Spark - Spring 2023

SPARK

THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI, PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF COLLEGIATE SCHOOL

THE BRIDGES WE CROSS THE COMPASS THAT GUIDES US

A magazine at a school as spirited as Collegiate provides a glimpse of the people and stories that make this such a vibrant, exciting place to learn and grow. In this issue of the Spark, you’ll notice a subtle redesign. We have opened up the pages to give more space to thoughtful, entertaining stories that are both pleasurable to read and beautiful to look at. In making these changes, we aimed at greater elegance and clarity, while keeping the essential character of the magazine the same. We very much hope you like the result.

ON LISTENING INTENTLY

Dear Collegiate School,

This fall, I heard that an Upper Schooler disagreed with a particular decision I had recently made. To his credit, he was willing to meet with me and share his specific concerns. He did so clearly and respectfully, and we have now had several conversations — wide-ranging conversations — about school issues, the current political climate and many other topics. As I learn and grow from these conversations, I am reminded that I must find ways to spend more time with our students. They live the Collegiate experience every day and have very thoughtful and helpful perspectives on how we might make their time with us even more meaningful and enriching.

These conversations also remind me of always striving to listen as intently as possible. There are few things more important or more difficult than listening fully and with purpose. I listen better some days than others, and I believe that real listening requires a great deal of discipline. When Abraham Lincoln addressed Congress on Dec. 1, 1862, about the Emancipation Proclamation to take effect on Jan. 1, 1862, he said this:

“As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve.”

I love the word “disenthrall,” though it is not used much today. It means to “liberate” or “to free from bondage.” In Lincoln’s 1862 message to Congress, he is telling his fellow citizens that they must disenthrall themselves from the then limiting and narrow conceptions of community and inclusion in order to save the nation and live into its transcendent founding principles. On a more personal level, to listen fully to one another — to put ourselves truly in the shoes of another — we must disenthrall ourselves, step outside ourselves, to grasp as fully as possible the true perspective of the person to whom we are listening.

Perhaps that ability to “disenthrall ourselves” is more important than ever! The student who maturely engaged me about his disappointment with one of my decisions helped me see how disenthralling one’s self as we listen is critical to establishing better understanding and more effective communication.

Sincerely,

Billy Peebles Interim Head of School

COLLEGIATE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION

William S. Peebles IV, Interim Head of School

Courtney Martin, Associate Head of School

Sarah Abubaker, Director of Strategic Communications

Sara Boisvert, Director of Powell Institute for Responsible Citizenship

Mike Boyd, Director of the Arts

Erica Coffey, Director of Inclusion and Global Engagement

Louis Fierro II, Director of Information Technology

Patrick E. Loach, Head of Upper School

Deborah I. Miller, Head of Lower School

Phyllis Palmiero, Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer

Scott Smith, Director of Admission and Enrollment Management

Andrew Stanley, Athletic Director

Tung Trinh, Head of Middle School

Kristen O. Williams, Chief Development Officer

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2022-23

Carter M. Reid P ’16 ’18, Chair of the Board

W. Hildebrandt Surgner Jr. P ’11 ’14 ’17 ’19, Vice Chair of the Board

John W. Martin ’78 P ’10 ’11, Immediate Past Chair of the Board

William S. Peebles IV, Interim Head of School

Neelan A. Markel ’96 P ’27 ’30, Secretary

Karen Berson P ’23 ’25 ’29**

Ellen T. Bonbright ’86 P ’24 ’26

Callie Lacy Brackett ’95 P ’22 ’24

Mason T. Chapman ’84 P ’22

Mayme Donohue ’03

Eucharia N. Jackson P ’17 ’19

Peter E. Mahoney, Sr. P ’15 ’19 ’26 ’26

Malcolm S. McDonald P ’87 ’88

Morenike K. Miles P ’24 ’25

Meera Pahuja ’97 P ’30 ’32 ’34

* Trustee Emeriti

** Parents’ Association President

*** Alumni Association President

J. Cheairs Porter Jr. P ’27 ’29 ’32

John H. Rivers Jr. P ’25 ’28

Kenneth P. Ruscio P ’08

Danielle D. Scott P ’25 ’25

Julious P. Smith III ’86 P ’20 ’22 ’25

L. Mark Stepanian ’89 P ’16 ’18 ’21 ’23

Wallace Stettinius P ’77 ’79 ’84*

Jasmine Turner Perry ’11***

R. Gregory Williams ’69 P ’01 ’04*

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD 2022-23

Jasmine Turner Perry ’11, President

Peyton Jenkins ’00, VP/President Elect

Sarah Paxton ’84 P ’19, Past President

Ginny Hofheimer ’96 P ’27 ’29, Recording Secretary

Beth Watlington Marchant ’72 P ’98 ’03 GP ’35, Corresponding Secretary

Stuart Farrell ’03 and Elizabeth Dolan Wright ’01, Annual Fund Co-Chairs

Patricia Hobson Hunter ’80 P ’10 ’15 and Sagle Jones Purcell ’94 P ’26 ’28 ’30, Stewardship Chairs

Graham Mandl ’08, Amrik Sahni ’06 and Lauren Siff ’02 P ’32 ’34, Events Committee Chairs

Lauren Cricchi ’06 and Luke Walker ’12, Alumni/Student Connection Committee

FIRST TERM

Muffy Greenbaum ’04 P ’30 ’32

Devon Kelley ’05

Toby Long ’98 P ’33 ’35

Lee Moreau ’95

Rishi Pahjua ’04

Chris Pearson ’02

Tyler Negus Snidow ’80

Chas Thalhimer ’97

Bo Vaughan ’97 P ’31 ’32

SECOND TERM

Ben Adamson ’98 P ’33 ’35

Brink Brinkley ’76 P ’11 ’13 ’17

Wortie Ferrell ’88 P ’24 ’27 ’31

Dominique Meeks Gombe ’09

Virginia Harris ’16

Helen Roddey ’16

Elizabeth Arnold Weiss ’86

Harry Wilson ’01

103 North Mooreland Road/Richmond, VA 23229

804.740.7077 / Fax: 804.741.9797

Collegiate School admits qualified students and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admissions, scholarships and loans, and its educational, athletic and other programs.

Sarah Abubaker

Director of Strategic Communications

Jack McCarthy

Writer/Editor

Anne Gray Siebert ’97

Director of Alumni Engagement

James Dickinson

Creative Manager

Weldon Bradshaw

Brandon Fox ’82

Louise Ingold

Ellie Lynch

Contributors

Maggie Bowman ’23

Keller Craig

Taylor Dabney

Ash Daniel

Jimmy Dickinson

Jay Paul

Bill Ruhl

Photography

Think (think804.com)

Design

Thanks to all parents, students, alums and friends who generously share their information, photographs and archives. Please note that Spark magazine is posted on the School’s website and may be available on other online platforms accessible through Internet search engines.

Spark is published by Collegiate School. We welcome letters from readers, though we may not have room to publish them all. Submissions may be edited for publication. Photographs deemed unsuitable in quality by Spark’s designers may not be included. We make every effort to return photographs shared with us – please send high-resolution (300dpi) digital images whenever possible (to: spark@collegiate-va.org).

Class Notes and Photographs

Please send your news and photographs, and we will use them in an upcoming issue. Digital images must be high resolution (min. 300dpi).

Address Spark Editor Collegiate School / Communications Office

103 North Mooreland Road, Richmond, VA 23229

Email spark@collegiate-va.org

Visit our website at www.collegiate-va.org

Phone

Spark: 804.754.0869 / Alumni Office: 804.741.9757

On Campus

Arts

Athletics

Features

As Collegiate students look toward the future, they reflect on the programs that have prepared them for what’s next.

A compass for the future, the 2022 Strategic Plan will envision a strategic direction for Collegiate.

Alumni News

Scott Crater ’87 Isn’t Giving Up On Sanibel . .

Mary Margaret Chappell ’86 Shares Her Meals .

Class Notes

A Teacher’s Take

We hear from Middle School French Teacher Monica Melton

ON CAMPUS

Global Perspectives, Innovative Solutions

Perspective — that particular elucidating insight that brings us all closer together — is an important aspect of growth. Perspective involves attention and awareness and compassion, and it’s what opens us up to the world.

Collegiate’s 12th annual International Emerging Leaders Conference (IELC), a global event held on campus that brings Collegiate students and their peers from around the world together for collaboration and connection, has a focus grounded in that beneficial practice of broadening perspectives for the greater good.

Throughout the immersive weeklong conference, 20 international students from Ghana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Morocco came together with seven Seniors at Collegiate to solve environmental challenges facing each of their countries. Collegiate Seniors are involved in the conference as part of their IELC Senior Capstone class.

Rigorous and engaging, IELC creates a dynamic approach to learning about — and changing — the world.

“This program brings to life classroom learning in a real world context,” says Rhiannon Boyd, Director of JK-12 Capstones. “It’s guided by our commitment to responsible citizenship, which empowers engaged and contributing citizens by nurturing compassion, creativity and purpose.”

By removing the boundaries of campuses and countries to focus on the future of the world, students recognize that citizenship is not limited to one provincial locality. “The global perspective gives students a better understanding of their world,” says Sandra Olavarrieta, the visiting faculty member from Collegiate’s partner school in Mexico. “Often, we think of our issues as local issues that we solve locally. But then we realize that all of us share the same air, the same land, the same

trees. We share an environment. This week helps students open their horizons, showing them that collaboration with other countries can help solve our problems.”

Those problems are severe and urgent, and they affect us all. Using the design thinking process, groups worked to come up with solutions to environmental issues such as imagining ways to reduce the impact of recurring drought in Italy and discovering solutions to wildfires in Kazakhstan. To help inform their thinking, students heard from various speakers and visited local universities. The deep bonds established between them compelled more discoveries. Students learned that by thinking together as a collective group, the future brightens.

“When you are able to connect with everyone, and you get to know them on a more personal level, it makes it easier to work together with everyone in the conference,” says Angelica Joseph, a student from the Ghana International School. “That’s added to the educational aspect. You’re learning with people that you’ve grown to love, and

Collegiate School welcomed 20 high school students from five countries in October for the annual International Emerging Leaders Conference.

that makes it all the more interesting, because then you begin thinking about solutions that are going to help people, and suddenly everything is human-centered.”

As students discussed the possibilities of how to envision their world differently, they were encouraged to consider how institutions can be both economically and environmentally sustainable and how local citizens are affected by their surroundings. The challenge of incorporating various perspectives in order to attain a solution often promotes opportunities for students to grow as collaborators and critical thinkers.

“We’re working together and discovering things about ourselves and about our classmates,” says Lorenzo Bracciali, a student from Italy. “We’re doing deep explorations into relationships and making discoveries. And I think that’s helping us grow as both students and people.”

The international students and teachers also experience life at an American school and become part of our community. Delegates spent time with the JK-12 Collegiate students, shared aspects of their cultures and traveled to both Washington, D.C. and around the city of Richmond. For visiting faculty, observing Collegiate’s classroom settings often proves to be fruitful.

“As a teacher, I feel as though I’m learning just as much as the students,” says Amina Erreda, a teacher from George Washington Academy in Morocco. “We also use design thinking in our classrooms, but seeing how it’s done here and how Mrs. Boyd has approached the workshop has been a professional development opportunity. I’m already thinking of taking these lessons and implementing them in my classrooms.”

Some students felt that, because of IELC, their understanding of what is possible in the world instantly expanded. The relationships formed during IELC deepened their ties to the world and, through those connections, the students evolved. “Getting together with diverse cultures and perspectives to solve issues that are challenging countries everywhere has been amazing,” says Talbot Spraker ’23, a Collegiate student. “Having that level of differing perspectives has been enlightening, and that’s shown me another way to approach global problems. This has probably been the most life changing thing that I’ve ever done at Collegiate.”

IELC students enjoyed a canal cruise along the Kanawha Canal in downtown Richmond. Students began their ideation phase work at the Shift Retail Lab, an initiative of VCU’s da Vinci Center.

THE PURSUIT OF DISPUTE

Although new, Collegiate’s Speech and Debate team is mighty. The team, established last year, competed in November against 22 other schools and placed second overall in the speech category and took home many other individual awards.

SMASHING PUMPKINS

A science project involving pumpkin planets designed by 6th Graders fell under attack by a malevolent force — gravity — and the 8th Graders were their only hope against its destructive pull. After 8th Graders learned about gravity, free-fall, air resistance and motion, they had to put their knowledge to the test as they worked to save the pumpkins from a 50 ft. drop from the top of the Stephen P. Adamson, Jr. ’92 Ropes Course. They spent several weeks designing and testing different prototypes to best catch the pumpkins as they fell. After the final drops, they began analyzing video and accelerometer data to determine the merits and weaknesses of their design to improve their engineering process moving forward.

SUSTAINABILITY AT COLLEGIATE AND BEYOND

This fall, 1st Grade students visited our partners at Shalom Farms to learn about the fall harvest, sustainability and the important role agriculture plays in a community. While at the farm, our students harvested 1,800 pounds of sweet potatoes, which were then donated to Richmond-area residents. They also had the opportunity to sample some fresh herbs, Japanese turnips, sweet peppers and kale.

RUNNING WITH PURPOSE

Maci Myers ’26 and Charlotte Callahan ’26 arrived at the Jim Hickey Track before sunrise, the blue pre-dawn light just touching the trees around them. At five in the morning, the campus was still, and then, breaking the stillness, they began to run. The air brightened as they moved along the hard turf. One mile at a time, with the help of more than 30 other Collegiate runners, they were jogging towards the goal of 100 miles by sundown.

Their intention for running was greater than simply reaching a lofty mile marker, though. The event, organized by Maci and Charlotte, two runners on the JV Cross Country team, was meant to encourage the Collegiate community to run a 100-mile relay to provide 100 running shoes for people in the

Richmond area. Alone, 100 miles in one day is unimaginable; with school-wide support, everyone running what they can, the unimaginable becomes attainable.

“I feel like this event really embodies what our community is all about,” Charlotte says. “Often, you can’t build something incredible on your own. You need help, and so having all these people come out and run with us and participate in this relay shows how much everyone cares and supports one another.”

The rules of the relay dictate that one person must be running on the track at all times. After one mile is completed, another runner may step up to continue the race. Beside the track, a pile of lightly used running shoes accumulated throughout the race, which were then

donated to Shood, a non-profit Maci and Charlotte discovered that collects men’s and women’s used athletic shoes and distributes them to those who are homeless or living in poverty in Richmond. The relay promotes the idea of putting out your best effort and giving it to the next person. All of us, together, make each other better.

“The race helps a lot of people and makes the world a better place,” says Riggs Riva ’30, a 5th Grader that ran a mile during Rives Fleming’s math class. “And doing good for others works like a chain reaction, because giving back to even just one person helps other people. I also don’t think many people realize how essential shoes are, and so raising awareness for that makes me feel good.”

Fleming, the Head Coach of the JV Cross Country team, gives all the credit for putting on the event to his runners. They communicated with the School to pick an appropriate time for the event, they collaborated with Shood and they spread the

word to the community. The process of organizing a large-scale fundraiser gave them valuable insight into how systems work. “To organize something that supports the Richmond community, and to have the encouragement of Collegiate, is really cool,” Charlotte says. “I feel really grateful to be able to do something like this as a student.”

After 12 hours and 29 minutes, the sky a boiling orange as the sun fell, the final mile was completed. The 100 miles are a gift, then, donated humbly, that keeps on giving, not just for the recipient but for the runners as well. “Collegiate has always instilled in us what it means not only to be part of the School community but what it means to be part of a larger community,” says Macy Boyer ’26, another member of the JV Cross Country team that participated in the 100-mile relay. “Running this relay is kind of representative of our community in that way: you run so that you can help someone else.”

The Collegiate community ran a 100-mile relay to provide shoes for people in Richmond.

COLLEGIATE CELEBRATES

TWO TIME-HONORED TRADITIONS

The holidays are marked by traditions. Whether that means watching Beetlejuice on an endless loop around Halloween or playing touch football with your neighbors during Thanksgiving, these annual events help cultivate the spirit of a moment. Brunch and the Feast of Juul, two special Collegiate events that vivify the character of the School during the holidays, work in that same way. During Collegiate’s annual Feast of Juul, Senior boys and faculty bonded over a festive dinner, light-hearted roasts and laughter. And the warmth of the holidays was felt in the Despicable Me-themed songs and choreographed dances performed by Senior girls during Brunch 2022.

CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT

Collegiate Chinese language students ushered in the Year of the Rabbit at the annual Chinese New Year celebration in January. Students performed songs, dances and martial arts demonstrations integral to Chinese culture. The program gives students an opportunity to showcase their language and cultural learning and prepares them to be global citizens of the world.

GEARING UP

Following the triumphs of the 2022 season, Torch 5804 is looking to build off that momentum.

A quiet, collaborative energy fills room 105 in the Upper School North Science building. A large 3-D printer sits in the corner of the room, right next to a pair of brightly lit computers. Wooden prototypes of a robot’s claw pile up on one of the several tables. Gears and tools spill out of shelves. Enthusiasm abounds as students in Torch 5804, Collegiate School’s FIRST Robotics team, begin preparing for the competition season ahead.

“These initial stages of developing our robot are really exciting,” Finian Richardson ’23 says. “It’s an iterative process. We see what works for a robot and we see what doesn’t. I think our team works really well through trial and error. That process of figuring out our robot is where the fun is.”

In the spring of 2022, Torch 5804 came in third place in the FIRST Robotics World Championship, a prestigious international competition, and brought home an award for creativity. This year, the team is hoping to build off that momentum.

“After last year, we have a lot of interest in the program,” says Ava Kelleher ’25, who is beginning her second year on the team. “So far, it’s been a lot of fun to mentor and work with the younger students eager to learn about robotics. You can see them learning. I mean, for example, when I was in 8th Grade, I had no idea how to use an electric drill, and now I’m teaching Middle Schoolers how to use one.”

Beginning in early January, when the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) revealed the theme and rules for the 2023 international competition, Torch 5804 spends countless hours and weekends in the robotics lab as a team. They write code. They discuss competition strategy. They conduct data research for both their own robot and the machines of future competitors.

This year, alliances will compete to collect cubes and cones and store them in particular areas of the arena. The robots are designed to move deftly about the large play-

ing field, denying competing teams the ability to collect the game pieces while trying to scoop up pieces in their own robot’s electric maw. The robots take months to build, and students learn a number of engineering and leadership skills in the process.

In the early stages of the robot’s construction, team members work on stress mapping to anticipate potential disastrous breaks during competitions. That might sound severe, but working through a robot’s flaws is a crucial component of its development. One of the most important functions of the robot is its ability to extend and contract its arm, allowing it to pick up and discard game pieces. The team is focusing on how to build that arm so it doesn’t collapse. “When we build, we’re thinking about issues that we wouldn’t want to happen in competition,” William Tidey ’23 says. “That something will break is almost a given, but thinking about how to solve those issues will help us.”

Grayson Richmond ’17, a project engineer at Lockheed Martin Rotary & Mission Systems who competed with Torch 5804

during his time at Collegiate, now serves on the team as an advisor, offering his expertise and ideas. As an engineer working on F-16 aircrafts, Richmond helps guide the team’s structural design of the robot. “I try to help introduce various types of structural design engineering to students,” he says. “And, as an alumni, seeing the growth of the whole Torch program has been incredible. The technical understanding students have now is really advanced. Watching students that are strong coders collaborate with other students that are stronger with actually building the robot is something special.”

The mentor-based atmosphere allows students to further explore their science, engineering and technology skills, and with robotics competitions on the horizon, those skills will continue to be refined. “I think our whole team brings a lot of great ideas to the table,” Finian says. “We are really fortunate to have some great mentors this year. That’s kind of what the competition is all about: working together as a team to design a great robot.”

SPACE ODDITY

Gravity, in a Middle School science lab and elsewhere on Earth, is inevitable. Launch an object in the air and it will always tumble back down. In the classroom, discussion of gravity and its impossible absence requires a degree of imagination and hypothesizing. Or, if you’re Middle School Science Teacher Mike Mailey, you take a trip on Zero Gravity Corporation’s “vomit comet” to experience weightlessness and conduct your class experiments there.

Mailey was working on forces in motion with his class when Zero-G’s medical consultant specialist and Collegiate alumnus Marsh Cuttino ’86 and Middle and Upper School STEAM Coordinator Dan Bartels serendipitously approached him with an opportunity to take a flight on what is infamously known as the “vomit comet,” Zero-G’s plane that flies in a parabolic motion at altitudes reaching 32,000 feet to simulate weightlessness. With the opportunity, Mailey was able to take a theory his class was hypothesizing and test it in a zero-gravity simulation.

“A bulk of our first quarter was about finding gravity on Earth and doing experiments to verify what gravity is on the surface of Earth,” Mailey says. “Then, suddenly, I’m given this opportunity with Zero-G, where we’re able to remove the variable of gravity from the equation.”

Before taking the trip down to Florida, where the Zero Gravity Corporation is stationed, Mailey worked with his class-

es to discuss what kind of experiment they’d run. In class, the students had been studying a principle called the Magnus effect, which explores how certain ob jects spin and lift through the air while others rise and fall in an arc. They imagined that, without gravity, a cylindrical ob ject’s lift would continue on its glide path, never suffering the weighty pull of downward force.

“The students got to do some experimentation with variable changes while we still had grav ity,” Mailey says. “And then we were able to make a hypothesis about what would happen when we remove the force of gravity and only have lift.”

Students then constructed the objects they’d send with Mailey in the Zero-G simulator, fashioning the ends of two small cups together to make a tubelike gadget. To incorporate the Lower Schoolers in the experiment as well, Mailey, in partnership with Lower School STEAM Coordinator and Engineering teacher Frank Becker, asked the students to use Alex Wolf’s pattern alphabet (pABC) to decorate the objects, in which they emblazoned the cups with various designs that would dance as the objects spun.

“The pattern alphabet is a way to organize different kinds of patterns and symmetries and asymmetries,” Mailey explains. “And with this cross-divisional collaboration, the Lower and

Middle Schoolers were able to think about different kinds of swirl patterns and imagine what those patterns might do when put in motion for a really long time.”

Dressed in a blue Zero-G space jumpsuit and Collegiate baseball cap, Mailey boarded the “vomit comet” with his students’ cylindrical objects.

At the zero gravity segments of the maneuvers, Mailey launched the objects, which spun on endlessly. “It was incredible,” Mailey says. “And the students’ reactions from watching me conduct the experiments were equally awe-inspiring. They were enthusiastic because they got to confirm their lift hypotheses. I think this experience showed them the work involved in experimentation — it showed them that experimentation requires a certain commitment to

the inevitable trials and errors of science.”

After reestablishing his relationship with gravity and his knotty stomach, Mailey reflected that the experience reaffirmed the rigor and excitement involved in a Collegiate education.

“This whole experience speaks to the impact Collegiate alumni have on education — that people such as Dr. Cuttino are always thinking about how to expose current Collegiate students to exciting things in the industry,” he says. “I think this is an indication of what a dynamic place Collegiate is. We get to ride on the cusp of where science, engineering and art are going, weaving together a student experience that is full of possibility.”

Middle School Science Teacher Mike Mailey conducted a class experiment in a zero gravity simulator.

Photograph courtesy of Steve Boxall

LIFELONG COLLABORATORS

The first time Maggie Varland ’07 helped Xin-Yi Fergusson with Chinese instruction, she was still a Collegiate student, a Senior with an interest in the intricacies of world languages.

Fergusson, encouraged by former Head of the Lower School Dr. Jill S. Hunter, started an after-school Chinese club the fall of Varland’s Senior year. The club was meant to act as a pilot program for a new Chinese language course that would be implemented in the Lower School the following year, and Fergusson, who had been teaching similar courses voluntarily at her church, needed assistance managing the Collegiate children in her care. Varland heard about the opportunity, and she and her best friend Helen Huang ’08 eagerly jumped on board.

“I thought the Chinese program would be a chance to help

introduce students to a new language and maybe learn a little bit myself,” Varland explains. “Xin-Yi’s class fascinated me. I was hooked.”

Varland remembers sitting with Lower Schoolers, rapt, as Fergusson showed the students instructional Chinese videos illustrating the etymology and history of Chinese characters. As she helped Fergusson after school, Varland, who studied French as a student at Collegiate, began noticing an enthusiasm for Chinese growing within her. She would catch herself writing Chinese characters in her physics books, studying Chinese culture in her free time and giddily looking forward to the time she would spend absorbing Fergusson’s after-school lessons.

After Collegiate, Varland fully embraced her new interest in Chinese language and culture.

She went on to study Chinese at the University of Virginia and, after graduation, she moved to China, where she taught English and pursued a master’s degree in international business at Hult International Business School’s Shanghai campus.

Varland kept in touch with Fergusson and frequently called in to Fergusson’s Chinese classes, answering students’ questions about her experience living in China. It wasn’t until after Varland graduated from Collegiate that Fergusson comprehended the depth of her influence. “When she was helping me with the after-school club, I never thought of her as a student of mine,” Fergusson says. “But then I learned she went on to study Chinese, and that she moved to China, and I realized how much of an influence my class had on her. I felt connected to her in a new way.”

To be closer to family, Varland eventually moved back to the States, in 2019, and began giving Chinese tutoring lessons to children in Richmond. In the summer of 2022, when Fergusson moved to the Upper School to teach Chinese and a subsequent position in the Lower School opened, Fergusson strongly recommended Varland. “Seeing how strong her Chinese is, and understanding her cultural knowledge of contemporary China, I know how successful Maggie will be in continuing our Chinese program in the Lower School,” Fergusson says. “It’s amazing watching her and

our Chinese program grow from day one. ”

Now, the two collaborate on how to structure the Chinese curriculum to best fit the development of world language students.

“Of course, we’re teaching students vocabulary and different ways to communicate, but we’re also giving students that cultural background that makes the language feel natural,” Varland explains. “Essentially, no matter the language, we’re all trying to say the same thing. We’re all trying to connect with each other.”

The relationship that blossomed over a shared love of language, beginning with a budding language program in the early 2000s, continues, with the focus, as always, on nurturing students’ understanding of the world and how we communicate. “It’s really just so phenomenal to be back here and doing something that I never thought I’d love so much,” Varland says. “The connection that Xin-Yi and I have has its origins in the strengths of our world language program at Collegiate. I’m so happy to continue making those connections with Collegiate students.”

Upper School Chinese Teacher Xin-Yi Fergusson introduced Maggie Varland ’07 to Chinese, and now the two of them grow the language program together.

JUMPING IN THE DEEP END

1st Grade students took a trip to Collegiate School Aquatic Center to learn essential swimming skills.

Learning to swim is a life-saving milestone. It has a marked developmental significance similar to learning to ride a bike or discovering the trick to throwing the perfect spiral. But swimming — unlike removing the training wheels from a bike or passing a football to a friend — is a skill that can save a life in a dire situation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that drowning is the second leading cause of injury or death for people between the ages of one and 14, and research from the Amateur Swimming Association shows that one in three children leave primary school unable to swim. Swimming might seem instinctive to some, but the American Red Cross indicates that 61% of Americans either can’t swim or don’t possess all the basic swimming skills.

In early December, 1st Grade students took a trip to Collegiate School Aquatics Center to learn and strengthen those essential water skills. Students donned swimsuits and gathered around the edge of the pool, eagerly listening to SwimRVA’s expert instructors as they coached the students through basic pool decorum. Then, without fear or fret, the 1st Graders jumped in, splitting up into the seven stations set up around the pool, each one focusing on lessons such as floating, blowing bubbles and treading water.

“What we’re doing is teaching kids the fundamentals of swimming and the rules of water safety,” explains Debbie Kelo, Ph.D., the Director of Programs at SwimRVA. “Knowing and understanding water safety and aquatic fitness gives children the competence and confidence needed when playing in and around water.”

One SwimRVA coach instructed students through a “tickle-t-touch” drill, in which swimmers lie on their backs and calmly bend their outstretched arms to “tickle” their armpits, then stretch their arms back out, their body in the shape of a T. From this

position, the students use all their strength to push their arms downward to touch their sides. It’s a fun drill that makes students comfortable with floating and swimming on their backs and lays the foundation for treading water.

Collegiate, in partnership with SwimRVA, sends each 1st Grade class through this swim course, giving students the tools necessary to become confident swimmers.

Following swim instruction, the seven groups transitioned their focus to life-saving techniques. Students learn how to fasten life vests, how to toss a buoy to a struggling swimmer and how to operate an inflatable raft in the water.

Scott Bennett, Director of Communications at SwimRVA, says it’s all about giving children access. “We want to give all Richmond-area kids access to water and access to coaches. So many people don’t know how to swim because they’ve never had the opportunity to learn,” he says. “We want to

make sure every person in our area has that opportunity — that they have access to aquatic-based programming.”

Watching from the pool deck, 1st Grade Teacher Ellen Faris cheers on her class. It’s a tremendous learning moment for her students. “I think it’s great that Collegiate is teaching students the ins and outs around the pool,” she says. “I can tell they’re having a blast, too, which is important. And the fact that they’re learning these sometimes-daunting lessons with their peers makes them more comfortable. This is just a great chance to get kids familiar with the water and reduce their risk of danger.”

FIVE QUESTIONS on Parent Involvement with Special Events Co-chairs

It’s a cold, gray afternoon in February, the kind of day that makes you think the wind has cruel intentions, and Indrani Agarwal P ’29 ’35 is taking a prospective family on a tour around Collegiate’s campus, wearing a smile that invites warmth. A physical therapist by trade, Agarwal feels it’s necessary to support the Collegiate education in any way she can. It’s a philosophy that both she and her Special Events Co-chair Mona Shah P ’30 ’33 have adopted in their volunteer work at Collegiate. Together, they organize beloved Collegiate events like Cougar Holiday Express and Bingo Night. Through the work of all the School’s parent volunteers, Collegiate is able to organize community building events, teacher-appreciation initiatives and fundraising opportunities that make our School thrive. During their free time, Agarwal and Shah sat down with Spark to talk about the fun, important work that parent volunteers do for Collegiate.

1

HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED WITH VOLUNTEERING AT COLLEGIATE?

Indrani Agarwal: Getting involved in the Collegiate community has been so rewarding. We both began volunteering in smaller ways that still make a huge difference, assisting with projects such as helping art teachers prepare for lessons and shelving books in the library. You know, these jobs might feel minor, but they help teachers focus on other things. If parent volunteers can help with the behind-the-scenes work of preparing for a class, then teachers can dedicate more of their time to one-on-one work with students.

Mona Shah: I started with doing work in the library, helping organize materials and supporting the librarians, and I felt like it was a way for my kids to see me present and involved with the School. I immediately felt as though I had a deeper connection with the School and what was happening in my kids’ lives.

HOW IS OUR COMMUNITY STRENGTHENED BY THE BROAD INVOLVEMENT OF OUR PARENT VOLUNTEERS?

IA: I think every new set of volunteers is always bringing a different perspective. You know, we’re all kind of coming into the School with different expectations and different backgrounds. And I think that, each year, including a new set of volunteers helps make an event better. This year, for example, we tried to really focus on diversity — not just with regard to ethnicity, but we tried to include more dads in everything we did as well. We just know that having a well-rounded group of volunteers helps Collegiate evolve in ways that make the School feel as inclusive as possible.

MS: To me, volunteering offers a more tangible way that we as parents can say we’ve given back to the School. To see parents coming together and working together — whether that means fundraising, helping with events or helping out a teacher — to give something to the School is really special. I think parent involvement helps enhance our sense of community and encourages families to want to come to school here.

TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE WAYS PARENTS CAN GET INVOLVED.

IA: Oh, there are so many opportunities! There are a number of different positions, activities and jobs that are suitable for whatever works for you. You know, I think some parents just see the big events like Cougar Pawlooza and Village Green Fair as the only volunteer opportunities. But, sometimes, when I’ve volunteered for smaller jobs, you do them without realizing how much of an impact it has.

MS: It’s really just a matter of giving what you feel you can give in terms of time. There’s no pressure with regard to how much time you can give. You don’t have to sign up for a certain number of events or reach a certain quota. Whatever you can donate in terms of time and resources is greatly appreciated. And the number of things you can do — helping out in the theater or baking something for a class — is nearly endless.

