, the trio arrived to work quietly every Wednesday afternoon, like clockwork. They sorted hundreds of historical documents, photos, keepsakes and news clippings. They kept records, both historical and current, meticulously filed away; provided educational sessions for students; and were a constant resource for Tanya Pimenoff, Associate Director of Alumnae Relations, in her detective work to verify alumnae information.

There were also many special projects that Marg, Penny and Cindy handled beautifully. Many alumnae have enjoyed those wonderful

archival boards that magically appeared during every Reunion Weekend for years and years. And those fabulous old movies, taken in the ’40s — of Principal Edith Read, gym demonstrations, war guests and

Marny Gibson is now working in the Archives Office on a part-time basis. She has been at Branksome since 1990, initially as a Junior School teacher, and most recently as a Library Assistant in the Senior School. Marny can be reached at mgibson@branksome.on.ca, or at 416-920-6265, ext. 199.

graduation festivities — were the result of liaising with the CBC to arrange the conversion of miles of Super 8 Film to DVD. How proud we all are to have such incredible historical footage!

But long before they set to work in Archives, the ladies had each clocked countless hours volunteering in various roles on committees and at events. Perhaps most noteworthy is the invaluable resource of historical knowledge that this team

holds — one cannot put a price tag on this. They know our school well, they know its history, and they know its many alumnae who have walked these halls over many decades.

Over the years, enthusiasm, humour, modesty and diligent work have been trademarks of these women. Marg, Penny and Cindy, thank you for your dedication and all you have done to Keep Well The Road. You are missed already. I

Few alumnae have had such a long and steady volunteer association with Branksome as, from left, Cindy BUNDY Snell’69, Marg HAMBLETON’52 and Penny LOWNDES Elliott’63.

The A r t s

Maggie PALMER’67

Stage Left

by Marissa BRONFMAN’04

Spouting Shakespeare and reciting Latin at Branksome obviously had a profound impact on Maggie PALMER’67, Production Stage Manager at the Stratford Festival Theatre. Romping around stage in drag didn’t seem to hurt either!

“I always played a boy,” she says, chuckling at the memory of her early years in plaid where life was all about sports and theatre. As Captain of the Basketball Team and Clan Chieftain of Bruce in Grade 8, Palmer loved being able to make a fool of herself at morning assemblies while making outrageous announcements. She speaks fondly of the camaraderie she felt with the other girls in Branksome’s safe environment, and with gratitude that self-expression was so heartily embraced — invaluable qualities for someone destined for the theatre.

In this section of The READ, 10 alumnae, all in a variety of artsrelated fields, tell stories of their specific talents, and open up about the highs and lows of living in the arts world.

Palmer didn’t always know she’d be running things from behind the curtain; in fact, she thought she belonged in front of it. “It wasn’t until I stood in front of a paying audience, mortified, that I changed directions.” Her instincts proved sharp and led her to Stratford, where she’s been working for an outstanding 27 seasons.

Ironically, Palmer now plays a variety of roles as part of her job as production stage manager, since she has to work with people from every department. “Just getting the schedules out is like putting out a newspaper every day — wardrobe is a small factory, then there’s the craft departments, the Director’s office, the numbers people, the suits…” Never mind the actors! “The main challenge is to provide the acting company with an emotionally safe environment in which to work. Each show has a different DNA.”

Palmer is understandably tight-lipped when it comes to revealing backstage secrets, but she’s not short on praise for the brilliant actors she works with year after year. “Every season I work with someone who knocks me out,” she says, naming stars such as Brian Bedford, Lou Cariou, Seana McKenna, Lucy Peacock, Brian Dennehy, Ben Carlson and the dashing, and extremely talented, Christopher Plummer.

Intimate familiarity with all things theatre have inevitably made sitting in the audience challenging. “I definitely can enjoy myself at a play, but here at the Festival, where I know everyone and everything about the productions? No.” Palmer enjoys another, perhaps more sweeter satisfaction, however, “just hearing the audience laugh or yell ‘Bravo!’ is enough for me,” she says with obvious pleasure.

Palmer’s work may be hectic, but it is never boring, so much so that she has difficulty pinpointing a career highlight. “There are so many!” she exclaims. She’s toured the United States with The Twelfth Night and King Lear, Europe with Mikado and has crossed Canada with at least half a dozen shows, and genuinely seems to

relish the frenzied and at times nomadic aspect of theatre life.

After next season Palmer will leave her job to stage manage a handful of shows, after which she’d like to become a volunteer at the theatre. “It’s time,” she says

Marissa BRONFMAN’04

India Beckons

While hiking in the Himalayas, riding camels in the desert and gliding down the Ganges this spring, I never thought I’d actually call India home, that is, until I returned to Toronto.

From the warmth of the people to the splendour in the streets, I missed everything about the country, so this fall I’m moving to Mumbai, where I’ll continue writing. It all happened because of lunch one winter day with my Grade 12 English teacher, Mrs. Freny Mistry.

I was constantly doing research and writing papers at McGill, but I didn’t think about writing professionally until I interned in New York City, where I discovered that working in media is both fascinating and incredibly exciting. I interned at NBC, working on Dateline and The Today Show, then moved back after graduation to work for The Huffington Post. In addition to editing, I quickly began contributing style and entertainment pieces from around NYC, the Hamptons and Los Angeles. I returned to Toronto and continued to write about everything that excited me — fashion, art, music, charity and travel.

That winter day over lunch, Mrs. Mistry told me about a charity she

resolutely. With a penchant for the dramatic and a flair for the hilarious, Palmer turned her thespian dreams into a theatrical reality, one rife with drama, intrigue, virtue and vice — on both sides of the curtain. I

works with, World Literacy of Canada, a fantastic organization about which I later wrote two articles. They invited me to India with them to report on new programs they were launching. Ten days with them serendipitously evolved into three more weeks researching luxury travel throughout northern India, and my love affair with the country was born.

Having always favoured the road less travelled, I feel blessed that Branksome not only fostered my spirit but helped me to become a smarter, stronger, more determined and independent woman. I have no idea what the road has in store for me, but I certainly intend to find out. I

www.marissabronfman.com

Amy FOSTER’92 …Comes Back Home

by Robert Shaw

Midway through the fall term, the Branksome Hall Jazz Choir is preparing to perform Michael Bublé’s hit song Home. They’ve been rehearsing it for weeks. Later in the term they will sing it for parents and students; but today, on a crisp autumn morning, they’ve planned a surprise performance for the co-writer of the hit song, Amy FOSTER’92.

Amy, who lives on the West Coast with her partner and children, has come to Toronto to promote her new novel, When Autumn Leaves. The book is a heart-warming story about a group of women who discover the magical things we often seem to take for granted.

For the past eight years, Amy has been dividing her time writing her new book and its sequel, raising her children — she has just given birth to her third — and writing lyrics for musicians such as Bublé, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, Destiny’s Child and a handful of others.

“Words are my passion. I love the way one word connects to the next,” she says.

Amy is energetic, talented, and has

stunning good looks; it would seem she is just as fit to be in front of the audience that she writes for — during her time at Branksome Hall (Grades 7–10) she was part of the drama program, starring in musicals and plays — but she says that writing is where she feels most at home.

“Lyrics are like a puzzle to me,” she says. “You have only 15 syllables to set up a story or convey an emotion.”

Growing up as the daughter of music producer David Foster and Canadian musician B.J. Cook, Amy appears to have artistry in her “DNA,” but she insists that it has taken years of work and life experience to get to where she is now. Since leaving Branksome she has lived in

London, Tennessee and the Pacific Northwest, where she has worked with both up-and-coming and established musicians.

Her song writing, more recently, has been very well-received. Home was a No. 1 hit. Last year she penned a few more tunes for Bublé’s latest album, Crazy Love. These days, even her father approaches her with project ideas.

When Autumn Leaves, her debut novel, brings to life a group of spirited women who work through challenges that many people face daily: health, relationships, parenting and self-esteem. It’s an inspirational story that exemplifies the importance of community.

“Sometimes I think the idea for the novel began at Branksome Hall,” Amy says.

She recalls the same camaraderie found in the female characters of her book as she experienced during her time at Branksome. Amy, who once called Branksome home — she lived in Sherborne House — remembers an outpouring of support and meeting great friends, some of whom she still keeps in contact with today.

“I met my best friend at Branksome during the Grade 7 entrance exam,” she laughs.

As Amy listens to the class perform her song, she has a surprise of her own as she calls Bublé to listen in over speaker phone. He’s more than happy to hear our students’ rendition of Home. It’s that kind of spontaneity that has already made Amy’s young career so successful.

“It would’ve been hard for me in Grade 10 to say this is what I’m going to do with my life and do it,” she says, “but Brank-

Caroline HOUNG’00

some definitely gave me the self-discipline and confidence to follow through.”

As the class finishes Home, to the delight of both Foster and Bublé, she thinks back proudly about her time at Branksome. “I think it’s important at this age,” she says referring to the class, “to always look at this as a great time in one’s life. People should never be so quick to grow up.” I

Nothing gets my heart racing like the sound of a choreographer’s countdown in a studio packed with dancers. Stepping into the studio is like stepping into a new world where you communicate through expressive movement and where you can be whatever you want to be.

I fell in love with dance the first time I stepped into a ballet studio at the age of three. Since then, dance has always been part of my life — it’s kept me grounded, healthy and happy.

My obsession with dance grew while I was at Branksome. In Grade 11, with the support of my gym teacher, Jackie Bennett, I founded the Branksome Hall Dance Crew. Leading this club is where I learned how to be a leader, teacher, creator and planner. The club was a hit and I’m happy to see it is still going strong!

At McGill, I became involved in many clubs and associations but continued dancing. Student by day, professional dancer by night, I performed with various professional dance groups in countless shows and venues across Montreal.

After moving back to Toronto, I pursued a career in public relations, a field that demands presence, personality and confidence — all qualities that I developed through dance. I became a semi-professional dancer with the VYBE dance company and trained with many top choreographers.

In 2007, I packed my dance shoes and flew to Macau, China. For five months, I was a full-time professional back-up dancer for a Hong Kong singer. It was a dream come true to get paid well to do what I love. I danced four 45-minute shows a day, six days a week — a gruelling schedule. And, when we weren’t performing, we were training or recovering from injuries.

Dance is a tough profession and it is a struggle to make it in the industry. With

the popularity of shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars, dancers are finally getting the recognition they deserve, and they’re inspiring more people to get on the dance floor. As for me, I’m happy to have the best of two professional worlds. Once a dancer, always a dancer! I

Caroline is trained in hip hop, jazz, ballet, lyrical, broadway, tap and salsa and continues to push herself to learn new genres. She has an Honours B.A. in Political Science/ International Development from McGill University and an Honours Public Relations Certificate from Humber College. She is the Communications Advisor for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games Organizing Committee and is also the PR Manager for Tré Armstrong, a judge on So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

6, 7, 8!”

Robert Shaw is the Communications Coordinator at Branksome Hall.

The A r t s

Samantha SANDBROOK’93

Defying the Myths

I am fortunate to be actively pursuing my childhood dream of becoming a full-time artist. From drawing princesses at age five to painting sumptuous still lifes at age 35, the constant quest for beauty continues to motivate me. But how do you turn a dream into a career? You begin by dispelling the myths of the mysterious, reclusive artist.

Myth #1 You can’t earn a living as an artist. Discovering what differentiates your work from others’ in the art world is central to becoming a successful artist. In my case, it is the unexpected combinations of various media and textures such as oils

mixed with encaustic wax and high gloss, which creates a ceramiclike finish. And it is the subject matter — an Old World-style still life; an elegant floral bouquet or fruit, combined with subtle, modern twists; or a sundial in the background, suggesting time or timelessness. These varying elements provide continuous visual interest and appeal.

Myth #2 You have to wait for inspiration to paint.

Creating beautiful art is a process and you must work hard at it to get results. Old photos and books — even the Internet — provide starting points for my works. I have always looked to the golden-hued paintings of the Renaissance era or the medieval drama depicted in the works of the Pre-Raphaelites for ideas. Simply moving a paintbrush over a fresh canvas can result in happy accidents, and sometimes failed experiments, which inform later works.

