Bulletin Summer 2008 by St. George's School

In this issue:

Class Notes Upcoming guest speakers: Dr. Paul Farmer: FRIDAY, SEPT. 12 Sportswriter Frank Deford: THURSDAY, NOV. 6

St. George’s School P.O. Box 1910 Newport, RI 02840-0190

2008

summer Bulletin

2008 Summer Bulletin

Hearing is believing BY WESTLEY RESENDES ’08 The club I’m lucky to belong to BY EMMA JANSEN ’08 One goal in mind BY SEAN O’BRIEN ’08 Brotherhood BY ANGUS ANDERSON ’08 Wading into new territory BY NICK C ARRELLAS ’08

S T. G E OR G E ’S St. George’s School

Cover story: Sailing team wins Nationals Jack Doll ’52 retires as school archivist Envisioning a new science building Bill Riley ’55: World Champion Ironman New chaplain joins the community Global programs expand Prize Day 2008 and Reunion Weekend 2008 Chapel talks:

Presorted Bound Printed Matter U.S. Postage PAID Burlington, VT Permit No. 21

C OVER

STORY:

Sailing team best in the nation

St. George’s School Mission Statement In 1896, the Rev. John Byron Diman, founder of St. George’s School, wrote in his “Purposes of the School” that “the specific objectives of St. George’s are to give its students the opportunity of developing to the fullest extent possible the particular gifts that are theirs and to encourage in them the desire to do so. Their immediate job after leaving school is to handle successfully the demands of college; later it is hoped that their lives will be ones of constructive service to the world and to God.” In the 21st century, we continue to teach young women and men the value of learning and achievement, service to others, and respect for the individual. We believe that these goals can best be accomplished by exposing students to a wide range of ideas and choices in the context of a rigorous curriculum and a supportive residential community. Therefore, we welcome students and teachers of various talents and backgrounds, and we encourage their dedication to a multiplicity of pursuits —intellectual, spiritual, and physical—that will enable them to succeed in and contribute to a complex, changing world.

St. George’s Policy on Non-Discrimination St. George’s School admits male and female students of any religion, race, color, sexual orientation, and national or ethnic origin to all the programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of religion, gender, race, color, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and other school-administered programs. In addition, the school welcomes visits from disabled applicants.

St. George’s Bulletin The Alumni/ae Magazine of St. George’s School Newport, R.I. Alex Merchant ’08 and Kathryn Connor ’08 captivate a crowd of children in Uganda during a schoolsponsored trip in March. PHOTO COURTESY OF

SEMINAR IN GLOBAL STUDIES CLASS

On the cover: Alex Cook ’09 and Kelsey Crowther ’08 compete in the Team Racing Nationals in Annapolis, Md., in May. PHOTO BY G WYNN C ROWTHER P’08

On the back cover: Graduates celebrate on Prize Day 2008. PHOTO BY K ATHRYN W HITNEY L UCEY

ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL P.O. BOX 1910 NEWPORT, RI 02840-0190 Office of the Bulletin Editor tel: (401) 842-6792 fax: (401) 842-6745 e-mail: suzanne_mcgrady@stgeorges.edu Main School Tel: (401) 847-7565 Main School Fax: (401) 842-6677 Toll free: 1.888.ICALLSG www.stgeorges.edu

This magazine is printed on paper that certified by SmartWood to meet the Forest Stewardship Council standards. FSC sets high standards that ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way.

Contents From the Editor’s Desk ........................................................................................................................................2 Sailing team best in the nation BY SUZANNE MCGRADY ..................................................................................3 The Hilltop was in his heart BY SUZANNE MCGRADY ........................................................................................5 Visions of a new learning environment BY QUENTIN WARREN ........................................................................9 Mr. Metamorphosis BY TOM S TEVENSON ’55 ......................................................................................................11 Hearing is believing BY WESTLEY RESENDES ’08................................................................................................14 The club I’m lucky to belong to BY EMMA JANSEN ’08 ..................................................................................16 One goal in mind BY SEAN O’BRIEN ’08 ............................................................................................................18 Brotherhood BY ANGUS ANDERSON ’08 ..............................................................................................................20 Wading into new territory BY NICK C ARRELLAS ’08 ........................................................................................22 Giving back: News from the Alumni/ae office ..........................................................................................25 Global outreach ..................................................................................................................................................26 Prizes awarded May 26, 2008 ........................................................................................................................34 A taxonomy of bad advice BY HEAD OF SCHOOL ERIC F. PETERSON ................................................................38 The Geronimo diaries ........................................................................................................................................41 Classrooms ..........................................................................................................................................................44 Community service ............................................................................................................................................46 SG Zone - Athletics ............................................................................................................................................48 Next steps: News from the College Counseling office ............................................................................52 Highlights: Student achievements ................................................................................................................54 Faculty/staff notes ..........................................................................................................................................58 New students 2008-09 ....................................................................................................................................58 Reunion Weekend 2008 ..................................................................................................................................63 Around campus ..................................................................................................................................................67 Campus happenings ..........................................................................................................................................68 Board of Trustees notes ....................................................................................................................................72 In memoriam........................................................................................................................................................73 Class Notes ..........................................................................................................................................................75 The St. George’s Bulletin is published bi-annually. Suzanne McGrady, editor; Dianne Reed, communications associate; Toni Ciany, editorial assistant; and members of the Alumni/ae Office, copy editors.

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St. George’s From the editor’s desk T

his edition’s top stories are as varied as the school is vibrant. From student accomplishments and proposed campus upgrades to standout alums, the news of the season was optimistic and the state of the school remains strong. (see Head of School Eric Peterson’s perspective on p. 65). It was a banner year for the sailing team. Heading off to the high school sailing championships in Minnesota in May, the team was poised and confident, though not at all presumptuous about its prospects. A heroes’ welcome could’ve greeted them when they returned: The team won all six of its races and emerged victorious from a long, challenging season. (“Sailing team best in the nation, p. 3) Congratulations to the team and to coach Roy Williams, who celebrates his first national championship in his 18-year career at St. George’s. Jack Doll ’52 retired this spring from his post as school archivist, a post he assumed in 2000 as the My son Connor, now 21 months, takes archives found a new, top-notch in a chapel service. home in the lower level of the Hill Library. It was an unlikely second career for the former Army officer who had essentially wiped St. George’s from his mind until one fateful day in 1998. The Hilltop would never be the same after his return. (“The Hilltop was in his heart,” p. 5) After looking at the pictures of Bill Riley ’55 (“Mr. Metamorphosis,” p. 9), I think we all agreed we want his muscles. Tom Stevenson ’55’s outstanding profile of this former so-so athleteturned-mega-man made everyone here especially appreciate the possibility of attaining late-bloomer status. All the better to grow wiser and stronger as the years go by.

“Visions of a new learning environment,” (p. 9) is our update on plans for a new science building. As the science department, along with math and technology, continue to grow and expand their offerings, the building is busting at the seams. It’s hoped a new design will take shape by the winter. Speaking of expansion, opportunities for both our students and our teachers to explore the world beyond the Hilltop grew exponentially this year, with the Seminar in Global Studies class traveling to Uganda, teachers heading to Asia and South Africa, new language-immersion trips, an N.A.I.S. leadership conference in Costa Rica, and domestic trips to Habitat for Humanity projects and Washington, D.C. Students also are traveling quite a bit on their own and having some extraordinary experiences before they even set foot on a college campus. “Seeing Kenya,” p. 29 is the story of one of several of our students who’ve traveled to Africa’s developing nations in the past few years. And check out what third-former Keaton Johnson was up to in June (p. 31). Once again, the season’s chapel talks exposed both the joys and challenges of some of our students’ lives. Some endured physical trials (“Hearing is believing,” p. 14 and “One goal in mind,” p. 18) while others saw blessings in family members (“The club I’m lucky to belong to,” p.16, and “Brotherhood,” p. 20) and new friends (“Wading into new territory,” p. 22). As with the past few publications, you’ll notice the icons of our Strategic Plan throughout this edition. As we keep track of our progress, we’ll continue to note, in particular, stories that outline specific outcomes from this guiding document. Look for a full update in the fall newsletter. And as always, please stay connected in whatever way you can. As Jack Doll ’52 would remind us, it’s never too late to come home again.

Suzanne McGrady Bulletin Editor 2

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PHOTO BY S TACIE C ARLSON

Sailing team best in the nation T

he St. George’s varsity sailing team captured the highest honor in U.S. high school sailing on May 25 when it came in first place at the Nationals at Lake Minnetonka, Minn., and was awarded the Baker Cup. Sailing for SG were Ben Bainbridge ’08, Pete Johns ’08, Johnny Norfleet ’09, Kelsey Crowther ’09, Anna McConnell ’09, Kevin Martland ’10, Alex Cook ’09, and Julia Oak ’10. St. George’s was 14-3 overall and 6-0 in championship round. Tabor Academy, Point Loma and Newport Harbor came in second, third and fourth, respectively. “Today’s racing was extremely competitive and tight,” race directors noted on their web site the day of the finals. “The overall winner [St. George’s] sailed a terrific championship round, thoroughly dominating racing today with a perfect 6-0 Championship Round.”

The win capped off an extraordinary season for SG. The team captured three New England titles (team racing, fleet racing, and women’s fleet racing), as well as a second place in the singlehanded New England championship and two state titles (women’s fleet and fleet racing). In addition, the varsity team never lost a meet and only gave up nine races in the entire season, putting them at 91-9 for races. For coach Roy Williams, an accomplished sailor in his own right and highly respected in the high school sailing world, the win was also sweet. It was the first time, after many “almosts” since he joined SG in 1990, that he coached his team to the national championship. The win, however, did not come easily, according to team members. On the last day of the regatta the team was in the championship round with a double round

Peter Johns ’08 and Julia Oak ’10 compete in the Nationals at the Chicago Yacht Club.

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PHOTO BY S TACIE C ARLSON

Julia Oak ’10 and Peter Johns ’08 (in the middle boat) and Kevin Martland ’10 and Alex Cook ’09 (in the front boat) at the Nationals in Minnesota in May.

robin. They clinched the victory in the second-tothe-last race of the day, but the race was very close, McConnell said. The team rounded the leeward mark in a losing combination and thought the writing was on the wall. “I remember rounding that mark and telling Ben, ‘Ben, we have to go fast right now,’” McConnell recalled. “He didn’t say a word and I don’t think another word was said until we am. ls the te ” Goa efore cks on b crossed that line.” ta e “Task n st be do e the work home • Hav s, e have Meanwhile, Crowther and s m y ti . a e e • Alw a rac all th art of dling the st Cook, whom the team calls s. athan u o c b tain the fo is not • Main e. “Cookie,” were trailing hen it t mov x w e n n e e ev read ow th s and ays kn behind their pair and were e rule • Alw th . f k o o o w all call b • Kno d the engaged in a “tacking e-rea r d n a . duel.” onals ti a ls n a ” Go 5 at what “Wish e Top “In my opinion those atter h in th , no m • Finis team a s a k three tacks were some of • Wor nish. the fi . the best Cookie and I had done n fu e • Hav all season,” recalled Crowther. “In those last few yards we threw in a tack and then shot the line In the beginning of the season back in March, (when you point your boat perpendicular to the varsity sailing coach Roy line and let your boat coast). It usually gets you Williams asked his team to the finish faster, but if you mess it up it can to write out their “task be a real problem). The bow of our boat crossed goals” and “wish goals” the finish line a mere 10 inches ahead of our for the season. Above opponents.” is then-junior Anna McConnell’s answer Bainbridge and McConnell still assumed they to the assignment. had lost that race.

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“Winning nationals was truly amazing. It was one of those moments when you simply cannot believe you achieved that highest goal.” —Anna McConnell ’09

McConnell heard Johns hit the boat, and figured he was angry. “But we turned around and saw Pete smiling. I had never before been more excited to tell Ben that we had won. He wouldn’t believe me at first and required that we sail to everyone and double check. Sure enough, we had won. With failed attempts to ‘keep it together,’ we suppressed the joy and relief and won the next race with full grins.” For Crowther, it was also an especially meaningful win. Last fall she decided to apply earlydecision to the only non-sailing school that she was seriously considering. “I was accepted to Elon University and will not be sailing next school year,” she said, “so for me, winning nationals was the perfect way to end the season, my SG career, and my sailing career.”

R AY WOISHEK ’89 PHOTO BY

The Hilltop was in his heart When Jack Doll ’52 revisited campus after 45 years, he opened our eyes to the past

hen Jack Doll ’52 retired June 25, 2008, from his post as school archivist, he left behind him a legacy most independent school alumni/ae offices would envy. An alum who had little contact with the school for 45 years, Doll not only reconnected with his alma mater in 1998, he played an instrumental role in shaping its future. Head of School Eric Peterson called Doll “one of the legendary figures of St. George’s” when he honored him at Prize Day ceremonies this year.

A leader in establishing a permanent home for the Gilbert Y. Taverner Archives, Doll worked steadfastly to ensure that the school maintain a professional space in which to house its most precious historical materials. The author of “Heart of the Hilltop: The St. George’s School Chapel,” he gave over 150 trivia-laced tours to students and alums returning to campus who gazed in awe at the building they had looked at, but never truly seen—that is until Mr. Doll came along.

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SUZANNE MCGRADY PHOTO BY

THE RETURN

Jack Doll ’52 gives a chapel tour to Ms. McGrady’s journalism class in the spring.

It all started with a small accident of sorts. Doll, a former U.S. Army officer, was working as a volunteer at the Rhode Island Historical Society in Providence in early 1998, when the person in charge of the volunteers decided to organize an outing to thank his crew for their services. The outing ended up being a tour, with John Nicholas Brown ’18 as the theme. The group visited Harbour Court, Brown’s home; and the Naval War College Museum and Touro Synagogue, to which he donated. “And I suggested we go to St. George’s and visit the chapel. I told them I went there, I know about it,” recalls Doll, “—and then realized I didn’t know a damn thing.” The experience fueled in Doll a passion that would overtake him for the next 10 years. When Doll began to research the chapel, he asked where he could find some school records and was told the school had an archives on the third floor of Sixth Form House. “When I went up there, I found the roof was leaking and the windows were broken. It was a horrible mess and I went ballistic,” admits Doll. He went straight to Joe Gould, assistant head of school for external affairs, then-headmaster Chuck Hamblet, and the new head of the board of trustees at the time, classmate Tim Sturtevant

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’52—and the forthright Doll wasn’t diplomatic. “I pounded on some desks,” he remembers. There were one-of-a-kind materials up there—old Lances, Red & Whites and Dragons—that couldn’t be replaced, he said. It should be a priority of the school to preserve them properly. Doll concedes that though he wasn’t always polite, he was met with sympathetic ears. “Jack’s a nudge, but a loveable nudge,” says Gould, a frequent target of Doll’s passionate rants throughout the years—and one of his biggest supporters. For their part, Doll says, “I credit them all equally with getting something done.”

THE NEW ARCHIVES FACILIT Y OPENS The new Gilbert Y. Taverner Archives—named in honor of the former associate chaplain, the first proponent of a school archives, and longtime school historian—opened in 2001. Meanwhile Doll had spent five years writing the chapel history, which was published in 2002. Most of his research was done off-campus. He spent dozens of hours with the papers of the architect, Ralph Adams Cram, and with the papers of Brown, whose donation of the chapel to the school was made public in 1922, though his name was kept a secret for some time.

When Doll began offering his tours, people jumped at the chance. His tours were legendary, filled with intriguing details about the chapel’s iconography and laced with school history—and Doll brought the same passion and vigor to all of them. “I know exactly how many tours I gave,” he says, “163.” Though he chides students these days for not knowing the school’s history, he sees his former self in the eyes of his tour attendees. In the 1950s he had to go to chapel every day and twice on Sunday, as he’s fond of telling today’s students. “But I don’t think I really looked at the building either,” he admits. These days, things have changed. “There’s no one alive who knows more about the St. George’s Chapel,” says Peterson. The research, for Doll, wasn’t always easy, but at times it was exhilarating. John Nicholas Brown was famous for saying it would take students six years to learn everything about the chapel, he says. In his day, with the first and second forms, that’s how long students attended SG. “But I think he was wrong,” Doll says. “I think it takes 60 years to know it.” Case in point: There are 189 carved stone bosses just under the roofline. “I’d spent several weeks with binoculars, looking at every one, trying to figure them out,” Doll said. “When I finally got into Cram’s paper, I undid a dusty old binding. It was the key to all the bosses. It told me exactly what every boss was about. What a thrill!” Another time Doll remembers feeling on the verge of a great discovery. For months, he’d been trying to translate the old Ecclesiastical Latin on the wooden organ screen above the priest’s door in the front of the nave. “Let me give you a visual. Think of the story of Robin Hood, and this was Friar Tuck,” Doll recalls, thinking of a meeting he had with a monk from the St. Francis Chapel in Providence. “Little Father Hugh. He was great. Basically it was all about the eight modes of music.”

That’s when Doll discovered that Brown was into numerology. He had focused on medieval studies at Harvard, receiving a bachelor’s and a master’s degree there. “He was a brilliant individual,” Doll says, reverently. “To think of a young man … he was only a sophomore in college when he began designing the chapel. He didn’t tell the school that he was going to donate it for a couple of years.” As a multimillion dollar restoration of the Chapel continues, many cite Doll as the No. 1 cheerleader for the project. “He’s made us look at that building in a way that we never had before,” Gould said.

PA S S I NG O N T H E TO RC H During his tenure as archivist, the post he formally assumed in the fall of 2001, Doll also made it his goal to turn today’s students on to the history of their school. When Christy Mihos ’05 was sidelined from the football team because At his 50th reunion, Doll offered of an injury, he searched for a chapel tour to his classmates. something to do in the after“We will never forget the noons that might be interestenthusiasm that Jack exhibited ing. A spirited student with a in his zeal to give us all the facts gift of gab, Mihos befriended about every aspect of the Chapel,” Doll and spent the extracurricBill Powdrell ‘52 recalls. “The only ular time down in the archives word that comes to me now is learning about SG’s past, enter‘jealousy.’ At an age when most tained all the while with Doll’s of us were retired and a little under stories. Back in the day, Doll was a notorious prankster. enthused, here was a guy who was Interviewed by journalism lit up like a Christmas tree in student Kelly Smerling ’08, Doll excitement to learn as much as recounted some of his more possible about the complete daring antics. “I was the captain history of the chapel.” of an unofficial St. George’s team: the building climbers,” Doll told her, recalling the night when he scaled the side of the chapel, reached the top, “climbed up one of the cement pediments and pushed one of the four 100-pound weathervanes off its spike sending it soaring like a Frisbee into second base on the field below.” Later he and his cohorts would hide it at the bottom of

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KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY PHOTO BY

On Prize Day, Head of School Eric Peterson presents Doll with an award honoring his service to the school.

the old Behrend Pool. Today’s students marvel at his hijinks with a certain reverence. “Those are the types of pranks you see on TV. We would for sure get in trouble for those if we did them today,” Hillary Moatz ’08 said. Other students also have been taken under Doll’s wing. This past year, Westley Resendes ’08 spent a semester actually taking a class from Doll, a special project in which Doll grilled Resendes on the entire history of the school, complete with a final exam overseen by the head of school. “Jack Doll has shown me what it is like for someone truly to commit to his craft of preserving and sharing the people, actions and events that have shaped the path of this precious school through the years,” Resendes wrote after the class. “He has inspired my passion for the understanding of how the school has gotten to where it is today.” Two years ago, Sarah Coffin ’06 got to know Jack so well, she understudied him on a number of chapel tours. But what she remembers most was his friendship and mentoring. “The [archives] was an escape from the stresses of school life and into the world of the past that always came with a friendly face and a ‘Hiya, kiddo,’” she said. “Jack always had something new and different to show me about SG that I had never known before. He sparked a love of history in me that followed me from St. George’s

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to college where I am now studying history and historical research methods.”

THE GAP These days, thinking about the many years he spent away from St. George’s after graduation, Doll is wistful. His parents had forced him to come here, he says. He grew up in Pawtucket and was a talented swimmer, though a notorious rascal. They wanted more for him. Asked what made him reassert his loyalty to a school he once rebelled against seems a wonderment, even to him. “As a graduate, the school does get into you,” he says of St. George’s. The comment brings Doll to his other, more sentimental self. “Whether you liked it or not,” he says, “it leaves an impression.” Known for his bawdy sense of humor and tellit-like-it-is ravings, Doll also has a soft side. Glimpse him in the audience at Resendes’ chapel talk this spring and you’ll see the tears welling up in his eyes. You can see he loves his wife, Dottie, a little bit more every day. Here at St. George’s he’ll be remembered for opening our eyes to the value of the past. “He’s incredibly invested in preserving the history of the school,” said Gould. “He’s made an indelible mark on St. George’s.”

SUZANNE MCGRADY PHOTO BY

Visions of a new

learning environment BY QUENTIN WARREN On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, the science, mathematics and technology departments participated in a retreat at the New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court in Newport. Their agenda included a presentation by academic planner Kip Ellis along with others from the Boston-based architectural firm Einhorn, Yaffee, Prescott Architecture & Engineering (EYP), and culminated in break-out sessions by satellite groups of faculty and attendees. The purpose of the event was to examine curricular concerns and to construct parameters for improved science facilities to be funded and built on the St. George’s campus in the next few years. A motivating force behind it derived from the “Advances in Science and Technology” initiative generated by the Strategic Plan. Head of the Science Department Steve Leslie

began the proceedings by introducing the pretext for the new facility. He suggested that we are neither trained nor prepared for the many advancements in science pedagogy facing us over the next 20-to-25 years. He cautioned that the world is changing dramatically, and that our relationship to the world is changing at the same blistering pace. “Students’ needs now are alien to what we have experienced or been accustomed to in the context of teaching science,” he said, “and this changes our vision of what to expect in upcoming years. Through conversation, exploration, ingenuity and creativity, we must envision and imagine what the future holds.” He continued by contemplating what it all means for St. George’s: “The future of the school, of its students, of us as teachers, hinges on what we come up with here. Whether we are talking about an addition or a completely new building—nobody knows yet. Rather, one question in particular needs

In an intensive day-long session, SG faculty and outside planners met off campus to begin conceptualizing a new home for the science, technology and math departments. The DuPont Science Center (above) opened in 1963.