AS SPECIAL EVENTS CO-CHAIRS, BOTH OF YOU HELP ORGANIZE MANY LARGE FUNDRAISERS. HOW DO PARENT-DRIVEN FUNDRAISERS SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL?

IA: People like to contribute to Collegiate in different ways. I think that putting on events such as a Donut Day or activities like wreath making during the holidays gives people the opportunity to feel a deeper connection in the ways they give back. And those fundraising events help establish important programs at Collegiate such as our wellness education opportunities.

MS: Supporting events like Bingo Night and the Cougar Holiday Express is just another way to give back. These fundraising opportunities help elevate the Collegiate experience that our students have every day.

SHARE SOMETHING ABOUT VOLUNTEERING AT COLLEGIATE THAT FOLKS MIGHT NOT KNOW.

IA: For many years, I just thought that only seasoned parents put on these big events. But then we were asked to be the Special Events Co-chairs. Suddenly I realized that you don’t have to be an experienced event planner to help out and be a volunteer. You don’t have to have all this experience. You just need to have a willingness to learn and help out. I think that until you really start volunteering, you don’t realize how many people there are donating their time and supporting our community.

MS: And to Indrani’s point: There are so many people who have jobs professionally that are not related to the School at all who just do this as an opportunity to give back to Collegiate. Volunteering is such a great way to meet other families and connect with Collegiate parents. There’s this community of support that helps pull everything together, and it’s so great to be a part of something bigger.

For the Greener Good

The 5th Grade recycling effort gets students to think intentionally about the process of recycling.

Every Thursday during advisory period, 5th Graders move throughout Collegiate’s campus with the intention of making the School a little greener. Bearing smiles, they duck into classrooms and office spaces to collect recycling bins, always brimming with its discarded contents. Groups of students walk through the Hershey Center for the Arts, the Development Office, classrooms in Flippen Hall, swiftly grabbing the large blue containers, and then they make their way towards the recycling drop-off center, tucked behind Centennial Hall, to throw everything out.

It’s a small act that goes a long way in helping the environment breathe a little easier. This sustainability effort also gets the students thinking intentionally about what it means to recycle. “Collecting the School’s recycling helps us know exactly what can and cannot be recycled, and because of that, since we started doing this, I’ve become more mindful when I throw things away,” says Helen Boyles ’30, whose recycling route brings her through the 6th Grade hallways. “We kind of serve as one of the first steps in the recycling process, and I feel like this has helped me understand that process more.”

The effort builds off the 4th Grade Capstone experience, Envision Collegiate, which focuses on sustainability and the understanding of how systems function. The students become more familiar with the various offices around campus while learning about an important process in keeping the campus clean.

“It’s great to meet new people around the School while collecting the recycling bins,” says Avery Edwards ’30. “Recycling is more than just putting a piece of paper in a re cycling bin. This has made me think about the further steps involved in recycling.”

The students recognize that their efforts go beyond the grounds of Collegiate. Walking with groups of friends from building to building helps move the recycling process along and makes the world more sustainable. “It’s a fun way to do something important,” says Nicholas Bradley ’30. “When we recycle, the things we throw away can be remade into something else. It’s a way to clean the earth.”

It’s great to meet new people around the School while collecting the recycling bins.”

ARTS

Marla Van Deusen ’24, featured on page 23.

FIGURATIVELY FOCUSED

Collegiate’s Honors Art students mounted their exhibition

“Figuratively Speaking” at the Visual Arts Center.

PULLING TOGETHER an exhibit between 10 different artists is a zesty endeavor. There is the pressurized crunch of a deadline. And there is the looming thrill of showing your work to a large audience. Then, and most importantly, there is the matter of creating the work itself and arranging it all neatly and coherently on the walls of an exhibit.

In late January, Pam Sutherland’s Honors Art class eloquently mounted their exhibition “Figuratively Speaking” at the Visual Arts Center. The individual approach to figuration that each student took embodies the unique spirit of each of the artists, but, hanging together, the exhibit hums with a distinct unison that showcases the skill of the class.

The students began their contemplation of subject matter with artist Tommy Van Auken, who, over the course of one week, gave students instruction on how to draw from a live model and how to capture the detail and essence of a subject. “Being able to kickstart this year’s show with the figurative drawing instruction of Tommy Van Auken made this year’s experience especially rich in terms of both process and content,” Sutherland says. The students were led through sessions where they tried to capture the movement of the human form in anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes.

Maia Zasler ’23, a student in the class, had never been challenged artistically in that way before. Typically working in mixed media compositions, Maia found the speed and the approach to figurative drawing exciting. “Working with Tommy was a really cool experience, one I had never

had before,” Maia says. “And his instruction and guidance served as inspiration for all our pieces in the show.”

After working with Van Auken, Maia was blooming with inspiration, but the direction she wanted her work to go in was still unclear. She kept returning to something Van Auken said in class, that focusing on the larger image of a subject is of primary importance and that proportion of a figure will follow naturally. “He was trying to have us imagine drawing a figure as if it were a landscape, then got us thinking about capturing the three-dimensional element of a face, and then bringing in the specifics with contour lines,” Maia explains. “I think the practice with that kind of approach made me feel more confident in my ability to take on a series of figure drawings, because I’ve never been that figuratively focused until then.”

Borne out of this new skill is Maia’s “Family Ties,” a series of tenderly drawn portraits of family members. Maia approaches the figurative focus with enraptured regard. Her brushy portraits hang separately and apart, confined to their own page, but maintain a connectedness created by little tendrils of lines floating around the dreamy personages. Some are based on photographs, like the one of her mother and sister held in laughter, while others she recognized from moments spent with relatives.

“I set out to capture my family’s energy on the page,” she says. “I didn’t want to create the general

portrait. I wanted the portraits to really have the people and their essence in it. I wanted each picture to be related. Not just in the fact that they’re portraits, but that they appear to be in conversation with one another. My family is really close — that’s where I got the inspiration for its title — and I wanted that to be represented.”

Displaying the pieces offered another new experience for the students. They had the month of January to complete their work. Then, the day before the show, they gathered in the Visual Arts Center to pull everything together. “This exhibition opportunity was specifically designed to afford these Seniors an experience different from their culminating Senior exhibition in April that is on campus,” Sutherland says. “Having to curate how these individual and potentially unrelated pieces are installed — how they can hang together as a collective — is a valuable learning experience for these students. They have to think beyond themselves and their work in a mutually beneficial way.”

“Figuratively Speaking” was on display for 24 hours, a Sunday. The distinctive splendor of the pieces and the unity between the artists were on dazzling display. “All of us had such different ideas and different ways of making our pieces,” Maia says. “And that was demonstrated in the range of styles exhibited.”

Maia Zasler ’23 with her piece “Family Ties.”

Honors Art student Ellie Leipheimer ’23 showcasing her work at the Visual Arts Center.

EMOTIONAL STRINGS

MARLA VAN DEUSEN ’24 moves her bow over the strings on her violin and the world begins to take on a new texture. The drama of the piece she’s working on — a sonata by the composer George Frideric Handel — builds with helter-skelter intensity. It’s the kind of piece she loves: pulsing with bursts of energy that move towards a spacious triumph. In each note she plays Marla can imagine a narrative, a story of a great clash, and into this imagination she infuses her own feeling and style, elevating the piece and making it uniquely hers.

This total emotional immersion strikes Marla as the difference between playing notes and playing music. “It’s about understanding a piece — recognizing that there are moments when you should be playing softly and moments when you should be playing loudly — and then really feeling and conveying those emotional differences,” she says. “When you’re playing music, you’re understanding what feelings the music is trying to convey, and through your own playing you try to interpret that feeling.”

Arriving at an intimate understanding of a piece takes time, though. Marla started playing the violin in Kindergarten, when she first began working with instructors in Collegiate School’s private music program, and since then she’s developed both the technical mastery of the instrument and the personal flair of her own style.

Working with her instructor Melissa Jones, a classically trained violinist and Collegiate’s Middle and Upper School Orchestra Director, Marla contemplates the thematic and structural composition of the piece. Marla describes the student-instructor relationship, which they’ve had

since Jones came to Collegiate in 2018, as collaborative, open and earnest.

“Each time we sit down to practice a piece, we go over things like measure and how we’re going to approach the melody, and we’ll write down together how to phrase each note in a piece,” Marla explains. “Working with Mrs. Jones is great in that way, because I feel comfortable learning with her. She’s not critical, and she encourages me to make mistakes and then learn from those mistakes. Having that space to play the violin with someone I trust is so special to me.”

Giving students the space to work diligently one-on-one with a skilled musical instructor is the intention of Collegiate’s private music program. The personalized instruction — and the rapport that grows over years of lessons — allows students to learn at a pace they are comfortable with. “It’s my particular hope that students feel confident about what they’re doing with their instrument,” Jones says. “With the help of private lessons, students learn the necessary technique to play well, they learn lots of repertoire and, maybe most importantly, they discover their own artistic expression. And because these lessons are one-on-one, students get to really have a unique musical education that works for them.”

In 4th Grade, Kyla Williams ’26 made the transition from violin to piano and began taking lessons with Connie Tuttle, one of Collegiate’s private piano instructors. Ever since her grandmother placed a violin within the crook of her arm, Kyla has always had a deep love of music. But she didn’t feel that the violin allowed her to appropriately articulate that passion through her instrument.

“The piano for me seemed simpler,” she explains, “but there is also this complex-

ity of playing multiple notes at the same time that appealed to me.”

Now, once a week for the last six years, Kyla sits with Tuttle to study the piano. But before they begin their warmups of scales and finger patterns, Tuttle always asks Kyla one question: How are you?

What’s special about Collegiate’s private music program is this sustained connection: students work for years with the same instructor. “The beauty of having just one teacher in a private lesson is you really make that connection — not only from teacher to student but from person to person,” Kyla says. “Your growth is more cultivated, more specific and tailored to your style of playing and your style of learning. Mrs. Tuttle really knows the way that I learn music and the way that I interpret it. And from there, she can see my strengths and weaknesses, the things that I need to work on, which makes the way I learn music more efficient and my trajectory as a performer clearer.”

Kyla’s passion for music has progressed to the point where she now composes her own pieces, often fusing genres such as indie rock with classical music. Showing those pieces — showing any personal art to someone else — might put Kyla in a vulnerable position, but because of the mutual trust she shares with Tuttle she is able to present her work and receive honest feedback. And with this bond, Kyla can fully enjoy the act of making music.

“When I sit at the piano, I feel like I can really escape into the music — I can really embody all the aspects of a piece,” Kyla says. “I love music, and I love practicing the piano. It’s such a safe space — it’s like a haven.”

Collegiate School’s private music program gives students both the technical skills and the stylistic flair to excel as musicians.

THE SONGS WE SING TOGETHER

During the Pageant rehearsal, generations of Cougars come together to sing and celebrate the Collegiate spirit.

Liz Everett Cherkis ’86 always begins to heave with emotion when the Upper School girls Glee Club and Middle School Balcony Chorus sing “Adoration of the Magi” at Pageant. The intensity of Cherkis’s response is deep and inexplicable, but she knows it has something to do with the past and how, when the chorus begins singing, she recalls her own involvement with the performance.

Coming to Collegiate her Junior year, Cherkis participated in Pageant only once, playing as the adoration angel her Senior year. Her sister, Rachel Everett ’92, once played the role of the wise king, and Cherkis’s daughter, Bailey Cherkis ’23, has been involved in Pageant since 5th Grade. “Pageant is a tradition in my family,” Cherkis explains. “I love each performance,

especially because I’m reminded of my time at Collegiate and my family’s connection to the School. That generational involvement makes the whole thing really special.”

Held since the early days of the Collegiate School for Girls on Monument Avenue, Pageant tells the Christmas story entirely through music, with the Middle and Upper School chorus groups singing as students costumed as cherubs, angels, shepherds, kings, and Mary and Joseph reenact the birth of Jesus.

Among the members of the audience during the Pageant rehearsal is Cristy Jarvis ’68, who is watching her granddaughter, a 5th Grader, perform for the first time this year. An alumna and former parent, Jarvis sits in the pews of All Saints Episcopal Church, wearing a silver halo, enraptured and singing along to all the songs she once recited herself as a student during her days at Collegiate. “I just love the music of Pageant, and I love singing along to each song,” she says, a smile breaking across her face as she takes in the stagecraft and the warm atmosphere.

For Jarvis, observing the pomp of Collegiate’s Pageant is a way to both reminisce with fellow alumni and connect with current students. “It’s fun to come back and see every generation participate in something you yourself participated in,” she says. “It’s special to have these kinds of events that bring alumni back and keep us involved in everything happening at the School.”

Daisy Storey ’23 recalls one of the first parts she played in the Pageant, when, in 7th Grade, she assumed the role of a shepherd interacting with the herald angel. This year, with Daisy performing as herald angel, the role of shepard she played years ago takes on a special resonance. It’s as if all those years of rehearsals, friendships, songs and performances are being reflected back to her. “I’ve really been reminded how much we’ve all grown up with this tradition,” she says. “This year, as I watch the performances, I’ve been seeing girls play roles that I used to play, and I think, Oh my gosh, that used to be me, and look at how much I’ve grown since then.”

Daisy’s grandmother Anne Dobbins Brasfield ’65, her mother Mollie Storey ’92 and her sister Lucy Storey ’22 have all taken part in the Pageant, which adds weight to the significance of her performance. During rehearsal, with generations of Cougars gathered to take part in the event, Daisy felt the entirety of the Collegiate spirit up on stage. “I think for alumni to come back and watch us perform at Pageant says a lot about Collegiate’s value of connection,” Daisy says. “It’s reassuring to know that even after I graduate I’ll still be connected to everyone at the School. These shared experiences make us a stronger community.”

PERFORMING TOGETHER

The Middle School Theater Ensemble gives 5th-8th Grade students the opportunity to participate in a theatrical production.

Before every rehearsal, the Middle School Theater Ensemble, composed of 5th-8th Grade students, forms a circle on the stage of Oates Theater to participate in a performative warmup. They’ll play a game called gesture pass, where each student in the circle performs a movement that the following student has to mimic and add to. The warmup, which is run by students and supervised by Middle School Drama Teacher Jenny Hundley, is a way to energize the ensemble, getting the crew ready for an afternoon of fun, rigorous work preparing for their first production, a performance of The Secret Garden. The simple warmup also encapsulates the way the ensemble approaches their project: student-centered, playful theatrical work that connects the entire Middle School.

From crew-wide set builds to having a dialect coach working with the cast, the Middle School play, which is new this year, offers a wonderful opportunity for students with an interest and affinity for theatrical productions to work together to learn the ins and outs of putting on a show. “Our ensemble gives students exposure to the arts at an early age,” says Hundley, who, alongside 8th Grader Noelle Christensen ’27, directs the play. “If 5th Graders want to participate in a big production, they will now have the chance to do that. They’ll have the chance to explore that interest.”

The Secret Garden, a play adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel, is about the young orphan Mary Lennox, who finds herself in the charge of a mysterious uncle, in a mysterious house, on a desolate moor in England. Bored and lonely, she starts exploring the gardens and uncovers a secret that has been kept for 10 years. As part of the intention of giving students the freedom and agency to explore their own creative impulses, the ensemble had the opportunity to choose what play they wanted to perform.

The students, all 32 of them that make up the ensemble, are present on stage for the entire performance. Even if the role a student plays is atmospheric — possibly taking on the role of wind in a scene, for example — the performer will be seen on stage. This challenges the ensemble to think creatively about how to act as a cohesive group. “The students play the sound effects. They play the wind. They play the rain. They play the moors of England,” Hundley explains. “Students have to think, ‘Well, what does rain and what does wind sound and look like, and how can I convey that to an audi-

ence?’ It’s a great exercise in getting students to think theatrically and outside the box.”

Driving the work of the ensemble is the hope of telling a great story. To master their skills as storytellers, the Middle Schoolers need to mesh as a group. The Middle School play creates a unique chance for the students from 5th to 8th Grade to come together and collaborate on a project. “There aren’t many opportunities for 8th Graders to work with 5th Graders,” Hundley says. “Everyone has their own set of unique skills that they offer in a performance, and I think, in that way, there’s a really special mentoring aspect about the play. Students are able to work and learn from other students that they might not interact with often.”