Myth #3 Artists live completely isolated existences. Although the creative process is a solitary one, artists can benefit greatly from interacting with other artists and clients in art organizations or exhibitions. I show my work at Denison Gallery and Trias Gallery in Toronto, Davis Canadian Art in Stratford, Pilar Shephard Gallery in Charlottetown, La Galerie Sur Greene in Montreal, and Soho Myriad in Atlanta. Along with sales, galleries provide me with essential creative feedback that connects me to my audience. Exhibitions at venues such as the One of a Kind Show, the Interior Design Show, the Artist Project, and the Toronto International Art Fair are even better ways to fuel new ideas and generate genuine reactions to my work.

Myth #4 Artists have no business savvy.

To become a successful commercial artist, you need to be enterprising like any business owner. I have benefited from collaborating with art consultants and interior designers on wide-ranging corporate and residential projects. In addition, creating commissions for individual clients, based on their feedback, budget and decor, has become a major part of my business. Commissions have helped me discover a new-found love of decorating with art as a focal point. During recent difficult economic times, these collaborative efforts have generated new business.

I fully credit my years at Branksome, Queen’s University and OCAD with helping me develop as an artist, and I look forward to many more years surrounded by the beauty of art. I

Samantha received a B.F.A. from Queen’s University in 1997 and a Diploma in Illustration from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2002. To see her work, visit www.samanthasandbrook.com. Visitors are welcome at her downtown Toronto studio.

GLENN BROWN

Virginia VEALE’04 Inside Juilliard

On

rst day at Juilliard in 2008, the president of the school welcomed us with a speech about the concept of the “artist as a citizen.” For me (and the 17 others in my year) this has become a vital part of my training and my life in theatre.

I am now halfway through this four-year program. It is not an easy journey and would be untrue to say that every day is amazing, but every day something is amazing. The struggles and successes are all part of learning to live and breathe my art. The journey to becoming an actor is an individual and unique experience, and Juilliard allows you to discover everything about your instrument (this being you). We are given the tools to exercise skills we didn’t think we had and, depending on the character, we access that toolbox when we need it.

During a school year, we are cast in up to five shows. The faculty select each play and then narrow down the casting to best suit the needs of the ensemble. Roles are selected to challenge the actor to stretch far beyond his/her comfort zone. Susan Walker, a hilariously simple small-town girl in Moss Hart’s and George Kauffman’s Once in a Lifetime, Myra Tolliver in Horton Foote’s Talking Pictures and Marina, a grounded and loving 80-year-old nurse from Anton Chekov’s Uncle Vanya are some of the roles I have played. At Juilliard, the first year of training is known as the year of discovery, the second is transition, and as I enter into the third I would call it the year of application.

Juilliard is also well known for its Outreach Program, which extends the arts into the community, making positive social changes. As part of Juilliard’s New Orleans trip, each March I work with Hands On New Orleans to rebuild houses, teach at the YMCA, and perform for the residents of New Orleans. I am also involved in the Gluck Community Fellowship Program at Juilliard, along with three classmates. We bring our art into the community of New York City by performing every Sunday in hospitals and care centres. For me, this is what theatre is all about — speaking to the people and sharing a passion.

Juilliard is a wonderful school where I have been fortunate to play solid roles and meet other professional people in the business. I have struggled through the highs and lows of being an actor, but I am exactly where I am supposed to be and I am very grateful to be here. I think if you can make it through Juilliard you can do pretty much anything! I

Ginny was active in the drama program while at Branksome. She received a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Acadia University in 2008. In summer 2009, she received a scholarship from Juilliard to attend the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where she played the lead in Sophie Treadwell’s play Machinal. She will graduate from Juilliard in 2012.

my fi

Above: Ginny, with James Cowan, rehearse a scene from Machinal at the Julie Harris Theatre at PerryMansfield Performing Arts School and Camp.

MATT STENSLAND

Brooke JOHNSON’81

Life on the Edge

I think sometimes acting is akin to balancing on one foot on the edge of a high cliff, while a lightning storm brews overhead; and neither the audience nor the actor should know exactly what might happen next. While it is often not nearly so romantic, that state is something to be strived for, as it makes theatre vital and electric.

When I was 13, I knew that I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be Katharine Hepburn, but that position was already filled. As my teen years went by and I learned more about Canadian theatre, I realized I wanted to be a part of making theatre happen.

I arrived at Branksome for Grade 12 because my high school in Uxbridge provided only one year of Theatre Arts and I wanted more. (That same desire led me to finish Grade 13 at the short-lived Toronto High School for the Performing Arts.) By

the time I landed at Branksome in the fall of 1979, I had read dozens of plays and had seen over 170 shows.

I had spent the previous summer working at the Shaw Festival as a driver and publicity assistant for $35 a week; and the summer after Branksome I worked as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Red Barn Theatre in Jackson’s Point. During those years, there were employment initiatives in the arts set up by the Trudeau government, whereby students could work in a desired field and

not burden the arts organization, as the paycheque came from federal grants.

My formal education continued at Sarah Lawrence College in New York City, but I spent most of my time and energy playing hooky and working, wage-less, at the Irish Rebel Theatre Company Off-Off Broadway. I was a Stage Manager (not a very good one), a sound and lighting operator and an occasional member of the carpentry crew.

Sarah Lawrence was expensive enough that my parents were, I think, a bit relieved that I wanted no more of it, and after one year I went off to Europe. I worked for the Dublin International Theatre Festival and had many extraordinary experiences travelling on my own.

Back in Toronto, at the age of 23, I auditioned for the National Theatre School and was accepted into the three-year Acting program. Since then, a good deal of joy has come from working on new Canadian plays. In the rehearsal hall you’ve nothing to go on but what happens in the room, as the play has never before seen the light of day. You have the playwright (if it is a written play), the other actors, the director — and you have your own instincts, experiences, imagination, empathy and observations on what it is to be human. Then, in performance, you share it all with people you’ve never met and, if you’re lucky, you get to travel the country at the same time.

It is a life of great ups and downs, and I recommend it to those talented souls who have boundless curiosity about human nature, a burning desire to communicate, and who want — there on the edge of that cliff — to share what it means to be alive. I

Brooke has been a professional actor for 26 years. She has two Gemini Awards for her television roles, four Dora Mavor Moore Nominations for her work in Toronto theatres, and is listed in the Who’s Who of Canada. Brooke wrote the autobiographical solo play, Trudeau Stories, which she is touring across the country. Visit www.thecollectionagency.ca for upcoming performances.

MATTTHEW PLEXMANN

Lydia SKOURIDES’98

After the Curtain Closes

Music lessons and choir practice with Nancy Olfert and Dan Bickle during my Branksome years boded well for me, and I set off after graduation to pursue voice studies at Brandon University in Manitoba. There, I was elated to win numerous competitions and scholarships, and went on to further music studies at McGill University in Montreal.

By this time, opera truly began to consume me, and singing opportunities began to crop up quite regularly. Among these were the roles of Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème at the Summer Opera Lyric Theater in Toronto, and Lisette in Puccini’s La Rondine at Toronto’s Opera in Concert.

I had barely enjoyed my last curtain call when I was whisked away on a flight to England to perform at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme under the direction of Malcolm Martineau.

It was then off to Belgium to participate in an opera apprenticeship program. There, I met my agent who, after hearing me sing, knew I should audition at Theater Dortmund in Germany. It was a successful audition, and I was engaged on the spot as one of four soprano soloists.

So, I made my home in Dortmund, Germany for the next three years. During these three years I performed such leading roles as Marie in The Bartered Bride, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and First Lady in The Magic Flute, which I was also so fortunate to perform on tour in South Korea last October.

As time went on, I realized how difficult opera life can be. I was always under pressure to meet tight production deadlines, and at all performances I had to be able to give 100%. I missed Canada and my family and so, in January of 2010, I decided to return home to Toronto.

Now, with many new experiences, skills, and complete fluency in French and German on my résumé, I have completely turned around my life by taking on a career in sales at Transcore Link Logistics. I enjoy the many new challenges as well as the many interesting people I meet. But, most importantly, I love having my weekends FREE! I

Lydia received a B.Mus. in Voice from Brandon University in 2003 and an M.Mus. from McGill in 2005. She lives in Thornhill, ON, and will pursue her singing career as a freelance artist.

GLENN BROWN

The A r t s

a young age. But I stopped writing in my twenties, my life taken up with teaching, graduate school, and then family. In the ’80s, I started writing again, even though I was busy sitting on the Board of Directors of the AIDS Committee of Toronto as well as organizing fundraising events for them. The interesting people I met and things I was doing began to inspire me, and I missed my stories.

I had read that it takes about 10 years to learn how to write and get into print. Hah, I thought, I can do it in half that time. It took nine years. I write what I feel strongly about, what I want to explore and examine and dig into: the plight of a teenaged transvestite in a small Ontario town; the problems of outsiders in an alien world; the double life of a drag queen. My latest manuscript is about New York in 1916 when dancer Vaslav Nijinsky comes to town. That one took a lot of research.

Over the years, I had been going to mystery conferences in the U.S., partly to publicize my own mysteries, partly because I enjoyed it. In 1999, I founded Bloody Words, the Canadian Mystery Conference (www.bloodywords.com), and this year we celebrated our 10th anniversary.

I keep on writing, growing, exploring — science fiction, mysteries, historicals — and I can still hear my friend’s voice urging me on… “Continue.” And I do. I

Continue…

Some of what I told her related to family stories, but as time went on, more and more stories were completely made up. Spurred on by my audience of one, I mixed fact, fiction, reality and fantasy with total abandon. I began to write the stories down

and, in fifth form (Grade 13), I won the Essay Contest with a short story. I still have the prize — a book with the school crest on it.

Most writers have backgrounds as voracious readers and tellers of tales from

Caro received a B.A. from Trinity College in 1963 and an M.A. from the University of Toronto in 1966. Her published novels include The Tangled Boy, Danger Dance, and Drag Queen in the Court of Death. Caro is a member of several associations, including the Writers’ Union of Canada, Crime Writers of Canada and International Association of Crime Writers. Since 1990, she has taught novel writing at George Brown College and many of her former students are now published.

www.carosoles.com

carosoles@rogers.com

Caroline STANLEY-PORTER Soles’59

When I was at Branksome in Junior School, I remember telling stories to my best friend at lunch. When I would stop, she would look at me and say, “Continue.” And I would.

GLENN BROWN

Cynthia DUNCAN Lumsden’79 & Andie DUNCAN’81

The Buzz Around Town

Sisters Cynthia DUNCAN Lumsden’79 and Andie DUNCAN ’81 both found their niches at Branksome in music and theatre arts. Their singing careers began early, sharing a backyard stage with friend Signy EATON ’81 as pioneers of Karaoke. “None of us played any real instruments,” Andie recalls, “but we’d host these concerts, rocking out in stretch polyester pants, shaking rice in jars, beating pot lids with sticks, and screaming songs into broom handles.

After two or three gruelling numbers, our dad would holler, ‘Who wants ice-cream?’ and our audience would be gone!” These early inclinations to perform could not be quelled. By the mid-1970s the sisters were writing their own original material, which led to an audition singing for renowned composers Doug Riley and Tommy Ambrose. Andie spent the early part of the 1990s honing her song-writing skills as an adult contemporary artist in the Toronto club scene. With the support of then Universal Concerts

Canada, she was given the opportunity to co-write with some of Canada’s wellrespected songwriters: Marc Jordan, Dean McTaggart and Tim Thorney.

Eventually Andie started opening for a variety of artists, including Jann Arden, k.d. lang, Holly Cole and Joe Cocker. In the summer of 1997 she was invited to perform as a Village Stage artist at Lilith Fair. “Guest artists were invited to join Sarah McLachlan on the main stage to sing the finale song with her, Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi. It was an absolutely electrifying experience, to sing in front of 16,000 borrowed fans!” says Andie.

