Alumni News and Notes

Academics

• Kate Oliver ’16 was the MICDS Class of 2022 Valedictorian and spoke at graduation in May. Kate was also a 2022 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete in honor of her field hockey, lacrosse, and track and field successes as well as her academic accomplishments including being a member of the Cum Laude Society.

• Peyton LaMartina ’16, Maggie Maguire ’16, Kate Oliver ’16, and Frank Ragone ’16 were inducted into the MICDS Cum Laude Society. The MICDS Chapter of the Cum Laude Society is comprised of the top 20% of the senior class, and each inductee is required to have completed three or more Advanced Placement courses and be free of disciplinary infractions.

• Lillian Yanagimoto ’17, Sara Cao ’16, and Jacob Tuteur ’17 won awards for the Scholastic Writing Contest.

Athletics

• Brandon Mitchell-Day ’16 was the lead point scorer on his MICDS basketball team in various games, became a member of the 1,000 Point Club having earned over 1,000 points for MICDS Varsity Basketball, was named the High School StudentAthlete of the Week, and made the All-Metro Boys Basketball Second Team.

• Congrats to the 200 Medley Relay team at John Burroughs School for medalling in 4th place at the Class 1 State Championship in November 2022. Members include Xander Theodos ’18 and Camden Theodos ’20.

• Connor Kaplan ’17 earned 1st team All Metro League honors in soccer for John Burroughs School.

• Christopher Tao ’20 and the John Burroughs School boys cross country team placed third at state in Class 3.

• The Gateway Chess League recognized several students for their outstanding play, including Amaan Banga ’16 who placed 5th on Board 3 and Jack Parsons ’18 who placed 5th on Board 2 in the high school division.

Arts

• Spencer Ma ’16 and Diane Li ’18 participated in the MSHSAA District Solo/Ensemble Festival in March 2022 and earned the Outstanding rating in their string trio and flute, respectively.

• Hayley Edwards ’18, Katharine Pruett ’18, Carolina Sanchez ’18, and Lillian Yanagimoto ’17 were selected to participate in the Emerson Young Artists Showcase at The St. Louis Artist’ Guild. The Guild received over 280 entries from area high schools.

• SIUE received nearly 200 entries from regional high schools for their 2022 Annual High School Art Exhibition. Only 50 percent of submissions were selected, and they included works from Sara Cao ’16 and Julia Reichman ’17.

Service & Leadership

• Coumba Diallo ’16 earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her work on youth in transition in St. Louis, Missouri and Saint Louis, Senegal. She created the Xale Reew Mi Project, dedicated to addressing the emotional health of older foster children and teens. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn.

• Noah Kleinlehrer ’16 testified before the Missouri House Committee on Bill 2000 – ‘Holocaust Education Week’ for Missouri Public Schools. After bringing the bill idea to Representative Schwadron, he was invited to spend the day with him and meet other representatives on the house floor and Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe to discuss Bill 2000. At Senior Night in April 2022, Noah announced that the bill officially passed.

• Hadley Altvater ’19 and Grant LaMartina ’19 were elected as the Student Council Grade Level Representatives for the MICDS Class of 2025.

• Elizabeth Clarke ’17 and Mia Schlottmann ’19 received Presidential Volunteer Service Awards for their outstanding service work in 2020 at John Burroughs School.

• Peyton LaMartina ’16 served as the MICDS Student Council Co-President during the 2021-22 school year. She got to help crown the 2022 May Queen at the annual May Day celebration. Peyton also spoke at several assemblies and served as a leader for her peers.

• Coumba Diallo ’16, Noah Kleinlehrer ’16, and Kyle Sha ’17 were three of the 46 Rams who earned a President’s Volunteer Service Award at MICDS.

Notes

• Caroline Kraus ’79, who spent the past several years traveling throughout the U.S. with her dog, Henry, has finished her documentary, Moments of Truth, and is working on her second memoir.

Where are our 2016 graduates going to college?

Bocconi University

Boston College

Bowdoin College

Bucknell University

Colgate University

Cornell University

Dartmouth College

Duke University

George Washington University

Indiana University

Iowa State University

Northwestern University

Saint Louis University

Southern Methodist University

The University of Tampa

Tufts University

Tulane University

University of California, Los Angeles

University of Chicago

University of Colorado

University of Miami

University of New Hampshire

University of Southern California

University of Virginia

Wake Forest University

Washington University in St. Louis

Yale University

In this season of gratitude, I’m grateful for the return to normalcy this year which has allowed us to come together in the ways we love best. Assemblies and plays are back, and the delight that the children have in simply being together is joyful. We’re able to serve family-style meals again, where the children sing grace and focus on the things that they’re thankful for – for friends, for family, and for each other.

I am thankful for your generous hearts, which have supported and sustained our school over the last 108 years and especially over these last three years. Without the robust support of our donors, we could not have created an environment over the last three years for students to thrive. In our recently-completed Pledge Week, we had an amazing third consecutive year of 100% support from parents, faculty, administrators, and the Board of Trustees. Thank you! I am so grateful to be part of such a caring community.

If you have not yet participated in this year’s Annual Fund, attached you will find information on joining. Please consider donating to support the programs that make Community School a leader in preschool and elementary school education. If you have already donated, thank you!

Yours in gratitude,

Kathleen Kelly | Director of Advancement