History Being Written Now

By Maurício Oliveira Photos: Chapel Archive

A PUBLICATION ANXIOUSLY ANTICIPATED BY THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY AT THE END OF EACH ACADEMIC YEAR, THE CHAPEL YEARBOOK IS A PRECIOUS RECORD FOR POSTERITY

History being written in yearly chapters. This is a good definition for the Yearbook, a historical record produced by Chapel since 1970, which aims to memorialize the students’ journey through the institution, as well as preserve a record of their own growth. Today, with the printing of 840 copies, every student and teacher receives a copy of the Yearbook.

“I have kept my Yearbook collection dearly ever since I arrived at Chapel, when I was very young. If it is already something I hold dear to me now, I imagine that in the future it will be even more so,” said Hanna Joo, 17. She was a member of the Yearbook Club that produced the 2022 edition, under the coordination of Fernanda Caires, Chapel’s head librarian and editorial assistant.

Beyond the excitement and the opportunity to be part of a team responsible for such a traditional and important publication to the Chapel community, Hanna has gained experience related to her anticipated career in graphic design. “I learned a lot during the whole process. I took part in the many stages, including the taking of photos, which I found the most exciting,” said Hanna.

Her long-standing and intimate relationship with Chapel helped her design the images which illustrate the range of topics included in the Yearbook, especially because capturing the day-to-day moments of Chapel life is a specialty of hers. “People who have followed the steps of production hold high hopes for the coming of the new Yearbook,” added Hanna.

Leonardo Glaser, 16, was another member of this year’s eight-student team. “I’ve always found that receiving the Yearbook is one of the best parts of the year,” he said. “Now, as the mission has been accomplished, my main takeaway is that it is a lot of work. There are so many details, when we simply see the final product we don’t imagine the project’s immensity.”

Documentary Nature

One of the challenges in the process, Leonardo said, is to find an ideal balance between giving the team creative space and maintaining certain parameters and references inherited from previous editions.

“There is room for innovation, but they need to be well measured concerning the two basic functions of this publication: celebration and record,” said Ms. Caires, who has overseen the publication of the Yearbook since 2010. An example of a feature that has been recently added to the Yearbook is the Timeline, a summary of the main events that take place during a July-to-June school year.

Among the characteristics that have never changed since the first edition, however, is the pivotal role played by students in the Yearbook’s planning and publication.

After each edition of the Yearbook is released in early June, the planning for the next year’s edition picks up in August, with new students enrolled in the club. Planning begins with team members bouncing around ideas for the next edition’s theme, the thread from which the eight members will weave the upcoming year’s story.

Working with Ms. Caires, the team establishes a schedule and organizes tasks. Little by little, week by week, the Yearbook evolves as the publication deadline approaches. It is at that

ONE OF THE MAIN VALUES OF THE YEARBOOK, SINCE THE FIRST EDITION, IS PRECISELY THE DIRECT PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS IN ITS PLANNING AND EXECUTION

moment that the final product makes its way to the printers. Ms. Caires is committed to ensuring the Yearbook maintains its documentary role in a hard copy – rather than a digital – format. “It will continue to exist as a physical publication, so that it should rest on a shelf in order to be perused, both now and after 10, 20, or 30 years,” said Ms. Caires.

A Gift to the Community

Before Ms. Caires took on the Yearbook, the faculty advisor was Kyoko Shimokomaki, who taught English at Chapel from 1991 to 2007. She introduced innovations such as the ‘fun pictures’ section, which includes highlights captured over the year, as well as a section for parents to write messages to the Seniors. Ms. Shimokomaki also was responsible for the Yearbook being gifted to every student.

Under Ms. Shimokomaki, the process of putting together the Yearbook was more complex than it is today, primarily because the team took pictures using film (analogue versus today’s digital photography). The film had to be developed and printed by the Oblates’ printers in the United States. From 1995 onwards it became possible to do the printing in Brazil, however, which saved time and improved the logistics.

A Tribute to the Seniors

One of the most beloved sections of the Yearbook is the one dedicated to the Seniors. The students who are about to graduate all get their own page to record their own memories and thank yous. This section also has pages devoted to photos and memories of their school journey, messages from their relatives, and the famous Favorites.

Previously, the Seniors had the freedom to design their own layout for text and images on their individual pages. With the evolving design process, however, the need for a standard layout became necessary. “The idea still is that each senior feels like the page is actually their own, but this is about an official Chapel publication,” said Ms. Caires. “We have a conversation at the beginning of the process with every new graduating class, so that the Seniors can learn how the production of an institutional publication works, from visual identity to content alignment with the school’s Mission and Vision,” she added.

The Seniors now send their texts in a standardized format with a predetermined number of photos. In addition, there is a common layout for the year group. The texts are revised by Ms. Caires and a team of teachers, and then the Yearbook Club members insert the text and photos into the pages that have already been approved. They then send the edited version to each Senior for final verification and approval.

Historic Moments

To leaf through the collection of Yearbooks in Chapel School’s libraries offers the reader many reminiscences. As well as student profiles, the Chapel Yearbooks also showcase the various activities performed throughout the year such as theatrical productions and sports events. Over the years, one can notice the diverse range of clubs that have come and gone. These include the Chess Club, Debate Club, Math Club, Photography Club, and many others. One perennial club at Chapel is the Student Body Council, or StuCo, for short.

Another tradition, that has remained since those early years is that of the Favorites - the 12th graders elect each other to win diverse categories of accolades, many of which are made and refashioned throughout the years, such as “most trustworthy”, “most athletic”, “best mood”, “most collaborative”, “most artistic” and even “most stubborn.”