Throughout the 1980s Cynthia turned her sights to education, attending the Theatre Arts Program at York University, acquiring an Honours English degree from Glendon College and a B.Ed. from Brock University. Cynthia went on to teach music and primary grades. “Music,” she says, “is the great equalizer in the classroom for the majority of my students who are English language learners.” And it also plays a major role in her home, where her three teenagers blast an eclectic mix of music on a daily basis.

By 2006, and each with active and growing families, Andie and Cynthia embarked on a children’s musical project. The Bee’s Knees debuted with a CD entitled What’s The Buzz? “Initially we just wanted to make music for our own kids to listen to, but the vision just kept growing,” says Andie. Now, with several awards under their wing, The Bee’s Knees is one of Canada’s most accomplished bands, making music for children, with catchy, upbeat tunes that inspire and entertain while also engaging parents. I

The Bee’s Knees’ second CD, We Share the Earth, earned the sisters a 2010 JUNO Nomination for Children’s Album of the Year as well as the 2010 Canadian Independent Music Award for Favourite Children’s Group. They are currently working on their third CD. www.thebeeskneesmusic.com

GLENN BROWN

An Evening of Culture and Surprises

Hosted by the Alumnae Association on September 30, 2010, the event raised more than $20,000 for Student Financial Aid.

Alumnae, parents, friends and artists flocked to Toronto’s Distillery District on September 30 to enjoy an evening of culture and surprises.

The event exceeded all expectations, both in attendance and in net profit, and provided a perfect opportunity for Branksome constituents of all ages to meet, mix and mingle amid beautiful displays of original works of art.

Artwork is masterfully displayed in grids — ready for the 6 p.m. arrival of our art-loving guests.

Thank you, Sponsors!

Museum Sponsor

Studio Sponsors

Patrons

take pART Committee

Tenley GIBSON’94, Co-chair

Julie HERDE Matthews’86, Co-chair

Sarah MERRY’89, Curator and Art Liaison

Maggs WEST Barrett’66

Sue STRAK Rosenblat’76, Advisor

Andrea Gare Design Inc.

Annabel YARNELL McMahan’79

Thistles & Twine Floral Designs

Aramark Canada Limited

Carol SULLY Gulyas’67

Jane CONNOR’84

Jen Sievenpiper

Martha Fell

Perfect 10 Design

Smythe Inc.

Sue STRAK Rosenblat’76 and Sarah ROSENBLAT’10

Venture Law Associates LLP

3 Anonymous Donors

Volunteers at Event

Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82

Jane CONNOR’84

Suzie DINGWALL Williams’80

Andrea LAWRENCE Gall’77

Tanya Pimenoff

Kathy Roulston

Jeannette SEYMOUR’94

Zahra Valani

Carolyn Wollaston

Sue, Julie, Sarah, Maggs and Tenley

A huge thank you to the organizing committee and everyone who contributed to the success of take pART!

Participating Artists

Mary Elizabeth Armstrong

Keith Pace Asciak

Jamie Ashforth

Bernadette Badali

Sharin Barber

Katherine Bellman

David Brown

Kirsty BRUCE’01

Ian Busher

Marlene Champion

Carrie Chisholm

Jane Colden

D. Bryan DaSilva

Jay Dart

Norah DEACON’98

Maggie DILWORTH’02

Adrienne DURAND’09

Deborah Farquharson

Justine E. Fernie

Alexandra FIEDER’10

Jamie FLECK’00

Bill Franks

G n’S PROJECTS

Amy Girard

Margaret Glew

Fabienne Good

Amanda GOVAN’10

Clinton Griffin

Patty AZIZ Haines’85

Beverley Hawksley

Shuna BAIRD Heeney’85

Judith Horner

Soraya HUTCHINSON’97

Anja KARISIK’05

1 Parents of alumnae, Jill Veale and Amra Karisik, wait for the show to begin.

2 Special thanks to guitarist, singer and composer, Ian Jamieson, for providing music during the event.

Victoria KEPES’10

Henna Kim

Tanya Kirouac

Susanne Langlois

Eric Laurin

Lisa RAEBURN Laurin’90

Elizabeth Lennie

Jane LOCKHART’87

Ellyn SENNEMA Lusis’95

Rita Makai

Scott Manning

Suzy Martins

Nicole PICHLER Mc-

Cutcheon’86

Steve McDonald

Barbara McGIVERN’73

Sarah MERRY’89

Christopher Moore

Geraldine JEPHCOTT

Nightingale’51

Jane Orr Novotny

Jessica PARK’10

Heather HARWOOD-NASH

Pascoe’82

Heather Pratt

Christopher Roberts

Valeria Rzianina

Amy SATTERTHWAITE’94

Shoshanna SAXE’02

Matthew Schofield

Stephanie SEAGRAM’88

Joyce McMACKON

Seagram’55

Meredith SHAW’00

Signy EATON Shier’81

Kyra SHOULDICE’10

William Simpson

Judy Singer

Nanci Smith

Roxy SONOSKY’10

Laurie STEIN’78

Karen Taylor

Leslie McINTYRE

Thomas’73

Chris Valour

Meghan Walsh

Jennifer Wardle

Ron Wild

Charles K. Williams

Jody WRIGHT-ROBERTS’02

Akiko YAMAUCHI’10

Mirela Zdjelaric

5 1985 classmates Diane DEMPSEY, Julia AVERY McVicar and Patty AZIZ Haines. 6 Annabel YARNELL McMahan’79 with ar tist Mary Armstrong.

7 1991 classmates Andrea ROGERS Bunker, Claire STURGESS and Jennifer ADDISON Hirshfeld.

3 The show in full swing!

4 Karen Murton with 1982 classmates, Alison WILEY, Heather HARWOODNASH Pascoe, Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion, Andrea CHLEBUS Osborne and Mary MORDEN Fernandes.

7

The Creative Process

Sarah MERRY’89

I’ll never forget the first time I saw a Clifford Still painting — I was utterly transfixed. The depth, texture, composition, contrast, breathing room, simplicity, intensity — they made a magical potion. There in the Albright Knox, awestruck by the painting’s powerful resonance, I drank it in and surrendered admiring tears. Profound moments like this one taught me I had fallen in love with art.

My infatuation started out like young romance; I was curious, excited, and oblivious to other potential suitors. As a child, I was mesmerized by copying Robert Bateman’s bird drawings. My academic art years at Branksome, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and the Ontario College of Art and Design were a labour of love, full of challenges and exploration, criticism and revelation.

There have been humbling moments of acknowledgment over the past 15 years, as I have grown into my roles as an art teacher, gallery director, visiting artist and independent curator. When I was one

in 300 applicants accepted by the Slade School of Fine Art in London, England, it was like being asked to slow dance by your ultimate dream crush. I felt the very same rush when I created and directed

1 Heather Pratt catches up with her former ar t student Angela WAGNER’96.

2 Jenny RYDER’83 and Sally PITFIELD’84 chat with Deirdre Caldarone (parent of Head Gir l Lindsay Caldarone).

3 Joyce KITE’87 with her mom, Elizabeth Kite.

4 Maggie DILWORTH’02, Shoshanna SAXE’02, Jody WRIGHT-ROBERTS’02, Kirsty BRUCE’01 and Fiona BRUCE’96.

5 Rosemary Mahomed (parent of Safiyyah, Grade 12, Anisah, Grade 10 and Amirah Izzat, Grade 7) and Kelley Dilworth (parent of Gabrielle, Grade 4).

GLENN BROWN

COOP, a Yorkville gallery for emerging artists. Those butterflies again kicked into synchronized flight when I launched Parca, an exhibition of Canadian art in New York, and they practically lifted me away at my first international solo show in Bogota, Colombia.

Although my work has been exhibited in Bogota, Toronto, London and New York and is represented in private, public and corporate collections in select cities in Canada, Colombia, the U.S., Europe and Dubai, the arc of an artist’s development comes with inherent struggle. As life would have it, the competition, vulnerability and sacrifice have only served to fuel my own practice as well as my passion for promoting fellow Canadian artists.

For the past year, Sarah has played a key role on the take pART committee as Curator and Artist Liaison.

www.sarahmerry.com

Angela WAGNER’96

Compared to her other classes at Branksome, art class was a different experience for Angela. It never lasted long enough. It was a time for creativity, for boundary pushing, and personal expression — all taught so memorably by Mrs. Heather Pratt.

Angela grew up in an art-infused world, and she knew from a young age that art was simply a part of who she was. There was no doubt she would find herself working somewhere within the non-confining walls of the art world.

After receiving a degree in Art History and Sociology from McGill University in 2000, Angela pursued arts study in England. She returned to Toronto and enrolled in a summer of computer graphics courses at the Ontario College of Art and Design, which led to a three-year graphic

design program at George Brown College. As she spent many late nights drawing with a mouse, it became evident to Angela that graphic design was everywhere, literally everywhere.

This passion now fills Angela’s days at iD inspired design, where her eye and mind are drawn to the subtle qualities of effective design. Often, a walk outdoors results in a new inspirational idea. Angela weaves this inspiration into her work to create visual solutions with the objective to successfully reach her clients’ target audience through valuable visual communication.

Angela is grateful to Branksome for paving the way for her to spend her days doing something that doesn’t feel like work!

Angela created the eye-catching artwork for take pART. The stunning logo has been used throughout the year in all publicity and on the Branksome website.

www.inspireddesign.ca/

RAFFLE WINNER

Geeta SAINI’95 is the lucky winner of the Art Lover’s trip to New York City, thanks to the generosity of Porter Airlines and the Four Seasons Hotel. The package includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Christie’s with the Senior Vice President and Business Director of Trusts, Estates & Appraisals, Tash PERRIN’90, and a private tour of MoMA with Sarah KENNEDY’00.

Angela, left, and Sarah — two creative minds behind take pART.

1 Former Board Chair Mary Pat JONES Armstrong’63, with Sally ARMSTRONG Conrod’90 and Lisa CHESWORTH’90.

2 1989 classmates Patsy SMITH Bell, Bay RYLEY and Andrea GARE.

3 Sisters Martha COFFEY’62 and Louise COFFEY Hastings’55 with Branksome employees, Sandy Sheehan, Executive Assistant to Karen Murton, and Sarah Craig, Head of Junior School.

4 Sylvia and Edward Kwan (parents of Kayln, Grade 2).

BULLETIN BOARD

REFLECTIONS ON THE G8

Camouflaged in Cottage Country

When my family and I learned that the G8 Summit was coming to our hometown of Huntsville, Ontario, we envisioned a gridlocked community overrun by protestors and security. The potential for vandalism loomed in the minds of Muskoka store owners and many prepared for the worst.

In actual fact, the 2010 G8 Summit in Huntsville will go down as an incredibly peaceful weekend. Armed with my G8 pass (given to those residing in the secure zone), I ventured out of my temporarily “gated” community to see what it was all about. I encountered numerous checkpoints where the officers pleasantly asked to see my ID and posed a couple of questions.

As I travelled through a back-wooded road into town, I encountered half a dozen or so camouflaged individuals with infrared

head gear and weaponry running through the woods. I turned the corner and there was a camouflaged shelter housing another individual inspecting me with a set of binoculars. It was surreal. I actually felt like I had stumbled upon the Hollywood set of Platoon or Saving Private Ryan, without the flying bullets.

When I reached town, the streets were in large part occupied by various officers situated on every corner. No action to speak of, so I felt a drive by the protest field was in order. Not a single picketer other than a five-year-old boy demanding “More Cookies for Kids” and another child (I have been told) carrying a sign saying “I have a sign.” Another peaceful weekend in cottage country had passed.

Alison PAPAS Withey’87

REFLECTIONS ON THE G20

Turmoil in Toronto

When my family opted for city life and moved into a condo at Richmond and Simcoe streets, we had no idea we would be caught in the middle of the G20 Summit.

In June, as the summit drew near, there was debate as to whether or not our building would be behind the security fence. It wasn’t, but now I realize we would have been safer had we been within the zone.

As we watched the preparations unfold, it became evident that our lives would be disrupted. This was confirmed when a G20 information officer could not ensure that we, as tax-paying citizens of Toronto, would be safe during the summit. My husband, Glenn, a self-employed photographer, also realized how his work would be impacted during the week preceding the summit — he would lose business. After making a call to the

Summit Security office, we decided, for our safety, to leave town.

