BFS AT
150
BFS at 150 Anniversary Gala May 11, 2018 • Brooklyn Museum
E X T E L L
P R E S E N T S
THE BEST OF
B R O O K LY N FROM EVERY POINT
Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, with interiors by Katherine Newman, Brooklyn Point offers luxury residences with spectacular views. The 720-foot-tall tower features over 40,000 square-feet of indoor and
shopping and entertainment destination in Brooklyn.
STUDIO TO THREE-BEDROOM LUXURY RESIDENCES FROM $837,000 TO OVER $3,500,000. 25-Year Tax Abatement. Monthly Carrying Costs For a Two-Bedroom Residence Start at $1,280.
Brook l y nPoin t N YC .com | +1.718 . 222. 5770
Follow Us
In f o @ Bro ok l y nPoin t N YC .com
@BrooklynPointNYC
The complete offering terms are in an offering plan available from Sponsor. File No. C16-0008. Sponsor: 138 Willoughby LLC, 805 Third Avenue, Seventh Floor, New York, NY 10022. Sponsor reserves the right to make changes in accordance with the terms of the Offering Plan. Equal Housing Opportunity. Creative by Williams New York.
Brooklyn Friends School 375 Pearl Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 brooklynfriends.org
Brooklyn Friends School Upper School 116 Lawrence Street Brooklyn, NY 11201
Family Center at Brooklyn Friends 189A Schermerhorn Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 brooklynfriends.org/familycenter
A Letter from Dr. Larry Weiss, Head of School Dear Friends of Brooklyn Friends School, As we gather together to celebrate the culminating event of our Sesquicentennial year, the Anniversary Gala, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank some of the many dedicated members of our learning community--parents, students, faculty, staff, alumni, family members, Friends, and supportive neighbors. Foremost among those who deserve recognition and thanks are the 28 members of the Sesquicentennial Planning Committee who have worked together over the past two years under the inspirational and tireless leadership of their chairperson, SalomÊ Galib. Among the great events arising over the course of 2017-18 as a result of the Committee’s work were: the All-School photo of the entire student body and faculty on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall; a celebratory gathering in Prospect Park; an Oral History project carried out by students working with alumni; the comprehensive re-organization of the BFS archives; the writing, editing, and publication of our sesquicentennial history book Brooklyn Friends School: 150 Years of Light; and a series of other initiatives that reengaged active relationships with alumni and former faculty from the past seven decades. I also want to express the learning community’s deepest thanks to the Gala Committee, co-chaired by Paula and Hayden Dunbar, as well as the many early sponsors of the event. Their commitment and generosity allowed us to make this a true community event for which all of our faculty tickets were underwritten. The quest for truth, honesty, understanding, compassion, active and meaningful service to our wider community, inclusion, equity, friendship, justice, beauty, and joy that animates our ongoing commitment to Quaker education remains as important today as it has ever been over the past 150 years. We, as members of the wider Brooklyn Friends learning community, all share the centrally important work of preparing our students for lifelong learning, knowing and speaking truth, and acting conscientiously to make a positive and meaningful difference in the world. In friendship,
A Letter from Paula and Hayden Dunbar, Gala Chairs Dear Friends, Welcome to the 150th Anniversary Gala celebration of Brooklyn Friends School. We feel privileged to participate in the stewardship of this very important milestone for BFS. Without the support of all of you, this evening’s celebration would not be possible. While we are here tonight celebrating BFS’ 150th year, this evening is also about ensuring our school can live out its Quaker mission “to find the divine light in all children.” Through your generous support tonight, Brooklyn Friends School is able to bring together a more diverse, robust and vibrant community. One that challenges each other to become better versions of ourselves. It is in this community in which we are dedicated, and are excited to be a part of for the next 150 years. We hope you enjoy this evening’s celebration. With gratitude and in friendship
Paula & Hayden Dunbar
Brooklyn Friends School Mission Statement Guided by the Quaker belief that there is a Divine Light in everyone, Brooklyn Friends School cultivates an intellectually ambitious and diverse community that celebrates each individual’s gifts. We challenge our students to value and embrace difference as they develop critical thinking skills and apply their knowledge and intelligence both in and out of the classroom. In this rich learning environment, we inspire all members of our community to voice their convictions, to discover and pursue their passions, and to seek truth. Our graduates are compassionate, curious, and confident global citizens who let their lives speak in the spirit of leadership and service.
