REPORTS
VOLUME XXX SUMMER 2017
FOR FAR BROOK ALUMNI & FAMILIES NEAR & FAR
PREPARING JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS FOR A CHANGING WORLD Insight Through the Lens of History
THE JOY OF LEARNING Amy Ziebarth’s View of the Far Brook Education
SPECIAL BULLETIN INSERT
REPORTS
VOLUME XXX SUMMER 2017
18 Graduates / 22 Events / 25 Development / 28 Alumni News / 34 Faculty News / 38 We Remember
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CONTENTS
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BULLETIN and REPORTS together for the first time!
PREPARING JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS FOR A CHANGING WORLD Insight Through the Lens of History
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THE JOY OF LEARNING
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STEPPING INTO THE CLASSROOMS
SPECIAL INSERT
A Speech Given by Head of School Amy Ziebarth
Diversity and Inclusion in the Lower School
BULLETIN Stories of Campus Life by Parents
What do you think? Expect a follow up survey. Editors Jennifer Barba Helen Kaplus Editorial Assistants Joan Burr Yolisse Carattini Peggy Fawcett Kathy Ike
Principal Photographers Peter Chollick Emi Ithen Helen Kaplus
A MESSAGE TO FAR BROOK ALUMNI AND FAMILIES AS FAR BROOK BEGINS TO PLAN FOR ITS 70TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2018, I have taken time to reflect on the School’s rich history and unique mission. I am profoundly grateful for the vision, insight, and determination of our founding families, former Heads of School, and the faculty. Working together, they have committed incredible amounts of time, talent, and resources and set Far Brook on a clear path to educating children using great literary and artistic works, nurturing each child’s curiosity and creativity, all while maintaining an emphasis on community and nature. I am proud and honored to be a part of this remarkable community and am energized by the growth I see today in our students, our faculty, and our beautiful 9-acre campus. This is the 30th edition of REPORTS, which has evolved from a modest alumni magazine to a more inclusive look at what is so unique about a Far Brook education. Please enjoy Ed Solecki’s in-depth piece on the Junior High experience, dive into the faculty and alumni news, and enjoy glimpses of our core values and year-end highlights. We are proud of our newest alumni, our 2017 graduates, and send them off well-prepared for high school. The impressive list of secondary schools they will attend is featured as well as the colleges that our Class of 2013 will join as freshman this fall. For the first time, a pull-out copy of Far Brook’s Bulletin is included within the pages of this magazine. Enjoy the memories and moments shared by Far Brook parents. Their perspective is unique, heart-felt, and full of joy. Please keep in touch with Far Brook – share your news and visit often. We love to stay connected with our growing school community. Warmly,
AMY ZIEBARTH Head of School First Grade Artwork—“Far Brook Campus Long Ago”
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Junior High Teacher Ed Solecki
Preparing Junior High Students For A Changing World
Insight Through the Lens of History By Ed Solecki, Junior High history and English teacher
It was William Faulkner who once wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” I couldn’t agree more. For me history has always been a source of endless fascination, and the sheer pleasure of the pursuit is one of the things that I hope to pass on to my students. I’ve also tried to instill in Seventh and Eighth Grade students over the past 35 years that the study of history provides us not just with an understanding of the past but insight into the world we inhabit today. In part because our world is in a constant state of change and flux, history always has new lessons to teach us how to think about and live in the world. As a history teacher, I need to be constantly rethinking my goals and methods, and how to go about accomplishing them, asking myself such questions as, “What matters most?” “What do I want students to leave Far Brook with?” “How do I make it all stick?” Some things have been tried and true over the years – there are always constants in teaching – while others require rethinking and responding to the demands of a changing world and the needs of today’s students. One of the guiding principles of Far Brook’s philosophy is that we strive for “depth over breadth.” This attempt to spend more time on less material, to develop a deeper grasp of a subject, can be observed in a number of areas of our curricula, but it appears prominently in history and social studies. Having a sense of the overall arc of history is essential, and it’s useful to get that larger view, but it’s important as well to narrow one’s focus at times and immerse oneself in a more limited period or issue. That’s why at Far Brook we spend a year in each grade, from
Third Grade and up, on a specific culture or historical era – Native Americans in Third Grade, Ancient Egypt in Fourth, Ancient Greece in Fifth, Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages in Sixth, Ancient China in Seventh, and American history in Eighth. Far Brook students move on to high school feeling comfortable working in collaborative environments, engaging in conversation with their peers, sharing their ideas and perspectives, and advocating for their positions. Students aren’t empty vessels waiting to be filled; rather, they construct their own knowledge in social settings, collaboratively, as they work with their classmates. They are active learners, not passive recipients. This practice takes a variety of forms and is evident in science class as students work with their lab partners, in class plays, on the ball field, in Group choir rehearsals, in skits in French class, while huddled around an algebra problem in math, and working with a partner as they read one another’s literary essays in English. Teamwork teaches students that together they can accomplish something that is greater than what any single member of the group would be capable of achieving.
We strive for “depth over breadth.”
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Seventh Graders studied Ancient China and performed in Some Chinese Ghosts: The Legend of Tchi-Niu by Lafcadio Hearn.
While teachers always have their minds on questions of content and skills, we’re also continuously engaged in fostering communities in our classrooms, a task that is just as vital and without which there can be no real learning. Much of what occurs in the history classroom in the Seventh and Eighth Grades is discussion based. Seating is arranged in clusters of four or five, and because not every student is equally comfortable speaking in front of the whole class, not all of the conversation takes place at the full-class level. Often a history session will begin with the students writing in their journals in response to a question based on what they read the night before. This provides everyone with an opportunity to do some thinking. Sometimes the class will then proceed to the full-group
Students become active constructors of their own knowledge.
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level for conversation, but often they will be asked to turn and talk to the person next to them or engage in a table discussion. By this point, all students have had a chance to express their ideas and, having heard the perspectives of their tablemates, the discussion that occurs at the full-group level can be a much richer one. Approaching the material in this way puts a greater emphasis on developing their understanding and less emphasis on the teacher providing information. The students become active constructors of their own knowledge. Students develop the ability to articulate their own ideas and to listen to the thoughts of others, focusing on the ideas, not the person delivering them. We talk about the personal attacks occurring in the political sphere these days and focus on more positive and constructive responses to ideas we don’t share. I encourage them to be clear about what they disagree with and to provide credible evidence for the position they hold. The goal is for them to know how to respectfully and civilly disagree with one another. Also central in our work in history is developing an indepth knowledge and understanding of a limited period of history and then communicating what we know to an audience. This is where the research paper and drama come in. Children in each grade at Far Brook conduct research into some aspect of that year’s core curriculum, which gives them the opportunity to develop and refine a number of essential skills: locating appropriate materials, sorting and categorizing information, expressing ideas in their own words and voice, summarizing, synthesizing, developing and supporting a thesis, and making effective use of visual materials to communicate their understanding to an audience. This has evolved over the years. Now we begin the project by looking at a variety of nonfiction texts and asking how the writer, who has gained a degree of expertise in his or her subject, goes about sharing that information with the reader and making the material comprehensible. We then ask what we could do as writers, what techniques we could make use of – charts, graphs, illustrations, a glossary – to make our reader’s job an easier one. Once the paper has been produced, and before it arrives on my desk, another student reads it, making written comments to let the writer know where ideas require elaboration, where illustrations might be useful, or where greater clarity is needed. This increases
Eighth Graders presented Mark Twain’s The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg while studying 19th century American history.
We keep abreast of current events.
Students…step out of the classroom and into the role of a character… the author’s awareness of the needs of his or her audience. So it isn’t enough just to have learned something from the research; the knowledge and understanding have to be communicated to an audience that can also learn something. In addition to writing a research paper, students in each class prepare and perform a dramatic presentation that has its roots in the core curriculum, beginning in Fourth Grade. In the Junior High, Eighth Graders often perform a play that has been adapted from a classic work of American literature. The most recent ones have come from the pens of Mark Twain (The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg) and Eudora Welty (Why I Live at the P.O.). Seventh Grade
plays over the past few years have arisen from the world of Chinese folklore and myth. A central purpose of the plays is for the students to step out of the classroom and into the role of a character from their history or literature studies. Doing so immerses them not only in a role, but in a world itself, and helps bring to life a small slice of what they’ve been learning throughout the year. When choosing the plays, I consult with Director of Drama James Glossman to determine what project might be most suitable for a particular group of students and how their learning might best be enhanced. The final stage of this process involves the presentation of many weeks of ensemble work when the play is performed for the school community in Morning Meeting. I’ve discovered that students tend to demonstrate a greater interest when they find some relevance to the topic in their lives, so I try to draw a connection between what we’re studying in history and events, issues, or people in the world today. We keep abreast of current events so students are knowledgeable about what’s going on in the United States as well as abroad.