Making our way out of the downtown core, there were police on every corner surrounding our building. Downtown was eerily quiet and brought back disturbing memories for Glenn, who had grown up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He came to Canada to

Tenley GIBSON’94

Julie HERDE Matthews’86

Curator and Art Liaison

Sarah MERRY’89

Advisor

Maggs WEST Barrett’66

Raffle

Suzie DINGWALL Williams’80

School Liaisons

Tanya Pimenoff

Sue STRAK Rosenblat’76

Volunteers at Event Xix

avoid raising a family in an unstable, riotous place. It was upsetting for him to have our daughter, Maggie, witness such a scene.

Xix Xix Xix Xix Xix xix

On the Saturday afternoon of the summit, although we were safely installed in our hotel room in Quebec City, we were witnessing our neighbourhood being trashed on CBC television. One of the police cruisers set on fire was a short walk from our condo — a scene of absolute chaos that Maggie found terrifying. She could not comprehend why anyone would choose to fight against law, order and security.

My family feels the G20 Summit failed us, causing disruption to the point where we had to leave. Freedom, order and personal safety were all absent in downtown Toronto that weekend.

Becky MOORE Brown’87

Alison, with her husband, Tim, stepchildren Emily and Brock, and daughter Hannah.

Two Ontario locations, Huntsville and Toronto, made global news headlines as G8 and G20 world leaders convened for several days in June. Two 1987 classmates tell of two different experiences.

This issue of The READ will make you proud of our collective contribution to the arts. While some Branksome Hall alumnae have embraced the arts in their career choices (and many are featured in this issue), others have come to appreciate drama, music and the visual arts as vehicles of expression and reflection in their personal lives.

A Family’s Love of Art

by Donna Richardson Executive Director of Advancement

So many of our alumnae are distinguished in the arts. Take Frances DAFOE Bogin’48 and Amy VERNER’98, for instance, both of whom were honoured during this past Reunion Weekend (see p.16). Frances not only made a career for herself as a world-class figure skater, but she also had a remarkable second career as a costume designer. And Amy VERNER’98 is well known as a style reporter for The Globe and Mail. Both of these women, and the many others featured, credit the influence of Branksome Hall in shaping their careers in the arts and their lives.

Sadly, fundraising for the arts faces special challenges as it’s often viewed as extravagant or “a frill,” particularly during economic downturns. I happen to believe that donors should determine which causes matter most to them, and support those, saying no to those that do not touch, move or inspire them. Here at Branksome, there are ways to invest to encourage the arts, most notably through endowed gifts, which allow donors to make investment gifts that grow over time.

Dr. Ronald Tasker is one donor who this year established an art award in memory of his late wife, Mary Morris CRAIG Tasker’47, who taught art in the Junior School from 1977–93 and who passed away on March 5, 2003.

“Mary’s history with Branksome Hall began over 100 years ago when her mother, Grace MORRIS Craig’09, who attended the school as one of its first students, graduated in 1909,” says Dr. Tasker. Over the years Mary was involved at Branksome in many ways — as a student, alumna, teacher, parent, and Alumnae Association President from 1976–78. “After so many years of family connection to Branksome, I am proud to support students’ success in the arts through this endowed gift.”

Dr. Tasker’s gift is awarded to a Grade 6 student who, during her time in the Junior School, shows distinguished commitment, passion, leadership and talent in the Junior School art program.

I invite you to learn more about the contributions of our community over this past year in the enclosed 2009-10 Donor and Giving Report. I

To learn more about options and benefits of making gifts to the school, please visit the Support Branksome section of the website, branksome.on.ca/support/ or contact Donna Richardson, Executive Director of Advancement, at 416-920-6265, ext. 121, or at drichardson@branksome.on.ca.

Dr. Ronald Tasker, with daughter Alison TASKER’84, in the Junior School Art Room.

GLENN BROWN

Class NOTES

Welcome

The A r t s

VIAE DIVERSAE

It was Robertson Davies, I believe, who told a university graduating class that one should be prepared to have not just one career in life, but two, or three, or more. His words were a reassurance to me when I heard them, as I was already on that path. It had started at Branksome, where I had “kept well the road” through matriculation and even through a Bachelor of Music at the University of Toronto.

Then, alas, came trouble. I went to Mills College, near San Francisco, to do an M.A. in music. The College’s slogan was Viae diversae uno destinatio, many roads to one destination. In later years my psychiatrist husband found much amusement in the contradiction, and here I am, still seeking that one destination, no thanks to Robertson Davies.

Not that it hasn’t been fun. There was the time that I took up country living, took a course or two at an agricultural college, grew vegetables, lived in an old farmhouse, etc. We had fallen heir to some old hens left behind by a film company. We bought a shed, equipped it with roosts and feeders, tried free ranging, then fenced it in and got feed at the Co-op. For a time we rejoiced in providing ourselves, our friends and my maiden aunts with fresh eggs, until my husband figured that, with costs and labour, the operation would pay for itself in 52 years!

But it was not all that frivolous. There was the road I followed when I took up words about music: i.e., music criticism, starting on the San Francisco Chronicle, then, repatriating myself, the Vancouver Province, the Montreal Star, and in between, from Europe, Southam News

1945

Congratulations to Budge ARCHIBALD Wilson whose book, Before Green Gables, won, in 2009, the Atlantic Independent Booksellers’ Choice Award, and the National IODE Violet Downey Award. It was also named an IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Honour Book.

Services. It always amazed me that I was actually being paid to do what I loved so much. Then, hungering for more travel, I took a couple of years to go by land and sea through the Far East, around the world and back to where it all began, in Ontario. Marriage to John Rich, a man of many interests, included long-distance cruising with him on his trimaran, Cirrus. More adventure, new experiences. Finding myself widowed and alone and in my sixties, I was drawn to the Anglican Church and its glorious music, which led eventually to theological studies at Trinity College, and to the life and place where I live now, in Hamilton. I am active and involved in the liturgy of Christ’s Church Cathedral, and I write regularly for the Niagara Anglican newspaper, in print and online.

There have been many other roads and detours along the way, not one of which I would regret or have changed. I’m an addicted lifelong learner, I guess, still seeking that one destination.

Kathleen WATSON Wells e-mailed: Sadly I am not able to attend the reunion. I moved to Tunbridge Wells from Bournemouth two years ago, to be near to one of my daughters (I have four, scattered about the south of England). I was feeling the need of more family contact and a bit of help now and again. I am still in touch with a few of my fellow Sherborne evacuees — Elva PARKINSON Carey’45, with whom I meet up from time to time, Pam CONRAN SMITH Hood’44, who I saw regularly until I left Bournemouth, and also with my Canadian friend Althea McCOY Douglas’44, with whom I correspond. I loved my letter from the five-year-old student — what a wonderful idea!

1948

Evelyn HOWDEN Tomlinson was sorry to miss the reunion dinner. She and husband Jack left April 22 for England and Southampton, where they joined a freighter for a 35-day trip to 14 ports in 12 countries in the Mediterranean, Sweden, Denmark and Antwerp.

Francean CAMPBELL-Rich’38 Hamilton, ON

to the general news and update section of The READ! In these pages, you will read about travels, family life, career updates, get-togethers and other life news, as well as additional stories that follow our theme of “The Arts.” Here is where alumnae can “visit” and “keep up” with each other, letting distance and busy schedules slip away.

Francean CAMPBELL-Rich’38

The captain changed his schedule and when they arrived in Southampton early, they were able to spend time getting used to London again, as well as enjoying two days in the Lake District.

The A r t s

HOW IT HAPPENED

How many girls had a grandmother who wrote a column for a newspaper back in the 1940s? The very notion of a working grandmother raised eyebrows at Branksome in those days. But it was this grandmother with her food column in the Toronto Telegram who first planted the seed that I, too, might become a writer.

School children in Izmir, Turkey, are entranced with Canadian visitors Evelyn HOWDEN Tomlinson and Jack Tomlinson.

1954

Barbara WALL LaRocque is a published author. Her book, Wolfe Island, A Legacy in Stone, tells of the island’s history, starting with the geological formation and takes the reader through the many waves of settlers and skirmishes between the French, English and Americans up to the present day. It is a wealth of anecdotes based on colourful and eccentric personalities.

1955

Nancy FOGGO Gardner was sorry to miss reunion. She and her husband, David, were in

When I was seven, Nan sent me a cheque for $5 for a poem that she included in her column. That was a lot of money in 1944 and writing suddenly seemed profitable. Only much later did I learn that most writers are unable to make a decent living writing fiction. And, as a prolific reader, that was what I wanted to write.

I made attempts to create stories from an early age, but writing seriously

Crete celebrating their 50th anniversary!

Mary PARSONS Coates

e-mailed: I am sorry to miss the reunion. I had intended to come but last year got a wonderful commission to work as artist in residence at Garsington Opera. I had worked with them two years previously and was asked back to celebrate their last

didn’t happen until my thirties when both my children were out of diapers. No sooner was I almost finished the first draft of a novel when I became a single mother. It was difficult to write during the years of raising children and working at various jobs, but somehow I managed to carve out enough time, and stories began to appear in various literary periodicals in the 1970s. However, not until after I retired from my last job at the Assaulted Women’s Helpline in 2002 did my books begin to appear. With five completed manuscripts by then, some still hidden in a drawer, I went to the summer seven-day intensive course at Humber School for Writers in 2005. There I had the pleasure of working in Alistair’s McLeod’s group and, when I “graduated,” was also fortunate to acquire an agent.

In 2007, a collection of short stories, One Day It Happens, was launched and in 2010, a novel, Ile d’Or, followed. Both are available for purchase in bookstores and online.

Mary Lou COSSER Dickinson’55 Toronto

season at the Manor. Sadly the dates overlapped.

1956

Joan YOUNG Boswell has a new book, Cut to the Chase, RendezVous Crime 2009.

1960

The official 1960 report for our 50th Reunion:

The

A r t s

Editor’s note:

At press time, we were saddened to hear that the arts world, and the Branksome community, had lost one of its own. A tribute to actor Jackie BURROUGHS’58 will follow in an upcoming issue of The Road.

Saturday Cocktails and Dinner On May 29, 16 of us assembled for our 50th.

The attendees (Torontonians, unless otherwise indicated): Sandy BELL McDermott (Ottawa), Lorna LUKE, Pat STRATHY Davidson, Anne ROSS Nichols, Dianne GROVE Widlicka (Tampa), Diana STYLE Tweedy, Linda MATTHEWS Brown, Quita MAINGUY Longmore (Ladysmith, BC),

Nancy HANNING Conrad’56, Jim Conrad, Katherine BROUGHALL Miller’56 and William Miller at the Branksome Hall Asia information session on August 25.

Martha CORRIGAN Feilding (Knowlton, QC), Sheila MORRISON Collins (Oakville, ON), Bev BOTHWELL Norrena (Burk’s Falls, ON), Donna BULL George (Whitby, ON), Joyce WHITELY Wiltse (Barrie, ON), Heather TAYLOR Hall (Niagaraon-the-Lake, ON), Heather WALDIE MacLean, Susan BROWN Harris (Caledon, ON).

During cocktails, Principal Karen Murton and Alumnae Association President, Jane CONNOR’84, presented beautiful gold 50th pins to each of us. A videographer captured this on film, including interviews of anyone who wanted to say a bit about herself.

We mingled and chatted until we were piped into the gym. After brief welcoming speeches and grace, we were off to the buffet line. There was lots of cheering from the younger years who were there to celebrate their special reunions!

Many photos from our class’s schooldays (put together in a CD by my husband Graeme), and incorporated by the school into a larger slide

Thank you!

After 40 years as Class Rep for 1960, Donna has passed the torch to Susan BROWN Harris, Diana STYLE Tweedy and Linda MATTHEWS Brown, who will take on the job and share the work to prepare for the next milestone year: the 55th reunion.

show, were part of a running loop all through dinner, and was projected on a large centre screen. By 9:00 p.m. people began to trickle out of the gym.

Spirit Sunday!