Up on stage, the ensemble performs in unison, combining all their individual skills in an effort to bring The Secret Garden to life. “Theater is a compilation of all of the arts,” Hundley says. “It’s not just visual. It involves woodworking, graphic arts, music, dance, athleticism, storytelling. And to see all of the Middle School combine those artistic skills — skills they might not have fully realized before — makes for a great performance.”

Students Earn Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are the nation’s longestrunning and most prestigious recognition program for creative students. This year, 17 Collegiate School students earned gold, silver and honorable mention honors in the art and writing categories. The recipients’ work was featured in a gallery at the Visual Arts Center.

India Mansfield

Holland Galloway

Carrington Miller

GOLD KEY

Caroline Smith ’23, Novel Writing

SILVER KEY

Maggie Bowman ’23, Photography

Alexis Covington ’24, Painting

Marla Van Deusen ’24, Short Story (2)

Holland Galloway ’24, Drawing & Illustration

Eva Lareau ’23, Drawing & Illustration

India Mansfield ’23, Painting

Carrington Miller ’23, Mixed Media

Caroline Smith ’23, Poetry (2)

Maia Zasler ’23, Mixed Media

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Heidi Albrecht ’24, Ceramics & Glass

Virginia Ballowe ’23, Poetry (3)

Maggie Bowman ’23, Photography

Alexis Covington ’24, Mixed Media

Marla Van Deusen ’24, Short Story

Holland Galloway ’24, Drawing & Illustration

Eva Lareau ’23, Painting

Bjorn Petersson ’24, Sculpture

Samantha Rao ’24, Poetry

Robbie Redmond ’26, Poetry

Jane Simkin ’26, Drawing & Illustration

Caroline Smith ’23, Poetry

Stella Vetrovec ’26, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Nora Wallace ’25, Drawing & Illustration

Eva Lareau

Maggie Bowman

Bjorn Petersson

Alexis Covington

Heidi Albrecht

Maia Zasler

PUTTING UP NUMBERS FALL ATHLETICS

Taking home a number of championships and personal awards, Collegiate had a fall athletic season that reflects both the School’s competitive prowess and honorable character.

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Student-athletes received All-LIS recognition

6 7

Student-athletes received All-Metro recognition

LIS championships

4 1 3

State championships

Coach of the Year Awards

1 19

Student-athletes received All-State recognition

Prep League championship

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Student-athletes received All-Prep recognition

Team Sportsmanship Award

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

Callie Rogers ’24 has become one of the most accomplished field hockey players in Collegiate history.

By Weldon Bradshaw

WHEN COLLEGE COACHES seek recruits whom they consider good fits for their programs, they place a high premium on dynamic, talented, coachable athletes possessed of a strong work ethic and a team-first-over-personal-accolades mentality.

Callie Rogers ’24, a Collegiate Junior, field hockey team captain and midfielder par excellence, checks all those boxes, so it’s no wonder, then, that she’s emerged as one of the top prospects in the nation among players from the Class of 2024.

“They [recruiters] look for someone who can make an impact their Freshman year,” says Cougars’ coach Kelsey Smither, a highly recruited hockey standout at Lakeland High School (Suffolk) and Old Dominion University and an assistant at both Ball State and Georgetown before coming to Collegiate in 2021.

“Callie has an incredible passion for field hockey. She wants to play at a high level, and she’s in somewhat of a unique situation where I think she can go wherever she wants to go.”

Callie was introduced to hockey when her sister Cameron, who’s eight years older, began playing in Middle School.

When Callie was about seven, she joined the Panthers United Field Hockey Club and has remained with the organi-

zation ever since. She eventually stepped back from swimming, her other passion, and directed her athletic focus to hockey with an inner drive, even at a young age, to become the best practitioner of the sport she could be.

Over the years, she’s competed in more elite camps and national tournaments than she can count, amassed a slew of honors and earned a spot on the U16 U.S. Women’s National Team. A four-year varsity starter at Collegiate, she received All-League of Independent Schools, AllVISAA and All-Metro citations in 2019 and 2021.

This fall, Callie accounted for 85 points (22 goals, four assists) in 22 games. (In March, Callie was named to the 2023 U.S. U-18 Women’s National Tour Team.)

So how has Callie become one of the most accomplished players in Collegiate history? Athletic ability, of course, but the intangibles as well: effort, dedication to excellence, a never-quit attitude and the all-forone, one-for-all desire to be part of a meaningful, bigger-thanself endeavor.

Those who have seen her play describe her as a smart, instinctive player who can go one-on-one with an opponent, deliver deftly-placed passes at just the right instant and, in so doing, make her teammates better. She practices and plays

at full throttle. She never backs down from a challenge.

As gifted as she is and successful as she has become, Callie conveys a refreshing air of humility and wonderment that belies her fierce competitive spirit. Indeed, talking to her, you get the sense that she’s quite content to let her actions rather than her words speak for her.

“I love being part of a team,” she says. “It’s fun to be with a group of girls who all share a love for the game. I’ve always had a great time playing field hockey because there’re so many things you can do. It’s hard work to score a goal. I really like to focus on the attack mentality when I play, using your teammates in the midfield and then just generating goals from that.”

Callie is a student of the sport who doesn’t have an off-season. She often trains on her own when few are around to see, studies film of Collegiate games, and views college games either in person, on television or online.

“Whenever you watch a college game,” she says, “it’s basically watching a whole field of role models who are older than

you and more skilled than you. Watching them can show you a side of the game you maybe haven’t reached and can give you a goal to strive for.”

What it boils down to is that all aspects of field hockey speak loudly to Callie. She finds joy in what some might call “the grind.” She enjoys the camaraderie. She’s driven to improve and never rests on laurels, though she has received many. Mainly, she just has fun.

“Field hockey is an awesome sport,” she says. “I love it.”

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Rives Fleming’s twenty-six years and 300 victories as the coach of the Girls Varsity Basketball program is the longest tenure and highest victory total of any boys or girls basketball coach in Collegiate history.

By Weldon Bradshaw

On Jan. 7, Collegiate’s Girls Varsity Basketball team defeated Frank W. Cox High of Virginia Beach 60-28. The victory enabled the Cougars to even their record at 4-4 against its typically challenging schedule. It also marked Rives Fleming’s 300th victory in the 26 years he has led the Cougars’ program.

“Coaches are teachers,” says Athletic Director Andrew Stanley. “Achieving success and longevity is always noteworthy, but when you watch Rives coach, it’s clear you’re watching an outstanding teacher in action.

“He provides an expert blend of technique and tactics and the social/emotional needs of kids. It’s not easy to sustain a high level of focus, attention to detail and passion decade after decade. Rives has done it well for a very long time.”

A 1983 Collegiate alumnus, Fleming taught and coached two years at Powhatan School following his graduation from the University of Virginia before returning to his alma mater in 1989 as a teacher, coach and advisor.

He first coached Cub boys basketball, then the JV boys (including a 17-0 season in 1995-

96). He served as a varsity boys assistant for one season before assuming the leadership of the girls program in 1997.

While at Collegiate, he served two years as a Cub basketball student assistant, an experience that, he says, played a significant role as he considered his career path. Even then, it was obvious to those who worked with him that he had the instincts, work ethic, patience and people skills to be successful.

“Teaching and coaching is a labor of love,” Fleming says. “I love the whole teacher/coach model. I enjoy the chance to compete and coach different types of kids in different sports and in different environments. That keeps you fresh. You take them where they are and try to make them better. That’s always been my goal. There’ve been a lot of great moments along the way that have made it worthwhile.”

Fleming’s first game as Head Varsity Coach was a 44-25 defeat on the road to St. Gertrude, the defending League of Independent Schools champion. Six days later, he got his first win (59-20 at Christchurch). Three days after that, the Cougars settled the score

with St. Gertrude (54-45) in the Rebel Invitational Tournament.

In an emotional sport played by emotional people before emotional crowds, Fleming has always been the model of unflappability, poise and grace.

“That’s my personality,” he says. “It’s a strength when I get into an emotional situation and I’m able not to go down the emotional path. Sometimes it gives me the advantage that I’m able to look at the next step or take advantage of something I see because I’m thinking analytically and can make rational choices and not lose myself in the moment.”

Twenty-six years and 300 victories (against 241 losses) is the longest tenure and highest victory total of any boys or girls basketball coach in Collegiate history.

“I’m a plugger,” Fleming says. “I’ve been coaching long enough that I’ve been lucky to get to that number, but when you talk about 300 wins, it’s the [other] coaches who deserve most of the credit. I’ve always surrounded myself with people who know basketball and are good people. I’ve always thought of us as a group. I’m just lucky to have done something I enjoy so much and shared the experience with so many great kids and coaches along the way.”

Rives Fleming ’83 credits his staff with much of the success in helping him notch his 300th win.

A GREAT PERSPECTIVE

Even with a serious injury, three-sport athlete

Jordan Gross ’23 maintains an uplifting, supportive attitude.

By Weldon Bradshaw

It was a fast-paced, crisply executed block-out and rebound drill.

Jordan Gross ’23 had run it with her Collegiate Varsity Basketball teammates a million times, always with passion, maximum effort and a smile on her face. That was her style. When she hit the deck and stayed there longer than her usual bounce-back-up second or two, everyone in the Jacobs Gym knew something was amiss.

“It was a weird situation,” Jordan said of that transcendent moment back on Dec. 5. “I went up for a rebound and collided with someone. When I landed, I felt my right knee rotate a little bit. I was on my knees for about 10 seconds. I thought, This doesn’t feel right.”

Jordan collected herself and walked unaided to the training room.

“They checked it out,” she said. “I could do squats. I could flex my leg. Everything seemed relatively normal.”

For the next week, she focused her attention on strength and conditioning and watched practice and games from the sideline.

She’d miss a month, she figured, then be back by tournament time and, since she’s a Senior, finish her three-year

varsity career on the court with her teammates.

A visit to the orthopedic a week later and a subsequent MRI brought bad news, however. On Dec. 20, she underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Recovery time would be seven to nine months.

A gritty, dedicated threesport athlete, Jordan had just completed a tennis season where she earned All-League of Independent Schools recognition at No. 3 doubles and contributed significantly to Collegiate’s second consecutive LIS and VISAA titles.

Now, she’ll miss basketball, where, as part of the regular rotation, she was noted for her behind-the-arc accuracy. In an instant, her role had changed.

“Jordan is a great role model,” said Rives Fleming, her basketball coach. “She has a great attitude. There was never a thought of sympathy or negativity. There’re a lot of things in sports and life you can fuss about, but she hasn’t done that at all. She’s a really mature kid who has such a great perspective.”

She’ll miss softball as well, where last spring she led the Cougars in batting average (.364), hits (24), runs (21), sto-

len bases (15), and putouts (98) and earned All-LIS and AllVISAA recognition.

“When they told me [the extent of the injury], I was shocked,” said Jordan, who will serve as a captain this spring. “I’d put a ton of work into softball. I was so excited. Now, I’m done with high school sports. I won’t wear the jersey again. That was the real thing that shook me. I felt really vulnerable. I don’t know another way to put it.”

Athletic competition has always been part of Jordan’s life. Early on, she swam, did gymnastics and played tennis, basketball and softball. Her favorite sport was the one in season.

Jordan is well into her twice-a-week physical therapy, supplemented almost daily by intentional, sweat-inducing sessions in Collegiate’s weight room. She’s uber-determined to regain her strength, mobility and range of motion while supporting, encouraging and nurturing her basketball teammates and serving as a player/ coach in softball.

“Working out makes me so happy,” she said. “ Getting that back quickly is really helping me. This entire process is about

what you can do, not what you can’t. You just have to look at it as how can you get better the quickest and do the most.

“I’d never had an injury before. Never sprained anything. Hadn’t broken a bone. I don’t see this as a choice. I see it as something that’s got to get done. I want to be running, jumping. I want to do sports. I don’t want to worry about my knee popping out at any given moment.”

During her Upper School years, Jordan has heard several Senior speeches about the life-altering effect of injuries and other health issues.

“You listen and you kind of brush it off,” she said. “Once it happens to you, it’s, Oh, gosh, now I see what they’re talking about. I had sympathy but not empathy. As soon as this happened, that switch flipped.

“Problems and challenges aren’t given to you without a gift. I love pushing myself. That’s why I love athletics so much: because it’s a challenge. You get to push yourself without limits.”

A Man of Good Character

Collin McConaghy, Collegiate’s new Head Football Coach, promises that the Cougars will follow a time-honored Cougar tradition of competing with energy and fearlessness.

By Weldon Bradshaw

Mark Palyo remembers well that day in March 2012 when Collin McConaghy stopped by his office to interview for a job on the Varsity Football coaching staff.

Like Palyo, who had headed Collegiate’s program since 2007, McConaghy grew up playing the sport at the grassroots level, achieved great success in high school and at the University of Richmond and possessed a deep affinity for the game as well as a knack for connecting with young people.

“We sat down,” says Palyo. “We talked. I recall thinking, I like this guy. He’s a man of good character. Based on that one conversation, I thought he’d become a very good coach.”

McConaghy signed on that fall to assist with the defensive line coach and coordinate special teams play. In time, he became defensive coordinator and, later, associate head coach.

Now, with Palyo’s retirement from the sideline after 17 years, an 89-57 record and two Prep League and three VISAA championships, McConaghy will become Collegiate’s Head Football Coach.

Only Grover Jones (19601982), Jim Hickey (1983-1985), Charlie McFall (1986-2006) and Palyo (2007-2022) preceded him.

“When you look at the history of Collegiate’s football coaches and the way they balanced the importance of school life with the competitiveness needed to have success, Collin is a great successor to their legacies,” says Athletic Director Andrew Stanley.

“He understands the deep history of the program. He understands the importance of developing the youth game. He understands the sport at the highest level. Collin has the experience, coaching acumen and respect of the community that puts him in a unique position to propel us into the future.”

McConaghy’s football bloodlines run deep.

He grew up competing in youth leagues in Amherst County just north of Lynchburg and credits his dad Sam McConaghy, who coached him in his early years, with instilling the passion and intensity that would serve him well as a player and coach.

At Amherst County High, he started three years at linebacker and fullback and earned all-district, all-region and all-state honors under Scott Abell, now head coach at Davidson College.

With the Spiders, he was a four-year starter and three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association middle linebacker, first under Dave Clawson (now at Wake Forest), then Mike London (now at William & Mary). McConaghy played a key role in UR’s national championship run in 2008 and served as a captain in 2009, his final season, when the Spiders finished 11-2 and reached the national quarterfinals.

After graduating in 2010 with a B.S. in business administration, he earned his credentials as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and, once he joined the Collegiate staff as Director of Summer Programs, an MEd in teaching and learning from Liberty University.

During his junior year at UR, McConaghy came to realize that coaching spoke loudly to him.

“My greatest lessons have come on the playing field,” he says. “I wanted to give back what my coaches had given me. Coaching became a calling.”

McConaghy promises that the Cougars will follow a time-honored Collegiate tradition of competing with energy and fearlessness.

“Defensively, we’ll play a very aggressive 4-3,” he says. “We’ll have savvy, heads-up kids who understand their opponents’ tendencies and know where they need to be to make plays, not just tackles but creating turnovers.

“Offensively, we’ll try to put points up. We’ll know our guys and morph our offense to allow them to showcase their strengths. We’ve had a lot of success over the years. I look to build on that.”

This past June, McConaghy left Collegiate’s summer program to focus on his work with the Peavey Project, a non-profit he co-founded with former Collegiate colleague Jake McDonald.

The organization is named for former Collegiate basketball coach, guidance counselor and mindfulness guru Alex Peavey. Its mission is to “teach mindfulness as a tool to enhance personal health, performance and the communities we serve.”

Collegiate is one of its clients.

“A dream situation,” McConaghy says. “It’s surreal to have a full-time job with the Peavey Project that allows me to teach mindfulness and honor Alex and then be at Collegiate as a football coach. All my passions have collided into what many folks would call a job but what I call doing what I love.”

If McConaghy sounds thrilled and humbled by his opportunity, that’s because he truly is.

“It’s an honor, a blessing,” he says. “We have awesome kids and families who support us through and through, so I couldn’t be more excited to lead the charge and have such an awesome group of staff members along with me. The relationships are what makes this so fun. We’re going to make sure our kids are taken care of holistically, the football piece and the mindfulness piece.”