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Another way to make the story of the past relevant is to help students see the common themes that are present in just about every society and civilization throughout history which are equally valid in our world today. For example, the Ancient Chinese had to deal with the recurring floods of the Yellow River, while today we are trying to formulate a response to the threat of climate change. Also, issues of power, governance, and authority are common to every society today, whether we’re talking about North Korea or the United States. The past, once again, is not even past. Our students leave Far Brook equipped with critical thinking skills so necessary to the world today. It seems truer than ever that the success, perhaps even survival, of our democratic system is dependent on our citizens having attained the highest levels of literacy possible. Reading and writing, along with exposure to language that stretches and challenges students, have long been central to their experience. Beyond reading and writing skills, we
Students leave Far Brook equipped with critical thinking skills so necessary to the world today.
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They begin to realize that they, too, have civic responsibilities. find ourselves thinking more and more about how to get children to become more critical of what they encounter in media and to help them gain an understanding of how advertisements are often designed to exert subtle influences on their thinking. We provide Junior High students with a short course each winter in which they learn and practice skills that will help them become more critical consumers of media and technology Over the years at Far Brook, students develop a deep understanding for the variety and diversity of the ways in which people in different times and places have approached life’s challenges, adapting themselves to the available environments, creating governments, and producing works of art that capture their sense of being alive and their response to their worlds. For the
Eighth Graders, I emphasize the idea that democracy is an ongoing experiment, one that requires an educated, informed citizenry as well as one that participates in the process. By the time they finish their American history curriculum, they have an understanding of several key events – the American Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement – along with knowledge of a key document – the United States Constitution. They begin to realize that they, too, have civic responsibilities and will need to be participants in American society. The Junior High experience is often thought of as the culmination of the students’ years at the School, so I find myself thinking often about what I want my students to take with them, both as English and history students. We strive for balance between what is valuable for them to be doing and what they will need to be ready for in high school. They graduate with a body of knowledge, skills, study habits, a curiosity about the world and its history, the ability to think critically about all they confront in their lives, a facility with language – both as readers and writers, a sense of justice and fairness, the ability to self-reflect and advocate for themselves, and a sense of
History has always been a source of endless fascination. confidence and poise. We hope to initiate them into “the great conversation,” to begin to grapple with the issues and challenges that have confronted humans from the early days of humanity up to the present, to be part of an intellectual community that thinks deeply about what has occurred in the past and to which they can respond with their own ideas and perspectives. I do hope that my students will share my enthusiasm for history as a source of endless fascination. Those who have partaken of this experience are better able, as Far Brook’s Statement of Purpose has it, “to live life wisely and with great joy.”
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THE JOY OF LEARNING A Speech Given by Head of School Amy Ziebarth on Education Night 2016
Tonight I want to speak about joy. At many other back-to-school nights the focus will be on words like standards, evaluation, rigor, self-control, and results. The lens tends to focus on what students need to get into college or to find a job at the perfect company. This approach concentrates on a stereotypical definition of success and emphasizes repetition, drill, and memory. Susan Engel, a professor at Williams College, wrote an article this summer commenting on the current state of elementary education in our country. She writes, “ … The prevailing view is that if teachers focus too much on students’ pleasure they will somehow be encouraging wanton self-indulgence and dangerous hedonism.” But what we know at Far Brook is that if we want Eighth Graders who are curious students, self-motivated learners, and poised and thoughtful human beings, joy is a central ingredient to their years in elementary school. As Engel points out, “Decades of research have shown that in order to acquire skills and real knowledge in school, kids need to want to learn. You can force a child to stay in his or her seat, fill out a worksheet, or practice division. But you can’t force a person to think carefully, enjoy books, digest complex information, or develop a taste for learning. To make that happen, you have to help the child find pleasure in learning – to see school as a source of joy.” This view that learning should – and can – be joyful is central to Far Brook’s philosophy. The last line of our Statement of Purpose reads, “It is our desire to touch the lives of children so they may live life wisely and with great joy.” Many of you have probably seen our new message – “Discover an Inspired Childhood.” Our words are more than just taglines to us. They underscore what we as Far Brook educators spend much of our time thinking about –
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planning for this exact moment in time, and thinking about how to tap into a child’s enormous capacity for joy. Children attend school six to seven hours a day for 10 months, and I would argue that what happens during that time has a lasting effect on their lives. It is our job to nurture these young human beings while they are in our care and to be sure they experience joy. So what does this look like? I walked into a Kindergarten class last week where they had just listened to the book The Colors of Us, by Karen Katz. The children were sitting in front of four jars of paint – yellow, red, black, and white. They were mixing the four colors to discover their own individual skin color, which they would then use to create their self-portraits. In our Kindergarten, each child approaches the table of paint in his own way and from his own perspective. The children have time to explore, to experiment, to discover. They are constantly adding, revising, and refining. Nothing is ever really linear. And connections are made again and again. How wonderful to hear two of those same Kindergartners a week later noticing their hands on the railing and saying, “Oh look, my skin is just a little darker than yours.” What better way to harness curiosity than to pursue the understanding of oneself and then others?
It is our job to nurture these young human beings while they are in our care and to be sure they experience joy.
Joy is also a gasp from a Second Grader when she finally puts all of her experiences together in a moment of creative expression. (In the education world we call this synthesis. For a child, it is discovery, connection, learning.) Second Graders went on a hike at the Great Swamp to kick off the year-long focus on Child and Universe; the hike was an opportunity to think about how they use their senses to take in information about the world around them. They were hikers, naturalists, and poets. When they returned to school that afternoon, they brainstormed images and words that stayed with them. The next day, they read the poem “Burrows” by Marilyn Singer which has a beautiful image about hiking and leaving “footprints on the roof.” The poem contains the line, “when I tread softly...” which they used as their opening inspiration [for their own verses]: When I tread softly/I can feel the sun shining on me/As if I had a blanket covering me. When I tread softly/I notice the blue sky with branches reaching in/And I think to myself/What a beautiful sight! When I tread softly/I hear the weeds whistle/I smell the tall grass blowing in the wind/I notice small little grasshoppers. When I tread softly/I notice all the flowers; all the butterflies/All of the little twigs.
This ability to experience joy in a meaningful activity does not end when a child turns 11. Our older students also experience the joy of learning. They still learn through play – play that is about engagement. They learn that hard work, endurance, and stamina bring joy. Imagine the satisfaction of mastering the art of working collaboratively, the deep pleasure in realizing you can perform on stage, the euphoria of a shared choral performance, and the exhilaration in uncovering a brand new discovery about the Newbery book that you’ve written about several times. The question I ask of myself and my colleagues is: what makes Far Brook unique in our ability to incorporate joy into the lives of our children? We have wonderful schools in the area. What is different about us? We are different. I believe it is a synergy of many things that includes our physical space, our small community, our faculty, and our intimate knowledge of childhood. A new book came out this year called Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, who are both Silicon Valley innovators and Stanford University design educators. Their premise is that true joy and happiness come from designing a life that works for you. The idea is that at any age if you apply design principles – the same process used to design a coffee table, a car, anything that has never existed before – you can create a meaningful and wonderful life for yourself.