The Performing Arts Centre (a.k.a. old gym) was the venue for two award presentations and musical interludes, and then we were off to the Eaton Common Room for lunch.

Our numbers had dwindled from the night before to just four of us — BC Quita, Ottawa Sandra, Tampa Dianne and Whitby Donna — but we had time to chat and critique the weekend.

Donna BULL George’60 Class Rep Whitby, ON

Jean EADIE Violette was sorry to miss the reunion and sends greetings to all. She is enjoying retirement in Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, and is still very involved in community service work with the Soroptimist Organization, a world-wide volunteer service for business and professional women who work to

improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world.

1965

Merrill FEARON wrote: Please take good care of yourselves so we can all get back together in 2015 for our 50th class reunion. The eight who assembled in 2010 felt rather like an endangered species!

Margo CARRUTHERS Hilton wrote: Thanks to Merrill, Kristina and Jan for hopping on planes to get here. Thanks to Nancy for “reunioning” for the first time ever. We had a fantastically fun evening and a great visit… but where were YOU? See photo on page 10.

1967

Harpist Erica GOODMAN was on the front cover of Mosaic magazine, the cultural magazine for Grey and Bruce County. Erica played pieces from the classical repertoire with a soprano, harp and cello trio on August 7 in the Collingwood Music Festival. collingwoodmusicfestival.com

1970

It was a small but enthusiastic group that gathered at Branksome for our 40th Reunion celebration on May 29.

The out-of-towners were Cynthia FARQUHARSON (Ottawa), Cathy GARTHA Foldvary (Beverly Hills, CA), Valerie RALLING Wilbur (St. Albert, AB) and Carolyn BROWN (Peterborough, ON).

The Toronto contingent consisted of Beverley WILKINSON Brady, Ann WILTON, Mimi OELBAUM King, Barbara DUNLOP Mohammad, Clayton STUART Scott, Judy SHYKOFF Millard, Liz MCCUTCHEON Svilans, Linda MCQUAIG, and Liz CHAPMAN Gibson.

There was much excitement seeing each other again, and much news to catch up on. The most noted remark was “Where has the time gone?” Other than a few odd aches and pains, we all felt no differently than when we wore our distinctive kilts and blazers. How proudly we wear the designation “Branksome Hall Alumnae.”

Barbara DUNLOP Mohammad Reunion Rep

At Verdi’s on Bayview, a group of 1960 classmates gathered for lunch on August 12. Front and centre is Katharine ADAM Ponthus (visiting from Montpellier, France) and from left: Sheila MORRISON Collins, Carole MITFORD McClure’61, Diana STYLE Tweedy, Pat STRATHY Davidson, Linda MATTHEWS Brown, Heather TAYLOR Hall, Susan MONIER Keast, Donna BULL George and Susan BROWN Harris.

With two successful swims across Lake Ontario to her credit, Colleen SHIELDS decided to abandon her third crossing on August 19 when she was 10 km from her destination. Colleen is a travel consultant and swims at the Etobicoke Olympian Masters Aquatic Club. She also coaches swimming.

1971

The A r t s

Remembering Sylvia July 26, 1952 – April 12, 2009 AN ICON IN THE ARTS WORLD

Sylvia MORAWETZ’71 was an icon for support of the arts and artists, and gave unstintingly of her time, talent, and wideranging connections. As well as being passionately supportive of the Canadian Opera Company, she also championed Tapestry New Opera Works, a company that promotes Canadian artists by providing them with an opportunity for creativity and performance. She served with enthusiastic conviction during those critical early years of establishing Tapestry. During her two successive three-year terms as Chairman of the Board, she helped to develop and produce several highly

successful Canadian operas. This included the millennium production of The Iron Road, a story of the Chinese workers’ involvement in the building of the Canadian railway. Additional, highly acclaimed productions during Sylvia’s time with the company are Elijah’s Kite, an operatic work of interest to young people dealing with issues of bullying and children’s relationships, and Facing South, a story focused on the Canadian Arctic.

Sylvia’s passionate interest and support of children and music saw her as an active contributor to The Regent Park School of Music in Toronto, where inner-city youth are encouraged in the pursuit of their talents as musicians, both instrumentally and vocally.

Sylvia passed away on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009, at the age of 56. In her memory, The Sylvia Morawetz Legacy Fund was established at Tapestry New Opera Works, to provide access to Tapestry’s “INside Opera Education Programme” for children living in Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood.

Sonja MORAWETZ’66 Utterson, ON

In June 2008, the MORAWETZ sisters travelled together to Newfoundland. From left: Kathryn’77, Sonja’66, Sylvia’71 and Virginia’73.

1973

Su SANDIFORD Yaremchuk dropped by Branksome for a tour on June 22. She was visiting from her home in Oregon.

Kelly WEBB is the Manager of Special Events at the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and thoroughly enjoys her work.

1974

Bermudians Laura ANGLIN McBeath’74 and her daughter, Kathleen, visited Branksome on April 9.

1981

Rebecca UPJOHN Snyder wrote: I have written two new children’s books. Patrick’s Wish, co-authored by Karen Mitchell, is a nonfiction picture book for ages 7–10 about a courageous boy who shared his story of living with hemophilia, HIV and AIDS, and his wish to raise

awareness and find a cure for AIDS. It is published by Second Story Press and is also available in French.

The Last Loon is for ages 8–11. It is a fictional story of 11-year-old Evan, who discovers that saving a trapped loon on a fast freezing lake is more complicated and a great deal more dangerous than he expected. It is published by Orca Book Publishers. rebeccaupjohn.com

1983

Shiona MACKENZIE majored in English Literature and Philo-sophy at the University of Toronto. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Crisis Communications and Strategic PR from Hong Kong Baptist University. Shiona recently returned to Toronto after 17

years living and working in Asia. Shiona speaks Japanese at an intermediate level, having taught English in Japan for 11 years, six of which were at Gakushuin, Japan’s equivalent of Eton. She also worked for four years as an editor for an international publisher and as a communications officer at the City University of Hong Kong. She then spent two years in Thailand, employed as a quasi-journalist and communications manager for a resort. She is a 500 Club Member of the International Association of Business Communicators as well as a Contributing Member of the Art Gallery of Ontario and a Member of the Royal Ontario Museum.

Heather McGEORGE e-mailed an update: I finished my law degree in 2008 and articled with a tax

Sarah WARD Macks and Katherine SHANKS Weiler were reunited at the Branksome Hall Asia information session on August 25.

The A r t s

AUTHOR FINDS HER NICHE

Without the arts, I would probably be locked in a padded room somewhere. Having a creative outlet was essential to my well-being as a kid, so it’s no surprise that I’ve spent my adult life working in artistic fields. Professionally I worked first as a photographer and then, after a hiatus raising kids, I’m now building my career as a children’s author. Writing has introduced me to people of all ages and subjects that have enriched my life immeasurably. The hours spent struggling to find the right way to tell a story has its challenging periods but, when a light goes on in a child’s eyes because he or she has connected with something I’ve written, I know I am on the right path doing the work I am meant to do.

Rebecca UPJOHN Snyder’81 Toronto

litigation boutique in Toronto. I didn’t really enjoy fighting the Canada Revenue Agency, so I recently left that position to work in wealth management in a Family Office. A Family Office manages high net worth families and oversees all of their tax, succession planning, investment planning, cash flow, accounting and anything else that comes up along the way. We are the family’s in-house accountants, lawyers and investment advisors and maybe partly psychologists also, since we try to promote harmony within the family and preserve relationships among family members who sometimes have differing interests and objectives. So far, I’ve had some really interesting projects to work on and I’m happy for the opportunity to use both my C.A. and law degree. I am also the Treasurer for Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF). I had a great time being a judge at the Nora McRae Speaking Tournament that Branksome hosted in the spring. I was really impressed

26 years later…

One day last June, I met up with Miss Bell — it’s incredibly difficult to call her Shirley! — at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. We had a lovely time, talking about old and new — her life on Canada’s West Coast and mine in the U.K. I had missed my 25-year reunion in 2004, so it was nice to connect and share memories from so long ago.

Rachel HORNE’84 London, England

on Chatelaine magazine and feminism, and this work was subsequently published as an award-winning book, Roughing it in the Suburbs: Reading Chatelaine Magazine in the Fifties and Sixties, by University of Toronto Press (2000).

with the quality of speakers, particularly from our team, and we won!

1984

Valerie KORINEK e-mailed: Here’s a quick update. After graduation, I attended the University of Toronto where I picked up three degrees in quick succession — an Honours B.A. in History and English, an M.A. in Canadian History and, in1996, a Ph.D. in Canadian Cultural and Gender History. I wrote my Ph.D. thesis

I was fortunate to get the only tenure-track Canadian history job in the country — at the University of Saskatchewan. Travelling 3,000 kms wasn’t really part of the game plan, but academics go where they get hired. So I drove west, with my standard poodle Ashley, intending to sojourn in the west for two years.

This August I shall be starting my 14th year here and happy to report that life and work in the centre of Canada is wonderful. Having progressed

through the ranks, I am now Professor and Head of the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan, a mid-sized medical-doctoral university, and the largest, most comprehensive university in the province. The History Department is one of the largest in the College of Arts and Science (with 24 faculty) and this fall we will celebrate our centennial. My partner, Penny Skilnik, the Director of Special Projects in the College of Graduate Studies and Research, and I have been together for 12 years and we are the proud, but exhausted, parents of Thomas, 8, and Daniel, 5. It is a full life what with kids’ activities, work and travel. And we recently added a golden retriever puppy, Scout, to the mix!

1987

Emily LONG’87, on her wedding day in July, with friends Maggie Brown, Heather CARTWRIGHT’88, Becky MOORE Brown’87 and Megan LONG Foote’85.

1992

Brigitte KOPAS’88, husband Scott Metcalfe, and children Jayden (who attended Branksome from JK to Grade 3) and Ryder moved in August to Collingwood. For eight years, Brigitte was a key member of the Branksome Advancement Department, most recently in the role of Associate Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations.

While a Torontonian at heart, for now I shall have to be content with a couple of trips back each year to visit family and friends.

1986

Keep the weekend of May 27–29, 2011 free for our BIG 25th reunion that you won’t want to miss!

Leeanne WELD Kostopoulos has volunteered to host our Friday night social and Tonya KATZ Fulton is planning the Saturday night “after party.”

I’m looking for a few more volunteers to help with the rest of the weekend plans, so please connect with me if you’re interested. And stay tuned for details on:

• a Class of 1986 keepsake booklet,

• a Class of 1986 Reunion fundraising project in honour of our quarter century anniversary.

Linton CARTER Reunion Rep lintonandjames@gmail.com

1989

Michelle McMURRAY Parkin was recently in touch with the Alumnae Office. She lives in London, ON, with her husband, Dale, and their new baby, Charlotte Rose. She and Dale met in Owen Sound where she had been living for four years.

Michelle studied Personal Support Work at Georgian College and graduated in 1999. Though not a nursing degree,

the work is fulfilling and she is proud of the difference she makes in people’s lives.

1990

Krista BELL Shaw sent in this update: After Branksome I attended the University of Waterloo and received an Honour’s degree in Mathematics. I travelled and worked until I opened my own business in

Muskoka: Mannikin, a clothing store which I had for 10 years. In 2002, I married Michael Shaw on Isabella Island on Georgian Bay. We now have three children, Isabella, 5, Griffin, 4, and Charlie, 2. We live in Muskoka and Florida.

Wendy SCHAAL Oldham and her family have returned from Alberta and are living in their new home in Whitby, ON.

CAPTURING CANADIANA

The arts have always been a major component in my life and a tremendous source of happiness and inspiration. These feelings were nurtured during my Branksome years and have continued to guide me throughout my adult life.

In 2009, I took a giant leap of faith by leaving a successful marketing career in order to try my hand as an artisan. As much as I enjoyed working in television, it wasn’t enough to fulfill my creative soul. So, I decided to channel my energies into a small business creating handmade Canadiana-themed home accessories.

I named my business grade eh design, and it is the expression of a lifetime spent appreciating the beauty of Canadian landscapes and the desire to share a little of that Canadian spirit with others.