150 Years of Light
by Heidie Joo Burwell
Our mission statement begins with the words, “Guided by the Quaker belief that there is a Divine Light in everyone,” and this light, that of the divine in each person, is an elemental part of our identity as a school. In our sesquicentennial year, we are celebrating this legacy of light in the illustrious history of our school. “Illustrious” is an apt word to describe our history. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word as “notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions.” The archaic definition of the word, according to Merriam, is “shining brightly with light” or “clearly evident”. One important part of our history is the light that our school, and generations of faculty and staff persons, have brought out in each child who has passed through our doors since our founding on September 9, 1867. Bringing out the light in each student imparts in that child a sense that he or she is seen, that she is understood, that he is somebody, that we matter. Quite simply, there is no greater task or more noble a calling. When someone is seen and understood, and nurtured by a community that recognizes the divine within them, they can aspire to anything. They can aspire to make a lasting impact on their families, their communities, and even on the arc of history itself. They are people of vision and the courage of their convictions, who are not only a part of history, but who also make history. They are the changemakers. In the words of the New Testament, they are those with a hope in the unseen. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” It is a hope in the unseen that inspired a German-born engineer named John Roebling to dare to imagine a bridge that would span the East River, connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, and forever altering the history of those two places. It is a hope in the unseen that inspired a man to imagine that stories about the Brooklyn Bridge, about baseball, about jazz, about wartime, among others, are stories worth telling. In the process, he has shaped how we think about our nation’s history, and indeed, has shined a light on our own place within that history. Finally, it is a hope in the unseen that inspired a group of Quaker women to dare to imagine a Friends School at Brooklyn to be located in the Friends Meeting House on Schermerhorn Street that would provide educational opportunities to both boys and girls in the years following the American Civil War, forever shaping the lives of all students who have passed through its doors since 1867. What was once a hope in the unseen is now a vision realized, a vision that shines more brightly with each passing year. Our vision shines more brightly because of our core values, which have been our guiding light, our north star since the beginning. Academic and Personal Excellence. Community. Diversity. Respect. Service. Silence. This is who we were in 1867. This is who we continue to strive to be today and for the next 150 years and beyond. The Brooklyn Friends School at 150, we celebrate your legacy of light.
Tonight’s Program Welcome and Thanks!
Paula Dunbar, Gala Co-Chair and Karen Edelman, Director of Advancement
Recognition of Our Community Seth Phillips ’81, Assistant Head of School
A Discussion with Ken Burns
Dr. Larry Weiss, Head of School and Ken Burns
Message from the Board of Trustees Brooklyn Friends School: 150 Years of Light
Filmed and Edited by Andy Cohen, Narrated by Casaundra Broadus Foote ’01
Raise Your Hand for Financial Aid at Brooklyn Friends The Friends School Blue and Gray Dance Party is back down in the lobby after the program!
Special Guest Ken Burns, Documentarian Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost forty years. Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The Statue of Liberty; Huey Long; Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery; Frank Lloyd Wright; Mark Twain; Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; Jackie Robinson; Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War; and, most recently, The Vietnam War. A December 2002 poll conducted by Real Screen Magazine listed The Civil War as second only to Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North as the “most influential documentary of all time,” and named Ken Burns and Robert Flaherty as the “most influential documentary makers” of all time. In March 2009, David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun said, “… Burns is not only the greatest documentarian of the day, but also the most influential filmmaker period. That includes feature filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. I say that because Burns not only turned millions of persons onto history with his films, he showed us a new way of looking at our collective past and ourselves.” The late historian Stephen Ambrose said of his films, “More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source.” And Wynton Marsalis has called Ken “a master of timing, and of knowing the sweet spot of a story, of how to ask questions to get to the basic human feeling and to draw out the true spirit of a given subject.” Future projects include films on the history of Country Music, Ernest Hemingway, Muhammad Ali, Benjamin Franklin, the American Revolution, the history of Crime and Punishment in America, Lyndon B. Johnson and Civil Rights, Leonardo da Vinci, the history of Reconstruction, and Winston Churchill, among others. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including fifteen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations; and in September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
1867
1907
Brooklyn Friends School opens its doors on September 9, 1867 with an enrollment of 8 boys and 9 girls.