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By the end of your Journey, you are leading and modeling for the youngest. Their five principles could easily be a description of the mindsets we cultivate at Far Brook, only tailored for our three to 14-year-old crowd and for me speaks directly to the annual Junior High trip to Pok-O-MacCready [Camp]. 4 Be curious and make everything play. I would guess that we are one of the few schools where you would find teenagers square dancing with each other in the middle of the Adirondacks. 4 Try stuff and have a bias to action. Like our students, “designers try things. They test things out. They create prototype after prototype, failing often, until they find out what works and what solves the problem.” The ropes course on the first day of Pok-O comes to mind. 4 Reframe the problems so we can get unstuck. I am seeing three Seventh Graders in a canoe – first time ever – beached. 4 Know it’s a process – let go of your first idea and of good-but-not-great solutions and know that some incredible ideas have emerged from a mess – think of the Slinky, Teflon, Super Glue and Play-Doh. A designer is immersed in the journey and the process. 4 Ask for help—what these authors call Radical Collaboration. I love that expression because I had a radical collaboration on every hike I took. And imagine our joy in seeing a sunrise on that early morning surrounded by such great beauty and realizing what we had all accomplished. We are fortunate here on campus to have the physical space to encourage time to think, explore, and interact – with nature and with other people. As we planned for our new buildings, great care was taken to provide indoor and outdoor spaces that inspire joyful learning for young people and teachers alike. Our campus allows – actually
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requires – being outside as the children go from classroom to a “special,” to the gym, to the field, to the wetlands, to Morning Meeting. Students know what the weather is, what season it is. They have a moment to notice a bud as it unfurls or a bird as it lands on the branch of a bush. The campus lifts our spirits and inspires us even on a rainy or snowy day. In many schools, the so-called “specials” are being cut right and left. But at Far Brook art, music, drama, and sports are woven into the fabric of every day. If you spend any time in the woodshop, you will, in fact, witness joy. Very simply, at Far Brook we make stuff. The sanding, the drilling, the measuring, the mistakes, the broken pieces of wood on the floor. There is no greater joy than seeing how mastering these individual, sometimes tedious tasks, can result in a final finished product, born out of a child’s imagination and created with her own hands. Imagine a 3-year-old with a block of wood. The possibilities are absolutely limitless. At any performance here at Far Brook, a play or a concert, we are all present and we are all participating. Once that moment is gone, it will never live again. The Arts are dormant until we hear the human voice, the human word, the transformed piece of wood, the painted canvas. At that moment, there is joy – delight, rejoicing, jubilation. Some parents may think joy is a luxury that might get in the way of the next milestone – getting into THAT high school that will get you into THAT college. But if we don’t have time for joy, for exploration, it is difficult to develop a mindset that allows one to try and fail and try again – essential building blocks to becoming a joyful, lifelong learner. Parents who think about leaving Far Brook before the final, pivotal Eighth Grade year may worry that this seemingly meandering journey of self-discovery, of growth, of finding joy will somehow put their child at a disadvantage. I ask them only to look at our graduates – poised, curious, accomplished – students who are sought after by top independent day and boarding schools, and students who are self-motivated and advocates for
themselves, and able to excel at the largest and most demanding public schools in our area. High schools recognize a quality of inquisitiveness and self-awareness in our Far Brook graduates. That comes, in part I believe, because they have fully experienced, and possibly have even become hooked on, the joy of learning. We love to have fun here at Far Brook, believe me, but joy is something different, a deeper, more profound experience that often comes from a sense of genuine accomplishment. Current brain and neurology research reveals what we at Far Brook have intuitively known. Judy Willis who is both a neurologist and a middle school teacher, writes, “Superior learning takes place when classroom experiences are relevant to students’ lives. … joy and enthusiasm are absolutely essential for learning to happen …scientifically, as a matter of fact and research. The truth is that when we scrub joy and comfort from the classroom, we distance our students from effective information processing and long-term memory storage. Instead of taking pleasure from learning, students become bored, anxious, and anything but engaged. They ultimately learn to feel bad about school and lose the joy they once felt.” Increasingly, with each passing year, we find the world (slowly) coming around to Far Brook’s mission …to so engage young people that they may “live life wisely and with great joy.” Mary Oliver, a favorite poet here at Far Brook, has just published a selection of essays in a book called Upstream.
For her, joy is a contemplation of the beauty and the mystery of the natural world and the world of literature, something that resonates with us here on campus. Let me end with a short passage … Teach the children. We don’t matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin flowers. And the frisky ones – inkberry, lamb’s-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones – rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion. May you all find great joy here at Far Brook, as well.
The campus lifts our spirits and inspires us even on a rainy or snowy day.
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STEPPING INTO THE CLASSROOMS Fostering an Appreciation for Diversity and Inclusion in Lower School By Paula Levin, Director of Lower School and Mikki Murphy, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Community
How do we teach young children to build strong communities? How do we encourage them to make a difference? Or help a young child to
step into someone else’s shoes and begin to understand their experience? It starts with understanding ourselves, recognizing our sameness and difference, and celebrating both. This year all of our Lower School classes shared the read-aloud, Same, Same, But Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, to develop a framework and a language for discussing diversity. Conversations about sameness and difference give students the tools to build closer and more effective communities in their classroom, their school, and in the world. In Morning Meeting and in the classrooms we read
the poetry of Maya Angelou and others which echo these important values. “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike,” the refrain of Angelou’s poem, The Human Family, beautifully expresses what students have learned and experienced through their activities and discussions. Taking time to explore identity and diversity, and developing a global perspective is essential to raising young people who are caring and empathetic. Our diverse community compels us and affords us the opportunity to learn about, and from, each other. The Far Brook Statement on Diversity reminds each of us that we have something valuable to contribute, and that our unique perspectives and experiences enrich our learning environment. Creating experiences for our youngest students to care about one another and to embrace difference is in keeping with the aspiration expressed in our Statement on Diversity: “Together we foster a sense of belonging and we model and nurture kindness, caring, and respect for one another.”
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Nursery 4s learn about the diverse families in their class and in our community. Throughout the year, Kindergarteners read about “changemakers,” people who make a difference, like Frida Kahlo, Ruby Bridges, and Mahatma Gandhi, and in Sports (K-4) they learn about athletes who are changemakers like Muhammad Ali, Heather O’Reilly, and Roger Federer. Through these explorations, they were inspired to make changes in the world themselves. Through their study of Community, F irst Graders explored the country of Ghana. They learned about Far Brook’s shared values and those that we share with the local and global communities, and how societies care for and support one another. While studying the properties of water, Second Graders reached across the globe to partner with a school in Palestine through a program called “Level Up.” They learned about the ways in which water needs to be protected and preserved in both places and how we can play a part. They also created a partnership with a school in Calcutta based on their reading of Same, Same, But Different. Through their study of early Native American groups, T hird Graders learn that many are living today with limited resources. To express their empathy and support, they held a pencil sale and donated the proceeds to a pueblo in South Dakota.
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Collaborative projects within and across grades and service learning experiences teach the children cooperation, empathy, and connection to others beyond themselves. Three particular projects undertaken by all Lower School classes highlight our work together to foster greater understanding and action.
Mitten Project in January Developing empathy and response are important values at Far Brook School. Nursery through Third Graders sent out love and warmth by pairing up to assemble cheerful packages of cocoa mix, drawings captioned with good wishes, and 148 pairs of socks and mittens for children who need them. Care packages from this annual Lower School community service project were delivered to the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex County (IHN), which provides interim shelter for families in housing transition. Isaiah House Milk Money Fundraiser in March and April Early in the year, Isaiah House lost some federal funding and needed financial support. Far Brook has partnered with this East Orange-based shelter for many years through food donations from the Thanksgiving Processional. When Lower School became aware of the need, we decided to raise “milk money.” Lower School children decorated small milk cartons and brought them home to collect coins to help offset the cost of providing milk for Isaiah House’s families. When the cartons were returned to school, children of different ages worked together to sort and count the generous donations. A total of $2,275 was collected, providing close to 22 weeks of milk. When Executive Director Zammeah Bivins-Gibson came to collect the check, students asked thoughtful questions about the important work of Isaiah House and were proud to have been able to help in their small way.
Self-Portraits in April The Self-Portrait Project was inspired during the November 2016 “Widening the Lens” diversity conference on race. Eighth Grader Sydney Stovall shared that the self-portrait project she experienced in Kindergarten, in which she and her classmates mixed four paint colors together to get their “just right” shade of brown, was one of the most impactful moments for her in Lower School. Research has shown that children recognize difference in skin color before the age of three. Giving students an opportunity to learn about and to discuss this difference at an early age helps to normalize the spectrum of skin tones found in every classroom and in the wider world. Teachers decided to revisit this project with the entire Lower School. Led by Kindergarten teacher and Nursery/Kindergarten Curriculum Coordinator, Donna Deltz, they created a two-day experience introducing the subject by reading books including, All the Colors We Are, by Kate Kissinger, and The Colors of Us, by Karen Katz. Younger children met with older students to create their portraits. Through books, conversations, and mixing colors side by side, they learned about the science of skin color, adding words like melanin and ancestry to their vocabularies, and they excitedly celebrated their many beautiful shades of brown! Supporting our neighbors and having authentic conversations about sameness and difference are a natural part of the Lower School experience, which equips students to thrive in and to impact the beautifully diverse world we inhabit.
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Class of 2017 Far Brook’s newest alumni are moving on to high school, well-prepared for the challenges ahead. Graduates delivered speeches reflecting on their experiences during their years here, then put their talents to work in a passionate performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the traditional gift to the School. They share their favorite memories here.
5 OUR NEWEST ALUMNI, THE 24 MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2017, IN COSTUME FOR THEIR GRADUATION PERFORMANCE OF THE TEMPEST
FRONT ROW: Will Srere, Ana Ziebarth, Mateo Zoubek, Nyatché Martha, Emerson Lubke, Sydney Stovall, Noah Wolk, Becky Pasternak
MIDDLE ROW: Reese Swittenberg, Elijah Goldberg, Danny D’Angelo, Molly Lindstrom, Riley Gonyea, Amy Sze, Carl Steffens, Sydney Strollo
BACK ROW: Alex Hopman, Ethan Mannello, Alexi Horne, Henry Miller, Ryder Stine, Sylvie Bastardo, Lily Lindstrom, Margot Miller
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Miranda and Ferdinand in The Tempest
SYLVIE BASTARDO played Adrian in The Tempest,
and says she will miss Far Brook’s special experiences, particularly watching Shakespeare plays each year, and singing in December’s Harmonia concert and the Thanksgiving Processional. Her favorite memory is that of playing one of the lambs in the Masque while in Second Grade. Sylvie will be attending Morristown-Beard School in September.