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to be addressed: What is the role of science in the school program?” To answer that question, Leslie turned the floor over to EYP and Kip Ellis. The firm has designed some 1.7 million square feet of science-related facilities since 2000 in a number of venues, including Swarthmore, Hamilton, Williams, the University of Richmond, Phillips Exeter Academy and Franklin & Marshall. Much of their design ethos relates to the thinking behind Project Kaleidoscope, an interactive organization developed by Jeanne Narum in 1998 to advance the concept of science education. Their premise is based on two very interrelated topics: the philosophy of how students learn, and the nature of the environment in which students learn. The rubric: Pedagogy + Environment = Teaching. Ellis is a principal at EYP, with 15 years of experience as a planner, designer and project manager specializing in academic buildings. He understands that academic planning can enhance the unique character of an institution, and he maintains that a school’s academic buildings reflect the individuality of the place and are central to an effective learning environment. Part of the planning and design process revolves around liberating technology, around transforming pedagogy from a lecture-based process to an inquiry-based process. “The new thinking revolves around discoverybased learning, drawing on the importance of memorable experience,” Ellis explained. “It is the obligation of a building to work internally, to appeal to students’ and teachers’ senses.” His goal is to design a building that brings a teacher’s message to life and becomes the vehicle by which that message is imparted to the class. “Scientists no longer work as isolated persons,” he said. “The new approach is to aspire to a team dynamic.” Mentored investigation is a guided process dependent on open teaching labs and the ability to work and problem-solve in groups. Ellis also suggested that the modus operandi of the future will involve a fully collaborative curriculum— an interdisciplinary approach to science,

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technology, engineering and math for which he offered the acronym STEM. So, how do we compare the present science building to what could be a new facility? The DuPont Science Center is firmly grounded in and typical of the 1960s. Its classrooms and labs feature rows of benches in a traditional teaching configuration, oriented hierarchically toward an instructor’s bench at the front. A newer concept opts for island benches to accommodate teams. Furthermore, the school and the science program have outgrown the present building; purely in terms of square footage it is woefully inadequate. The whole philosophy of space is critical, according to Ellis. The size of the building and rooms hinges on the number of science courses taught and students to be accommodated. “You need open areas for teachers and students to gather in, places where they can conduct experiments and demonstrations,” he said. “You must think in terms of stations, in terms of moveable, modular furniture components. You have to think in terms of a mentored, science-intensive environment.” Sustainability is another crucial component. “Do we assume that students are engaged, that sustainability becomes part of the learning process? Or is sustainability more referential, indirect? A hybrid?” Ellis asked. “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification should be a baseline at the very least. This embraces design philosophy, materials, HVAC systems, the works. We must consider the pedagogy of sustainability, that it becomes a learning imperative. We must pass along an appreciation for the ramifications of choice, for the increasing impact of our own actions. Our actions have a very definite impact on the larger world.” At this stage the design and appearance of a new science center at St. George’s are but glimmers in an architect’s eyes. But for a productive day in March, teachers and planners came together to put issues on the table and begin shaping the programmatic philosophy that will drive the project through the coming years.

PHOTO BY DEBORAH RILEY

Mr. Metamorphosis Bill Riley ’55 was a so-so athlete at SG. Twenty years later, two discoveries transformed him into an Ironman world champion BY TOM STEVENSON ’55

uring his Hilltop days, Bill Riley ’55 was better known for his romantic adventures than his sports achievements, according to his classmates. True he sailed, and he was also a swimmer, but Riley was probably not even considered for the Red Key Society, in that era the Honor

Roll of Hilltop athletes. At Brown, he also swam, but only for one year. In the past two decades, however, Riley, now 72, has run more than 40 full-length marathons, numerous duathlons (running and biking), scores of triathlons, and uncounted road races—including a half marathon from Middletown to Third Beach in which he passed the SG gate on Purgatory Road

Top photo: Riley wins a 10K in 2006.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE C APE COD TIMES

PHOTO BY DEBORAH RILEY

Top: Riley after a 52-mile bike workout near his Cape Cod home this summer. Bottom: Riley emerges from a practice swim in 1993.

on his way to a first-place finish. He has averaged 20 races per year, and competed in a total of more than 500 events. Four times Riley was the World Ironman Champion. During the nineties he was the U.S. triathlon champ in his age group for six years. (United States Track & Field Association athletes compete in five-year age groups.) Now in the 7074 age group, each week he swims 6,000 yards, runs 35 miles, bikes 85 miles, and does three miles of speed work. Mondays he takes off. Competing is Riley’s career. So many were surprised to watch the svelte Triathlon Man gorge down a massive second helping of dessert at his SG 50th reunion dinner in 2005. “I eat desserts and drink beer or vodka just like you probably do,” Riley explains. “The difference is that I exercise it off.” Sure enough, the next day he did two hours of laps in the SG pool.

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He weighs 160, the same as at SG. “[His] body is all rippling muscles and bulging veins,” another marathoner said of him this year. By his 40th anniversary dinner, Riley, then in his late fifties, had been National Triathlon Champion four years straight in his age group and his classmates honored him with the Mr. Metamorphosis Award: a match book from the now disreputable SG Butt Room. “It sure would have been great if Bill had been here when our track program started [in 1957],” says Mr. Ted Hersey, perhaps a bit wistfully. Mr. Hersey, a veteran of 16 Boston Marathons himself, was Riley’s sixth-form dorm master. Riley’s transformation began with a surprise. At age 40, a routine company physical revealed that his lungs matched those of top long-distance runners. Yet Riley had not exercised for two decades. “Consider running,” his doctor suggested. Two years later he ran his first major race, the Boston Marathon. His best Boston Marathon time was 2 hours and 50 minutes when he was 48. During his early forties, however, while he trained regularly, he won infrequently. To spend more time conditioning on the Cape where he lives, he quit commuting to his Boston job as a commercial underwriter.

Keeping in shape at age 72 Here is the mileage the top 70-plus U.S. Track and Field Association runner puts in to keep his title.

Run Bike Swim

Miles Per Year

Avg. Miles Per Week*

1,800 3,000 85

35 90 1.6

about 12 ounces.) Now 72, even The Ironman feels his years. He has recently been out of action twice: once with a hernia and once in a bicycle crackup. His miles per hour are lower. “Runners lose about five seconds per mile per year,” he explains. He now focuses primarily on running, his strongest triathlon event, and is cutting back on full-length marathons. “You generally don’t run marathons when you get into your seventies,” explains Riley. “It puts too much strain on the knees, the hips and the groin. That’s how you get injured.” Yet today he remains the U.S. running king in the 70-74 age group. Indeed last year, at 71, he became the first runner in United States Track and Field Association (USTFA) history to be crowned the Outstanding Athlete of the Year for two consecutive years. And in May he set a course record at the Naples (Fla.) half marathon that gives him a shot at winning the title for a third time—a record that could stand for decades. Half way through his life Riley discovered he was blessed with powerful lungs. He then made an even more significant discovery: that he possessed the exceptional motivation and extraordinary self-discipline required to reach the very top rank of athletes in the world. Consider the possibilities if Mr. Hersey had launched track before Riley graduated. Boston Marathon Director Dave McGill said this about Riley in Primetime magazine: “I am in awe of Bill’s talent, his longevity, his endurance, his commitment. … As we all begin to truly feel the aging process … we have Bill Riley to look to as an example that if you do the right things, you can … prolong the inevitable.”

*Actual miles per week vary by season. Tom Stevenson ’55 is a classmate of Bill Riley.

PHOTO BY DEBORAH RILEY

Then in 1988 Riley, 52, took on his biggest challenge—the now legendary Hawaii Ironman, a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run behemoth. As part of his training, Riley would pedal six nonstop hours in his garage on his Computrainer. Despite his admitted weaknesses in swimming (“Norris Hoyt would roll over in his grave if he heard this,” says Riley.), he won his first Ironman and then three more in a row. In 1989 he set a course record of 10 hours and 14 minutes, a 16-minute margin over any previous 50-plus competitor. Entrants get 16 hours to reach the finish line where a medical tent may be filled with “several hundred” competitors, says Riley, who was revived after three of his races. “You feel terrible.” Though he has bagged many trophies, money has been less plentiful. Sponsorships from nutritional products such as Omegasource and Hammer Nutrition may total $1,000 a year and prize money perhaps $500. (He pocketed just $25 when he won the Middletown Half Marathon.) Now a top name in road running, some organizers pay his travel and lodging. The prestigious New York Marathon will cover his costs this year if he decides to run. And much of his equipment (he runs through a pair of $95 sneakers each month) is supplied gratis. Right now, he particularly fancies a pair of sneakers Nokia just sent him that weighs only 6.5 ounces each. (A typical running shoe weighs

The Ironman world champion: In 1989, Bill Riley ’55 won this daunting behemoth of a 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run. His time: 10 hours and 14 minutes, a course record for his age group.

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PHOTO BY

SUZANNE MCGRADY

Hearing is believing BY WESTLEY RESENDES ’08 Following is a chapel talk delivered on April 17.

ello everybody, I would like to start with a moment of complete silence. Please cover your ears so that you can hear nothing... That may have seemed like a long period of time,

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but it was only 15 seconds. Imagine spending the first nine years of your life in that silence. I was born profoundly deaf—“stone deaf ” as some say. I could not hear a single thing, not even if a 747 took off right over my head. Even today, when the speech processor is not on my head, I cannot hear anything, not even my own voice. However, I do not think of myself as deaf, as people tend to classify me. I have always viewed myself as hearing-impaired. I can

ANDREA HANSEN

Mr. Lewis’ geometry class, and this very old, old man approached me from over the hill, like the Ghost of Christmas Past. He was from the past, literally. But it turned out that he was the conductor of the Brass Ensemble, Tony du Bourg. He pointed at me, and said, “Hey! Are you that West Resendes boy?” I timidly whispered, “Yes.” So he said, “I want you to play music!” I laughed, but then thought, OK, I’ll do it—primarily to make this man happy, and secondly, for the free food! But I also wanted to see if I could really do it. I’ve always wanted to disprove stereotypes. Here is a piece of advice for you: Never allow a stereotype to define you. That’s why I joined the Brass Ensemble, that’s why I gave a speech to the whole school when I ran for Senior Prefect last year (and lost), and that’s why I’m speaking to you today. Over my four years on the Hilltop, communication with others has been my primary goal. I can tell, with my experience, that my classmates and upperformers were somewhat hesitant to speak to me freshman year because of my “accent.” But, as time went by, people became more comfortable conversing with me. I think that’s you, the school community, listening to me better, and taking the chance on me. I realize that I might be the last hearing-impaired person you will meet for a while, so I want to leave you with some “words of wisdom.” If you meet someone who isn’t quite the same as you, try to get to know them, get used to their unique characteristics and give them a chance. It might surprise you to discover how alike we all really are. I thank my friends from the bottom of my heart for having taken a chance on me. To conclude, never stop dreaming. The dream I had as a young child is now my reality.

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hear, just like everyone—only a little differently. When I was nine years old, I received a cochlear implant, which is—in the simplest possible terms—a very small wire of electrodes that replace the broken hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear. Basically, you can hear because the hair cells in your inner ear vibrate when exposed to noise, and that vibration sends a signal to your brain that interprets it as sound. My hair cells are broken, so they do not vibrate—but the cochlear implant serves as a mechanical replacement for those hairs. This device that looks like a hearing aid is actually the speech processor. All sounds go through a small microphone in this, into the small computer for processing, then through the wire to the magnet, which is attached to the magnet inside my head. (Yes, you could stick a refrigerator magnet on my head, but please don’t!) And that magnet inside my head is connected to my cochlear implant. Presto, I can hear! However, I do not necessarily understand every sound I’m hearing right now. Here’s a little story about my first day at St. George’s. I was at the Diman picnic—the first time in my life that I was truly on my own without the help of my interpreter. That was quite an overwhelming experience, as the boys were talking to each other, and already making friends. Somehow, I was in the middle of the quad, and a circle of boys surrounded me. I thought they were going to haze the deaf boy. I looked around, and realized that my only weapon was the processor I had on my head, so I braced myself. Luckily, they began to pepper me with questions like, “What’s that on your head?” And, “Can you read lips?” With the help of Ash, my new friend, I explained myself. (And yes, I can read lips pretty well, and I know what you’re whispering about, and I know what you did last summer … just kidding.) That circle of boys was my “Welcome to St. George’s” moment, and after I introduced myself, they said, “Oh, cool! Nice to meet you.” From that very first day, I was accepted here, and that is the one thing that I will miss the most about St. George’s. This is a very small school, and you will meet practically everyone at least once, and the overall sense of acceptance of everyone here is truly incredible. Later that week, I was walking by the chapel to

West and his sign language interpreter, Michelle Nealy.

Westley Resendes ’08 of Middletown, R.I., plans to study neuroscience at Harvard University this fall. He can be reached at resendes@fas.harvard.edu.

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Different Takes H A P E L

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PHOTO BY

SUZANNE MCGRADY

The club I’m lucky to belong to

BY EMMA JANSEN ’08

Following is a chapel talk delivered on April 3, 2008

I Emma Jansen ’08 and her mother, Priscilla.

belong to a club that no one would ever choose to join. One day, I didn’t even know it existed, the next I had suddenly joined the ranks. Those of us in this club don’t exactly keep it secret, but we don’t color coordinate, either. It is impossible to truly appreciate the consequences of membership until you join, and therefore whenever you chance upon someone else who is part of the club, there’s an instant connection, even if you don’t like the person, because you understand what it’s like. There are daily reminders of your membership in this club, and you will be paying its dues for the rest of your life.

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On May 12th, 1997, the day I joined the Dead Dads Club, things changed. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it was also the day that I—willingly—joined the Amazing Mothers Club. That same day, my mother joined both the Dead Husbands Club and the Single Mothers Club, but if it had any effect on our relationship at all, it was for the better. I do not believe that my mother is perfect. Actually, she’s a bit weird. We are incredibly different. She had about a million varsity letters in high school (I have zero, by the way); she is short, with brown hair, skin, and eyes, and I am none of the above; she’s a nurse, but I won’t touch medicine. We both hate it when the other sings. She mutters angrily to herself

in the car, especially when she’s driving in Massachusetts. Our house doesn’t have cable, a dishwasher, a microwave or a cell phone, and until this winter we had dial-up. Yes, I am the only 17-year-old without a cell phone, and it is all her fault. Despite these grave flaws, however, she has always treated me as an equal. She has never censored my books, movies, or music (though she has never understood the appeal of “the noise I call rap”). She has never worried or nagged about school; she trusts that I will work it out. We’ve been having real conversations ever since I can remember. She treats me like an adult, but lets me act like a kid. We argue about ridiculous things like whose arms get to be on top when we hug, which is often. On a more mature note, a couple of weeks ago we had a Clementine peel fight. She won’t admit it, but I definitely won. My mom’s kind of a tree-hugger nature person who likes to camp and hike. A lot. I am not. But last weekend we were both bored, so we went for a long walk, and I actually had fun. She’s really picky about Hollywood, so I force her to watch movies with me by telling her “I actually think you’ll like it this time!” and then I wait to see how horrible she thought it really was. The secret to our relationship is that we respect each other: it’s easy to love your mother, but not as simple to like her. Somehow she finds the perfect balance between friend and authority figure. I can tell her everything without worrying about judgment or censure, and in return she gives me good advice without patronizing me. She is equally as honest with me and answers as best she can whatever questions I put to her. When I was younger, those questions ranged from, “Who came up with time?” Or, “What’s a deductious babe?” Yes, I said “deductious,” and no, I have no idea what that is supposed to mean. On the other end of the spectrum, she would try to answer any questions I have about my father, most recently being whether or not he committed suicide. Since it has been beaten into their brains, my friends can probably all tell you a few immutable facts about me: I like to read, I really like the Netherlands, and I love my mother. She’s kind of a big deal, and has much cooler stories than I do, so I tend to talk about her a lot. Any of my friends who have a

relationship with her, as a rule understand my need to brag and agree. Selena calls her Mama J; my mother calls Selena Selenabena, something she wouldn’t ever let me do. I think Will O’Connor might even like her more than he likes me. An episode that I think epitomizes our relationship happened just a few days ago. I had a rough night. I was tired, and had just gotten rejected from a couple of colleges. I was really craving Rolos, those chocolate-covered caramels, but since it was the middle of the night there was nothing I could do about it. The next day, when I got back to my room after classes, what do I find on my desk but a large quantity of Rolos arranged in a heart and a Post-it Note saying, “Guess who loves you?” My mother and I do actually fight, about once a year or so. It never lasts more than a day. I don’t think I’m physically capable of going to sleep at night without being on good terms with my mother. I think it’s partly because I love her so much, and partly because I know better than to take what we have and the fact that she is alive for granted. My mother is my best friend, and that makes me feel so unbelievably lucky that I would not trade anything that has happened in my life for a different experience. Everyone belongs to some kind of Dead Dads Club, and almost everyone knows that feeling of helplessness: of knowing that things will never go back to the way they were. Whether it’s a death, a divorce, or losing a house, it can be devastating. I would be lying if I said I was “over it.” I’m not even sure what that means. We are in these clubs for the long haul, regardless of our feelings in the matter. What matters, however, are the choices we make about the clubs that are optional. Being in the Dead Dads Club makes me realize that the Amazing Moms Club is the place to be, and it’s a membership I am incredibly proud of and grateful for. So, please, accept those clubs that you have to be a part of, and make sure you join one that you can love. After her chapel talk, Emma Jansen was voted in as a member of the Amazing Students Club. She will attend McGill University in Montreal, Canada, this fall and can be reached at emmarjan@aol.com.

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One goal in mind BY SEAN O’BRIEN ’08 Following is a chapel talk delivered on May 8, 2008

hen I came to St. George’s School, I was 15, and I was scared. I was afraid that I might not make the right impression. After all, it seems that there is no more impressionable place than a school where during every moment of every day, you are surrounded by peers—the peers who determine your social status and whether you’re accepted. I was afraid that I was going to be surrounded by the virtually unmatchable; kids with perfect families, who would go on someday to get the perfect job, living the perfect life. I did not want my imperfections to show, so I hid my deepest feelings, fears, and my growing illness deep inside, where I felt the least vulnerable. For the one month prior to attending St. George’s School, as well as the first month of my attendance, I was in relentless and increasing pain as result of the ulcerative colitis I had been diagnosed with when I was in middle school. No one knew what was going on in my life because I didn’t want anyone to know at first. I

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visited the health center four times a day during that first month, taking steroids that didn’t help, while testing other methods of therapy which failed to produce any results either. And all of this happened while I was trying to find my place, trying to start over, trying to be the hockey player I dreamed of being in a world where, five years before, I never would have dreamed of having the opportunity to become a part of. That fall, my first season as an independent soul at my independent school, I became severely dehydrated—the result of my colon’s inability to effectively absorb fluids. This resulted in it becoming painfully infected and dysfunctional. This was not the first time that this had happened, so I figured that after a little dose of morphine, a few days of IV diet, and the nourishment provided by a few cute nurses, I would be on my way back to school, living my life, only to wait for my next relapse. This was not to be the case. I was 15 years old, and upon my admittance to the Children’s Hospital, I was a man among boys, though in due time my lavish IV drip diet transformed me into what appeared to be a child’s body: I lost 40 pounds in nearly one month. I would soon need surgery. I remember one night, as I sat in my

KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

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PHOTO BY

ANDREA HANSEN

Instead of lounging at home between surgeries, which was a tempting alternative, I decided to act. While my classmates were taking tests and attending classes, I applied myself, recovered physically, and completed all the work that I had missed. At the end of the year I had made the honor roll for the semester that I had been unable to attend, as well as for the semester that I completed upon my return. Apathy and laziness are what keep the average human being, for the most part, just that, an average person. It is easy to be happy and complacent when everything is going well. I have suffered, failed, and ultimately succeeded; I never plan on quitting, and I will always strive to persevere. Merely surviving after my surgery would have meant giving up on my dreams; rather I choose to dream passionately and to work to thrive and to succeed. I want you to know that I would never have been driven to break out of my apparent limitations had it not been for this group whom I had so ignorantly and stereotypically generalized as “perfect.” We all have our imperfections, and, shining through some of our most vulnerable and dire experiences, appears a light of friendship, trust and understanding. I do sincerely thank each and every one of you; especially the Curtin and Carrellas families, Ryan, Ally, Shane, and Peyton Mulhern, and my personal hero, Doc Wallace. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “’Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.” Before I end this talk, I have one request of you. Recently, the father of one of my good friends was diagnosed with cancer; more specifically, colon cancer. So I ask you today to keep my friend’s father, Robert Erb, in your thoughts and prayers. You may not know this man, but you probably did not know me that well either, then I was away and receiving cards, videos, e-mails—and encouragement. For this I will always be grateful.

