FENN: Summer 2013 by The Fenn School

FENN Spring 2013

Mapping the Future

From the Headmaster Summer 2013

This past spring, near the close of the

form of a strategic plan for the next ten

admissions season, Fenn hosted those boys

years. The planned journey will lead the

who had been accepted to our fourth grade,

School to the destination of Fenn in 2022.

inviting them to attend classes for an initial

T.S. Eliot famously wrote, “and the end of

taste of the School, the potential next chapter

all our exploring will be to arrive where we

in their education. On a cool April morning,

started and know the place for the first

a gaggle of nine-year-olds led by a Fenn

time.” His reflection could serve as

teacher nervously made their way down the

commentary on our school’s strategic plan, a

winding path from the Admissions Office to

path which will bring Fenn to be preserved

the lower campus. Parents who were gathered at the Alumni

while it evolves and to remain a haven for boys in their

House for the headmaster’s coffee peeked out the window,

formative years while their education adapts to prepare them for

watching their sons take the first steps in their Fenn education.

a world that is ever changing. Keeping our sights true and steady

The boys steadily followed the certain path before them, leading

in that journey, Fenn’s strategic plan will show the way.

down between the playing fields, across Carr Road, onto the campus green, and into the heart of the campus to join Fenn boys and teachers. It was a poignant moment. As I watched these young members of Fenn’s Class of 2019, I

FENN BOYS AND THEIR SCHOOL REMAIN IN THEIR ESSENCE A

remembered similar scenes across the past twenty years. And I

CONSTANT ACROSS TIME.

was certain that the school these soon-to-be Fenn boys were joining remains at its core the Fenn School which eight decades of Fenn boys have known. The view from the Alumni House, the former home of Roger and Eleanor Fenn, afforded a vista from its setting atop a gentle hill of the evolving landscape of Fenn’s campus: the cupola of the new Meeting and Performance Hall, the expanse of the campus green, the rising structure of the Library and Science Center, and the new fields, all created over the past decade for the purpose of educating a community of boys that is ever more diverse. It struck me that our school had evolved in vital ways since the boys of the Class of 2000 came to their revisit day twenty years ago in the spring of 1994 as newly admitted fourth graders, just as the school had evolved when Roger Fenn departed the campus in 1960 after thirty years of watching generations of Fenn boys and his school grow and change. And yet, Fenn boys and their school remain in their essence a constant across time. During the past two years, in a thoughtful and thorough process, Fenn has mapped the path for its journey in time in the

At the center of this Summer 2013 edition of FENN, you will find a substantive summary of the Fenn School Strategic Plan, 2012-2022. Surrounding it you will find commentary and reporting that reflect our goals of advancing the areas of boys’ education, financial sustainability, diversity, the educational program, support and development of the faculty, campus facilities, sustainability, fundraising, and technology. Pointing the way through the next decade, the steps of the Strategic Plan are measured to guide Fenn to a destination that is ambitious but realistic, not unlike the vision and plan for the school of 1960 that Roger Fenn imagined at its founding in 1929. Indeed, in each decade of its existence, Fenn has evolved to remain true to its mission of educating boys. As you read this edition of FENN dedicated to our new Strategic Plan for 2012-2022, I hope you are as inspired as we are by the promise and future of Fenn and of the boys we educate.

VOLUME 82

FENN

NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2013

2 STUDENT LEADERS EARN RESPECT, BUILD CONFIDENCE

6 AROUND CAMPUS Winter Musical Scores a Home Run; A Cappella Singers Draw Standing O’s; “The Girl in the Picture”Visits Fenn; Seniors Wax Lyrical at Poetry Slam; Helping to Keep the Homeless Warm; Art Students Participate in “One Million Bones” Project

10 Page 6

WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

12 FACULTY

AND

STAFF NEWS

Professional Development Roundup; Bringing the World to Fenn and Fenn to the World; Using “Awesome” Technological Tools to Help Boys Learn

16 Page 10

ADVANCING FENN Love of the School and of their Sons Prompts Support; Parents of Alumni Give Back; School House Undergoing Renovation; Mary-Wren vanderWilden Named New Board Chair; Tom Hudner ’87 Stepping Down

21 MAPPPING

THE

FUTURE: THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2012-2022

Page 30

Editor and Feature Writer Laurie O’Neill

COUNCIL KEEPS FENN ALUMNI CONNECTED

Editorial Board Derek Boonisar Anne Ames Boudreau Thomas J. Hudner III ’87 Laurie O’Neill Jerry Ward Lorraine Garnett Ward Photography Ellen Harasimowicz Laurie O’Neill Tony Santos Joshua Touster Design Michele Page

32 JOE ELLIS ’71 NAMED DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS

34 CLASS NOTES Alumni Updates; Former Faculty News; Reunion 2013; Milestones

50 REFLECTIONS Brad Bailey ’72 Remembers “Being a Boy” at Fenn FENN is published twice a year for alumni, parents, and friends of the School. Letters and comments are welcomed and can be sent to Laurie O’Neill, The Fenn School, 516 Monument Street, Concord, MA 01742; loneill@fenn.org; 978-318-3583.

n a seminar room, ninth graders Odom Sam and Jake Goorno are running a discussion at a weekly meeting of the Upper School Diversity Committee, soliciting comments on the recent conference several of them attended. The members are so enthusiastic they talk over one another until Odom asks them to wait their turn. “The challenge is to keep everyone focused,” he says afterwards. At Middle School lunch, seventh graders Ben Kelly and Ben Zide collect apple and banana peels, other fruit and vegetable remnants, and brown paper napkins, and deliver the scraps to the Fenn garden compost bin. “I know I can count on them to advocate for composting and to simply get the job done,” says Sustainability Director Cameren Cousins.

CHOOSING TO “STEP UP,” STUDENT LEADERS EARN RESPECT, BUILD CONFIDENCE

2 www.fenn.org

Student Leadership

In the Meeting and Performance Hall each Friday, President Gordon Hargraves (left) opens All School Meeting, calls for new business and announcements, and closes with a reflection. In his absence the meetings are run by Vice President James Sanderson. “Serving as a role model is rewarding,” Gordon declares. “I love waking up each morning and coming to school.” During advisor period on Thursdays, Joe LaRocca and Chad Arle are among the many eighth and ninth graders who serve as Big Brothers to fourth and fifth grade students, playing cards and other games with them, or shooting hoops in the gym. The younger boys’ delighted expressions and squeals of glee attest to how much they enjoy these sessions. Playing the role of Mr. Applegate in Damn Yankees, ninth grader Mike Demsher calms a trembling young actor, telling him to “take a deep breath.” He realizes that the director and other faculty members are busy running the show, and that the more inexperienced actors will look to other

“THE YOUNGER BOYS ARE LOOKING TO US. OUR CHOICE IS TO FALL BACK OR STEP UP.”

boys for support. He and other drama veterans, he says, “try to make sure everyone is okay.” Nick Steinert, who with Ben Kelly is a seventh grade Senator this term, says the pair must “listen to our classmates and arrange activities after we get permission.” Nick says that he and Ben “try hard to keep our promises to our class” for such activities as contests and snack sales—in mid-spring they were arranging a Jeopardy competition with their counterparts at Nashoba Brooks School.

Big Brothers Jake Goorno, second from left, and Odom Sam, in striped sweater, playing ball with fourth graders Mikey Pratt, left, and Cam Fries.

All of these boys and many others are leaders at Fenn: some are appointed to positions, some elected, and others, like Mike, who took his lead role and turned it to a leadership role, are simply stepping up and doing what needs to be done. They run meetings, represent their classmates, serve as Peer Advocates, operate the school store, oversee sustainability tasks, organize social events, consult with teachers and administrators, and most of all, lead by example, modeling the school’s core values: honesty, respect, courage, and empathy. The boys take their roles seriously and speak about what they do with pride, as do the adults who observe them. Diversity Intern Kwame Cobblah says, “What amazes me the most about Odom and Jake is the level of respect their peers have for them.” Headmaster Jerry Ward notes that providing leadership opportunities for boys across all levels is a fundamental element of a Fenn education. “Two questions guide us in educating boys,” he says. “How can we best prepare them for life and how can we inspire them to make a difference for the good? Providing meaningful and transformative opportunities for boys to lead answers these questions.” Mike plays the French horn and serves as a co-president of the Fenn Band with Will Haslett and Josh Cabral. Their position 4 www.fenn.org

involves modeling respect and appropriate behavior for the others, they say; this spring the three seniors helped Instrumental Director Maeve Lien keep the fifty-eight marchers attentive and focused as they practiced for one of their most important performances, in the Concord Patriots’ Day Parade. “It seems natural to step into leadership roles as a ninth grader,” Mike notes. “The younger boys are looking to us. Our choice is to fall back or step up.” He often helped younger players in his role as a Varsity basketball team co-captain with dribbling and with learning the proper way to catch the ball so they would be ready to make a shot, a skill called “spotting up.” As a leader, “I’ve learned that when a guy makes a mistake, I will take him aside and not embarrass him in front of others,” he says. “Being a captain is a big deal, but I’m part of the team, too, and I can’t forget that.” On the court and on the field, a team captain serves as “a bridge between the student players and the coaches,” says Odom, who was a co- or tri-captain in every sport he played this year. “Every day we have to put in 100%, especially during drills; we have to stay positive and keep our energy high so others can feed off it.” Jake recalls a moment at the Varsity hockey tournament this winter, in the final against Fessenden. The game was in triple

“BEING A LEADER IS LEARNING TO BE DIRECT WITHOUT BEING MEAN, USING GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS, AND CONDUCTING MYSELF PROPERLY.” Eighth grader Thatcher Adams (right) playing a game with fourth grader Alex Brown.

overtime and on the bench “the players were nervous wrecks,” Jake recalls. He and his co-captains Will Robertson and Leo Saraceno “kept the team calm and focused. We got them to chill by being encouraging, but not soft.” When he was a younger player, “I looked up to my captains and now it’s a good feeling to be in their places.” Being a leader, he says, “is learning to be direct without being mean, using good communication skills, and conducting myself properly.” Leadership takes place in the most unexpected settings at Fenn and often by boys who simply step forward to help to make an activity run more smoothly or to support and encourage their peers. The boys who demonstrate an especially positive and caring attitude on the seventh grade trip to Washington, D.C. are leaders; so are the students who stack the song books after All School Meeting, or who model good sportsmanship on the playing field. In the headmaster’s garage, a group of ninth graders are working to convert a diesel fueled Volkswagon Jetta so that it runs on used vegetable oil. Since only a few boys can huddle under the hood and tinker with the engine at any given time, the others “need to be doing something,” says Mike, who urges them to consult the manual, get tools ready for the next task, and otherwise “don’t just stand around.” Leading, he declares, “is looking for that next step. The guys who help others do this are the ones who stand out.”

