Bulletin Winter 2012

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

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID St. George’s School

S T. G E OR G E ’S 2012

winter Bulletin

St. George’s School 2012 winter Bulletin

In this issue: St. George’s was in his soul: William A. Buell ’42

BY SUZANNE

L. MCGRADY

Oh, Mother of God: Susan Morse ’76 authors ‘The Habit’ BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY Frozen Fenway 2012 Chapel talks: A show of care and concern BY SADIE MCQUILKIN ’12 Lessons I learned from my mother BY SOPHIE L AYTON ’12 A fresh start BY CAROLINE WELCH ’12 Bond of brothers BY JOE MACK ’12

Captivated by Vietnam: A student returns from abroad St. George’s on the web Class Notes Left: Alec Goodrich ’14, Peggy Kilvert ’14, Joe Esposito ’14, Will Silverstein ’13 and Alex Cramer ’14 walk across a festively decorated Arden/Diman Quad. PHOTO BY ANDREA HANSEN

I NSIDE :

Frozen Fenway 2012

St . G e o r g e ’ s S c h o o l M i s s i o n St a t e m e n t 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.

Upcoming Events You’re invited: Regional Receptions Nassau, Bahamas Hosted by Pamela and Charles Klonaris P’14 and Arantxa and Mike Klonaris ’86 At the home of Pamela and Charles Klonaris

Wed., March 14

Palm Beach, Florida At the Home of Kate and Jim Gubelmann ’65

Tues., March 20

Atlanta, Georgia At the home of Christopher and Natasha Swann ’87

Wed., March 28

St . G e o r g e ’ s Po l i c y o n Non- Disc rimi nati on 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.

Washington, DC At the home of Tucker Carlson ’87, P’15 and Susie Carlson ’87, P’15

Wed., April 11

2 0 12 St. George’s Day

Mon., April 23

Reunion Weekend

Fri., May 18 - Sun., May 20 Prize Day

Mon., May 28

Convocaton chapel and classes begin

Tues., Sept. 4

Parents Weekend

Fri., Oct. 19 - Sat., Oct 20

For information on additional events, visit the St. George’s School Facebook page, our web site www.stgeorges.edu or contact events coordinator Ann Weston at Ann_Weston@stgeorges.edu or 401.842.6731.

St. George’s Bulletin The Alumni/ae Magazine of St. George’s School Newport, R.I.

Right: A fall day on the football field.

PHOTO BY S UZANNE M C G RADY

On the cover: Girls varsity hockey team captains Julia Rahill ’12, Sophie Layton ’12 and Katherine Bienkowski ’13 pose for a photo after the Frozen Fenway game on Jan. 4, 2012.

PHOTO BY F RANZ R ITT

Contents

Suzanne L. McGrady, editor Dianne Reed, communications associate Melissa Flaherty, editorial assistant Franz Ritt, web manager Contributing photographers: Andrea Hansen, Kathryn Whitney Lucey, Franz Ritt, Louis Walker The St. George’s Bulletin is published bi-annually. Send correspondence to Bulletin_Editor@stgeorges.edu.

This magazine is printed on paper that is 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.

From the editor’s desk ........................................................................................................................................2 St. George’s was in his soul: William A. Buell (1925-2011) BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY ................................3 SG Zone - Frozen Fenway ..................................................................................................................................10 SG Zone - Athletics ............................................................................................................................................12 Classrooms ..........................................................................................................................................................16 Campus happenings ..........................................................................................................................................23 Oh, Mother of God: Susan Morse ’76 authors ‘The Habit’ BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY ............................26 Post Hilltop: Former community members, alumni/ae in the news ....................................................28 On the web ..........................................................................................................................................................31 Chapel talks: A show of care and concern BY SADIE MCQUILKIN ’12 ..........................................................................32 Lessons I learned from my mom BY SOPHIE L AYTON ’12 ........................................................................34 A fresh start BY C AROLINE WELCH ’12 ........................................................................................................36 Bond of brothers BY JOE MACK ’12............................................................................................................38 Faculty/staff notes............................................................................................................................................41 Highlights: Student achievements ................................................................................................................46 Global outreach ..................................................................................................................................................48 Development: News from the Alumni/ae office........................................................................................51 Geronimo ..............................................................................................................................................................52 Arts ........................................................................................................................................................................56 Community service ............................................................................................................................................59 Around campus ..................................................................................................................................................60 Board notes..........................................................................................................................................................62 Traditions..............................................................................................................................................................63 Reunion Weekend ..............................................................................................................................................67 Class Notes ..........................................................................................................................................................69

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St. George’s From the editor’s desk I

Connor and I recently visited the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Mass.

t’s been a winter marked by lots of school spirit on the Hilltop. The Christmas season couldn’t have been any more magical and to punctuate the height of the winter, the girls varsity hockey team was invited to the exclusive Frozen Fenway tournament in January—one of only two girls independent school teams to grace the ice, on Jan. 4. The whole school went up to cheer, and what a sight it was, to see our players in one of the most famous ballparks in the United States (p. 10).

The seniors this year have given some particularly notable chapel talks. It seems one after another received standing ovations this fall and winter: brave, emotional talks that really got you to think, hit you in the heart, or were just so honestly and tenderly written you had to honor the moment. Here we offer four: one about the medical struggles of a parent as seen through the eyes of her daughter (“Lessons I learn from my mom,” p. 23), two about overcoming past insecurities (“A show of care and concern,” p. 20, and “A fresh start,” p. 26), and one about brotherly love and confronting prejudice (“Bond of brothers,” p. 28).

Our alumni/ae are always notching up impressive accomplishments, and the writers in our midst are having some great success. The latest from Toby Lester ’82, “Da Vinci’s Ghost” (p. 29), has garnered

some very favorable reviews, and “The Habit” by Susan Morse ’76 is also meeting with praise. Kirkus Reviews called the book, “A page-turning, humorous account of one woman’s experience during her difficult mother’s turbulent journey into old age.” Thank you to Susie for sharing some time with us and for offering up some more about her experiences (“Oh, Mother of God,” p. 26).

The community sadly, however, did lose one of the great St. Georgians this fall when Mr. Bill Buell ’42 died on Nov. 1, 2011.

Smart and handsome, Mr. Buell always seemed to me one of the most important people to grace a St. George’s event when he was here—and he was here often because he loved the school so much: the chapel services, the Christmas events, the theater productions and more.

What I remember most about Mr. Buell was his intense loyalty to St. George’s. He wanted us all to be and perform at our best. And when we did, he would congratulate us. He had an old-fashioned politeness about him that was endearing and would leave messages on my phone at work when he particularly liked an edition of the Red & White, which he, a former editor-in-chief, continued to read faithfully right up until his death. I remember one such message from this past April: “Suzahhn,” he said, (Mr. Buell always had a way of making even ordinary words seem elegant.) “Give my best to the Red & White staff,” he laughed. “The April Fool’s edition was just great. It really got me! Well done!”

I think it’s safe to say anyone who ever met Mr. Buell learned something from him. He was the type of man you wanted to impress—because he himself was so impressive.

We really miss you, Mr. Buell.

Suzanne McGrady Bulletin Editor

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St. George’s was in his soul William A. Buell Jr. ’42 (June 27, 1925-Nov. 1, 2011)

PHOTO COURTESY OF

BILL BUELL ’42

Editor’s note: Mr. William A. Buell ’42 was born in New York City in 1925. His maternal grandfather was a medical missionary in China, where his mother was born and eventually married William A. Buell Sr. When the younger Bill Buell was born, his father was in graduate school getting his master’s degree at Princeton.

The first four years of the younger Buell’s life were in Florida, where his father was the headmaster of a new school, Indian River School, in New Smyrna, Fla. Mr. Buell Sr., who had already served as a master at St. George’s from 1919-1921, returned to the school in 1929.

About a year ago, I visited Mr. Buell at his home, the family house just down the hill from campus on Purgatory Road, and talked to him about his childhood memories of St. George’s. He had turned 85 in June 2010 and his memories were so vivid. When he described his life it was as though he were watching a movie of himself, clear as a film in front of him. It was obvious St. George’s was always inside him, wherever he went, whatever he did. Here are some of his memories …

— Suzanne McGrady Bill Buell (right) and his father, teacher and later Headmaster William A. Buell Sr. 1914, loved the time they shared at Camp Ramleh, founded by the elder Buell. Bill Buell Jr. was about 17 in this photo.

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BILL BUELL ’42

bit a boarder. My father was a very popular master.

He had a way of obtaining discipline without ever giving a mark. And he never gave many marks— didn’t have to. I did [go home] for Sunday night supper. And we would listen to Jack Benny or Fred Allen comedy shows on a great big Zenith radio in my dad’s study. He turned it up loud enough so that we could hear it out at the dinner table. The radio was pretty important. When I was in grade school I would come home to listen to these serials. They would generally only last 15 minutes. ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.’ We followed the Battle of Britain very closely as boys, but I don’t think anyone anticipated Pearl Harbor.

PHOTO COURTESY OF

L EARNI NG THE JAPANES E H AD BOMBED PEARL HARBOR

F I R S T M E M O R I E S , 19 2 9 “I was a faculty brat at a time when a lot of the faculty were bachelors. There was no team of faculty brats the way there is now. I did have one friend I used to play with—the son of the school engineer, Jack Towmey. I haunted the school. When I came home from grade school in town, I’d head up to school to watch practices. I’d watch football practices and baseball practices—and I had my heroes, as you could imagine. Dad used to integrate his children with the school. We always went to the Christmas Festival—of course there was room in those days.

“I had a classmate named John York who was one of those fellows who always seemed to get to the news first and he had been in his dorm room in Old School listening to a broadcast of the Philharmonic, which I don’t think you’d find many boys doing now, and the broadcast was interrupted with the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. So he ran immediately downstairs and found the headmaster, who was Vaughan Merrick, in the office—and then he went out roaming the school like the town crier.

I was just coming up the West Steps when he came out of Old School and told me. ‘The Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor!’

Of course that changed everything. We knew right from then on we would be headed for military services and there were some changes at school, some of them cosmetic and some of them real …

T H E E A R LY D AY S O F W W I I LIV ING AT ST. GEORGE’ S

Bill Buell ’42 and Corty Wetherill ’42 shared a room in Sixth-Form House their senior year.

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“In the fourth form I lived in Pinecroft, a Victorian house where the skating rinks are now. It was considered the prime assignment; it was a fun dorm.

The rooms were all in nooks and crannies and there was a dorm master, Ed Coe. We used to climb around the roofs. … In the fifth form, I lived in Diman, and in the sixth form, I lived in Sixth-Form House, on the third floor facing north: The winds blew. I was every

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“We lost our maids. We had maids serving us breakfast, lunch and dinner. They had black uniforms and white aprons, most of them Irish, and one of my memories is just the sight of a couple of maids heading for Pinecroft down the hill to make our beds. And we lost them and they developed a system of student waiters, but the meals were served the same way. You were assigned to a table and the master would sit at the head of the table and if he was married his wife

BILL BATCHELDER ’61 PHOTO BY

would sit at the foot of the table. Very formal and of course we wore coats and ties. You couldn’t skip breakfast. And for evening dinner you had to have a detachable collar, which meant you had to have a gold-colored stud in the front and a gold stud in the back. On Sundays the collars had to be stiff and white and you had to wear a dark blue suit.

WORKING O N THE S TUDENT NE WS PAPE R “Sunday nights were copy editing nights at the Red & White, which was a weekly.

John Ballard 1914 was my predecessor as editor in chief, wonderful guy, he was a good athlete, captain of the football team and a very funny man—and he was the messiest person I’ve ever known. One of his nicknames was Slop, and he always unbuttoned the collar in front and let it hang. That was his Sunday evening costume and we’d be up until late at night. That was a lot of work, that Red & White. I put more work into that thing than anything else I

did. Monday night was composition. Mr. George Wheeler and Mr. Jim Vermillion were advisors. I don’t remember them assigning stories; that was up to the editor. It was a lot heavier on sports than it is now. I used to spend a lot of time with an incredibly dirty man named Jimmy at the Franklin Printing House on Thames Street, which had been founded

by Benjamin Franklin’s brother. And it was a mess of a place, but he had a flatbed press and they did have a linotype machine so he didn’t have to set type by hand. But I remember watching that press print the Red & White. It made a hell of a noise. That was the fun part. We had regular columns, alumni notes. We would record who had visited the campus. ‘Recent visitors to the School.’ … Our office was in the basement of Old School. We had about a dozen on the staff. I was very proud of being editor in chief. I think I learned more from Red & White than anything else I did at school and it helped me in the work I did for the rest of my life, which was reporting, essentially.

Robin Rogers ’44 and Bill Buell ’42 (shown here on Nov. 13, 2010) were often on the sidelines together cheering on the Dragon teams.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL BUELL ’42

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE

GILBERT Y. TAVERNER ARCHIVES

AT T H E H E I G H T OF THE WAR

Top: Bill Buell ’42 plays the role of Marley in SG’s 1941 annual “A Christmas Carol.”

Bottom: Buell (fourth from left) with President Lech Wałesa of Poland (third from left).

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“We did set up the watch from the chapel tower; the sixth formers and the faculty would do it. We all thought we were being very significant. We’d set up a cot and get out our binoculars. That was one of the silly things about it: looking for aircraft. It was absolutely impossible for the Germans to bring an aircraft to our shores. Plenty of submarine activity, but we were too far north of the shipping lanes.

It got pretty cold sometimes up there. We were sent up there to look for military activity—of which no one ever saw any (laughs).

The Coast Guard set up something more significant. They had a radio watch, which was in the lower part. You know, [former headmaster] Tony Zane said he had met a German who was a former submarine officer and so they talked about that and the submarine officer said, ‘Well I guess you never saw us, but we saw you! You were a very good navigational aid!’… They set up an anti-aircraft battery at Sachuest Point and they would be banging away, a Navy rifle range.

C H R I S T M A S AT S T. G E O R G E ’ S “Christmas is such a glorious season and St. George’s played such a big role in that because every year it was the same sequence. Every year it began with the performance of ‘A Christmas Carol.’ … I remember as a little boy being absolutely scared out of my mind by the sound of the chains in the old

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Auchincloss gym, that was the stage—a terrible stage—and there were locker rooms in the basement and Marley, he would drag this chain up the stairs.

Oh, God. Terrifying! Many years later I played the role of the ghost. Sixth-form year. My father didn’t give me the role immediately. My roommate and I both tried out for the role (Corty Wetherill). Of course, I thought I did a better job, but Corty got the role—and then Corty got the mumps and I took over. I can still remember most of the lines … (takes on characters), ‘You don’t believe in me.’

‘I don’t!’

‘What evidence of my reality would you have beyond that of your senses?’

‘I don’t know!’

‘Why do you doubt your senses?’

‘Because a little thing affects them. You might be a bubble buster, a crumb of cheese, fragment of an underdone potato …’

That was the best way of doing a ‘Christmas Carol’ production. I’ve seen many others but they’re terrible because the arrogance of people really appalls me—to think that they can write better than Dickens. My father dressed as Dickens and he would come out and he had a little reading platform beside the stage, and a glass of water and so before the curtain opened, he would come out on the stage dressed like Dickens—and he really did look like Dickens when he was made up.