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electronically reclining hospital bed, clenching my mother’s hand as we both drowned in our tears praying to God for the excruciating pain inside me to stop. The day I was admitted to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, my mother and father drove nearly five hours to be with me. Having my mother as company and comfort every day for the next two months in the hospital was more powerful than the strength any medicine could have provided. Being away from my school, my friends, my classwork, my sister, and ice hockey made me feel as if I had hit rock bottom. I spent a total of 60 days in the hospital, and I had not eaten a piece of solid food for seven weeks. One day that December, I was home with my family while recovering from my third surgery. I was lonely, depressed, and in constant fear about what the future might hold and about the effects that colon removal might have. I went outside alone for a walk, and I realized that the depression and pessimism that I felt inside was not what God had intended for me to take from this experience. This moment was my awakening and became the defining 15 minutes of my life. I made an oath to myself to live with passion and to “dream no small dreams,” in the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great German poet. The ultimate test would be to act upon my declaration. I dreamt of playing hockey again. The doctors told me that it would be at least six months until I could lace up my skates. At first I thought that I would never play hockey again. After I was taken to the ground floor and outside in a wheel chair, I could hardly stand up straight because I had been sitting in the hospital bed for nearly two weeks prior to my discharge. I soon decided that six months was too long to wait. Consequently, I underwent daily rehab and abdominal exercises to gain the strength that I needed. Not before long, I, the underdog, had persevered. I had beat the odds and was skating all within one month. Next, I was told that I might need an extended period of time after my final surgery before I could return to my boarding school community. However, one week after my fourth surgery I was able to return to St. George’s as a result of the incredible progress that I had made, according to my surgeon.

Sean O’Brien had many standout games as the goalie for the boys varsity hockey team.

Sean O’Brien ’08 of Malvern, Pa., heads to the University of Connecticut this fall. He can be reached at obnet24@aol.com.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF J ENNY J OHNSON

Angus Anderson ’08 with his older brother Preston on Prize Day in May.

Brotherhood BY ANGUS ANDERSON ’08 Following is a chapel talk delivered on April 24, 2008.

rofound experiences are most likely to have an effect on someone’s way of thinking. Specifically through a tragic or devastating incident, many people suddenly and unexpectedly find meaning. What I am going to talk about today was in no way sudden, but rather, has been a presence in my life for as long as I can remember. My realization was helped through the actions of my older brother, Preston. There is a saying that an old English teacher used to repeat: “Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.” She used to explain that family is special because we do not choose them, and in times of trouble it is your family to whom you turn. Even though you are not able to choose your parents or your siblings, they often become your closest friends.

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In many of the same ways as with one’s parents, an older brother is connected to his younger brother by a special bond developed mostly during their childhood, the most natural of relationships. The older brother is meant to protect his younger sibling while urging him to grow on his own. These feelings eventually wear off as both of the children mature; the two either move in separate directions or the younger sibling gains enough confidence to take off on his own. In most circumstances a younger sibling’s older brother is his first real friend. There was a time when I saw my older brother as a quiet but confident leader, not always speaking up, but nevertheless providing that sense of protection. But the only specific memory that I have of my older brother serving in this role was when I was about six. I was on my way to my first soccer camp and nervous about leaving my parents, but I was able to calm down because Preston, my older brother and protector, was going to the camp as well.

ANDREA HANSEN

patterns. Part of Preston’s routine includes his “relaxation period,” which I mentioned before. His routine includes watching TV as soon as he returns home, and it is during this time that he should not be “bothered,” as he so often explains. There is no way to get a response from Preston while he watches TV, because this is “his time,” and during “his time” he has an uncanny ability to block out everything but the current television show he is watching. Preston’s autism also affects his motor skills to a point where they are not effective enough for him to be able to play sports, during which many of my close friendships have developed. An addition was made to Preston’s routine over a year ago, when to my sheer amazement, Preston was able to obtain his driver’s license. I do not know exactly what Preston does on his daily car rides, but I do know that he goes to Dunkin’ Donuts and gets the same thing each time, as he does at every restaurant that I have ever been to with him. Over Spring Break, though, Preston got in a car accident. Preston no longer had a car, so he had to resort back to his bike as his means for transportation. It was watching what my parents had to go through after the accident that reminded me of Preston’s constant struggle. I have learned many lessons from Preston, but the most profound of them is to not take things for granted. I see my brother struggling with everyday tasks that no one in this chapel would even think twice about while completing. Although there are moments when I worry about Preston, there are moments that equally inspire and build my confidence in him, such as the time he got his driver’s license. In conclusion, my message is to be thankful for what you have and to slow things down so you can appreciate the little things in life.

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Later, the fall of that same year, I lost the sense of protection that I used to expect Preston to provide. During the soccer season I was placed on the same team as my brother, as the league did with many of its siblings. I took pleasure in playing soccer and gladly chasing the ball as most youngsters do, but my brother didn’t seem to enjoy that activity. Preston never wanted to go into the game and would often cry for no apparent reason. A great deal of frustration was apparent when someone stole the ball or when the stampede of children chasing the ball ran past him. Preston would often be seen on the sidelines sucking his thumb, a habit that even I, his younger brother, had given up years ago. I also found it weird that my brother had repeated kindergarten and that he was now in the same grade level as I. As I began to flourish, my older brother, my supposed role model, continued only to tread water. It wasn’t until later that I learned that Preston was autistic, which is why he still maintained the habit of sucking his thumb, rarely talked, didn’t enjoy social games such as soccer, and had repeated kindergarten. I don’t remember having a specific conversation with my parents, but I always sort of knew that Preston was different, that he was a little slower. You cannot tell that Preston is autistic from looking at him, or even after your first encounter with him. But the first clue is that he refuses to make eye contact with whomever he is speaking to; his eyes are constantly darting around the room as if he is paranoid or they are glued directly to the floor as you speak to him, similar to how a child behaves as he is scolded. Preston is the nicest person I have ever met, always willing to help with what he can, ready to drop anything at any moment, as long as it doesn’t interfere with his routine, or what he calls his “relaxation period.” The branch of autism that Preston suffers from is known as PDD, or Pervasive Development Disorder. The PDD affects Preston’s socialization and communication skills. Preston has difficulty with changes in routine or from familiar surroundings, one of the most recognizable symptoms of PDD, and he also repeats body movements and behavior

Mariana Tellez ’08 and Angus at the Christmas Festival.

Angus Anderson of Middletown, R.I., will attend Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. this fall. He can be reached at angus.anderson@trincoll.edu.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF J AY

DOOLITTLE

Wading into new territory BY NICK CARRELLAS ’08 Jay Doolittle ’56, former director of admission, teaches Nick Carrellas ’08 how to cast a fly rod in his backyard before heading out to the river.

Following is a chapel talk delivered on Feb. 28, 2008

soft, dusky light arced over the edge of the canyon. It streamed downwards over the loose slate and the rusty, red rocks along the opposite shore, until it lit up the green water with a million little suns. The air hummed with the

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newest hatch that had gathered in dark swirling clouds above my head. I moved downstream, the river cool against my waders as I stepped slowly and deliberately over the egg-shaped stones that lined the bottom. I stopped and stripped out a few feet of line, allowing it to get lost in dark eddies where the rocks seemed to be struggling desperately for the surface. All in one motion I pulled the line down and away in my left hand, and flicked

the rod tip up in my right. “One,” I whispered to myself. It was surprising to see the heavy, shining line split from the water first, followed by the leader, the tippet, and lastly the fly. “Two,” I said as they floated overhead in a quiet, joint arc, a fluorescent rainbow under the sun. I waited more patiently than before, taking my time to pronounce the number, “Three.” I could not see the line behind me, but for the first time in three days I felt it curving into a perfect letter C, my fly suspended in time for a split second. “Four,” I sounded as I rolled my forearm forward, careful not to use too much wrist. I half expected to hear the snap of the fly behind me, an indication that I had hurried the cast, but I did not. Instead there was a barely audible whissh, and then nothing but the line drifting effortlessly towards the water’s surface. The fly landed first without so much as a wrinkle, followed by tippet, leader and line in that forever-important order. It was perfect. When we made our way back to the car there was only a faint light glowing over the canyon walls, and that was it. We didn’t talk much on the ride home because we didn’t have to. There was a silent understanding between the two of us: He knew that I had finally mastered the cast, even though he didn’t say it. And so we drove in the shadows of mountains, and crossed over the river one final time. Now I am sure you are all wondering what that narrative is about, and why I have included it in my chapel talk. Well I’m sorry to tell you that you will not find out why until I conclude in five minutes or so, because I am going to talk about a much more general topic in the meantime; a topic that pertains to all of us. To begin, I think it is safe to say that not everyone in this chapel remembers kindergarten. Even so, there is something nostalgic about that earliest year of school. Kindergarten was a time for stickfigure paintings, storytime, snack time, and perhaps most importantly of all, it was a time when everybody was friends with everybody—it didn’t matter who they were or where they were from. Your parents would introduce you in the parking lot on the way in on the first day, and by recess you

were inseparable. With each successive year however, making friends just kept getting harder and harder. Suddenly other kids were picking friends, and if you couldn’t color within the lines, or climb the monkey bars, it was going to be a tough year. Well, kindergarten is in the past, as is elementary school and middle school. At present, we students are in high school, and consequently, this is probably the hardest time in one’s life to make friends. We are at the age where one mistake, just one slip-up, could result in a nickname or a reputation that is near inescapable. Oftentimes we are quick to categorize one another on the shallow basis of appearance or a first impression. Rather than taking the time to learn an individual’s background, we substitute one for them, one that we have devised through our own assumptions. Sometimes these assumptions are accidental and do not cause much harm. Just a few months ago I was in a hockey shop picking up some new equipment and the gentlemen who worked there was nice enough to strike up a conversation. He asked me how long I had been playing hockey, what teams I had played on, and finally, when I was going to start high school. I was reluctant to tell him that in just a few months I was actually going to be on my way to college. While this incident was embarrassing, it was an understandable mistake, as I have always looked on the younger side. More often than not however, we infer much more than someone’s age from the way they look. We seem to believe that we can discern both their character and personality without ever meeting eyes. Sometimes it is the way they dress, and sometimes it is what we hear from other people; either way we form opinions of others with very little knowledge of their past, their upbringing, or their own outlooks, all of which we can make sense of only by meeting them face to face. In a community as small as St. George’s it is especially important that we do not fall into the trap of judging a book by its cover, as it can be detrimental in more ways than one. We are all human, and thus look for the same things in life: lasting friendships, support from family, love,

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Recent graduates Bennett Byrd, Devin O’Rourke, Peter Hahn, Nick Carrellas and Whit Curtain at the SG senior picnic last fall.

respect and encouragement. Why then, are we so intent on finding the trivial things that separate us, rather than the things that bring us together? Over the next few months, I challenge each and every one of you to strike up a conversation with someone unfamiliar, someone outside your usual circle of friends. It does not matter whether they are a fellow student or a teacher, so long as you know next to nothing about them. Now I can’t guarantee that you will hit it off five minutes after meeting—what I can guarantee however, is that if you search hard enough, you will find more similarities than differences between one another. Maybe it is something particularly significant that has the effect of bringing you together—the recent death of a loved one, a personal success—or perhaps it is something much simpler. Perhaps you are brought together by something as basic as a shared passion, say a love for fishing—which brings me back to that opening narrative. This past summer I made a trip out to Montana, to visit retired St. George’s School Admission Director and teacher Jay Doolittle ’56, and hopefully learn a few things about fly fishing. Up until I made that trip, I think it is important to point out that I had never had Mr. Doolittle as a teacher, a coach, or an advisor. I never really even had a chance to strike up a conversation with Mr. Doolittle until the spring of junior year, when he returned

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to school to advertise the Black Otter Pack Trip. For those of you who don’t know Mr. Doolittle, he is a soft-spoken and secretly funny man, which I quickly learned on the ride back to his house from the airport in Bozeman. He is much older than I, and when it comes to fly fishing, much more experienced. Nowadays, the Yellowstone is where he spends many of his evenings, tracing his fly over green waters rich in meaning. The river has become an integral part of his life, something that he shared with me this summer through our time together. It is true that during his time at St. George’s Mr. Doolittle was director of admission, English teacher and hockey coach, though that was not what brought us together. Instead it was a simple and mutual appreciation for the sport of fishing. On that evening Mr. Doolittle was nothing more than a fisherman, waders strapped over his shoulders and fly rod in tow. He taught me something only one fisherman can teach another. He had passed on to me everything he knew—from nail knots to barrel knots, fly patterns to wrist action—all in the hope that I would understand. That final cast, under the growing shade of the canyon, was my way of saying, “Yes, I understand.” His love for fly fishing now lives in me. Nick Carrellas ’08 heads to Colby College this fall. He can be reached at mcarrellas@aol.com.

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Scholarship this past school year. Josh, who himself attended SG on a scholarship, met with Cao and his sister Ha on Oct. 6, 2007. The group pondered some outings together, perhaps a Red Sox game, Joshua Redmond Mills ’53 before Mills was stricken. The scholarship has not only helped Lit, it’s also helped the St. George’s community fulfill its mission. In SG’s 2006 Strategic Plan, the school promises “to enhance its efforts to build a diverse, thriving community and to seek ways to connect its students with the larger world.” The Redmond-Mills Family Scholarship Tuan (Lit) Cao ’10 will help students of all backgrounds feel welcome on the Hilltop. Mills died April 17, 2008, leaving behind him a legacy of generosity and understanding. He was a staunch believer in human rights and free-market capitalism, a life-long libertarian and a Republican, according to his obituary. After 20 years in international finance, Mills pioneered a method to bring sophistiOn July 1, the Developcated financial planning tools to middlement Office reported: “We are income people. Many were grateful for his thrilled to report that the counsel, Healy said. Annual Fund goal has been In his middle years he was an active layreached, and the 2007-08 man in the Presbyterian Church holding sevCampaign closed with cash eral local and regional leadership positions. totaling about $2,200,326. Besides Healy, Mills is survived by his Director Susan Russell “devoted life partner,” Beverly, another wishes to thank donors and daughter—Carlotta Redmond Mills—and a volunteers for their support, granddaughter, Darcy Redmond Healy. and hard work throughout this past year. —Suzanne McGrady

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE

When Joshua R. Mills ’53 was told he had a month to live by doctors at Yale-New Haven Hospital this past January, he said he had enjoyed a deep and rewarding life, that his two daughters were his friends, and that his wife, Beverly, was “his right arm.” He had been given many gifts, he added, and wanted to make sure he gave back in return. At St. George’s, he knew he had already done just that. Long before his illness, Mills had been pondering ways to help others. In 2007, he established the Redmond-Mills Family Scholarship to provide financial aid to a St. George’s student whose parent or parents are immigrants—as well as to promote international understanding and support legal immigration. The scholarship is named for Mills’ father, Joshua Mills, who was born in Newfoundland and who was president of Essex Trust bank in Lynn, Mass; and for his mother’s father, Charles Daniel Redmond, who was born in Nova Scotia and who had a successful business as a cabinetmaker and woodworker, with a studio off Boston’s Beacon Street. Mills’ daughter, Stasha Mills Healy, says her father was a lifelong supporter of immigrants’ rights. “His belief was that this country was built by the hard labor of immigrants, that they have so much to contribute to our society, and that they could often use a leg up to help them reach their potential. They might not otherwise achieve that potential without access to a good education particularly,” said Healy. Lit Cao ’10, a native of Vietnam, was the recipient of the Redmond-Mills Family

MILLS FAMILY

The story of a gift

Annual Fund goal reached

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Seminar students conduct research in Uganda

Above: Save the Children brought Will O’Connor ’08 and other members of the Global Studies seminar to an African village in Nakasangola while they were on a trip to Uganda in March. “I brought a soccer ball to play with the boys and men of the village, and we played for a while, with me entertaining the crowd with my lack of soccer skills,” O’Connor said. Save the Children is working with school dropouts in the village to teach them vocational skills.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOFIA COVARRUBIAS ’08

Below: Children in Uganda surround Sofia Covarrubias ’08 during a Global Studies seminar trip in March.

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When the word went out that SG would be offering a global studies course in which participants would travel to Uganda, the student buzz was high. Turns out for good reason. The course, open to seniors, had students in high gear all year long, and culminated in a 10-day trip to the African nation in March. Matt Bakios, Kathryn Connor, Soﬁa Covarrubias, Alia Eads, Sophie Goodwin, Tori Hensel, Alex Merchant, Sasha Munn, Will O’Connor and Alex Regan, took part in the seminar, along with faculty members Kevin Held, Patrick Durning and Carrie Kelly. Topics the students researched included AIDS, women’s rights, refugee issues, and microfinance. The group began the trip in Kampala, traveled up to Murchison Falls, back through Nakasongola and ended in Kampala. During the trip, they visited Save the Children, UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency, Refugee Law Project, Finca and Centenary microloan banks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nature Uganda, the Center for Women in Government, the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention, an HIV/AIDS clinic, Makarere University, four high schools and one primary school. “As I go through the pictures I took, as I read the notes I took while interviewing people, as I continue to read about the socio-economic situation in East Africa and Uganda, I remember vividly everything I saw, I heard and I tasted on this trip,” wrote Covarrubias after the journey. “I left Uganda wishing I could have done so much more for the kids, for the women, and for the men we met. It was so frustrating to see these people and know that they have never seen the world we live in.” Next March, students in Jaccaci’s Seminar in Global Studies class will visit Panama, focusing their research on Central America along with Spanish teachers Anthony Perry and Merilyn Wilber.

PHOTO BY TONY JACCACI

Members of the Seminar in Global Studies class taught by Director of Global Programs Tony Jaccaci—Matt Bakios, Kathryn Connor, Sofia Covarrubias, Alia Eads, Sophie Goodwin, Tori Hensel, Alex Merchant, Sasha Munn, Will O’Connor and Alex Regan, and faculty members Kevin Held, Patrick Durning and Carrie Kelly—meet with Ugandan students during a research trip to Africa in March.

SG CELEBR ATES GLOBAL AWARENESS WEEK During the week of April 15-20, students, faculty, staff and the larger SG community participated in St. George’s first Global Awareness Week, organized by Director of Global Studies Tony Jaccaci. Jaccaci outlines the week’s activities here: On Tuesday, the school community enjoyed a performance by the Peruvian music/dance group “Inca Son” (Inca Sound) in Madeira Hall. The group displayed their talents, playing traditional and modern tunes on a wide variety of Andean instruments, interspersed with historical and cultural anecdotes. At one point, students joined the performers onstage for an impromptu dance number. Following the concert, the Nathaniel P. Hill Library and Librarian Jen Tuleja hosted a Children’s Story Hour, highlighting the four language offerings at SG (Latin, French, Spanish and Chinese). Youngsters and parents enjoyed fables read twice: once by a foreign student in the native tongue of the author, then in English as translated by non-native student of the language. On Wednesday morning at an all-school assembly, students in the Global Seminar class who traveled to Uganda over spring break presented a video documentary of their trip. Following the short film, the class answered questions regarding their observations and their upcoming research papers based on individually chosen study themes pursued while in Africa. Later in the day, Latin teacher Kevin Held organized an event celebrating the sport of the ancient Romans. Students donned plumed helmets and raced, at various speeds, in “chariots” fashioned from shopping carts. In the evening, the classic film “Ben Hur” was shown. Thursday began with a “French Café” in the Campus Center Great Room, organized by French Department chair Allison de Horsey. Students, faculty and staff gathered to enjoy conversation en français, bien sûr, croissants and coffee

to the soft sounds of French tunes. A cricket demonstration was then held in the outfield of the J.V. baseball field complete with wickets, creases and bails. Pakistani native Ateeq Al Abid gave two demonstrations. The first was to faculty children and the second was to the J.V. baseball team and a collection of faculty. After some instruction, Betsy Stavis ’08, French participants were invited Department head Allison de Horsey, Ashley Friend ’08 and to bat against the bowler Ellie Myers ’08 offer fresh baked and to try to hit the goodies to the SG community. “wicked googly” pitches. On Thursday evening, a panel of international Naval officers enrolled in the U.S. Naval War College in Newport addressed an audience in the Nathaniel P. Hill Library. The officers, from Norway, Spain, Pakistan and Senegal, answered questions from SG students and faculty on a variety of topics ranging from current U.S. foreign policy to the perceptions people in their own countries have of the U.S. Titled “Seen from Abroad: How America Can Win Friends and Influence People in the 21st Century,” the panel stimulated a series of interesting questions and responses from the audience. On Sunday, an international brunch was held in King Hall. The kitchen staff, under the direction of Steve Moyer, prepared a selection of foods from around the world. King Hall was also beautifully decorated by the students in the SG International Club, organized by the club’s faculty head, Spanish chair Mafalda Nula. The brunch featured opera music playing in the background and a slide show of SG students on trips they had taken throughout the world.

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Left: Math teacher Joe Elias shares some time with Gai, a resident of the Thai orphanage he visited with teachers and students from the Taejon Christian International School. At 16, Gai was the oldest child in the orphanage. Elias was at TCIS as part of a teacher exchange program. He visited the Korean school in March. Right: Elias and TCIS English teacher Christina Kim accompany a Thai orphan on an oxen-drawn cart ride for a trip to a local theme park.

TEACHER EXCHANGES

ath teacher Joe Elias spent two weeks in Asia last March, visiting Taejon Christian International School in Korea as part of a teacher exchange, and accompanying a group of TCIS faculty members and students on a mission trip to an orphanage in Thailand. At TCIS, Elias joined in chapel services, observed classes and student government meetings, attended soccer practices, ate a number of traditional Korean meals, and spent time in dormitories for study hall and dorm meetings. “I was greeted with warmth and kindness by the entire school,” he said. After spending the week at TCIS observing and becoming a part of their community, Elias joined 15 students and five teachers to work at an orphanage in Chaing Mai, Thailand. “After another long journey in planes, buses, and pick-up trucks, we arrived at the airport to be greeted by a crowd of orphans, some shy, some outgoing, but all excited for our visit,” he said. “Soon after our first day, we had little and big kids hanging all over us, playing and learning together.”