Assuming leadership roles helps Fenn boys build self-esteem, learn how to garner respect from others, and practice the real world skills necessary for guiding others. “Daily, yearly, and across the arc of their Fenn education,” Mr. Ward notes, “boys acquire the foundation of skills and knowledge to make a difference and the courage and commitment to do so.” Jake says he came to Fenn “not all that sure of myself. But I’ve gained so much confidence here, and this would not have happened anywhere else.”

Will Haslett, right, one of the Band presidents, with Liam Bannon, left.

AroundCampus

Band Continues Patriots’ Day Parade Tradition

ith a bigger than ever drum line of seventeen percussionists and a record breaking fifty-eight musicians, and in crisp white trousers, navy blazers, and ties, the Fenn Marching Band was an impressive sight as its members made their way around the Concord Patriots’ Day Parade route, drawing cheers. Former math teacher and Lower School head Bob Duncan assumed his role as “Band-Aide,” Maeve Lien and attending to everything from marching etiquette to broken Bob Duncan drum sticks, and Instrumental Director Maeve Lien, whistle in hand, led the group through its crowd pleasing numbers “Louie, Louie” and “Anchors Aweigh,” and two new additions, “Eye of the Tiger” and “Final Countdown.” In many of the years since their first appearance in the Concord parade in 1959, the Fenn musicians have been the only student marching band to participate. The band reprised their performance at Fenn’s Founder’s Day celebration on campus in late April, to the applause of the faculty, staff, and students lining Carr Road.

6 www.fenn.org

Art Students Take Part in “One Million Bones” Project

SENIORS WAX LYRICAL AT POETRY SLAM One of the highlights of the year for ninth graders is the Poetry Slam, traditionally held in March. The boys and a panel of faculty judges gather for a morning of original verse, friendly competition, good food, and camaraderie at the Headmaster’s house. Here is an excerpt from a poem that Reid Shilling presented at the event this year:

WHERE I’M FROM

mong the thousands of handmade bones, crafted by students, artists, and activists, that were laid on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on June 8th to honor those lost to genocides and mass atrocities and those still fighting to survive them in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burma, and Somalia, were more than 150 made by Fenn boys. Every bone handmade for the One Million Bones project was to generate $1 (up to $500,000) from the Bezos Family Foundation for the humanitarian organization CARE’s work in these regions. Art teacher Elizabeth Cobblah wanted the students in her classes to take part in the international project so she borrowed a skeleton from the science department for them to study. She asked the boys to call the bones by their proper names and to appreciate the form and contour of each one before they fashioned replicas from either ceramic kiln-fired or self-hardening clay. In mid-April she mailed six boxes containing 160 bones—sternums, vertebrae, scapula, mandibles, clavicles, foot and hand bones—to project organizers in Washington.

I am from water, from sails and hulls. I am from the grass of the lacrosse field, (soft and shiny after a fine trimming), I am from the family apple tree, (that vine-covered elder), which has lost and gained but always gives back to us. I am from the blind and the timber, and fried chicken and biscuits after I come home from a good day’s hunt. I am from my grandfather, whom we lost in 2010. I am from the proud army veteran he was, and the hands he used to save countless lives on the field of duty. I am from the album full of pictures, the one my family has compiled. I am from my friends, family, and the activities I love. I am from memories-the reason I strive for happiness each and every day. I am from the cup of life, and the river that fills it.

The “Lincolnites,” l to r, Will Haslett, James Sanderson, and Reid Shilling, at the 2013 Poetry Slam

A Cappella Singers Draw Standing O’s at Concert

night of a cappella singing featuring Fenn’s Treble Choir and Middle School group Voicecrack drew an enthusiastic crowd to the Meeting and Performance Hall on April 9th. Other groups that performed were the Trebled Teens, a coed group from Concord and Carlisle schools;

the Voices of Brookline, another student group; post-collegiate a cappella singers Bostonality and No Parachute, and the Harvard Opportunes, Harvard’s first coed a cappella group. The Fenn singers are directed by Mike Salvatore, (second from right).

“The Girl in the Picture” Speaks of Hope and Healing

han Thi Kim Phuc, who was pictured in a Pulitzer Prize winning 1972 photograph as a nine-year-old girl, her skin burned by napalm as she fled the bombing of her Vietnamese village, came to Fenn in February to tell an audience why “my life is now a symbol of hope, not pain.” Kim Phuc (pronounced fook) who was used as propaganda by the Vietnamese government when they found several years later that she had survived, has dedicated her life to promoting love and peace and to helping other child victims of war. She delivered the keynote at Fenn’s fourth annual Multicultural Educators’ Forum to faculty, staff, attending students, visitors from other schools, forum participants, and guests from the greater Boston area. 8 www.fenn.org

They listened raptly, some with tears in their eyes, as Kim Phuc softly recounted her story and said that, although the iconic photo catapulted her into the kind of fame for which she was not prepared and would never have chosen, it ultimately proved to be a gift that taught her lessons including the power of forgiveness. Kim Phuc’s family, which includes teenage sons Thomas and Stephen, live outside Toronto; she and her husband defected to Canada in 1992. She devotes much of her time to the Kim Phuc Foundation International, which provides medical and psychological assistance to children who are victims of war. The organization builds medical facilities in conflict-torn countries including Uganda. “When you look at the photo,” she told her audience, “do not see the girl crying out in fear and pain. See her as crying out for peace. That little girl,” she added, “is not running anymore. She is flying.”

Around Campus

Helping the Pine Street Inn Provide for the Homeless As a community service project this winter, students assisted by parent volunteers sewed fleece blankets and scarves for the Pine Street Inn, which provides services to the homeless in Boston.

Winter Musical Scores a Home Run

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Damn Yankees, this year’s Winter Musical, the first to be staged in the Meeting and Performance Hall, delighted audiences for three early March performances. The show, presented in collaboration with Nashoba Brooks School, featured a large cast of characters, including, of course, the devil, who in the form of Mr. Applegate was played by Mike Demsher. Other lead male roles were played by eighth grader Zeke Golnick as Joe Boyd, the long-suffering Washington Senators fan who exchanges his soul for a “long ball hitter” who can help the pathetic Senators beat the “damn Yankees;” Will Haslett as Joe Hardy, Boyd’s home run hitting alter ego; PJ Lucchese as Van Buren, the hardworking but hapless manager of the team; Chad Arle as ballplayer Rocky; Joe LaRocca as the dim-bulb Senators’ catcher, Smokey; and Chris Ruediger as Vernon, the pitcher. Blake Griffith, Zack Lisman, Willie Page, Thatcher Adams, EJ Fitzsimmons, Jake Stark, Daniel Kramer, and John Hart filled out the Senators. Fenn drama teacher Tiffany Toner directed the musical with assistance from faculty members Dr. Charles Streff,

assistant director; Mike Salvatore, music director; and Rob Morrison, technical director; and several parent volunteers. Stage manager was Nate Winneg and stage crew chief was Connor McAvoy. Musical numbers such as “Heart” (“You gotta have heart”), led by the Vernon, Smokey, and Rocky trio, drew wild applause.

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FennSports

Fenn Athletes Shine During Winter Sports Season VARSITY HOCKEY In an intense, thrilling contest that went into triple overtime, the Varsity hockey team captured the Team Sportsmanship Award and the runner-up trophy at the third annual Fay School Hockey Tournament in January. Ninth grader Will Robertson was voted the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player. It was the team’s second consecutive runner-up trophy and sportsmanship award. Leo Saraceno did a “spectacular job” as goalie, said Coach Derek Boonisar, who added, “I am proud of these guys; they represented themselves and the school well.” The team’s season record was 11-4-1, and assisting Coach Boonisar were Jeff LaPlante, Morgan Hall, and Topher Bevis. Team captains were Will Robertson, Jake Goorno, and Leo Saraceno. Season highlights included two wins each against Fessenden, Dexter, Fay, and Shore. The team’s “depth and balance,” says Coach Boonisar, “enabled us to play competitively all season.” 10 www.fenn.org

Fenn Sports

VARSITY BASKETBALL “Every day we got better,” declares Coach Peter Bradley of his Varsity basketball team, which went 6-7 for the season, but won four of their last six games. Coaches Bradley and Bob Starensier said they had “nothing but praise” for their players. A season highlight was a game against Boston College High School, which the Fenn team did not yet realize had won all of its games so far. Though Fenn was down by three at the half, they tied up the game and then hung on to win by three points. The game was a turning point for the team, which was reinvigorated. Team captains were Mitchell Groves, John Hart, and Mike Demsher. Unfortunately, a snowstorm forced cancellation of the winter tournament.