DANNY D’ANGELO will miss the Traditions – Morning
Meeting, the Processional, Stabat Mater, as well as Harmonia, Instrumental Music Night, and the Spring Choral Concert. He singles out his memory of Processional when he was in First Grade and his brother, Joey ’14, who was singing, fainted on stage! Danny was one of those playing Ariel in The Tempest and will be found studying at Montclair Kimberley Academy in the fall.
ELIJAH GOLDBERG was a member of the Ariel ensemble
in the play. He will miss the Traditions that he has taken part in for nine years and all the people he has met, including the newcomers. He writes about being in Nursery and walking in the Processional with his big cousin, Ben Katz ’08, who was in Eighth Grade! Elijah’s next educational steps will be taken at The Pingry School.
RILEY GONYEA
, a member of the team playing the spirit Ariel in The Tempest, always felt comfortable asking her teachers for help if she needed it and is grateful for that relationship. The fun Junior High trips to Pok-O-MacCready Camp hold some favorite memories of her years here. Her next school is Kent Place.
ALEX HOPMAN , who played Prospero, will miss singing in
Morning Meeting, the Processional, Stabat Mater, and concerts. He has enjoyed seeing the Nursery children and talking to them in his leadership role. He fondly remembers one Halloween when he was little and an Eighth Grader shared a piece of candy with him. He was thrilled to be befriended by an older student. Alex will be heading to Morristown-Beard School.
ALEXI HORNE
shared the role of Prospero with Alex and three others. The philosophical Alexi says he doesn’t yet know what he will miss about Far Brook other than his friends and the community. He mentions First Grade when they had green bagels on St. Patrick’s Day and High Tea in the Third Grade as two of many favorite memories. Alexi will be attending George School in Newtown, PA, in September.
LILY LINDSTROM
says it will be hard to say good-bye to friends and teachers and will take the memories made with them along with her to Morristown-Beard School and have them for the rest of her life. She remembers the Third Grade sleepover – bonding over dinner and a movie. Lily played Alonso, the King of Naples, in the play.
MOLLY LINDSTROM
was one of eight actors to play Ariel in The Tempest. She will miss walking from class to class on the campus with her friends. Molly writes of High Tea in Third Grade, when classmates ate foods served at a traditional English High Tea and shared special talents, such as singing or playing an instrument. Molly continues her education at Newark Academy.
EMERSON LUBKE likes the “welcoming attitude and
friendly atmosphere” at Far Brook. His favorite memory is his first Stabat Mater. He had looked forward to singing in it for years and then got to sing with his older brother, Jackson ’14. Emerson played the part of Stephano in The Tempest and will go to The Pingry School in September.
ETHAN MANNELLO
was this year’s Sebastian in the graduation play. Among his favorite memories are rehearsing and then performing class plays each year with his friends. Ethan will miss his friends and the special connections made with his teachers. Ethan will attend The Pingry School in September.
CLASS OF 2017 / 19
NYATCHÉ MARTHA
joined the class in Sixth Grade and will miss Processional, Harmonia, and the bonding experiences of Pok-O-MacCready Camp. She remembers laughing with friends at La Citadelle, the highest point in Québec City, in the wind and snow during the Junior High trip there. Nyatché also shared the role of Prospero in the play and will be at Kent Place School next.
HENRY MILLER ’s best memory is his first day at Far Brook
in the Fifth Grade. He “was welcomed in a way that was better than perfect.” He made 24 friends! Henry “cannot stress enough how supportive the teachers have been and how they want everyone to succeed!” He was part of the Prospero ensemble in the play and will be joining the Morristown-Beard freshman class.
MARGOT MILLER says she “never went through a day
without someone putting a smile on [her] face.” She still remembers when she was in Nursery and was assigned her Eighth Grade partner for her first Processional. Margot was so scared until her partner reached down and took her hand. Gonzalo was the role she portrayed in the play, and she is headed for Kent Place School.
REBECCA PASTERNAK portrayed the Boatswain and was part of the Prospero ensemble in The Tempest. Becky enjoyed the opportunities to try new sports and other things she might not have had elsewhere. She remembers running toward the goal and the feeling of accomplishment as her field hockey team worked together for a successful season. Becky is bound for Millburn High School.
WILL SRERE joined the class in Sixth Grade and felt the
“wonderful welcome” of the community. His fond memories are the sense of achievement and the “feeling of happiness in the air” during receptions after school concerts. Will played Ferdinand, Miranda’s love, in the graduation play and will attend Morristown-Beard School in September.
CARL STEFFENS
was also a member of the Ariel ensemble. Carl will miss his close friends, the small environment, and Far Brook’s Traditions, especially the Processional, as well as the Medieval Feast. He especially mentions memories made with Eighth Graders while in Nursery. Carl chose Newark Academy as his next step.
RYDER STINE , this year’s Francisco, says his classmates are like his siblings and his teachers made the School “experience so smooth.” His favored memory is from Field Day 2016 when Seventh Graders ran the sports stations for the younger students. “Everyone was having so much fun, you could hear the laughter from the other side of campus!” Ryder will join several of his classmates at Morristown-Beard School this fall.
SYDNEY STOVALL
had the role of Trinculo, and will miss the “unique Traditions” that “make the School stand out.” One favorite memory is of Morning Meeting on the last day of school when the entire school gathers in Moore Hall to reminisce and say good-bye to the Eighth Graders. This year it was her class saying good-bye! Sydney will be saying hello to The Pingry School in September.
SYDNEY STROLLO was one of the eight-member Ariel
team. She says that friends and teachers have been kind and made her Far Brook experience all she “wished for.” Sydney was a very shy, quiet child and merits the Kindergarten teachers for helping her to overcome her fears and become the person she is today. Sydney will be heading to Morristown-Beard School next.
REESE SWITTENBERG
, another who played the role of Ariel, likes the way the School is “integrated with nature.” Students walk outside to get to classes. His favorite memory was formed this past year at a basketball game against Newark Academy. The team was losing by 15 points and rallied in the fourth quarter. They played the best they ever did! Next year he may be on the team at his high school, The Pingry School.
Prospero and The Ariel Ensemble
20 / CLASS OF 20167
AIMEE SZE was also in the Ariel ensemble. Most of her
Shakespeare’s Sebastian and Antonio
fondest memories are from after-school hours when homework club was finished and the fun began! Talking and laughing with friends from all grades down to the smallest Nursery children is what Aimee will miss. The fall term will find her at Newark Academy.
NOAH WOLK
, Antonio in The Tempest, will miss his teachers the most, from Bill Deltz in Nursery to Ed Solecki in Eighth Grade! Noah’s best memory is the time he was introduced to his advisor, Rob Olazagasti. The weekly advisory group “is the best way to become close to people in the Junior High and to the teachers,” he says. Montclair Kimberley Academy will be Noah’s next school.
ANA ZIEBARTH
portrayed Miranda in the play. Her favorite memory is standing at the top of Cascade Mountain, during the Pok-O trip, and feeling happy to have climbed to the peak with her classmates. “The long and challenging hike…brought out the grit” in them. She will miss her friends when she is attending the Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York City in the fall.
MATEO ZOUBEK played the tortured Caliban. Mateo will
miss sitting in silence during Morning Meeting, listening to poetry, a story, or watching a play. “A great way to start the day.” When he was in Second Grade and studying the solar system, he stitched a picture of Jupiter that still hangs in his room. He remembers loving that project! Newark Academy will be his next step in life.