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English teacher Patricia Lothrop spent part of her spring break in March at Chinese International School in Hong Kong as part of an ongoing teacher exchange. “My 10-day stint … was a perfect blend of work and fun,” Lothrop reported after her trip. While at CIS, Lothrop taught, contributed to, or observed classes in English, Theory of Knowledge, and Economics. She attended off-campus lectures and two student drama performances, and joined students for two history department tours of Hong Kong and the New Territories. She also spent some time at Hong Kong International School, for a visit set up by former SG faculty member Bill Stork. “I had many informative conversations with teachers, from whom I’ve learned a lot about curriculum, the I.B. (International Baccalaureate), Hong Kong, and school culture,” she said. On a day off, Lothrop spent six hours walking around Macau, “smiling at the Vegas-like mock Potala, mock Forbidden City, mock Roman Forum, and the like, visiting the relics of the Portuguese colonial era,” and admiring three temples. “What a great learning opportunity this was,” she added.

YERIN CHUNG ’09 PHOTO COURTESY OF

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hen Yerin Chung ’09 spent a few weeks in western Kenya last summer it was all about seeing things in a different light. Chung, a soon-to-be senior from Korea, was tagging alongside her aunt and an old nursing school friend of hers who’d spent the last 20 years ministering to the sick and providing spiritual counsel as a nurse and nun in the remote town of Eldoret. When Chung learned of the opportunity to visit Africa, her mother thought of another way to make the trip valuable: Bring her camera. After a photo class at St. George’s in her sophomore year and some time with an old photography mentor of her mother’s (Ms. Chung is also smitten with the art), Yerin was enthusiastic about the possibilities. She loaded up her Canon D400, snapped on a vintage zoom lens she’d known since childhood, and took full advantage of the change in scenery. The camera, she said, helped her gain even more perspective on what she was seeing: people

dying of AIDs, forced to sleep on the ground, living a life so different from her own. She also trained the lens on almost everyone she met, spending time with children whom she said just wanted her around. “Whenever I was focusing on someone, 20 kids ran into my lens,” she said. “They were touching my hair, my face. They were so surprised. They would say, ‘You’re hair is so straight and they would try to say something more in English.’ ” She tutored an 18-year-old boy paralyzed in a tree fall, teaching him long division and writing notes back and forth in English to overcome challenges with their accents. “I think I learned a lot,” said Chung. “At first I wasn’t thinking about what would look good in the photo. I just brought my camera and clicked it. But after a while I realized, this kind of composition makes sense. This is really something I want to capture—and remember.” —Suzanne McGrady

Yerin Chung ’09 along with her aunt (far right) and nuns from the village who are also nurses. Inset: photograph taken by Chung of a local woman also from one of the villages she visited on her trip to Kenya in the summer of 2007.

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Abroad in Spain

Front row: Brian Wilber, the nephew of Spanish teacher Merilyn Wilber; McCrea Davison ’09; Rachel Asbel ’11; Ellie Bullitt ’11, Julia Carrellas ’11; Callie McBreen ’09; Maxine Muster ’09; Izzy Evans ’09 and Matt Gaydar ’09; and (back row) Spanish teachers Merilyn Wilber and Catherine Rodero at the Hermitage del Mirón in Soria, Spain.

ight students, along with faculty members Catherine Rodero, and Lucy Hamilton went to Spain for a language-immersion trip during spring break in March. Callie McBreen ’09, Izzy Evans ’09, McCrea Davison ’09, Maxine Muster ’09, Matt Gaydar ’09, Julia Carrellas ’11, Rachel Asbel ’11 and Ellie Bullitt ’11 each stayed with a host family and went to school with a Spanish student during the first part of the trip in Soria, in north central Spain. The school they attended is where teacher Merilyn Wilber spent her sabbatical in 2007-08. After Soria, the group took a day trip to Bilbao and spent the last two days sightseeing in Madrid. “Home staying was an experience that I will never forget,” reported Izzy Evans at assembly after the trip. “It was what helped my Spanish most on the trip.”

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Davison said she remembers visiting an English class and talking to the kids about America. “When we told them what sports we played, they did not understand what lacrosse was. We had to draw a picture of the stick and a person on the chalkboard,” she said. In Madrid, the group did lots of sightseeing and visited two art museums—the Prado and the Reina Sophia—and a soccer stadium. “We got to spend a little more time in the Prado, where we saw paintings by Velazquez, Goya, and El Greco,” reported Asbel. “In the Reina Sofia, we saw some Picasso including his mural Guernica, which was huge and black and white and amazing.” Then they toured Real Madrid stadium. “We managed to see David Beckham’s cleats,” Carrellas said. “We got to sit were the players sit during games and we walked through the Hall of Fame.”

Third former takes part in extraordinary medical mission

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eaton Johnson ’11 and his father, Dr. James L. “Bo” Johnson II, went to Guayaquil, Ecuador, the week of June 9 on a humanitarian healthcare mission—and it was a trip, Dr. Johnson says, that will certainly “impact Keaton’s view of the world.” The two worked in a military hospital with a group consisting of two general surgeons, a urologist, three French phlebologists, a podiatrist, a colorectal surgeon, a family doctor, three anesthesiologists and an audiologist. There were also numerous interpreters, aids and helpers. At 14, Keaton was the youngest member of the team. Dr. Johnson is a general surgeon and his role was to perform gallbladder surgeries, hernia repairs and vein treatments. Keaton helped by cleaning surgical instruments in between cases, taking patients to the floor, running errands for the nurses, making rounds on the floor with his father twice a day, and assisting the surgical team by keeping track of the patient needs. He also assisted in surgery. The surgery pictured here was a femoral hernia repair in a 69-year-old Ecuadorian woman. “Her story is very touching as were most of the patients,” recalls Dr. Johnson. “She grabbed my hands just before her surgery and prayed that God would guide them and she began to cry.”

When Dr. Johnson inquired why she was so concerned, she told him that she could not afford anything to go wrong. She was the sole provider for her six grandchildren and she washed other peoples’ clothes to make just enough money for the kids to eat. The kids’ parents were all out trying to find work but were unable to. “This touched Keaton’s heart as well as mine,” Dr. Johnson says. “Ultimately her surgery went well and she went home in good condition.” The French that Keaton took at SG apparently helped when interacting with the French doctors and by the end of the journey he also was picking up Spanish. Another high point of the trip: Before they went, the team of doctors received a grant for hearing aids and was able to fit 96 children with the devices. “Some were in their teens and heard for the first time,” Dr. Johnson reports.

Keaton Johnson assists his father during a femoral hernia repair in a 69-year-old Ecuadorian woman.

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On a mission Knowledge flows both ways in new teacher exchange with a Korean school

Tim Boyer of the Taejon Christian International School spent time on Geronimo and visiting campus in March.

im Boyer, a biology teacher from Taejon Christian International School in Daejeon, South Korea, visited campus in late March after sailing aboard Geronimo during spring break. The trip was part of a new teacher exchange with the school. SG math teacher Joe Elias spent time at TCIS in March and on a community service trip to an orphanage in Thailand. Traveling between Asia and the United States is nothing new to Boyer. Boyer’s parents were missionaries and he grew up in Korea, returning to Virginia every four years to visit the churches that supported his family’s work abroad. Boyer and his wife, Barbara, who was a librarian in the TCIS elementary school, are both TCIS alums. Asked where home is, Boyer paused. “As a missionary kid, you don’t think of a place as much as where family is,” he said. “Home is about relationships, not places.” Boyer was a psychology major at Davidson

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College and then studied for a time at Old Dominion, where a teacher turned him onto biology. “He stuck us out in the woods for four weeks—and I loved it,” Boyer said. To finance the rest of his graduate degree, he got a job in the library at the College of William and Mary, where he ended up studying whitefooted mice. Then he returned to TCIS for a short time to teach, met his wife, and returned to the U.S. The Boyers have a daughter Hannah, 11, and a son, Will, 8. Boyer’s main mission in coming to St. George’s was to explore new ways to get students to learn about science off campus. He spent the majority of his visit on Geronimo in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, with a group of SG faculty members that included art teacher Gideon Webster, science teacher James Stevens, Administrator of the Health Center Eileen Texiera and English teacher Mary Alice Cornog. It was his first time on a sailing ship and his first time snorkeling. “Now I

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Tony Jaccaci, Warren Williams, Holly Williams, Jeremy Goldstein, Bob Weston, Betsy Durning, Mike Hansel and Linda Evans spent time in Beijing (above) in June, and also visited Korea and Japan. The school plans to offer a trip to Asia to faculty members every two years.

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have a new appreciation for the students and their stamina,” he said of his experience on the boat. “I got seasick, too!” He tied knots and pulled riggings and credited the first and second mates—Brian Barnes and Rachel Bahm—and Captain Deborah Hayes with being “sympathetic teachers.” When he returned to TCIS, he prepared for what the school calls its Group 4 project, designed to connect students with science in their local community. TCIS offers the International Baccalaureate Program, offered in 125 countries across the globe, in which students take six subjects; write an extended essay; participate in the Theory of Knowledge course, which aims to encourage students to be critical thinkers and to teach students basic epistemology; and complete at least 50 hours in each area of CAS (Creative, Action, Service). Upon his return, Boyer also re-immersed himself in the Christian culture of the school, a culture that distinguishes TCIS from St. George’s, according to Boyer. “At TCIS, many teachers pray before class,” he said. “Not all of our students are Christian. We don’t push it, but we’re very open about it.” It’s not the goal of the school to make all students Christians, he added. “But we want to provide the opportunity.” Boyer coached the girls’ volleyball team. “Our break was ‘Let’s praise the Lord!’” he said. Asked about leaving the country where he’s lived for so long, he said he will always have a place for Korea in his heart, but he’s nostalgic about the past. “Korea’s lost a little of its culture. It’s losing its ties to the past,” he said. “Our young people don’t have the memory of the suffering their elders went through to pull themselves up after the Korean War.” Boyer will take a new job this fall as a biology teacher at the Shanghai American School’s Pudong campus, and he’s excited by the opportunity. “Korea isn’t a tourist destination, but Shanghai is,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll have a lot of visits from family and friends.” —Suzanne McGrady

Sam Livingston ’10, Graham Anderson ’11 and Maxine Muster ’09 spent June 22-27 in Costa Rica as part of an Institute for Student Leaders forum offered by N.A.I.S. (The National Association of Independent Schools). English teacher Patricia Lothrop went along as a chaperone. The ISL trips bring together students from public and private schools around the world to develop their skills in global leadership, ethics, advocacy, problem-solving and entrepreneurship.

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PRIZES AWARDED M AY 2 6 , 2 0 0 8 B INNEY P RIZE — For the highest scholarship in the sixth form: Peter Thomas John II

D RURY P RIZE — For excellence in art: KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

George Christian Gebelein IV

C AMER A P RIZE : Elizabeth Delano Young OF 1978 M USIC P RIZE — Awarded to a student who through personal efforts has inspired the musical life of the school:

Michael Steven Miller

T HE S T . G EORGE ’ S I NSTRUMENTAL M USIC P RIZE —

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Morgan Beeson ’08 was the recipient of the Choir Prize and the Centennial Prize.

Awarded to a student whose talents, dedication and leadership have contributed the most to the instrumental program of the school:

Geoffrey Freedman Pedrick

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C HOIR P RIZE :

Jihee Jun

Morgan Robert Franklin Beeson Elizabeth Seabury Myers

P HYSICS P RIZE :

W OOD D R AMATICS P RIZE — For the student whose abilities and

T HE R EAR A DMIR AL J OHN R EMEY W ADLEIGH M EMORIAL P RIZE — Awarded to a student whose enthusiasm for and interest

efforts have contributed most to the theater at St. George’s:

William Gerald Bruce Jason Paul Andrews

D ARTMOUTH C LUB

AND

T HEOLOG Y P RIZE :

George Christian Gebelein IV

in history and marine studies is worthy of special recognition:

Victoria Jo Hensel OF

R HODE I SL AND H ISTORY P RIZE :

Alexander Dudley Merchant

T HE R AMSING P RIZE — For excellence in marine and environmental biology:

Nicholas Walsh Carrellas

E VANS S PANISH P RIZE : E DGAR P RIZE

Mercedes Lee Barba

M ATHEMATICS

Peter Thomas Johns II

R IVES F RENCH P RIZE : C OMPUTER P RIZE :

Ashley Lynn Friend

Geoffrey Freedman Pedrick

C HINESE P RIZE — Awarded to the student who has demonstrated consistently high performance in the study of Mandarin Chinese and shown a genuine interest in the Chinese language and culture while at St. George’s.

Sasha Norcross Munn

L OGAN P RIZE

FOR

E NGLISH :

Varvara Nikolayevna Bogacheva

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D EAN S CHOL ARSHIP — In memory of Charles Maitland Dean, Senior Prefect 1968, killed in Laos in 1974. Given by his family and friends, and awarded for the sixth-form year to a boy or a girl who has demonstrated a concern for the community, the ability to lead, and a sense of civic responsibility: Jelani Esthelle Odlum-Lansiquot

C ONGRESSMAN P ATRICK J. K ENNEDY A WARD — To a member of the sixth form who has demonstrated commitment to community service:

William Owen O’Connor II

G EORGE D. D ONNELLY A THLETIC A WARD — Awarded to a

R AY WOISHEK ‘89

girl(s) and boy(s) who, in the opinion of the Head of School and the Athletic Directors, possess a passion for athletics and who demonstrate the dedication and the sportsmanship to succeed in a variety of athletic endeavors:

PHOTO BY

Ellen Romayne McDonald Jamie Lee Mey Sean Patrick O’Brien Oliver Coleman Scholle III (The next four prizes in athletics are awarded by vote of the coaches)

M ARY E USTIS Z ANE C UP — Awarded to a girl(s) of the sixth form whose steady devotion to the high ideals of good sportsmanship has been an inspiration to her fellow students: Eliza Ramsay Foster Charleen Danielle Conlogue

T HAYER C UP — Awarded to a boy of the sixth form whose steady devotion to the high ideals of good sportsmanship has been an inspiration to his fellow students: Antonio Diaz Gonzalez Salas

L OUISE E LLIOT C UP — Awarded to a sixth form girl for excellence in athletics and for promoting the spirit of hard, clean play:

Allison Taylor Conti

S AMUEL P OWEL C UP — Awarded to a sixth form boy for excellence in athletics and for promoting the spirit of hard, clean play:

Christopher Andrew Fogg (The next prizes are awarded by vote of the faculty)

Russian student Varvara Bogacheva ’08 took home the Logan Prize for English.

T HE J EFFERYS P RIZE — Given in memory of Cham Jefferys to the sixth form who, in the opinion of the faculty, has done the most to enhance the moral and intellectual climate of the school: Selena Howard Elmer

P HELPS M ONTGOMERY F RISSELL P RIZE — Awarded to the member of the sixth form who, in the opinion of the faculty, has made the best use of his or her talents: Westley Alexander Resendes

C ENTENNIAL P RIZE — Inaugurated during the school’s centennial year. Awarded to a boy and girl of the graduating class who have demonstrated extraordinary and inspirational efforts on behalf of the school community. Alison Ann Fornell Morgan Robert Franklin Beeson

year has maintained a high standard in all departments of the life of the school:

H EADMASTER ’ S A WARD — To the Senior Prefect for his or her faithful devotion to the many duties of the past year. Given in memory of Henry W. Mitchell, Class of 1933:

Hendrik Kits van Heyningen

Alexander Dudley Merchant

H ARVARD AND R ADCLIFFE C LUBS OF R HODE I SL AND P RIZE — For the student of the Fifth Form whom the Head of

S T . G EORGE ’ S M EDAL — Awarded to the member of the sixth

A LLEN P RIZE — To a member of the Fourth Form who during the

School and the faculty deem most worthy in scholarship, effort and character:

form who, through effort, character, athletics and scholarship during the year, has best caught and expressed the ideals and spirit of St. George’s:

Sarah Josephine Harrison

Nicholas Walsh Carrellas

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Prize Day G

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2008 graduates Eileen FitzGerald, Hailey Feldman, Thea Lines, Liz Levison and Kelly Smerling.

PHOTOS BY

Left: Juan Flores ’08. Right: Day students Selena Elmer ’08 and Emma Jansen ’08 embrace after the Prize Day ceremony.

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KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

The boys of the Class of 2008 show off their ties, specially designed by Vineyard Vines, where Cameron Gammill ’98 is the retail sales manager.

Left: Will O’Connor ’08 gets a congratulatory hug from Kinyette Henderson ’10. Right: Annalise Mascarenhas ’08 and Harriet Manice ’08.

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Prize Day R A D U A T I O N

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KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

PHOTO BY

Head of School Eric F. Peterson addresses the SG community on Prize Day.

A taxonomy of bad advice BY ERIC F. PETERSON Following is an edited version of the head of school’s address to the graduates on May 26, 2008.

o the members of the Class of 2008: The school offers you its heartfelt congratulations. Speaking for myself, I suspect I don’t need to tell you that you are a special class. As you have no doubt realized, you and I arrived here together, young, naïve, and eager. Four years later, you have grown up and grown wiser, whereas Mrs. Peterson and I have mostly just grown older and meaner. You are the first class to have known only me as your headmaster, and you are therefore the first class I have helped to shepherd from naïve third formers to (generally) wise sixth formers. Thank you for making it an adventure, right up to the very end. In your growth, we see our best

efforts and fondest hopes reflected. Whether you realize it or not, you represent the best of St. George’s—the triumphs and the frustrations, the love and the tears. Through it all, you’ve distinguished yourselves with your enthusiasm, athleticism, passion, and scholarship. Now, you sit on the brink of becoming graduates of St. George’s. But before you go, please indulge me by enduring one last round of vocabulary-fortified, headmasterly rambling. It strikes me that commencement talks like this one generally fall into one of two categories. They tend to be either the “portentous go-forth platitudes” that Mr. Simpson so eloquently described last year, or a collection of well-intentioned, but bland advice—as though Dear Abby were up here answering questions you hadn’t actually asked. There are exceptions of course. In 1977, Dr. Seuss, the author and poet, delivered what for me is the greatest commence-

S T. G E O R G E ’ S 2 0 0 8 S U M M E R B U L L E T I N

ment talk ever. His entire address to Lake Forest College went as follows: My uncle ordered popovers from the restaurant’s bill of fare. And when they were served he regarded them with a penetrating stare. Then he spoke great Words of Wisdom, as he sat there on that chair, “To eat these things,” said my Uncle, “You must exercise great care.” “You may swallow down what’s solid, but you must spit out the air!” “And as you partake of the world’s bill of fare, that’s darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air, and be careful what you swallow.” That was it. End of speech. Unfortunately for all of you, I’m neither as good a

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KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

bags, go sliding, and let the exam grades fall where they would. Instead, I let bad, if well-intentioned, advice carry the day. Like most bad advice, this counsel was hampered by the misjudgment and the limited perspective of the advisor. I should have known that a 65-year-old lawyer who still talked about his Interim Chaplain Chris Epperson is presented with a first-year contracts grade was Richard Grosvenor print for his service to SG. not a reliable source under the circumstances. At the same time, good a victim of his own experience. Up until advice does exist—as in the Dr. Seuss that time, computers had always existed in example above. So, how can you tell good one form—large centralized units that from bad? It’s not easy, but since it’s still took a great deal of expertise and power to better to avoid bad advice than to recover operate. No one had really imagined from it, it’s worth practicing. In time, you widely distributed, low-cost, networkable, can learn to spot some kinds of bad advice consumer-oriented computers. Thus, in advance, and thus avoid some of the Olsen’s advice represents something of a heartache that otherwise follows. So, like a failure of imagination. Like many experts, biologist trying to identify one species Olsen could see only the template that had from another, I offer the following field existed up to that point, and given that the guide to the taxonomy of bad advice and model had been a success for him, there with each species illustrated by the drawas no impetus, no impulse for him to matic misjudgment that underpins it. look outside that template. As you each The first sort of bad advice comes from are offered the advice of your own experts, what we could call the misguided expert. In you would do well to consider to what 1977, the same year Dr. Seuss was addressdegree that expert is depending upon an ing Lake Forest, the world of technology outdated point of view or analytical was dominated by Digital Equipment model. Like generals still fighting the last Corporation. Founded and headquartered war, experts tend to see the landscape in near Boston, DEC was one of the original the model that’s most familiar to them. high-tech giants, building a full range of This is where your experience at St. computer systems and hardware. UnfortuGeorge’s can help you. I hope that one of nately for DEC, their product line focused the things you’ve learned is to think crition mainframe, central computers. That cally, to weigh and apply not just familiar same year, Ken Olsen, one of the founders information, but to examine multiple of the company and a nationally respected points of view, and to draw a considered expert, opined as follows: “There is no and principled conclusion of your own. reason for any individual to have a comCombine this practice with a creative, puter in their home.” Um, right. flexible mind, and you can easily counter As wrong as Olsen was, he was simply the bad advice of the misguided expert.