I feature classic Canadiana icons such as beavers

Meghan CARTER

After a successful nine-year career in Advertising and Marketing Communications at MacLaren McCann Canada, I took the opportunity to pursue a lifelong interest in Interior Design. It was important to be trained in all aspects of this diverse field and so I went back to school and completed my Interior Design education at the International Academy of Design in Toronto. I established Meghan Carter Design in 2007

and moose antlers, as well as some humorous Canadianisms such as “eh?” and “hoser” in my designs. These lovingly handmade creations enable people to bring a little of the Canadian wilderness into their homes. The materials I use further reflect the great respect I have for the environment, as my products feature certified organic cotton and felt made from recycled pop bottles.

Although I miss the camaraderie of my former colleagues, I don’t regret the decision to plunge into a new artistic career.

I am fulfilled by my craft and I hope that my pieces succeed in bringing the enjoyment of the Canadian outdoors into people’s lives. My thanks to my teacher, Mrs. Frances Stretton, who taught me how to sew!

Sara COOPER Deacon’88 Toronto

sara@gradeehdesign.ca

GLENN BROWN

A group of 1992 classmates at a Christmas 2009 gathering.

Top row: Lisa GILBERT Keable (the hostess), Kathleen WILLIAMS Panos and Meghan CARTER.

Bottom row: Perry BARIA, Sarah CLAPPISON Claydon and Tracy OBORNE King.

Jennifer WORKMAN Stemmer-Baldwin’92 with her maid of honour, Nicole LEHOCZKY’88, last October 2009. Mother of the bride, Pamela STORMS Workman’68 and O.J. KERR McGaw’95 were also there to celebrate the day.

and haven’t looked back. I focus primarily on residential and restaurant design and offer a full range of services for everything from small-scale decorating projects to larger renovations and re-designs.

My goal with each project is to design a functional environment that is a true joy to spend time in. Aesthetically I start by building a simple, streamlined and timeless foundation and then layer in the textures, colours

and objects that reflect my client’s personality, achieving a space that embodies the client’s life experience and character. meghancarterdesign.com

1995

Jennifer REID Kulchyski e-mailed: I won the Ultimate Expert Challenge in August and I am now W Network’s newest expert. But there is more good news! I have already begun working on my development deal and will have a show on the W network in spring 2011. Things are pretty busy as Chad and I try to renovate our house, have yet another baby and look after the three we have in a two-bedroom apartment…all

At a January get-together are, from left, Liz ROSENFELD’95, Catherine HUNT Szabo’94, Katie EARLE Tyler’94, Robyn THOMPSON Cunningham’95, Sarah SILVERMAN’95 and Fay Meling VON MOLTKE-PAO’95.

on camera! You can find me in the September 2010 issue of Homemakers Magazine (homemakers.com/magazine. php). Look for the article Clobber Junk Hot Spots where I give tips on managing clutter. For all the latest information, including recent pictures of my work, check out barlowreid.com.

1996

Marisa WOSNICK Silver is on maternity leave from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada National Office, where she has been the Manager of National Programs for five years.

Sarah HUNTER Nagy’92 on Mother’s Day, with twins Simon and Katie, and four-year-old Noah. Sarah resigned from her work at Southlake Region Health Centre Foundation in favour of her new role as full-time mom. The family resides in Newmarket.

1999

Michelle MacDONALD’s first book has been published. The Trees Grin Beside Me celebrates the special relationship children have with nature, especially trees,

At a reunion of close friends from the Class of 1992 are Alexandra PETERS Boushy, Erika PILLER Randlesome and Bettina POLYDOR Kallins.

Jodi SHARP Kimmel, at home in Bedford Hill, NJ, with daughters Zephyr, 3, and Ottilie, now 1.

when they explore the outdoors. It is geared toward the preschool to primary school age group, and would make a great gift for friends with small children or grandchildren. Michelle and her husband Quentin enjoy living in Calgary, where she is a teacher with a passion for outdoor environmental education. treesgrin.com.

2000

The A r t s WORK IN PROGRESS

Iknew actors were subject to criticism — from agents, casting directors, producers, family and, most detrimentally, from themselves. Nevertheless, I wanted to be one, so I followed my dream.

I enjoyed moderate success after graduating from the theatre program at Circle in the Square in New York City. Backed by an agent and a terrific manager, I performed in a number of small but high-profile offBroadway plays. I even made some money from commercials. Still, I felt like an over-educated 29-year-old bartender and it grated on me. I wanted success with a capital S. I pictured money and fame and being able to look at all my naysayers and say, “See. See what I did!”

turns out, I might have finally found my career. From my years of acting I really understand how people talk, I grasp the craft of film, and I know how to tell a good story. I can also work from home, raise my son and have my appearance be secondary to my talent — all things I find extremely rewarding.

Sarah McCAGUE Gibson’00 and husband Toby on their wedding day in June 2009. The reception was help at the Muskoka Lakes Golf and Country Club. Three classmates were in the wedding party: Laura O’KEEFE was the maid of honour, and Sarah’s new sister-in-law, Laura GIBSON, was one of the bridesmaids, along with Lauren GESUALDI.

As it turned out, a play I helped originate in New York took three cast members to Los Angeles. In the audience one night was my future husband. Also an actor, I watched him go to auditions with ease. He didn’t stress about makeup and hair or about making people like him. He never agonized, as I did, about whether he would get the part or not. But being a woman in the business is different. I felt judged on my looks, my age and my body. I had no “reel” and no background in film or television.

After we were married I had an active photography business and really enjoyed my new-found art. However, now that I have a son, I find a lot of pleasure in being a full time mom and recently have found myself writing. As it

I wouldn’t give up the direction I took for the world. It shaped and prepared me — if not for the life I thought I wanted, for the life I have. Our life isn’t easy, but we’re working hard at what makes us happy. At the end of it all I still expect to say, “See. See what I did.”

Leigh ELLIOTT McGowan’94 Los Angeles, CA

Leigh received an Honours degree at McGill in 1998, did the Film & Television Graduate Program at Ryerson University, and finally the Conservatory Program at Circle in the Square in New York City. Having written two children’s books, she is now focusing on writing for film and television and is currently shopping around for her first screenplay. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Sean, an actor, and 2-1/2-year-old son, Lochlan.

At the RCYC for her wedding reception is bride Jennifer MULVIHILL’97 with friends, from left, Liz AIRD Gibson’96, Christina GIAMOS’98, Ashley MULVIHILL’00, Dana DELUCE’96, Annie MUNRO VEALE’97, Yasmin SAHNI’97, the bride, Katie NICHOLSON’97, Cecily WILLS Eaton’99, Martha RAHILLY Weeman’96, Adrienne WILLIS’97, Alison SCHWARTZ’97 and Tanya LOW’98. Alums also in attendance were Bridgitte DEMPSEY’97, Amy PEPPER’98, Emer SCHLOSSER Connon’00, Danna GIROUX’97 and Soraya HUTCHINSON’97.

2001

Congratulations to Alexandra CLARKE and her mom, Heather Conkie, who were hired by Disney to team up on a script of Louise Fitzhugh’s book for a live-action TV movie, Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars. The show aired in March on the Disney Channel, The Movie Network and Movie Central, and was scheduled to be broadcast later on CBC and YTV. Alex splits her time between New York and Toronto.

Hannah KANG boarded at Branksome for two years, and was the Head of Ainslie House

in her second year. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.Sc. (Hons) and IADT (Interior Design Diploma). Hannah currently resides in Seoul, South Korea, and teaches at a private school. With a vision to work in educational development in third world countries and North Korea, she hopes to go to England next year to pursue a combined M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Development studies.

2003

Tiffany BAYLISS graduated from Princeton magna cum laude in 2007 with a degree in Compara-

The A r t s

MY MUSICAL JOURNEY

Music was the most important part of my Branksome life. I sang in two choirs, played the violin in the strings orchestra and took music every year. I was inspired by my Branksome music teachers — learning how to analyze music critically in Mr. Bickle’s OAC class, singing enthusiastically in Ms. Olfert’s Senior Choir, or playing the violin for Anne of Green Gables under the guidance of Mrs. Reynolds. My musical journey continued at university and I studied it as part of my undergraduate degree. My dream to become a music teacher came true last year. Words could not describe my joy and satisfaction as I watched my students perform on stage, their happy faces shining as they sang and played with confidence. Music is such fun because it never stays the same. There are always new and creative ways to engage my students.

Shirley YIP’01, Toronto

tive Literature, then proceeded to Oxford University, England, where she completed a Master of Studies degree in Film Aesthetics. She is currently an M.A. student at the University of Toronto where she is focusing on literary theory.

Bess Winter KOSINEC e-mailed: I am finishing my M.F.A. in Fiction at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where I also teach Creative Writing and I am Special Projects Editor of the Mid-American Review. My fiction has appeared, or is

forthcoming, in several journals, including Gargoyle, Wigleaf, JMWW, Pindeldyboz and Adbusters. I also attended the Sewanee Writers’ Conference (endowed by Tennessee Williams), where I studied with Randall Kenan and Margot Livesey.

Jessica STISS Edelglass and husband David met at Tufts University. They live in the Boston area where Jessica is a middle school social studies teacher and David is a civil engineer.

Alumnae at the wedding of Shoshanna SAXE’02 are: Back: Jessica DODDS’03, Marika FIS’02, Jane PATTON’03, the bride, Candice BIENSTOCK’03, Amanda MILBORNE Ireland’02, Lara DIGREGORIO’02, Jody WRIGHT-ROBERTS’02 and Michelle AXWORTHY Rogers’03. Front: Stephanie O’BORN’02, Maggie DILWORTH’02, Jocelyn DILWORTH’05, Caroline SCOTT-CHARLES’02 and Rebecca SAXE’97.

Classmates

wedding day last May are Stephanie O’BORN, Kim HORVATH, Caroline SCOTT-CHARLES, Jody WRIGHT-ROBERTS, Maggie DILWORTH, Lara DIGREGORIO and Shoshanna SAXE.

Bridesmaids at the wedding of Karen CORDES’99 in May 2009 were classmates, from left, Dana POSTROZNY Mitchell, Sarah PSUTKA and Heather MCLUSKIE Coles.

celebrating with Marika FIS’02 on her

2004

Tess CECIL-COCKWELL wrote: I married Angel Villacis on February 6 in my mum’s house in Toronto. The guests were mostly family, family friends, college friends, and Stef LIM’04 and Viv HO’04. The ceremony was bilingual, which was fun (and challenging!), with a bit of Catholic flavour as a nod to Angel’s Ecuadorian culture. Angel and I met in December 2008 in Houston while at a training seminar for work. He is a directional driller with a petroleum engineering degree working on rigs in Ecuador, and I am a measurements engineer working up in Alaska, both for Schlumberger Drilling and Measurements. Angel will soon move to Anchorage, which is a change we’re both looking forward to tremendously!

Tory NEEDHAM is engaged to Adam Chiarandini. A fall 2011 wedding is planned.

2006

Anne VOORHEIS was one of the directors of the Queen’s University production of The Vagina Monologues last February. The year before, Anne had been one of the actors in the production.

YOUNG ALUM LUNCH – DECEMBER 18, 2009

1 Teacher John Heder gets caught up on news with graduates from the Class of 2006: Luisa JEFFERY, Katie BUTLER and Stephanie MANIKAS.

2009

Alison BISCOE and her two university buddies completed the 2010 Morocco Hitch, a hitchhiking adventure and fundraising event for Link Community Development,

3 Classmates from 2009 are, from left, Sidney LEEDER, Brittany SMITH, Caroline GILBERT, Marina GHABBOUR, Alexandra DIMMER and Sarah REDINGTON.

held annually in April. Alison was the youngest participant in the event’s 18-year history. It was a gruelling nine days and eight nights of hitchhiking 2,900 kms from Nottingham, England to Tangiers. While

The Teletoon Truck was driven from Vancouver to Halifax by Katie REIFFENSTEIN’04 and her team of three others, who promoted the popular children’s television channel in major cities over the summer. Here, Katie and teammate Vincent Boutet head to the Buskerfest, which was held in Toronto August 26–29.