Aaron Bembenek ’04 was one of several alumni who helped coach Fenn sports this year.

WRESTLING The Varsity team ended the season on a high note by placing fourth in the New England Junior Prep tournament. Eight of the twelve boys medaled, with EJ Fitzsimmons and Henry Griffin each taking third place, and Max Cantara taking second. Team captains were EJ, Max, and Gavin Black. Sixth and seventh grade wrestlers participated in a tournament at Fay that drew twelve teams. It was the first tourney for some of the sixth graders, and for others, the first wrestling match, according to Coach Derek Cribb. “Just being there was a courageous step.” Taking a second place were Charlie Hibbons, Alex Tung, and Jack Eames. Charlie Fitzsimmons got a third and Ali Sheikh a fourth.

JV BASKETBALL A team highlight was beating Fessenden by four points in the last game of the season, after losing two to Fessenden earlier in the winter. Season record was 6-7. Captains Odom Sam and James Sanderson led the team for Coach David Rouse and his assistant, Freemon Romero. “The boys demonstrated skills they learned over the course of the season in a very calculated win over Fessenden,” says Coach Rouse. “Each possession mattered; we never led more than seven or gave up a lead any more than two points.”

JV HOCKEY Goalie Jack Tyrie did an excellent job in the net, according to Coach Luke Thompson. Several players new to the sport made great progress and received support from the more experienced team members. Coach Thompson notes that athletic trainer Jennifer Mangano was a great addition to the team staff, which included co-coaches Jason Rude, Dave Duane, and Sean Patch. Captains were Robbie O’Brien, Christian DiPietrantonio, and David Perkins. 11

Faculty& Staff News Professional Development Roundup NAT CARR ’97 (left), director of Secondary School Placement, was awarded a Klingenstein Fellowship to study at Teachers College at Columbia University this coming academic year. The program prepares participants to further develop their leadership skills, includes course work and guided fieldwork, and allows students to earn a master’s degree in Educational Leadership in nine months. Nat, who will marry Katie Curran in August, will be back at Fenn in the fall of 2014. This spring Director of Learning Support Services EDEN DUNCKEL attended conferences on New Hampshire writer and literacy coach Penny Kittle’s Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers; Supporting the Thinking, Feeling, Fluent Reader and Nancy Atwell’s Lessons that Change Writers: Grades Five through Nine. Discussion at the Penny Kittle conference focused on the need for schools to increase students’ reading stamina, because by college they will need to read 200 to 600 pages per week. Participants were encouraged to “counteract the stagnation or decline of reading during the teenage years” and talked about how “choice” reading can build fluency and passion. The National Conference of Teachers of English was “incredible,” reports LAURIE BYRON, English department chair, who also attended the Penny Kittle conference with Eden Dunckel this spring. The NCTE event was “filled with educators from around the country speaking passionately about what they do,” she said. Major topics included the integration of technology into the classroom and reading and writing instruction. Laurie returned with more than fifty books for her classroom. FREEMON ROMERO ’04, ALAN O’NEILL ’98 and DAVID ROUSE attended the Beginning Teacher Workshop at Phillips Academy Andover. Social 12 www.fenn.org

Studies department Chair JOHN SHARON traveled to Seattle, WA, to participate in the Global Educators’ Conference, where participants focused on best practices in global education and ways to develop global citizens in independent schools. Academic Director STEVE FARLEY, Library Director LISA FRANCINE, faculty members JOHN FITZSIMMONS and SEAN PATCH, Director of Technology JEFF LAPLANTE and Network Administrator ERIC CORFIELD attended the EdTech Teacher iPad Summit in Boston. Lisa also attended a “Teen Summit” titled The Library as a Safe Place and the Annual Children’s Lit Festival at Keene State College. RALPH GILES, JENN YOUK SEE, and PAULINE MACLELLAN attended the AISNE workshop Understanding Singapore Math; Pauline also went to a workshop titled Mathematics and the Brain: A Neurodevelopmental Approach. P. J. LIBBY explored Neuroscience for Educators: Toward the Science of Learning; and MIKE SALVATORE, chair of the Arts department, traveled to the Interlochen Arts Conference. The Admission team took in Enrollment Management, a conference sponsored by the Association of Independent Schools Admission Professionals in Rockport, ME, according to Admission Director AMY JOLLY. The team headed to Nashville, TN, to attend the International Boys’ Schools Coalition program titled Sharpening the Case for Boys’ Schools—and My School, an admissions, marketing, and communication conference in May. Director of Marketing OLIVIA ACHTMEYER traveled to two social media conferences: edSocial Media Summit at Walnut Hill School and RISC Video Marketing at Meadowbrook. The Diversity team was busy this year, traveling to the NAIS People of Color Conference and to regional AISNE Diversity conferences. Director of Diversity TETE COBBLAH, Diversity Intern KWAME COBBLAH, art teacher ELIZABETH COBBLAH, Assistant Diversity Director JENN YOUK SEE,

Faculty & Staff News

JOHN SHARON, EDEN DUNCKEL, and drama teacher TIFFANY TONER were among those who attended these events.

Faculty and Staff Honored The Board of Trustees and the Headmaster honored faculty, administration, and staff for their benchmark years of service in February. Among the seventeen people celebrated with remarks from colleagues were ELIZABETH COBBLAH and HEADMASTER JERRY WARD for twenty years of service; DR. CHARLIE STREFF for twenty-five, KATHY STARENSIER for thirty, and DONALD CASTOR for fifty. Assistant Headmaster and Head of the Upper School Derek Boonisar spoke about the Headmaster, praising him for the

“remarkable” evolution of the School that includes many capital improvements and for his ability to maintain “a low student and faculty attrition rate…a sure fire sign of stable leadership and deep belief in the school.” Nat Carr praised Kathy, who had been his teacher, for her caring, patience, and genuine interest in her students, and said “you have shaped the lives of hundreds of boys.” Jim Carter ’54 spoke for Donald, referring to his unflagging loyalty, devotion, and hard work as a member of the maintenance team. Fenn chef and food services manager JERRY CABRAL, who over his twelve years here served some 6000 lunches to Fenn boys, left in April to open his new restaurant, Big Joe’s, at the train station in Wilmington. He will continue to work at Fenn as part of the evening maintenance staff.

Fenn Bids Goodbye to Dr. Charlie Streff

hether he was playing Scrooge in the annual faculty and staff production of A Christmas Carol, assisting the director of the Winter Musical, wearing a colorful African dashiki as he sang on stage at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Assembly, representing Fenn at eight International Boys’ School Coalition conferences, teaching ninth graders in the Student Life classes he inaugurated, advising the Peer Advocate group, another program he developed, guiding countless boys and their parents through the travails of adolescence, or serving as a friend and confidante to his colleagues, Dr. Charlie Streff, who stepped down this spring after twenty-five years as consulting psychologist at Fenn, brought warmth, humor, and empathy to all he did at the School. Speaking at the Years of Service

celebration this winter, Tete Cobblah said that Charlie “allows us to be ourselves in his presence; he has the ability to elevate others to their full potential.” Charlie, who has a long history as a social justice activist, once helped organize a boycott of a bigbox store in a black neighborhood of Washington, D.C., when the retailer was charging prices forty percent higher than it was doing in a nearby primarily white neighborhood. He was one of the first recipients of Fenn’s MLK Award for his contribution to the School’s Diversity program and for his efforts as an activist during the Civil Rights movement. “I’ve enjoyed my years here working with faculty and staff,” Charlie says, “and I will miss the boys. They were delightful to be with and gave me so much energy. Usually I could get them to look on the positive side of life when times are tough,

Charlie with his granddaughter, Lizzie

and encourage them to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses.” Charlie will maintain his private practice, but hopes to write a book about his work with boys, has a novel “percolating,” wants to do more public speaking, and even plans to get back to one of his favorite pastimes: painting in acrylics. 13

Faculty & Staff News

Using “Awesome” Technological Tools to Help Boys Learn

Derek Boonisar (left) and Nat Carr at a workshop on Evernote

Amy Stiga watches her sixth graders work on an iPad project.

ow do you build the classroom of the future? On its April Professional Day, faculty and staff learned more about how other schools are using technology to help their students adapt to an increasingly digital world. They heard from educational technology speaker, instructor, and writer Tom Daccord, who has worked with schools across the country and in Canada, Europe, and Asia, and from Pat Larkin, assistant superintendent for Learning for the Burlington (MA) Public Schools and former principal of Burlington High School. BHS recently made the transition to a 1:1 environment, distributing more than 1000 iPads to staff and students, finding funding within its existing budget by eliminating costly computer labs and forgoing printed textbooks. The goal was to create a teaching environment using the same technology that students were already using outside of school. Group discussions followed each presentation. In the afternoon, several Fenn faculty and staff members offered mini-workshops on technology tools they are using in their classroom work, research, and personal and professional communications. Math teacher Sean Patch showed how the iPad can allow students to work collaboratively and to use technology creatively to deliver content to the rest of the class.

Integrated Studies teacher Amy Stiga introduced Book Creator, a tool she uses for students to publish their own work and share ideas. English teacher John Fitzsimmons and Latin teacher PJ Libby demonstrated the program Schoology, which they use to post, collect, and grade assignments. “It is an awesome tool for managing a classroom and communicating with students and parents,” said PJ. Arts teacher Tete Cobblah explained that VoiceThread has allowed his students to share ideas and observations outside of the classroom; Library Director Lisa Francine demonstrated Feedly, a tool that works on multiple devices and helps users catch up on their professional and personal reading; and librarian Sue Fisher introduced Evernote, which she and Lisa have been using to help keep track of email, websites, and documents, “all in one place.” English teacher Laurie Byron shared some of her approaches using iPads to foster collaborative learning and teaching in fifth grade. Fenn launched an iPad pilot program last year in which faculty members, provided with the devices, have been sharing their experiences and classroom approaches on a blog. The project is part of Fenn’s continuing efforts to use technology, which is already a major part of boys’ lives, to foster excitement in and engagement with learning.