PHOTO BY

poet as Dr. Seuss nor as succinct. But what distinguishes his talk is not just its brevity. He provides some very good advice. We should all be careful what we swallow, especially in our information-saturated world. But today, I’m not interested in giving you any good advice. Rather, I would like to focus on something far more common and far more interesting. I’d like to talk about bad advice. As all of you have already experienced, there is no shortage of people willing to offer you advice. Parents, friends, siblings, aunts, uncles, talk-show hosts, everyone has an opinion, and with 24-hour news channels, the Internet, the blogosphere, cell phones, text messaging, and good oldfashioned gossip and rumor, there have never been more ways to proffer that advice. However, with that much opinion floating around, there is no form of quality control. Anyone can say anything, and everyone claims to be an expert. As a result, a great deal of the advice you are likely to get is simply bad. Personally, the worst advice I ever received came when I was in law school. (I am of course not counting the many wellintentioned but benighted souls who advised me to go to law school in the first place…) Anyway, in 1988, I was offered a chance to compete for the United States in a World Cup bobsled race in Calgary, Canada. The problem was, the race conflicted with my first set of exams. Northwestern was willing to allow me to reschedule the tests themselves, but every person I asked, from friends, to professors, to the dean, told me that missing out on the preparation for the exams would irreparably harm my grades, and that as a result, I would be unlikely to ever recover professionally. So, I declined the spot in the race—a decision I have regretted ever since. My gut was telling me to pack my

Prize Day PHOTO BY

KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

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their defense, it might have been impossible for them to account for the changes in society, demographics, culture and geopolitics that contributed to the shifting of the landscape. But this is precisely why so much advice turns out to be bad— even the most informed advisor is often relying on information or a perspective Eric Peterson presented an honorary diploma to Michelle Nieley, sign-language interpreter for West Resendes ’08. that has a shelf life shorter than a stick of butter. The second sort of bad advice comes Putting aside my hope that you can from an incomplete understanding of the find a better way to use nine years of your landscape. In 1968, with American compalife than in front of the television, you nies firmly in control of the domestic auto need to recognize that advice is usually market, Business Week magazine published given and decisions therefore made based the following declaration: “With over 50 on incomplete information. Account for foreign cars already on sale here, the Japan- this by seeking out multiple sources of ese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a data, soliciting diverse points of view, and big slice of the U.S. market.” Hmm. As of then crosschecking and triangulating as last month’s data, Japanese carmakers much information as you can. Again, this account for nearly 45 percent of the U.S. is a skill I hope you have already learned market, and Toyota has eclipsed General at St. George’s, whether in crafting a hisMotors to become the largest car company tory or English term paper, preparing for in the world. In an even more dramatic the all-school debate, or checking your lab misreading of the cultural terrain, The results. In the end, it comes down to a New York Times wrote in 1939, “The probprocess already familiar to you: Do your lem with television is that the people must homework, and then arrive at your own sit and keep their eyes glued to a screen. answer. Do not let other people do your The average American family hasn’t time thinking for you. for it.” This year alone, Americans will Finally we come to the most common watch more than 250 billion hours of teleand most destructive sub-species of bad vision. On average, that’s more than four advice: the dream killer. This sort of hours per person per day. In a 65-year life, advice is frequently bad, and always the average American will have spent more painful, as it serves to squash the hopes than nine years in front of the television. and aspirations of the recipient. And even Good thing we don’t have time for it. though we hear this sort of bad advice In each of the above examples, the every day, there are a few exceptional writers failed to either understand or examples. For instance, in 1968, a Yale account for the bigger picture. They, like University management professor wrote the misguided expert, were using existing the following comment on a student models to extrapolate a conclusion. And paper: “The concept is interesting and they were wildly, hilariously wrong. In well-formed, but in order to earn better

S T. G E O R G E ’ S 2 0 0 8 S U M M E R B U L L E T I N

than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” The student was named Fred Smith, and his paper focused on his idea for an overnight package delivery service. Ignoring his professor’s comment, Smith went on to found the company we know today as Federal Express. Or consider the views of Decca Recording Co., who refused to sign the Beatles to a recording contract in 1962 saying, “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.” Good call. In the end, there will be no shortage of advisors or critics who will tell you why you are likely to fail, why you’re no good, and why your ideas won’t work. Steel yourself for rejection, and learn to ignore the small-minded judgments of those who would hold you from your dreams. Don’t worry if your idea, your sound, your product is not like anything else. Original ideas are what change the world. Original ideas are what inspire others. Every one of you is an original, so don’t be afraid to act like one. Trust your own judgment, your own instincts, your own dreams. If you are prepared to make the sacrifices, to put in the effort to succeed, then you will not take the advice of the dream killers, and your lives will be immeasurably rich and meaningful. So, Class of 2008, we wish you good luck, fair winds and Godspeed. Trust your own hearts, sift through the well intentioned, but oftentimes-misguided advice of the world, and find your own path to your futures. As you do so, we hope that from time to time you will think of us, and smile. May the Lord watch over, protect, and bless you in the years ahead. May you recall fondly your days at St. George’s and may you always remember that we are proud to count you as our own. Eric Peterson has been the head of St. George’s School since 2004. He can be reached at Eric_Peterson@stgeorges.edu.

On board E W S

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PHOTO COURTESY OF POLLY MURRAY ’10

The Geronimo crew gets a hands-on lesson about sea turtles.

Summer update At presstime, Geronimo was in the Chesapeake on its first-ever summer cruise for academic credit. The crew—Findlay Bowditch ’10, Hank Meyers ’10, Henry Peterson ’10, Merrill Pierce ’09, Jenny Chung ’10, Sarah Harrison ’09, Second Mate Allison Taylor, First Mate Paul Bostrum and Captain Deborah Hayes—had recently visited Annapolis, where they just missed SG and GERONIMO alum, Alana Ahern ’07, a cadet at the Naval Academy. The crew then sailed to Saint Michael’s, Md., to visit the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. “It is hot, hazy and humid in the Chesapeake, so morning and afternoon swim calls happen daily,” Captain Hayes reported.

The

Geronimo diaries

On the following pages you can read selected diary entries from the students who were part of the spring Geronimo crew. The crew included: Captain Deborah Hayes, First Mate Brian Barnes, Second Mate Rachel Bahm, and the students as shown above; Back row Sophie Domanski ’10, Lara McLeod ’10, Max Richards ’10, Front row, Elizabeth Bayne ’10, Stephanie Johnson ’10, Casey Hansel ’10 and Polly Murray ’10.

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On board N

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Sounds of the sea

After three weeks at sea onboard Geronimo I have slowly started to adapt to a new and unknown life at sea. Before the trip began I had a very different perception of the 69-foot boat I would be spending my spring on. I thought I would be able to jump into the cycle of Geronimo with little trouble. I was wrong. To adapt to life at sea you must become one with the boat. At all times you need to know where you are in the wide open ocean, what on the boat is turned on, where every person is, and generally what is going on. On the boat your ears are the most useful part of your body. They tell you where the waves are crashing on the boat, they let you know if someone is cooking with the generator, you know if you are sailing because the boom will slam or if you are motoring because the main engine is on. The sounds of the boat keep you in check and help you adapt. Your ears keep you in tune with all happenings around the boat. Knowing what is going on at any given moment is key while you’re on the boat. Along with keeping up with all the sounds, my ears have learned to mute certain sounds. At night I can sleep through even the loudest noises on deck, but can wake up to a man-overboard drill call. All the sounds have been perfectly adapted in my ears as they filter the sounds of Geronimo. —Max Richards ’10

Playing with fire

There are few times in your life when you are given the opportunity to spend six straight weeks on a boat with six of your classmates while sailing about the ocean and exploring small towns off the coasts of islands you did not even know existed. While thoroughly exciting, the idea of living in such a small space with so many people in the middle of the ocean can also be quite daunting. On a trip to shore this past week, the crew was able to discover the tiny town of Esperanza on the island of Vieques, a short distance away from its main island of Puerto Rico. We saw a few small restaurants, a couple of pleasant shops, and a number of beach-going tourists wandering about just as the sun was setting. As we were roaming along, we suddenly spotted a brave looking man take out three charred sticks. Not a moment later, the sticks were in flames and everyone in the area was turning to stare as the mesmerizing display of fire was juggled through the air. It was altogether exhilarating and awesome, but also frightening and quite dangerous. You could never be quite sure where the torch was going to fall next, but you could

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be positively certain that as it was being thrown upwards it would once again end up in an amazing demonstration of color and light. In much the same way, it seems that life will always unfold in ways that force you to make a decision. Though it will always be easy to take the path of least resistance to a comfortable daily living, it’s also OK to step out of bounds once in a while and, just as the juggler did, play with fire. A trip like Geronimo may seem overwhelming, but it is also one of the sparks that allows you to keep the torches flying through the air and to keep life rolling. And while the future may never be completely clear, all it takes is a risk to keep that fire burning and alive. —Sophie Domanski ’10

Under the dark of night

The aspect of this trip so far that has been the most memorable for me has been the night watches. We began our five-day sail from Poncé, Puerto Rico, to Georgetown in the Bahamas by dividing our seven-student crew into two watch teams so that a group could be on watch every hour of the day to monitor the deck, be at the helm, and ensure boat safety while accompanied by one of the two mates or Captain Hayes. My first night watch fell from the hours of 2300 to 300, or 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., and at first I didn’t think that staying up for this long would bother me because how bad could four hours of a watch be? To my dismay, night watches were not even close to how easy I thought they would be. The first hour or so of all of my night watches consisted of my attempts to keep warm, pry my lazy eyes open, and devote every limb in my body to remembering how to function. I found myself in a constant struggle just to sit up straight and remain coherent during these four grueling hours. The feeling that I couldn’t control the closing of my eyelids or take my thoughts off of my warm bed at home—where I would be able to curl up with my cat and sleep undisturbed for hours—made me a little nervous. I knew that I was responsible in part for maintaining Geronimo’s progress and well-being while other members of my crew were asleep. So after deciding that falling asleep at the helm was probably not the best decision, I began to try different approaches to help keep my watch mates and myself entertained and awake. I will admit that the conversations at first lacked body and substance, making me even more bored at times, but the turning moment during these watches was always when the snacks would be brought out. I have discovered that sugar rushes are one of the best feelings in the world when you have been in a daze. One simple cookie can instantly lift the shield of sleep that

PHOTO COURTESY OF POLLY MURRAY ’10

Lara and Casey along with our first mate on the boat, Mr. Barnes, when we decided to play some games. One of the games that we played was based on how well you know the people onboard Geronimo, based not only on physical appearance or personality, but also on their essence. This probably sounds a little weird, but playing this crazy game in the middle of the night made me realize how well I know my crewmates without even trying to recall their specific characteristics and how little there is about me that they don’t know. I find it very remarkable that at a time when I feel most unaware and least like myself, I have been able to connect with people on a level that seems almost impossible to be achieved over such a short period of time. Thanks to these night watches I now know my crew’s favorite Thanksgiving foods, music genres, and even a few whacky stories about family pets. In all, I have found that nothing can comprise a more unforgettable night watch than swapping stories at 0300 over a pack of chocolate chip cookies and a jar of Nutella. —Stephanie Johnson ’10

Keeping the course Lara McLeod ’10, Polly Murray ’10 and Stephanie Johnson ’10 take down the main sail prior to anchoring off of Fernandez Beach on Cat Island in the Bahamas. was just draped over you, not to mention that the snacks were just about the only things that smelled good on Geronimo, with everything else musty due to the humidity and exposure to ocean air during our prolonged passage over sea. Once energized, our conversations drifted from chatter about the engine room, our plotted position, or the fact that none of us had taken a proper shower in more than four days, to much more interesting topics like constellations, family background, and eating food. Sometimes our talks would even lead to an outburst of song for a good amount of time, reminiscing about classics from the ’90s, tunes from musicals, and occasionally singing an a cappella song from the Snapdragon’s repertoire. I was very intrigued by our late night talks and how time consuming they were because by this time in the night, after being really sleep deprived, anything and everything happening around me was entertaining. A few nights ago for example I was on the 2300 to 300 watch with my mates

During our sail from Vieques and Ponce in Puerto Rico, we were first introduced to the helm. I was the first one chosen to steer, and I was scared out of my mind. Though I’ve grown up on the water, skippering has never been a passion of mine. As I listened to the mate’s instructions on how to take over the steering, how to steer by a compass, and how to deal with the 7-foot swells coming up behind us, I gripped the wheel just praying that I wouldn’t end the Geronimo program. The next hour seemed to go on without end, as I nervously tried to steer a course that would bring us to our destination. From this point on, we were expected to steer on a regular basis. I dreaded my turn at the helm for a while, and anxiously awaited my watchmate’s offer of relief. However, over the past few weeks, I’ve come to enjoy my time at the wheel. While steering, the chatter of the others on my watch is muffled by the wind blowing past my ears, and this is the closest I’ve come to solitude and control; all of my focus goes to the ocean and I’m soon gone with the wind. Looking out at the endless horizon provides a feeling of my smallness in this great ocean but also gives me a new appreciation for the simple beauty of nature. To me, the best part of Geronimo cannot be explained by a brochure or even alumni/ae of the program, it is something that can only be understood by experience. —Polly Murray ’10

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Classrooms L

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R AY WOISHEK ’89

PHOTO BY

R AY WOISHEK ’89

Head of the Music Department Clare Gesualdo teaches Mike Miller ’08 and Peter Miller ’08 how to create and edit a podcast for the Survey of Western Music class.

Above: This year’s Habitat for Humanity volunteers in Mobile, Ala., were (in the front row) Vianca Masucci ’09, Milan Boscia ’10, Lindsay Brooks ’10, Caroline O’Connor ’10, web manager Ray Woishek ’89, physics teacher Devon Ducharme, Latin teacher George Briggs, French teacher Jeremy Goldstein, Director of Library Services Jen Tuleja, (in the middle row) Thomas Evans ’09, Carl Nightingale ’10, Leigh Archer ’09, Sydney Mas ’10, Maria Gebelein ’10, Payton Somers ’09, Taylor McElhinny ’10, Linnea Bostrom ’09, Polly Murray ’10, Henry Peterson ’10, Ping Praneeprachachon ’10, Justin Hoffmann ’09, mathematics teacher Linda Evans, Jelani Odlum-Lansiquot ’09, (in the back row) Director of Technology Charles Thompson, English teacher Lucy Goldstein, Mike Violette ’10, John Karol ’10, Matt Archer ’11, Director of Operations George Staples and Head of the History Department Deb Foppert. Left: Justin Hoffmann ’09 and Payton Somers ’09 work together on creating an interior wall of the house for Habitat for Humanity in Alabama.

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PHOTOS BY

R AY WOISHEK ’89

SUZANNE MCGRADY

Providence Journal investigative reporter Bill Malinowski visited Suzanne McGrady’s journalism class in April to talk about his recent series on inner-city gangs as well as his work researching organized crime. Over the years, Malinowski has investigated political and police corruption and written extensively about the Rhode Island mafia. He has also covered many criminal trials in federal and state courts. Malinowski previously worked for The Denver Post and The Tempe (Ariz.) Daily News. He has a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College, in New London, Conn., and a master’s degree from Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill.

Third formers Micah Kittel and Jason Park (left), and Julia Carrellas (below), perform dissections of a domestic cat in Tom Evans’ biology class.

PHOTO BY

n Clare Gesualdo’s Survey of Western Music class this spring, research and technology came together in perfect harmony. For their final research projects, the two students in the class, seniors Peter Miller and Mike Miller, created downloadable podcasts about the composers they studied. The projects allowed them to not only write a paper that they used as a script, but also to insert the actual music excerpt in their narrative rather than simply referring to it. Gesualdo came up with the idea of creating the podcasts after attending a conference sponsored by TIME (Technology Institute for Music Educators). In their works, Peter Miller explored the music of John Williams and his use of leitmotifs in his film scores. Michael Miller discussed the music of the American composer Aaron Copeland. The podcasts are available on our web site and can also be downloaded through iTunes by opening iTunes, clicking on “Advanced,” then “Subscribe to Podcast,” and then pasting in the following: http://web.mac.com/claregesualdo/ St._Georges_Music_Site/Podcast/rss.xml

Seniors Sean O’Brien, Chris Fogg, Kelly Smerling, Linda Lho, Rita Capaldi, Yaelim Lee, Allie Conti, Eileen FitzGerald, Mercedes Barba, Allie Boynton, Alia Eads, Parker Knisley, Gerald Ye and Devin O’Rourke join Bill Malinowski, a Providence Journal investigative reporter, after a visit to Ms. McGrady’s journalism class.

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Community Service E A C H I N G

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PHOTO BY R AY WOISHEK '89

Varsity baseball player Brian Lowry ’08 pitches to a member of Newport’s Little League during a community service project in May.

Casual for a cause Once again, a number of dress-down days were held throughout the spring to raise money for charitable causes. On March 28, 2008 Katie McCormack ’11 and her brother Chris McCormack ’09 organized a dress-down day for the nonprofit group Partners in Health (PIH), which provides health care to the poor. Based in Boston, and with operations in Haiti, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho and Malawi, PIH was co-founded by Dr. Paul Farmer, the McCormacks’ godfather. Farmer will be a special guest at St. George’s on Sept. 12, delivering a talk called, “Rethinking Health and Human Rights.” To reserve tickets call (401) 842-6636. On April 11, organizers Lela Wulsin ’09 and Linnea Bostrom ’09 helped to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Several students also participated in the annual MS Walk in Bristol, R.I., on April 13.

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Tony Jaccaci’s Global Studies class organized a dress-down day on April 21 to benefit two groups in Uganda, where they visited last March. The proceeds went to the Save the Children—Nakasongola Office and Community Action Fund for Women in Africa (CAFWA), a non-governmental organization. Members of the Community Service Council raised money for the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Newport with a dress-down day on May 4. The center offers a variety of programs to help underprivileged communities in Newport and Middletown. On May 16 community members helped faculty members Tim Richards, assistant head of school for student life, and Bob Weston, dean of faculty, raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The two will participate in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, an annual bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single event in the country. The two-day ride in August covers about 180 miles. And on May 23, a dress-down day was held to support physicians from Doctors Without Borders who reported to Myanmar, hit with a cyclone, and China, which suffered an earthquake this spring. The day was organized by Chinese teacher Zhuo Lin Wang and French and religious studies teacher Jeremy Goldstein.

Teams t ake a time-out The Community Service program at St. George’s is often helped immeasurably by our sports teams, which all spend one day each season devoting time to charitable endeavors. In fulfilling their community service requirement for the spring season, the varsity baseball team met with an enthusiastic group of Newport Little Leaguers in April. Led by captains Angus Anderson ’08, Brian Lowry ’08 and Will O’Connor ’08, the team helped the youngsters through a series of drills after an instruction period. The children, ranging in age from five to 14 eagerly displayed their batting, throwing and catching talents to the high schoolers.

In the past SG sports teams have participated in projects such as cleaning up Second Beach, organizing fund-raising events for local charities and the SG-sponsored Camp Ramleh program, and working with local children from the Newport Boys and Girls Club.

Munchies with a mission This past school year, a snack bar organized by chemistry teacher Pierre Yoo in Wheeler Dormitory, along with some other activities, raised $1,224.39 for charities and the local community. Donation recipients were Choice Foundation (New Orleans, La.), YMCA (Middletown, R.I.), Dr. Mar-

tin Luther King Jr. Community Center (Newport, RI), Child & Family Services (Middletown, R.I.), Invisible Children, Women’s Resource Center (Newport, R.I.), Pleasant Bay Community Boating (Cape Cod, Mass.), Bermuda Sloop Foundation (Bermuda), Middletown Educational Collaborative (Middletown public schools), Bike & Build (sponsoring a former resident), Pan-Mass Challenge (sponsoring Dean of Faculty Bob Weston and Assistant Head of School for Student Life Tim Richards), St. George’s sustainability program, St. George’s housekeeping staff, Camp Ramleh, Soles4Souls (Concord, Va.), and Homes for Our Troops (Taunton, Mass.).

Keeping us green Annual yard sale continues to benefit local community, the environment Bed linens and toiletries went to Dexter Manor in Providence, R.I. a low-income transitional housing program; Hangers went back to E&R Laundry and Del Nero’s Cleaners for re-use; Old computer equipment was collected by Green Tech Assets in Cumberland, R.I. for responsible demanufacture; and Desks from the Astor dorm and day rooms, which were destined for the landfill, were reclaimed and either sold or given to many individuals.

PHOTO BY R AY WOISHEK ’89

The Fifth Annual Camp Ramleh Benefit Yard Sale, organized each year by the Alumni/ae Office’s Toni Ciany and Gale Boone, raised nearly $5,000 for Camp Ramleh, the summer camp for underprivileged children from Aquidneck Island, as well as helped numerous social service agencies. The giant yard sale—which took place at St. George’s Cabot/Harman Ice Rink on Saturday, June 14—was stocked in large part with students’ former housewares, school supplies, sporting goods, furniture, clothing and electronics, and was attended by hundreds of bargain hunters. Many students spent hours of community service time helping to clean out dorm rooms and help stock the sale. In addition, many of the leftover items went to local charitable organizations including Lucy’s Hearth, the Potter League, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, Child and Family Services of Newport County, the Women’s Resource Center, R.I. Donation Exchange, Norman Bird Sanctuary, and the McKinney Shelter. Ciany also reported: Shoes were sent to Soles 4 Soles in Nashville, Tenn.; Books went to a fund raiser at the Congregational Church in Middletown, R.I.; Old sneakers were taken to City Sports in Providence, R.I. for transport to the Nike Re-Use a Shoe program;

Alumni/ae and Development Administrative Assistant Toni Ciany prepares for the annual Camp Ramleh Yard Sale.

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SG Zone T H L E T I C

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NEWS OF NOTE FROM THE WINTER SEASON

Milestone win The varsity swim team defeats the Abbey for the first time in 10 years

he St. George’s coed swim team finished off one of its best overall seasons in the last 30 years with a 105–65 victory over archrival Portsmouth Abbey on Feb. 20 at Roger Williams University pool. The team win gave the Dragons their first coed undefeated season in decades and was the first win over the Abbey in more than 10 years. “Both teams performed at the highest level of competition and good sportsmanship,” reports head coach Tom Evans. “The top Abbey swimmers won a number of close races but the depth of the Dragons team took second,

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third, and fourth in those same events.” The Dragons posted 12 personal-best and season-best times en route to the victory, one of the best demonstrations of team effort this season. Seniors and now graduates Sofia Covarrubias, Charleen Conlogue, Betsy Stavis, Liz Levison, Chris Swanson, Ollie Scholle, and Bennett Geyer were thanked for all of their contributions to the SG swim program. The team went on to finish fourth out of 14 teams at the New England Interscholastics at Deerfield Academy March 1.