During the years they worked side-by-side and shared ideas and dreams, Palyo saw over and over that his initial assessment of McConaghy was 100 percent accurate.

“Collin has grown as a coach because of his commitment and dedication to the coaching craft,” Palyo says. “He’s put the time into preparing the defense, the film study and the analysis of our opponents. And his demeanor and approach with the kids… He’s tough on them, but he’s always there to support them in all the right ways.

“It’s been Collin’s goal to be a head coach, whether it’s here or somewhere else. From my perspective, I’m really glad it’s here at Collegiate.”

To read about outgoing coach Mark Palyo, scan here.

Collin McConaghy will serve as the School’s fifth football coach since the program began.

The Bridges We Cross

A student’s education is a composition of experiences compiled over time. The experiences are as unique and distinctive as the student. As Collegiate students look toward the future, they reflect on the programs that have prepared them for what’s next.

The Bridges We Cross

EXPLORING CURIOSITIES

His mind everywhere, Nat Lurie ’23 sat down one night and began writing. He was working through some test cases for the Ethics Bowl, specifically a case involving an imagined elephant named Happy living in captivity. What might Happy’s moral rights and responsibilities be, and who are the actors responsible for upholding those established rights? What are moral rights, for that matter? Nat’s thoughts were a maze; the conclusions he would reach when he emerged were unknown. In this maze of thought, he wrote as if in a trance, following whatever path logic led him down, taking everything he had learned at Collegiate with him to help navigate.

He came away that night with a 10-page document that he and his team reviewed, each member discussing the logic of his arguments. He reveled in the process of sitting with a difficult idea, moving it around in his head to see all its angles. The Ethics Bowl, a Senior Capstone, gave him the space to apply himself and think deeply. “I enjoy those kinds of questions,” Nat says. “There’s a logic to it, and your logic could say something that you didn’t expect at the outset. Our team spent a lot of time, even outside of school, preparing and prepping, actively thinking about every possible analysis for a given case. The course was an intellectual challenge. It provided a space for me to use my brain in an analytical, logical way.”

It’s no wonder the program appealed to him. Nat describes his temperament as intellectually nitpicky. He’s a creative, multidimensional and multitalented Collegiate School Senior with an interest in math and theater. He can talk to you about the possible argumentative holes in using utilitarianism when speaking of ethics and morality and then, a few breaths later, he can tell you how using certain lighting in theater will imbue a scene with a particular kind of emotion. And when he talks about the geometry and trigonometry course he took with Amy Merchant, his voice, typically relaxed and level, will begin to speed up just slightly, excitement rippling over his words.

“I enjoy using my brain,” he says, humbly. “I mean, I like being actively productive, and productive to me means thinking. One of the main things that brings me happiness is thinking a lot in environments where I’m supposed to think a lot, which is why the Ethics Bowl was so appealing and quickly became one of my favorite classes for that reason.”

When he’s up in the catwalk in Oates Theater, he’s thinking productively in a different way. It’s another arena, for him, to sink into. As with any subject, he’s interested in nuance, how minor adjustments can change the bigger picture. “Theater — and, in particular, some of its more technical aspects such as lighting — in its own way is similar

to how ethics and logic follow a certain combination of different things,” he says. “Theater has its own subtleties and its own art. In each production, there’s a need for different lighting to convey a number of emotions on stage. Some lighting is situational and communicates setting and time of day. Other lighting is more conceptual, dictating the atmosphere of the entire play. By just tweaking the angle of light or adjusting the color, everything can change.”

When Nat was in Middle School, his primary interest was English and language arts. In 2021, as a Sophomore, Nat received a Gold Medal and an American Voices Medal for a short story, which is one of the highest honors any student can receive from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. “The level of intellectual nitpicking you can do with language is fascinating,” Nat explains. “And I’ve always had a knack for writing essays because I can, again, follow a logical argument.”

But interests expand and wane, and Nat credits Collegiate’s teachers for helping him explore a range of passions. He has greater interest now in math than writing, but no matter the turns his pursuits take, there are opportunities for him to explore.

“In almost every class I’ve taken at Collegiate, you can see that the teachers are really excited to introduce you to what they’re teaching, and you become more engaged because of that,” he says. “The teachers have taught me a lot. And as soon as you show an interest in something, they can help guide you along a track and help you pursue that interest.”

When he was taking AP physics as a Junior with Greg Sesny, a class Nat had a natural gift for, Sesny, recognizing this skill, encouraged him to check out Collegiate’s robotics team. There was a place for Nat to apply what he was learning in class to something larger. “Mr. Sesny, one of the mentors on the robotics team, just figured I’d enjoy working on robotics,” Nat says. “He encouraged me to join, telling me that what we were learning in AP physics could be useful to apply to working on a robot. I don’t regret joining the team. I’ve had a lot of fun.”

The programs Collegiate offer serve to open students up to what can be done both in and outside a classroom. So when Nat is sitting and writing about Happy the elephant for the Ethics Bowl, he’s taking everything he’s been taught and channeling it into this 10-page case analysis. All of his interests have become focused on this one study. And he’s thrilled to be given the space to walk around and look at an idea.

“There is a diversity of thought offered here that is innately valuable to thinking,” he says. “I’ve kind of realized there’s a lot of things I want to do. And I’ve had the chance to do them all. Each of those things is something I’m passionate about, and I’ve become the best version of myself because I’ve been able to think about it all.”

The programs at Collegiate serve to open students up to what can be done both in and outside a classroom.

The Bridges We Cross

THE POWER OF PEOPLE

Senior Taylor Domson ’23 feels that the people at Collegiate have helped her become fulfilled as both a student and as a person.

Taylor Domson ’23 believes growth is borne out of relationships. A connection — whether that’s between a teacher, coach, parent, alumni or peer — serves as an energizing jolt, a super-charged bridge between people. A mind creating a relationship with another, the magic of understanding someone: that’s what discovery is all about. “When you start interacting with someone at Collegiate, that connection you feel with them really encourages you,” Taylor says. “Everyone else kind of feeds into the academic energy and the motivation.”

Taylor came to Collegiate her Freshman year, in 2019, and joined the volleyball team before the beginning of the school year. It’s a daunting act, joining a new school, but her trepidation was soothed instantly because of the people she connected with. A new student, she felt an immediate rapport with her teammates and made friends easily. “I just felt totally embraced by the community when I first came in for the volleyball season,” she explains. “You’re getting to

know all your teammates, and I just felt so loved and so accepted as who I was. I remember just becoming really, really excited for both volleyball and the school year.”

A memory stands out to her during that first day of classes Freshman year. It’s a moment that embodies the friendly character of Collegiate, a warm disposition the people — both on campus and beyond — maintain that makes everyone feel seen, understood and valued. “I walked into history class and realized: Oh my gosh, I don’t know anyone in here!” Taylor recalls. “And I sit down, all nervous, and then I remember Carrington Miller ’23 coming over and sitting next to me. We talked on and off throughout the whole class. We were laughing, enjoying ourselves. And something just clicked so naturally: I had this feeling that I was cared about, that I was supported.”

Those person-to-person connections happen daily for

EVERYONE ELSE KIND OF FEEDS INTO THE ACADEMIC ENERGY AND THE MOTIVATION.”

her now. Whenever she’s having a difficult day, she’ll duck into Director of Student Life Beth Kondorossy’s office for a quick chat. Invariably, she’ll leave Kondorossy’s office with a smile, feeling a little bit lighter, a little more energized. “When I think about what makes my experience at Collegiate so great, I think about people like Coach Kondo,” she says. “If you’re stressed out with work, or if you’ve just had

a bad morning, she’s always there. I can go into her office, maybe have some candy, talk to her for five minutes and suddenly I’m in a better mood.”

A mood is a contagious emotional state, and there’s a certain affable spirit that floats about the School. “I could say this about so many teachers — really about anybody at Collegiate — which is that the people here help you feel fulfilled as a student and as a person,” she says. “You can see the reverberations of that energy everywhere: you’re interacting

with teachers, you’re interacting with students, and then a teacher-student relationship develops. That type of learning environment really gets me excited, because it’s a lot easier to learn when you feel like you’re sharing that experience with students and teachers.”

When Taylor was working with her peers to put together the ninth annual TEDxYouth@ RVA event, which is an innovative program that serves as a hub of ideas for the Richmond community, she felt that strong person-to-person connection in full.

She was working with a number of her classmates to plan a public-facing show, and she felt that the relationships between her classmates, teachers and community partners were essential to putting together a great experience. The students had to find sponsorships and other support from local business owners, they pitched local media reporters for more event coverage, collaborated with peers to select speakers, managed marketing and coached speakers.

The work was collaborative, engaging; it showed Taylor the

impact relationships can have, and that people, working together, can create something truly spectacular. “Working on TEDx, I learned how my actions and my connections with people can affect not only me but everyone around me,” she says. “Everyone was collaborating and learning and growing together. It was a really wonderful experience, because it showed me that all of these relationships can have a greater meaning. Working together with people you care about can really make a difference.”

GROWING INTO YOURSELF

The programs Mallory Brabrand ’23 experienced at Collegiate have challenged her to apply her skills to something that transcends any letter grade.

Mallory Brabrand ’23 will tell you she’s the quiet student in class, always focused, working with her head down, driven, but invariably friendly. “I love school, and I’m just very focused on academics,” she says. “I feel like Collegiate, really beginning in the Lower School, instilled in me a passion for discovery, for learning, and that passion has remained since I came here in Kindergarten.”

But with always-inquisitive, ever-engaging teachers and captivating programs, Mallory, over the years, has become more than just a strong student in the classroom. She’s found a new kind of drive, a register of curiosity that looks outward, setting her gaze on the verdant pathways beyond Collegiate.

This transformation happened both organically and dramatically. Organically because Collegiate faculty and staff seek to nurture a student’s interest, encouraging them to grow. Dramatically because any degree of self-discovery arrives unexpectedly, at unknown junctures, and comes bearing surprising revelations.

Pushed to pursue a student endowment grant by her col-

lege counselors, Mallory found herself in France the summer before her Senior year. It was a mild summer night in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, just outside the Centre Pompidou, that odd metal-framed structure holding masterpieces by the likes of Kandinsky and Mondrian, and Mallory and a group of four other American students were looking for a place to eat dinner after a long day. A longtime French student, Mallory noticed her French was the strongest in the group, but she seldom spoke colloquially outside a classroom setting. Would she be able to speak with a restaurant host and request a dinner table for the group?

“We walked up to a restaurant, and I was just really shy, but the group of friends I was with pushed me forward and asked if I could make a dinner reservation for everyone,” Mallory explains. “Because Collegiate’s French program is so strong, I was confident in my language skills, but, in the situation I was in, it became a matter of applying what I had learned and then pushing myself out of that comfort zone.”

Mallory secured the table. Then came the matter of ordering dinner. “The whole group then asked if I could order for them, and the next thing I knew I was having a full-on conversation with the waiter,” she recalls. “The spontaneous nature of the whole experience really pushed me. I didn’t expect to be in a situation like that, but I suddenly realized that Collegiate had been preparing me for this my whole life.”

Her time in France was a culminating experience, and the French program she had been involved in throughout Collegiate served as preparation. Without fully knowing it, she was ready for the world; she just needed a little push. “I was familiar with French culture and politics because that’s what we discuss in class. I was comfortable in the language. I realized then that Collegiate teachers give us broad, world-wide perspectives so that we are prepared for moments like this. We are prepared to have this kind of global conversation.”

Mallory has carried that confidence into her Senior year, now applying herself in other Collegiate programs. For

the past two semesters, she’s served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Torch, the School’s yearbook publication. It’s another role that’s challenged her to grow into herself. As an editor, she’s had to learn to speak confidently and work in partnership with a team.

Working on the Torch, Mallory says, is one of the many classes Collegiate offers “that doesn’t really feel like a class.” Instead, it’s a course that provokes interest, a program that challenges students to apply their skills to something that transcends a simple letter grade. “When our team is working on the Torch, it feels like we’re just doing things we’re passionate about,” Mallory says. “It’s a class where you can just explore what you’re

interested in. And then, at the end of the class, you finish with a tangible product, a yearbook that will be viewed by everyone, and that’s really rewarding.”

Her most rewarding experience during her Senior year, though, has been her work within the International Emerging Leaders Conference, a Capstone course that, for Mallory, cultivated her interest in international relations and Francophone culture. The program reaffirmed for Mallory her passion for global politics. It was a class, for her, that felt more important than a class; she felt that she and her peers were really working on something important.

The skills she brought to the Capstone — her drive, her fluency in French, her under-

standing of cultures outside the United States — were always there, constantly being refined as she made her way through the Lower, Middle and Upper School. And with each program, something like a light would go off within her head, telling her that yes, she was on the right track. “It’s really unique that Collegiate has these classes that allow students to explore something they’re curious about,” she says. “For me, those classes have made me recognize who I am as a student, and because of that I’m excited for what the future holds.”

I SUDDENLY REALIZED THAT COLLEGIATE HAD BEEN PREPARING ME FOR THIS MY WHOLE LIFE.”

THE COMPASS THAT GUIDES US

A compass for the future, Collegiate’s 2022 Strategic Plan will envision a strategic direction for Collegiate.

When we think of the finalization of a Strategic Plan, we often look for a definitive answer within the Plan. We ask, Exactly wherewillwebegoing? Instead, like a compass that shows you cardinal directions but leaves where you place your feet up to the explorer, Creating Bridges, Collegiate’s 2022 Strategic Plan, helps the School amplify its strengths and set its feet in motion, moving towards an evolving future that will change how we learn, play, work and live together. Anticipating that future by elevating strengths of program, people and place, Collegiate will give its students the best of what they need for what is coming — wherever that may take them.

Creating Bridges, which was introduced to the School in October, is the culmination of three years of diligent collaboration between our entire Collegiate community. Throughout the development of the Plan, our dedicated Strategic Planning Committee members have maintained their commitment to openly and actively listen to all Cougars — students, faculty, staff, Trustees, alumni, parents, grandparents and friends. Our Strategic Planning Process engaged more than 1,000 people from the community in listening sessions, empathy interviews, surveys and a Community Design Day.

W“I think the important thing to know is that this whole process, more so than any other in Collegiate’s history, engaged all aspects of the community,” says Neely Markel ’96 P ’27 ’30, Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee and a member of the Board. “What’s come out of this Plan is the importance of being good stewards of our resources.”

The development of the Plan identified the key areas of those resources and the opportunities for the future, and it charts a course for the next generation of families who want to see their children prepared to thrive in an increasingly competitive and challenging world. Creating Bridges helps reestablish the School’s identity and recenter our focus. So, what does our compass indicate?

As one of the largest independent schools in the nation, Collegiate has an extensive network of people that can contribute to the education of its students. One of the primary focuses of the Plan will be to foster connections between community partners — whether that is parents, alumni, professionals in Richmond or people beyond Virginia — and make sure everyone feels seen and cared for.

“Community was the number one word that came up throughout the entire process,” Markel says. “And so the fundamentals of the Plan help solidify, enhance and strengthen our community. There’s really a lot that we can build upon regarding the strength of our great community and make it even stronger.”

Creating Bridges will intentionally enhance the holistic experience of its JK12 program to maximize each student’s unique learning journey. There are a number of new difficult realities that add stress to a student’s daily life, and Collegiate feels it is profoundly important to create wellness opportunities that develop the mental serenity necessary for a student to thrive in an educational environment. “I’m really excited that student wellness, from Junior Kindergarten to 12th Grade, is being made a priority, just across the board and all aspects of student wellness, with both social and emotional learning,” says

LaNessa West, Director of Lower School Admission and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. “Being more conscientious about how we take care of their well-being is going to be an important addition to Collegiate’s already strong academic principles.”

In addition to student wellness initiatives, Creating Bridges will consider events, practices and policies through the lens of equity and inclusion, with the goal of increasing a sense of belonging for all individuals. “As we continue to enroll and have more students of color, we will create a greater sense of belonging,” West says. “Having a more diverse student population will help with student wellness as well.”