Faculty & Staff News

Bringing the World to Fenn and Fenn to the World

ttending workshops and conferences can instill in participants renewed vigor, provide inspiration and an opportunity to share experiences and expertise, and serve as a chance for Fenn “to step forward,” as Headmaster Jerry Ward has said, “to become better known as a place that has something to offer the world about what works in the education of boys.” The partial list in this section of teachers, administrators, and staff members who have participated in workshops and conferences this year reflects Fenn’s commitment to professional development and its confidence in its best practices approach to educating boys. One participant this year is Lower School teacher Jen Waldeck, who spent three days at the Buckley School in New York City to take part in a workshop for some forty Master Teachers from IBSC (International Boys’ School Coalition) member schools in the U.S. and Canada. A facilitator guided participants through highly interactive sessions designed so that the Master Teachers could share their practice in teaching boys; aspects included pedagogy, classroom management, discipline, teacher-student relationships, and communication with boys. Participants had to do “homework” prior to the workshop: jotting down thoughts about what had shaped them as educators, from other professional experiences, to their own educational backgrounds, to their family and community life. Sharing their reflections at the workshop “created a

“Being in such a positive environment was energizing. By the end of the workshop we had built a community.” bond among us,” Jen says. The workshop proved to be an unexpected source of affirmation. “For a while we talked about the mistakes we made and our desire to be better, but then we shifted to focusing on what we do well and are proud of.” The group acknowledged that “we’re all on the same page” as teachers in boys’ schools, “and we need to affirm each other and ourselves. Being in such a positive environment was energizing,” she says. “By the end of the workshop we had built a community.” Participants talked about encouraging boy writers, teaching resilience, and using one’s intuition. “You can teach composition differently than the person

next to you, but the kids will be transformed as long as you are passionate,” says Jen, who brought home ideas for Fenn faculty to try, such as “tapping into long-term teachers who have valuable stories to share.” Jen says she envisions a community, “which we are already building,” in which “teachers are validated and supported at every stage of their career.” She is grateful for the professional development opportunities she has been able to pursue and declares that, "The opportunities for professional development at Fenn fuel my desire to be both reflective and forward thinking." (Pictured above:) Fourth grade teacher Jen Waldeck checks in with one of her students on his outside reading. 15

AdvancingFenn Love of the School Prompts Support “

y brother, Kyle [’73], and I had a couple of great parents,” declares Clint Bajakian ’77, senior music manager at Sony Computer Entertainment. Throughout the boys’ time at Fenn, their parents, Amy and Vincent Bajakian, “recognized more and more how special and wonderful the school and its community were—how talented and caring were the faculty, and how excellent were the academic and athletic programs.” The Bajakians were drawn by their appreciation of the School into increased involvement in the Fenn community. Amy covered an expectant Jean Carter’s art classes, and the families became close friends. Vin served on the Board of Trustees for a time, helping to steward and expand the School’s capital endowment. When Amy asked that a bequest be set up to support Fenn after her death, representing her and her late husband’s wishes, her sons were not surprised. “My parents loved the school, in great part due to the vicarious experience they enjoyed through Kyle and me,” Clint says. “Long ago they adopted the desire to support Fenn so passionately.”

Clint and Kyle say there were countless held in her lap, complete with “occasional experiences of them being boys at Fenn parent singing and approving that their parents witnessed or heard about. commentary, laughter, and applause.” One is the forty-yard piggy back ride Billy Susan served on the Stride gave Clint “in my futile attempt to Fenn Board of Trustees tackle him on a fumble return in from 1973 to 1982. scrimmage.” And Clint will never forget the She died in 2012 at the science classes spent collecting maple sap age of 81, and “nothing and making syrup with founding I say can do justice to Headmaster Roger Fenn, whose “kind, the force of nature she patient leadership inspired us toward a was and remains,” Paul deeper and more respectful appreciation of Susan Morrison Mayer says. the natural world.” Pamela Miller Ness, librarian and Amy and Vincent’s love for Fenn is an teacher from 1987 to 1992, waxes lyrical example of the many members of the when she speaks about what Fenn still extended Fenn family—alumni, their means to her and why she continues to parents, and former faculty members—who support the School in the form of a continue to support the School with a bequest. “Unlike many schools, there is no bequest or other type of testamentary gift. gap between the mission statement and the Another is Susan Morrison Mayer, a reality of nurturing the whole child,” she lifelong educator and volunteer, and mother says. of Paul Slye ’77 and David Slye ’74. Paul, Pamela says that Fenn is a community cofounder and managing member of “that allows both boys and adults to take Brentwood Capital partners, says he is “not risks that can foster growth.” Though she surprised that Fenn has somehow figured came to Fenn as a librarian, she was offered into our memory of Mom’s remarkable life a ninth grade advisee group (“which I and Susan’s living legacy.” adored”), and then a fourth grade social Susan, and Paul’s father, George, with studies class (“which began my journey help from his grandparents, “facilitated the from librarian to teacher”). A year later she move that would change my life for the pursued training in teaching children with better,” he says of coming to Fenn. His learning differences (“which was a segue to mother “enjoyed and encouraged the my future work as a learning specialist”). entire spectrum of my Fenn experience, From the moment Pamela arrived at including academics, sports, music, and Fenn, “I felt embraced by community,” she friendships.” Paul still has tapes of band says. She believes in supporting the School and choral concerts captured on a “because it played a crucial and deeply primitive cassette recorder his mother cherished role in my life journey.” 1975 lacrosse team members Clint Bajakian ’77, wearing number 40, and his fellow lacrosse players, l to r bottom row: Stephen Byrd ’77, Peter Brooke ’76, unidentified boy, David Campbell ’76, Eric Jenny ’77, Alan Price ’76, Ronnie Owens ’76. Second row, next to Clint: George Janes ’75, Chip Orcutt ’77, Tick Ticknor ’76, Peter Hochmeyer’77, Ben MacArthur ’77; behind Ben is Chris Borden ’77. Back row, l to r: Steve Carell ’77, John Brooke ’77, Jon Byrd ’76, Sam Smyth ’76, Billy Cummings ’75, and coach Arnold Klingenberg. Missing from photo is Steve Arnold ’76.

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Advancing Fenn

“Fenn is part of the fabric of our family”: Parents of Alumni Give Back

hey help run capital campaigns, serve on the Board of Trustees or the Board of Visitors, assist with Parents’ Association events such as the bi-annual auction, make calls at Annual Fund phonathons, host gatherings for Admissions, and in many other ways give back to Fenn by volunteering their time and effort and lending their financial support. What they have in common is that they are Parents of Alumni whose children in some cases graduated many years ago. Volunteering and/or donating faithfully to the School, they echo the words of Nancy Beaulieu, who has been connected to Fenn for thirteen years, first as a parent (of Eric ’05 and Jay ’06), then as a trustee and co-chair of the successful Boys at the Heart campaign. Each role, Nancy says, “has brought its own reward and insight, and through them I have experienced a profound and deepening admiration for what Fenn does for boys.” Nancy and her husband, Marty, are frequently reminded “of the large part Fenn played in our sons’ personal and academic development and our gratitude for it.” Peter and Anne Brooke have been supporting Fenn for forty-five years, during the time Sam ’72, Peter ’75, and John ’77 attended and regularly since then. “To this day, each of our sons has said that Fenn is the best school he ever attended,” Peter says, adding that the “warmth and encouragement of the faculty, the constructive discipline, the joy of learning, and the athletic competition prepared them well for what was ahead.” Martha Joumas, mother of William ’07 and Timothy ’12, helped out in the library and was a grade parent when her boys were

students. She says that supporting Fenn by, for example, participating in a recent Annual Fund phonathon, “isn’t merely volunteering; it’s a pleasure.” Her husband, Ray, serves on the Board of Trustees. Marc and Robin Shapiro, parents of David ’09 and Robert ’11, maintain that although their sons are further removed from Fenn, “We still feel strongly about supporting the school that has given so much to our family. Walking into the Fenn campus is like coming home.” As outgoing president of the Board of Trustees, and a co-chair with Nancy Beaulieu and Vinnie Lynch ’64 of Boys at the Heart, Kevin Parke says that he initially remained involved with Fenn “in exchange for the genuine care” that Calvin ’08, Oliver ’09, and Tyler ’12 experienced “as students during the critical years of their development. I have remained involved because I care deeply about the school’s future and what it can do for thousands of boys over the next decades.” Ann Marie and Dick Connolly also had three sons attend Fenn: Richard ’98, Ryan ’99, and Kevin ’03. “Since then, Fenn has never waivered from its mission to educate the whole boy,” Ann Marie says, adding that her sons “still talk about All School Meeting, Fenn football with Read Albright, hockey with Derek Boonisar, and so many

“To this day, each of our sons has said that Fenn is the best school he ever attended.”