HARRIS FAMILY PHOTO COURTESY OF THE

PHOTO BY ANDREA HANSEN

Competing against 52 other players, most of whom came from schools with golf teams, John Harris ’09 represented St. George’s in the ISL Golf Championships, held at Pine Brook Country Club in Weston, Mass. Harris posted two double-bogeys, but still went on to shoot a remarkable 78 and take fifth place overall.

PHOTO BY ANDREA HANSEN

Jeff Ryan ’09, a standout wing on the boys’ varsity hockey team, appeared on the NHL web site this year as one of “North America’s Top-Ranked Skaters.” Coming in at No. 210, Ryan posted impressive numbers: 71 points (33 goals, 38 assists) in 23 games with the Dragons. Ryan is off to play juniors next year and will forgo his senior year.

Antonio Diaz Gonzalez Salas ’08, excelled in racquet sports throughout his career at SG. He played for the boys’ tennis team—and won all-ISL honors as a standout squash player last winter.

Kim Drew ’08 was the winner of the Hubert C. Hersey Track Award, for the most valuable player on the girls’ track team.

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Hall of Fame ceremony will feature sportswriter Frank Deford Best-selling author and sports commentator Frank Deford P’98 will be the featured speaker at this fall’s Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 7, at 5:45 p.m. Deford, whose most recent book is “The Entitled”—a novel about celebrity, sex and baseball—can be heard on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” every Wednesday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF

THE NEWPORT DAILY NEWS

On Feb. 16, Brian Lowry ’08 scored his 1,000th career point for the boys’ varsity basketball team. A special sports award ceremony was held to honor Lowry’s achievement on March 7.

St. George’s hoopster Brian Lowry ’08 hits 1,000 points.

St. George’s School had five alumni/ae on the water when the top 18 college sailing teams in the nation convened in Newport June 2-4 for the ICSA/Gill National Championship. Andrew Schneider ’05 (Boston College ’09) and Hannah Burroughs ’07 (Stanford ’11), both Newport residents, faced three members of the University of Pennsylvania team who are also SG graduates: Garth Fasano ’04 (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.), Kelley Millane (Madison, Conn.) ’05 and Bryce LeFort (Stuart, Fla.) ’03.

The girls’ squash team—Kyungmin Kim ‘10, Kajsa Mashaw-Smith ’09, Lacey Young ’08, Sasha Munn ’08, Mercedes Barba ’08, Jen Noeson ’08, Mariana Tellez ’08, Jesse Pacheco ’10, Courtney Jones ’10 and Hannah Coffin ’10— remained undefeated for the second year in a row.

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Iman Davis ’06 was selected to be a member of the 2008 First Team All Conference women’s basketball team for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, as well as the conference’s Player of the Year. Davis heads into her junior year this fall at Emmanuel College in Boston.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMANUAL COLLEGE

PHOTO COURTESY OF

PETER ANDERSON

Colby College sophomore forward Adam Choice ’06 was named the New England Small College Athletic Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week on Feb. 18. Choice, of Newport, averaged 22.5 points and had seven rebounds in two games.

Iman Davis ’06

SPRING ATHLETES MAKE THEIR MARK 2008 S T. GEORGE’S SPRING ATHLETIC AWARDS BASEBALL Twitchell Baseball Cup (MVP) ..........................................Brian Lowry Reynolds Baseball Cup..............................................Angus Anderson RBI Cup .............................................................................Will O’Connor All-ISL, first team ................................................................Brian Lowry

BOYS’ LACROSSE Alessi Lacrosse Bowl (MVP) ...........................................Chase Uhlein Herter (Coaches’) Cup..........................................................Chris Fogg Hollins-Sheehan Lacrosse Cup (MIP)...............................Peter Hahn All-ISL, first team .............................................................Chase Uhlein All-ISL, honorable mention.........................................Devin O’Rourke

GIRLS’ LACROSSE Lacrosse MVP........................................................................Eliza Foster Lacrosse Coaches’ Cup..........................................................Ali Fornell Lacrosse MIP ............................................................Lauren O’Halloran All-ISL, first team .......................................................Megan Leonhard All-ISL, honorable mention............Leigh Archer, Maddie Carrellas, Eliza Foster, Ellie McDonald NEPSWLA All-Star........................Megan Leonhard, Ellie McDonald NLE selections ....Megan Leonhard, Maddie Carrellas, Anna Mack

SAILING Wood Sailing Bowl (MVP)...........................................Ben Bainbridge Leslie Sailing Bowl (Best Crew)................................Kelsey Crowther Coaches’ Cup........................................................................Peter Miller Sailing MIP....................................................................Johnny Norfleet Baker Cup (Team Racing National Champs)....St. George’s School

Track Coaches’ Cup .................................................................Jeff Ryan Track MIP......................................................................Matthew Sowley All-ISL, first team....................................................................Phil Royer ISL Championship Meet MVP (5/10/08)..........................Phil Royer All-New England.....................................................................Phil Royer All-County.............................................................Phil Royer, Jeff Ryan

GIRLS’ TRACK Hubert C. Hersey Track Award (MVP) ...............................Kim Drew Track Coaches’ Cup ...............................................Charleen Conlogue Track MIP .............................................................................Hillary Wein All-New England ..............................................Annalise Mascarenhas All-County ..................Charleen Conlogue, Kim Drew, Hillary Wein Vermillion Cups.............................................Hillary Wein, Jake Dunn Elliot Cup............................................................................Allison Conti Zane Cup ..........................................Charleen Conlogue, Eliza Foster Powel Cup ...............................................................................Chris Fogg Thayer Cup ............................................Antonio Diaz-Gonzalez Salas Donnelly Cups.........................................Ellie McDonald, Jamie Mey, Sean O’Brien, Ollie Scholle Manager of the Year .......................................................Tria Smothers 9-Letter Awards .................................Nick Carrellas, Ellie McDonald 10-Letter Awards ................Kyle Corkery, Eliza Foster, Brian Lowry, Chase Uhlein, Lindsay White 11-Letter Awards ...................................Parker Knisley, Sean O’Brien 12-Letter Awards.........................Charleen Conlogue, Allison Conti, Chris Fogg, Jamie Mey, Devin O’Rourke

SOFTBALL

PHOTOS BY ANDREA HANSEN

Softball MVP ..........................................................................Allie Conti Softball Coaches’ Cup ......................................................Leslie Muzzy Softball MIP .....................................................................Jesse Pacheco ISL MVP (Boston Globe All-Scholastic).............................Allie Conti All-ISL, first team ........Allie Conti, Leslie Muzzy, Bridget Killeavey All-ISL, honorable mention ...........................................Jesse Pacheco

BOYS’ TENNIS York Tennis Bowl (MVP)...........................................Chris McCormack Tennis Coach’s Cup...............................................................John Karol Tennis MIP .............................................Antonio Diaz-Gonzalez Salas

GIRLS’ TENNIS Tennis MVP ...............................................................Campbell McNicol Tennis Coach’s Cup..............................................Hannah Greenwood Tennis MIP............................................................Camilla de Braganca All-ISL, honorable mention ................................Hannah Greenwood

BOYS’ TRACK Holmes Track Trophy (MVP) .................................................Phil Royer

Allie Conti ’08

Phil Royer ’09

Varsity softball captain Allie Conti ’08 was granted ISL’s Most Valuable Player Award, the highest possible honor in her sport, at the end of the spring season. She joined squash player Antonio Diaz-Gonzalez Salas ’08 and hockey standout Jeff Ryan ’09, who won the award for their respective winter-season performances. Phil Royer ’09 was a star on the boys’ track team, winning several top awards, including MVP of Boys Track at the Independent School League meet on May 18, 2008.

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Next steps N

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And they’re off...

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Here’s where our graduates are heading:

Nick Carrellas ’08 was the winner of the SG Medal—awarded to the member of the sixth form who, through effort, character, athletics and scholarship during the year, has best caught and expressed the ideals and spirit of St. George’s. He heads to Colby College in Maine in September.

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Amherst College Art Institute of Boston Barnard College Bates College (2) Boston College (2) Boston University (2) Bucknell University (2) Carnegie Mellon University Colby College College of Charleston (3) Colorado College (2) Columbia University Concordia University - Canada Connecticut College (6) Cornell University (2) Duke University Elon University Fairfield University Franklin & Marshall College George Washington University Georgetown University (3) Gettysburg College (3) Hamilton College (2) Harvard University Hobart & Wm. Smith Colleges (2) Humboldt State University Johns Hopkins University Lehigh University

Marquette University Massachusetts Institute of Technology McGill University – Canada (2) Morehouse College Mt. Holyoke College New York Film Academy Northeastern University Northwestern University Princeton University Sacred Heart University (2) Skidmore College Smith College (3) Southern Methodist University St. Olaf College (2) Trinity College (2) Tufts University United States Naval Academy University of Connecticut University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Oregon University of Pennsylvania University of Richmond Vanderbilt University Wake Forest University (3) Washington & Lee University Wesleyan University Williams College

FIFTH FORMERS GEAR UP FOR COLLEGE-APPLIC ATION PROCESS

PHOTO BY R AY WOISHEK ’89

he College Counseling Office welcomed more than 65 college representatives to campus on April 11 to speak with fourth and fifth form students at the annual College Fair. Many seniors also dropped by the fair in the Field House to say thank you to colleges that had accepted them. Jenny Johnson, assistant to Director of College Counseling Burke Rogers, was a key organizer of the event. “Our college guests invariably speak highly of the welcome they receive,” said Rogers, “and of the students they meet.”

PHOTO BY JENNY JOHNSON

Mount Holyoke College admission officer Kate Walker talks with fifth formers this past spring about college-application essay writing.

Christopher Lydon, associate vice president for enrollment at Providence College talks with fifth formers during a “mock admission” exercise in May.

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STUDENT S TAKE ON LEADERSHIP ROLES Hendrik Kits van Heyningen ’10, a member of the 2007-08 Editorial Board of the Red & White, will assume the role of editor-in-chief of the student newspaper for the 200809 school year. Kits van Heyningen succeeds Eliza Foster ’08, who also served as a member of the Editorial Board in her junior year, and who heads to Williams College in September. In addition to Kits van Heyningen, current Editorial Board members Sam Livingston ’10 and Scott Yang ’11 will return next year as news editor and layout editor, respectively. Four new members were appointed to the Editorial Board: Annie Warren ’09 will assume the role of arts editor after serving as a contributing writer for several editions; Izzy Evans ’09, the new senior prefect, will serve as opinion page editor after serving as assistant arts and lifestyle editor for the 2007-08 school year; contributing writer Esme Yozell ’10 has been appointed sports editor; and Andrew Colacchio ’10 will become photography editor.

Other staffers will include Merrill Pierce ’09, Jonathan Maio ’11, Lela Wulsin ’10 and Kevin Lee ’10, who have all been appointed senior writers based on their exceptional contributions to the paper in the past. Wulsin will serve as a correspondent from France, where she heads this year in the School Year Abroad program. Anna Mack ’09 will assume the role of editorin-chief of the student literary magazine, the Dragon for the 2008-09 school year. Mack succeeds Ali Fornell ’08, who also was arts and lifestyle editor of the Red & White, and who heads to Amherst College this fall. Literary Editors of the magazine will be Izzy Evans ’09, Sarah Harrison ’09, Mary Behan ’10 and Annie Ireland ’09. Art Editors will be Yerin Chung ’09, Annie Warren ’09, Kate Woestemeyer ’09, and Lydia Willie ’09. Halsey Landon ’09 will continue to serve as head of the Community Service Council after taking over the reigns for the 2007-08 school year. Landon will serve alongside CS member Vianca Masucci ’09 and Merrill Pierce ’09, who were elected leaders this spring. The Insight Club, which promotes diversity, will be led this year by Galimah Baysah ’09, Kinyette Henderson ’10, and Jordan Watson ’10

PHOTO BY

SUZANNE MCGRADY

Leaders of the Red Key Society, the student tour guides, will be Drew Miller ’09, Chris McCormack ’09, S.J. Tilden ’09, Thomas Growney ’09, Catherine Esposito ’09, Merrill Pierce ’09, Emma Simpson ’09 and Margaret Hawkins ’09.

Alex Merchant ’08 and Betsy Stavis ’08 congratulate Izzy Evans ’09 after it was announced that she would be senior prefect for the 2008-09 school year.

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The new choir officers for 2008-09 will be: S.J. Tilden ’09, precentor; Margaret Hawkins ’09, succentor; Matt Gaydar ’09, scribe; and Justin Hoffmann ’09, Paige Ehart ’09, Izzy Evans ’09, and Callie McBreen ’09, stewards.

The library terrace on a mid-spring evening provided the backdrop for students in Betsy Durning’s Acting Craft class as they staged public performances for their final exam on May 19. Seniors Alia Eads, Hailey Feldman and Will Mason performed selections from Christopher Durang’s “Canker Sores And Other Distractions.” Magdalena Franze-Soeln ’11 and Jake Shimmel ’10 showed off their talents in a portion of William Borden’s “Jumping” and Allie Barrows ’10 and Oxy Nagornuka ’10 performed a portion of Wendy Maclaughlin’s “Watermelon Boats.”

An essay by West Resendes ’08 about his journey from a hearingimpaired child to admittance to Harvard University was published by the Providence Journal on June 18. Resendes, the first hearing-impaired student to graduate from St. George’s, received two cochlear implants in his youth—one at age 6 that failed, and one at age 9 that succeeded, allowing him to “hear” for the first time. “In 1999 I heard successfully when my speech processor was activated,” Resendes, of Middletown, R.I., wrote. “My mom saying, ‘I love you,’ was the first thing that came into my once-silent ears. I wept because of the pain of the sound flooding the previously unused ears and, simultaneously, because of the joy that I had finally succeeded in my dream.” He will attend Harvard University this fall where he hopes to research the possible application of stem cells in regenerating malfunctioning ear tissue in deaf people. Resendes was also the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from the Seven Castles Club, an organization started in the 1930s by Portuguese businessmen on Aquidneck Island. Now 28 members strong, the club organized a spaghetti dinner at the Middletown Knights of Columbus Hall and an auction that raised $3,000, then doled out three $1,000 awards to local students of Portuguese descent who wrote inspiring essays. “The committee was quite impressed with his letter,” club director Alfred Alneida said of West’s application. For more on West’s journey, see his chapel talk published on page 14.

KATHRYN CONNOR ’08

Thirteen students competed in the Rhode Island Academic Decathlon, which celebrated its 25th anniversary with a day-long competition among 21 public and private high schools on the Knight Campus of the Community College of Rhode Island on March 9. The SG team came in eighth overall in Rhode Island. The players in the group included Leigh Archer ’09, Jenny Chung ’09, Eliza Foster ’08, Juan Flores ’08, Sarah Harrison ’09, Justin Hoffmann ’09, Logan Hoover ’09, Brian Lowry ’08, Ellie Myers ’08, Johnny Norfleet ’09, Diatre Padilla ’09, Laney Yang ’10 and Si Min Yun ’09. History Department Chair Deb Foppert served as advisor.

‘My mom saying, ‘I love you’’

PHOTO COURTESY OF

Oksana Nagornuka ’10 was the sole SG winner of a gold Latin Exam award following national testing earlier this year. Nagornuka missed only three items out of 40 in the Latin 1 exam, scoring a 37. The national average was 28. Twenty-four other SG students took multilevel exams, with 12 others receiving awards. Jennifer Noesen Oxy Nagornuka ’10 received a magna cum laude award for answering 31 questions correctly on the Latin 1 exam. Hannah Greenwood ’11, Sam Livingston ’10, Sarah Harrison ’09, Jenny Chung ’09, Diatre Padilla ’09, Maria Gebelein ’10, and Vianca Masucci ’09, received silver maxima cum laude awards; and Esi Ozemebhoya ’11, Katherine Harris ’11, Leiter Colburn ’11 and Jake Riiska ’10 received cum laude awards.

Izzy Evans ’09, Molly Boyd ’10, Kathryn Connor ’08, Allie Boynton ’08, Alia Eads ’08, Tori Hensel ’08 and Ping Praneeprachachon ’10 got to meet U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during a presidential campaign stop in Rhode Island.

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Highlights

T U D E N T

PHOTO BY R AY WOISHEK ’89

Elmer wins highly sought-after scholarship Selena Elmer ’08 was awarded the prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship this spring from the University of North Carolina, which brings with it a four-year undergraduate scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Elmer, a school prefect and standout student and athlete, was a dedicated leader and student advocate for the environment throughout her career at St. George’s. She was one of only 35 in the country to be awarded the Morehead-Cain Scholarship who is not a resident of North Carolina. According to the program, 64 finalists from North Carolina were joined by 44 out-of-state finalists and three British finalists for interviews with the Central Selection Committee in Chapel Hill in March. Seventy students were offered MoreheadCain Scholarships.

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A C H I E V E M E N T S

Forty-nine students attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2008 National Spanish Examinations. SG students earned a total of six gold, 18 silver and 25 bronze placements. Gold award winners were Grace Owen-Stively ’10, Macgill Davis ’10, Matthew Archer ’11, Vincent Bohlen ’10, Caroline Miller ’11 and Jelani OldumLansiquot ’09. The exams are the largest of their kind in the United States, and more than 106,000 participated in 2008. The students were taught by Spanish Department Chair Mafalda Nula and teachers Catherine Rodero, Miriam Gorriaran and Anthony Perry. Spanish writing awards were given in assembly on March 7 to Barbara Bogacheva ’08 who came in second place in Rhode Island in the advanced category; Jelani Odlum-Lansiquot ’09, who took first place in the intermediate category; Callie McBreen ’09, Sam Redway ’09, Ollie Scholle ’08, Eliza Richardz ’09 and Peter Hahn ’08, who received an “Excellent Award” in the advanced category, and McCrea Davison ’09, Linnea Bostrom ’09, Scott Chanelli ’09 and Sophia Noel ’09, who received honorable mentions. Thirty-nine students from the NADA club (Not Advocating Substance Abuse) taught in the DARE program at Gaudet Middle School and All Saints Academy in the first two weeks of April. Trained by Dr. Cheryl Jenkins, Director of Counseling and Health Education, NADA club members taught four activities in the fifth-grade classrooms while Middletown police officer and DARE teacher Josh Mello looked on. Fifth graders learned the ingredients in smoke from the “Big Cigarette,” calculated how much it costs to smoke a pack a day for a year, examined decisions that lead them down a path toward trust or mistrust, and practiced different ways of saying “no” through participating in skits. Students from St. George’s concluded the lesson by stating reasons why they do not drink, smoke or use drugs, and gave SG pencils to the fifth graders as parting gifts.

