WELCOME MESSAGE 1 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 2 ARTIFICIAL FIELD . . . .2 CLASS NOTES . . . . 3-4
I S SU E
SPR IN G
2009
COTTING SCHOOL COTTING SCHOOL’S ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
Dear Alumni, I hope you enjoy this copy of the Linkus, your alumni newsletter. Many of you will receive the Linkus at our May 17, 2009 Cotting School Alumni Reunion. To those of you on campus today, welcome home!!!! It is a great pleasure for us to have so many of you gathered together. We greatly enjoy seeing you again. For those who could not attend this year’s reunion, I hope you can stop by the school soon for a visit. Last year we shared the news of the publication of our history book. It was heartening to hear from so many alumni that you enjoyed the book. We were also delighted to learn from you the names of so many of those pictured in the photographs. You know chapters of school history from firsthand experience! This year, I am pleased to share the news that we plan to install a new playing field and update our playground on campus. The new field and playground surfaces will allow all of our students to participate in outdoor sports on our fully accessible campus. These new surfaces will make it easier for students in wheelchairs and walkers to enjoy our magnificent campus. We are currently continuing our fundraising efforts for this very important project and welcome all donations, large and small. Please feel free to come back and visit Cotting at any time. You are always welcome here. Warm regards, David W. Manzo President/Executive Director
linkus
Cotting School Alumni Association Join the Cotting School Alumni Association and stay connected to the school that impacted your life so greatly. The Association make events, such as reunion, possible!
Dear Fellow Alumni, Welcome to the 2009 reunion!
participating in both the alumni Association meetings and by paying dues.
Office at Cotting School for more information or if you have any questions.
At this year’s alumni meeting, we will decide how to allocate funds raised from dues collection.
Cotting School truly appreciates your support.
The Cotting School Alumni Association is our lifetime connection to the school that has meant so much to us. We officers recommend Alumni pay $10, but smaller or larger Your membership in the Cotting amounts are also welcome. School Alumni Association We will have a table set up at is free, although we do reunion where you can make encourage you to become a a payment, or you can pay by dues-paying member. You can phone, mail, or online. Please make an impact at Cotting by contact the Advancement
Sincerely, Richard Hay Alumni President Contact the Cotting School Advancement Office: By Mail Cotting School Advancement Office 453 Concord Avenue
COTTING SCHOOL ALUMNI BOARD President Richard Hay Vice President Sarah Collins Secretary/Treasurer Patricia Dabrowney
Lexington, MA 02421 Phone 781-862-7323 x145 Online Visit www.cotting.org and make a secure, online donation.
Artificial Turf Field Cotting School is raising money for an artificial turf playing field. Construction will begin in the summer and our hope is that, by the start of school, the field will be funded and complete.
At Cotting, the physical environment reflects the School’s philosophy: our facilities are accessible, bright, and open. Yet, while the School building is fully accessible for Cotting students, participating in outdoor activities presents problems for many students, particularly those who use wheelchairs and walkers. The wheels cannot propel in the woodchips that cover our playground or the grass on our field.
Cotting School plans to install an artificial turf playing field and to renovate our existing playground with a new surface. These additions will make our entire campus fully accessible and enable all our students, including those who use walkers and wheel chairs, to play outdoor sports, including baseball, soccer, and track and field. The field will be constructed with minimal environmental impact and with indigenous plantings to ensure as green an installation as possible.
Both field and playground have twenty years of shelf life; we anticipate decades of enjoyment and increased fitness and quality of life for our students. You have the ability to make an impact on this project. We are still accepting donations for the fully accessible field and playground renovation. We hope you are as excited as we are to add this enhancement to Cotting School and the community!
If you would like to support this initiative, please contact our advancement office. By Mail Advancement Office 453 Concord Avenue Lexington, MA 02421 Phone Call the Advancement Office 781-862-7323 x145
SPOTLIGHT: RICHARD HERD
1940s
Class Notes
Vi c t o r i a B o r g e s i s m a r r i e d t o F r a n k , t h e b r o t h e r o f G e r a l d i n e D o w n i n g w h o i s a l s o a C o t t i n g g r a d u a t e . To g e t h e r t h e y h a v e 4 c h i l d r e n , 1 3 g r a n d c h i l d r e n , a n d 7 great grandchildren.