COLLEGES THE CLASS OF 2013 WILL BE ATTENDING
HIGH SCHOOLS THE CLASS OF 2017 WILL BE ATTENDING
Claremont McKenna College
Middlebury College
De Anza College
Morehouse College
Kent Place School
Northwestern University
Little Red School House/Elisabeth Irwin High School (LREI)
Dickinson College Drexel University Franklin & Marshall College Georgetown University Hampton University Indiana University Bloomington McGill University
Pennsylvania State University
George School
Millburn High School
Rutgers University
Montclair Kimberley Academy
The College of New Jersey
Morristown-Beard School
University College London
Newark Academy
University of Michigan
The Pingry School
Vassar College Washington University in St. Louis
CONGRATULATIONS ALUMNI! CLASS OF 2017 / 21
ALUMNI REUNION March 9, 2017
Held at the beautiful historic home of Jennifer Pomerantz ’93 in NYC BELOW: 1993 Alumni Liz Burke, Hostess Jennifer Pomerantz, Becca Wildman Repetti, and David Horowitz
LEFF PROJECT WORLD FOLK DANCING March 27-28, 2017
Students enjoyed two days of traditional dancing and music from around the world with Peter, Paul, and George, the talented musicians from Homespun Occasions. We were happy to welcome to campus this trio, who has led our faculty and students in learning folk dances at Pok-O-MacCready during the Junior High wilderness trips for years. The minstrels returned in the evening for a delightful community folk dance that had students, families, and faculty on their feet and dancing. These events were made possible by the Fredda S. Leff Special Projects Endowment.
22 / EVENTS
“WIDENING THE LENS” 2017 November 11, 2017 Far Brook will host our second Diversity Conference,
“Widening the Lens,” for New Jersey independent schools. Modeled after the successful annual conference at the Dalton School in New York City, our full-day event is designed to build community and include a wide range of perspectives. Last year’s inaugural conference was an incredible success. Twelve schools joined Far Brook for, as one participant said, “a wonderful balance of empowerment and inspiration with tangible opportunities to channel that inspiration into actionable ideas that can make our schools and communities more inclusive spaces.” The dynamic and interactive program is structured to educate and inspire school leadership - administrators, alumni, diversity coordinators, faculty, parents, students, and trustees - to broaden our perspectives and deepen our understanding of the diversity that exists within the communities of New Jersey independent schools. This year’s topic is “LGBTQ+: Illuminating the Spectrum and Cultivating Pride.” We are pleased that ConnectOne Bank will partner with Far Brook on this event.
W l d e n i n g the Lens 2017 The Far Brook School Diversity Conference
In partnership with
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Far Brook School 52 Great Hills Road Short Hills, NJ 07078 www.farbrook.org
EVENTS / 23
GRAND FRIENDS MORNING April 28, 2017
Grandparents and special friends visited Far Brook.
24 / EVENTS
SPRING SOIRÉE May 13, 2017
Far Brook’s Spring Soirée, the Parent Social & Auction, was a lively event and a wonderful fundraiser for the School. Our generous community provided a wide range of creative donations for the Live and Silent Auctions and for Far Brook Cellars Wine Pull. This festive evening offered the opportunity for parents to socialize with friends and make new ones. It also provided, through the generous support of our community, funding for an Everlast Climbing Wall for the gym as well as robotic and electronic technology enhancements for Nursery through Eighth Grade students, all of which will be realized this year. Thank you, Far Brook families and supporters! 1 2 3 4
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Moore Hall was transformed Bari Waxman and Allen Lindstrom Grace Miller and Amy Ziebarth Talented Spring Soireé event planners Lauren Stadtmauer and Valerie Grant 5 – Elyse Post’78, Alain Noel, Stephanie Fils-Noel 6 – Charity Ferreira, Sue Albert, Scott Morgan
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DEVELOPMENT / 25
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE WITH SIMPLE GIFTS Far Brook’s Simple Gifts Society for Planned Giving is a group of alumni, alumni parents, current parents, grandparents, and friends who have made charitable giving plans for the School through a will or trust. These planned future gifts are a versatile and flexible way to support Far Brook School, and ensure that the best of Far Brook endures for generations to come. Planned gifts are much easier to make than you may think, and they can have a significant impact on Far Brook’s future. The easiest way to make a planned gift is by adding simple language to your will, specifying a gift amount or percentage from your estate. Carefully planned gifts can offer significant estate tax and income benefits, while at the same time allowing donors to make larger gifts to Far Brook than might otherwise be possible. Brad Wiley ’54, Far Brook Trustee and Simple Gifts Society member, remarked, “What better opportunity to celebrate the legacy of a Far Brook education than with a gift to help endow its promising future.” As a member, you will contribute to the uncommon quality for which Far Brook is known and help to ensure our ability to meet the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Please contact Suzanne Glatt at sglatt@farbrook.org for more information.
26 / DEVELOPMENT
YOUR GIFTS AT WORK: Outstanding Faculty and Administrators Robotics Community Service Junior High Trips to Pok-OMacCready and Quebec City Class Trips to: n Metropolitan Museum n Great Swamp Environmental Center n Carnegie Hall n Brooklyn Museum n Buehler Challenger & Science Center n The Cloisters n Raptor Trust n Sandy Hook n Central Park Zoo Sustainable Farming STEAM Immersion Week
2016-2017 Student/Teacher Ratio 6:1 100% Board of Trustees participation 100% Faculty & Administration participation
84% Current Parent participation
$435,518 raised!
Professional Development for Faculty and Staff
WHAT COVERS THE COST OF EDUCATING EACH CHILD AT FAR BROOK?
Athletics
n Tuition and fees: 94%
Diversity Initiatives
n Far Brook Fund: 6% (on average)
Technology
THANK YOU! Make a gift today to the 2017-2018 Far Brook Fund at farbrook.org/giving
DEVELOPMENT / 27
ALUMNI NEWS SHARE YOUR ALUMNI NEWS! Graduation, wedding, birth, promotion, anniversary, award, or retirement? Submit news of your major life events via email at alumni@farbrook.org.
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in Charleston, SC, Dan and his parents ran into former Far Brook trustee and French teacher Ellen Lucas (1986-99).
David ’90 and Dominique Wolfe and Family
Jonathan Wolfe ’90 with Renee and Their Children (prior to the birth of Mikah)
1990
JONATHAN WOLFE
DAVID WOLFE Attended: Newark Academy ’94; Cornell University ’98; New York University School of Law ’02 Dominique and David were thrilled to welcome their fourth child, Hope Anne, in late February. Diana is 11, Julia 9, and Jack is 4. David and his brother, Jon, practice law together at Skoloff & Wolfe, PC, in Livingston where they manage the firm founded by their father and godfather. The clan lives in Bernardsville.
Attended: Newark Academy ’94; Cornell University ’98; New York University School of Law ’01 Jon and his wife, Renee, could not be more excited about their daughter, Ayla, attending Far Brook’s Nursery this September. Jon and his siblings, David ’90 and Nancy ’86, have fond memories of their time at the School and the impact that it had on their lives. He says, “Returning to the School and seeing so many old friends and teachers was just incredible.” Their son, Kai, is two and Mikah Thomas was born on April 10. Jon and his brother, David, practice law together at Skoloff & Wolfe, PC.
1992
DANIEL PINCUS
Dan Pincus ’92 with Former French Teacher Ellen Lucas
28 / ALUMNI NEWS
Attended: The Pingry School ’96; University of Pennsylvania ’01 In 2015, Dan helped a Muslim Yemeni OXFAM worker escape the Yemeni war zone after being targeted for his MuslimJewish initiatives. Dan supported this young man throughout 2016, helped him find a job in Washington, DC, and get settled. While at a Renaissance weekend
Leila Kaplus Marcovici ’93 with Bryan and Their Children
LEILA KAPLUS MARCOVICI Brian Chernoff ’93 and Mira
1993
BRIAN CHERNOFF Attended: Phillips Academy Andover ’97; Harvard University ’01; Harvard Law School ’10 Congratulations to Brian and his wife, Stephanie, on the birth of Mira Katherine on November 12, 2016! Grandma, former math teacher Sally Adams Chernoff ’57 and her husband, Mark, are “frequent and helpful visitors.” Brian continues working on financial regulatory policy for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC.
Attended: The Pingry School ’97; Georgetown University ’01; Boston University School of Law ’07 Leila, her husband, Bryan, and their two children, Vivienne 5, and Isaac 2, moved to Short Hills in the fall of 2015 and she is now a senior associate at Hoffmann & Baron LLP in Parsippany. She focuses her legal practice on patent prosecution (both in the US and around the world), due diligence, and counseling.
Alumni, please consider including Far Brook School in your LinkedIn Profile.
Orianne Dutka ’94 in Beijing
1994
ORIANNE DUTKA Attended: The Pingry School ’98; Yale University ’02; Chinese University of Hong Kong ’03; Columbia University School of Law ’07 Orianne began her career practicing law in Washington, DC, and Beijing, China, but she realized that her true passion was writing, and living on the other side of the world gave her the courage to change professions. Having dreamed of the West Coast since she sang “California, Here I Come” in Morning Meeting with Director of Music Emeritus Edwin Finckel, Orianne relocated to San Francisco and is currently working on three writing projects there. Her historical novel follows
three generations of a family in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Her Chinese screenplay is about a police detective who cracks a human trafficking ring, and her nonfiction book is about the lessons she has learned through her career change and traveling around the world. Outside of work, Orianne continues to enjoy the violin and piano, and has many fond memories of performing at Far Brook. She has played with orchestras in New York City, Washington, DC, and Beijing. She has also developed a love for distance running and has participated in races in China, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Ireland, and Iceland. Orianne is engaged to Dr. Blake Rawdin, a college classmate with whom she reconnected in San Francisco. Congratulations to them!