Students earn honor-roll status as the 2007-08 academic year comes to a close T H E H E A D O F S C H O O L’ S C O M M E N D AT I O N F O R A C A D E M I C E X C E L L E N C E The following students received no grade below an A- in the spring semester. Mary Katherine Behan ’10 Nicholas Walsh Carrellas ’08 Ha Eun Chung ’09 Christopher Ryan Ellis ’10 Sophie Carol Flynn ’11 Alison Ann Fornell ’08

Form III Matthew Eric Archer Rachel Grosvenor Asbel Ellen McKnight Bullitt Sarah Collum Burdick Julia Stanton Carrellas Wayne Wei-En Chang Graham Dean Cochrane Haley Anne Congdon Michaela Gia Davies Vanessa Keane deHorsey Niall James Devaney Mack Edward Feldman Sophie Carol Flynn Magdalena Theresa Franze-Soeln Olivia Isabella Beatriz Gebelein Hannah Willits Greenwood Katherine Brooks Harris Alice Hastings Johnson L’Oreal McKenna Lampley Charles Bayard Larcom Victoria Kathryne Leonard Heydi Malavé Evelyn Dawn Maldonado Phoebe Saran Manning Katherine Hume McCormack Avery Lynn McDonald Patrick Riley McGinnis George Grove Mencoff Caroline Hosmer Miller Everett Richard Gray Muzzy Lilias Juanita Noesen Katharine Rose Putnam Manon Cameron Richards Taylor Anne Risley Sharnell Chory Robinson Katherine Marie Rodriguez Martin Ventoso Tabitha Ruth Walker Katherine Steel Wilkinson Alexander Gove Wilsterman Huck Joon Yang

Form IV Alexandra Gifford Barrows Mary Katherine Behan Vincent Edgar Bohlen Loretta Bu Emma Laura Byrd Andrew Joseph Colacchio Shealagh Anne Coughlin Macgill Bruce Davis

Max Henry Fowler ’09 Sarah Josephine Harrison ’09 Annie Fayssoux Ireland ’09 Peter Thomas Johns, II ’08 Alice Hastings Johnson ’11

Charlotte Mary Deavers Christopher Ryan Ellis Kathleen Rose FitzGerald Hayden Frederic Fownes Maria Cristina Arguimbau Gebelein Eliza Jane Girty Casey Christine Hansel Napon Jatusripitak Tanapong Jiarathanakul Stephanie Johnson Courtney Bolling Jones Tae Kyung Kim Hendrik Keating Kits van Heyningen Graham Stedman Knisley Claire Noelle Kudenholdt Yoo Jeong Lee Samuel Dunbar Livingston Laura Elizabeth Lowry Matthew Thomas Martyak Lara Ailis McLeod Tucker Benjamin Moore Barbara Benson Murray Oksana Nagornuka Carl William Nightingale Katherine Branin O’Brien Lauren Angela O’Halloran Julia Elizabeth Pinkham Oak Grace Alexandra Owens-Stively Maxwell Kiely Richards William Oscar Riiska, Jr. Peter William Rugo Katherine Leigh Shek Jacob Clark Shimmel Garrett Maxwell Sider Ian S.N. Tigh Margaret Grace Uhlein Jordan Alyssa Watson Sabra Adele Wilson Lela Alexandra Wulsin

Form V Leigh Frances Archer Ethan Winslow Ayres Lindsay Thorp Beck Linnea Katherine Bostrom Madeline Patricia Carrellas Scott E. Chanelli Ha Eun Chung Yaeh Lyne Chung Alexander Charles Cook Charlotte Ross Davis Clay McAdam Davis

Hendrik Keating Kits van Heyningen ’10 Charles Bayard Larcom ’11 Evelyn Dawn Maldonado ’11 Annalise Terese Mascarenhas ’08 Anna Louise McConnell ’10

McCrea Ingalls Davison Camilla Fales deBraganca Isabel Harriet Evans Reynolds Fleming Max Henry Fowler Matthew Alexander Gaydar Sarah Josephine Harrison Margaret Alaina Hawkins Peter Wellington Howe Annie Fayssoux Ireland So Yoon Jun Meredith Anne Kaufman Bridget Eileen Killeavy Jin Seok Kim Nam Hee Kim Halsey Woodworth Landon Alexander Macfarland Layton Megan Kathleen Leonhard Yiteng Liu Anna Matrone Mack Vianca J. Masucci Callian Frances McBreen Anna Louise McConnell Christopher Gerard McCormack Hannah Noelle McQuilkin Drew James Miller Maxine Alexandra Muster Leslie LeMoine Muzzy Sophia Nicole Noel Johnny Van Rensselaer Norfleet, Jr. Jelani Esthelle Odlum-Lansiquot Diatre M.J. Padilla Jaesuk John Park Merrill Lovering Pierce Paula Andrea Pimentel Katherine Ann Pryor Eliza Jane Walker Richartz Philip James Royer Anna Katherine Schroeder Kevin Shelton Tria Michelle Smothers Payton Elizabeth Somers Doyle Emerich Stack Samuel Jones Tilden, V Anne Fay Warren George Huntington Williams Katherine Louise Woestemeyer Tong-Hee Ye Si Min Yun

Form VI

Tucker Benjamin Moore ’10 Sasha Norcross Munn ’08 Paula Andrea Pimental ’09 William Oscar Riiska, Jr. ’10 Jordan Alyssa Watson ’10

Jason Paul Andrews Benjamin Hastings Bainbridge Matthew John Bakios Mercedes Lee Barba Morgan Robert Franklin Beeson Victoria Kim Belin Varvara Nikolayevna Bogacheva Richard Stockton Bullitt Rita Carmela-Maria Capaldi Nicholas Walsh Carrellas Kathryn Farrell Connor Christopher Matthew Cooke Sofia Covarrubias Whitney Stevens Curtin Victoria Brietinger Curtis Selena Howard Elmer Eileen Bridget FitzGerald Juan Antonio Flores Christopher Andrew Fogg Alison Ann Fornell Eliza Ramsay Foster Ashley Lynn Friend George Christian Gebelein, IV Peter Dickson Hahn Victoria Jo Hensel Emma Rose Jansen Peter Thomas Johns, II JiHee Jun Yaelim Lee Brian Michael Lowry Harriet Warren Manice Annalise Terese Mascarenhas Ellen Romayne McDonald Alexander Dudley Merchant Jamie Lee Mey Michael Steven Miller Peter Thomas Miller Sasha Norcross Munn Elizabeth Seabury Myers Jennifer Kent Noesen Sean Patrick O’Brien William Owen O’Connor, II Geoffrey Freedman Pedrick Alexandria Deming Regan Westley Alexander Resendes Oliver Coleman Scholle Kelly Rachel Smerling Christopher Walshe Swanson Chase Winslow Uhlein Ann Walton Wheeler Elizabeth Delano Young

Angus Wells Anderson

S T. G E O R G E ’ S 2 0 0 8 S U M M E R B U L L E T I N

Faculty/staff notes

PHOTO BY

SUZANNE MCGRADY

Mulligan takes over chapel duties; teachers hired

he school welcomes the Rev. Ned Mulligan this summer as its new chaplain. Mulligan, who was most recently chaplain at the allboys Salisbury School in Salisbury, Conn., began his duties July 1. He was chosen from a pool of what was originally dozens of candidates reviewed by the SG Chaplain Search Committee this past year. During the final round of the interview process, the Rev. Mulligan visited campus with his wife, Pam, on Feb. 21 to deliver a chapel talk on his past career as an attorney and the life events that brought him to the clergy. Mulligan made the transition to the priesthood after attending Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, where he earned a master’s in divinity. He also holds a J.D. from St. Louis University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College.

THE SCHOOL ALSO WELCOMES TWO NEW TEACHERS The Rev. Ned Mulligan and his wife, Pam, joined the SG community in July.

Bob MacMannis will join the Math Department and take over duties as the Fifth-Form Dean. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and captained the basketball team at Tufts University.

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After graduating, he spent three years teaching and working in the admission office at Hebron Academy, where he also supervised a dorm and coached soccer, basketball and baseball. After Hebron, MacMannis spent a year in management, working for the Redhook Ale Brewing Company in Portsmouth, N.H. For the past year, he has been a real estate agent in Portland, Maine. He and his wife, Kristin, will live in Eccles Hall. Ted Weihman will join the English Department and coach ice hockey and lacrosse. For the past four years, Weihman has taught at St. Sebastian’s School. Prior to that he was a reporter for the South County Independent in South Kingstown, R.I. Ted began his teaching career at the Hill School, where he taught for two years before earning a master’s Ted Weihman degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. He did his undergraduate work at Dartmouth, earning a bachelor’s degree in history. Ted will teach English and participate in evening duties. He and his wife, Sarah, live in Newport with their newborn son, Fritz.

Head of the Spanish Department Mafalda Nula is currently on sabbatical until February to visit several Spanish-speaking countries and to spend time with friends and family. In July she visited Costa Rica and Miami, where she and her husband Bob Nula, SG’s Human Resources director, have a second home. In August and September she will travel to Argentina, her native country, to pursue opportunities to establish a Spanish immersion program with a soccer-training component to be offered to students in the SG Spanish Department. She’ll also investigate the possibility of organizing a faculty trip, with emphasis on the cultural component. In October and the first part of November, Nula will travel to Spain to visit and walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago, an old pilgrimage route that starts in St. Jean Pied de Port and finishes in Santiago de Compostela, the burial site of the apostle Santiago. “Most pilgrims are able to walk the Camino in about four weeks,” reports Nula, “however, I do not intend to walk the entire stretch, but rather a section of it, walking for about

Art teacher Gideon Webster and his former Rhode Island School of Design professor, Tucker Houlihan, were the featured artists in the Hunter Gallery from March 25-April 25. Their show, titled “Providence Old Growth,” was an exhibit of new objects crafted from found materials, such as structural timbers, floorboards and architectural items gathered in downtown Providence during demolitions. During a questionand-answer session at the opening on March 28, the RISD professor Tucker artists described how they Houlihan and art teacher happened upon the old Gideon Webster

PHOTO BY

Associate Director of Admission and varsity hockey coach Ryan Mulhern ’91 was inducted into the Rhode Island ScholarAthlete Hall of Fame on Wednesday, June 11, at the Providence Performing Arts Center. A Brown University graduate and Haverford, Pa., native, Mulhern was originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in the eighth round as the 174th pick overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He Hockey coach and Associate went on to play in the ECHL Director of Admission and IHL and played three Ryan Mulhern ’91 seasons for the AHL’s Portland Pirates. He was called up for three games with Washington during the ’97-’98 season.

ANDREA HANSEN

four hours a day, at a slow pace, covering about 10 miles, for about 10 days.” She also plans to visit Madrid and Barcelona, and from there, continue on to Sicily, Italy, the land of her paternal ancestors. “My Europe adventure will finish in Rome,” she says. She’ll spend the month of January back in Miami.

R AY WOISHEK ’89

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

English teacher Jeff Simpson heads off on a three-week sabbatical to England, Wales and Brittany this summer with his wife, former librarian Valerie Simpson, and their son Will, 12. Simpson, who’s been teaching English at SG since 1982, plans to spend time at a number of sites with literary significance. First up will be Coleridge Cottage at Nether Stowey on the edge of Exmoor, where Coleridge wrote several major early works including “Kubla Khan.” Also planned are visits to the Jane Austen Centre in Bath; Dorset, the area that was the setting for most of Thomas Hardy’s major novels; Tintern Abbey in Wales, the setting for Wordsworth’s great poem; and Laugharne on the south coast of Wales, where Dylan Thomas lived. In France, the family will visit an exhibition on the Arthurian legends at the Champs Libres in Rennes. “I also hope to do a literary tour of Oxford that is run by Blackwell’s Bookstore,” Simpson notes. Expect a full literary report when he returns.

PHOTO BY

FACULT Y

S T. G E O R G E ’ S 2 0 0 8 S U M M E R B U L L E T I N

PHOTO BY PETER ANDERSON

Faculty/staff notes

Associate Director of Admission and history teacher Peter Anderson has visited Bishops School in South Africa the last two summers to help set up a student exchange. The school is located in Cape Town at the foot of Table Mountain.

beams, many covered in thick lead paint, during building renovations. They then had the materials stripped, sanded, and hewn before using them in furnishings like benches and lamp bases.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE GOULD

Head of the Art Department Mike Hansel will be taking a sabbatical during the spring semester. Hansel, an award-winning metal sculptor, will take the time to work on his art.

On March 16, Assistant Head of School for External Affairs Joe Gould (right) visited Columbia University with Tony Ye ’09, Peter Lee ’10 and Nam Hee Kim ’09 as part of a tour of Northeast colleges during Spring Break. Gould chaperones the trip, to help Korean students visit potential colleges, each year.

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Associate Director of Admission and history teacher Peter Anderson revisits South Africa this summer to help lay the groundwork for a student exchange that will begin this fall. Anderson is spending time at Bishops School, an all-boys boarding school in the Cape Town suburb of Rondebosch, to finalize details of the program. Accompanying Anderson on the trip is Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs Pat Moss, who will investigate similar opportunities with two of Bishops’ sister schools. A student from Bishops will spend four weeks at St. George’s in October, and a student and teacher from SG may spend time at Bishops next summer. Anderson teaches “Apartheid and U.S. Foreign Policy in South Africa: 1948-present” and was a guest on National Public Radio and CBS News in 1985 after he traveled to South Africa disguised as an African-American college student during the country’s era of white minority rule. Math and music teacher Jinny Chang organized a St. George’s Faculty Concert on Sunday, April 27, in the chapel. The evening event featured performances by Latin teacher George Briggs, Head of the Music Department Clare Gesualdo, history teacher Bob Kmen, English and religious studies teacher Alex Myers, art teacher Kathryn Lemay, Lucy Hamilton of the Instructional Services department, music department assistant and voice instructor Ilona Tipp, vocal ensembles instructor Annie Laurie Tuttle, Assistant Director of Athletics and handbell choir advisor Wendy Drysdale, piano instructor Patrice Newman, flute and clarinet instructor Faith Kaplan and Chang herself. Development Writer and Director of Foundation Relations Quentin Warren P’07, ’09 was awarded the Andrew Christiansen Award at the St. Michael’s School graduation on June 11, 2008. The award is presented annually to a member of the school community for extraordinary service to the school. Headmaster Whitney Slade said Quentin’s time, energy and passion made him the perfect choice for the award.

STAFF MEMBERS JOIN COMMUNIT Y

Andrea McDonald has been hired as the new manager of the Cabot/Harman Ice Center. McDon-

PHOTO BY

Henry “Rick” Lombardi, a lieutenant in Brown University’s Department of Public Safety and a former Newport police officer, has been hired as the new director of campus safety. He’ll be responsible for the overall safety and security of St. George’s campus, students, faculty and staff. Lombardi has more than Rick Lombardi 25 years experience in law enforcement, campus safety and training. He retired from the Newport Police Department, where he worked in patrol, criminal investigations, and narcotics, and earned medals for heroism and meritorious service, and 21 letters of commendation. For the last six years at Brown he has been re sponsible for the safety of a campus with a very diverse population located in a large area within a city. His teaching experience includes instructing at the R.I. State Police and Municipal Police Academies, police departments in other states, and university and high school students, including St. George’s. His education includes administration of justice coursework at Salve Regina University, FBI training on crisis/hostage negotiation and crime-scene management, and U.S. Department of Justice training on drug enforcement conspiracy, drug evaluation, and liability and ethics for police supervisors.

KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

Ilona Tipp, formerly the communications associate, joined the staff of the Music Department this past year. Tipp, an experienced jazz singer and vocal instructor with a degree from the New England Conservatory, gives voice lessons and assists in preparation of student performers for special events.

Tony du Bourg conducts the brass ensemble at this year’s Baccalaureate service in May. ald worked at Stop & Shop Cos. as a planner before joining SG. She has 18 years of experience in transportation, production, logistics and operations. In addition, she has been very active in the local community as a board member of the Newport County Youth Hockey League, and a volunteer for Middletown and Portsmouth Little Leagues. She plays in a local women’s hockey league. Teresa Young has become a new member of the health center staff. She is a registered nurse with 24 years of nursing experience and is also on the staff of Newport Hospital. She previously worked at Kent County Hospital, Women’s & Infants Hospital, and Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Ohio. She received her nursing degree from Kent State University. This summer Dianne Reed is completing her first year at St. George’s as the communications associate in the Communications Office. A graduate of Portsmouth High School, Reed has more than 25 years experience in publication layout and production, including managerial roles in the production department of the Newport Daily News and Cruising World magazine. She is the lead layout artist on all school publications. Peter Flannery has joined the Operations Department as a groundskeeper. And David Townsend and David Whitesides have been hired as painters.

S T. G E O R G E ’ S 2 0 0 8 S U M M E R B U L L E T I N

School Year 2008-09 CL

ASSES

START

SEPT. 8

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WE’LL

WELCOME

THESE

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STUDENTS

Devon Fownes

Bethesda, MD

D u x b u r y, M A

Katherine Adams

Yongjie Fu

Boxford, MA

Shanghai, China

Virginia Adams

Emma Garfield

Boxford, MA

Marblehead, MA

Caroline Alexander

Garrow Geer

Por tsmouth, RI

Los Angeles, C A

Grace Alzaibak

Matthew Gilbert

Tiver ton, RI

Wa ke f i e l d , R I

Jack Bartholet

William Gilbert

Nor th Kingstown, RI

Bedford, NY

Aubrey Baumbach

Caroline Gummo

S u d b u r y, M A

Richmond Hill, GA

Brice Berg

Frida Guzman-Pinal

St. Augustine, FL

Huixquilucan, Edo, Mexico

Gunnar Bjornson

Amanda Hansel

Tiver ton, RI

Middletown, RI

Kendra Bowers

Michelle Hare

Newpor t, RI

Darien, CT

Joy Bullock

Jamison Harrington

Middletown, RI

Greenwich, CT

Michael Casey

Tucker Harrington

Anaise Kanimba

Alana McCarthy

Paul Roche

Wa ke f i e l d , R I

Greenwich, CT

Kraainem, Belgium

N e w Yo r k , N Y

D u x b u r y, M A

Woo Sung Chun

Chase Hatch

Nikhil Khiatani

Sadie McQuilkin

Peter Schwerin

Seoul, South Korea

Hingham, MA

M o n t e g o B a y, J a m a i c a

Por tsmouth, RI

O y s t e r B a y, N Y

Emanuele Cicero

Erin Hendrix

Erin Killeavy

Kelly Miller

Veronica Scott

Rome, Italy

F r e e U n i o n , VA

Bristol, RI

Atlanta, GA

Plymouth, NH

Robert Citrino

Logan Hendrix

Kun Min Kim

Erin Monahan

Conrad Sednaoui

Old Brookville, NY

F r e e U n i o n , VA

C e n t r e v i l l e , VA

We s t p o r t , C T

Bedford, NY

Caitlin Connerney

Emil Henry

Sophie Layton

Christopher Nightingale

Jordan St. Jean

Middletown, RI

Katonah, NY

We s t w o o d , M A

Marblehead, MA

Bedford, NH

Nicholas Converse

Olivia Hoeft

Emily Lewis

Annetta Oleru

Rachel Sung

N e w Yo r k , N Y

Oneida, WI

Middletown, RI

O k l a h o m a C i t y, O K

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Harriett Davison

Richard Howe

Lisa Lho

Alexandra Paindiris

Chih-Cheng Tsao

Atlanta, GA

Marblehead, MA

Seoul, Korea

Nor th Kingstown, RI

Ta i p e i , Ta i w a n

James Dean

Huanmin Hu

Frederick Little

Brett Passemato

John Vannorsdall

Fa i r f i e l d , C T

Beijing, China

East Dennis, MA

Boxford, MA

Greenville, NC

Emily Derecktor

Halsey Huth

Valdair Lopes

Kyle Pearson

Charlotte von Meister

Por tsmouth, RI

Riverside, CT

Providence, RI

G a r d e n C i t y, N Y

Pottersville, NJ

Katherine Desrosiers

Anne Hutto

Madeline Lucas

Pearson Potts

Caroline Welch

Jamestown, RI

Columbia, SC

L i t t l e S i l v e r, N J

S a g H a r b o r, N Y

Osterville, MA

Isabelle Dove

Trisha-Joy Jackson

Sarah MacDonnell

Evan Read

Helen Weston

Louisville, KY

M o n t c l a i r, N J

Concord, MA

Manhassett, NY

Middletown, RI

Anna Erickson

Justin Jaikissoon

Joseph Mack

Bettina Redway

Jaleel Wheeler

Winston-Salem, NC

East Elmhurst, NY

Bristol, RI

Singapore

Newark, NJ

Megan Everett

Eric Jernigan

Arena Manning

Frederick Reis

Alexander Whitehouse

Lafayette, C A

Crested Butte, CO

Cambridge, MA

Jamestown, RI

Providence, RI

Eric Fornell

Daniel Johnson

Elizabeth Manning

Virginia Reynolds

Anna Williams

L o c u s t Va l l e y, N Y

Alpharetta, GA

Mattapoisett, MA

R i c h m o n d , VA

Lincoln, MA

Sean Foss-Skiftesvik

Leslie Kanchuga

Riley McCabe

Oscar Robert

Dierra Wilson

We s t p o r t , C T

E x e t e r, N H

Middletown, RI

N e w Yo r k , N Y

Ye a d o n , PA

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PHOTO BY

DIANNE REED

Emily Adams

Reunion Weekend ’08 E C O N N E C T I N G

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R AY WHOISHEK ’89

1998 grad Cousteau named Diman Award recipient A dedication to the world’s water planet stays in the family

hilippe Cousteau ’98, co-founder of the environmental stewardship council EarthEcho International and grandson of famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, was the recipient of the 2008 Diman Award on Friday, May 16, in the St. George’s Chapel. The award, given each year to a distinguished St. George’s School alumnus/a, was presented at the start of Reunion Weekend. Cousteau is the chief ocean correspondent for Animal Planet, where he works on various oceanthemed documentaries, including “Ocean’s Deadliest,” which he completed after his co-host Steve Irwin was fatally wounded in 2006 by a stingray during their expedition in Batt Reef in Queensland, Australia. His show, “Springwatch,” is a six-part series chronicling the emergence of spring in nature.

Currently, Cousteau is also host for a new Discovery Channel/BBC co-production called “Oceans,” filmed entirely in high definition, about the state of the world’s oceans and major seas. The eight one-hour episodes will air this fall. Cousteau has appeared on TV and radio programs across the country educating the public about environmental and conservation issues, including the Today Show, Larry King Live and Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. He continues to explore the connections between humans and the environment while rock climbing, trekking and snowboarding expeditions around the world. Cousteau’s Diman Award acceptance speech can be heard at www.stgeorges.edu. Visit the Multimedia Gallery in the News & Calendar section.

Head of School Eric Peterson presents the Diman Award to Philippe Cousteau ’98.

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Reunion Weekend ’08 R

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Volunteers honored in May with Dean Service Award PHOTOS BY

ANDREA HANSEN

John A. van Beuren P’75 and Arthur F. Draper, Jr. ’61 were this year’s recipients of the Howard B. Dean Service Award, which recognizes members of the school community whose service to the school has been exceptional. Bill Dean ’73 helped Head of School Eric Peterson present the awards, named in memory of his late father, on May 17 in Madeira Hall. Van Beuren, known to the community as Archie, was a member of the St. George’s Board of Trustees from 1977 to 1989 and has been an honorary trustee since 1990. A loyal benefactor of the school, van Beuren helped the school establish a successful relationship with John W. Bristol & Co., the school’s endowment fund manager. “Together with additional gifts, a sound investment and spending policy, and superior investment results over all these years, the endowment grew—from $3.5 million when Archie joined the board, to its present value of over $108 million,” Peterson noted in his presentation. In addition to his financial expertise, van Beuren lent his architectural talents to the school. The design of the Nathaniel P. Hill Memorial Library—dedicated in 1978—was part of his thesis at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a master of fine arts degree. Arthur F. Draper, Jr., best known as “Port,” served for 27 years on the SG Board of Trustees. As chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Draper, an accomplished architect, lent a sage vision to campus projects. In fact it was he who promoted the idea to replace the old Behrend pool building with open space, accomplished last summer. “His particular gift always has been to envision renovation or expansion in the context of control and good taste,” Peterson said. Former headmaster Chuck Hamblet also remembers Port for his tireless service to St. George’s. He said, “Port was a great supporter, a friend who for 15 years guided me and St. George’s as we discussed facilities needs, renovations and sites for new projects.”

Eric Peterson and Bill Dean present the Dean Award to John A. van Beuren P’75 (top) and Arthur F. Draper, Jr. ’61 (bottom) during Reunion Weekend.