Brooklyn Friends School opens its first Upper School division with 21 students.
1902
Brooklyn Friends School adds a Kindergarten program and enrollment hits 137 students.
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1948
Brooklyn Friends School building and meeting house are threatened with demolition to make way for a new jail.
1945
Brooklyn Friends School enrolls its first African American student in the Kindergarten.
1940
1950
1973
Brooklyn Friends School moves to its current home at 375 Pearl Street, a 7 story building constructed in 1928 for Brooklyn Law School.
1960
1970
1980
1923
Brooklyn Friends School purchases athletics field at Avenue M and McDonald Avenue, Friends School Field.
1937
A new field house is constructed at Friends School Field.
1900
1910
2007
Brooklyn Friends School begins to offer an International Baccalaureate program for Juniors and Seniors.
1920
1930
1940
2015
Brooklyn Friends School opens a new Upper School building at 116 Lawrence Street in MetroTech.
2005
Brooklyn Friends School Upper School moves to 55 Willoughby Street.
1985
Brooklyn Friends School opens its preschool program.
1980
1990
2000
2010
2018
Host Committee
Juliette and Aaron Adams Diana and Kenneth Adams ’78 Olivia and Bruno Annicq Amanda and Andrew Atlas Abraham Axler ’13 Eileen and Geoff Bermingham Wade Black ’92 Anne Fulenwider and Bryan Blatstein Gundula Brattke Heidie Joo Burwell and Steve Burwell Samantha Rippner and John Cantarella Emily Bravo and William Clareman Lupe and Chris Concannon Cindy McBennett and Geoff Cook Ellen Langan and Brendan Dugan Allison and Mark Dunn Karen and Amos Edelman
Sponsors
Margot Grover and Mark Baillie Verina Mathis-Crawford and Errol Crawford Paula and Hayden Dunbar Rachel Klauber-Speiden and Josh Empson Lee Barnum and Erich Grosz Liza and Shaw Joseph
Gala Committee Paula and Hayden Dunbar Gala Co-Chairs Lil Amatore Amanda Atlas Crystal Backus ’96 Curt Beech Phyllis Belkind Candace Belfiore Helene Benedetti
Julie Smore-Ehrlich and Judd Ehrlich Julia Bovey and Mark Elliot Eliza and Jason Factor Megan and Jonathan Glionna Amanda and Jarrett Hoffman David Kleiser Liz Everett Krisberg and Brian Krisberg Jodi Kantor and Ron Lieber Michelle Sartain and David Lynders Clare and Matthieu McAuliffe Buffi and Clayton McDonald Rachel and Ryan O’Connell Lil Amatore and Timothy O’Donnell Sabrina Rodriguez and Stefan Pepe Miranda Magagnini ’78 and Matthew Pilkington Ronit and Matthew Prince
Jyothi Rao and Mischa Retman Lisa Starr and James Roberts Joana and Alex Roehrs Deanna D’Amore and Matthew Rogers Jessica DuLong and Benjamin Rubin Cristina Soto and Scott Sargeant Sabrina Farber and Ellen Shapiro Megan Hertzig-Sharon and Avi Sharon Larisa Layug and Alexander Sion Lauren and David Smetana Paula and Andrew Smiley Hedy Sloane Stempler ’74 Jodi and David Utz Cathy Vignola Ashley and Ryan Williams
Penny Windle and John Kline Sabrina and Matt LeBlanc Vanessa and John McGuire M. Salome Galib and Duane McLaughlin Sarah Marchal Murray and Stephen Murray Julia and Braden Neff New York University