more people who made a significant difference in their young lives…There is no better way to express our gratitude than to continue to invest in the mission and the work of Fenn.” Brenda Dupont, whose son, Gates, graduated in 2012, has lent a hand in many ways at Fenn, participating in phonathons this year and creating a video for the Parents’ Association auction. She volunteers because of “the many opportunities Fenn gave to Gates, and says she often tells him, “You are very lucky, because never in your life will you have that many people in one place who care so deeply about you.” Kathy Marchese, mother of Tim ’08 and Tucker ’10, serves on the Board of Visitors, has helped with the PA auction, and with Jenifer Coash, mom of Drew ’10, she cochaired a gathering for alumni parents to tour the new Meeting and Performance Hall. Kathy’s husband, Michael, continued as a trustee for a year after Tucker’s graduation and joined her on the BOV. The Marcheses experience “so much energy, excitement, and optimism on campus” when they visit, it is “an irresistible draw to stay connected,” she says. Jenifer’s husband, Beau, is a former BOV member, and Jenifer is on that board now. Fenn is grateful to the many parents of alumni who have remained actively connected with and supportive of Fenn, and for their investment in the school’s future. “If Fenn can stay strong,” declared Martha, “perhaps my boys will realize their desire to have their own sons roam the halls, play on the fields, sing on the risers, act on the stage, and fill the seats at All School Meetings.” www.fenn.org

School House Renovation Underway This Summer

s the finishing touches are put on the new Library and Science Center this summer for its September opening, work to upgrade the School House and its twelve classrooms has begun. “It’s essential that we ensure the high quality of the School House as a learning environment,” says Headmaster Jerry Ward, who adds that all other classrooms on the Fenn campus have been either created or renovated over the last decade. The School House, built in 1964, will be repaired and refurbished to create “a comfortable, healthy, welllit, well-heated, and well-ventilated, appealing place,” adds Mr. Ward. The upgrades “will prevent a stark contrast between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ on our campus and ensure a consistency of high quality facilities wherever boys are learning.” Among the improvements, stairs, doors, water fountains, and bathrooms will undergo repairs to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and local codes. The work will mean all classroom buildings will be fully accessible. Heaters,

carpeting, lockers, classroom and office furniture, and window treatments will be replaced, rooms and common areas painted, sliding blackboards removed or repainted, storage closets and sinks added to existing science rooms, and windows repaired. Two smaller Spanish classrooms will become one space and the computer lab will become a full classroom. The IT department will be working this summer to outfit the School House, Boll Building, the Lower School, and the Library and Science Center: in the existing buildings the electrical and wireless will be modified and emerging mobile media will be supported throughout the new center, with individual access to power and wireless data. Taking on this task, the Board of Trustees “has once again shown its commitment to faculty and boys and the future of Fenn,” says Director of Finance and Operations, Dave Platt. “Managing this project internally with our own staff [overseen by Dave DiPersio] makes the costs more efficient and allows us to control the timeline,” he adds.

Mary-Wren vanderWilden Named New Board Chair

he Board of Trustees in April enthusiastically and unanimously elected Mary-Wren vanderWilden as its next chair, according to Kevin Parke, who has chaired the Board for the past seven years. Mary-Wren has served on the Board for five years in addition to the year she was president of the Parents’ Association. For the past two years she has chaired the Board’s Strategic Planning Committee, which was fully responsible for creating the new ten-year strategic plan that was approved by the Board last November. After a stint in management consulting, Mary-Wren decided to follow her passion and go into education. She earned a MEd from Harvard and has taught mathematics and social studies in Los Angeles. MaryWren serves on the Board of the Francis Parker Charter Essential School in Devens, MA, and as the High 18 www.fenn.org

School Youth Director at First Parish Church in Concord, and she currently teaches driver’s education to local teenagers. She and her husband, Philip, live in Concord and are the proud parents of three Fenn alumni: Andrew ’09, Peter ’11, and Ethan ’13. “Mary-Wren’s deep understanding of the plan and of the strategic needs of the school make her uniquely qualified to serve as chair,” Kevin wrote in a letter sent to the Fenn community. “She will serve with the full confidence and support of the Board. Throughout her years of service, she has established a strong working relationship with Jerry Ward as headmaster.” Fenn is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of parents, parents of alumni, and alumni of the school. The group focuses primarily upon long-term strategic issues and plans for the future. Kevin says it has been “a pleasure and an honor” to lead the Board for the past seven years, and adds that the group’s work “ensures Fenn’s continued fulfillment of its mission.”

Advancing Fenn

Library and Science Center to Open This Fall

he new Imai Keller Moore-designed Library and Science Center, which will serve as the academic heart of the campus, is nearly completed and will open in September, knitted seamlessly into the Fenn campus and fronted by a new green partly shaded by the majestic copper beech tree that has thrived there for decades. The 10,000-square-foot building, which includes new construction and renovated areas, houses areas for study and reading, rooms for instruction, print and digital collections, four new science labs, and other seating and display spaces, and will feature digital resources including individual access to power and wireless data. Along with the Meeting and Performance Hall, completed in 2011, and its green crisscrossed by paths, where boys play daily, the new center “is a dream realized for Fenn,” says Headmaster Jerry Ward. Above, guests at the Alumni Reunion tour the new building.

Tom Hudner Steps Down

om Hudner ’87 steps down this summer after serving as Director of Advancement for six years. Tom worked closely with the Board of Trustees, Board of Visitors, Parents’ Association, and Alumni Council, and oversaw the broad range of fundraising and alumni outreach activities that Fenn undertakes each year. Tom directed the advancement program to historic achievements in fundraising, including the $25 million capital campaign, Boys at the Heart, which drew to a successful close on June 30th, and the attainment of a $1 million annual fund. “The renewal of the campus, made possible by Fenn’s fundraising, in no small part reflects the dedicated work of Tom and the Advancement Office team he led,” says Headmaster

Jerry Ward. “His loyalty to the school as a Fenn alumnus and his belief in Fenn’s mission are the ground from which he offered his inspired service.” Tom arrived at Fenn from a position in the Development Office at Middlesex School in 2007, excited, he says, to take the next step in his career. The years he has spent here have marked “not only great success for Fenn…but for me professionally as well. These factors bring me to an exciting professional juncture this year and spur me to take the next step with a deep sense of satisfaction and readiness for new challenges.” Tom has been pursuing some “interesting professional opportunities,” he adds. “One could not find a more decent person and colleague than Tom Hudner,” Headmaster Ward says. “All of us at Fenn are deeply grateful for what Tom has done for the Fenn School in his years with us.” The search for Tom’s successor as Director of Advancement is in progress.

VOICES OF FENN

What Makes Fenn Special? Just ask students, alumni, parents, and faculty!

“I love that my friends support me and I get a great education.” “Fenn had a transformative impact on my boys.”

“It’s warm, friendly, and inclusive; our children are comfortable being themselves.”

“Fenn makes you feel better about who you are.”

“I love this community; it gets me up in the morning.” “As a teacher I feel supported and am able to take risks and try new things knowing I have the support of the entire community.” “There are endless opportunities to lead.”

“Fenn is where boys can be themselves.”

Adopted Adopt ed by by The Fenn Fenn Scho Schoool Board Board of Trust ustees, ees, N Noovemb ember er 2012

Mapping the Future The Fenn School Long-Range Plan 2012-2022 MISSION STATEMENT The Fenn School seeks to prepare boys for a lifetime of learning, leadership, and integrity by offering a broad and challenging educational program in a personal community that honors diversity. Inspired by the ideals of honesty, respect, empathy, and courage and guided by the motto, Sua Sponte, each boy is challenged to accept responsibility for himself, for his own education, and for the well-being of others. OVERVIEW During the past year, Fenn’s Strategic Planning Executive Committee looked to Fenn’s future with faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, parents of alumni, trustees, and visitors. With scores of representatives across constituencies, the school pursued a thorough and thoughtful process of identifying Fenn’s strengths, determining its challenges, and subsequently defining key goals and essential steps for Fenn to maintain its excellence and advance its mission as a vital school for boys. The planning process engaged Fenn’s constituents through surveys, conversations, research, and meetings. Three major committees framed much of the process and focused on the fundamental elements of Fenn—People, Program, and Resources. 21

STRATEGIC PLAN 2012-2022

OVERARCHING GOALS While goals and objectives were identif ied in each of seventeen specif ic areas, the Strategic Planning Executive Committee identif ied eleven “overarching” goals to serve as guideposts for Fenn over the next ten years. • Sustain Fenn as a vital school dedicated to the care and development of boys through personal connection, strong community, shared values, and common purpose. • Advance the excellence of Fenn’s academic, athletic, and arts programs. • Recruit, retain, and support a highly qualified, dedicated, and diverse faculty committed to excellence and innovation in teaching and mentoring boys. • Broaden and support the racial and socio-economic diversity of Fenn’s student body, faculty, and Board of Trustees. • Promote Fenn’s leadership role in boys’ education in the wider educational community. • Foster a vibrant culture of professional development for faculty, staff, and administration. • Expand Fenn’s geographical enrollment to ensure a full, talented, and diverse student body. • Develop Fenn’s campus to meet the emerging needs of the educational program in the short and longer term. • Employ technology as an integral tool to ensure the excellence of a Fenn education.

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• Deepen the engagement of Fenn’s constituents, with special focus on alumni and parents of alumni, to strengthen their support of the school. • Implement a financial model of prudent tuition increases, efficient spending, and effective fundraising to sustain Fenn’s financial strength. The specific goals, strategies, and objectives of the plan are grouped under these broad categories: Educational Program, School Community, and Essential Resources.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ACADEMICS Over the next ten years, Fenn will “provide a broad, rich, and innovative curriculum grounded in best teaching practices that promote boys’ intellectual curiosity, essential learning skills, and sound preparation for secondary school.” Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Advance and employ teaching methods that promote students’ critical, integrative, and innovative thinking. • Employ technology as a fundamental learning and teaching tool. • Assess the effectiveness and consistency of the advisor program. • Review and, as needed, revise the master class and program schedule. • Advance a curriculum and further teaching methods that support a variety and range of boys’ learning styles and personality types.