The next Young Alum Lunch will be held on May 13, 2011. Watch for further details in a future issue of The Road.

Alison and her team were well prepared physically for their adventure, they never realized the mental strength they would need to complete the hitch. Congratulations!

The

A r t s

Classmates Gabriella SICILIANO and Stephanie MANIKAS attended the Branksome Hall Asia information session on August 25.

Sarah DYLAN will perform at Massey Hall on November 17. Joining her are talented musicians from across Canada and the event’s host, Canadian Music Hall of Fame honouree Duff Roma. All proceeds go to SOS Children’s Villages, which helps orphaned children find homes to share with surviving siblings in more than 130 countries. Tickets available at www.roythomson.com.

2 Teacher Jennifer Stumborg, far right, chats with Emma ALTER’06,

Gillian CHRISTIE’08 and Lauren ING’07.

4 Sasha NANJI’09 with teacher Edith Louie.

Passages

Marriages

1951

Carol MERRITT Koladich to Derwyn Hancocks on April 18, 2009, in Oakville, ON.

1983

1993

1999

Karen CORDES to Glenn Woods on May 23, 2009, in Toronto.

2000

Chantal DALGLIESH to Matt Brundage on September 16, 2006, in Toronto.

1988

Alex ANDERSON, a daughter, Sophie Soleil, on October 2, 2009, in Toronto. A niece for Michelle WARSZAWSKI Buchanan’91.

Mary HERMANT, a daughter, Lewis “Lulu,” on April 19, 2010, in New York. A niece for Maggie HERMANT’83.

B.D. SIGEL, a daughter, Yael Tallulah, on June 8, 2010, in Montreal.

1991

Ainslie MARCHANT Aitken, a son, Finlay Douglas Napier, on October 20, 2009, in London, England.

1992

Jessica COTTON to Mike Polzl on May 16, 2009, in Petersburg, ON.

Anne HILTON to Greg Sullivan on May 30, 2009, in Toronto.

Sarah McCAGUE to Toby Gibson on June 20, 2009, in Muskoka.

2002

Marika FIS to Daniel Fisher on May 22, 2010, in Toronto.

Kimberley KORINEK, a son, Ken Ryan, on August 30, 2010, in Toronto. A nephew for Valerie KORINEK’84.

1989

Michelle MCMURRAY Parkin, a daughter, Charlotte Rose, on April 22, 2010, in London, ON.

Meredith CHART Guest, a son, Spencer, on December 11, 2009, in Nanoose Bay, BC. A grandson for Pamela HENDERSON Chart’60.

Amy FOSTER, a son, Vaughn Ryder, on August 2, 2010, in Vancouver.

Shiona MACKENZIE to Ian Morrison on February 15, 2010, in Toronto.

1987

Emily LONG to Michael Harrison on July 10, 2010 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.

1989

Jennifer SYKES to Jonathan Holmes on May 29, 2009, in Tofino, BC.

1994

Shoshanna SAXE to Tanhum Yoreh on September 6, 2009, in Toronto.

2003

Jane TAYLOR Durno, a son, Fraser Cameron Gordon, on April 21, 2010, in Toronto. A nephew for Kim IONSON Taylor’89.

Sarah WALKER Mander, a son, Charles Thomas, on August 18, 2010, in London, England. A grandson for Margaret KLEIN Walker’62 (who delivered Charlie, with telephone instructions from 999, in an unexpected and very fast home birth); a nephew for Becky WALKER Davis’93.

Sarah HUNTER Nagy, twins Simon and Katie, on September 23, 2009, in Newmarket, ON.

Jennifer LAMBERT, a daughter, Saskia Elizabeth, on October 27, 2009, in Toronto. A niece for Alexandra LAMBERT’90.

Suzanne LITTLER Chisholm, a son, Henry Kenneth, on March 10, 2010, in Toronto.

Susie MacDONNELL Calder, a son, Campbell Kenneth, on December 31, 2009, in Toronto. A great-grandson for Helen WALKER

Kathleen WELDON to John Tregoning on May 16, 2009, in Alexandria, VA.

1992

Jennifer WORKMAN’92 to Marcus Stemmer-Baldwin on October 10, 2009, in London, England.

Amanda KOSTYNYK to Craig Simms on July 17, 2009, in Etobicoke.

1996

Marisa WOSNICK to Joel Silver on October 26, 2008, in Toronto.

1997

Betsy HILTON to Jamie Macintosh on September 13, 2008, in Toronto.

Jennifer MULVIHILL to John Lancefield, on July 3, 2010, in Toronto.

Jessica STISS

on August 2, 2009, in Providence, RI.

2004

Tess CECIL-COCKWELL to Angel Villacis on February 6, 2010, in Toronto.

Births

1986

Kim DALGLISH Abell, a son, Benjamin Martin, on June 9, 2010, in Toronto.

1987

Leith BLACHFORD, a son, Alexander, on April 10, 2010, in Toronto.

Tregoning, a daughter, Sydney Michele, on March 4, 2010, in Alexandria, VA.

1990

Vicky FRIZELLE, a son, William Riley, on May 4, 2010, in Toronto. A nephew for Caren FRIZELLE’90 and Sarah FRIZELLE’91.

Adams’34; a grandson for Phil MacDonnell (sandbox alum); a great-nephew for Sally ADAMS Medland’66; a nephew for Sam MacDONNELL Mascia’89 and Sally MacDONNELL Paradine’90.

Susie, Andrew and Campbell while on vacation in California.

to David Edelglass

Kathleen WELDON

1993

Sarah BASTABLE Spence, a son, Timothy James, on September 7, 2010, in Toronto.

Leigh GRIFFITHS Carter, a daughter, Paige Katherine, on January 8, 2010, in Toronto. A niece for Kate GRIFFITHS’93 and Christine GRIFFITHS’99.

Julie MITCHELL McEwen, a daughter, Sydney Isabelle, on August 9, 2010, in Toronto. A niece for Dana POSTROZNY Mitchell’99.

1998

CURRENT AND PAST EMPLOYEES

Jessica COTTON, a daughter, Margaret Chloe, on November 2, 2009, in Waterloo, ON.

Sarah DEEKS, a daughter, Alexandra Grace, on December 29, 2009, in Toronto. A granddaughter for Wendy MORGAN Deeks’66; a niece for Jocelyn DEEKS’95.

Danielle PATERSON, a son, Luke Alexander, on February 12, 2009, in Toronto.

1994

Ellie HAWKE, a son, James, on June 3, 2010, in New York City. A nephew for Nikki HAWKE’93.

Megan HILL, a son, Jack William, on December 30, 2009, in Toronto. A grandson for Mary RUBY’76; a nephew for Davis HILL Barton’91 and Caitlin HILL’98.

Denise LISCIO Smith, a daughter, Stella Maria, on August 19, 2010. A niece for Lynn LISCIO’92 and Jennifer LISCIO’93.

Beth NICHOLSON, a son, Maxwell Hartley, on January 4, 2010, in New York City. A nephew for Julia NICHOLSON Harig’91 and Katie NICHOLSON’97.

Jodi SHARP Kimmel, a daughter, Ottilie Jean, on October 26, 2009, in Bedford Hills, NJ.

Katherine STUART, a son, Owen Jonathan, on March 26, 2010, in Toronto.

O.J. KERR McGaw, a son, Ryker Watson, on April 22, 2010, in London, England. A nephew for Ainsley KERR’01.

1996

Dana DELUCE, a son, Liam Alexander, on September 7, 2010, in Toronto. A nephew for Aynsley DELUCE’94 and Lindsey DELUCE’99.

Sarah GRIFFITHS Savolaine, a son, Grant Hall, on March 19, 2010, in Toronto.

Christina GIAMOS, a daughter, Alexandra, on May 5, 2010, in Toronto.

1999

Kim Chung, a son, Carson Alexander James, on October 16, 2009. A grandson for Branksome Hall employee Bonnie Chung, Assistant to the Head of Academics.

Oona Craig, Senior School Latin teacher, a son, Aaron Peter, on March 31, 2010.

Jennifer Goba, Grade 4 teacher, a son, Hudson Thomas, on January 24, 2010.

Anne WALKER Butwell, a son, Colton Wilder, on May 9, 2010, in Pickering, ON. A nephew for Lisa WALKER’97. A first cousin twice removed for Joyce WALKER McKeough’56.

1995

Jill CAPE Coppedge, a daughter, Grace Emerson, on August 25, 2010, in Boston, MA.

Devon DOMELLE Parsons, a daughter, Tenley, on July 16, 2010, in Toronto. A niece for Regan DOMELLE Franklin’97 and Tristan DOMELLE’00.

Mia KAMNATNIK O’Neil, a daughter, Keeley Reagan, on July 27, 2009, in London, ON.

Leigh POLLARD Wilson, a son, Hunter Andrew, on June 20, 2009, in London, England. A nephew for Tara POLLARD’96 and Lauren POLLARD Eaton’01.

Karen CORDES Woods, husband Glenn, and daughter, Emma Lily, at a wedding in Annapolis Royal, NS, in August. Emma was born on June 7, 2010, in Toronto.

Big sisters, Ella and Reese welcome Kate Audrey Louise, born on August 25, 2010. Mom Carlene Rotherham teaches Physical Education in the Senior School.

Amanda FENTON, a son, William Alexander, on December 19, 2009, in London, England.

Marisa WOSNICK Silver, a son, Evan Samuel, on February 19, 2010, in Toronto.

1997

Michelle MACDONALD, a son, Kai Alexander, on September 9, 2010, in Calgary. A nephew for Lindsay MACDONALD Zolis’97.

2000

Denise LISCIO Smith’94, Junior School Physical Education teacher, and Joe Smith, Technology Integration Coordinator, a daughter, Stella Maria, on August 19, 2010.

Kathy Stegenga, Senior School Physical Education teacher, a son, Charlie William, on August 17, 2010.

Tracy CASSELS, a daughter, Madeleine Elizabeth, on June 23, 2010, in Vancouver.

Sarah McCAGUE Gibson, a son, Hunter Michael William, on November 26, 2008, in Toronto. A nephew for Laura GIBSON’00.

Deaths

1928

Betty RUTHERFORD Ward, on February 16, 2010, in Toronto.

As stated in her obituary, Betty was the proud great-grandmother of 21. She lived a long and happy life, and was well known for her sharp wit and dry sense of humour. She was central to many wonderful summers at the family cottage on Georgian Bay.

1933

Evelyn LANDER, in her 97th year, on February 26, 2010, in Toronto.

1935

Esme PATTISON Rose, on November 23, 2009, in Durham, NC. Sister of Dorothy PATTISON Glinfort’34 and Phyllis PATTISON Ramsay-Smith’37.

1936

Eleanor LANE Adams, on February 25, 2010, in Ottawa. Excerpt taken from Eleanor’s obituary: Born in 1918, Eleanor spent her early years in Montreal before attending Branksome. During WWII, Eleanor

IN MEMORIAM Leone COMSTOCK Northrop’39

Leone married into a musical family though her first love was ballet. She attended the Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational Institute before studying voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Leone was very active in the Peterborough and Lakefield communities through her involvement in a number of church choirs where her husband, Stan, was organist and choir director. In addition, she coached voice for a number of musicals at Lakefield College School and was a member of the Peterborough Coventry Singers. Together with Stan, who served as founding chairman, Leone was the regional secretary of the first Peterborough Kiwanis Music Festival. A lifelong cottager on Catchacoma and Anstruther Lakes, she was also a former director of the Canadian Watercraft Company which owned Peterborough Canoe. Leone was the last of her generation of Comstocks who founded the longstanding family furniture and funeral business in Peterborough, which dates back to 1853.

worked for National Defence. When members of the armed forces died in action, she typed telegrams notifying next of kin. Eleanor and her husband spent winters deep-sea fishing off Florida and enjoying bridge with friends.

1939

Leone COMSTOCK Northrop, on June 4, 2010, in her 91st year, in Peterborough, ON.

Jane ROSS Webster, on February 6, 2009, in Pictou, NS.

1941

Diana PHILLIPS Jackson, on January 13, 2010, in Toronto.