Educators are the most valuable resource within any School environment. The new Strategic Plan will focus on building a support network for Collegiate’s educators to pursue their craft, using the School’s size to create opportunities for professional development and career growth. “The educators that are supporting our students are the foundation of who we are, and we would not be here without them,” Markel says. “So I’m really excited that the Plan will help our teachers’ development and career growth.”

Collegiate has connections everywhere — both in the Richmond region and with other schools around the globe. Creating Bridges will develop ways for the School to partner beyond North Mooreland Road and expand learning opportunities locally, regionally, nationally and globally and maximize students’ impact as inquisitive thinkers, responsible citizens and compassionate leaders.

Students learn even more when they are engrossed in experiences. The Strategic Plan will seek to offer different types of experiential learning opportunities, both on and off campus, with a focus on developing resilience, relationships and self-reflection.

“For students to go beyond the space of Collegiate is going to be very beneficial for them,” West says. “Learning more about the city they live in and the world they live in, and having those experiences, is going to be important, especially as they prepare

themselves for the professional world. Again, it’s just as important for a student to be prepared academically as it is for them to be prepared socially.”

With the Plan complete, now comes the implementation process, which will include faculty and staff. “One of the big underlying pieces connecting all the strands of the Strategic Plan is that we just have to decide who we are,” says Laura Domalik, a Lower School math specialist involved in the implementation of the Plan who served as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. “I think that the Plan allows us to help identify ourselves and what we feel is important in education. We can only be stronger in our convictions. And I think that if we tie our approach to education back to who we are as a school, we can only get better at what we do.”

While staying true to its unique sense of community, Creating Bridges is meant to be a compass for the next few years. Its implications will be long lasting, creating a shared vision of the future of Collegiate that will allow both the School and its students to evolve over time alongside the ever-changing world. “Our students’ interest is at the forefront here, because they’re going to be the ones going out into this world that is rapidly changing, and this Plan allows us to think through the kinds of skills and tools they’ll need for that future,” Markel says. “We will bridge things together — our mentoring program, our diversity, our experiential learning — but it will be a gradual change that takes place, and it will always be forward thinking.”

“What’s come out of this Plan is the importance of being good stewards of our resources.”

ROARING REUNION Alumni Weekend

The Alumni Association is excited to partner with each class to connect with classmates to make this ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND a ROARING success.

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD Class of

65th Reunion ’63....... 60th

’68....... 55th ’73....... 50th

’78....... 45th

’83....... 40th

’88....... 35th

’93....... 30th

’98....... 25th

’03....... 20th

Want

’08....... 15th

’13....... 10th

’18....... 5th

Collegiate alumni studying at different colleges returned to campus to offer their advice, insights and perspectives to 11th Graders.

ALUMNI NEWS

LETTER FROM DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

ANNE GRAY SIEBERT ’97

Before 8 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, I watched as five incredibly talented and successful alumni chatted casually with a group of our current Seniors. These alumni came to campus to have breakfast with our Seniors as an opportunity to take steps in building relationships with our Cougars. The alumni’s desire is for our students to know that we are here to support them in any way that we can.

As I watched the interactions before me, I was struck by how deeply these graduates of Collegiate care for these young adults, who they were meeting for the first time that day. Each of these alumni left families and jobs to come to campus in the very early morning to simply say, “We are here for you. We care about you.”

This is the connection that runs so deeply through all of us. We care so much about this place that we call home, that we call our School, that we call our community. We believe in our core that because Collegiate had such an impact on us during our time as students we want to make sure our current students know there is an entire network of folks ready and willing to be there for them

in any possible way that they can. In that way, it is our job to create bridges from Collegiate to the greater world.

We are better because of each of you. Our alumni network is full of such talented and incredible people willing to lend a hand and support not only one another but the broader community. I am grateful for each one of you. I am in awe of you and the work that you do. For all of you I do not yet know, I hope you will reach out to me. I look forward to having the opportunity to meet each one of you and get to know you better. To all of our alumni, please reach out to me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I am here to lend a helping hand to all of you. I would love the opportunity to not only connect with you, but to help connect you to each other and to our students.

Warmly,

Anne Gray Siebert ’97

WELCOMING NEW STUDENTS

CHARLIE KURTZ ’36

Learning can be fun. That’s the primary takeaway from Charlie Kurtz’s ’36 first year at Collegiate. His mother, Ginnie Friddell Kurtz, graduated from the School in 2004. His favorite discovery made this year has been learning just how big the sun is. He has also enjoyed playing on the JK Village’s playground. “I love when we do fun activities like building sandcastles,” he says. “I’ve made a lot of friends, and that makes everything more fun.”

KONNOR JACKSON ’31

What stood out the most to Konnor Jackson ’31 during his first year at Collegiate were the math games his teacher Emma Harrison frequently played with the class. “We have all these really fun games we play in Mrs. Harrison’s class that help us learn,” he explains. “I’m learning things like music and math in different ways.”

And the friends he’s made brighten his days. “A lot of people at Collegiate are nice, and I’ve been making a lot of friends. I love playing basketball with friends during recess.”

His favorite lesson he’s learned this year? Cursive. Because, Konnor says, “It’s just a new way of writing that I enjoy.”

STELLA VETROVEC ’26

In late October, after Stella Vetrovec ’26 participated in her first Homecoming Pep Rally at Collegiate, she knew she found a school environment that was both rigorous academically and engaging socially.

“After Homecoming, I remember thinking that I definitely made the right decision in coming to Collegiate,” says Stella, whose father, John Vetrovec, graduated from the School in 1994.

She’s really enjoyed the small class sizes, which she feels allow her to connect with the teachers. “I think the teachers here are great,” she says. “When I’m struggling in a class, I feel like all the teachers here are willing to help. At Collegiate, you get to make really close connections with both the students and teachers, and I think that’s been encouraging.”

This fall, we welcomed a number of new students to the School, some of whom are legacies of Collegiate alumni.

To view the full list of new students admitted for the 2022-23 school year, please scan here.

We’re Not Giving Up On Sanibel

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO , Scott Crater ’87 and his wife Dana made Sanibel Island their home because of its small-town feel, irresistible recreational opportunities and the sheer beauty of the 12-mile-long paradise just off Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast.

They raised their children there. They came to know most of the island’s 6,000 permanent residents. They established their medical practices — his in dermatology, hers in pediatrics — in Fort Myers just across the Sanibel Causeway that spans San Carlos Bay.

They became involved with the Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ, reveled in the community’s caring and supportive nature, availed themselves of the island’s cultural and outdoor sports offerings and embraced their civic responsibilities, among them Scott’s service on City Council, which began in March 2021.

They were happy and fulfilled. Life was great. Then came the utter devastation wreaked by Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022.

“Everyone who lives here keeps an eye on the weather all summer long,” says Crater, a 1987 Collegiate graduate who earned a B.A. in English from Princeton (1991) and MD from the University of Virginia Medical School (1999). “About a week before the storm, there was a tropical wave due south of Cuba that didn’t look like much, but the forecasters said it would organize into a strong hurricane and go straight to Florida.”

By Weldon Bradshaw

As Ian approached, models showed it making landfall near Tampa roughly 125 miles north with the possibility of a catastrophic storm surge. As predictions rapidly evolved, residents of

Scott Crater ’87, a physician in Fort Myers and a member of the Sanibel Island City Council, has been supporting his community following the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Ian.

Lee County, which included Sanibel and Fort Myers, realized that they were in the direct path of this deadly Category 4 monster.

On Monday, Sept. 26, City Council met in emergency session and recommended voluntary evacuation.

As the wind intensified that evening, Scott, Dana and their youngest son Luke evacuated to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Fort Myers that would become Sanibel’s temporary City Hall for several months.

By 11 a.m. Wednesday, the wind inland was howling at almost 100 miles per hour. On the island it reached an estimated 150 miles per hour and remained constant for much of the day.

Cameras on Sanibel that monitor traffic during peak tourist season told a disturbing story that confirmed the dire predictions.

“Less than a mile from our house, we watched the water come in and rise and get to the bottom of the stop sign,” Crater says. “We realized that this was going to be very, very bad.”

Then the power went out. Communication was severely limited. Other than screen shots from CNN broadcasts texted by friends and relatives, there was no way to know exactly what was happening.

After a night of fitful halfsleep, Crater awakened Thursday to a Twilight Zone reality. The hotel had no power or water. Calls were coming in from frantic people trying to contact relatives. Thankfully, generators provided enough juice for computers and phone service.

“We had no idea how many people had stayed on the island,” he says. “We thought it might be 100. It turned out to be 1,000. Many of them were elderly. They

literally needed to be helicoptered out. It took days to evacuate everybody. There were four deaths that had to be investigated and the bodies removed. This was a very serious situation.”

Ian destroyed Sanibel’s entire power infrastructure. It leveled most of the island’s telephone poles. The water and sewage systems failed. Six houses burned to the ground.

The news would get even worse. The storm had severely damaged parts of the threemile-long causeway, the island’s single link to the mainland.

“We were not prepared for that eventuality at all,” he says. “It created a real challenge.”

Repair work began quickly on the span, which includes three bridges and two islands. In two weeks, it was open to some trucks. In another two weeks, it was open to the public.

Once the storm passed, the island remained off limits for almost a week because federal authorities were performing search and rescue missions and structural safety checks. On Day Two, though, the police secured a catamaran and took council members to see firsthand the scope of the devastation.

As they toured in a Toyota RAV-4 SUV, one of the very few usable vehicles available, the once-familiar landscape resembled a war zone, and a layer of slippery, gray, silty mud ranging from a half-inch to three inches thick covered the entire island. Walking and driving were highrisk endeavors.

“Unbelievable,” Crater says. “There were no people. Fire alarms were beeping from every building. Cars were in places they shouldn’t be. Dumpsters were in trees. Roofs were blown off.

“There’re 4,500 vacation condos on Sanibel Island. Even today, not one of them is usable. We got to a point on West Gulf Drive where we couldn’t go any farther because there was an entire building resting in the middle of the road. That sums up the nature and extent of the problem.”

Authorities estimated that the storm surge on Sanibel covered the entire island and crested at 15 feet.

“It was so bad because the eye never passed over Sanibel,” Crater says. “We were in the eye wall the entire time.”

On Day Six after securing a boat to ferry him across the bay, Crater finally got a good look at his house and found, amazingly, that only the lowest of three stories had suffered significant damage.

Since there was no electricity, the air conditioning unit didn’t work, and power tools were useless, so in the Florida heat, they used hatchets, sledgehammers, various hand tools and their bare hands to rip out drywall and insulation before hauling the refuse to the curb. Electricity, potable water and sewer access were restored to their home in mid-November.

“For about two weeks,” he says, “all we did was work as hard and as fast as we could. That was our distraction. We were in denial. We weren’t thinking about the direct consequences to us or anything else. We were thinking about the next few hours of tasks we had to accomplish. We just put our heads down and worked furiously and slept about two hours a night.”

Scott and Dana returned to work about 10 days after the storm because, though the coastal area had been decimated, much of Lee County sustained relatively minor damage and was up and running once power was restored.

After spending a week in the hotel, the Craters moved into a rental in Fort Myers where they remained until just after Christmas when they finally returned to their house.

“There’re nine homes on our street,” he says. “Only two are habitable. Several were ranchstyle houses built before flood regulations, so they were flooded to the ceiling. Probably 35 percent of homes on Sanibel and 70 percent of businesses were flooded to the ceiling. Compared to a lot of our friends, we’re very lucky.”

Shortly after the storm passed through, crews from power and debris removal companies from around the country arrived to assist in the massive repair effort. The total rebuilding effort could take years. The ongoing recovery has been very much a team effort among local, state and federal government entities, private companies that pitched in and neighbors helping neighbors.

“It’s been amazing,” Crater says. “The list of organizations that helped goes on and on. Everybody just worked to make things better. Everything’s pointing in the right direction, but it’s never going to be the same.”

Processing the events of Sept. 28 and the aftermath has been challenging at best.

“You can’t help but be affected,” Crater says. “There’s so much debris everywhere. There’re so many barren trees. Sanibel was very lush, very green. Now, it’s pretty brown. It’s getting better, but it’s been rough. We look at what we have. We have jobs and people we work with that we really like. We have our church community. We have our core group of friends. We’re not giving up on Sanibel.”

A DISH WORTH SHARING

Mary Margaret Chappell ’86 has found a life in France that merges her passion for cuisine and writing into a career.

Mary Margaret Chappell’s ’86 career has been a long, persistent pursuit of a life centered around the delight of making and sharing great meals. “Food is sharing,” Chappell says. “As a chef, you provide nourishment, and when you’re cooking, you’re thinking about who you’ll be giving that meal to. It’s exciting to be able to say, ‘Here, I’ve made this for you. Try this.’ There’s something very unique and intimate about that.”

For the last 15 years, Chappell has been living in Cancale, a small town on the English Channel in northwestern France, working as a food editor, freelance writer and cooking instructor (mycancalekitchen.com). To the outsider, the life Chappell fashioned for herself is a dream. But the journey towards reaching a dream is often a labyrinth of doubt. Since Chappell’s time at Collegiate, she has been certain of her love for France, for cuisine and for language. What she was less certain of was how to take these three passions and turn them into a profession.

Chappell took her first trip to France when she was 17, during the summer of her Junior year. It was a revelatory experience that Christine Rimbault, Chappell’s Upper School French Teacher at the time, arranged for her to take. “Until then, I experienced only really bland food, and then I arrived in France, where I lived with this French family, and my mind was blown,” Chappell says. “Everything was delicious. All the ingredients were fresh, and there was great pleasure and diligence taken in the preparation of a meal.”

The family she stayed with that summer taught her how to pick raspberries and make fresh jam. They would walk to the local farmers market to buy fresh zucchini and eggplant to make ratatouille. Each morning began with bread from the boulangerie around the corner layered in butter and that homemade jam. There was an art, she realized, to cooking, a cultivation of a culture pre-

When you’re interested in food, you’re into all kinds of food, and my career has embraced that.”

sented as a meal. “Cooking is the only essential art,” Chappell says. “You can’t live without eating. There is no other art in the world that we absolutely cannot live without.”

After graduating from the University of Virginia with degrees in English and French Language and Literature, Chappell began studying that essential art in earnest. Instead of spending her Junior year abroad, she returned to France after graduation for an unusual agreement: all the cooking and pastry classes she wanted in exchange for teaching English classes at a vocational culinary school in Grenoble. Alongside the other students preparing to become chefs, she learned there was “no preciousness involved in cooking,” that food was meant to be enjoyed without any arrogance attached to it. That’s been her mantra ever since. She ended up specializing in pastry arts, but at the time only French nationals could be awarded the CAP degrees in cooking and pastry.

After a year back in the US, Chappell returned to France, to Brittany. But she had to switch gears to find work. “At the time, to get work papers in France, you had to prove you could do something better than French people,” she explains. “And it’s tough to do that as a pastry chef!” She began teaching English classes all over Rennes and ultimately became the director of the language department in an engineering school and the cultural attaché for the Franco-American Institute.

Even as she progressed in her career over in France, something gnawed at her. There was an absence that she felt, at this stage of her life’s journey, she could not do without. She returned to pastry, working as an apprentice in a French bak-

ery three afternoons a week. “I was excited,” she says, “because I really missed pastry. It was so much fun to be back in the kitchen rolling croissants and dipping chocolates.” She also began missing her family, missing her friends. So after seven years in Rennes, she moved back to the States.

She landed in New York, where she found work in the pastry kitchen at the River Café in New York City. Three years and several restaurants later, she applied for a job as a food editor for First for Women Magazine and switched career tracks once more. With a love of literature, she had always found writing appealing. Writing about food seemed a perfect union: Chappell could continue learning about the craft of cooking and simultaneously share that knowledge with a broad audience. Her work as a food editor took her from New York, then back to Virginia and then out to Los Angeles while working for Vegetarian Times

Yet there was still something missing, something essential she was still searching for. “When you leave New York, when you leave LA, it’s because you’re no longer really happy there,” she says. “I wasn’t having a great time. And it was so strange, because I felt as though I should be enjoying myself. I kept on saying Yes to all these opportunities, but I found I really missed France. So I took a kind of sabbatical. I rented a house in Cancale on the coast of Brittany for a winter and did my freelance work from there.”