STRATEGIC PLAN 2012-2022

ARTS Fenn will “offer an instructional program and performance opportunities that awaken and cultivate boys’ creativity, expressiveness, conf idence, and skill in the studio and performing arts.” Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Review arts offerings regularly to ensure their relevance and currency. • Promote the connection and integration of academic subjects and the arts. • Make full use of Fenn’s facilities for the arts, both within and beyond the Fenn community. ATHLETICS Fenn will “provide an athletic program that promotes enthusiasm, knowledge, and skill in team sports, an ethos of sportsmanship, opportunities for healthy competition, and activities that ensure physical f itness.”

Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Ensure that the core team sports programs in each division continue to thrive and the upper school interscholastic teams in each season remain competitive. • Continue staffing the sports program with skilled and committed coaches who serve as faculty and staff and teach Fenn’s core values through athletics. • Support the full range of boys’ athletic abilities and desires for competition through versatile athletic programming. CHARACTER, LEADERSHIP, AND MENTORING Fenn will “ensure…the development of boys’ sound character, ethical values, acceptance of personal responsibility, and positive influence on others.” Key objectives and priorities include the following: Strive to be a school community grounded in and inspired by the universal values of honesty, respect, empathy, and courage. 23

STRATEGIC PLAN 2012-2022

• Identify expanded leadership opportunities and specific programs dedicated to leadership development. • Employ teachers and staff who are committed to the ethos of Sua Sponte and to nurturing boys into ethical and responsible adults. • Assess the community service program and integrate service learning into the educational program. SUSTAINABILITY, GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP, AND DIVERSITY Fenn will strive to “promote boys’ understanding of their roles and responsibilities, locally and globally, as citizens in a diverse world with essential environmental resources to sustain.”

• Broaden and deepen instruction across goals and disciplines to develop students’ knowledge of other countries and cultures and major world issues. • Integrate environmental sustainability into the curriculum and promote opportunities for responsible environmental practices. TECHNOLOGY Fenn will “advance technology’s integration into the curriculum, classroom instruction, and school environment to ensure the richness of learning and teaching.” Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Establish a long-range technology plan.

Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Create an increasingly diverse student body, faculty, staff and board of trustees reflective of defining differences in the external world. • Provide faculty and staff with continued training and professional development in support of diversity and inclusiveness. 24 www.fenn.org

• Advance teachers’ competence and skill in employing technology as a key teaching tool. • Promote students’ ethical and responsible use of technology in all realms of their lives.

STRATEGIC PLAN 2012-2022

SCHOOL COMMUNITY FACULTY AND STAFF Fenn will strive to “attract, retain, and support a dedicated, talented, and diverse faculty and staff to teach, mentor, coach, and support Fenn boys.” Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Maintain teacher salaries at the 90th percentile, compared with highly competitive peer and public schools. • Advance a culture of professional development supported by appropriate funding, time, evaluation, and mentoring. • Recruit and retain a faculty and staff of varied backgrounds. • Support and recognize the work and value of staff by providing professional development and mentoring opportunities. • Assess and revise, as needed, the design of the Fenn internship and teaching fellows programs.

• Maintain Fenn’s long-standing enrollment base in Concord and nearby towns. • Sustain the progressive and steady diversification of the school community with substantial racial and socioeconomic diversity. • Maintain an educational program and school ethos that attracts, supports, and values boys of diverse personalities, talents, and interests. • Provide financial aid funding and flexible scheduling to ensure that all boys may participate in enrichment activities. PARENTS Fenn will “engage and support Fenn parents and guardians as partners in educating their sons, sustaining and enriching the school community, and ensuring the overall strength of the school.” Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Partner with the Parents’ Association to promote an inclusive and welcoming community that comfortably engages parents and guardians of varied geographical, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds and family structures.

STUDENTS Fenn will “enroll talented, well-matched boys of strong character and diverse backgrounds from a broadened geographical base to ensure Fenn’s full enrollment and continued vitality as a personal community in which each boy is known and valued.”

• Evaluate the school’s effectiveness in communicating with parents regarding their sons’ progress and make changes as appropriate. • Enlist parents effectively as essential resources in Fenn’s admissions, marketing, and fundraising efforts.

Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Broaden the geographical area from which Fenn enrolls students to include towns and cities along the Route 2 corridor and into Cambridge and Boston. 25

STRATEGIC PLAN 2012-2022

ALUMNI

EXTERNAL COMMUNITIES

Fenn will “recognize, engage, and support alumni to advance Fenn’s efforts in school life, alumni events and networking, marketing, and fundraising to realize the full potential of Fenn’s alumni as a powerful resource for Fenn.”

Fenn will “maintain productive and mutually supportive relationships with…neighbors and the Town of Concord, while broadening and strengthening Fenn’s presence and prof ile in communities more distant from Fenn.”

Key objectives and priorities include the following:

• Conduct periodic dialogues with interested neighbors and maintain a cooperative relationship with the Town of Concord.

• Create a comprehensive ten-year plan for the development and implementation of a robust and effective alumni program that compares favorably with other highly effective programs. • Provide appropriate resources to support such a program. • Engage alumni to assume fully their proportionate philanthropic support of Fenn, to ensure Fenn’s future success.

• Establish an effective presence and profile in communities beyond Fenn’s traditional enrollment perimeter to attract talented and diverse students and broaden the reputation of Fenn as a regional school.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES ENROLLMENT

TRUSTEES AND VISITORS Fenn will “maintain a diverse, talented, and dedicated Board of Trustees… and maintain a Board of Visitors enlisting diverse members from all school constituencies.”

Fenn will “enroll in suff icient number talented students of diverse backgrounds and locations who are well-matched to Fenn’s mission and program.” Key objectives and priorities include the following:

Key objectives and implementation steps include the following: • Recruit and retain a Board of Trustees that reflects the evolving diversity of the Fenn community and provides the necessary personal and professional characteristics essential to guiding and strengthening Fenn’s future. • Maintain a Board of Trustees that assumes leadership in annual and capital giving and fundraising. • Increase the diversity of the Board of Visitors to reflect Fenn’s evolving community, and involve well-matched members of the Board of Visitors to advance appropriate school initiatives. 26 www.fenn.org

• Expand Fenn’s applicant pool to ensure the continued high quality and increasing diversity of Fenn’s student body. • Deepen and broaden Fenn’s geographical presence, while continuing to attract families from Concord and surrounding towns. • Provide the necessary and increased financial aid funding required to meet the varied and evolving goals of Fenn. • Ensure that the culture, program, and practices of the School create a comfortable and inclusive environment for all families.

MARKETING

ADVANCEMENT

The School will strive to “enhance the public presence of Fenn locally and regionally and strengthen the school’s internal communication with its constituents.”

Fenn will “raise the necessary capital and operating funds to meet Fenn’s f inancial needs,” consistent with the goals and objectives of Fenn’s ten-year plan.

Key objectives and priorities include the following:

• Create and implement a comprehensive and integrated marketing plan addressing admissions, advancement, communications, and constituent relations.

• Create and implement an advancement plan and organizational structure to fund the Long-Range Strategic Plan.

• Utilize a full range of approaches, including campusbased events for external communities, social media, and print and electronic communications. • Engage Fenn families to promote the school within their communities and professional circles.

• Achieve a sustainable base of $1 million for the Annual Fund and achieve consistent growth thereafter. • Undertake a major gifts program and/or a future campaign effort to fund the objectives of Fenn’s master plan. • Double the school’s endowment through strategic fundraising and investment growth. 27

STRATEGIC PLAN 2012-2022

CAMPUS AND FACILITIES Fenn will continue to “maintain and upgrade as needed Fenn’s campus and facilities to meet the needs of the educational program and support the work of faculty and staff in serving the school.” Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Create and implement a short-term and long-term plan for the School House. • Establish and implement a plan to replace the “Old Gym.” • Upgrade and/or expand key supporting spaces including the Connolly Dining Hall, kitchen, infirmary, maintenance and storage, and W. W. Fenn. • Protect and maintain the distinct character of Fenn’s campus and buildings. FINANCES Fenn will “employ a sustainable f inancial model, sound management, and prudent stewardship to ensure Fenn’s capacity to support its educational program and school operations, and promote Fenn’s longer term f inancial vitality.”

Key objectives and priorities include the following: • Maintain moderate flexibility in enrollment to accommodate, if necessary, up to 325 students. • Continue to implement a balanced annual operating budget by: exercising prudent expense controls; increasing ancillary income by 10% annually; growing the school’s endowment; limiting endowment draw to 4%; and maintaining consistent increases in annual giving. • Make best efforts to limit tuition increases to 1.5% above inflation or less. • Fund salaries and benefits at a highly competitive level. • Increase financial aid significantly to advance socio-economic diversity. • Employ energy efficient and other sustainability practices both to capture cost savings and to help preserve the environment.

VOICES OF “I love that FENN you can take risks and no one makes fun of you.”

“I like how every person is kind.”

“There is so much happiness on everybody’s faces.” “Fenn is warm-hearted and welcoming.”

“Fenn is a place where we can grow and stretch into our best selves.” “The bond I have with teachers is almost as important as the one I have with friends.”

“Teachers go out of their way to help students.” “Fenn helped me find my moral compass.” “It’s reassuring to me that our broader lessons of community life are ‘taking’ as effectively as our academic and artistic lessons.”