SARAH KEIL CHERNOFF Attended: The Pingry School ’99; Brown University ’03; Northwestern University ’05 Sarah is a speech-language pathologist, working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at one of the Cleveland Clinic hospitals. She specializes in feeding therapy. Congratulations to Sarah and Mike (see above) on the birth of Arielle Rose on May 5. Jarett Kaplus ’95 His Wife, Lauren, and Children
JARETT KAPLUS
1995
MICHAEL CHERNOFF Attended: The Pingry School ’99; Princeton University ’03 Mike has been the general manager of the Cleveland Indians since the fall of 2015. During the 2016 season, Mike helmed the first Cleveland team to make the World Series in 19 years. Congratulations to Mike on his achievement! Owen is now 6 and Brody is 4. Sarah ’95 and Mike welcomed a new family member on May 5 – Arielle Rose!
Sarah Dee ’95, Eric Miller, Heidi, and Alina
Attended: The Pingry School ’99; Georgetown University ’03; New York University ’06 Jarett, Lauren, and family moved to Seattle in June of 2016 and announced the birth of Emmeline Ann last July. The triplet boys are now 3 ½. Jarett continues as a principal at Admiral Capital Group, overseeing real estate investments in the western half of the country.
SARAH DEE Attended: The Pingry School ’99; Emory University ’03 Sarah and her husband, Eric Miller, announce the birth of twin girls, Heidi Glen and Alina Blossom, on April 6. Double congratulations!! Sarah continues as the executive vice president of CeDe Candy, AKA the Smarties Candy Company, in Union, NJ. The family calls South Orange home.
Mike Chernoff ’95, Former Junior High Teacher Sally Chernoff ’57, Brody, Mark Chernoff with Arielle, Owen, Gordan Keil, and Sarah Keil Chernoff ’95
ALUMNI NEWS / 29
ALUMNI NEWS CONTINUED
The Carniol Family at Alan and Andrea’s Wedding in September 2016 – (l to rt) Paul and Renie; Alan ’97 and Andrea; Michael ’94; and Aliza and Eric ’00
Cadence, which develops new products and materials to help gain insight into careers and learn what steps to take to pursue them. Alan and Andrea live in Old Alexandria, VA.
Max Moore ’95 with His Wife, Kellie, on the Great Wall
MAX MOORE Attended: The Pingry School ’99; Northwestern University ’03 Max has been living in Chicago with his wife, Kellie, for 10 years and has been running his own small business, MCM Consulting LLC, since 2005. He designs and develops custom software for his clients. The “best part” is that it allows him to work from home and affords him and Kellie plenty of flexibility to travel – to Beijing last fall!
Tomoko Ogura ’96
30 / ALUMNI NEWS
Aris Dutka ’96 at the Taj Mahal
Jonas Oransky ’96
1996
JONAS ORANSKY
ARIS DUTKA Attended: The Pingry School ’00; Haverford College ’04; University of Wisconsin Law School ’10 Aris Dutka, an attorney living in Hoboken, focuses his practice on construction defect litigation. An enthusiastic traveler, Aris has recently visited Spain and India.
TOMOKO OGURA Attended: International School of the Sacred Heart High School (Tokyo); Dartmouth College ’04 After 12 years at Barneys New York, most recently as the fashion director, Tomoko is now the brand director at Vince, a New York-based contemporary apparel label. She leads the marketing, public relations, and creative teams. Brooklyn is Tomoko’s home base.
Attended: The Pingry School ’00; Yale University ’04; New York University School of Law ’11 Jonas is senior counsel for Everytown for Gun Safety in New York City. He has been working in gun violence prevention since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in CT. He helps to grow the counterweight to the NRA, supporting state and federal legislative efforts, and building the research to create evidencebased gun safety policy. Jonas, his wife Maisie, and two-year-old Hank live in Brooklyn.
1997
ALAN CARNIOL Attended: Newark Academy ’01; University of Pennsylvania ’05; Yale University School of Management ’10 Belated congratulations to Alan and Andrea on their marriage last year. Alan is the creator of the Interview Success Formula, which delivers online interview training. He founded the 40k Project which provides career guidance to help individuals escape poverty and improve their quality of life. He is also cofounder of Career
Jordan Moore ’97
JORDAN MOORE Attended: The Pingry School ’01; University of Southern California ’05 Jordan is the director of social media for the USC athletic department and football team. He manages a team of writers and designers that creates and publishes content for all social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, YouTube, and the RipsIt Blog. At the same time, he serves as the sideline reporter and pregame show host for USC Football on ESPN Radio, and as the sideline analyst for USC Men’s Basketball, also on ESPN Radio. Jordan hosts “Trojans Live,” a weekly radio show on ESPN Radio and Facebook Live. Jordan, his wife, Samantha, and son, Brailey 3, live in Los Angeles, CA.
1999
JULIAN DAWES
Michael Horowitz ’98, His Wife, Pamela, and Family Jessica Saraceno Carroll ’98 with Husband Brendan, and Parker
1998
JESSICA SARACENO CARROLL Attended: The Pingry School ’02; Dartmouth University’06; Seton Hall University School of Law ’10 Congratulations to Jessica and Brendan on their new addition, Parker William, born on June 26, 2016 in Cape May, NJ. Jessica says she sings “Simple Gifts” to him. She and Brendan met in law school and were married in August 2011. Jessica is an associate at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP, in Morristown; and Brendan works at Connell Foley in Roseland. The trio lives in Basking Ridge.
MICHAEL HOROWITZ Attended: Millburn High School ’02; Duke University ’06 Michael and his wife, Pamela, and three-year-old Paige, welcomed identical twin boys on December 8, 2016. Their names are Tyler and Cole. Pamela worked as a counselor at Far Brook’s Mini Camp several years ago! Mike is vice president of Brookfield Asset Management’s Private Equity group. The family resides in New York City in the Tribeca neighborhood.
Kevin and Ashley Inserra Moore ’98 with Gabriella Rose
ASHLEY INSERRA MOORE Attended: Newark Academy ’02; Lafayette College ’06; New York University ’08 Kevin and Ashley announce the birth of Gabriella Rose on December 5, 2016, and Ashley is “head over heels in love with her!” She is working part-time as an independent applied behavior analysis therapist and special education teacher in New York City. The family moved to Chatham, NJ, this past winter. Congratulations to all!
AMANDA RICHARDSON
Amanda Richardson’98 with Matt Heckman and Henry
Attended: The Pingry School ’02; Amherst College ’06; and Columbia Law School ’10 Henry William was born to Amanda and her husband, Matt Eckman, on October 30, 2016. Amanda is an attorney who works as an international land tenure specialist at Resource Equity, a nonprofit organization that she cofounded. Her firm advances women’s rights to land and resources. Congratulations to the family including proud grandma Debby Richardson, past Far Brook Kindergarten teacher.
Attended: Millburn High School ’03; Duke University ’07 Julian is a vice president and cohead of day sales for impressionist and modern art at Sotheby’s in New York City. He is an appraiser, advisor and businessdeveloper and focuses on helping clients navigate auctions and private sales. In recent years Julian has curated exhibitions on the abstract artist Rudolf Bauer as well as Cherchez la femme: Women and Surrealism, spotlighting lesser-known and undervalued artists. This fall, he is putting together a show celebrating the 100th anniversary of the De Stijl movement which he would love readers to see! Julian and his wife, Carolina, have been married since 2013 and currently live in Brooklyn.
ALEX SPRINZEN Attended: Summit High School ’03; New York University ’07 Congratulations to Alex and Lindsay who were married in Timonium, MD, on July 29. Alex is a special education teacher and Lindsay teaches music. The couple lives in the Baltimore, MD area.
Alex Sprinzen ’99 Married Lindsay
ALUMNI NEWS / 31
ALUMNI NEWS CONTINUED
2000
MICHAEL DESOUZA
ERIC CARNIOL Attended: Newark Academy ’04; Boston University ’08; Boston University School of Medicine ’12 Eric is completing his chief residency in ear, nose, and throat surgery at Rutgers University Medical School in Newark, NJ, and next year will complete a fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Toronto. He currently lives in Manhattan with his wife, Aliza, and their dog Marty.