Ambereen Sleemi and Sean O’Neal BB and Judson Reis Robyn Tarnofsky and Antony Ryan Jolie Curtsinger Schwartz and Gabriel Schwartz Jo Linder and Sam Solish ’75 Carol Bove and Gordon Terry
Emily Cowles Karen Edelman M. Salomé Galib Aimee Good Ron Haskins Heidie Joo Burwell Liza Joseph Minako Koyama Sandy Maltzman
Ronit Prince Maria Ray Guido Juanita Scarlett Donnie Smith Lekeia Varlack Judge ’99 Frances Webster Ashley Williams
BFS at 150 Steering Committee Abraham Axler ’13 Crystal Backus ’96 Katie Bednark Casaundra Broadus Foote ’01 Karim Camara ’88 Freddi Brown Carter ’73 Andy Cohen Jackie Condie Emily Cowles Karen Edelman Cheryl Foote
M. Salomé Galib David Gardella Koon Wah Gee ’88 Marna Herrity Megan Hertzig-Sharon Terry Kung Joan Martin Romi McVey ’93 Martin Moore Brad Mulder ’83 Martin Norregaard
Dena Douglas Patterson ’83 Susan Price ’86 Raymi Ramseur Donnie Smith Eisa Ulen-Richardson Lekeia Varlack Judge ’99 Alap Vora ’03 Benjamin Warnke Dr. Larry Weiss, Head of School
Board of Trustees Steven Burwell, Co-Chair Edward Oliver, Co-Chair M. Salomé Galib Lakisha Grant Ben Horner Audrey Jaynes ’03 Macon Jessop Kamauru Johnson Pamela Kiernan William Morris Brad Mulder ’83
PAT Executive Committee
Eisa Ulen Richardson, Co-President Megan Hertzig-Sharon, Co-President Je-Won Hwang, Executive Vice-President Amanda Atlas, Treasurer Susan Ferugio, Secretary Avani Kadakia, Preschool Vice-President Olivia Annicq, Preschool Vice-President Orelia Merchant Camara, Lower School Vice-President Carrie Craig, Lower School Vice-President Raymi Ramseur, Middle School Vice-President Heidie Joo Burwell, Middle School Vice-President Ruth A. McQuiggan, Upper School Vice-President Monifa Bandele, Upper School Vice-President Adrienne Almeida Lil Amatore Sarah Barrett Nina Broeer Alice Chung Emily Cowles Giovanna Currlin Deanna D’Amore Ellen Dugan Paula Dunbar Karen Edelman Maiken Erstad
Acknowledgements Kenneth Alston Beatrice Bartolotta Helene Benedetti Emphasis Design Casaundra Broadus Foote ’01 Ken Burns Andy Cohen Director of Media Services Company20 Lil Amatore Tatiana Kneer Khalif Miller Jaclyn Rini
Gustav Peebles Catherine Ramey Adam Rashid ’94 Judson Reis Margaret Trissel Barbara von Salis ’07 Willie Mae Watkins Larry Weiss, Ex-Officio Karen Edelman, Ex-Officio David Kleiser, Ex-Officio
M. Salomé Galib Jess Grace Jeremy Hawkins Audrey Jaynes Rachel Klauber-Speiden Natania Kremer Jennifer Kupinse Joan Martin Matt and Clare McAuliffe Vanessa McGuire Roland Merchant Lisa Miller Jessica Millstone Monica Miranda Brad Mulder Julia Murphy Danae Oratowski Jeff Panzo Sharon Reid Juanita Scarlett Karen Senecal-Davis Lisa Stephenson Vonetta Storbakken Marcia Thurmond
James Weir Florist Robert Johnson ’74 Jonsar Studios Peter Mackie Piper Macleod Joshua Max Network Financial Printing Elvira Sullivan Class 4B
Congratulations on 150 Years of Friends! Austin & Co. is proud to support Brooklyn Friends School continue to inspire minds & hearts. As an employee-owned agent and consultant with a niche focus in independent schools, we strongly believe in your mission. We are honored to be a part of your 150 year celebration.