The Yearbook is also a record of many defining moments for the Chapel community, such as the inauguration of the library documented in the 1973 edition. Also in that year, the Yearbook featured color photography for the first time. Furthermore, events taking place outside the Chapel community have also been reflected in the Yearbook. The theme of 1985 was “Rock in Chapel”, intended to coincide with the firstever Rock in Rio festival that year. Also included in this 1985 edition was a section entitled “Preparing students of the future”, which showcased students using the first computers to be used in the classroom.

In short, as time passes by, students who have been at Chapel since their earliest school days can watch themselves grow older in the pages of the Chapel Yearbooks, watch as they first become adolescents and then graduates ready to take on the world. One thing is certain – at the end of each school year, the Yearbook acts as a ‘time capsule’ for the years and decades to come, capturing forever the most important moments at Chapel shared by students, their families, teachers, and staff.

TIME TRAVEL

Because they are graduating from Chapel, the Seniors are always highlighted in the Yearbook. Below you can read about some of our graduates and what they are up to now.

1975

ANDREA HUGGARDCAINE RETI

Arenowned people management consultant based in São Paulo, Andrea studied at Chapel between 1971 and 1975. Although she noted in her Senior write up that her aim was to be an architect, she ended up studying business administration at Mackenzie University. “I can say that I did exercise architecture as an amateur throughout my life. My house is always going through renovations,” she said. With Irish and Russian ancestry on her father’s side and Spanish and Italian on her mother’s, Andrea was born in Argentina and came to Brazil when she was four years old, because her father had been transferred here by the multinational which he was working for at the time. Her mastery of English was essential for her first steps into professional life – first at Hilton Hotels & Resorts and later at Citibank, where she began as a trainee and worked for 10 years. “Chapel prepared me for many things. One of them was to not fear public speaking and to present my ideas and to meet naturally with anyone that may come my way,” she said. Yearbook

1977

RAYMOND PROOST

ABelgian born in South Africa, Raymond studied at Chapel between 1974 and 1977. During the next decade he went back to Belgium where he began flying ultralight aircraft. In time, he became a flight instructor, later specializing in serving people with disabilities, who require the use of modified controls. In order to better assist his clients, Raymond dedicated himself to learning all the mechanics of the aircraft to perform the necessary adaptations and maintenance. Passionate about his chosen activity, Raymond now works as an instructor at a flight training school in Salisbury, England. He says that some of the friendships that have accompanied him throughout his life were built at Chapel. “The school allowed me to get to know various nationalities and cultures,” he said. “That is the greatest attribute I carry to this day from those years.” Yearbook

1988

JACOPO RIGHINI

The Italian moved to Brazil as a child because his father had been appointed regional director of Levi Strauss & Co. He studied for 11 years at Chapel and, after graduating in 1988, returned to Italy to study jurisprudence. He worked for a while as a financial adviser, but was eventually hired by the Stefano Ricci fashion house, where he made his career. Today he coordinates the production of sophisticated leather goods such as wallets, purses, and backpacks. “The years in Brazil were extremely happy. I had fun at Chapel with the many friends I had and still have,” he said. “The opportunity to grow in an international and truly multicultural environment was enriching.” Jacopo’s Yearbook page records the unusual nickname “Electric Jaca [Jackfruit].” “Jaca was the shortened version of my name and the word ‘electric’ was added because I was very active and always had sharp responses,” he explained. Yearbook

2000

CHRISTINA ROSTWOROWSKI DA COSTA

Defining herself professionally as a “bridge builder”, she set up the social innovation department of Red Bull in Brazil and just last year founded the consulting company Ligeia. The company has given her a way to merge and exercise her diversified interests, which include history – a field in which she got a master’s degree from the University of São Paulo – and the use of her voice. A Pink Floyd fan since her school days (as recorded in her Yearbook with the inscription “Pink Floyd is life!”), she has already been the vocalist in a band. She also narrates the English version of the story of women’s soccer at the Museu do Futebol in São Paulo. Christina studied at Chapel from 1987 to 2000, her time overlapping with that of her grandmother Cecília who arrived from Poland in 1949 and went to work at the newly-founded school. A part of the Chapel community for 30 years, Cecília worked as a secretary, librarian and nursing assistant. Yearbook

2002

JESSICA KHERLAKIAN

With Armenian ancestry on her father’s side and Italian on her mother’s, Jessica spent all her school years at Chapel. “It was the best decision my parents ever made. I feel very blessed to have been lucky enough to study at Chapel for 15 years,” she said. “The school prepared me to celebrate different cultures, work hard, and always try my best.” Fulfilling her goal “to see the world,” Jessica left for Milan after graduating. There she studied visual arts, with a semester abroad in New York. She returned to São Paulo after three years and started working in art galleries. During a trip through Asia, she met her husband and eventually moved to Hong Kong, where she has lived for almost five years. After working as an executive officer for the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, she opened her own brand consultancy and has also launched a line of housewares, another of her passions. Yearbook

2012

FILIPPO CALZERONI

Filippo lives in London, where he works at Seedrs, a startup accelerator. Born in Milan, he lived in Boston for three years before arriving in Brazil, where he went through Chapel’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program between 2011 and 2012. “I remember well the excitement of living in an environment so different from the United States and Europe, the discovery of a wonderful country and all the people who welcomed me,” he said. “I learned in Brazil to be more open-minded, independent, adaptable and kind, skills that strongly define me until now,” he added. The Latin proverb that he added to his Senior write up page – Exemplo plus quam ratione vivimus (We live more by example than by reason) – remains a life motto. “Many of my achievements have only occurred because someone took the time to inspire and guide me. My teachers at Chapel are certainly an important part of that,” he emphasized. Yearbook

CHAPEL YEARBOOK 2022 VOLUME LII Lights, Camera, Trojans!