GUY CITRON Attended: Chatham High School ’04; Dickinson College ’08 Guy is living in Seoul, Korea, with his wife, Choi Hye-jin, and they welcomed their new baby boy, Oobin, AKA Buddy, on March 15th. Chooka-hamnida! (Congratulations!) Yes, Guy does speak Korean! He cofounded Core-A Studios, a video production company, with two friends three years ago. It shoots corporate promotional videos and the occasional big-budget “commercial” advertisement projects. They’ve done work for Porsche, IKEA, LG, and the Seoul City Government. This year, Guy hopes to expand their list of services to incorporate more digital-marketing solutions. Guy has also been cast in TV pieces and acted in a small webcommercial series. When the weather is nice, he plays on an amateur league fast-pitch hardball baseball team. Of course, he learned how to play baseball at Far Brook from Greg and Nancy!
32 / ALUMNI NEWS
Shekida Smith ’01
Morgan Furst ’02 in the Sahara Desert
2001
2002
SHEKIDA SMITH Attended: Kent Place School ’05; Princeton University ’09; University of Miami ’11; University of Miami School of Law ’15 Shekida is in Washington, DC, and an associate in the Derivatives Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement practice group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. She advises a variety of financial institutions and large companies regarding transactional and regulatory matters. She enjoys living and working in DC.
Guy Citron ’00 with Baby Oobin and Wife Choi Hye-jin
MORGAN FURST CERTNER Attended: Trinity College ’10; University of California Santa Barbara ’12 Belated congratulations to Morgan who married Daniel Certner on August 1, 2015 at the Bedford Post Inn in Bedford, NY. They moved to Dublin, Ireland in March 2016 when a job opportunity came up for Dan. They traveled to 20 countries and Morgan started a travel blog, Two Blue Passports (https:// www.twobluepassports.com/), to document their adventures and to inspire others to travel more. Her favorite destinations have been Morocco and Iceland, including spending a night in the Sahara Desert, walking on a glacier, and seeing the Northern Lights. And of course, Athens brought her right back to Fifth Grade with teacher Mrs. Pickering. Morgan says, “It was an absolute dream come true to walk among the ruins and see the Parthenon come to life.” Morgan and Dan returned to the US in May.
Attended: Delbarton School ’06; Brown University ’10 Mike is a second-year student at Columbia Business School in New York City. Before pursuing his MBA, he worked for PIMCO, an investment management firm in Newport Beach, CA, for six years. He’s looking to enter the management consulting industry upon graduation in 2018, and is interning at KPMG Strategy in New York this August. He’s having a “wonderful time back on the east coast” and travelled the world with his classmates this spring and early summer, beginning in Hong Kong and Japan in March.
for the Milwaukee Brewers and writes that “Far Brook is the best educational institution [he has] ever been a part of and [he] owe[s] a ton to it.”
for developing environmental programs that advise entire municipalities, the world’s largest ports, and industrial manufacturing across the nation.
Far Brook “Family” Attendees at the Wedding of Haley Douds ’02 and Andrew Holmberg (l. to rt.) Carlye Case; Joanne and Bryn Douds; the bride, Haley Douds Holmberg ’02; Liz Demaree; Mitchell Schoenbaum; Megan Schoenbaum ’02; Erik Douds ’06; and Thayer Case ’02
HALEY DOUDS HOLMBERG Attended: Newark Academy ’06; Amherst College ’10 Best wishes to Haley and Andrew who were wed on September 10, 2016, in Charlotte, VT at the Holmberg family home on Lake Champlain. Far Brook classmates Thayer Case and Megan Shoenbaum, along with alumni parents Carlye Case, Liz Demaree, and Mitchell Shoenbaum, and Neeraj and Amita Saxena were in attendance. Haley is attending the part time MBA program at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business and is a Vice President at Capital One in its commercial real estate banking division. Haley and Andrew live in San Francisco, CA.
Erik Douds ’06 at the Finish Line in the 2016 NYC Marathon
2006
ERIK DOUDS
Keith Rush ’05 (left) Defending His Mathematics Dissertation
2005
KEITH RUSH Attended: Millburn High School ’09; University of Pennsylvania ‘13; University of Wisconsin-Madison ’17 Keith completed his dissertation and earned his PhD in mathematics last December. He had been the grad assistant rowing coach for the Wisco Badgers and rowed with them for a year. After being “intimately involved in the sport” for fiveand-a-half years, Keith made the swing into the baseball industry. Currently he is the senior manager of data science
Attended: Seton Hall Prep ’10; Colby College ’14 Erik’s personal dedication to becoming an endurance athlete, despite being diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic, convinced companies like WeWork and Snypex binoculars to sponsor him in the Copenhagen Marathon and the NYC Triathlon this past year. In February 2017, he joined his father, Bryn, in the Havana, Cuba, Triathlon with his mom, Joanne, traveling as a translator. You can follow along with his work at Diabetesabroad.com, which is creating the first travel notebook for the diabetic community. He is requesting help from any author or publisher in becoming a mentor through this process. Erik is the sustainability manager for Legend Energy Advisors in New York City. He is responsible
ALUMNI NEWS / 33
FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION NEWS
Director of Music Mark Kaczmarczyk’s First Impressions Far Brook’s new Director of Music, Mark Kaczmarczyk, has an instinct for teaching music in a way that integrates it with his students’ curricula, a typically Far Brook approach that deepens their understanding and appreciation of both. He sees that: “One of the values that drew me to Far Brook is knowing the community appreciates the transformative role music plays in our lives. There exists this wonderful synergy in singing and making music. There is the breath; the “physicality” of our very breathing to generate a sound, to which we express poetry, history, our dreams and desires. Music is math; as musicians we’re compelled to concentrate for long periods of time, counting, pausing, resting, anticipating our “entrance,” our contribution to the ensemble. Music allows us the joy of accessing our deepest emotions, whether we are listening to it or are the music makers ourselves.” Ten years teaching in higher education and 15 years leading professional and avocational choirs have inspired Mark to be an enthusiastic promoter of ensemble singing and its many benefits:
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“Scientific studies show that people who sing together live longer healthier lives, and even our heartbeats synchronize as we breathe and sing together. It makes us feel connected. As our students progress to more complex ensemble singing, they learn not only music, but also discipline, language skills, how to collaborate, to follow instruction, to take notes. I absolutely love that at Far Brook we sing together in Morning Meeting every day. It’s so important. It helps us synchronize as a community and sets the stage for cooperation and creative collaboration.” Mark shared one of his favorite “Far Brook Moments” that happened just a few months into the year: “A visiting student was sitting in on the Fourth and Fifth Grade choir rehearsal. Afterward, I asked what he thought, and he said, ‘Oh I can’t sing that - I can’t hit those notes.’ So I called over a few boys from the class to gather around the piano and show him how boys access their head voice using vocal exercises like imitating owl hoots and vocal slides. And within two minutes, he was singing in beautiful unison with the other children. That’s a very powerful teaching moment.” Days at Far Brook are filled with simple gifts for the new Director of Music: “When the students walk out the door singing or humming a tune we’ve just rehearsed, I know they are engaged in discovery. It’s the greatest compliment for a music educator. It’s simple, but simple is beautiful.”
Laura and Stephen Bonventre with Baby Nicholas
Nicole Fabian Engelke ’88
James Glossman
Congratulations to Fifth Grade teacher Laura Bonventre and her husband, Stephen! Baby Nicholas Stephen arrived on June 2. The family lives in Randolph.
Director of Upper School Nicole Fabian Engelke ’88 is currently completing her Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership through The Principals’ Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Last spring she was asked by the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools to participate on the Gill St. Bernard’s School accreditation team. It is a four-day process in which educators become immersed in all aspects of a school following a self-study report completed by accredited independent schools every 10 years.
Sanders, and David Strathairn. The piece was performed at the Music Festival in Michigan and at Tanglewood this summer and other performances will be held in Princeton (in September), Stonybrook, New York, and Los Angeles. Jim also continues as the associate artistic director of Writers Theatre of New Jersey and as such directs a series of play readings at various theaters in the state. A professor at Johns Hopkins University, Jim teaches a seminar in directing in the fall, one on Shakespeare in the spring, and directs one production per year. A new class in voice and speech will be added to his course offering in the fall, as well.
Mike Chodroff takes on the role of Associate Director of Upper School, collaborating with Nicole Engelke to support Upper School students and families. Mike will also teach Fifth and Sixth Grade science and continue his efforts as Director of Sustainability. This summer Mike participated in a half marathon in Iceland!
Director of Drama James Glossman is working on two large projects. He has directed and produced a pilot for a web comedy series, “Every Exit,” written by his son, Alex, and edited in New York City. Last year Jim was commissioned by the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival to create a musical-theater piece with the Emerson String Quartet (including Far Brook alumni parent Philip Setzer) about the composer Dmitri Shostakovich. The cast of seven includes alumni parent Linda Setzer; Broadway star, Len Cariou; and actors Jay O. Mike Chodroff
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FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION NEWS CONTINUED
Megan Gottlieb and Greta Elayne
Catharina Greenberg
Nancy McIntyre
Second Grade teacher Megan Gottlieb and her husband Micah, welcomed a baby girl into their lives on January 9, 2017. Her name is Greta Elayne! Micah is the principal of Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York City.