Business Insurance
Employee Benefits
HR Consulting
Benefits/HR Technology
{ AUSTIN -CO.COM }
Payroll Services
New York University congratulates
Brooklyn Friends School on 150 years of cultivating an intellectually rigorous, diverse community that prepares students to become compassionate, confident citizens.
Congratulations,
Brooklyn Friends School! 150 years of education and 43 years with NYSAIS!
Congratulations to the Brooklyn Friends School community on 150 years of excellence.
From your colleagues and friends at The Nightingale−Bamford School.
Congratulations BFS on 150 years of inspiration and education. Joe Carrara and all of us at ISI Integrated Supply Inc.
Congratulations to Brooklyn Friends School on its 150 years -from the Schwartz Family
Slàinte, BFS! Cheers to another great 150 years! - Braden, Julia, Will ’30 and Patrick
The Crawford Family (Verina, Errol and Mariel ’32) extend best wishes to Brooklyn Friends School in support of the 150th year anniversary. You are doing great work to support our children!!
To the next 150 years; may we continue growing as a community enabling each of our lights to shine brighter. In Friendship & gratitude to those who’ve come before us, Eloise ’31, Sarah, & Stephen
THANK YOU to all the outstanding Brooklyn Friends teachers and staff for all you do! Your commitment, dedication and excellence are an inspiration. Vanessa and John McGuire and family
150 years is just the beginning of your legacy of light. May this evening be a celebration of the vision, hearts, and people that sustain Brooklyn Friends. With gratitude from Rachel & Josh
We are so thankful for all the great work the Brooklyn Friends School faculty and staff do every day. We wish the entire community a big congratulations on this 150th year anniversary! Gordon Terry and Carol Bove
Congratulations to BFS on 150 years. -Mark Baillie and Margot Grover
Our family is proud and honored to have spent 11 of the 150 years at Brooklyn Friends School. We look forward to many more! In Friendship and with our gratitude to the school’s faculty and staff, M. Salomé Galib and Duane, Salma ’20, Yamila ’22 and Santiago ’24 McLaughlin
The Friends School Blue and Gray Every college son and daughter sings the praises loud and clear Of his own dear alma mater, and proclaims with rousing cheer That he’s loyal to her colors; so we in every way Show our love and our devotion to the Friends School Blue and Gray. Through the swamps of Latin grammar or up Mathematics’ height, Is a long, long road to travel though the goal is in our sight. But from kindergarten circle until graduation day, Is a gay and friendly pathway ’neath the Friends School Blue and Gray. Then no matter where we wander, when our Friends School days are through, We will bear aloft the banner and to our school be true. For she’s taught us many lessons through our work and through our play; May we bring both praise and honor to the Friends School Blue and Gray.
For many years, students at BFS have been singing the wonderful song Simple Gifts as the official school song of BFS. Introduced in the 1970s or 1980s during a choir concert, the Shaker dance song Simple Gifts was quickly adopted as our school’s much-beloved song. There are, in fact, two earlier school songs which were written for BFS many years ago. As with Simple Gifts, these songs were learned by all BFS students, and sung at school events. The earliest is The Friends School Blue and Gray, the author remains unknown at this time, and it may have been called The White and Gray before our school colors were changed to blue and gray during the 1930s.
Congratulations to Brooklyn Friends School on celebrating 150 Years! Thanks to the leadership of Dr. Larry Weiss and the Board of Trustees, the future shines brighter for BFS through the continued stewardship of the alumni, faculty, stadd and the students. Happy Sesquicentennial!
On September 9th, the Friends School at Brooklyn opened in three rooms in the basement of the Brooklyn Meeting House on Schermerhorn Street. It had a staff of one: Mary Haviland, who was appointed as “teacher� at a salary of $400 a year, assuming the Head of School title the following year. Haviland, a Quaker, was twenty-three years old and lived nearby on Joralemon Street. Her initial student body was made up of eight boys and nine girls. By the end of the first school year, there were forty-eight students enrolled.