The next performance was the Christmas Festival. We didn’t do Lessons and Carols then. We had the plum puddings. They were presented to the headmaster and then distributed. One time I was server, and we came out with the plum puddings [on a tray]. But I didn’t raise my corner of the bier high enough and the puddings slipped off onto Mr. Christie, right onto his bald head, along with a certain amount of flame. And of course all the plum puddings were in pieces all over the place. That was a bad scene. Some years later, my brother, who was in the Class of 1947—he did the same thing with the boar’s head. I forget who the faculty member was— and the boar’s head was a real pig’s head then. It wasn’t papier mâché; it weighed something.

“We had names for a lot of the faculty. I don’t think many of them knew what their names were; it was kind of a secret thing. Mr. Jefferys was ‘The Pin’ and the headmaster, Vaughan Merrick, was ‘The Bull.’

He was a wonderful man, sort of an Olympian figure.

I did something very wrong once and was sure to be punished for it. I felt very bad about this, partly because I felt responsibility—after all I was going to school for free and I’d let people down. I went to see Mr. Merrick because I wanted to apologize directly to him and say I hope he hadn’t lost faith in me so I got my courage up to go into the Olympian study. The desk was in the back, not at the side, so you had to walk across the floor to him. I remember him saying, ‘Bill,’ (He had a very deep voice.) ‘I’ve never lost faith in any boy at this school.’ … And I went out absolved.

He was a great fellow, Mr. Merrick. And I can never forget his reading of the School Prayer. He had this voice that somehow filled the chapel.

SINGING “I was a joiner. I loved the choir. I’ve been singing in choirs ever since. I’m down at St. Columba’s now. Fourth-form year my roommate was Ed Donaghy. We both tried out for the choir and he got in and I didn’t. Maybe my voice hadn’t sufficiently changed yet. And I was really hurt because I knew I could sing better than Eddy. But I got in at the fifth form. I can still sing from memory a lot of the stuff we did then. We had an organist/ choirmaster named Leslie Jones who was an Englishman and quite an eccentric, but he was demanding and he got good music out of us. If a boy was singing off key, he’d say, ‘Wait a minute. There’s a bogeyman. There’s a bogeyman out there!’ (laughs) I was in the University Chapel choir and president of the Nassoons at Princeton. In Hamburg, I was in a typical men’s chorus. We rehearsed on Friday nights. It was good for my German. I was in the Brussels Symphony Chorus. In Warsaw, the British Embassy had a little choir and we sang around Poland a little bit. And I was in the American Cathedral Choir in Paris. The rehearsals were always in French. I was a friend of a fellow bass from Russia. He

PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL BUELL ’42

THE MASTERS

had a bass with so much bottom to it you couldn’t believe it. He had walked across Russia to escape.

FOOTBALL AND HOCKEY “I was a tackle on the football team. I remember the terrible Middlesex game of 1941: a 0-0 tie. We had an awful team fifth-form year. We didn’t win a single game and then this wonderful fellow, Jerry Ford, came from the University of Pennsylvania where he’d been coaching freshman football and he just transformed us. He was an amazing fellow. He knew every one of us. He knew our strengths and weaknesses and he was able to encourage those strengths. He taught us that we didn’t have to lose. We were inside the 10yard line something like four times and couldn’t score. (sighs) … Hockey was my favorite sport. I used to play down at the pond. We’d walk down the hill.

One of the disappointments of sixth-form year was that they said we couldn’t play on the pond because the enemy may have done something with the water.

They really had no reason for it. It was just, “You can’t play on the pond.” So we had to go up to a pond in the middle of the island somewhere, and we couldn’t carry up the boards.

SCHOOL DANCES “We would invite young ladies from their boarding schools. My father always said School Dance was the worst weekend of his life. He didn’t like to dance and he was always worried about the kids getting into trouble one way or another.

The girls would stay with faculty. My mother always put up about three. We had to wear tuxedos.

Bill Buell ’42 and his wife, Mary Buell, at the Great Wall of China in 1992.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF BILL BUELL ’42

Bill Buell ’42 had four children with his first wife, Jeanne Baldwin Buell (bottom inset photo) who died in 1968.

Pictured above with Mr. Buell (center) are John ’76; Nancy, who died in 2000; Bill ’70; and Jewell.

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And of course it was very special. It was the only time campus was covered with women.

CREW “God it was cold down there. We’d launch the boats right off the beach. All four would take the shell in with the water about up to our knees. Awfully cold.

And the bowman, and I was the bowman, would be left with the shell while the others would go back and get two oars apiece and then the stroke would carry

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the coxswain out. The coxswain didn’t have to get wet. And meanwhile I’d be saying, ‘Hurry up. For God’s sake I’m dying out here.’ (laughs).

Of course one memory I could never forget was the coach, a fellow named Vermillion, who was also my Red & White advisor, and he kind of had it in for me because my fourth form year I won the Latin Prize. He taught Latin. And fifth-form year I began to struggle with Latin and I decided I’d drop it—so (laughs) he could be kind of hard on me. One day we were practicing starts and you really had to give it your all and he would yell at me, ‘Buell, you’re not trying’ and things like that and as this went on, I heard a little noise in my oar, just a little noise, sort of a cracking noise and I thought to myself, my god, you know I think I could break this thing.

And so the next start, after taking a lot of guff from him, I pulled hard and snapped the oar right in half, and the sight of his face, I will never forget. He was a good teacher.

I kept half of that broken oar for a long time …”

PHOTO BY

Mr. William A. Buell Jr. ’42, the silver-haired, velvet-voiced alumnus who became a part of St. George’s as a small child when his father rejoined the faculty—and who never strayed far from his beloved Hilltop, died Nov. 1. He was 86.

A fixture at St. George’s events throughout his older years, an ardent fan on the athletic sidelines, a faithful reader of the Red & White, an enthusiastic fan of the chapel choir, Mr. Buell was known to all in the St. George’s community as a stalwart supporter of all things Dragon.

Though his full and vibrant life career took him to all corners of the globe, he was always happy to return to his childhood home on Purgatory Lane just down the hill from school, and would eagerly participate in the school’s traditions, most notably the Christmas Festival.

After graduating from St. George’s during WWII, Mr. Buell went to Princeton University and Georgetown University, where he earned a master’s degree in international affairs in 1950.

During the war, Mr. Buell served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a fighter transport pilot. He was released from active duty in China in 1946 to become a pilot for a Chinese civil airline.

He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1951 and served for four years at the American Embassy in Warsaw as chief of the economic and political sections. He was a political officer in Taipei, an economic officer in Hamburg, an embassy liaison officer and a political counselor in Brussels, deputy chief of mission in Togo, and supervisory consul general in Paris.

In 1965, following a year at the Naval War College in Newport, Mr. Buell was made director of the Polish Language Service of the Voice of America. He subsequently took charge of Polish affairs in the U.S. Department of State and then became director of the Office of Northern European Affairs.

For two years following his retirement, Mr. Buell was a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Adlai E. Stevenson III (D-Ill.). In August 1977 he became director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Inc. in Munich. He

ANDREA HANSEN

Editor’s note: The following announcement of Mr. Buell’s death was sent to the St. George’s community and posted on our website in November.

was reassigned to Washington in 1979 and became senior vice president of the corporation.

Mr. Buell retired from Radio Free Europe in August 1987 and moved back to his home in Middletown, R.I. He then served as a consultant to the International Rescue Committee of New York, which administers medical assistance programs in Poland and in Russia.

Mr. Buell’s first wife, Jeanne Baldwin, died in 1968. His second wife, Mary, who was at his side upon his death, is an ex-foreign service officer whose assignments were in Germany.

Three of Mr. Buell’s children graduated from St. George’s: Bill Buell III ’70, John Buell ’76 and Sophie O’Shaughnessy ’81. Grandsons Charlie Buell and Julian Greco graduated in 2006.

Mr. Buell was a sailor, skier and amateur radio operator. He served as navigator in ocean races and on two trans-Atlantic sailing passages. And in his heart, he was a singer, lending his trademark baritone to choirs and glee clubs, including the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington and the Adolphina Maennerchor of Hamburg. He was a volunteer and former board member of the Hospice Care of Rhode Island and the Preservation Society of Newport County.

In 1992, he joined the St. George’s Board of Trustees and was elected an honorary trustee in 2006.

He also served the board of trustees at the Redwood Library in Newport.

At a ceremony in the St. George’s School Chapel on May 10, 2002, Mr. Buell was honored with the John B. Diman Award, St. George’s highest alumni/ae award, given annually to the St. George’s alumnus/a whose leadership, public service and personal accomplishments are greatly valued by St. George’s School.

Bill Buell ’42 greets the late headmaster Chuck Hamblet, who died Jan. 9, 2010, after Buell received the Diman Award in 2002.

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MARY O’CONNOR PHOTO BY

PHOTO BY F RANZ

With the entire student body and dozens of teachers and staff members in the stands, the girls varsity hockey team played in the exclusive Frozen Fenway event on Wednesday, Jan. 4, against Rivers School.

Featuring both college and high school games, Frozen Fenway 2012 hosted just one girls ISL contest and St. George’s vs. Rivers was it.

The girls played their hearts out and eventually lost against a very talented opponent, but the excitement and energy surrounding the day engendered tons of school spirit.

Marking its third year in 2012, Frozen Fenway has been a popular attraction for winter-hearty hockey fans at the famed venue John Updike once dubbed “a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark.”

And the park was indeed frozen on Jan. 4.

While temperatures plummeted into the single digits the night before, the rugged fans of SG bundled up that Wednesday and braved the cold to cheer on their schoolmates on the team.

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Hockey team, fans head to frozen Hub

Photo captions (opposite page, clockwise from top): 1. Front Row: Head coach Erika Silva Adams, Charlotte O’Halloran ’14, Julia Rayhill ’12, Sophie Layton ’12, Katherine Bienkowski ’13, Andie Plumeri ’13, coach Sarah Dick. Back row: volunteer assistant Madison Hayes, Cici Huyck ’15, Arena Manning ’12, Sophie Barker ’15, Emily Walsh ’14, Michaela Ahern ’15, Elizabeth Manning ’12, Alexa Santry ’14, Carly Mey ’14, Katelyn Hutchinson ’14, Keely Conway ’13, Mary Keith ’14 and manager Hayley Durudogan ’14.

2. Kyle Pearson ’12, Scotty Allen ’12, Drew Boyd ’12 and Jimmy Ferretti ’12.

3. Emma Scanlon ’12, Megan Everett ’12, Alex Paindiris ’12, Anna Williams ’12 and Veronica Scott ’12.

Top: Grace Alzaibak ’12 sings “God Bless America” on the Jumbotron at Fenway.

Above: Charlotte O’Halloran ’14

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Right: Varsity swimmer Erin Hendrix ’12 competes in the 100 fly.

Below: Aubrey Salmon ’14 swims the 200 IM.

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Captured moment: The Hoyt Pool—Jan. 7, 2012 The St. George’s girls varsity swim team won its second dual meet of the season with a solid victory over a spirited and determined Thayer Academy team Jan. 7. The Lady Dragons won six of the individual events and all three relays. The meet started on a very positive note as the girls took first and second place in the opening event, the 200 medley relay. The Dragons were led by double winners A nna M i ll a r ’13 (200 free, 500 free) and S am Ayvaz ia n- Ha nc o ck ’15 (50 free, 100 free) and individual winners To ri Cun ni ngh am ’13 (200 IM) and E mi l y K a ll f el z.

Second-place finishes were posted by Emily Kallfelz ’15 (200 free), E l i za be th Mi l l a r ’15 (200 IM, 100 back), L o gan He ndr i x ’12 (50 free), E ri n He ndr ix ’12 (pictured opposite page, top) (100 fly), R ach el Su ng ’12 (500 free, 100 fly) and G ig i M oyl an ’14 (100 breast).

The SG boys swim team won its first dual meet of the season against Thayer Academy on Jan. 7. The Dragons won six of the eight individual events and all three of the relays. St. George’s was led by double

winner Ca me ro n Crow l ey ’15 (200 IM, 100 back) and individual winners M i ch ae l M cGi n ni s ’13 (100 free), Aus ti n Sc hee r er ’13 (50 free), Ja c k La th ro p ’13 (100 butterfly) and Ad dy Ch en g ’14 (100 breast). Te ddy Ca r t er ’14 swam his first 500 free and Aub rey Sal m o n ’14 (pictured opposite page bottom) completed the difficult double of the 200 IM and 100 butterfly.

Captain H al se y Hu th ’12 demonstrated inspiring leadership to guide his team to their first victory of the season, according to Head Coach Tom Evans.

Sports notes Under the lights and on a state-of-the-art turf field at a nearby public school, 12 girls and 18 boys braved the frosty conditions on Nov. 5 to participate in a midnight soccer game and raise $350 for Middletown youth sports programs. The group divided into two teams and soccer player Gr ace Al za i ba k ’12 called it one of her “favorite events of the year.” The teams were mixed gender and coaches Je re my G o ld st ei n and E d M c G in ni s played, too.

The annual swim meet with the Perkins School for the Blind, based in Watertown, Mass., took place

Boys varsity hockey player Oliver Fornell ’12 (No. 11) celebrates after a goal.

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on Monday, Nov. 14. SG swimmers donned blackened goggles to get a feel for what’s it’s like to swim without sight, while Perkins students showed off their own skills. The meet always makes for some very special moments—and the cheering is emotional and contagious. The tradition started several years ago when Anna M a ck ’09 was here as a student. Anna’s twin brother, John, also the brother of Jo e Ma ck ’12, is a student at Perkins.

Four of St. George’s most talented runners— Sasha Tor y ’14, Joe M ack ’12, Bobby Mey ’13, and Evan Read ’12—made the Dragons proud as they com-

peted in the prestigious Race of Champions on Saturday, Nov. 19, at St. Mark’s School. Only the top 20 runners from each of the four New England Division races were invited to participate in the event.

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D re w B oyd ’12 received first-team, All-New England honors for his performance and leadership as co-captain of the varsity football team this fall.

Coach John Mackay made the announcement in assembly Dec. 5.

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The boys cross-country team had a stellar season, posting a third-place finish on the challenging Canterbury School (Connecticut) home course at the New England Championships Nov. 21, 2011. Back row Coach Jim Connor, Mark Nuytkens ’12, Adam D’Angelo ’14, Josiah Adams ’14, Bobby Mey ’13, Coach Warren Williams. Front row: Evan Read ’12, Jack Weston ’15 and Joe Mack ’12.

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Varsity basketball player Joy Bullock ’12 looks for an opening.

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Soccer Most Valuable Player Award . . . . . . . . . . H enr y Young Soccer Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oliver Fo rnell McElhinny Most Improved Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alex Gates NEPSSA Senior All-Star Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Henr y Yo ung, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Valdair Mar tins Lopes, Oliver Fo rnell All-ISL, first team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H enr y Young All-ISL, honorable mention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oliver Fo rnell PRO JO All-Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Valdair Martins Lopes Captain-elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Juan Carlos de la Guardia Oona Pritchard ’13 will be a co-captain of the 2012 varsity soccer team.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY Galvin Cross Country Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evan Rea d Cross Country Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Mack Cross Country Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Carrellas All-ISL, first team . . . . . . . . Evan Read, Joe Mack, Bobby Mey All-New England, Division III . . . . . . . . E van Read, Joe Ma ck, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bobby Mey PRO JO All-Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bobby Mey Captains-elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bobby Mey, Jack Coaty

FOOTBALL Thayer Football Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drew Boyd Claggett Football Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jimmy Ferretti Football Most Improved Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . Riley McCabe All-NEPSFCA, Class C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drew Boyd All-ISL, first team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drew Boyd, Riley McCabe All-ISL, honorable mention . . . . . . Alex Elro n, Jimmy Ferretti, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TTyshon Henderson PRO JO All-Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drew Boyd, Riley McCabe RIDDELL All-American Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drew Boyd Captains-elect . . . . . . . . . . . Tyshon Hender son, Will Fle ming

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY Galvin Cross Country Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sasha Tor y Cross Country Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sadie McQuilkin Cross Country Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Callie Reis All-New England, Division III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sasha Tor y All-ISL, first team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sasha Tor y PRO JO All-Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sasha Tor y Captains-elect . . . . . . . . . . Tori Cunningham, Sophie DenUyl

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Soccer Most Valuable Player Award . . . . . . . . . . Julia Rayhill Soccer Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joy Bullock Soccer Most Improved Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tully Ross ISL Sportsmanship Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. George’s Schoo l All-ISL, honorable mention Kelsey No rrgard, Arena Manning Captains-elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oona Pritchard, Allie McLane, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sha nnon Leonard

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Walsh Field Hockey Bowl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Veronica Sc ott Field Hockey Coaches’ Cup . . . . . . . . . Charlo tte von Meister Field Hockey Most Improved Player . . . . . . . . . Camilla Ca bo t All-ISL, first team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Veronica Sc ott PRO JO All-Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Veronica Sc ott Captains-elect . . . . . . Katherine Bienkowski, Colby Burdick, Kelly Dugga n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .K

Valdair Martins Lopes ’12 was named an All-Star by the Providence Journal.

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Lifelong educator advises: Keep talking about what works Harvard researcher David Perkins is this year’s Merck-Horton Scholar-in-Residence W hen it comes to good teaching and learning, Dr. David Perkins believes in collaboration.

As the St. George’s 2011-12 Merck-Horton Scholar-in-Residence, Perkins, a research professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has three goals for the 2011-12 academic year: to observe as many classes as possible; to consult with teachers individually to discuss particular teaching and learning challenges; and to talk to Merck-Horton Center Director Tom Callahan about the overall Merck-Horton program—“where it’s going, how it might be approached and how to enrich it.”

Speaking after his most recent visit to the school in November, Perkins said he believes in an all-hands-on-deck approach to education.

“Good teaching and learning are a tricky enterprise,” said Perkins following a faculty meeting and a brief address to teachers. “Experienced practitioners have a lot of good intuition about it, but it’s challenging in many ways.”

And the character of the challenges change just as the times change, he added.

What’s the role of technology, for instance, these days in learning? Or what do we know these days about thinking skills that speak to good learning?

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“I bring a concern about large-scale issues of our times and the kind of learning that prepares people to look at them thoughtfully and engage them thoughtfully,” he said.

The issues he’s been discussing with teachers have varied. One, he said, had a very diverse class in terms of ability and engagement and was wondering how to manage that kind of situation. Another was interested in and already doing a lot of group work and wondering about other “tricks of the trade.”

Perkins calls himself “an educator and a kind of cognitive scientist who’s been concerned with what the mind tells us about how teaching and learning works best.”

He arrived in 1970 at Harvard, where he built his career on examining the issues surrounding “high-end cognition”—things like learning for understanding, thinking skills, creativity and learning to learn.

Now retired from teaching classes, Perkins has his hand in a number of ongoing projects and continues to be professionally active in writing and research.

“I work across subject matters—I tend to focus on teaching and learning frameworks and ideas about thinking and creativity that cut across the subject matters,” he said.

He believes in the importance of deep understanding and how that gets built into

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the learning process.

“I generally bring a philosophy of the importance of thinking and understanding—learning as a consequence of thinking, the importance of acquiring thinking skills and dispositions. Dispositions being positive attitudes like curiosity, creativity—a critical, but not overly critical, stance toward things.”

What will matter most in education as we move further into the 21st century, Perkins believes, is that we develop the kind of education “that prepare people to be citizens of the world rather than dedicated nationalists, that prepares people to be thoughtful about problems like ecology and water resources and energy, and that prepares people to be good, thoughtful family members and relationship builders—to live a life, basically.”

In that pursuit, the recently established Merck-Horton Center for Teaching and Learning adds a lot of value for students and teachers, according to Perkins.

“There is absolutely no reason why all this complicated, messy scene [of educating] should be intuitively transparent to every teacher. One needs some kind of mediating presence, some kind of thought center, to look at these issues and to spread good practice around and to cross-fertilize within the institution—because there’s a lot of very good teaching here.”

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Above: George Melendez ’14, Stephanie Lee ’12, Claire Chalifour ’12 and Ali Ballato ’12 work on a project in Lisa Hansel’s architecture class.

Left: Students in Merilyn Wilbur’s Spanish class zero in on a correct translation.

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Merck-Horton Center continues relationship with Harvard Student engagement project results being implemented For the second year in a row, teachers are working with a noted professor and two graduate assistants from the Harvard Graduate School of Education Department of Mind, Brain and Education on a schoolbased research project.

Last year, Dr. Kurt Fischer and graduate students Christina Hinton and Catherine Glennon codesigned a project in which they studied student engagement and how to encourage students to “involve themselves deeply in academic, social, athletic, and other aspects of school life.”

English teachers Elizabeth Bickford and Patricia Lothrop, science teacher Kim Bullock, French Department Chair Allison de Horsey, and Director of Library Services Jen Tuleja were among key collaborators.

The results of the Harvard study were encouraging. Ninety percent of St. George’s students surveyed reported that they are “a good amount” or “very” engaged in their academic courses. Moreover, researchers discovered, students are engaged in nonacademic aspects of school as well, including social life, athletics and residential life.

A number of teachers are now using the findings of the study directly in the classroom. For instance, several students reported feeling most engaged during group and collaborative projects.

Indeed, when students were asked what advice they would give teachers on how to motivate them, their answers included: “more active learning in class,” “don’t lecture, involve us,” “teachers need to get kids to work hands-on (i.e. up to the board, games, quizzes, questions, etc.),” “try to get kids engaged by asking questions, doing group activities, or even a game,” and “let students participate.”

With the research in hand, Art Department Chair Mike Hansel and physics teacher Bo b Wei n collaborated on a co-curricular project in which students designed mini wind turbines. Their projects were graded both on how they were designed and

how they performed.

Students were also asked how teachers could motivate them. Answers included: “If the teacher also gives you some choices on how you would like to do an assignment, that would also keep more kids engaged;” ... “Let the student choose their own topics for a few assignments;” ... “We should have more options on how to present our thoughts;” ... “We should have more say in the assignments given.”

Researchers, therefore, are encouraging teachers, when possible, to offer choices to support student engagement.

Dr. Kurt Fischer is director of This year the new research projthe Mind, Brain and Education ect again is being sponsored by SG’s program at the Harvard GraduMerck-Horton Center, directed by ate School of Education.

Dr. Tom Callahan, who raved about the collaboration with the Harvard group.

“It is a collegial atmosphere in which we determine a topic for study, learn about many of the underpinnings of the issue chosen, construct methods to collect data, and help interpret the data,” he said. “Each step is taken with the support of the HGSE team.”

Encouraging teachers to get involved, Callahan noted, “The process is as enjoyable and educational as are the findings.”

Teachers and researchers began meeting Jan. 19 first to decide on a study focus.

A final report with recommendations will be written and a two-day summer workshop will take place in early June, organized by Fischer, Hinton and Glennon.

At that time, teachers will work together to review the recommendations and formally plan the implementation of those that seem most beneficial to the students.

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Above: English students visit the Gamm Theatre in Pawtucket for a performance of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Right: Noah Tuleja’s English class.

Opposite page, top: Seniors John Snow and Alex Elron in Tom Evans’ A.P. Biology class.

Opposite page, bottom: Samantha Maltais ’14 in Julie Butler’s Honors Algebra 2 class.

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The Science Department commemorated Mole Day—an unofficial holiday celebrated among chemists on October 23— by blowing up things in the science center. A good time was had by all—especially those wearing goggles.

The department also continues its series of Brown Bag Lunches this year, when visiting experts—sometimes parents or alumni/ae—deliver an hour-long presentation on a sciencerelated talk in the DuPont Science Building.

The Math Department is holding a new series of monthly meetings encouraging students to test their math skills—and have fun doing it. Part of the New England Math League competition and a warm-up for Mathletes competitions down the road, the events are often a 30-minute series of brainteasers, with pizza served for good luck.

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From the newly formed “Chinese Corner” group to the sixth-form writing mentors, all academic departments of the school have been stepping up their peer-to-peer tutoring schedules. All of the language departments have nights either in the Merck-Horton Center or at a table in King Hall when students can practice their foreign language skills. And the Writing Lab, established several years ago by English Department Chair Alex Myers, has gotten a boost this year from seniors willing to share their writing talents. It’s all for the team!

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Sixth-form White-water Raf ting Trip: Sept. 10-12, 2011 Clockwise from top left: Joy Bullock and Kendra Bowers; Rachael Sung, Charles Macaulay, Honoria Berman, Robbie Citrino and Eliza Cover; (Back row) Sadie McQuilkin, Alana McCarthy, Ali Ballato, Anna Williams, Honoria Berman, Rachel Sung, Erin Hendrix, Sami Goldman, Julia Rahill, Grace Alzaibak. (Front row) Kendra Bowers, Sophie Layton, Logan Hendrix, Veronica Scott and Phoebe Manning.

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The Rhythm of the Saint

BY ERIC F. PETERSON Editor’s note: Following is an excerpt from the address delivered by the head of school on Oct. 29, 2011, during Parents Weekend.

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hough on paper we are a small, New England boarding school, in fact the reach and reputation of St. George’s span the world. By way of illustration, we have students here tonight from more than 30 U.S. states and almost 20 nations. This spread of geographic origins is of course entirely deliberate and purposeful. The school has long recognized that our community is enlarged and enriched by students from varied and diverse backgrounds, and we work very hard to find and enroll them. So while this effort is often complex and demanding, it is also vital to the long-term mission of the school.

In my own travels on behalf of the school, I’ve had the chance to meet a wide range of alumni/ae, parents and friends of St. George’s who are invariably welcoming, gracious hosts and enthusiastic supporters. At the same time, certain other less enjoyable, but no less consistent, themes have emerged—hotels mostly look the same, airplane food is rotten everywhere, and I am always, and I do mean always, delayed in Philadelphia. It’s gotten so bad that I just build in an automatic two-hour delay any time I travel through there.

But despite the grinding elements of business travel, there are also moments of delight and surprise. As a lover of history and literature, not to

mention as the head of St. George’s School, one of the most unexpected delights for me has been the frequency with which I encounter references to or depictions of our school’s namesake, St. George. I always knew that St. George was the patron saint of England, but I confess I had no idea how widely known and much beloved he was as both an historical and a mythic figure.

For example, standing in front of my hotel during a trip last week, I couldn’t help but laugh. I was in Germany to meet with representatives of a foundation that is working with us as part of our recently announced effort to recruit, fund and enroll the children of military personnel, and the sign out front of my hotel was a giant, gold St. George and the dragon. Inside, there was another large sculpture of St. George. Unbeknownst to me when I booked the room, I was staying in the Hotel of the Knight St. George. I smiled at the coincidence, but it didn’t end there. A few days later, I was visiting King’s Academy outside of Amman, Jordan, as part of our effort to develop programs and institutional partnerships with schools around the world, and to see our son, Sa m ’11, who is studying and working at King’s this year. One evening, on our way to dinner in Madaba, a small city near the campus, Sam, his SG classmate, K at i e Ha rr is ’11 and I stopped to look at a famous set of mosaics that date from the 5th century AD. The mosaics are breathtaking, and show among other things a map of the Holy Land that scholars and archaeologists still consult in their work. However,

“St. George Fighting the Dragon,” by Raffaelo Sanzio, c.1503-05 Oil on wood, housed at Musée du Louvre, Paris.

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Woodcut of “St. George Slaying the Dragon” from “The Life of Saint George,” c.1515, Alexander Barclay.

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what surprised me most in the visit is that the church in which the mosaics are preserved is known as the Church of St. George. In an even stranger coincidence, the current sanctuary, built over the ruins of a Byzantine church, was constructed in 1896— the same year that St. George’s School was founded.

So it turns out that St. George is a beloved figure across much of the world. He is the patron saint of a host of nations, including England, Georgia, Portugal and Malta, along with the city of Moscow and the Spanish kingdom of Aragon. George is also revered as a protector and saint in a host of other places, including Russia, Serbia, Germany, Brazil, India, Palestine, Iraq and Syria. Most interesting of all to me, he is honored as a religious figure and martyr not just by Christians, but also by Muslims. In the Islamic tradition, St. George is both a holy man and a healer, and members of all three Abrahamic faiths—Jews, Christians and Muslims alike—visit his shrine in Beit Jala, Palestine. In the very same manner that we enroll students from around the world, the influence and example of St. George literally span the globe.

With this broad relevance in mind, I have been reflecting on what it is that draws so much of the world and so many of us to St. George. From the mythic standpoint, it’s easy enough to see—a brave soldier slays a dragon to save a princess and defend her town, and they live happily ever after. But I think the abiding influence of St. George as both a spiritual figure and an inspiration for the work of this school, comes from his actual, historical story.

According to scholars, St. George certainly existed. Despite his historical association with England, St. George was actually an Arab by birth, having been born around the year 275 AD in what is today Syria or Palestine. His parents were Christians, his father an officer in the Roman army and a

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respected local official. Following the deaths of his parents, George followed his father into the Roman army and in time, he too became an admired and well-regarded soldier, one whose service was known even to the Emperor Diocletian. However, in the year 302, Diocletian issued a decree directing that all Christian soldiers be arrested, and made to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods, under pain of death.

Despite the Emperor’s admiration for George, when the latter refused to cooperate with the decree and renounce his faith, he was tortured and eventually executed. This was neither an easy end, nor anything like the happy outcome of the mythic, romantic tale of George and the dragon, yet I believe that both the historical and mythic stories suggest to us lessons and qualities that are relevant and important to our work as a school.

The most important qualities that the mythic story of St. George offers us are courage and compassion. In the story, George sees the danger to the princess and risks his safety to rescue her and free the village. For each of us, either as students, as faculty, or as parents, there will be times when we are called to risk our own safety, security or comfort on behalf of another. Though in our world it’s unlikely to be an actual dragon we face, it might be a dragon of another form—the scorn of others, a loss of face, a financial loss or any number of other, more contemporary variants. So, in a time where our monsters have become less physical and more theoretical, the example of St. George and the dragon is not just a fairy tale. Rather it serves as a demonstration of the sort of courage and compassion that the world needs and that our school has long stood for. When we ask in the school prayer for our students to stand ready to “aid the unprotected and helpless,” we are praying that they and we each follow in the footsteps of St. George, who saw an injustice and responded. In a similar fashion, when we ask in our honor code that someone witnessing a dishonorable act respond in some way, George’s actions provide a good example of behavior that is fundamentally and visibly honorable. Thus, in a clearly demonstrable and understandable way, the story of St. George blends courage, honor and compassion in a way that can guide and inspire us, even today.

E ri c F. Pe te r so n has been the head of St. George’s since 2004. He can be reached at Eric_Peterson@stgeorges.edu

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death can be a powerful inspiration to us all.

I imagine that only a few of you know that the name St. George’s School was chosen by the students themselves several years after the founding of the school.

Originally known locally as Mr. Diman’s School, the Rev. John Diman wished the school to have a name of its own, and asked the students to devise one. The name St. George’s School was suggested by a fourth-former and adopted by vote of the school shortly thereafter. Given the school’s reflection of the English boarding school traditions, it is certain that a significant inspiration was St. George, as the patron saint of England. However, even if it was not part of the original calculus, I believe that the students’ choice reflected then and still does the deeper influences and example of St. George himself. Courage, compassion, service, integrity—these are enduring qualities, and ones that always have and always will represent and define our school and its graduates.

In closing, I note that my own boarding school alma mater has the motto, “Be Worthy of Your Heritage.” For our part, even though we already have a motto of our own, (which for the record is not “Because the Journey Matters,” but the rather more lyric “Wisdom, the Light of Every Life,”) I submit that our work as a school represents an even more powerful sentiment. We need to be worthy of our namesake. As St. George modeled, so should we seek to do in our work together as a school and in our service to the world. Let us be filled with the courage, compassion and integrity necessary to serve our families and the world around us. Generations of graduates past, those yet to come, and the students and families here tonight from around the world will and should expect nothing less.

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In the context of the religious metaphor of both the Christian and Islamic traditions, George’s defeat of the dragon also clearly represents the triumph of good over evil. In this sense, St. George is a remarkably apt metaphor for the work of a school. At their heart, good schools like ours are fundamentally places of hope and optimism. Our work as teachers, which takes place in the present using the wisdom and learning of the past, is ultimately meant to serve the future of our students and of the world. In this way, those of us who pursue this work have to believe in the power of the possible, of a future that holds limitless promise. As teachers at St. George’s, our charge is to cultivate and nurture the potential of each of our students to learn, to grow as individuals, and to eventually serve the needs of the larger world.

Lest there be any doubt about our commitment to that goal, we declare it unequivocally in our mission statement in the expectation that our students will depart this community to live what we describe as “lives of constructive service to the world.” In the broadest manner imaginable, such lives of service represent the triumph of light over darkness, hope over despair, good over evil, and are entirely in accord with the example of St. George himself.

But beyond the specifics of religious traditions and martyrdom, the historical story of St. George is also an abiding testament to integrity in its most dramatic form. Despite his service to Rome and his duty as a soldier, George chose to remain true to his personal beliefs, even when they could (and did) cost him his life. While few of us will likely ever be asked to make such a difficult choice, George’s story provides an inspirational example of what it means to be stalwart in the face of adversity, and how important it is to hold on to our deeply held values and beliefs. Even though he’d already devoted his life to service, George was eventually forced to sacrifice his life in order to remain whole in his nature and his beliefs. Perhaps it is hard to imagine how many of us, when faced with execution would have chosen to give in, in order to save ourselves. But in a world filled with relativist positions, expedient ethics, and moral interpretations that seem to change by the moment, the example of someone who remained true to themselves even in the face of

Raphael’s “St. George and Dragon,” c.1505-06.

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Oh, mother of God In caring for her once distant, eccentric mom, Susan Morse ’76 found frustration—and a friend

BY SUZANNE MCGRADY Let’s just say her life has taken some twists and turns.

Since graduating from St. George’s in 1976, Susan Morse has had a couple of unexpected emergencies cause her to sit up and take stock.

The latest—her mother’s unexpected cancer diagnosis—is the subject of Morse’s debut memoir, “The Habit,” published in November

by OpenSky. The book, being marketed as an e-read, chronicles Morse’s time managing her mother’s medical crisis—from the first signs something was wrong to her eventual recovery. In the middle of it all, Morse’s mother was on a very determined spiritual quest and during her health crisis became an Orthodox Christian nun, called Mother Brigid, hence the title of the book.

“Everything ended very well, very happily and my mother is still alive,” Morse said, speaking from her home outside Philadelphia. Marjorie von Moschzisker turned 90 on Nov. 26.

But the experience brought Morse to a relationship with her mother she thought she’d never have—and helped her discover a new talent: writing.

“The Habit” grew out of a series of e-mails she sent to her siblings updating them on their mother’s situation.

“She [our mother] lived near me and they were all scattered around—one in England, one in Vermont, one in New Jersey,” said Morse, the youngest of the four.

In her efforts to update them, Morse found herself trying to lighten up the mood. “I just couldn’t bring myself to do anything

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but try to make it funny, because while it was terrible, it was also funny,” she said. “And that just kind of turned into a book.”

Morse, who is married to the actor David Morse (“St. Elsewhere,” “House,” “The Green Mile,” HBO’s “Treme”), had always had a unique, sometimes detached relationship with her mother.

A talented portrait painter educated at Temple’s Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, von Moschzisker had been born into an aristocratic, old Philadelphia family. “Very traditional, but there was this kind of bohemian streak in her,” Morse said. “She was a debutante. She did all that kind of stuff and she had that—but she also had this art thing. Then there was this thing about becoming a Roman Catholic. So that was kind of different.”

In the 1960s, Morse said, her mother was reading books by the nutritionist Adelle Davis and starting to give her children “all these vitamins and weird health foods.”

“At Halloween the kids would come to the door and you know they would get candy at the other houses, but at our house they would get whole vitamin C tablets. It was right when people were finding razor blades in apples and things, so imagine what people were thinking when their kids would come away from their door and they would have pills in their trick-or-treat baskets.”

Everyone knew that Mrs. von Moschzisker was eccentric, but for her kids, it was all kind of embarrassing.

“You know when you’re growing up and you want to be like everyone else. But at the same time it was very interesting. There was always something going on. We were all learning to do transcendental meditation or Silva mind control.”

Morse said her mother continued to find one thing after another to harness her curiosity and creativity, and insisted that her children do it with her.

The family moved back to Susan’s hometown to be closer to

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OPEN ROAD MEDIA VIDEOS

Morse had already been through one of the most frightening times in her life 13 years prior.

She and David were living in California at the time outside of L.A. Up to that point the two, who met while the then Susan Wheeler Duff von Moschzisker was bartending to supplement her acting career in New York, had been pursuing their careers and starting a family. Susan Morse, who was cast as Cecily in “The Importance of Being Earnest” her first semester at St. George’s in 1974 and graduated from Williams at the advice of then college counselor Bill Schenck, had wanted to pursue a career in classical stage acting. She wound up playing roles like Candice Bergen’s stepmother on the television show “Murphy Brown.”

In 1994, Morse had given up the acting gigs to become a stayat-home mom after the birth of the couple’s daughter, Eliza, in 1989 and twin sons, Benjamin and Samuel, in 1992.

Then at 4 a.m. on Jan. 6, she was awakened by the sound of her house rocking on its foundation.

“It was like a train,” she said. “And I could even feel the plaster buckling up around the wall behind my bed.”

David had been thrown out of the bed and her young daughter, who was sleeping on a mattress on the floor, was resting under a pile of debris, miraculously unhurt. The couple’s nanny grabbed the boys. Morse remembers walking across smashed, broken glass to try to find a wrench to shut off the gas. They stayed for hours in the car, then spent days sleeping on the floor at their agent’s house.

David was starring in a movie, “The Crossing Guard,” directed

by Sean Penn with Jack Nicholson. But the Morses didn’t last long on the left coast.

family and away from the pressures and uncertainties of L.A. By the time her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Morse had started editing books on a freelance basis. That “writerly mode” put her in a good place to turn to crafting “The Habit” when life with the mother she often argued with about politics turned into one Scenes from a publicity video for doctor or hospital visit “The Habit”: Susan Morse ’76; Susan after the next. “We went sharing a caregiving moment with through hell … and the her mother; and Susan’s husband, medical system is crazy actor David Morse. and infuriating and both of us were furious most of the time at what was going on,” Morse said.

Writing the book was even good for her mother. “She’d love it when I’d stick it to the HMO for ridiculous things she had to go through.”

Morse said late 1970s St. George’s alums might like the book for its inside jokes. “I had fun in the end and used some names St. George’s people might recognize.

“I also refer to an infamous production of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ a spoof that Lil i Carey ’76 directed.”

Now, Morse says she and her mother have come to a new, more comfortable place with each other.

“My relationship with my mother wasn’t great when this book started,” Morse admitted. “I was actually pretty fed up with her … but I said, ‘you know if you get sick I’ll help you’—and so she went and got cancer, which was convenient because I had to spend every day with her, all day long,” Morse laughed.

What the two discovered while Morse wrote the book was that they actually did share a sense of humor. “As I was writing, I was sharing everything that was funny about her and everything that’s annoying about her and everything that I love about her all in one big package. I thought, well, if this is a book that’s actually going to happen she’s going to have to be in on what I’m writing…

“What she says now is that she thinks the book is a gift of the Holy Spirit and that mankind needs to read [it].”

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“When were little we all had to go along, but when I got older, I just got sick of it,” she admitted.

When her mother, already religious, decided to become an Orthodox Christian in the middle of her treatment for rectal cancer in 2007, “it was really like, OK, I’ve had enough.

All this stuff she’d been sending me how we all had to go to Medjugorje and see the statues of the Virgin Mary and had to pray with these rosary beads. It was exhausting.”

Still Morse, with three teenagers also at home and a husband whose career was keeping him away for months at a time, managed to keep her sense of humor.

Why not?

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Jo si e Hewi t t ’98 got some great publicity with a mention in the Names feature in the Boston Globe in December. Under the headline “JoJo the jewelry designer visits Mint Julep for ‘Blings’ with things,” Globe staffer Mark Shanahan had some fun with Hewitt’s company moniker: “South End jewelry designer JoJo (a.k.a. Josie Hewitt)—who’s not to be confused with Foxborough-bred pop star JoJo or legendary Celtic Jo Jo White—was at Mint Julep in Cambridge last night for a trunk show featuring her work. It was called the “JoJo Loves Boston Trunk Show’’ and featured her trademark accessories, which she calls ‘Blings.’”—Go JoJo!

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Former senior prefect Ste pha nie Jo hnson ’10 completed the Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan. 8 in an impressive 3:30:22.

The Scituate, Mass., native, now studying at UPenn, finished 529th in a field of 13,478 runners overall. She now qualifies for the Boston Marathon in 2013. Johnson’s mom reports: “… On a very long, lonely and dark stretch of highway between the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom, Steph could hear Coach [Kelly] Richards’ voice in her head pushing her on! All those field hockey practices and all those hours on the treadmills at SG have paid off in a big way!”

Mervan Osborne ’86, Associate Head of School at Boston’s progressive charter school Beacon Academy, won a spot on the Cambridge School Committee in November. Osborne, an ardent SG supporter, has

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ment at YTL Hotels married in the SG chapel in August (an occasion noted in the Aug. 19, 2011, New York Times), but a major architecture design for which he served as on-site project director was the winner of the 2011 Asia Pacific Hotel Awards - Best Hotel, Japan. Champalimaud oversaw the rehabilitation and repositioning of the Green Leaf Niseko Village, a 200-key ski-in, ski-out hotel in Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan.

S TEPH JOHNSON ’10

2011 was a banner year for Anthony Champalimaud ’96. Not only was the vice president of develop-

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Green Leaf Niseko Village

CUMMINS ’68

Thomas Cummins

’68 has a new medal to don at white-tie occasions: Al Merito por Servicios Distinguidos Orden del Gran Cruz, a purple sash and gold medallion representing the highest civilian award in Peru. Cummins, the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of the History of Pre-Columbian and Colonial Art and chairman of the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard, won the award in December following years of research and teaching focused on Pre-Columbian and Latin American Colonial art.

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KELLY SWANSON ’86

Reaching new heights

been a teacher, school administrator, admission officer and coach for more than 20 years. His campaign was characterized by a few very polished YouTube videos. “It’s important that we cultivate the innovation, the creativity, the dedication in [the Cambridge] schools, and we allow that to grow,” he said.

Dr. Ke l ly Swa nso n ’86 is currently working at McMurdo Station, located on the southern tip of Ross Island in Antarctica. Operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, the research facility is the largest community in Antarctica, capable of supporting up to 1,258 residents, according to the National Science Foundation. Established in 1955, McMurdo has airports and a seaport, research laboratories and support facilities.

Former presidential candidate and Vermont Gov. Howard D ean ’66 was back in the Ocean State this

winter to serve as the keynote speaker for Shape Up Rhode Island, a wellness initiative in which state residents compete to lose weight and learn to make healthier eating and lifestyle choices. Dean delivered the talk at the Providence Public Library Feb. 4, 2012. The nonprofit behind the program was founded by Brown University medical school grad Dr. Rajiv Kumar, who turned to Dean, a health-care reform advocate, for his wellknown support of wellness programs. Dean, former Democratic Committee Chair, also was asked by a Providence-based reporter at the event what his predictions were for the presidential election in November. “It’s going to be close,” he said, but he went on to predict President Obama will prevail over the Republican nominee.

James Geller t ’86 was asked to testify on Capitol Hill this past summer. Gellert, CEO of Rapid Ratings, was summoned by the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee to testify at a hearing about the effects of Dodd-Frank on the ratings industry. Then he did the media circuit, including an

interview with Bloomberg TV. Rapid Ratings was named a highlighted competitor to S&P and Moody’s in a Wall Street Journal editorial last year.

A new book by Toby Lester ’82, “Da Vinci’s Ghost,” was released Feb. 7. Lester, a contributing editor at The Atlantic magazine, is now making the rounds at bookstores and libraries across New England.

According to Lester, his book “tells the little-known (nonfiction) story of Vitruvian Man—the iconic image by Leonardo da Vinci of the guy standing in a circle and a square.” Amazon chose the book as a February “Pick of the Month;” Vanity Fair magazine listed it in their February “Hot Type” column; USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor named it a “book to look out for in 2012;” and a Feb. 3, 2012, NY Times Book Review called it, “a richly rewarding history.” For information about the book and where to get it, for more reviews and related articles, and for the dates of upcoming bookrelated events, see www.tobylester.com.

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Want to learn, practice or master the art of currency trading? Hiland Doolittle ’64 just may be your man. Check out his blog entries on www.onlineforextrading.com. According to his online bio, after graduating from SG and the State University of New York at Albany with a degree in history, Doolittle has continued to ply his trade as a professional writer while also remaining active in the real estate business. His book “The Last Parade” was published in 1998. We eagerly await his latest offering: a children’s book entitled “Sami and The Minnow Man.”

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SUZANNE MCGRADY

Joseph “Jody” Mar ti n ’76 became the new executive director of the Charm City Youth Lacrosse League in Baltimore, Md., in December. Martin, the former athletic director and head lacrosse coach at Gilman School, most recently served as the men’s division director at U.S. Lacrosse.

Founded by Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, the league was established in 2009 “to provide recreational enrichment, leadership lessons, lacrosse training league competition, and educational mentoring to underserved Baltimore city youth. “

In his new book, To m Go dd ar d ’63 preserves one of the many legacies of his father, a prominent businessman and philanthropist who also was an enthusiastic yachtsman.

As it turned out, when he wasn’t sailing, Robert H.I. Goddard could often be spotted with a camera trained on one floating vessel or another, and “Fly Rails and Flying Jibs: Coasting Schooner Photographs by Robert H.I. Goddard” shows just how passionate he was about ships.

The book contains 160 photos that date from 1926 to 1947 and include some of his earliest images taken when he was just 17.

Tom Goddard says he hopes the book of his father’s photographs will be a valuable resource for both sailing enthusiasts and maritime vessel scholars alike.

In December, he donated a signed copy of the book to the Nathaniel P. Hill Library.

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Dorcas “Dede” Gardner ’86 will be presented with a 2012 John Jay Award for distinguished professional achievement on March 7 at Columbia University.

As president and producer of Plan B Entertainment, Gardner oversees a wide range of the studio’s films. Her recent productions include “The Tree of Life”; “The Time Traveler’s Wife”; and the Academy Award-nominated drama “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” Previously, Gardner was executive vice president of production at Paramount Pictures.

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THE NEXT BEST THING TO BEING HERE: JOIN US ON FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE! www.facebook.com/stgeorgesschool www.youtube.com/sgdragon372

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If you haven’t already, like us on Facebook and we’ll make sure you get cool content: photos, videos, invitations to great events, and news that’s bound to make you smile— and spark some memories.

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A show of care and concern We can all influence the well being of others

BY SADIE MCQUILKIN ’12 Following is the script of a chapel talk delivered on Oct. 18, 2011.

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Sadie McQuilkin ’12 celebrates a successful cross-country race at the finish line.

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almost didn’t write the words I am about to share with all of you. I was almost too ashamed and afraid to talk about my middle-school self. But then I realized that if there is any place in the entire world where I could feel even remotely safe enough to open up to hundreds of people, it’s at St. George’s. It is because of the amazingly supportive, encouraging community on this campus that I can tell my story in the past tense, with my head held high.

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Before I came to St. George’s, I had an eating disorder. I didn’t call it that at the time, and because my problems never quite fit the diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia, I’m still not quite sure whether I can technically call it an eating disorder at all. But just because I never got so thin that I required hospitalization, or just because I never succeeded in making myself throw up doesn’t mean that something wasn’t terribly wrong.

At my old school, I felt entirely out of place. I was too nerdy, too enthusiastic, and too big to be one of the cool girls whose social power came from their exclusivity and apathy. So I changed to be more like

them. I suppressed everything about myself that made me different so that they would accept me. And they did, to a point. But my position as a popular girl was painfully precarious. I felt as though I had to constantly prove myself to my so-called friends in order for them not to reject me. They used me flippantly, inviting themselves over so that they could hang out with the boys in my neighborhood. I had to fight just to be included at my own sleepovers. I could have chosen to be friends with other people, but the insecurities of adolescence had made me so spineless that I had convinced myself I had no other options.

To put it bluntly, I hated the person I had become. I felt as though I no longer controlled my own life, and I turned to controlling my eating habits in an attempt to regain a grasp on myself. I became obsessed with losing weight at a time when my body needed the opposite to develop properly. My emotional state was inextricably linked to a number on the bathroom scale. I wanted desperately to be thinner than the other girls in my class, but even more than that, I wanted someone to notice me. I wanted a peer to ask me what was wrong without me having to tell them to do so. I thought that maybe if I got thin enough, if my ribs stuck out enough, someone would tell me they were worried about my well-being.

But I never got quite thin enough. My BMI only flirted with the “underweight” category, so even my doctor ignored the physical symptoms of my struggle. Likewise, neither my family nor my friends realized just how twisted my relationship with my body and with food had become.

Last year, a girl with whom I attended middle school confided in me that my eating behaviors had worried her, but she didn’t know what to do to help me, so she stayed quiet. I don’t blame her; it is exactly what most of us do here at St. George’s. We may whisper about the girl who clears her untouched plate of salad from King Hall, but we don’t say anything to her face. We may laugh at the White Girl Problems hash-tag on Twitter, but only because it hits uncomfortably close to home. We may know about the problem, but we don’t approach it directly because we don’t know what to do, or we feel that it is not our place to interfere.

Perhaps if someone my age had confronted me about my eating disorder, I would have gotten the help I needed sooner. Instead, I spent four and a half years of my life struggling against my body and hiding my personality from the world. It was only once I discovered long-distance running and a new group of incredibly supportive friends that I began to accept my body and embrace the beauty of being myself. Of course, learning to love myself didn’t happen overnight. It has taken nearly 20 editions of the Red & White, seven weeks on Geronimo, five pairs of running shoes, three years, two changes in hair color, one knee surgery, and an enormous amount of support from all of you for me to become the confident person standing in front of you today. I am incredibly grateful to my friends and to the St. George’s community as a whole for catalyzing my personal development. I only hope that I can inspire you to seek out new opportunities to help those in our midst who cannot ask for help themselves.

I was lucky that a series of events separated me from my self-destructive triggers, but for many, intervention does not happen so organically. As a community, we need to pay closer attention to the well being of those around us, and take appropriate action to ensure that our friends, classmates and dorm mates aren’t just surviving, but thriving. Concerned whispers don’t cut it—destructive behavior like eating disorders requires direct conversation and supportive action.

Remember that classmate from middle school I mentioned? The one who told me she had been worried about me? Well, she is a perfect example of how we can take better care of each other. She’s one of my best friends here at St. George’s, and she’s responsible for starting the new health workshops for junior girls.

She saw a need in the community, and she filled it. I urge all of you to follow her example; show love and concern for those around you, and you will certainly receive it in return.

Sa di e M cQ ui l ki n ’12 of Portsmouth, R.I., is a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program and the managing editor of the Red & White. In the fall, she was a co-captain of the girls cross-country team. She can be reached at Sadie_McQuilkin@stgeorges.edu.

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Lessons I learned from my mom

BY SOPHIE LAYTON ’12

Sophie Layton ’12 and her mother, trustee Pam Layton P’09, ’12, connect after Sophie’s chapel talk.

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Following is the script of a chapel talk delivered on Dec. 13, 2011.

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or my family, December has always been a bittersweet month. It seems as though something always goes wrong to make the Christmas season interesting. Whether it was the year our base-

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ment flooded a week or two before Christmas soaking all the presents from Santa, or the year that our tree lost all of its needles the day after we decorated it, December is pretty unlucky for my family. However, one year our December mishap was not as comedic. By chance in December 2004, doctors discovered that my mother had a brain aneurysm. When my parents broke the news that my mother was going to have brain surgery to me and to my siblings, more than

anything I was confused. I couldn’t understand why, if there was a chance that she wouldn’t make it through the surgery, that she had to go through with it.

The day of the surgery came faster than I ever could have imagined. I had a million things I wanted to tell my mom, but I couldn’t form any words other than “I love you.” It seemed like only a few seconds until the nurses wheeled her away through the doors to the O.R., and all I wanted to do was run and grab her hand and never let go, but I couldn’t. All I could do now was hope that I would see her on the other end and that she would have some recollection of my family.

Luckily, about three hours later, we heard that she had made it through. Relief washed over my body when I saw her. What I didn’t realize at the time was that her struggle had just started. Over the next few months, she had to relearn how to walk, since she could barely balance in one spot for two seconds. She tried to perfect the art of styling her hair, but she could never actually pull off the halfbald look. And her memory was at best, awful. She struggled playing the game Memory with only four cards. Even when I tried to let her win, she somehow lost! She could not, and still can’t, remember anything that had happened for those few months after her surgery. It was like a sequel to the movie “50 First Dates” had landed in my house. She could never remember the day before. We were able to keep her entertained with the same Christmas cards every day for weeks, and each time she thought it was a first. She was not a picky eater by any means.

Even after weeks of turkey dinners my mother insisted that we eat the 15th turkey given to us by a neighbor because, according to her, we hadn’t had it in months.

Even though she felt helpless, she was determined to have a full and speedy recovery, physically and mentally. With numerous physical therapists, who helped her do everything from balancing on her own to spelling squirrel backwards (which I don’t even think I could do now!), she began to recover and her memory slowly returned. She now puts up a fight in the game Memory, and can now

play with a full deck of cards.

During that year, my mom was able to teach me three of the most influential lessons I have yet to learn.

First of all, with a little determination, almost anything is possible. My mom set her mind on recovering, even if it hurt to get out of bed every morning and even if it seemed easier at times to just give up.

Looking at her today, you would never guess where she was less than seven years ago. And although she never mastered styling half a head of hair, she is doing all right with all of it. Watching her overcome the large obstacles associated with her surgery and go on to be the CEO of a company, I realized what determination can do in my life. We at St. George’s are entitled to so many privileges, but they are nothing if we do not have the determination to take advantage of them.

Secondly, there is always a silver lining and it is important to find it. Even when things seem as though they could not get worse, there is always something to smile about, and humor is the best cure of all. Although these were some of the toughest months my family has experienced, it also brought us closer together, and we were able to share some of the most hilarious moments together. Even a day after surgery, we couldn’t stop laughing at how much she looked like Arnold from “Hey Arnold” … a perfect football head if I may say so myself!

I now come to my final and probably most important point. I learned the importance of family.

As a teenager, it is easy to lose sight of how important family is, but don’t forget that they are probably the one constant in your life, and the greatest source of unconditional love. And you don’t need a family crisis or near-death experience to come together. I encourage all of you to take this time over Christmas break to tell your parents and siblings how much you love them. Appreciate every moment you have with your family because they are the most important thing that you have.

Sop hie Layto n ’12 of Westwood, Mass., is a former winner of the Headmaster’s Award for Academic Excellence and the goaltender of the girls varsity hockey team.

She can be reached at Sophie_Layton@stgeorges.edu.

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A fresh start

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Putting the past behind you is key to moving forward

BY CAROLINE WELCH ’12 Following is the script of a chapel talk delivered on Oct. 25, 2011.

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ello, for those of you who don’t know me, I am Caroline Welch. Or, better known around campus as cwelch or quelch. For those of you who know me a little better, you know I have an irrational fear of public speaking and of people knowing too much about me. Therefore, this chapel talk is probably the hardest thing I have ever done.

Throughout my whole life, I have never been comfortable with who I am. I am overly paranoid, freak out about little things, obsessively apologize, and am very pessimistic. Growing up, I was the typical awkward child. I had an unfortunate haircut, which was not helped when I decided to cut my own bangs, was too tall for my age, was chubby, wore boy clothes and glasses, couldn’t say my r’s, l’s, and t’s, and talked in a voice that my parents described as a Brooklyn accent. Needless to say, the amount I was picked on throughout my lower school years did not help my self-confidence.

In middle school, as my unfortunately awkward stage finally began to disappear, my confidence never reappeared. As my height leveled out and I was no

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longer the tallest, my hair grew out, and my braces and glasses came off, I still was being defined by the things I was so long ago. Due to this, I decided I needed a fresh start. At age 13, I was being defined by who I was when I was 5. When I finally chose to apply to boarding school, my parents asked me why I really wanted to leave. I told them it was because of academics and athletics. Of course those both had a role in my decision, but in reality it was because I needed a fresh start. I was sick of being defined by the clothes I wore, how I talked, what I looked like, and what I acted like when I was 5 years old. Now, I am not telling you all this to feel pity for who I was before I came here, but rather to tell everyone that letting things go can make all the difference. If every kid I went to school with when I was younger had let things go, I probably would not be standing here today but rather I would be at my old school. You may all be wondering: How does letting go of something someone did when they were 5 have anything to do with us? Well, it’s about letting go of people’s mistakes and of who they used to be. If my friends hadn’t let go of the time I forgot to hang out with them when I said I would, I doubt they would have been there for me when I needed them. If my parents hadn’t let go of the times I’ve had attitude, I doubt

they’d trust me as much as they do. If my teachers hadn’t let go of the times I did horribly in their classes, I doubt they would have any hope in me. If a coach hadn’t let go of a time I slacked, I doubt I’d be getting any playing time. But that’s what letting go does. It gives people a second chance. It allows us all to mess up or have bad moments, but be able to redeem ourselves knowing those around us care enough to let us try again.

Letting go does not mean just letting go of friends’ mistakes or awkward stages, however, it also means letting go of your own past. I have never been able to let go of my past, and it has been a problem that has plagued me for years. When I got to St. George’s, I was unable to let go of who I used to be. In my mind, I was still the awkward girl I had been all my life. I was unable to let go, and through that was driving myself insane. I thought coming to St. George’s would instantly give me the confidence I lost so long ago, but in reality I still had to work for it. For years I was unable to move on from my past and become someone else. I was unable to accept the change, even though it was for the better. I was unable to see myself in a new, and better, light. I was constantly criticizing myself, and through that began to break down. My harsh self-criticism became self destructive, and by the end of my freshmen year I was unable to see any good in myself. I began to simply go through the motions of life without any enthusiasm, and I would then go back to my room at night and criticize myself, falling asleep hoping that everything would be different when I woke up. After far too long, I finally reached out to my parents when I was at my lowest point. I told them just in time. If I had waited any longer, I know it would have been too late. I soon realized how my inability to let go hurt those around me. I saw the pain in my parents’ eyes, as they thought they failed because I was so unhappy. I saw the worry in my brother’s eyes, as he was scared he was going to lose the little sister he thought was so

strong. I wish I could take back the years of pain because I now realize that the pain I felt inside reflected how I treated anyone who tried to get close to me. In my own selfish acts, I shut myself out from my family. I always put on a happy face for them because I was scared to admit my greatest fault.

Whenever I showed any glimpse of my true unhappiness, it appeared to them as though I was angry with them, when in reality I was angry with myself.

Because of my family’s unconditional love and ability to look past those years of my life, they’ve helped me more than anyone. They taught me letting go and looking forward make all the difference, and soon things began to get better. I learned to deal with the pain I often felt as I ripped apart everything I did. I learned to let go of the little things that had built up in me for so long. After letting go of my own past and moving forward my sophomore year, my confidence slowly began to reappear. My family helped me realize those few years of my life were just a rough patch, and although sometimes I have glimpses back into the past, I’ve finally realized that if I don’t let go of my darkest days, I will always be stuck in them.

We have all made mistakes. We have all made decisions that we regret. We have all worn something that made people talk. We all have said things we wish we hadn’t. We have all gone through an awkward stage.

But if people don’t let go, the mistake you made three years ago, the haircut you got that didn’t work out last month, and the outfit you wore last week that didn’t look the way you thought will always stay with you.

Through letting go of my mistakes, you have all helped me realize I need to let go of my own past as well in order to gain back the confidence I lost so long ago.

So now I can finally tell you all in pride and confidence, I am a short girl who can’t say double t’s in the middle of words, obsessively braids my hair, is overly pessimistic, very ungraceful, and always manages to injure myself. But even through all that, you’ve all stayed by my side and made me the strong person I am today. Thank you.

Caroline Welch ’12 is a chapel prefect and a varsity soccer and lacrosse player from Osterville, Mass. She will be attending Hobart and William Smith Colleges and can be reached at Caroline_Welch@stgeorges.edu.

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‘What I admire most about my brother is his courage’

BY JOE MACK ’12 Following is the script of a chapel talk delivered on Nov. 15, 2011.

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Joe Mack ’12 signs to his brother John during this year’s Perkins Swim Meet at the Hoyt Pool.

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ports Center” blared on the television and armrests became chairs as my classmates clustered around various computers, enjoying any ridiculous online game. I opened my computer and joined the fray in the Diman common room. Keyboards were being pounded and arguments settled across the room while I glowed with pride after my sister’s moving chapel talk about our disabled brother.

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Then, his comment came out of the rippling pool of background sound and splashed me out of my daze: “Why can’t we play Perkins in soccer?

We’d finally get a win.” “Yeah, it would be so easy.

They’re all retards.”

Feeling especially confident, I responded. “Hey that’s not true, don’t say that word.” The arguments supporting his right to use the word “retard” outpaced me; my pride turned to panic as I questioned the community Perkins would be seeing for the first time, later that day.

Sensing my panic, one of my peers came over

My brother John is disabled with CHARGE syndrome and attends Perkins School for Blind.

John’s disabilities are evident. He is both deaf and partially blind. He has elephant ears that sit at different heights on his head, a cleft lip, and four fused vertebrae in his back. He has hunched shoulders and perennially bent arms. He walks with a drunken stager and sporadically grunts as his flexed fingers constantly change shape while he signs to himself.

I suppose I cannot blame my dormmate for his ignorance. How could he possibly understand the complexity of a disabled person, let alone my brother? Besides, he was on some level correct in his analysis. John will never take Calculus, learn Chinese or play varsity football. He will probably never live on his own. But this does not deserve the slur of worthlessness “retard” implies.

I wish I could have explained to my dormmate that despite his disability, John has his own wonderful personality that has taught me many lessons.

Sports provide a perfect example. In last night’s swim meet, John was perfectly content to meander his way to the finish line and soak in the applause while I stood mortified by my inability to get him to swim.

For whatever reason, I’ve always felt so much pressure to perform at the highest level in high school sports. My every success was too small to be celebrated; I needed to be constantly improving. With a

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and sat in my isolated corner of the couch. He put his hand on my shoulder, offering support as I crossed a bridge into a new reality. “It’s OK to say ‘retard.’ Blind people are just not as smart as us.”

Choking back tears, I left the freshman common room, feeling a deep sense of humiliation. Waves of emotion overtook me in the safety of my own room.

How was I so naïve to think that my opinion would matter? I felt useless and weak. He had told me that John was a retard, and I couldn’t even work up the strength to push him away. What kind of brother did that make me? I cursed my paralysis and dreaded welcoming my brother and his classmates to the community that night.

finite number of games left in my St. George’s career, I can’t help feeling foolish for not appreciating and celebrating the skills and successes I’ve shared with some great teammates at St. George’s.

I also envy John’s freedom and comfort. He is in need of constant assistance to function in a world built for hearing and seeing people, but ironically enough is independent in a way I never could be. He knows what he wants and is not afraid to go find it.

My brother loves to touch buttons. I don’t entirely understand the attraction, but I guess it is as arbitrary as any of our tastes for fun. Upon exiting church, he is quick to lose my parents in the crowd and begin examining buttons on men’s pants and women’s blouses. Needless to say, this has left our family in a few uncomfortable situations—but he never seems to mind.

What I admire most about my brother is his courage. I’ve now had the experience of competing blindfolded in both a Perkins track meet, and a Perkins swim meet. In the track meet, there was a guide wire to guide us along the smooth track.

Despite this aid, and the knowledge of a clear path, I could not help but feel a perpetual fear that some magical wall was about to pop up in front of me and I would be flattened into it like a cartoon. I quickly became disoriented and almost lost my balance on several occasions in the short 50-meter dash.

Thankfully, I did not have this same fear when swimming. With my eyes covered, and my ears under water I was struck by the profound silence I experienced in between breaths. While at first the isolation was

Joe Mack ’12 delivers his chapel talk.

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calming and relaxing, it soon became eerie. It was almost as if the world vanished when I put my head back in the water. I cannot imagine how brave my brother must be to live in that solitude for his whole life.

It took the sound of a cheering St. George’s community and the sight of my friend, Halsey to snap me out of the cold isolation of the pool. For that, I thank you.

As I envision the faces of the people in the dorm common room three years ago, I realize that St. George’s is a wonderful community despite my one bad experience. The strong relationships I’ve built have made me thankful for my ability to see, speak and hear. I only wish I could have explained this appreciation to my dormmate before he left the school.

I’d like to leave you with an abstract from an article called “Seeking God’s Perfection” by Leslie L. Gutterman.

“At a school that serves Jewish children with developmental disabilities a father gave a speech at a fundraising dinner. He said: ‘Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God does is done with perfection. My son can’t remember facts and figures.

Where is God’s perfection?’ Then he answered his own question: ‘I believe that when God brings a child like Shaya into the world, the perfection God seeks is in the way people react to him.’ Then he related this story: One afternoon, Shaya walked with his father by a park where boys were playing baseball. Shaya asked,

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‘Do you think they would let me play?’ Shaya’s dad knew that his son would not be welcomed. Nevertheless he asked them. ‘We’re losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team.’ Shaya smiled broadly and the father was ecstatic. By the bottom of the ninth, Shaya’s team was behind by two runs, with two outs and the bases loaded. Shaya was given the bat. He didn’t know how to hold it. But the pitcher moved closer and lobbed the ball in softly. Shaya swung clumsily and missed.

Then a teammate approached and together they held the bat, swung, and hit a slow groundball. Everyone started yelling, ‘Shaya run to first!’ Never in his life had Shaya run to first. Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second!’ Finally, Shaya rounded third, the boys behind him screaming, ‘Shaya, run home!’ Shaya stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero.

‘That day,’ said the father, with tears rolling down his face, ‘those boys reached their level of God’s perfection.’

I encourage you to follow in Mark Nuytkens’ example while at St. George’s. Swimming blind in lane four, Mark went ahead and tried a flip turn. He hit the wall crooked but pushed off anyway. He went under two lane lines and another swimmer before straightening himself out. He finished the race, and picked his head out of the water confused, but with a beaming “Mark Nuytkens smile.”

Don’t be afraid of the unknown. There will always be something you don’t understand. When you end up a few lanes off, you just have to make the best of it. In doing so, you reach your level of God’s perfection.

Jo e M ac k ’12 of Bristol, R.I., is chair of the St. George’s Honor Board, was a co-captain of the varsity crosscountry team and is a senior writer for the Red & White. He can be reached at Joe_Mack@stgeorges.edu.

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An article co-authored by Director of the MerckHorton Center for Teaching and Learning To m Cal l a ha n and biology teacher To m E va ns was published in the November newsletter of the International Society

Biology teacher Tom Evans and Director of the Merck-Horton Center Tom Callahan collaborated on a newsletter article published in November.

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Three scientific papers authored by first-year science teacher Sco t t St a che lh au s have been accepted for publication. The papers— succinctly titled “An evaluation of the efficacy of radium isotopes as tracers of submarine groundwater discharge to southern Rhode Island’s coastal ponds,” “Cross-shelf mixing and mid-shelf front Scott Stachelhaus dynamics in the Mid-Atlantic bight evaluated using the radium quartet” and “A simple differential diffusion model to account for the discrepancy between 223Raand 224Ra-based eddy diffusivities”—are all related to the work Stachelhaus did at the University of Rhode Island as part of his Ph.D. dissertation last year. They are currently in press and will appear in the journals Marine Chemistry, the Journal of Marine Research and the Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans sometime early this year. Stachelhaus came to St. George’s last fall after completing his Ph.D. in oceanography. He earned his B.A. in earth science from Boston University.

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for Technology in Education. “Combining New Pedagogies and Technologies to Meet Specific Curricular Challenges: How a Biology Teacher is Rethinking Teaching and Learning” explores Evans’ use of three pedagogical methods—blended learning, student response systems and peer instruction—in his A.P. Biology course. Read the full article in the news section at www.stgeorges.edu.

After practicing meditation for the past 10 years, English teacher Meredith Chapman has gone on to complete mindfulness-awareness meditation training up to Level 5 at the Shambhala Meditation Center in Providence, R.I. This allows her to share meditation skills with others who might be interested. Chapman says the practice of meditation can help to relieve stress and foster more awareness of the mind-body connection. She is a regular practitioner and meets weekly with a group of fellow meditators in Jamestown.

Another resume item for Chapman: In November she did a voiceover for one of the professional videos on animal training programs at the Potter League for Animals, Aquidneck Island’s animal shelter in Middletown. A former PL board member, Chapman says she was excited to do it. “Compassion for animals and the education of youth against cruelty are issues about which I feel passionately and have ever since I read the book ‘Black Beauty’ as a child,” she said.

Executive Director Christie Smith deemed Chapman’s voice “the official voice of the Potter League.”

Meredith Chapman

Top: Evan Read ’12 and Honoria Berman ’12 work in the lab during Tom Evans’ A.P. Biology class.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF HTTP :// RUNNINGESCAPADES . BLOGSPOT. COM

Faculty/Staff notes Left: Two faculty members, a staff member and a student participated in the Inaugural Newport Pell Bridge Run, which featured a spectacular view of the sunrise over Aquidneck Island.

the course. Headquartered in Maynard, Mass., Virtual High School has more than 11,902 enrolled students, 644 member schools and more than 400 teachers in 31 U.S. states and 34 countries.

Holly Williams

Deborah Hayes

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Chair of the Science Department H ol l y Wi l l i am s participated in Harvard University’s professional development seminar, “Exploring Neurobiology and Behavior through the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.” The program, which supports high school biology education using the many resources at Harvard University, was designed to expose science teachers to the latest research to bring it back to their classrooms.

Math teacher Wa rr en Wi l l ia m s, Director of Operations G eo rg e St a pl e s, groundskeeper Jay Pa na ggi o and varsity cross-country co-captain Jo e Ma ck ’12 were among the nearly 2,000 runners who participated in the Citizens Bank Inaugural 2011 Newport Pell Bridge Run on a crystal clear morning last fall.

The Nov. 13 event took the pack across a 4.2-mile course from Jamestown over the bridge at sunrise to finish on Thames Street in Newport. Nice view.

This fall Geronimo Captain D eb or a h H aye s passed the Emergency Medical Technician exam and is now an EMT-Basic and a Wilderness EMT. At the same time, she became a Medical Person in Charge, a U.S. Coast Guard license that allows her to administer oxygen, IVs and/or a catheter and do suturing when she is at sea. Hayes also presented a talk entitled “Risk Management and Decision Making” at the 39th annual Conference on Sail Training and Tall Ships Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2012, in Newport.

Director of Global Studies Jeremy Goldstein recently served on an advisory board to help edit and review several of the new Annual Editions textbooks from The McGraw Hill Cos. Inc. Goldstein worked on the Anthropology edition, as well as World History 1 and 2, Global Issues and World Politics editions. Annual Jeremy Goldstein Editions is published by the

On Nov. 1, 2011, Administrative Technology Coordinator E d M cG in ni s completed the Site Coordinator Orientation course offered by Virtual High School Global Consortium. Comprised of 45 hours of online, graduate-level professional development training, the course teaches how to recruit and register students for online courses, coordinate materials and resources, and monitor progress. St. George’s offered its first online course this year, A.P. Computer Science, through the Consortium. McGinnis oversees

Contemporary Learning Series group within the McGraw-Hill Higher Education division. Goldstein noted a particular attachment to the project: “I have used their series in class for years,” he said.

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When Carleton Hennion graduated from St. George’s in 1994, it didn’t take him long to find a job.

A former faculty brat who had lived on campus his whole life, Hennion pretty much walked down the Front Steps on Prize Day and into the Network Room, where he became associate network manager at SG. Working at that same post for the last 17, going on 18, years, Hennion has helped St. George’s through some of the biggest technology advancements in its history while at the same time helping school employees and students stay efficient in an ever-changing, technology-focused world.

In December, with the departure of Network Manager Ed Morin, Hennion was rewarded for his efforts and ascended to the top spot in the department.

In fact, it seems, Hennion was really destined for the post of network manager.

The son of retired math teacher and Business Manager C. Wesley Hennion (1969-2006) and former math teacher Lynne B. Hennion (1971-75), the younger Hennion grew up tinkering with computers.

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Hennion ’94 earns post as SG’s network manager used a computer—just because both of my parents were big into them at the time,” he said.

Mrs. Hennion was one of the first female teachers at St. George’s, and after having Carleton and staying home for a few years, moved on to a full-time position as a math teacher at St. Michael’s Country Day School up the street, where she started the school’s first computer lab.

Back on the Hilltop, Mr. Hennion and Science Department Chair Ted Hersey were advocating for the use of computers at St. George’s. A Mac Lab was set up in the DuPont Science Building and later a PC lab took shape in the basement of the Hill Library.

Mr. Hennion would bring computers home like some dads bring toys. “[My dad and I] were always using them, always taking them apart and trying to add more memory to them, getting them to work,” the younger Hennion said.

“At school, I was always helping my father, crawling under desks to run cables.”

When Hennion first started working part-time that summer after Prize Day the school had only a handful of Tandy computers spread throughout the Continued on the next page

Carleton Hennion ’94 in front of one of many servers in the Network Room.

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Faculty/Staff notes Continued from the previous page

The children of SG’s newly appointed network manager, Carleton Hennion ’94: Cooper, 3, and Lorelei, six months.

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administrative offices.

Out of the box from Radio Shack, the equipment at the time was “the cutting edge,” Hennion said. “That’s what they were using to design the America’s Cup race boats with.”

One of Hennion’s first assignments in the summer of 1994 was working with then Network Manager Chris Trainer on one of the school’s most important technology initiatives: laying its first fiber optics cable to build a computer network.

The school partnered with a company working at Raytheon Corp. in Portsmouth, R.I., to design and plan the system.

Even though the technologically savvy Hennion had a laptop throughout his four years as a student here, “IT was kind of rare at that point,” he said.

As a young staff member on campus, Hennion recalls “there were a few kids with desktops in their rooms. There were some Mac people.”

A couple of years later, in 1996-97, the school wired all the dorms. Students could bring whatever computer they wanted and plug into the school’s network. But the variety of equipment caused challenges. In 1998, the school partnered with IBM to create a program for students to purchase a standardized computer, pre-loaded with software ready for the classroom.

After the third or fourth year, there was an about 85 percent buy-in, so the school started requiring the purchase of a pre-determined laptop in 2000.

By that time Hennion had worked his way to an associate’s degree in video and radio production and a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications from New England Tech.

When the school’s required laptop program was

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initiated, the folks in the network room started managing the machines. They’re still the first point of contact when a teacher or student has the dreaded hard-drive crash, a broken keyboard or an overloaded J drive.

Last year the network department installed a new digital phone system, and in February it set up a new videoconferencing facility in the library.

These days, charged with overseeing the Hilltop’s computer servers and technology infrastructure, Hennion says he imagines the years ahead filled with new initiatives and infrastructure upgrades.

When a new director of technology is hired this year to serve as the school’s technology visionary, Hennion will be charged with investigating the initiatives and preparing for their implementation.

“For instance, if it’s going with an iPad scenario for the kids, we have to make sure wireless is available in all the dormitories,” Hennion said.

More wireless access points would require a lot of wiring and the purchase of enough access points to support the whole school during Study Hall, he added.

As far as the students, it’s always been a matter of achieving balance.

“There have always been kids here who want to get the latest and greatest and there are kids for whom this is their first laptop or the first computer that they have owned,” Hennion said. “We have kids who have been working with technology—who have their own company even—who want to get extra phone lines and equipment installed so they can do what they are doing.”

Some kids even have projectors in their dorm rooms.

But for now it’s a matter of keeping up with the times and making sure everyone in the community has the access to technology they need to advance teaching and learning on the Hilltop.

“I’m very excited,” Hennion said, “and I can’t wait to see where we’re going in the future.”

Staff promotions and appointments —with notes from Bob Nula, Human Resources Director Co l in B ar r y has taken over as the full-time Campus Safety Officer on the second shift on weekdays.

Colin was hired as a part-time fill-in campus safety officer in August 2010. Barry retired as a police officer with the Seekonk Police Department and was a security officer at Newport Grand prior to joining SG. Ann Corri dan has transferred from working parttime as the assistant in the bookstore to working full-time as an administrative assistant in Admission, replacing Jen Kelley. Corridan has been with SG since October 2010. Her friendly demeanor and people skills make her well suited to work in Admission.

Franz Ritt became the school’s web manager in September. A 2008 graduate of Bates College and an avid sailor, Ritt most recently worked as a communications associate at Connecticut College in New London. At St. George’s he works in the Communications Office managing the school’s web site content, taking photos and video, and implementing new online communication strategies.

Je n Ke ll ey has transferred from the Admission Office to the Finance Office to become the administrative assistant there. Kelley had been working in the Admission Office since she was hired in January 2006. Her administrative experience will be an “asset” to the Finance Office.

Chri s Sima nsk i joined the maintenance staff.

Simanski used to have his own construction business and indicated an interest in doing similar work at SG. However, it took him a while to achieve his goal. He was hired to work in campus safety in July 2010. Since then, in addition to fulfilling his campus safety responsibilities, he has helped shovel snow for the Grounds Department, done back-up duty in the Mail Center, and helped out in Maintenance. He’s demonstrated his abilities in each area, helping to earn him a full-time position in Maintenance.

Le sl ey Thurston and Me lissa Flaher ty joined the staff of the Development Office in September.

Thurston, appointed Annual Fund Director, came to St. George’s from St. Michael’s School, where she served as Director of Institutional Advancement from 2001-2011. A graduate of the University of Florida, she works closely with the St. George’s Parents Committee and alumni/ae to advance the school’s core fundraising.

Flaherty, Development Assistant, came to SG after serving as the administrative services specialist in the Director’s Lesley Thurston Office at the University of Connecticut Torrington Campus. At SG, she supports all activities in the Development Office, including research, event organization and travel.

She also serves as class correspondent manager for the Bulletin. A native Iowan, she graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bacheMelissa Flaherty lor’s degree in general studies.

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‘SG changed my life’ —Annetta O’Leru ’12 Anne tt a “Fre sh ” O’ Le ru ’12 was featured on the front page of the Newport Daily News Jan. 17 under the headline, “She’s living the dream,” after the Oklahoma native and school prefect served as the keynote speaker for the City of Newport’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.

O’Leru told an audience gathered at Thompson Middle School that life was not always easy before she arrived on the Hilltop. As a little girl her mother and father, a Nigerian national, supported their two girls and O’Leru did well in school. Life changed, however, when her father took the family car to a repair shop and was taken in by immigration officials and deported. O’Leru’s mom fell into hard drugs and Annetta and her older sister had to live with their grandparents.

“I didn’t want to be with my grandmother. I wanted to be with my mother,” O’Leru told the audience, “But my mother lived a life where she would come and go.”

She credits coming to St. George’s and living in a community of diverse races and economic backgrounds for helping her “live the dream.”

A school prefect, varsity basketball player and head of SG’s step dance troupe, Steppin’ It Up, as well as a leader of the Insight club, O’Leru is currentlycontemplating acceptances from a number of highly selective colleges and universities.

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Bright lights Academic all-star Sa di e M cQui l ki n ’12 has advanced to finalist standing in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship competition.

McQuilkin automatically entered the NMS competition based on her exceptional 2010 PSAT scores and has continued in the program by maintaining a strong academic performance and posting SAT scores that support her earlier academic promise. She is now among approximately 15,000 high school seniors nationwide who are being considered for about 8,400 merit scholarships for college. The National Merit Scholarship makes announcement about scholarship winners throughout the spring.

Make it two out of three for St. George’s and the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement. This year M i cha e l K i m ’12 is the male recipient of the award, given to one boy and one girl in each state who has been designated a top achiever in Advanced Placement Program (AP) science and mathematics courses.

The 2010 winner was Sco t t Ya n g ’10.

The chapel talk Jan. 10 was delivered by one of our favorite Hilltopper soloists, Bri ce Be r g ’12, who not only offered up a chapel talk: He sang an original song while playing the keyboard as well. The video of “Not the One for Me” is on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/sgdragon372.

Kim, of Seoul, South Korea, has taken five AP courses so far at St. George’s, and notes his favorite as physics. Among other academic accolades, Kim qualified for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad in 2010 and 2011; was inducted into the Cum Laude Society in 2011 and was one of St. George’s Top 15 Scholars in 2010. A chess enthusiast, he plans to study engineering in college and aspires to become a professor. The Siemens Award comes with a $2,000 college scholarship.

In January, the community welcomed back M c Ken zi e Na gl e ’13, who spent the first semester in Vietnam with School Year Abroad, and Ha rr y P a rke r

’13, who was in England for the fall term.

A group of students including D .J . Wi l so n ’12, Tysh on He nde r so n ’13 and Ph oe be M a nni ng ’12 is organizing a school group affiliated with the national anti-bullying organization “Not in My School!”

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Global outreach O M M U N I T Y

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Captivated by Vietnam McKenzie Nagle ’13 spent the fall semester with the School Year Abroad Program in Vietnam. Consider him transformed.

McKenzie Nagle ’13 says he was truly embraced by his host family in Vietnam.

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McKenzie Nagle ’13 didn’t just visit Vietnam the first semester; he pretty much absorbed it.

Hundreds of photos, a new pile of friends, even a new family later and the fifth-former who participated in a School Year Abroad Program now says he found a home-away-from-home in the crowded streets of Hanoi.

Living with a host family, Nagle would go to classes during the day and work as an intern each afternoon in the marketing department of Nestlé.

Amid his studies and learning a new language, he was out and about exploring and socializing.

“My curiosity constantly ran wild and took me places that are so different, but are now part of me,”

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he said.

Natives, he said, treated him “like a celebrity, just because [he] was different.” And Nagle embraced the opportunity to branch out, familiarizing himself with his new neighborhood, and casually making acquaintance with the people drinking green tea on the street.

He became pals with ambassadors’ children, who came from all over the globe, and when he wasn’t indulging in noodles and broth, dragon fruit and papaya from the local street vendors—or trying fillet of dog—he went out for pizza with his Viet friends.

When he needed them, he said, he learned to use chopsticks “like a pro.”

Not that life in Vietnam didn’t have its challenges. A few of his prominent memories:

“Riding a motorbike taxi in Hanoi while inhaling the polluted air,” he said. “And harvesting rice while being attacked by leeches.”

Air quality and wandering worms aside, Nagle was on a mission to make the most of his experience— “exploring the crowded streets of [the city]— just me and my guidebook, unimaginably free.”

Life at his host home was comforting, he said. He joined in on his host family’s practice of Buddhism, and recalls laughing hysterically with his host mother (Me Hoa) “even though she spoke only Vietnamese,” and teaching his 4-year-old host brother to count from one to 10 in English.

On the streets and in the markets in the countryside, he said he would barter with vendors and “get insanely cheap bargains, even compared to an average Viet.”

He visited the vast rice fields and plantations of the Mekong Delta, soaking up their history and meaning. Being an American, he said, he broke the barriers between two vastly different cultures and embraced Viet culture like his own.

These days, Nagle’s photographs serve as his reminders of a time he was transformed: “absorbing the thousand-year-old majestic pagoda” and “the striking sunset that gleamed over the fast-paced lifestyle in Hanoi.”

What Nagle came away with is an “unimaginable amount of love … for Viet people and their culture.”

“I will always feel at home with them,” he said, “now and in the future.”

Photos from the top: During his time in Vietnam, Nagle secured an internship with Nestlé; worked in the rice fields, attended a Vietnamese wedding, and taught his host brother how to count in English.

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Global outreach O M M U N I T Y

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Global Studies Seminar students head to Iceland

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PATRICIA LOTHROP

• The SG 2020 Club St. George's is also an associate member of if the Global Education Benchmark Group (GEBG), an organization that promotes communication between Global Programs in member independent schools.

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Members of one section of the Global Studies Senior Seminar heading to Iceland in March are: (in the back row) John Snow, Caroline Alexander, Elizabeth Manning, Helen Weston, Ali Ballato, Francis Champion, Emma Scanlon. Middle row (left to right) Emily Lewis, Trisha-Joy Jackson and Annetta O’Leru in front.

Two sections of the Global Studies Senior Seminar head to Iceland this March to gather information firsthand for a research paper due at the end of the semester.

Students in past Global Studies classes have traveled to Uganda, Panama, Poland and Senegal.

As part of the school’s strategic plan, St. George’s School Global Programs seeks to prepare students for a life of “constructive service to the world,” and to “enable them to succeed and contribute to a complex and changing world.” We hope to engage all of our students and faculty internationally.

Directed by Jeremy Goldstein, The Global Programs office supports and enhances the following components of the St. George's community and curriculum: • Global Week (renamed SG Globality in 2010); • The Global Studies Senior Seminar; • Faculty and student exchanges; • External programs; • Language Department travel offerings; and

English teacher Patricia Lothrop (right) spent a half year sabbatical studying and conducting cultural and educational research in India.

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For the second year in a row, the Alumni/ae Office is hosting a series of events specifically for young alums.

Begun in 2010 with the goal of helping young alums stay connected to the school, the receptions have been planned and organized specifically to take advantage of the younger set’s often hectic college and career lives, according to Events Coordinator Ann Weston.

The social gatherings are a nice way to keep Dragons making the most of their SG connections beyond Middlesex Weekend, Reunion Weekend and Prize Day, Weston said.

Organizers say the alums love to reminisce about SG at the events and reconnect with their former teachers. It’s also a great venue for making career contacts.

“Since the events, a few alums have even started their own alum network and dinner gatherings,” Weston noted.

A young alum event for SG Classes 1996-2011 was held in February at New York’s Public House. A Boston gathering brought about 40 recent grads to Eastern Standard Kitchen in Kenmore Square on Oct. 25, and 35 folks attended a young alum event Nov. 15 at Hudson Restaurant in Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle.

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Alumni/ae Office helps young alums make the most of St. George’s ties

Next up: Events in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for details.

And remember to send your current e-mail address to address_update@stgeorges.edu. The first 50 alums who send us a new or updated address get a commemorative fleece hat from our Frozen Fenway game with the SG logo on the front.

And if you’d like to help organize a young alum event in your area, please contact Ann Weston at Ann_Weston@stgeorges.edu.

At the Boston Young Alumn/ae Reception in October: Top: Alexandra Cahill ’07, George Sargent ’00, Jared Casey ’99, Kelly Sullivan ’99 and Brad McCarthy ’99.

Bottom: Chris Cruise ’04, Ryan Mulhern ’91 and Devin McBride ’04.

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Sea Legs 2011 New students get a taste of St. George’s at sea in new Geronimo program The second crew of the Sea Legs Program departs from Newport: Mate Karen McDonald, Blaise Foley ’15, Nick Brackett ’14, Cameron Roy ’15, Geronimo Captain Deborah Hayes, Mate Allison Taylor, Greg McKinnon ’14, Garrett Fownes ’15, Will Bemis ’15 and Chris Fleming ’15.

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he Sea Legs program was initiated last summer as a means to help new students get to know other members of the St. George’s community even before the official start of the school year. Three one-week cruises were offered, all in New England waters up through Portland, Maine, and the nearby coastal islands, and on each trip a faculty member, along with the captain and mates, was on board.

In all, 21 new students participated and were able to establish friendships and bonds even before setting foot on the Hilltop. Another benefit: Students were able to get a feel for life onboard Geronimo, and consider applying for one of three six-week cruises

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offered each season during the school year, with most time spent in the Bahamas.

Following are two Sea Legs program testimonials: “The Sea Legs program really helped me start out at St. George’s. Not knowing anyone coming in in September, seeing a few familiar faces can really go a long way. Also, the program itself was amazing. We learned a lot in the span of a week about sailing, but we also got to experience Kathryn Coughlin ’14 some of the Maine culture.

We learned about lobsters and lobster trapping and then we actually got to go ashore and interview the men who do it daily. It was a very hands-on experience, which made it all the more fun. Living on Geronimo for a week also gives you a chance to see what life is like before committing to one of the longer programs during the year. I loved my time on Geronimo and would love to go on one of the programs during the year.”

—Kathryn Coughlin ’14 “I spent August 8-16 on board Geronimo as the faculty participant on the third Sea Legs cruise of the summer. I found the experience to be extremely rewarding personally, but was also very happy that the program seemed to satisfy every design objective.

The seven students I sailed with clearly bonded with each other, creating memories and friends that could help them settle into school when it started in September. I, too, created a special bond with these students and smile every time I see one of my shipmates.

We all enjoyed, navigated, cleaned, hoisted sails, laughed, steered, explored and had a wonderfully rewarding shared experience. The team building associated with Geronimo is not just with the students on your cruise but also the many students who have sailed Geronimo before you and will sail

her after you. You have joined a fraternity and will be linked due to that experience. St. George’s is enormously fortunate to have a platform like Geronimo to provide this experiential learning opportunity and Sea Legs is another effective program offered by the school.”

—Administrative Technology Coordinator Ed McGinnis

Top photo: Serena Bancroft ’15, Emma Thompson ’15, Sophie Barker ’15, Elizabeth Millar ’15, Christina Malin ’15, Kathryn Coughlin ’14, Emma Coz ’13 and English teacher Allison Glassie ’04 on board Geronimo.

Left: Cameron Roy ’15, Mate Allison Taylor, History teacher James Bullock and Garrett Fownes ’15 hoist the sail.

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Swimming with sharks during the Fall 2011 Geronimo voyage: Ali Fuller ’14, John DeLuca ’14, Luc Woodard ’14 and Peggy Kilvert ’14.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF L ENNY

MARRING GRANT ’99

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ZIYE HU ’13

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“I was just in Puerto Escondido, Mexico for a wedding (dance floor in background) when a nest of leatherback sea turtles hatched during preparations. We released all 45 of them that night after the reception to better their chances of survival.

They certainly were spirited little creatures, all ready to swim! It truly was an exhilarating moment for a Geronimo alumna!”

—Helena T.M. Grant, aka Lenny Marrin ’99

ZIYE HU ’13 PHOTO BY

PEGGY KILVERT ’14 PHOTO BY

Top: The Fall 2011 Geronimo crew has (almost) all hands on deck.

Left: Luc Woodard ’14 at the helm.

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Students’ artistic, musical talents take center stage St. George’s art students racked up a number of awards in the Rhode Island Scholastic Art Competition this month. Gold Key winners—Li sa Lho ’12, Ali G hriskey ’13, Clai re Yoo n ’14, N ic k Lar son ’13, Vi vi anne Reynoso ’13, Li sbeil y M ena ’13 and Veroni ca Tsai ’14— now continue on in the national competition.

A Music Guild Oct. 24 featured solos by vocalists Ch ar l ot te D ul ay ’14, Al e xan dra M e de ir o s ’14 and D o mi n iqu e Sam ue l ’13, along with performances by

the Jazz Ensemble, orchestra and Handbell Choir.

Soloists for the Studio Orchestra were Wi l l Fl e mi ng ’13 on tenor saxophone and Th om a s K i ts va n H eyni ng en ’14 on guitar. The groups were warming up for Parents Weekend.

A very joyful chapel service took place on Dec. 8 highlighting the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Festival this year. Testimonials from past students and teachers acquired from the archival collections of the

Clockwise from the top: Digital photography by Nick Larson ’13, a portrait by Veronica Tsai ’14 and bicycle drawing by Lisa Herne ’13 .

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Red & White student newspaper and the Dragon literary magazine were read in between carol singing and performances by the excellent Jazz Ensemble and boys and girls a cappella groups. Two excerpts from the service are posted on our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/sgdragon372): “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” by the Snapdragons, featuring a solo by Sa mi Go l dm an ’12, and a mash-up of holiday songs anchored by “The Twelve Days of Christmas” performed by the Hilltoppers.

The Deblois Gallery in downtown Newport hosted the 15th annual Newport County Student Art Exhibit Jan. 20-22, 2012, featuring works from students of Aquidneck Island high schools, including St. George’s. On display were “Eye with Broken Glass,” a charcoal drawing by E m ma G a r f i el d ’12; “Aspen Trees,” a print by Ha nna h M aca ul ay ’14; “Dew Drops,” a pastel drawing by Ver o ni ca Ts ai ’14; “Water Droplets on Railing,” a digital photograph by G i gi Fl ynn ’13;

Exhibits in the Hunter Gallery

Left: Paintings by Newport artist Sue McNally were on display Nov. 7-Dec. 15, 2011.

An exhibit of furniture and woodwork by Dale Broholm was on display Jan. 4-Feb.4

“Charcoal Flight,” a charcoal drawing by Ca t her i ne Fa rm er ’15; “Self-portrait,” a charcoal drawing by Ha nni Ch en ’13; and “Wrinkled Paper” a charcoal drawing by Cl ai r e Yo o n ’14.

the Main Common room right before Christmas Break. In February, the Snaps performed the National Anthem center ice at the W.I.S.E. Weekend hockey game in front of a packed crowd of current students.

Members of the Snapdragons and the Hilltoppers, SG’s premiere a cappella groups, helped about 50 elderly residents of the nearby Blenheim-Newport senior living complex ring in the holiday season in style on Dec. 4. The groups sang holiday tunes, much to the delight of audience members, who were as impressed with their talents as we are. The two groups performed in chapel and led a carol-sing in

Voice teacher Ilona Tipp is a firm believer in practicing your talents in public, and as such has arranged a regular schedule of Open Mic events this year where students including M i ri a m El ha j li ’13, El o di e G er ma i n ’12 and Ni c o D e Luc a -Ve rl ey ’13 are regulars alongside SG up-and-comers honing their voice, instrumental and spoken-word talents. All are welcome to sign up on the night of the events.

Drawings by Lisbeily Mena ’13 (left) and Manning Coe ’13 (right).

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The Theater Department’s fall production of “On the Razzle” featured outstanding performances by (left) Bethany Fowler ’13 and Halsey Huth ’12, and (right) Annetta (Fresh) O’Leru ’12 and Caroline Alexander ’12.

New ideas

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ARTWORK BY

The Art Department is using a new workbook this year aimed at bringing out new levels of student creativity. Dubbed the “Imaginarium,” by Art Department Chair Mike Hansel ’76, the workbook was completely conceived and written by Hansel and fellow faculty members Lisa Hansel and Ray Woi shek ’89. The book, used in all sections of the Visual Foundations course, contains a series of hands-on visual art assignments that focus on the elements of art and design along with drawing techniques. Designed to complement the course curriculum, the Imaginarium was created “to help students realize and discover the benefits of the creative process, while building critical thinking, communication and presentation skills,” according to the teachers. In addition, the Imaginarium “was created to inspire student curiosity and creativity and to provide opportunities for personal expression and reflection that relate not only to the visual arts, but also to everyday life.”

GARRETT FOWNES ’15

A faculty-designed workbook seeks to harness students’ artful side

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Reaching out Dress-Down Days, outreach projects bring SG talents to those in need

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On a nearly weekly basis, students continue to aid a number of charitable causes through contributions to Dress-Down Day initiatives. Proceeds this year have helped a variety of nonprofits. For instance, Al ec G oo dr i c h ’14 organized a DDD in February for the Library Project in DesChappelles, Haiti—part of a larger national project called Sistercities Haiti, in which smaller towns in Haiti form relationships with areas in the United States. The money collected went toward building a library and to buying books. Among other recent fundraisers: A DDD for the Community Boating Center of New Bedford, organized by E l i za be th M anni ng ’12; a DDD for Newport County’s Child & Family Services; and a Dec. 13 DDD, organized by Ve ro ni ca Sc o tt ’12, to raise money for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a nonprofit organization that serves anyone who has suffered the loss of a military loved one, and the Afghan Hope Collection, a collection of jewelry made by local jewelers in Afghanistan.

Charlotte Dulay ’14 collects food from local homes during the 28th Annual Feed-a Friend Food Drive.

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The Middletown Beach Commission is grateful to the St. George’s Athletic Department and all the athletes for the work they have done over the years to help winterize Second Beach. In October, members of the Varsity Football team were able to pick up the last of the boardwalks and put up 10 rolls of fencing to keep the sand from blowing off the beach during the blustery off-season. Soon they’ll be ready to help put the boardwalks back. In fact, all of the sports teams devote practice time to community service projects each season.

DIANNE REED

Approximately 120 students, including the multitalented Charlotte D ul ay ’14, volunteered to help collect donations during the 28th annual Feed-aFriend Food Drive on Sunday, Oct. 23. The students—led by heads of the Community Service Council Ali Ba llato ’12, Whitney Thomson ’13 and Emma Ga rfi fieeld ’12—picked up donations from Middletown residents and helped stock the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center’s Food Pantry for the holiday season.

St. George’s donated several boxes of used textbooks to a school in the Philippines, a collaboration with Br uce Ha l l ’85, who works in the Division of Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of the Philippines-Visayas.

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Opposite page, clockwise from top: Early sports football practice; Seniors Ali Ballato, Helen Weston, Casey DeLuca and Emma Garfield on Crazy Christmas Sweater Day; Fifth formers Jack Coaty, Andrew Harris and Tyler Pesek on the Arden Porch.

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This page, clockwise from top: Fans cheer on the boys varsity hockey team Jan. 6; walking to Assembly; Charleen Martins Lopes ’15 shows off her skill at Double Dutch on West Steps with Joy Bullock ’12 and Charlotte Dulay ’14.

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Schmaltz ’85, McElhinny ’71 join board of trustees Watson ’50 voted honorary trustee

Dana Schmaltz ’85

David McElhinny ’71

Charlie Watson ’50

At their October 2011 meeting, members of the St. George’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to elect D a na L. S ch ma l tz ’85 and D avi d A. McE l hi nny ’71, P’10 to three-year terms ending June 30, 2014.

Board members also voted unanimously to elect Cha rl e s G . Wat so n ’50 as an honorary trustee.

Schmaltz, a co-founder and partner in Yellow Wood Partners, a private equity firm in Boston and New York, received an B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

From April 2009 to November 2010 Schmaltz served as the interim CFO and a member of the board of directors of Blacksmith Brands, during which time he transitioned the company from a start-up to a profitable operating entity, which was then sold. Previously, he was president of J.W. Childs Associates, which he joined in 1997 after working at DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and the NTC Group.

At St. George’s, Schmaltz has been an enthusiastic volunteer and served as class agent for eight years helping to raise money for the Annual Fund.

He and his wife, Kate Enroth, live in Boston with their three children.

McElhinny is president of Sigco Inc., a glass and architectural metal fabricator/distributor located in Westbrook, Maine. He received his B.A. from Swarthmore College and his M.B.A. from Dartmouth.

Previously, McElhinny was CFO of Rogers, Lunt

& Bowlen Co. Inc., a manufacturer of sterling silver, silverplated and pewter tableware and cutlery. He is a former board member of Rogers Lunt & Bowlen Co., Loma Linda Corp., and the Center for Environmental Exchange.

McElhinny and his wife, April, live in Cumberland Center, Maine. They are the parents of Tayl or ’10 and Cody. David’s father Wi l so n M c E lh in ny graduated from SG in 1949.

A consistent donor of his time and a generous supporter of the school, Charlie Watson was an SG trustee from 1972-1978, and rejoined the board in 1997.

He chaired the Trustee Awards Task Force Committee and served on the development, finance, investment and operations committees. Having worked in the Development Office at Yale University for 10 years, he has often shared his knowledge and experience with St. George’s.

Watson participated in the science roundtable discussion in Newport and served on the Leadership Gifts Committee, Annual Giving Committee and Centennial Committee.

A member of the Ogden Nash Society, Watson and his wife, Nancy, have hosted many admission receptions in their hometown of New Canaan, Conn. In May, he will receive SG’s Howard B. Dean Service Award.

Strategic Plan Updates on the web Used throughout SG publications, these icons represent the seven elements from our 2006 Strategic Plan identified as most important to our students’ and the school’s current success. Visit www.stgeorges.edu/about_sg/ strategic_plan_overview for updates and progress on the plan.

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Science and Technology

Diversity, Gender and Equity

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Professional Excellence

Sustainability and Stewardship

Global Engagement

Culture of Innovation

Community, Responsibility and Leadership

Traditions

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Clockwise from top: The Pie Race begins; Reid Burns ’13 and Andrew Moreau ’13; Zane Dorm residents Lexi LaShelle ’14, Alana McCarthy ’12, Caroline Yerkes ’14, Hannah Macaulay ’14 and Eliza Cover ’12; Third-formers Michaela Ahern, Lilly Scheibe and Sophia Barker.

SUZANNE MCGRADY

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The 53rd Annual Pie Race

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ANDREA HANSEN

ANDREA HANSEN

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Traditions

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St. George’s Christmas Festival: Celebrating 100 years

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R AY WOISHEK ’89

SUZANNE MCGRADY

D E C . 15, 2011

SUZANNE MCGRADY

Opposite page, clockwise from top: Lily Sanford ’14 and Miriam Elhajli ’13 sing in the choir; Halsey Huth ’12, Ziye Hu ’13 and John Snow ’12 are the Three Wise Men; the torch bearers enter the Chapel.

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This page, clockwise from top: Drew Boyd ’12 is St. George; Elodie Germain ’12 is the fair maiden; faculty and staff children sing in front of the hearth.

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MARY O’CONNOR

COLBY BURDICK ’13

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MARY O’CONNOR

Traditions

Eadie Kremer, Marianne Foss-Skiftesvik and Colby Burdick

Top: Hannah McCormack, Jessica Hom, Alana McMahon and Will Leatherman. Above: Will Fleming and Ben Rickabaugh.

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MARY O’CONNOR

Fif th-Form Ski Weekend: Jan. 21-23, 2012 LOON MOUNTAIN—Lincoln, N.H.

Mike Reed

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Andrew Moreau

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Juan De La Guardia

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Alumni/ae invited back May 18-20 Mark your calendars for another great Reunion Weekend in May, says Events Coordinator Ann Weston.

Scheduled events begin Friday, May 18, and are of special note to reunion classes. As usual, the weekend kicks off on Friday evening with the presentation of the St. George’s distinguished alumnus/a award, the Diman Award. A variety of evening events for individual reunion classes will follow the Diman Award event, which is held in the Chapel.

Saturday’s activities include a Chapel tour, class visits, student and faculty panel discussions, and a picnic lunch on the front lawn.

The Howard B. Dean Service Award, given annually by the Board of Trustees to recognize any member of the St. George’ School community whose service to the school has been exceptional, this year will be presented to B i ll Jack so n ’57 and Cha rl i e Wa t so n ’50.

A formal dinner featuring White Heat Swing Orchestra at the Stephen P. Cabot and Archer Harman Ice Center in honor of all the reunion classes takes place Saturday night.

Alums will be receiving an invitation to Reunion Weekend in early March, but for now, save the dates—May 18-20. Please visit our website at www.stgeorges.edu for Reunion Weekend registration, hotel information, weekend schedule and a list of alumni/ae who have already registered.

REUNION CL ASSES ANDREA HANSEN

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1937 • 75th

1977 • 35th

1942 • 70th

1982 • 30th

1947 • 65th

1987 • 25th

1952 • 60th

1992 • 20th

1957 • 55th

1997 • 15th

1962 • 50th

2002 • 10th

1967 • 45th

2007 • 5th

1972 • 40th

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Check out SG’s new

Frozen Fenway Commemorative Fleece Hat $15

apparel and more!

Men’s Nike® Sweatpants $45 S-M-L-XL

Smathers & Branson Custom Needlepoint Belt $ 165 32 - 34 - 36

Women’s Nike® Therma-Fit Pullover $60 S-M-L

Women’s Nike® Dri-Fit Hooded Quarter Zip $65 S-M-L

C all t he boo k st ore a t 1-401- 842-6662 f or th es e it em s a nd m o re, o r v isit o u r onlin e s to re at www. s tg eo rge s .e du .

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St . G e o r g e ’ s S c h o o l M i s s i o n St a t e m e n t 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.

Upcoming Events You’re invited: Regional Receptions Nassau, Bahamas Hosted by Pamela and Charles Klonaris P’14 and Arantxa and Mike Klonaris ’86 At the home of Pamela and Charles Klonaris

Wed., March 14

Palm Beach, Florida At the Home of Kate and Jim Gubelmann ’65

Tues., March 20

Atlanta, Georgia At the home of Christopher and Natasha Swann ’87

Wed., March 28

St . G e o r g e ’ s Po l i c y o n Non- Disc rimi nati on 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.

Washington, DC At the home of Tucker Carlson ’87, P’15 and Susie Carlson ’87, P’15

Wed., April 11

2 0 12 St. George’s Day

Mon., April 23

Reunion Weekend

Fri., May 18 - Sun., May 20 Prize Day

Mon., May 28

Convocaton chapel and classes begin

Tues., Sept. 4

Parents Weekend

Fri., Oct. 19 - Sat., Oct 20

For information on additional events, visit the St. George’s School Facebook page, our web site www.stgeorges.edu or contact events coordinator Ann Weston at Ann_Weston@stgeorges.edu or 401.842.6731.

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

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID St. George’s School

S T. G E OR G E ’S 2012

winter Bulletin

St. George’s School 2012 winter Bulletin

In this issue: St. George’s was in his soul: William A. Buell ’42

BY SUZANNE

L. MCGRADY

Oh, Mother of God: Susan Morse ’76 authors ‘The Habit’ BY SUZANNE L. MCGRADY Frozen Fenway 2012 Chapel talks: A show of care and concern BY SADIE MCQUILKIN ’12 Lessons I learned from my mother BY SOPHIE L AYTON ’12 A fresh start BY CAROLINE WELCH ’12 Bond of brothers BY JOE MACK ’12

Captivated by Vietnam: A student returns from abroad St. George’s on the web Class Notes Left: Alec Goodrich ’14, Peggy Kilvert ’14, Joe Esposito ’14, Will Silverstein ’13 and Alex Cramer ’14 walk across a festively decorated Arden/Diman Quad. PHOTO BY ANDREA HANSEN

I NSIDE :

Frozen Fenway 2012