Lower School French teacher Catharina Greenberg presented at two World Language Conferences: NECTFL (Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and FLENJ (Foreign Language Educators of NJ). Her talk was entitled “You must start somewhere! How can we make a new language comprehensible and engaging to young children?” She shared practical ideas and a variety of activities incorporating “story-asking,” and Catharina ended with a short video created by our Second Graders. The audience was impressed by the children’s level of French!
Art teacher Nancy McIntyre has been invited to show her work at the Arts Council of Livingston Art Gallery this summer. She is giving private art classes and working on a drawing of a Far Brook family pet which was won at the Spring Soiree and auction on campus.
Emi Ithen transitions to the position of Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, following her valuable contributions working in Admissions and Marketing. Congratulations to Emi and her husband, Jordan Leff, who announce the birth of Sadie Ruth on April 12.
Emi and Baby Sadie Ruth Leff
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Milan Milinkovic
TH
Amy Ziebarth receives the 2017 Leading Change Award.
Milan Milinkovic, who has been giving private violin lessons to our students since 2009, now leads the Upper School Orchestra, comprised of students in Grades 4-8 who have been recommended by their music teachers to join. In September, he will begin a small string group comprised of First through Fourth Graders to offer them an ensemble experience before transitioning to Orchestra.
the coastal islands off the shores of South Carolina and Georgia. Erasmia was also chosen by the Greek Department of Education to participate in a two-week workshop on teaching language through music, to take place in Laconia, Cyprus.
Chris Murphy, woodshop teacher and STEAM Camp Coordinator, will marry Amanda Engborg on September 23, 2017 at the Church of the Holy Innocents in Hoboken, NJ. This abandoned church has been turned into a community space and both are involved in the restoration and clean up. Our love and best wishes are with them.
Chris Murphy and Amanda Engborg
Mikki Murphy assumes a new role as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Community as well as continuing her important job as Secondary School Advisor, helping Far Brook Eighth Graders select the high school environment that best matches their academic and personal strengths. Congratulations, Mikki!
Faculty and staff volunteered their
Erasmia Voukelatos
Lower school music teacher Erasmia Voukelatos was selected by the National
Mikki Murphy
Head of School Amy Ziebarth was honored in April at the New Jersey SEEDS 25th Anniversary Benefit gala for her “dedication to improving the education of students throughout New Jersey.” Amy was presented the 2017 Leading Change Award by alumna Jasmine Harris ’16, a graduate of NJ SEEDS Young Scholars Program and Far Brook alumna, and currently at Phillips Academy Andover. SEEDS changes the lives of motivated, high-achieving students from low-income families by transforming their educational opportunities. We are very proud of our Head of School!
Endowment for the Humanities to take part in a summer 2017 project entitled “Landmarks of American History and Culture” in Savannah, Georgia. The sessions will examine the artistic expressions of the Gullah, direct descendants of slaves who worked the rice plantations on
time to be mentors to Seventh and Eighth Grade students during the spring. This new opportunity was part of an expanded portion of the Girls Connections class that focuses on building leadership skills through oncampus experiences. Students volunteered in the Development Office learning about the school store and the ways that Far Brook communicates through social media and other publications; assisted in Lower School science, sports, and music classes; helped in Nursery through Fourth Grade classrooms; collaborated on special projects such as set design for The Tempest; selected Gold Key books for Fall Family Day; and helped plan school-wide sustainability initiatives.
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WE REMEMBER
MELISSA STAMPOULOS
PAUL BERKOW
DAVID GRAYBEAL
Kitchen Coordinator January 7, 2017 Melissa Stampoulos graduated from Millburn High School and attended the Culinary Institute of America where she learned the art of pastry baking. She was famous for her carrot cake and sense of humor. Seventeen years ago Melissa took a position at Far Brook School as the kitchen coordinator and quickly became the heart and soul of the community. Teachers, administrators, and students made their way to Melissa’s kitchen for support and sustenance, which Melissa ceaselessly doled out via humor, cookies, and her celebrated grilled cheese sandwiches. Melissa was renowned for her humor and generosity as well as for being the quintessential James Taylor fan. She leaves us with wonderful memories and an example to follow of a loving heart and generous spirit. She is survived by her husband, James; her daughter, Mary; and her six sisters and brothers who cared for her so compassionately in her last few months.
Alumni Parent May 8, 2017 Paul Berkow knew from an early age that he was meant to be an artist. After graduating high school, he ventured to New York City to study art at Pratt Institute. After graduation, Paul served in the Army, and then married Mimi and moved to Mexico where they lived happily for years. They returned to New Jersey and Paul settled into a high-intensity career as a commercial illustrator and storyboard artist in New York City in the “Mad Men” era, which eventually led to a career in commercial and television art direction. He continued to make and exhibit his own artwork, including shows at the Newark and Montclair Art Museums. It was during this time that Mimi became the founding editor of this Far Brook magazine, REPORTS. Paul and Mimi retired to Bradenton, Florida, in 1989, where he continued to paint and exhibit his work locally and to support local dance, theater, art, film, and literary activity. They were also active members of a Humanistic Judaism study group. Both Paul and Mimi cherished Far Brook and the dedicated team of educators and administrators who have preserved the mission and the magic over time. Paul was predeceased by his wife, Mimi. He is survived by his son, Dan, and daughters, Hanna and Janet ’77.
Alumni Parent June 2, 2017 After serving in the Navy in World War II, David Graybeal attended seminary at Yale University and earned his Ph.D. in the sociology of religion. He served several churches in Tennessee and then as chaplain at Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia, until 1956 when he and his young family came to Madison, New Jersey, where he joined the faculty of the Drew Theological Seminary. He remained at Drew until his “retirement” in 1996, but stayed on part-time for 15 more years as an emeritus. He was a passionate and dedicated teacher and delivered his favorite course, “The Search for the Good Community,” for more than 40 years. David is survived by his wife Shirley; his former wife, Marjorie; daughters Jean and Lee Anne; son, Clay ’68; and his brother, Pat.
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RICHARD “BRICK” SUSKO Alumni Parent June 10, 2017 Richard “Brick” Susko graduated from Union College, concurrently attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Stanford Law School, and then earned an LLM from New York University School of Law. He joined the New York law firm Cleary Gottlieb in 1974, became a partner in 1982 and senior counsel in 2013. He was known throughout the legal field for his expertise on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Brick was also known for his dedication to training and mentoring young lawyers, including many years of teaching at Yale Law School and the NYU School of Law. In addition to his dedicated work for the firm and his clients, Brick was an avid cyclist, an activity that he sometimes chronicled in his blogs, Brick’s Ride, Brick’s Ride Across the UK, Brick’s Ride Across Ireland and Hail Caesar! London to Rome. He saw the world on his bike, and was in France for a bicycle touring trip the week of his passing. Brick is survived by his wife, long-time Trustee, Chris; daughter, Kim ’93 and son, Mark ’98.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2017-2018 Robert J. Kelly, Board Chair Neale Trangucci, Vice Chair Carmine Fanelle, Treasurer Michelle Swittenberg, Secretary Amy Ziebarth, Head of School Diane Bakst Christopher Burns Greg Hoffman Leah Kronthal Krissy Mannello Rob Olazagasti Elyse N. Post ‘78 Marc Schwartz Tony Stovall Brad Wiley, II ‘54 Amy Yin
ADMINISTRATION 2017-2018 Amy Ziebarth, Head of School
Paula Levin, Director of Lower School Nicole Engelke ‘88, Director of Upper School Michael Chodroff, Associate Director of Upper School Mikki Murphy, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Community Secondary School Advisor Admissions Emi Ithen, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Kathy Ike, Admissions Assistant Business Office Minnie Cummings, Director of Finance and Operations Janice O’Shea, Accounting Manager Development Suzanne Glatt, Director of Development Jennifer Barba, Director of Communications and Volunteers Greg Bartiromo, Associate Director of The Far Brook Fund and Alumni Relations Joan Burr, Communications Coordinator Yolisse Carattini, Development Coordinator Office Staff Alisha Martinez, Executive Assistant/Placement Coordinator Gloria Monteiro, Office Coordinator Technology Rob Andolina, Director of Technology After-School Program Mona Boewe, After-School Program Coordinator Chris Murphy, STEAM Camp Coordinator Facilities Melanie DuBois, Kitchen Coordinator Arthur Gannon, Facilities Manager
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