1970s J a s o n K i n g , C l a s s o f 1 9 7 7 , h a s b e e n w o r k i n g f o r a n i n d e p e n d e n t p h a r m a c y, delivering prescriptions to surrounding towns, for 14 years.
1980s Cotting alumnus Richard Herd has enjoyed a varied and full career in radio, film and television. A recipient of a Screen A c t o r s G u i l d Aw a r d f o r h i s r o l e a s M r. Wi l h e l m i n the award-winning sitcom Seinfeld, Herd was most recently seen in the popular Desperate Housewives series as well. Additional television credits include Admiral Owen Paris on S t a r Tre k Vo y a g e r , a n d three seasons as Captain D e n n i s S h e r i d a n i n T. J . Hooker, among numerous guest star roles. Herd has a Cotting history as well. He attended Cotting School from 1939-1941 while he had a bone disease called osteomyelitis. Richard fondly remembers Cotting, and has recently pledged to leave a bequest to the School.
Please stay in touch! Keep us updated on your life, including address, phone, or email changes. Wr i t e t o : The Linkus Cotting School Advancement Office 4 5 3 C o n c o r d Av e n u e Lexington, MA 02421
Christine Russo graduated from Cotting in 1980 and currently works at the Wi n c h e s t e r P u b l i c L i b r a r y. S h e i s t h e p r o u d a u n t o f 3 2 n i e c e s a n d n e p h e w s ! T h o m a s Te a h a n , C l a s s o f 1 9 8 3 , i s a c e r t i f i e d v o i c e t e a c h e r / c o a c h , a n d h a s h i s PhD in counseling. Te d K u r p i e l , C l a s s o f 1 9 8 4 , h a s b e e n w o r k i n g a t P r o j e c t Tr i a n g l e f o r 2 4 y e a r s . H e i s o n a w e e k l y s h o w c a l l e d A b l e Vi s i o n .
1990s Dan Cargill, Class of 1990, is enthusiastically volunteering at the NERH in Wo b u r n . Connie Marques graduated from Cotting in 1990 and is currently working at Va c a n d l i v i n g i n a g r o u p h o m e . I n h e r f r e e t i m e , s h e l i k e s t o h a v e f u n w i t h friends. Kathryn Kreeft, Class of 1991, works at CVS in Newton and belongs to a social group called Springboard. She also sponsors a child in Honduras through Children International. Karen George graduated from Cotting in 1992 and is now performing with Play Among the Stars Theater Group. In her free time she enjoys playing Pogo and also enjoys her adult day program, Lifeshares. Cathy Hofferty, Class of 1994, worked as a medical clerk at the Lahey Clinic a n d i s n o w w o r k i n g a t G E I n f r a s t r u c t u r e S e n s i n g i n Wo b u r n , d o i n g a s s e m b l y work. M a t t h e w Ta y l o r g r a d u a t e d f r o m C o t t i n g i n 1 9 9 8 a n d r e c e n t l y m o v e d t o Wo r c e s t e r t o b e c l o s e r t o f a m i l y. H e i s e m p l o y e d a t P r i c e R i t e a n d i s i n v o l v e d in his local church.
2000s G r e g o r y H o u d e g r a d u a t e d i n 2 0 0 0 , a n d n o w w o r k s a t C - M A R C i n Wo b u r n . I n his free time he enjoys travel. Gregory has recently been to Florida and looks forward to an upcoming trip to Maine. J a m e s To o l i n a t t e n d e d C o t t i n g u n t i l 2 0 0 0 , a n d i s n o w a n i n v e s t m e n t a c c o u n t a n t w o r k i n g f o r P N C i n We s t b o r o u g h . Parker Thornton, Class of 2001, is an Athletic Representative for The US Leadership Council for SONA. P e t e r M u r r a y, C l a s s o f 2 0 0 2 , h a s b e e n w o r k i n g o n a p r o j e c t w i t h D e a n C o l l e g e ’s A t h l e t i c D e p a r t m e n t . Andonia Orlando graduated in 2002 and is now the proud mother of a b e a u t i f u l b o y. H e i s t h e l i g h t o f h e r l i f e .