Patricia RAMSEY Hele, on February 14, 2010, in Toronto.

Dorothy TURNER Sloss, on February 16, 2010, in Toronto. Mother of Rosemary GORE Grenside’74; grandmother of Ali Shields, Class of 2013.

1942

Doreen BROWN Firth, on February 5, 2010, in Hamilton, ON. Sister of Shirley BROWN Brayley’45.

Sonia SKINNER Apple, on November 2, 2009, on Sunshine Coast, BC. Mother of Heather APPLE’67 and Sara Jane APPLE’76.

1943

Nancy MARLOWE Turner, on January 21, 2010, in Santa Monica, California.

1944

Mary SLOAN Parker, on May 12, 2010, in Toronto.

Grandmother of Sloan BRETHOUR’00.

Excerpt from Mary’s obituary: Mary’s passion for golf was exceeded only by her zest for adventure — from learning to scuba dive in her 50s, to going “online” in her 70s, to leading her reluctant family, no matter the weather, for a sunrise swim in Lake Rosseau in her 80s. Mary’s light will shine brightly in our hearts forever.

1945

Margaret HOCKIN Brown, on July 28, 2009, in Duxbury, MA.

1946

Patricia GILDAY Brown, on February 23, 2010, in Weston, ON.

Eleanor WILSON Drowley, on November 7, 2009, in Oakville, ON.

1948

Jane McPHERSON Kastner, on July 23, 2010, in Mississauga, ON.

IN MEMORIAM

Sonia Jane “Sunny” SKINNER Apple’42

1924-2009

Sonia Jane “Sunny” was a devoted mother and a great lover of the arts, literature, nature, fine food, travel and golf. She had happy memories of her boarding at Branksome from 1939–42. In the fall 2005 edition of The READ, Sunny recalled the arrival of the English students who were seeking refuge from the war. “They were very brave about leaving their home and family.” Sunny would befriend and take these English girls home for the holidays. She went on to complete her B.A. at Trinity College (St. Hilda’s) at the University of Toronto. Sunny and her husband, Barney, raised four children: Heather, Nixon, Sara Jane and Derek. Barney and Sunny were the proud proprietors of Apple’s Acres, a 58-acre hobby farm with beautiful organic gardens and trails outside Uxbridge, Ontario.

A lifelong learner, Sunny took English Literature courses at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. Sunny was an avid theatre goer and a member of the ROM and AGO. She frequented lectures and openings as well as joining tours abroad to the great galleries of Europe. In later years, Sunny, Barney and Heather joined Derek and Sara Jane to live on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. She is lovingly remembered by her children, their spouses, her granddaughters, great grandchildren and the many people whose lives she touched.

Jane was the receptionist in the Senior School General Office from 1985 until her retirement in 1995. She passed away peacefully after suffering from a stroke in 2007.

1949

Marilyn McCLELLAND Cope, on November 1, 2006, in Oakville, ON.

1953

Diana SPARKS Patton, on March 10, 2010, in Mississauga, ON.

Diana, in 1958, when she was a United Nations Tour Guide.

IN MEMORIAM Nancy MARLOW Turner’43

Excerpt from Nancy’s obituary:

Nan enjoyed her early years in Toronto and at Branksome. During the war, Nan enlisted with the Wrens as a visual signaler. She was assigned to Halifax Harbour, where she used signal flags and Morse code with a large lamp to give and receive signals from navy ships and merchant ships.

After the war ended, Nan entered the University of Toronto, where she met medical student Roderick Turner, the love of her life. The two were married in 1948. Nan received a B.A. (Hons) in Music and the Arts, and Rod received his medical degree.

In 1950, shortly after the birth of their first child,

Nan and Rod moved to Hollywood, CA, and later to Pacific Palisades. Nan devoted the ’50s and ’60s to raising their three children. She worked in Rod’s medical office and often travelled with him to medical conferences.

A lover of art history, Nan worked as a docent at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum (today’s Getty Villa). She spoke beautiful French and was a member of the French Salon of West Los Angeles. She was a skilled piano player, enjoyed singing and, together with Rod, was an active volunteer.

Before Rod’s death in 2004, many summers were spent with family in Ontario visiting first with Nan’s sisters before joining the Turner clan on Cache Lake in Algonquin Park. Nan is survived by her three children and seven grandchildren.

My heart and hers are inexorably linked forever. She made my days unique in so many small ways without ever thinking of herself. She made sure the light shone on everyone around her. She is my love, my life, my heart, forever. I will miss Pami beyond words. — Michael Kernen

2003

Claire BENNETT, on March 24, 2010, in Toronto. Daughter of Lynn BURTON Bennett’65; niece of Gail BURTON Kendall’58.

FORMER EMPLOYEES

Louise Dick, former Senior School Librarian, on March 1, 2010, in Toronto.

1955

Carrie Ann MATHESON

Aikman, on February 7, 2010, in Montreal.

Excerpt from Carrie Ann’s obituary: A bright, graceful and dignified woman who loved to laugh and entertain, Carrie Ann will live on in the hearts and memories of friends and family around the world.

1956

Alice SCOTT Ferrier, on January 5, 2010, in Brechin, ON.

Excerpt from Alice’s obituary: Alice worked diligently in the film industry, becoming an accomplished production coordinator who mentored many people. She was a founding member and the inaugural president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, Local 411. Alice was an accomplished equestrian and a founder of Corinthia Publishing and Horse Sport magazine. She followed the

IN MEMORIAM Claire BENNETT’03

lives and interests of her family, children and grandchildren with the same passion and love that characterized her whole life.

1958

Jackie BURROUGHS, former Head Girl, on September 22, 2010, in Toronto. See p. 43.

1962

Linda BLACKWALL Cullis, on October 5, 2009, in Parry Sound, ON.

1965

Jacqueline STAFFORD, on November 26, 2009, in Memphis, TN.

Diana WODEHOUSE

Setchell, on July 21, 2010, in Dartmouth, NS.

1969

Betty BAGGS May, on March 20, 2010, in Belleville, ON. Twin sister of Barbara Jane BAGGS Comport’69.

Norman Keith Sharpe, Business Manager from 1979 until his retirement in 1989, on September 5, 2010, in Cobourg.

Claire passed away on March 24, 2010 at the age of 25. Claire attended Branksome from Grades 4 to 9. Her time at Branksome was full of friends, sports and studies. She continued high school at Lawrence Park Collegiate before going on to complete an Arts and Science Degree at the University of Guelph.

Claire always embraced an intellectual challenge. She was determined not to take the easy route. She challenged herself all the time. After Guelph, Claire enrolled in a postgraduate nursing program at the University of Toronto. Through nursing she met a different set of challenges, both intellectually and emotionally. Qualities that always spring to mind about Claire: fierce competitive spirit, subtle warmth and love, and toughness and courage. Claire loved and was loved by all her family and many friends.

Betty grew up in Scarborough and attended Branksome from 1962–67. She married Richard May and they settled in Belleville, ON. Betty will be missed by her friends and family from the Greater Toronto Area, Belleville and Lake Mississauga.

1974

Marion Snowden, on December 23, 2009, in Hamilton, ON.

Marion thoroughly enjoyed her work in the Senior School General Office during the ’60s and ’70s. In 1978, she went on to enjoy an active and healthy retirement. Marion passed away peacefully, in her sleep, at the age of 97.

— Bill Brown (Marion’s nephew)

Pam YEATS Kernen, on December 12, 2009, in Toronto.

Upcoming Events

ADMISSION INFORMATION NIGHT FOR ALUMNAE

Wednesday, November 17 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

The Gillam Family Atrium

2 Elm Avenue (see inside front cover)

Do you know a child who would blossom at an independent school such as Branksome Hall? For information, please contact Kimberly BROOKER Carter’96, Associate Director of Admissions, at 416-920-6265, ext. 136 or kcarter@branksome.on.ca.

PLAID TIDINGS

(see back cover for details)

There is something for everyone at this fabulous show of unique gifts and crafts.

10 Elm Avenue

Friday, November 19

Saturday, November 20

Sunday, November 21

SENIOR SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION

Music by Richard Rodgers

Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse

Suggested by The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

The Allison Roach Performing Arts Centre

Performances at 2:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 23

Wednesday, November 24

Performances at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 25

Friday, November 26

For the classes from the years ending in 1 and 6.

CAROL SERVICE

Rosedale United Church

Sunday, December 12 3:00 p.m.

Alumnae, their families and friends are welcome to attend this enjoyable afternoon of music and song.

YOUNG ALUM SPRING SOCIAL

(for the classes of 2007–2010)

Friday, May 13, 2011

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Details to follow via e-mail and FACEBOOK!

In attendance last November are Julie WILDGOOSE’69, Jane LEWITT Taylor’88, Mary MORDEN Fernandes’82, Suzanne CRYSDALE Graham’90, Cindy EDWARDS MacMillan’91, Melinda BRADSHAW Robertson’85 and Valerie HELBRONNER’87.

Branksome Hall Vision

To be the pre-eminent educational community of globally minded learners and leaders.

Branksome Hall Mission

Each day, we challenge and inspire girls to love learning and to shape a better world.

The Alumnae Association Mission Statement

We build and maintain alumnae relationships while raising funds in support of Branksome Hall’s mission and vision.

The READ Committee

Tanya Pimenoff, Editor

Julia Drake

Karen Murton

Donna Richardson

Photo Credits

Glenn Brown

Jennifer Cotman

Jamie FLECK’00

Alumnae, Employees and Friends of Branksome Hall

Design & Production

Atlanta Visual Communications Inc.

Alumnae Executive 2010 – 2011

Allison ROACH’51 Honorary President

Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82

President

Heather ADAMSON Wicken’99

Susan ANDERSON Thornburrow’75

Claire BASINSKI’04

Jane CONNOR’84

Christine CZASCH’83

Suzie DINGWALL Williams’80

Barbara DUNLOP Mohammad’70

Tenley GIBSON’94

Sarah GRIFFITHS Savolaine’96

Carolyn HELBRONNER’79

Julie HERDE Matthews’86

Andrea LAWRENCE Gall’77

Lynda MALCOLMSON Mitchell’63

Katie McCABE’03

Dana POSTROZNY Mitchell’99

Jeannette SEYMOUR’94

Carol SULLY Gulyas’67

Maggs WEST Barrett’66

Ex-Officio

Lorraine Mellon

Karen Murton

Tanya Pimenoff

Donna Richardson

Lucy Gall

Alumnae/Parents’ Associations Student Rep

Board of Governors 2010 – 2011

Raj Chandaria Chair

Karen Murton, B.A., B.ED., M.ED. Principal

Geordie Allen

Wayne Barwise

Stephen Bebis

John Chippindale

Beatrix Dart

Mark Gaskin

Kelly Gray

Mary LESSLIE Hallward’74

Larry Lowenstein

Scot Martin

Devon DOMELLE Parsons’95

Lynn Patterson

Jennifer PRATT Peters’81

Bruce K. Robertson

Heather Simmons

Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82 President, Alumnae Association

Kashka Kril-Atkins President, Parents’ Association

Branksome Hall

10 Elm Avenue

Toronto, ON M4W 1N4

Tel: 416-920-9741

www.branksome.on.ca

E-mail: tpimenoff@branksome.on.ca

The READ is published for the alumnae, parents, employees and friends of Branksome Hall.

Fall 2010, Volume 50, Number 1

Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40010445

The polybag containing this publication is made from recycled materials and is 100% biodegradable.

POSITION ONLY

BRANKSOME HALL’S 19TH ANNUAL

SALE OF UNIQUE GIFTS CREATED BY EXCEPTIONAL ARTISANS

SATURDAY NOV. 20 • 10 AM –4 PM & SUNDAY NOV. 21 • 10 AM –4 PM

FRIDAY NOV.19 • 5:30 –9 PM • $45 IN ADVANCE • $50 AT THE DOOR

PLAID TIDINGS 2010 WILL SUPPORT A NEW CENTRE FOR FILM PRODUCTION AND MEDIA ARTS

Adults: $7

Students and Seniors: $6

Children under 12: free

TICKETS: