Far Brook Bulletin Summer 2015

BULLETIN VOLUME XXX ISSUE II

B

SUMMER 2015

OVERTURES

roadway beware.

Not since Thespis first stepped from the chorus and forever changed the face of modern civilization has drama been so innovative and alive as it is at Far Brook School. Let me reveal the secret. It is not about the final results.

It is all about the process. The shyest child may take the lead, the players are full of ideas, if the old words were spoken, now they may be sung and if they were sung, now they are spoken. Practice is serious but full of laughter. Forget the big night with parents and grandparents and enter into the lives of another time. And then, on the big night, lo and behold, lightning will strike, year in and year out.

How lucky our children are, getting ready for all of their various futures, not just once, but many times, to have played a different role, to have stepped into someone else’s character. One year it may be someone with a lot to say and the next year, barely anything at all. How precious to have all this in the memory bank, even if 50 years from now the exact line can’t quite be recalled.

- Peter Waldor

Tess, Kindergarten

1

Antigone – fifth grade play By hope chernov

A

sister’s conscience collides with a ruler’s unyielding pride, and the consequences are tragic. The conflict is the basis for Antigone, Sophocles’ 2000-year-old drama, brought to austere, poignant life by Far Brook’s Fifth Grade students under the sure direction of Director of Drama James Glossman. Antigone’s profound power holds particular relevance today, a reminder that change in an unjust society can begin with the selfless actions of one courageous individual; in this case, a young woman.

Sitting center stage in Moore Hall, Mr. Glossman gave eloquent context to the play’s historical and cultural relevance. He spoke of the poets and playwrights of Ancient Greece who used drama as a way of investigating the world in which they lived, and as a way to understand what it meant “to be human.” Sophocles, perhaps the most influential of the Ancient Greek tragedians, chronicled life in Thebes in his plays Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, all of which take place during and after the reign of the mythological King Oedipus.

Tyler, Fifth Grade

2

Sophia, Second Grade

Antigone begins some time following Oedipus’ death. His brother-in-law, Creon, has ascended to the throne after Oedipus’ sons, Eteocles and Polynices, appointed to reign over Thebes after their father’s fall, struggle for power and subsequently kill each other in battle. Creon decrees that Eteocles be buried with full ceremony and honor, while Polynices, considered a traitor to Thebes, is to lie unburied outside the city walls, exposed to the ravages of wild animals.

Oedipus’ daughter, Antigone, struck by conscience and enraged, defies the King and buries her brother Polynices. Creon, despite his own son’s desperate pleas and intensifying public outcry, sentences Antigone to death.

Mr. Glossman’s spare staging emphasized the beauty and power of Sophocles’ language over all else. The stage was stark, props non-existent, costumes basic. Simple lighting cast subtle shadows across Moore Hall, while the ominous echo of a bass drum provided the only sound effect.

3

The Fifth Graders, armed only with Sophocles’ words and no small amount of pluck, commanded the stage, and the ensuing drama was transcendent. The ensemble, galvanized by a crystal-clear command of the text, maintained a focus and level of energy throughout that was mesmerizing; each actor spoke with equal parts passion and nuance, creating characters that captured the drama’s highstakes tension, as well as the pathos and the irony. Even the Greek Chorus, so often reduced to a monotonous narrative device, took on its own distinct personality, conveying both the collective force of outrage as well as individual voices of pain and anguish.

The blind prophet Teiresias delivers a dire warning toward the play’s end that finally convinces Creon to reverse course, but it is too late. Death has claimed Antigone, her sister Ismene, and the royal son and Antigone’s betrothed, Haemon.

The final, wrenching tableau is Queen Eurydice fallen, lying center stage, the devastated King kneeling before her lifeless body. The scene faded to black, and with that the audience burst into applause, clearly moved by the tremendous efforts and fearless commitment of the Fifth Grade students and their leader.

Jonah, Nursery

Emma, Nursery

Miles, Nursery

Poppy, Nursery

Eleanor, Nursery

4

Junior High: A Journey

By Rachel pasternak

F

or Junior High students at Far Brook, the Seventh and Eighth Grade years are a time of transition and ultimately, completion. These two important school years represent both the culmination of all that they have learned and experienced at Far Brook, as well as a time to gain new skills, expand their knowledge, and build confidence to move beyond their Far Brook years.

As the parent of two Far Brook students, in Middle School and Junior High, I could see right away just how different

Junior High would be. While Lower and Middle School students are settling into their classes in September, the Seventh and Eighth Graders pack their bags and head to Pok-O-MacCready, a camp in the Adirondack Mountains. The Junior High student experience has included a week-long excursion for most of Far Brook’s history. Junior High English and History teacher Ed Solecki is among Far Brook faculty members who helped to develop the Pok-O trip about 15 years ago. “We wanted to go where it feels

Michael, Seventh Grade

5

like the wilderness. [And at Pok-O] we are at the foothills of the Adirondacks,� he said. Time spent outdoors as a group studying the local ecology and participating in invigorating physical activities like hiking (both day and night hikes), canoeing, fishing, and navigating the ropes course and sensory-awareness challenge, helps encourage relationships between Seventh and Eighth Graders.

For many students, this may be their first overnight experience away from their family for an extended period of time.

At Pok-O, students experience a different kind of Morning Meeting. The mountain version includes readings that relate to the natural environment, and often contain works by writers such as Mary Oliver and Thoreau, which are shared outdoors while taking in the beauty of the mountains and lake. These experiences contribute to the naturewriting curriculum that begins in their Eighth Grade year. Eighth Graders are often asked to lead the gathering in song, a tradition that many look forward to.

Back on campus, the connection between

Lilly B, Fourth Grade

6

Aimee, Sixth Grade

the Seventh and Eighth Graders continues to be strengthened as they participate in advisory groups twice a week. These student-led discussions are facilitated by teachers over the course of the year.

Far Brook students do not receive letter grades on their progress reports until the Junior High years, although throughout Middle School they have been introduced to the idea that their work is reviewed, and feedback is shared with them by their teachers. As Nicole Engelke, Head of Upper Schools at Far Brook explained, begin7

ning in Fourth Grade, students begin to think about “what the work they produce says about their understanding.

Students reflect and evaluate themselves as they are introduced to the use of teacher rubrics for the first time.

These help them build their understanding of what strengths they possess as well as what they might need to work on.�

Following their Sixth Grade year, as they understand more about ratios and percentages, the transition to letter grades is not a completely new experience for them.

Another significant shift that takes place for Junior High students is that twice each year faculty advisors meet with each student and his or her family. This is an opportunity for the students to share samples of their work, discuss their study habits, and to consider their progress toward the goals they had set for themselves earlier in the year. Teachers and students share their reflections with each other. Students are presented with letter grades for math, English, science, French and history. Having worked with advisors in advance to craft what they will say, students lead the discussion and share their self-assessments as well as the grade they received. “We want the students to have a level of comfort and ease when interacting with teachers and discussing their grades,” said Ed. The goal is for students to be self-reflective and to “develop some understanding about their strengths and weaknesses.”

Throughout the Far Brook journey, the works of Shakespeare are woven into the curriculum of each Grade. The process begins as early as Nursery and Kindergarten when the teachers share A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest with their students, explained Ava, Kindergarten Paula Levin, Far Brook’s Head of Lower School. The teachers choose a scene and then “put the book down and talk about each character and their names,” said Paula. The play is “broken down in parts so that the students can really understand…It’s the beginning of character study.”

During the early spring, Seventh Graders read that year’s Shakespeare play and observe the Eighth Graders rehearsing their play. “The Shakespeare play is their gift to the School,” said Ed. Moving closer to their graduation in the spring, Eighth Graders work in woodshop to build the frames that will soon hold the diplomas they created using calligraphy learned earlier that year.

As students are introduced to this new writing form, they realize graduation is not just something that happens to them, but is a milestone that they shape and help to make meaningful.

Jaxson, First Grade

8

The Junior High years illustrate the process of teaching students how to think and take ownership of their work, which begins early at Far Brook. As

lacrosse game, perform in Harmonia, prepare for Stabat Mater, and design their diplomas, they are filled with the “simple gifts” of Far Brook. They are well prepared to begin a new chapter both in their academic careers and on their journey through life. “The Junior High students,” said Ed, “anchor the Traditions at Far Brook. They set the example, embody the Traditions, and sing them out.”

Sarah, Eighth Grade

they recite their lines for the Shakespeare play, walk down the aisle in the Thanksgiving Processional, help their younger peers in the carpool line, give their best on the baseball field or in a

Jasmine, Seventh Grade

9

Celebrating Our Diversity By jennifer barba

T

he Far Brook community is a vibrant mix of families and children of many backgrounds who share a common love for the School. We celebrate our unique contributions through songs, Morning Meeting, curriculum, and sharing family traditions. We appreciate diversity in racial and ethnic backgrounds, nationality, socio-economic level, sexual orientation, family structure, and religion, and we honor individuality.

This year, the faculty and staff had many meaningful conversations and challenged themselves to understand what it means to be a truly diverse community. A Diversity Committee was formed and met weekly, launching a series of initiatives and events to provide

sulting Group to lead the faculty in an interactive and informative discussion on culture and inclusivity, who later returned to speak with parents on “Raising Culturally Competent Thinkers for the 21st Century.� Faculty and parents alike appreciated the opportunity to learn what current research has to say about the skills and insights that students need to be successful in our changing world.

In February, Theodora Lacey, mother of our Admissions Director, Mikki Murphy, once again came to Morning Meeting to share her experiences growing up in the segregated South and working Sylvie, Sixth Grade with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks during the civil rights movement. Faculty and students were struck by this rare opportunity to hear a personal perspective on some of the movement’s galvanizing events, such as the Montgomery bus Ishaan, First Grade boycott. Ms. Lacey continued the a framework for our diversity exploradiscussion later with Sixth, Seventh, and tion and to share these conversations Eighth Grade students. with the community.

In March, the Diversity Committee In the fall, the committee invited sponsored a well-attended screening of Tiffany Taylor Smith of TR Taylor Con- the celebrated documentary film, I Shall 10

Not Be Silent, produced and directed by Rachel Fisher and Far Brook parent Rachel Pasternak. The inspiring film tells the story of Rabbi Joachim Prinz who was expelled from Nazi Germany and became the Rabbi of Temple B’Nai Abraham in Newark. Prinz felt compelled to act when he encountered Wylie, Kindergarten discrimination in the United States. He became an active participant in the Civil of Far Brook’s students, faculty, and Rights movement, spoke at the March on staff.

The opening reception in Moore Hall included a screening of the first Far Brook short film, created by Emi especially for this celebration. Featuring students, faculty, and staff, the “Far Brook Short” is a sweet, heartfelt, and authentic window into the spirit of the School, shared through the voices of our community.

Maggie, Kindergarten The Committee also created a diversiWashington, and was a significant ally to ty page for Far Brook’s new website to Dr. King. This moving documentary provide current and prospective families highlighted the importance of working information about our diversity initiatives cross-culturally to effect change. Follow- and ways to participate. The page also ing the film, parents, students, and alumni features our Diversity Statement, calendar parents engaged in a lively and thoughtful events, curriculum highlights, suggested discussion with the film’s directors and reading, and other useful resources.

Ms. Lacey, who also joined the panel.

The important work of the Diversity The final Diversity event of the year Committee this year has given faculty and was the much-anticipated opening of the staff a framework for enriching the eduFamily Photo Project, conceived and cation of our students, and has informed photographed by Kindergarten teacher, and engaged the larger community. Far Emi Ithen. This initiative celebrated the Brook’s commitment to recognizing, diverse family structures, nationalities, exploring, and celebrating the people and and racial and ethnic backgrounds that families who make up our treasured make up our community, with a stunning community has never been stronger. exhibit of framed portraits of the families 11

Construction musings of the second grade…

worker hub-bub, and some serious machinery. One day it feels like nothDear Amy, ing’s happening, and then the next You would not believe what’s day, it’s like they pushed a “turbo going on behind our classrooms in charge” button and – poof – a whole the construction zone! These conbuilding is framed, or a roof has gone struction guys must have been really up, or an entire floor has gone in. good listeners in woodshop class. Or There is a lot happening back there. maybe they were Lego masters? Or We thought maybe you’d like the maybe they just never stopped play- inside scoop. ing with wooden blocks? This conFirst, the guys have a hot chocostruction stuff is fascinating. late party every morning. Some of Perched in our classroom winthem have these long metal thermosdows, we can see everything: the new es, but some drink from paper cups. buildings going up, step by step, the We’re thinking the paper cup crew (…as relayed to Heather Braun, with a few creative liberties.)

Teddy, First Grade

12

probably forgot their lunches that day.

Or else, maybe they take their hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and it won’t all fit in a thermos? Anyway, we hope those thermoses are labeled with their first and last names, so they don’t mix them up.

The construction guys sure seem to be good friends. Someday, when we have jobs, we’d like to work with good friends, too. They laugh and tell jokes all day. There’s a man with a scruffy beard and a plaid jacket ‒ he has a loud, deep voice and when he laughs, his shoulders shake. We like that guy.

They play games, too. They have a grown-up version of “telephone.” One guy yells down from the roof at another guy ‒ then he yells across the field to someone else. It sounds really fun.

But we’re kind of wondering, hasn’t anyone told them about cell phones?

Or walkie-talkies?

The truth is, it kind of seems like a lot of what we learn at school is what they have to do on the job ‒ like using our words to communicate, taking turns, and sharing. Some guys share their tools, but we’ve noticed that a few wear special belts with their own tools. The Nursery and Kindergarten classes have some great ideas to help with sharing if they’re looking for tips.

Oh ‒ and we’re feeling like the guy

13

Lilly, Second Grade

who drives the crane gets to have most of the fun, so they might want to try a sign-up sheet or something so other people get to try.

Let’s go back to the cement floors for a minute. Can you believe that one

morning we saw them pouring cement with them some day? We have a few and by the time we got back from questions and ideas that might make sports, they were already walking on things easier for them: it? Probably they spent some time that 1. For the guy always looking at the day carving their initials, names, or big white paper plans: have you footprints into the cement. A bunch of thought about gluing those plans us have done that to the sidewalks in to a piece of wood to keep it our own neighborhoods. It’s ok that from blowing around? they didn’t ask us to come out and help 2. We’re a little worried about because we were having a really fun someone falling into one of time in class that day, but it would be those big holes; maybe you very cool if they gave us a heads-up for should have a buddy system, so next time. We’ll have our sticks ready! someone’s always got your Lunchtime seems to be pretty popuback? lar back there. That’s probably no sur3. Where do you go to the bathprise; we like lunchtime too. Do you room? think maybe we could have our lunch

Saaliha, Third Grade

14

Leyu, Kindergarten

4. What’s the building on the corner going to be? Is that the missioncommand center?

5. You could probably make some money if you turned that wrecking ball into an amusement ride after school. We would pay to ride on that.

Anyway, next time you talk to the construction guys, will you tell them that we think they’re doing a really great job? We’re super excited to see the buildings finished, but we’re gonna miss all the action. And for the guy we like in the plaid shirt – give him a high five.

Love, The Second Grade 15

Asher, Second Grade

One more thing before I go By amy lambert

T

here are many wonderful things about Far Brook ‒ the dedicated teachers and staff, the charming campus, the singing and laughter spilling across the playground. Let me remind you, too, of the animals.

Ten years ago, my husband and I were touring Far Brook, trying to decide if this was the right place for our children. We walked into the woodshop and curled up on a shelf beneath the window was a black and white cat, asleep in a pool of sunshine. The cat’s name was Sabrina, and she belonged to the teacher. We were impressed.

he owned the place, and it was not unusual to see him poking his head into Moore Hall or even strolling down the center aisle during Morning Meeting.

Children would stop along the path during the day to pet him and rub his head.

Peaseblossom couldn’t get enough of this.

There was a dog at Far Brook, too. Timber, a brown and black mix, could be spotted riding Julia, Kindergarten with plant supervisor Art Gannon on his lawnmower. If you were lucky, you might see Timber wearing his bright red goggles. Art got him these to keep his eyes safe (a good idea!). Timber, by the way, got along fine with the cats.

There have been other assorted animals at the school – wild ones like fox, Louisa, Third Grade groundhogs, frogs, and birds, of course.

Over the years, we have come across They keep their distance. One day, many animals at Far Brook. Another though, an especially strange, small cat was an over-stuffed orange tabby creature crawled into the Second Grade. named Peaseblossom. Our kids debated The teachers huddled together while the whether it was a boy or a girl (it was a kids speculated about what it could be – he). This cat walked around School like an alien, perhaps! Maybe it was just a 16

prank ‒ a rubber monster that someone brought from home. One of the children bravely poked the thing with a pencil, and when it moved, there were screams. Nursery teacher Bill Deltz was summoned, and the runaway crayfish was quickly returned to the Nursery.

In First Grade, there used to be a pretty fish named Blue Bell, who swam around in a glass bowl on one of the teacher’s desks. By mid year, he was discretely replaced by Blue Bell Two. Chip and Dale were the class hamsters that inspired our children to beg for their own little friends (satisfied by a trip to the pet store). The Second Grade had a gerbil named Cinnamon, and sometimes after school the kids would sit on the classroom floor in a circle, their legs spread out in a V, to make a safe play space for him. One memorable afternoon Cinnamon ran up one of my son’s pant legs and then out the other.

Kitty, Fifth Grade

hosted Dottie at our house during several school vacations. Did you know she has the number 3 on her shell? Next time you are in the Third Grade classroom, take a look. And please bring her an earthworm. She really likes them!

Will, Third Grade Let’s not forget the miniature pony In Third Grade, there was Dottie, the and the donkey. We all said goodbye to box turtle. She is still there, probably Misty and Ginger last year before they stirring around a bit more in her habitat were moved to make way for construcnow that summer has arrived. We tion. Happily, we hear they are doing 17

really well in their bigger pastures.

Sometime Misty or Ginger would take an unplanned stroll around Far Brook.

This would be the first thing we’d hear about at pick up: “Misty escaped today!” We would then get a long, animated account of how Atticus, Nursery the pony was corralled by one of the teachers. “Anything else happen at school today?” we’d innocently

inquire. Silence.

It has been 10 years since we had our first look at Far Brook, and it’s now time for us to say goodbye. Our children graduated this spring. We have many, many happy memories, and know that we made a great choice for our kids. The School has been a warm spot in the sun for them, just like for the cat that day in the woodshop.

Daniel, Fifth Grade

18

Annika, Kindergarten

Anna, Fourth Grade

19

Far Brook Moments

By Far brook parents and friends

T

here have been so many happy carpools in our Far Brook years.

The day that stands out in my memory is the ride from Maplewood to Far Brook the evening of one Stabat Mater. A car full of six 13- and 14year old boys, after a dinner together at a classmate’s, filling the car with the lilting melodies of Pergolesi’s famous Stabat Mater all the way up the hill to perform the concert for families and friends. A beautiful moment for this lucky chauffeur.

-Jennifer Barba

Ellis, Kindergarten

A

s gardeners, our family has spent years in the dirt: tilling, digging, weeding, harvesting, pruning. It was not until First Grade, though, with Joan Angelo that we learned to turn over the Milk Weed leaves to see the loads of butterfly eggs. The eggs had been there all along, we just never saw them before Joan and Far Brook’s First Grade.

-Susie Goodman

Isla, Second Grade

20

T

his Far Brook Moment goes WAY back. Most of you will not remember Ms. Jean Whitesell, but she ran the kitchen when I started working at Far Brook back in 1991. One Friday afternoon, I was the only one left in the office when the phone rang. It was Jean calling from the kitchen, yelling “THE DONKEY IS DOWN, THE DONKEY IS DOWN.” Being new at the School, I thought it was some kind of code, and I replied with “and the crow crows at midnight.” (Jean did not find this funny.) It seems that our donkey was laying down for some reason and Jean panicked. I called the Vet who was out on a call. I called Betty Crum (the Business Manager) and she was not at home. I was then in a panic not knowing what to do! I called Jean back and her reply was, “never mind, the donkey is now up. I guess he was just tired!” I have told this story many, many times and it is one of my favorite moments at Far Brook!! I miss it every day!!

-Janet Furchak Former School Secretary/Receptionist

Alexis, Eighth Grade

21

A

n early spring morn with just a hint of spring feeling. Parents gather in the semi-darkness, huddling with a few polite dogs, one pet Gila monster and nary a smokeless cigarette, just the ghosts of Ginger and Misty waddling about and somehow leaving wisps of real mule breath, while children dart around with no regard for the temperature or time of day. They are all waiting for the great Wi-Fi-enabled ark to spirit the children into the day and into another country, where they will speak another language and sip chocolat chaud in a glace hotel. We are all about the children but let me dwell on the parents for a moment, one in a three-piece suit with a silk hankie, one in pajamas, and one in Levis circa 1982, some chatting, some quiet in the crepuscular light. Unspoken is the joy and solemnity that the brief journey their children are about to embark on is but a prologue for the larger adventures that will soon be in store for them. Joy, of course, some old-fashioned worry, and the sweet sadness of parting, of being left behind. We changed your diapers, we helped you memorize The Tempest and now you are on your way to take your own place without us in the world, which you will make a better place, we are sure.

-Peter Waldor

Maya and Margo, Fourth Grade

22

Aaron, Third Grade

Far brook bulletin staff EDITORS Jennifer barba Jody miller

CONTRIBUTORS Jennifer Barba Heather braun Hope chernov Janet furchak Susie goodman Amy lambert Rachel Pasternak Peter waldor

LAYOUT Jyoti Ananth EDITORIAL ASSISTANTs Joan Burr Peggy Fawcett

Printed on recycled paper

23

Far Brook School 52 Great Hills Road Short Hills, New Jersey 07078 (973) 379-3442 development@farbrook.org www.farbrook.org

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID UNION, NJ 07083 PERMIT No. 473

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Inside this issue: Overtures

by Peter Waldor

1

Antigone窶認ifth Grade Play

by Hope Chernov

2

Junior High: A Journey

by Rachel Pasternak

5

Celebrating Our Diversity

by Jennifer Barba

10

Construction Musings

by Heather Braun

12

One More Thing Before I Go

by Amy Lambert

16

Far Brook Moments

by Far Brook Parents and Friends

20

Lukas, Third Grade

24