Chappell ended up buying a house on the harbor of the seaside town, which is famous for its shellfish. She found joy in walking the rugged, rocky shores searching for oysters and clams. She’s continued to share her culinary knowledge. Today,

Chappell has written a book on the desserts of Brittany, she contributes to the Oxford Food Symposium, is a contributing editor for Forks Over Knives magazine and publishes recipes on her own website.

“It’s taken me a long time to embrace the fact that Cancale is my home,” she says. “Cooking is what I’m passionate about, and I love discovering new recipes and new ways of cooking. Because when you’re interested in food, you’re into all kinds of food, and my career has embraced that. I’ve loved really learning about what’s local to Cancale and discovering ways to showcase that, because few people, even in France, really know the cuisine in Brittany.”

Possibly Chappell’s favorite way to share the excitements contained within the preparation of a meal is through her in-home cooking classes. When she’s holding these classes, which are by

design meant to demystify the more daunting aspects of cooking, she encourages participants to follow their own impulses. They are intimate, small, full of experimentation and laughter. The groups focus on simple recipes with big taste profiles. “I tell people, ‘You don’t have to follow exactly what I say. Trust your palate. Flavor this however you like.’ It’s just part of what I like to do in cooking, which is to demystify the whole process.”

When a group finishes making their meals, they all gather around Chappell’s table. It’s like any dinner party shared with friends. Chappell feels at home during her cooking classes, everyone gathering around a table to share a meal. “The atmosphere of the class promotes exchange,” Chappell says. “Everyone’s talking, excited to try each other’s creations. We’re each saying, ‘Here, try this. Try mine.’”

A Network of Support

Formed in the fall of 2022, the Alumni Committee works to sustain relationships between graduates and current students.

Amrik Sahni ’06, Lauren Cricchi ’10, Jasmine Turner Perry ’11 and Luke Walker ’12 are on a Zoom conference call, talking about ways to support current Collegiate students. It’s just after noon on a warm gift of a day in mid-February. Outside, students are eating lunch around McFall Hall, taking in the serendipitous sun.

These alumni represent a microcosm of what Collegiate School’s Alumni Committee does best: foster connections — no matter the age difference, no matter the distance of separation — between both current and former Collegiate students.

The Alumni Committee, which was formed in the fall of 2022 as an extension of the Alumni Association, is intended to sustain relationships among alumni and create opportunities for graduates to come back to North Mooreland Road and connect with students as they prepare for the next stages of their lives. “I think it’s really easy to leave a place and then continue to go on with your life, but I think this Alumni Committee — and the Alumni Association in general — is an exciting opportunity to literally create a bridge back to campus for alumni,” says Turner Perry, who serves as the Alumni Association

President. “We can act in supporting roles, and that support can take a number of different forms.”

Over the next 35-plus minutes, the Alumni Committee discusses specifics about planning for this spring’s Senior Transition program. Even over Zoom, the Committee members are close; they share a harmonious bond that is guided by mutual goals. They talk enthusiastically about who they should invite to lead sessions with the members of the Class of 2023. Walker says he intends to reach out to a few members from his graduating class that might offer unique perspectives, and Cricchi immediately chimes in with a few members from her own class that she thinks serve as models of good character for current students.

“I like giving kids the opportunity to hear alternative perspectives about the future,” Sahni says, summarizing everyone’s excitement.

Because that’s what it’s all about, really: shepherding students as they move forward, helping guide them towards a bright future. It’s past 12:45 now. Given their charges, the members of the Committee say their goodbyes, laughing with each other. And then they log off, with thoughts of the Collegiate students top of mind.

CLASS NOTES

No matter where our life takes us beyond North Mooreland Road, we are always uniquely connected by our time spent at Collegiate School. Class Notes offers a window into that shared bond between fellow alumni.

In our fall issue of the Spark, we misrepresented Kathleen Beattie Watkins ’60 with the incorrect photograph. We apologize for the error. Beattie Watkins was the mother of Kendall McGlynn ’87 and Stewart Allen ’89. She died July 23, 2022.

1936

Maria Burroughs Livingston died July 24, 2022 at age 103.

1950

Charles L. Reed Jr., who attended Collegiate as a Kindergartner and later graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, and who is the brother of Jane Reed Fields ’52; father of Charles Reed ’83 and John Reed ’85; grandfather of Larus Reed ’16, Robertson Reed ’18, Laney Reed ’18, Mercer Reed ’19 and Annie Reed ’25, died Dec. 22, 2022.

Marion Pleasants Trice, mother of Eleanor Trice ’86, died Dec. 21, 2022.

1951

Ferebee Cooper, who went to Collegiate and graduated from St. Margaret’s School in Tappahannock, died Dec. 15, 2022.

1961

Susan Bowman Reynolds, sister of Jane Bowman Fain ’74 and John Bowman ’74, and

aunt of Courtney Fain ’01, John Fain ’04 and Gray Fain ’07, died Jan. 30, 2023.

1962

Nancy Joyce Burgess died Sept. 20, 2022.

1964

Randall Pollard Gamble, sister of James Pollard ’69, died Dec. 10, 2022.

Bonnalyn “Lynn” Bugg Pritchard died Nov. 5, 2022.

1965

“This spring will mark the 30th anniversary of my shop, Frillseekers,” says Anne Dobbins Brasfield, “which I began with fellow classmate Jane Bowry Butler in 1993 in a tiny spot on Grove Avenue. After one year, we expanded to a larger space next door, and Frillseekers has been growing ever since! Sadly, Jane passed away a few years into our partnership, and I became the sole owner. Another classmate, Beverley Brockenbrough Watts was a valued employee and colleague for many years. About 16 years ago, my sister, Leigh Dobbins Johnson ’78, another Collegiate alumna, and I opened the Shops at 5807 on Patterson Avenue. We sold the overall business in 2019 to another former Collegiate student, Kate Blanton

Thomas. Collegiate friendships and ties have played a major part in both businesses’ growth, and I cherish the old and new friends who have been such a valuable part of my business through the years. I still love what I do and am energized by the daily challenges and rewards of running a small business. Come see us!”

1967 Barbara Traynham

Dorin died Jan. 6, 2023.

1969

Thomas Adams, who went to Collegiate until 10th Grade and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, died Jan. 9, 2023.

1972

The Class of 1972 celebrated its 50th reunion during Homecoming Weekend. “It was so much fun,” Beth Watlington Marchant writes, “and unbelievable that it had been 50 years since we had all been together.” All events were held on campus and that made planning easy for the class. “We sure did miss those who could not attend,” Beth says. “Many of us agreed that we won’t wait another five years to see each other again.” Those in attendance at the Saturday night party were:

Becky LeCompte Thornton, Pam Wagner Johnson, Wynne Stuart, Missy Herod, Stephanie Lelong Waller, Alison Brawner Warfield, Connie Spilman, Priscilla

Fairlamb Stinson, Jane Woolford Wortham, Mary Conner, Ellen Hatcher Hamner, Pam Guilford Redd,

Mary Bennett Ellison, Brenda

Britten Mathews, Tricia

Dykers Koenig, Susan Smith

Stewart, Anne Harrison

Rose Alferink, Mary Crouch

Mackercher, Sally Burford, Margie Whiteside Farquhar, Joan Pruitt Buhrman, Bland

Goddin Carmichael, Ann Young Fairman, Kim Gentil, Beth Watlington Marchant, Johnny Ransone, Chris

Trimmer, David Nickel, Chris Wiltshire, Coleman Allen, David Smith, Billy Cogar, Behle Schaaf and Chris Oates.

“The Legacy Lunch was a great opportunity to tour the Upper and Middle Schools and to have an early glimpse of classmates,” she says. “Please feel free to contact me at bethmarchant4@gmail.com if you’d like to share any news!”

Craig Martin died Jan. 23, 2023.

1973

So many Cougars came together to celebrate Janet Northen Patterson’s daughter Dory Patterson Hudgins’s wedding in Chapel Hill on Sept. 10, 2022.

1976

James “Jimmie” Massie III, father of Jimmie Massie ’04, William Massie ’06, Becky Massie ’10 and John Massie ’12, and brother of Alex Massie ’79 and Sara Massie Grattan ’83, died Jan. 25, 2023.

1977

Brian Richardson writes that he and his wife had a gathering of Collegiate faculty at their Highland County farm for a weekend retreat a little over a year ago. They talked about an annual event to introduce students and faculty to rural life. The Richardsons also hosted class reunions for members of the Class of ’77. Their 1865 barn is set up for music performances as well, and they already host an Irish music camp each year.

1978

Mary Garner DeVoe writes, “I returned to Richmond in 2019 with my husband and our little dog. It is good to be home after being gone for 40 years, and I appreciate the love and support of the Cougar family upon the loss of my dear younger brother, Jay ’82.”

30 years of marriage in April!” Faye says. “Still trying to decide how to celebrate both things — a vacation for two or a trip to see our two grandsons in Texas?”

Elizabeth Parker Davis wanted to share some news from the class of 1989. Betsy Davis Reynard has joined the events and operations team in the Napa office of the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The 24th annual V Wine Celebration, which took place Aug. 4-7, 2022, in Napa Valley, raised over $6.5 million. The V Foundation funds gamechanging research and all-star scientists to accelerate the victory over cancer and save lives. Fellow Collegiate Cougar Russell Wilson ’07 and his wife, Ciara, serve on the V Foundation’s board of directors. In addition, Betsy was featured in 57° Magazine’s spring 2022 issue. (The V Foundation is also hosting its 8th annual Virginia Vine event from April 14-16. Visit virginiavine.v.org for more information.)

1989

After practicing as a physician’s assistant full-time for more than 28 years, Faye Bublitz Hodgin now serves as the director of clinical education for the physician’s assistant program at Cedarville University. She’s finishing her dissertation to complete her doctoral studies and plan to defend in April. “My husband and I will also celebrate

1. So many Cougars came together to celebrate Janet Northen Patterson’s daughter Dory Patterson Hudgins’s wedding in Chapel Hill on Sept. 10, 2022. Pictured from left: Sarah Brucker Northen Baldock ’02, Janie Buhrman Mallard ’73, Janet Northen Patterson ’73, Buzzy Northen ’73, Gail Merrick Ebersole ’73 and Lib Northen ’70.

2. Brian Richardson ’77 and his wife had a gathering of Collegiate faculty at their Highland County farm for a weekend retreat a little over a year ago.

3. Betsy Davis Reynard ’89 has joined the events and operations team in the Napa office of the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Paul Layfield, cousin of Gaylon Layfield III ’69, died Dec. 5, 2022.

Claire “Scott” McMullan ’78, sister of Anne McMullan Flint ’73, died Jan. 15, 2023.

1994

Sagle Jones Purcell and her husband, Tup, continue to live in Richmond and are enjoying watching their kids thrive and grow at Collegiate. Their oldest, Addison ’26, enjoys track and field and horseback rides year round with the Hampden Row team. Tee ’28, their middle son, enjoys football, wrestling and lacrosse. Carter ’30, their youngest son, just entered Middle School. He enjoys football, basketball and riding dirt bikes. “We also added a French bulldog to our collection of animals in 2022!” she says.

1997

Courtney Ruth married Sterling Turner Sept. 24, 2022, in Richmond. Daughters

Lilly Lynch and Skyla Turner celebrated the big day.

After a decade on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University’s division of infectious diseases and serving as the hospital epidemiologist for the Richmond VA Medical Center, Bo Vaughan has started his own private practice where he serves as medical

director for Infusion Solutions LLC and its sister company, Clinical Research Partners LLC. He lives in Midlothian with his wife, Amanda, and two children, Marshall and Rosalie.

2000

Peyton Jenkins reports that his family of five is doing well. His two older boys are enjoying 1st and 4th Grade at Collegiate. He meets regularly on Fridays for bible study with a number of fellow Collegiate alumni, including Marshall Schutt ’98, Bo Vaughan ’97, Peter Farrell ’02, Stuart Farrell ’03 and Joseph Lawson ’06.

2002

Matt Eisenman and his wife, Dana, welcomed their third child this fall. Drew Maxwell Eisenman was born Oct. 30, 2022.

2003

Jack Randolph Morgan was born to Christopher Morgan and his wife Ashley on Feb. 10, 2022.

Dr. John M. Daniel IV was recently named one of the top doctors in Kansas City, Mo. for Neonatal Intensive

Care in 2023. He is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine, specializing in ICU care for infants with critical congenital heart disease. Since 2020, he has served as the Director of the Neonatal Extracorporeal Life Support Program, which provides cardiopulmonary bypass care to sick infants, at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Additionally, he serves as the Associate Medical Director for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

2004

Jimmie Massie IV is the pastor for a church plant in Essex, England. City Church Chelmsford launched in the summer of 2021 and has grown rapidly. They are working with their spending church to create a network devoted to church planting and revitalization in a place where less than five percent go to church. Find out more at MissionEssex.com.

2005

Christina Merchant Carpenter and her husband,

Tom, had their third child, Mae Catherine Carpenter, on Nov. 18, 2022.

2006

Claire Gentil married John McMahon on Oct. 3, 2020, at Mount Ida Farm with a celebration on Feb. 26, 2022, at Farmington Country Club that included many Collegiate Cougar friends and family. Claire works as an orthopedic trauma and oncology nurse practitioner at University of Virginia Health in Charlottesville. Husband John is chief executive officer of Schuyler Greens Co. They live in Scottsville.

1. Sagle Jones Purcell ’94 and her husband, Tup, continue to live in Richmond and are enjoying watching their kids thrive and grow at Collegiate.

2. Courtney Ruth ’97 married Sterling Turner Sept. 24, 2022, in Richmond.

3. After a decade on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University’s division of infectious diseases and serving as the hospital epidemiologist for the Richmond VA Medical Center, Bo Vaughan ’97 has started his own private practice.

4. Matt Eisenman ’02 and his wife, Dana, welcomed their third child this fall. Drew Maxwell Eisenman was born Oct. 30, 2022.

5. Jack Randolph Morgan was born to Christopher Morgan ’03 and his wife Ashley on Feb. 10, 2022.

6. Christina Merchant Carpenter ’05 and her husband, Tom, had their third child, Mae Catherine Carpenter, on Nov. 18, 2022.

7. Claire Gentil ’06 married John McMahon on Oct. 3, 2020, at Mount Ida Farm with a celebration on Feb. 26, 2022, at Farmington Country Club that included many Collegiate Cougar friends and family.

2007

Lindsay Haw McLaughlin and husband Collin welcomed their first child, Maddi Green McLaughlin, born on Sept. 3, 2022.

Brittany Hallberg Rosell, husband Bruce and daughter Riley welcomed Stuart Bruce Rosell on July 29, 2022.

2008

Charlotte Luck Ocheltree was born on Nov. 10, 2022, to Alexis Janes Ocheltree and Evan Ocheltree ’05. She joins big sister Elizabeth “Blake” Ocheltree, age three.

2009

Libby Rosebro Chriss and her husband, Matt, welcomed their first child, Robert “Bo” Henry Alevizatos Chriss, on Oct. 16, 2022.

2011

Amanda Johnson Brumbaugh writes that 2022 was a big year for the Class of 2011. “We welcomed four baby girls into our group and are just in love. We can’t wait for all the memories to come with our girls so close in age!”

On June 18, 2022, David Thalhimer married Chase Hughes in Palm Beach, Fla. They celebrated among friends and family, many of whom were Cougars.

Blair Munford married John Von Ahnen Sept. 17, 2022.

2022

Trinity

Greene Earley, who left Collegiate after 9th Grade and graduated from Hermitage High School, died Feb. 2, 2023.

1. Lindsay Haw McLaughlin ’07 and husband Collin welcomed their first child, Maddi Green McLaughlin, born on Sept. 3, 2022.

2. Brittany Hallberg Rosell ’07, husband Bruce and daughter Riley welcomed Stuart Bruce Rosell on July 29, 2022.

3. Libby Rosebro Chriss ’09 and her husband, Matt, welcomed their first child, Robert “Bo” Henry Alevizatos Chriss, on Oct. 16, 2022.

4. Amanda Johnson Brumbaugh ’11 says that 2022 was a big year for the Class of 2011, who welcomed four baby girls into their group. Pictured from left to right: Barrett (daughter of Amanda Johnson Brumbaugh); Mae (daughter of Cassie Rawles Wagner); Mabry (daughter of Ellen Geho Finney); Grace (daughter of Annie Cosby Gottwald).