Chuck Huggins ’74

COUNCIL KEEPS ALUMNI CONNECTED “For me, Fenn is home. I’ve always wanted to give back,” says Peter Stone ’03, explaining why he has given his time to support his school as an Alumni Council member. Peter is one of three siblings who have attended Fenn, “and we’ve gotten to see each other grow up here,” he says with a smile. Peter’s brother Ben ’12 attends Lawrence Academy and Will ’05 attended Groton and graduated from Dartmouth in 2012. The Alumni Council is an engaged and active body of graduates that is charged with developing ways to preserve, foster, and stimulate the loyalty and support of all alumni and to promote the general welfare of the School. Further, the group strives to provide services and networking opportunities and to strengthen connections between alumni and the School and among each other. The Council is comprised of twenty-three members representing a range of five decades (classes 1954 to 2003). They meet on campus six times a year, including at the 30 www.fenn.org

annual Alumni Association meeting, in addition to conducting related business at other times, as needed. In its meetings, members work on various Council initiatives and listen to a variety of presentations made by Headmaster Jerry Ward, other Fenn faculty and staff members, and Board of Trustees representatives. For example, the Council has engaged in conversation over the past year on topics such as the School’s new Strategic Plan (presented in this issue on pp. 21-28) secondary school placement, admissions, and marketing. The Council has three standing committees that assist in carrying out its mission and objectives. The Nominating Committee, chaired by Matt Boger ’89, identifies and recruits new Council members, and each year nominates the individual who will be honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award (read about this year’s recipient, Joe Ellis ’71, on p. 32). The Alumni Services Committee, chaired by David Kitendaugh ’97, organizes programs for alumni such as the annual golf outing, the Blue and Gold Networking Luncheon, and regional pub nights.

Advancing Fenn

“Being good ambassadors for the school is important.” Annual Fund Committee members led by Joe Eddy ’93, who is also the Council vice president, work to encourage broad alumni support of the Annual Fund each year and participate in organized phonathons. Under this committee, the Council continues to lead by example, achieving 100% Annual Fund participation by its members. At a late winter meeting, some fifteen members, with Director of Advancement Tom Hudner ’87, and Advancement Officer Harris Rosenheim ’02, took time to talk about what Fenn means to them and why they continue to support the School in their roles as Council members. Chuck Huggins ’74 presides over the group and in that role is an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees. The Council “is constantly evolving,” he explained. “We try to set goals built around organizing events to stimulate alumni relations.” Said Cato Anderson ’91, “Being good ambassadors for the school is important; getting involved [with the Council] was an easy choice.” Charles Nadja ’96, whose brother Andrew graduated this spring, observed that “certain values we hold dear still exist today. We have a responsibility to remain engaged with the school so those values endure.” “Fenn set my course in academics and made me want to be a teacher,” said Brian Davidson ’89, who works at the Thoreau School in Concord. “It’s a place where you can expand your horizons,” agreed Joe Eddy. During the conversation, each alumnus spoke of his own experiences as a student, drawing words or nods of recognition and agreement from other members. “Fenn saved me in a lot of ways,” declared Cam Wilson ’93. “My family was going through a tough time and I’m indebted to the School for raising me…the faculty and staff showed me what I was capable of that I didn’t even know. Of course I want to give back.” He drew laughter when he noted that he “wore out the Bench,” on which students guilty of various transgressions sat to wait for the headmaster. Cam served as a captain in the Marine Corps before receiving his MBA and joining Fidelity Investments. Jon Byrd ’76, who has taught in the Lower School since 1986, captured the spirit of the conversation by saying, “You love the school you left; our boys will love it based on their own experiences, and even though Fenn may look a little different, the spirit endures.” Council members in addition to those mentioned above are Mark Biscoe H’85, Jon Cappetta ’80, Christian Ford ’01, Tim Gibson ’85, John Gilboy ’97, Kevin Keegan ’90, Ted Lovejoy ’95, Alex Morss ’88, Derek Pelletier ’92, David White ’57, and Woody Woodman ’88.

Charles Nadja ’96

John Byrd ’76

“Certain values we hold dear still exist today.” Jon Cappetta ’80 31

Distinguished Alumnus 2013:

Joe Ellis ’71, President of the Denver Broncos

hen asked what his greatest moment has been while serving as the president of the Denver Broncos, Joe Ellis says with certainty: “It hasn’t yet come.” But he knows what it would be: winning the AFC championship in the Broncos’ Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium. “That would be a goal achieved,” he declares.

Joe’s path after Fenn was characterized by a determination to be involved with professional athletics as a career, says the self-described “sports junkie.” After attending Milton Academy and Colorado College, Joe, who was selling grocery items and t-shirts decorated with team emblems, managed to secure an interview with the Broncos management, hoping to be able to sell such items for the club. The general

manager was impressed that Joe “had the guts” to make a proposal at such a young age, Joe says, and gave him a draw agreement, in which his compensation was based on performance. “I worked really hard and I had a blast,” he recalls. By 1983 Joe was the club’s director of marketing, leaving after the 1985 season to pursue a master’s degree at the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He joined the NFL in 1990 as vice president of club administration and stadium management, working with Paul Tagliabue, the commissioner, and his successor Roger Goodell, with whom he built a strong professional association and friendship. “I was fortunate to hitch my career on a guy who was fast-tracked,” he says, adding that the job entailed “a lot of work and strategic planning, and a lot of exposure to many different aspects of sports management.” Returning to the Broncos, Joe spent three years as chief operating officer and ten as the club’s executive vice president before being named president in 2011. His rise through the ranks is due in large part to his leadership skills and business knowledge,

JOE ATTENDED FENN “BECAUSE MY PARENTS KNEW IT HAD THE RIGHT CORE VALUES FOR A YOUNG BOY.”

Distinguished Alumnus

and Joe is widely respected within the NFL and in the wider sports industry. He has earned significant recognition for his efforts for emphasizing community involvement and civic responsibility. Operating at the top of the management structure, Joe is entrusted with substantial authority; he has been called “the voice” of the club’s owner, Pat Bowlen. He also works closely with John Elway, the Broncos’ Hall of Fame quarterback who retired in ’99 and is now the executive vice president of the organization. Joe oversees “the entire operation of the stadium at [Elway’s] direction,” including financial management, marketing and sales, media and community relations, ticket operations, facilities, and administrative efforts. When the club’s state of the art Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium opened in 2001, Joe was the driving force behind its development and construction. A Colorado resident for more than twenty years, Joe says it’s important to be “a positive presence and impact in the region” so that he can build strong relationships with community leaders. Above all, he says the club spends “a lot of resources on making the fans’ experience pleasant and entertaining, from the moment they leave their homes for a game to their return home.” A current project is the installation of new high definition video boards in the stadium, including one that will be one of the largest in the league, at 8,800 square feet, and HD flat screens in the concourses. The improvements were not made with a Super Bowl bid in mind, he has said, but would be necessary for the team and the city to formally develop a bid in the future, which they plan to do for the 2018, 2019, or 2020 season.

The team hasn’t had a Super Bowl victory in fifteen years, since right before Joe joined the franchise. Losing to the Ravens in the AFC playoff game in January, he says, was “heartbreaking,” as “the team played well. I felt so badly for the players, the coaches, and the fans.” In fact, a reporter observed Joe quietly working the locker room after the loss, going player to player, rookie or veteran, offering words of support. “We’re excited to have him,” Joe said of Wes Welker, the wide receiver who left the Patriots this winter after a great season, and who will be catching passes from New England nemesis Peyton Manning. “[Wes] is a good addition for us.” But Joe has connections to New England and respect for its football team and says he isn’t gloating. He lived in Concord and Lincoln growing up, returns to Massachusetts to visit his mother, and spends time with his Uncle George and Aunt Barbara Bush and his many cousins at the former U.S. president’s summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, each summer. “I’m not going around pounding my chest,” he says. He calls the Pats “a powerhouse team” and notes that they won three Super Bowls in four years. “We’re being tightlipped and will just try to win.” These days Joe is tending his own brood with his wife, Ann. Their oldest child, Si,

“FOOTBALL HAS MADE MY FAMILY CLOSER. IT IS THE FABRIC OF

20, is a senior at Miami of Ohio; Catherine, 18, is headed to Cornell, and Zander, 16, will be a high school senior in the fall. Football, he says, has made his family grow closer and is “the fabric of our lives. We go to games together, as many of us as are able to attend. I have some duties while I’m there, but we come home together,” he says, “in heartbreak or in joy.”

Joe and Bronco’s owner Pat Bowlen.

Joe attended Fenn because “my parents knew it had the right core values for a young boy.” He says he was “more active than academic,” as a student—he captained the Varsity soccer team and played Varsity baseball and hockey, and was in the Glee Club—and recalls being part of a “very close” community. “It was a group of fun young kids and energetic teachers” including Mark Biscoe, Read Albright, Dave Edgar, and Jim Carter ’54. “They fostered and guided us by helping us correct our mistakes and hoping we wouldn’t make them again. They helped shape who we are.” The Fenn Distinguished Alumnus Award is presented to an alumnus who has made outstanding contributions to his field and his community, with consideration of his involvement with Fenn. Joe received his award at the May 31st Alumni Reunion.

OUR LIVES.” 33

ClassNotes Class of 1931

Class of 1945

Henry Thompson reports, “After 95 years, I have been slowed up with a broken pelvis. I am home now after two weeks in the New England Rehab Hospital in Woburn. Hope to be walking in a few weeks.”