Class Notes continued
Dana Corriveau left Cotting School in 2003 and now attends the Compass program at Salem High S c h o o l . S h e a l s o v o l u n t e e r s i n t h e k e n n e l a t N o r t h e a s t A n i m a l S h e l t e r. Alana Russo, Class of 2003, splits her time between working as a PCA and volunteering at Saints M e d i c a l C e n t e r. S h e r e c e n t l y r e t u r n e d f r o m a c r u i s e ! B r i t t a n y S a b b a g , C l a s s o f 2 0 0 3 , i s t h e A s s i s t a n t Tr e a s u r e r o f M i t o A c t i o n , a n d a l s o t a k e s a r t c l a s s , a c t s i n p l a y s , a n d h e l p s t o t a k e c a r e o f h e r n e p h e w. Eleanor Jones graduated from Cotting in 2004 and has since passed her MCAS! She now works for Cerebral Palsy of Massachusetts. E l i a Ve l o s o g r a d u a t e d C o t t i n g i n 2 0 0 4 a n d i s w o r k i n g a s a h o m e h e a l t h a i d f o r t h e e l d e r l y. F r a n c e s c a B r o w n , C l a s s o f 2 0 0 5 , c o n t i n u e s t o d i s p l a y h e r a r t w o r k p u b l i c l y. U p p e r S c h o o l s t u d e n t s i n M i k e Te u b e r ’s c l a s s v i s i t e d h e r a r t s h o w a t t h e N o r t h S h o r e A R C o n A p r i l 9 , 2 0 0 9 . M a r y h e l e n F a b i s z e w s k i , C l a s s o f 2 0 0 6 , i s n o w w o r k i n g a t t h e p u b l i c l i b r a r y. Esther Greenspan attended Cotting until 2006 and went on to graduate from Cardinal Cushing School in June, 2008. Since then she has been living at a group home in Chestnut Hill and is w o r k i n g i n a c o m m u n i t y d a y p r o g r a m c a l l e d C h a i Wo r k s . H i l a r y S e m e l , C l a s s o f 2 0 0 6 , i s l i v i n g a t N e w E n g l a n d Vi l l a g e . S h e c o n t i n u e s t o s t a y i n v o l v e d i n her favorite activities, including horseback riding, swimming, bowling, and windsurfing. Hilary was honored as female athlete of the 2008 AccesSport America. Nicole Theodore graduated from Cotting in 2006 and is currently attending Massasoit Community College. She works at Massachusetts Hospital School and Boyden Elementary School. Jennifer Mara Dill graduated from Cotting in 2007 and has since been working at a day program c a l l e d O p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d Vi s i o n a t t h e C h a r l e s R i v e r C e n t e r. S h e p a r t i c i p a t e s i n S e n i o r S h o p p i n g , M e a l s o n W h e e l s , t h e B u d d y D o g P r o g r a m , T h e S a l v a t i o n A r m y, T h e G r e y h o u n d F r i e n d s , a n d Av e r y M a n o r. I n h e r f r e e t i m e , J e n n i f e r e n j o y s t r a v e l , t i m e w i t h f r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y, k a r a t e , h o r s e b a c k riding, walking, and biking. S a r a h H o o p e r, C l a s s o f 2 0 0 7 , g o e s t o t h e C h a r l e s R i v e r C e n t e r. I n h e r f r e e t i m e , s h e e n j o y s r i d i n g horses, swim, basketball, and exercise. Edward Reyes graduated in 2007 is working ASA 5 days a week, part-time. He bowls, participates in the Special Olympics, and recently joined WINARC. Becky Robinson graduated from Cotting in 2007 and is looking forward to graduating from college and living on her own! Jimmy Hui, Class of 2008, works in a full-time position in the Shipping and Receiving Department a t C h i l d r e n ’s H o s p i t a l i n B o s t o n . M a t t h e w We l l i n s , C l a s s o f 2 0 0 8 , h a s b e e n a t t e n d i n g M i d d l e s e x C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e ’s Tr a n s i t i o n P r o g r a m . H e h a s b e e n w o r k i n g a t t h e N e w E n g l a n d J o u r n a l o f M e d i c i n e ’s m a i l r o o m a s p a r t o f a n internship.
In Memoriam Cotting School regretfully announces the passing of the following former students and staff:
Enrico “Rico” Alessandro, Class of 1975 John Edward Carlucci, Class of 1979 Frances Elizabeth (Cassidy) McCarthy
Carol Ann Moloney, Class of 1966 Michael E. Sullivan Emily (Lee) Jason