5. On June 18, 2022, David Thalhimer ’11 married Chase Hughes in Palm Beach, Fla.

6. Blair Munford ’11 married John Von Ahnen Sept. 17, 2022.

IN MEMORIAM

Shirley Lewis Massey, mother of John Massey ’71, died Aug. 7, 2022.

Eugene Norman, father of Upper School English Teacher Mil Norman-Risch, and grandfather of Melanie Risch ’09 and Chris Risch ’11, died Sept. 21, 2022.

James Remington, father of Jill Remington Powers ’79, John Remington ’81 and Eric Remington ’82, died Sept. 23, 2022.

Lt. Col. John Roadcap, brother of former faculty member Beth Tracy and uncle of Bart Tracy ’04, died Sept. 23, 2022.

Fernando “Ferdy” Rivera, stepgrandfather of Reese Dudley ’28 and Tatum Dudley ’31, died Oct. 1, 2022.

Cordelia Garofalo, sister of Lucy Negus ’55, died Oct. 2, 2022.

James Fields, husband of Jane Reed Fields ’52, died Oct. 7, 2022.

Frank Call, husband of Susan Stokes Call ’56, father of Beverley Call Davis ’79 and Tim Call, and grandfather of Camilla Davis, Connor Davis ’15, Frederic Davis ’17, Colin Call and Tucker Call ’32, died Oct. 9, 2022.

Arthur Harrison Jr., father of Arthur Harrison III ’86 and Kennon Harrison ’86, died Oct. 10, 2022.

Frank Miner Jr., grandfather of Kyle Miner ’07, died Oct. 11, 2022.

Champe Armstrong, mother of Anne Armstrong Bevilacqua ’70 and Margaret Armstrong White ’73, died Oct. 14, 2022, at age 104.

Gilbert Johnson, grandfather of Kevin Johnson ’24, died Oct. 18, 2022.

Alton Fonville Jr., father of David Fonville III ’92, Blair Fonville ’94 and Mark Fonville and grandfather of Daniel Fonville ’24, David Fonville ’26, AnneClare Fonville ’26, Charlotte Fonville ’28 and Hudson Fonville ’34, died Oct. 20, 2022.

Betty Turkal, grandmother of Kristie Turkal ’14, died Oct. 25, 2022.

Dudley Marstellar, brother of Ellen Marstellar ’08 and Gussie Marstellar ’11, died Oct. 26, 2022.

Sarah Harrison, mother of Scott Harrison ’86, died Oct. 30, 2022.

John Tucker, father of Joan Tucker Cullum ’75, died Oct. 30, 2022.

Donna Michaelis, mother of staff member Kristen Williams, mother-in-law of Preston Williams ’88, and grandmother of Carter Williams ’24 and Elly Williams ’24, died Oct. 31, 2022.

condolences are offered to these members of the Collegiate family.

Aileene Britten, mother of Beverly Britten Moore ’71 and Brenda Britten Mathews ’72, and grandmother of David Mathews ’02 and Britten Mathews ’06, died Nov. 7, 2022.

Betty Stainback, mother of Dudley Stainback ’73, died Nov. 2, 2022.

Pamela Farrar, mother of Beth Farrar Smith ’86 and Anne Farrar Hayes ’88, died Nov. 12, 2022.

Joseph Gazala, father of Cathy Gazala Schaffer ’74, died Nov. 12, 2022, at age 100.

Robert Silverstein, grandfather of Bailey Silverstein ’32 and Jacob Silverstein ’34, died Nov. 17, 2022.

Kennon “K.C.” Whittle, husband of Sigrid Lynn Whittle ’58, died Nov. 18, 2022.

Norwood “Woody” Woodard, former faculty member and coach, and stepfather of Westray Bunn Veasey ’86, died Nov. 20, 2022.

Evelyn Harter, mother of Michael Bland ’83 and Elizabeth Harter Watson ’95, and grandmother of Jack Bland ’13 and Emily Bland ’15, died Nov. 22, 2022.

Evelyn Anderson, mother of Garland Anderson ’70 and Helen Anderson Carter ’74; mother-in-law of Willy Carter ’74; grandmother of Matt Anderson ’00, Hall Carter ’01,

Brooks Anderson Whitten ’02 and Clay Carter ’05; grandmother-in-law of Happy Vaughan Anderson ’95 and Harrison Whitten ’02; and great-grandmother of Harper Anderson ’29, Townsend Anderson ’31, Elsie Anderson ’33 and Catherine Carter ’34, died Nov. 29, 2022.

Janice Pogue, mother of Walker Pogue ’92, died Dec. 8, 2022.

Dr. Nazir Chaudhary, father of Hasan Chaudhary ’98 and Shawn Chaudhary ’00, died Dec. 10, 2022.

Frederick Dabney, father of Cameron Dabney Harrington ’93, Carter Dabney ’96 and Wythe Dabney ’02, and grandfather of David Dabney ’26 and Blake Dabney ’29, died Dec. 13, 2022.

Neil Hodges, father-in-law of John Wyatt ’88, and grandfather of Jack Wyatt ’18, Hardy Wyatt ’19 and Gordon Wyatt, died on Dec. 14, 2022.

Charles Saunders, father-in-law of Manya Saunders ’93, died Dec. 16, 2022.

Raymond Wallace, father of Lee Wallace Reid ’88, and grandfather of Vaden Reid ’18 and Latané Reid ’20, died Dec. 16, 2022.

Mary Flowers White, former Trustee, mother of Hunter White ’85, Bill White ’86 and Porter White ’88, and honorary

Our

mother of Suneeta Hazra ’88, died Dec. 20, 2022.

Walter Pettus, longtime friend of the School assisting Robby Turner with softball for many years, died Dec. 22, 2022.

Howard Beach, father of Leslie Beach Plucinski ’99, grandfather of Michael Plucinski ’29, James Plucinski ’30 and Jonathan Plucinski ’34, died Dec. 23, 2022.

William Smith, husband of former Lower School faculty member Linda Smith, and grandfather of Taylor Haug ’28, died Dec. 23, 2022.

William Andrews, father of Alicia Andrews Sacks and Elizabeth Andrews Hyman ’83; father-in-law of Chris Hyman ’79; grandfather of Toddy Hyman Jordan ’14, Emma Hyman ’17, Stewart Hyman ’18 and Christian Hyman ’21, died Dec. 25, 2022.

Ross Hotchkiss Jr., husband of longtime Kindergarten faculty member Betty Hotchkiss, father of Anne Hotchkiss Fox ’79, Bland Hotchkiss Wall ’80 and Ross Hotchkiss III ’82, died Dec. 25, 2022.

Joseph Quinn, greatgrandfather of Ella Siebert ’27, Anna Siebert ’29, Archer Siebert ’31 and Frank Siebert ’34, died Dec. 30, 2022. Thomas Brizzolara, grandfather of Ryan Brizzolara ’08, Casey Brizzolara ’13, Mark

PLEASE NOTE: These notices were received as of Feb. 9, 2023. This In Memoriam section is taken from printed obituaries, which may be edited for space. Please contact our office if the information is incomplete. The information included is compiled from our database, which is continually updated. To submit a condolence, email spark@collegiate-va.org.

Brizzolara ’15 and Lauren Brizzolara ’18, died Jan. 2, 2023.

Peter Powell, father of Marsh Powell Hayes ’88, died Jan. 2, 2023.

Raymond Spence, husband of former Kindergarten Teacher Ann Spence, father of Lee Spence ’79 and Walter Spence ’84, and grandfather of Walter “Bucky” Spence ’14, died Jan. 3, 2023.

Martha “Penny” Harris, mother of Kathryn Covington Black ’75 and Kent Covington ’76, died Jan. 4, 2023.

James Paxton, father of Sarah Paxton ’84 and Eleanor Paxton Nurney ’86, and grandfather of Lucy Thornton ’19, died Jan. 5, 2023.

Martin Deane Cheatham IV, son of Deane Cheatham ’84 and Cindy Clay Cheatham ’85, and brother of Caroline Cheatham Schiele ’12 and Clayton Cheatham , died Jan. 7, 2023.

Peter Chiodo, father of Upper School Math teacher Kristine Chiodo, died Jan. 7, 2023.

Patricia “Dean” Robertson, former Upper School English Teacher, died Jan. 12, 2023.

Henry Spalding Jr., father of Mary Parke Spalding Holland ’81, and grandfather of Ben Spalding ’13 and Emily Spalding ’16, died Jan. 13, 2023.

Adele VanDivender, former Lower School Librarian and mother of Katie VanDivender Chernau ’77 and Carol VanDivender Minton ’80, died Jan. 13, 2023.

Lizora Yonce, sister of former Administrator Cliff Miller, aunt of Cliff Miller ’89 and Laura Miller Meyers ’90, and great-aunt of Tom Meyers ’24 and Neil Meyers ’26, died Jan. 14, 2023.

William Broaddus, grandfather of Liza Dent Wheeler ’13 and Catharine Dent ’15, died Jan. 17, 2023.

Dr. Mary Jane Sale, mother of Mary Burruss ’81, died Jan. 19, 2023.

Leighton Klevana, father of Leighton Klevana ’87, fatherin-law of Chandler Thaxton Klevana ’91, and grandfather of Elizabeth Klevana ’19 and Leighton Klevana ’21, died Jan. 24, 2023.

James “Jimmie” Massie III ’76, father of Jimmie Massie ’04, William Massie ’06, Becky Massie ’10 and John Massie ’12, and brother of Alex Massie ’79 and Sara Massie Grattan ’83, died Jan. 25, 2023.

John “Luke” Fergusson, son of Anne Thornton Fergusson ’81 and brother of Liza Fergusson ’23 died Feb. 2, 2023.

Mary Graeber, mother of Jeff Graeber ’79 and Marianne Graeber Wild ’84 and

grandmother of McClain Graeber ’16 and Thomas Graeber ’18, died Feb. 2, 2023.

Harry Shaia, father of Anthony Shaia ’78, Greg Shaia ’80, John Shaia ’81, Chris Shaia ’82 (deceased), Anne-Marie Shaia Condlin ’84, Chip Shaia ’85; and grandfather of Claire Shaia ’20, Harry Shaia ’22, A.J. Condlin ’23, Anna Grace Shaia ’24 and Thomas Shaia ’26, died Feb. 7, 2023.

William Boyd, father of Director of the Arts Mike Boyd, father-in-law of Director of JK-12 Capstones Rhiannon Boyd, and grandfather of former student Ava Boyd, died Feb. 9, 2023.

ALUMNI

Maria Burroughs

Livingston ’36

Charles L. Reed Jr. ’50

Marion Pleasants Trice ’50

Ferebee Cooper ’51

Susan Bowman Reynolds ’61

Nancy Joyce Burgess ’62

Bonnalyn “Lynn” Bugg

Pritchard ’64

Randall Pollard Gamble ’64

Barbara Traynham

Dorin ’67

Thomas Adams ’69

Craig Martin ’72

James “Jimmie”

Massie III ’76

Paul Layfield ’78

Claire “Scott” McMullan ’78

Trinity Greene Earley ’22

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

The spirit of Collegiate reminds us all of what makes this School so special. It’s the endless possibilities and opportunities felt from day one of stepping onto campus. Your support illustrates the belief in our mission, enables us to directly support the student experience and helps the community continue to thrive.

WHEN DOES THE ANNUAL FUND BEGIN AND END?

Collegiate’s Annual Fund (our fiscal year) begins July 1 each year and ends June 30.

WHO PARTICIPATES IN THE ANNUAL FUND?

The entire Collegiate community — parents, alumni, former faculty and staff, grandparents, parents of alumni and other friends.

WHAT DOES THE ANNUAL FUND SUPPORT?

All aspects of School life. From books and subscriptions in each of our three libraries to petri dishes in the science lab, from arts and athletic equipment to faculty support, your investment allows Collegiate to prepare our students to become responsible citizens, inquisitive thinkers and compassionate leaders.

HOW CAN I MAKE A GIFT TO THE ANNUAL FUND?

Credit Card

Collegiate’s website has a Giving Page (collegiate-va.org/giving/make-a-gift) that is a secure site where you can make a credit card donation or call the Development Office at 804.741.9706 and we’d be happy to help you.

Stock

We accept gifts of appreciated securities. Please call the Development Office: 804.741.9706.

Online Giving Form: Venmo: @CollegiateRVA

Mail Make checks payable to: “Collegiate School.”

Collegiate School Development Office 103 N. Mooreland Road Richmond, VA 23229

Phone Call our Main Development Office line: 804.741.9706.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SCHOOL.

Because of you, Collegiate can continue to provide an extraordinary educational experience to our students.

TEACHER’S TAKE

Monica Melton

SPARK TALKS WITH MIDDLE SCHOOL FRENCH TEACHER

MONICA MELTON

Each spring, Middle School French Teacher Monica Melton, now in her 18th year at Collegiate, takes a group of 8th Graders to France. During the 10-day trip, students do more than simply practice their French. In addition to total language immersion, students learn to connect what they’ve learned in the classroom to the broader world. “That trip for me encapsulates everything that I think education is meant to be,” Melton says. “Yes, students will become more comfortable speaking French, but they’ll also learn to connect with people living lives that are different from their own and they’ll learn how to independently manage being in situations that are totally novel.” In so many ways, this is Melton’s daily approach to teaching: encouraging students to embrace the exciting challenges of discovery. Melton sat down with Spark to discuss the joys of teaching at Collegiate, her teaching style and the fun of learning.

WHAT MAKES TEACHING AT COLLEGIATE SO SPECIAL?

The small class sizes we have at Collegiate give me the time to really see my students. This gives me the opportunity to understand what brings them joy or what overwhelms them or what challenges them, and I try supporting them the best way I can.

The difference, for me, between just teaching a student and seeing them as a learner is knowing that education goes further than a letter grade. As an educator at Collegiate, I feel that my charge is to really support these students in every aspect of their life. This goes beyond teaching them world languages. This means connecting with them during other activities throughout the day. It’s about seeing them as an individual community member.

WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO TEACHING?

I like to build a culture of comfort in the classroom. If students feel comfortable, then they’re able to take more risks when learning a new language. I often do that by sharing with students anecdotes of how I’m still making mistakes as a language learner. Language isn’t about perfection. It’s about expression. It’s about having fun with language. And if I can affirm for them along the way that they can be successful in expressing themselves, then students will continue to have fun and take those risks.

WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOUR STUDENTS HAVE TAUGHT YOU?

Gosh, students teach me something every day, which is part of the joy of working in the Middle School. My students teach me humility. And by watching them learn and progress as students they remind me that language is a process. They’ve also helped me understand that everyone’s learning experience is different and that everyone’s emotional experience is different. Each student is energized in a unique way, and you have to connect with students on an individual level. As a teacher, that’s really exciting — to have the privilege of getting to know a student in that way, of understanding how each one of them learns.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR STUDENTS

TAKE WITH THEM WHEN THEY LEAVE YOUR CLASSROOM?

An awareness of what’s going on around them. In this way, learning a world language becomes more about engaging with the people and communities who speak that language. I want my students to recognize that the French language represents many different stories from diverse Francophone people and experiences. It’s special to see that awareness shift happening in real time, especially when traveling with students. Whether they learn French or another language, I want all of our students to feel empowered that they can learn to communicate in a second (or third!) language.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

As a language teacher, my goal is always communication — for a student to connect with someone that is speaking a different language. Whenever those aha moments happen, when students stop trying to think in English and are able to just express themselves in a

second language, that’s always wonderful. The biggest smiles come when students are able to authentically express themselves.

WHAT DO YOU FIND EXCITING ABOUT THE FUTURE OF COLLEGIATE?

It’s encouraging to me to see Collegiate continue to embrace the whole student. So it’s not just about the learning that happens in a classroom. It’s also about the learning that happens during a Capstone, or the learning that happens in an assembly or out in the community. Collegiate is continuing to consider the different areas where learning takes place.

103 North Mooreland Road Richmond, Virginia 23229

In January, Kindergartners and their Senior buddies got crafty together making seasonal decorations. Collegiate’s Kindergarten Buddies program represents just one of the opportunities students from different divisions have to connect and learn from each other.