ST. GEORGE’S TODAY M ADEIR A H ALL M AY 17, 2008

S TAT E O F THE SCHOOL

Kevin Lee ’10, Scott Yang ’11, and Rachel Asbel ’11 perform with the Brass Ensemble during Reunion Weekend.

Senior prefect-elect Izzy Evans ’09, Matt Bakios ’08, Ping Praneeprachachon ’10 and Selena Elmer ’08 answer questions from the audience during a panel discussion called “St. George’s Today.”

Director of Diversity Kim Bullock and Director of Global Studies Tony Jaccaci take part in a faculty panel discussion during Reunion Weekend.

hen Head of School Eric Peterson addressed alumni/ae during a special talk on Reunion Weekend, he couldn’t have been more upbeat. In so many areas of the school—admissions, finances, college acceptances, programs— he said, things seem to be going well for St. George’s. “I’m very pleased to report that on the admissions side, demand for spots at St. George’s has never been higher,” Peterson began. This year the Admission Office received more than 760 applications for 90 spots. At the same time, the full 350-student body comprises students of many diverse geographies, ethnicities and religious backgrounds. This upcoming school year students will arrive at St. George’s from approximately 30 different states and 20 different nations. We’ve achieved economic diversity among the group as well, Peterson noted. In 2008-09 students will receive upwards of $2.5 million in financial aid. Alums have made all the difference, he added. “Just in the four years that I’ve been here, the school has received about $5 million in endowment to fund financial aid,” he said. In college admissions, students are seeing great outcomes. They’re being admitted to highly selective schools, and this year prefect Selena Elmer ’08 received the prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship, a four-year scholarship to the University of North Carolina. “It’s probably the preeminent undergraduate scholarship in the United States. It’s an extraordinary honor,” he said. On the financial front, in terms of the operating budget and the endowment, Peterson said the school is also doing exceptionally well. The endowment this year exceeds $108 million. But Peterson was most proud of the results of a budget comparison with 35 peer schools. “One of the statistics that came out of that that I was particularly impressed with … is that among that group of peer schools, SG spends a larger percentage of its operating budget on academics and student services than any other school in that mix.” “That suggests to me that within our balanced budget, our priorities are also right.”

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Reunion Weekend Dedications

he headmaster who chartered the school through one of the most trying times in its history, a past parent and generous benefactor who donated a pool to provide students “the opportunity for greater development of body and character,” and a mother who envisioned a better life for her son all were honored during dedication ceremonies on May 17. Diman North Dormitory was renamed Eccles Hall in memory of Dr. Willet Lawrence Eccles, the fifth headmaster of St. George’s, who served from 1943 to 1951. Eccles is credited with doubling enrollment, in part by providing financial

aid to a more diverse student population, and financially stabilizing the school after a long period of economic decline. The newly gained open space between the library and the Arden Diman dormitory complex was officially dedicated as Behrend Quad in memory of Ernst and Mary Behrend P’28. Ernst, an avid swimmer, donated the old Behrend Pool in 1923. And The Flora A. Hall Bench, placed on the portico of the new Eccles Hall, was dedicated in memory of the mother of Rudy Bethea ’87. Bethea attended St. George’s through the A Better Chance program, which provides scholarships to inner-city students to attend independent schools.

Top: Nancy Eccles Roome, daughter of Willet L. Eccles, the fifth headmaster of St. George’s (1943-51)—along with Technology Operations Specialist and dormitory head Ed McGinnis and dorm prefect Hank Myers ’10—cuts the ribbon for the dedication of Eccles Hall. Middle: Bill Sayre, grandson of Ernst and Mary Behrend, unveils the “Crawl” sculpture during the Behrend Quad dedication on Reunion Weekend. Bottom: The Flora A. Hall bench, donated by her son Rudy Bethea ’87 (unable to attend the ceremony)—family members Kenneth Tibbs, Sharon Hardy, Shaquille Hardy, Joyce Burwell and Terence Hardy were at St. George’s for the dedication.

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This summer Old School is getting a facelift. The portico over the main doors will be replaced and landscaping crews will be hard at work removing several plantings. The huge shrubs in front of the building have been deemed “post mature”—a phrase Head of School Eric Peterson found particularly amusing.

Also taking place this summer:

Campus projects this summer include replacing the portico on Old School.

The east wall of the chapel has been bathed in scaffolding as crews replace close to 80 percent of the limestone and remove the mortar to mend damage from years of water infiltration. The job is part of the multimillion-dollar restoration of the chapel, the subject of a recent St. George’s Development Newsletter. The new limestone is being purchased from the same quarry in Indiana that provided the original materials in the late 1920s. Astor Hall dormitory is getting a full renovation and cosmetic upgrades, similar to dorm renovations last summer in Diman and Arden dormitories. The work will also include renovation of the female day student rooms on the lower level. And a new dishwasher will be installed in King Hall that reportedly will save 300,000 gallons of water. We also will be going “trayless” this fall, a move that will help save another 200,000 gallons of water, plus all the energy it takes to heat that water. Community members will be treated to a new soup/salad serving line when the dining hall reopens in September. PHOTOS BY

Crews began replacing the limestone blocks on the east wall of the chapel in July.

S UZANNE M C G RADY

Astor Hall dormitory is getting some interior renovations this August.

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Campus happenings A place to find grace KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

The St. George’s Chapel can provide sanctuary—and strength Whatever else may be said about it, the Christian religion is about reality. —Ephesians 6:10-20

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Following is a sermon delivered on April 22, 2008, the evening before the 80th anniversary of the consecration of the St. George’s Chapel. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Hays H. Rockwell, a former chaplain and current trustee, presided over services marking the 80th anniversary of the chapel.

ot everyone believes that, of course. Karl Marx said about Christianity and all religion that it was like dope, a narcotic that kept people from reality. And the bible: If you read the Bible as though it were literally true, it comes off as fantastic, as far from reality as can be imagined: Seas parting at the wave of a hand, the sun standing still in the sky, miraculous healing of deadly diseases, risings from the dead. Taken literally the Bible seems profoundly unreal. But if you read the Bible for its underlying meanings, looking through it instead of at it, you will find something deeply and profoundly real. Consider one of the pieces we heard read tonight. It comes from an ancient and anonymous hand and it purports to be a letter to early Christ followers in the port city of Ephesus. It was read on the day when this chapel was consecrated and dedicated, 80 years ago. The principle figure in the passage is a soldier. He is clad as an infantryman in the Roman army. He wears full body armor, carries an impressive shield and a heavy sword, wears a helmet. He is ready for battle. Except that there wasn’t any warfare in Ephesus at that time, at least not in any literal sense. So how is this reality, this figure of a man ready for battle? It’s reality because the writer of this letter understands that the world—the world of the second century and the world of the 21st century—is a kind of battleground. Consider: Iraq, Darfur, Kenya, Nepal, the Gaza Strip. Consider: South Central Los Angeles, the South Bronx, South Boston, South Providence.

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Consider: The classrooms on the campus of Virginia Tech. Or, look within, to the struggles within your own heart, the confusions in your head. There is a kind of warfare inside of us such that even that pious old saint who was the apostle Paul could cry out, “The good that I want to do, I fail to do; but what I do is the wrong which is against my will.” (Romans 7) From all of that warfare this serene chapel is a refuge. Maybe you have experienced it in that way, coming in out of some competition which left you feeling undone, sitting under these arches, these windows, listening to that majestic organ, to what is surely the best school choir and orchestra in the country. Maybe you have experienced all of that and been restored, rescued from whatever battle was yours on a given day. All of that is well and good and surely it was some part of the intention of Mr. John Nicholas Brown ’18, the donor of who made this chapel possible, to supply students and their teachers with a place in which to be restored. But this chapel is not a hiding place, nor a kind of spiritual spa. Being restored here includes being armed here, armed to take on the forces alive in this world that go by the name of evil. Those are the forces that diminish life and promote death, the forces of deceit and cruelty and every kind of greed. This chapel is a place to find the grace and the will to do battle against those forces, to stand up in your life for kindness and forgiveness and selflessness, to stand up for the truth that every single human being matters, and infinitely, because we are, each of us and all, children of God. The Right Reverend Dr. Hays H. Rockwell, a retired bishop of Missouri, was the chaplain at St. George’s from 1961-1969. He can be reached at retbish@aol.com.

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PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITNEY LUCEY

DAY O F S I L E N C E C O M M E M O R AT E D

Choir members Tabitha Walker ’11, L’Oreal Lampley ’11, Nam Hee Kim ’09, Kyungmin Kim ’10 and Christy Lee ’10 celebrate the 80th anniversary of the chapel.

Dozens of students and faculty members participated in the National Day of Silence on Friday, April 25, by not speaking for the day. The action was in support of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender young people and seeks to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. “This was the highest participation rate I have seen yet,” reported Vianca Masucci ’09, co-head of the SG Gay-Straight Alliance, after the event. Indeed, national organizers reported record numbers of participants. Hundreds of thousands of students participated, from middle school to college.

AC T O R S P L AY T O S R O C R OW D I N SPRING PRODUCTION The Department of Theatre, Speech & Dance presented “Great Expectations,” on May 23-25. Featuring lead performances by Jason Andrews ’08 and Sophie Noel ’09, the play was directed by theater teacher Betsy Durning and the set was designed by head of the department Kevin Held. For the show, Durning spent time adapting the script for her unique troupe, using Barbara Field’s adaptation of the famous Charles Dickens novel. Proceeds from the show benefited Camp Ramleh, the residential summer camp for local children from low-income families where St. George’s students serve as counselors.

MUSIC AL FEATURES POWERFUL SONG AND DANCE NUMBERS The cast of “Oklahoma!”—led by seniors Alex Merchant, Will Bruce, Will Mason, Jason Andrews, Peter Miller, Ellie Myers, Hailey Feldman and Eileen FitzGerald, junior Margaret Hawkins and sophomore Allie Barrows—performed six SRO shows Feb. 29-March 2. The show earned Bruce and FitzGerald Arete Awards for their outstanding contributions to the dance numbers, and also earned pianist Hendrik Kits van Heyningen ’10 an Arete for his work as a composer for some key musical scores for the production.

Award-winning poet reads from his work Robert Cording, the James N. and Sarah L. O’Reilly Barrett Professor in Creative Writing at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., was a special guest of the English Department this spring. During his two-day visit on April 25 and April 26, Cording visited English classes, had lunch with student Robert Cording writers, and gave a special reading of his poems in Madeira Hall. Cording has published five collections of poems, including “Life-List” (1987), which won the Ohio State University Press/Journal Award, “Against Consolation” (2002), and “Common Life” (2006). His poems have appeared in such journals as The Nation, Image, Paris Review, and The New Yorker.

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Campus happenings PHOTO BY R AY WOISHEK ’89

BRITISH STUDENT S PERFORM AT SG

Sophia Noel ’09 and Jason Andrews ’08 star in this year’s spring play “Great Expectations.”

On Thursday, April 3, the Felsted Drama group from the Felsted School in Essex, England, performed a condensed version of Stephen Sondheim’s musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” for the St. George’s community. The piece was directed by Felsted faculty member Mr. Charles Lee. In addition to performing for the SG community, the Felsted group and Mr. Lee spent an afternoon presenting some short dramatic pieces and doing improvisational drama with SG faculty member Betsy Durning and the SG cast of “Great Expectations,” the SG spring play. SG faculty members and local student families played host to five faculty members and the troupe of 28 Felsted students, who ranged in age from 14 to 18 years. The group visits the U.S. every two years. “Their rendition of the play was hilarious and engaging,” said Durning. “SG students and faculty alike thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this friendly, talented group from the U.K.”

PHOTO BY ANDREA HANSEN

STUDENTS CONFIRMED

Alex Merchant ’08 starred as Curley and Ellie Myers ’08 as Laurey in SG’s winter musical, “OKLAHOMA!”.

On Tuesday, May 6, SG held its annual confirmation chapel service. Four students received the sacrament—Timon Watkins ’11, Alex Wilsterman ’11, Whitney Curtin ’08, and Sam Livingston ’10. A special reception was held in the Main Common Room after the service. The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, Bishop of Rhode Island, officiated.

PHOTOS BY ANDREW COLACCHIO ’10

Student artists on display in the Hunter Gallery Before the senior show to end the year, an exhibition of two-dimensional and threedimensional art by students in the third, fourth and fifth forms took place in the Hunter Gallery. The exhibit, which featured works from students including Clay Davis ’09, left, and Lela Wulsin ’10, right, took place from April 30-May 18.

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presents

“Rethinking Health and Human Rights” a talk by

Dr. Paul Far mer co-founder of Partners in Health

Recently featured on “60 Minutes,” Dr. Farmer is, according to the subtitle of Tracy Kidder’s 2004 biography, Mountains Beyond Mountains, “a man who would cure the world.” He is a professor of medical anthropology at Harvard University and an attending physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is also a 1993 winner of a MacArthur Award Genius Grant and was the baccalaureate speaker at Princeton University on June 1, 2008. Dr. Farmer co-founded Partners In Health 20 years ago to help secure health care for the poor in third-world countries. PIH works specifically with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, women’s health, children’s health, and food, water, and housing crises among the poor. The organization’s work covers the globe, with programs in Haiti, Peru, Russia, Malawi, Rwanda, Lesotho, and the United States.

Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 7 p.m. William H. Drury and Richard Grosvenor Center for the Arts 372 Purgatory Road Middletown, R.I. Tickets are required for this event. No admission will be charged, but donations to Partners in Health are welcomed. Reserve tickets by calling (401) 842-6636 or sending an e-mail to SGFarmerEvent@stgeorges.edu.

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Board notes N

E W S

F R O M

T H E

O A R D

O F

R U S T E E S

One joins, three depart SG Board of Trustees Lisa McCarthy P’10, ’12

Lisa McCarthy P’10, ’12, a current member of the SG Parents Committee, became a new member of the SG Board of Trustees at the board’s meeting in June. She will participate in a September orientation for new board members. McCarthy, mother of Matthew ’10 and Alana ’12, who will enter the third form this fall, is currently on the executive committee of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Administrative Board and is a director of the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons. She and her husband Brian live in Manhattan and have a summer residence in Bridgehampton. In October 2007, McCarthy, a Wheaton College graduate, traveled to Jordan on a trip affiliated with Save the Children. She was formerly co-president of the board at Park Avenue Christian Church Day School and served on the board of the Nature Conservancy South Fork/Shelter Island Chapter for more than 10 years. Her career was in sales. She worked at Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne, and most recently was vice president of sales at Karen Kane. Interested in aviation and animals, she has her private pilot’s license and is an avid bird watcher.

At its June meeting the SG Board also thanked three of its members who retired this year. Bill Hatfield P’99,’03,’05, president of Bank of America Rhode Island, served on the SG Board since 2002. He was chair of the Compensation

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Committee and a member of the Development and Finance committees. He and his wife, Susie, live in Barrington, R.I., and their three children graduated from St. George’s: Bill Jr. ’99 went on to graduate from Duke University, Peter ’03 graduated from Amherst College and Sally ’05 attends Middlebury College. The Hatfields chaired the Parents Committee for four years from 1998-2002 and served on the Annual Giving Committee from 1999-2005. Susie Hunter P’99, ’02 joined the SG Board in 1996. She served as chair of the Committee on Trustees, and a member of the Executive and Finance committees. She also served on the Head Search Committee in 2003-04, which resulted in the hiring of Eric Peterson. Her two daughters graduated from St. George’s: Kristin HunterThomson ’99 who also graduated from Williams College and Lewis & Clark College and Whitney Hunter-Thomson ’02 who graduated from Williams College. Se Heon Lee P’02, ’04, ’08, retired president and CEO of the HanGlas Group and the current CEO of SL Investment Ltd., served on the SG Board since 2005. He was a member of the Operations and Development committees. Se Heon and his wife, Ryung, live in Singapore and their three children all graduated from SG: Sang Chul ’02 who also graduated from Emerson College; Sangwook ’04, a recent graduate of Emory University, and Yaelim ’08, who will be attending Mount Holyoke College this fall. Se Heon and Ryung chaired the very active Korean parents group since 2005 and organized the 2005 and 2006 faculty trips to Korea and China.

In memoriam E M E M B R A N C E S

PHOTO BY SUZANNE MCGRADY

NEW CHAPEL WINDOW CELEBR ATES LIFE OF PETERSON ’88 The Meredith Maher Peterson ’88 Window was dedicated May 18 during Reunion Weekend in memory of Meredith, beloved daughter, sister, wife and mother who died of breast cancer on Oct. 17, 2006. The window was created by stained-glass artist Lyn Hovey of Lyn Hovey Studios Inc., in Hyde Park, Mass., who worked closely with Meredith’s family. Mr. Hovey describes the window’s imagery this way: “A vine of morning glories climbs up to heaven and a goldfinch, an ancient symbol of Christ, glides into view. Beach plum or beach rose blooms at the base of the window remind us that the sea is near at Meredith Maher hand. Near those flowers Peterson ’88 Window. and the hips that bring us life-giving vitamins flits a bee. The bee is seen in Christian symbolism as representing ‘activity, diligence, work and good order.’ Also, because its work produces honey, the bee is seen as symbolizing sweetness of character. There are two scrolls in the window on which are written the text of the short verse that was read at Meredith’s memorial service at St. James’ Church in New York on Oct. 20, 2006. Above and between the scrolls are two butterflies that remind us of the poetry and then also of the profound Christian symbol of the Resurrection.”

Barry passed away following what were believed to be complications from a wresting injury at the beginning of his senior year. The portrait was dedicated at the Class of 1958 festivities at Merrick House during Reunion Weekend.

MEMORIAL BENCH TO BE DEDIC AT ED A memorial bench will be dedicated Oct. 18, 2008, in honor of Travis Kubiak ’95, who died in a tragic hit-and-run accident in Denver on July 25, 2004. Travis’ parents, Renee and Dan Kubiak, and his sister Erin donated the granite bench, which will be placed along the stone wall crossing the athletic fields on the front lawn overlooking Second Beach. Friends of Travis are welcome to attend the dedication and may contact Ann_Weston@stgeorges.edu for more details.

F L AG S H O N O R M E M O R Y O F M O R T O N ’ 5 2 New chapel flags were dedicated to the memory of John Dwight Morton ’52 during Reunion Weekend. Morton, a staunch supporter of his class and of the school passed away on Jan. 26, 2008. He served in the USMC as a member of the Marine Silent Drill Team in Washington, DC. The donor of the flags, who wishes to remain anonymous, decided that he wanted them to be given in Morton’s name.

PHOTO BY ANDREA HANSEN

CL AGGETT ’58 REMEMBERED WITH PORTRAIT A portrait of Bladen Dulaney (Barry) Claggett ’58 was donated to the school this spring by his father and is now hanging outside the Alumni/ae Office in Sixth Form House. According to reports,

Flags in the chapel were dedicated to SG during Reunion Weekend.

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Want something fun from SG?

Rugby Shirt • Red & White with Knight Logo $ 50

Gingham Tote Bag • Black Ribbon with Shield $46

Call the bookstore at 1-401-842-6662 for these items and more, or visit our online store at www.stgeorges.edu

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UPCOMING EVENTS 2008-09

2008 Tues., Sept. 2, 5 p.m. Day Student Family Picnic

Mon., Sept. 8, 8 a.m. Convocation Chapel/Classes Begin

Fri., Sept. 12, 7 p.m. Guest Speaker: Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health

Fri., Oct. 24-Sat., Oct. 25 Parents Weekend

Thurs., Nov. 6, 1 p.m. Guest Speaker: Sportswriter Frank Deford P’98

Fri., Nov. 7, 5:45 p.m. Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Tues., Nov. 11 50th Pie Race

Sun., Dec. 7, 2 p.m.

You’re invited: Regional Receptions

Alumni Hockey Game

Fri., Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m. Lessons and Carols

Tues., Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m. Christmas Festival

2009 Fri., Feb. 13-Sat. Feb. 14 Fifth-Form Parents Weekend

Fri., March 27-Sat. March, 28 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Conference*

Thurs., April 23 Friends of the Chapel Kick-off Event

Fri., May 15-Sun., May 17 Reunion Weekend

Sept. 18, 2008

Feb. 26, 2009

Newport, RI At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mencoff P’11

Chicago, IL Racquet Club of Chicago Hosted by Mr. Patrick Wood Prince ’88

Oct. 14, 2008

March 3, 2009

New York, NY N.Y. Yacht Club, Hosted by Mr. Joe Hoopes ’62

Palm Beach, FL At the home of Mr. Burke Ross P’02

Jan. 27, 2009

Philadelphia, PA Hosted by Mr. David Hearn ’76

Los Angeles, CA At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Soros ’78

Jan. 28, 2009 San Francisco, CA Hosted by Mr. Robert Chope ’63, Ph.D.

Jan. 29, 2009

April 21, 2009

April 28, 2009 Boston, MA Boston College Club, Hosted by Ms. Bonnie Leonard ’80 and Ms. Chris Toro

Prize Day

Seattle, WA At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord Kellogg ’79

* For info., contact Alex Myers at Alex_Myers@stgeorges.edu or Kevin Held at Kevin_Held@stgeorges.edu

For info., contact Ann Weston at Ann_Weston@stgeorges.edu or 401.842.6731

Mon., May 25

In this issue:

Class Notes Upcoming guest speakers: Dr. Paul Farmer: FRIDAY, SEPT. 12 Sportswriter Frank Deford: THURSDAY, NOV. 6

St. George’s School P.O. Box 1910 Newport, RI 02840-0190

2008

summer Bulletin

2008 Summer Bulletin

S T. G E OR G E ’S St. George’s School

Presorted Bound Printed Matter U.S. Postage PAID Burlington, VT Permit No. 21

C OVER

STORY:

Sailing team best in the nation