Donald Thompson writes, “I retired 21 years ago, becoming Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, having specialized in the archaeology and ethnohistory of Latin America with a special emphasis on the Central Andes, mainly Peru. Upon retirement I decided to make some major lifestyle changes: I joined two literature discussion groups (now only one due to eye problems) and have been reading and discussing a lot of fiction, plays, and poetry for which I never had time before. I also took the appropriate training and became a docent at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. With more time on my hands, I also attend many more concerts, plays, operas, and dance performances than previously, though I have long had a strong interest in them all. I attribute my interest in music and theater largely to an event at Fenn when I was in the 6th or 7th grade. We were taken to a local, I think, high school, performance of Iolanthe. I found it stunning and demanded that my parents get me the recording of it. The Madison Savoyards are doing Iolanthe this summer, so it will be a nostalgia trip. My interest in dance, modern and ballet, came later when my college roommate decorated our room with prints of Degas paintings. I decided to find out what Degas saw in that subject matter and soon became a balletomane. Last week I took my nine-year-old grandson, Quinn, to a rock ballet/modern dance based on Dracula. He said he liked it, and I certainly enjoyed it. On the more physical level, I still walk a lot on trails

Class of 1937 Larry Lunt writes: “If life is what happens while you’re making other plans, then I’m planning no more and just enjoying the mild routine of life as it is at 89. My dog controls some of this, but we age together so it is not too strenuous. The flatter desert for hikes. No more scaling the higher mountains encircling Tucson. Regrets, yes, but the memories are good, including Fenn in the ’30s. So long ago. May-September Belgium, winter in Arizona.”

Class of 1942 Stephen Root lives in Great Barrington, MA, and reports that he is a farmer and retired teacher, growing sweet corn and vegetables for local consumption.

Class of 1943 Chris Worthington sends best regards to “survivors of Fenn ’43.” He retired from his private law practice in 1993 and suffered two losses when his wife, Gloria, passed away in 1999 and his daughter Christa died in 2002. Chris is now residing at the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea, MA. 34 www.fenn.org

in parks and on the Ice Age Trail, and I do a good bit of canoeing, though no longer in white water. I folk dance a couple of nights a week—English Country, Scottish Country, Contra, Morris and some International. Yes, despite my age, I still perform on a Morris side, though I don’t caper as high as I used to. On the family level, Joanna and I have been married since 1957 and, aside from several years of field work in Peru, have lived in Madison since 1961. Our daughter, Sara, died of cancer in 1999. Our son, Michael, and his wife, Lisa, have given us two grandsons, Devin and Quinn. Fortunately, they live in Madison and we see them often and sometimes sit them and/or take them to various events. Lisa’s extended family members are largely in the Madison area and have been very welcoming to us, which is very nice since Joanna’s roots are in California, and most of my living relatives are in England or Argentina.”

Class of 1948 Joe Snider offers this post-Fenn update: “After Fenn I graduated from Belmont Hill School in 1952 and Amherst College in 1956. I did graduate work at Princeton University, getting my Ph.D. in Experimental Physics in 1961. I taught and did research in physics and astronomy first at Harvard University until 1969, then at Oberlin College until I retired in 1997. I had visited Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island in Maine with my family many times while I was growing up, and I was drawn back there to live year-round in 1999. I have a partner, Ellen, who is a skilled

Class Notes

watercolor painter. She lives nearby and we consider this to be an ideal arrangement for two older people who have already had the experience of marriage. We are active and in generally good health. My main interests now are sailing, hiking, learning to play classical pieces on the piano, reading to myself and also out loud to Ellen, singing in a local barbershop music chorus and in a quartet. Ellen and I share a deep response to the natural world and its mystery. Getting older seems to bring with it for me the realization that there are many questions in life to which I have not found answers and that I probably won’t find them. In any case, I’d rather accept this situation than cling to a belief simply because I’d like it to be true. So that’s a long and somewhat philosophical summary of a life which was set on a good path by Fenn when I first came there in the fall of 1940 to join the second grade! I’ve been in touch for some years now with C. Lloyd Thomas ’47 who now lives near Cambridge, England.”

Class of 1951 Toby Field reports that he is working for his wife, a landscape architect, as a “gofer” and in business development. He periodically sees Medal of Honor winner Capt. Thomas J. Hudner USN (Ret), whose son Tom Hudner ’87 is Fenn’s Director of Advancement. Rusty Robb reports that he, Fred Lovejoy, and Tom Piper meet monthly for breakfast at the Colonial Inn and “try to solve the World’s Problems.” Both these classmates plus Sam Jewell celebrated Rusty’s 75th birthday last September along with family members in a memorable “roast.” Grandson Justin Robb, son of Scott Robb ’75, graduated from Fenn’s 8th grade in June.

Class of 1954 Despite retiring after 35 years with the Geological Survey of Israel, John Hall continues with the mapping of the seafloor beneath all the seas in and around Israel (Mediterranean, Red and Dead Seas, Sea of Galilee). He reports, “This Mayflower WASP has thoroughly enjoyed his over 42 years of pioneering in the renewed history of Israel. I

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The 1955 Middlesex Varsity hockey team that tied Belmont Hill for the Prep School League championships included six members of the Fenn Class of 1951. Left to right are Zeke Marshall, who played for Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business; Russ Robb, who was in the Penn hockey club; Bill DeFord, who played for Harvard; Tom Piper (in back), who captained the Williams hockey team; Dirk Frankenberg, who was invited to the U.S. Olympics in 1960 after being an outstanding goalie at Dartmouth; and Reg Johnston, who played on the Tuck School of Business team.

have four children from two marriages here, with five grandchildren here in Jerusalem and in Herzliya on the coastal plain. The older kids put 8 years in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and now my 18-year-old daughter Naomi is about to begin her 30 months of service. Her twin brother Daniel has Down Syndrome, so will only go to the IDF after continuing in school to age 21. I was recently in the US for three weeks with Naomi, first for the January meeting of the Bard College at Simon’s Rock Board of Overseers. I represent the Hall family on the Board. (My mother, formerly headmistress of Concord Academy, founded Simon’s Rock, which is still the only four-year Early College in the world.) Naomi and I then travelled for a week through the Pacific Northwest, including a visit to Kendrick, ID, (population 303) named after my great grandfather (my middle name is Kendrick). Finally we spent a wild, two weeks visiting the rest of the Hall family, which has mainly relocated to California, including my Fenn School graduate nephew Adam A. Reeves ’75, now a prosecutor for the Justice Department in San Francisco.” After more than 45 years living in Weston, Tom Jackson and his wife, Robin, sold their house and moved to Fox Hill Village in Westwood. They still have a house in Londonderry, VT, so Tom is “still actively working with my John Deere.” He retired from banking after 38 years and he now works on a part-time basis for a real estate company that owns two shopping

centers on Needham Street in Newton. This, together with being on several non-profit boards, keeps Tom busy. He and Robin have five grandchildren, two in Tampa and three in Andover. In closing, Tom adds, “We are balancing many exciting activities in this phase of our life.”

Class of 1956 Jon Olmsted and his wife, Janet, traveled with Stanford University in 2012 on the vessel Via Australis to “The End of the Earth” from Ushuaia, Argentina, in Patagonia, into Tierra del Fuego via the Beagle Channel to Cape Horn, then on the Strait of Magellan to Punta Arenas in Chile and by land to Torres del Paine National Park, where they took hikes and rode horseback. Jon adds, “Patagonia is spectacular!”

Janet and Jon Olmstead ’56 hiking on the Serrano River in Chile 35

Necessity is the Mother of Invention for Abhinay Ashutosh ’09

hile Abhi Ashutosh ’09 was a freshman studying computer science and business at New York University this year, he found that the calendar apps he used were insufficient to capture all of the information necessary to organize his schedule; he would have to check multiple sites to keep tabs on his various clubs, classes, organizations, activities, and startup projects. Proving that necessity is the mother of invention, Abhi designed his own program for the iPhone: a free, downloadable app called Event Book, which was released in February 2013 and featured by Apple as “New & Noteworthy.” Event Book is a next generation calendar app integrating weather, location, maps, and traditional calendar events to provide a complete picture of the day, week, or month. This accomplishment put Abhi in the rankings with companies such as DropBox, Wonderlist, and Fantastical, he says, and in any case, it is an unusual achievement for a single developer, let alone a college freshman. He continues to work on updating the app. Opting to make Event Book free on the App Store so people can easily access it, Abhi does not make any money on it. But “I am absolutely doing what I love,” he declares. (Event Book can be downloaded for free at

“MY FENN TEACHERS INSPIRED ME TO PURSUE THE SCIENCES.” https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/event). Abhi, who was passionate about graphics and working with computers at Fenn, and who played baritone horn for five years with the band, says he particularly enjoyed his science and woodworking classes, and that his math teachers Jay Samoylenko and Ralph Giles “inspired me to pursue the sciences.” Abhi developed his first “cool” program during the summer following ninth grade at BB&N. He taught himself Java animations and created a small game, adding several boost powers including increased speed, invisibility, and “god mode” for ten seconds; “Dodge It!,”

36 www.fenn.org

Abhinay Ashutosh ’09

based on a mathematical algorithm he had programmed into it, grew progressively more challenging for its players. Over the next three years, Abhi learned C, C++, and Objective-C, iPhone’s programming language. “Figuring out cool applications for what I have learned is what has made me pursue so many projects,” says Abhi, brother of Aneesh ’12. His passion for programming has led to him co-founding two startups that are in the development stage; the details are under wraps right now. He is also designing for UrLinQ, a platform for university students and professors to share their ideas and research with the world, and serves as the marketing director of TEDxNYU, a global organization that helps spread ideas through TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) talks. Abhi has won a number of awards including the 2010 TYE (The Young Entrepreneurs) $25K Global Business Plan Competition. “I make time for all of my projects in my day,” Abhi says. “It is a lot of work, but it makes me happy, and that’s what really counts in the end.”

Class Notes

Marnie and Eric Vanderpoel ’57 in India

Class of 1957 Eric Vanderpoel reports, “Scary to think that our 50th reunion was six years ago. I have retired completely and now work as unpaid labor for Marnie. She supported me during my military career and so it is only fair that I support her now. We have two granddaughters in Richmond, VA, and a bachelor son who lives about six miles away and can literally run over here for dinner...several days a week. Got to love it. I keep in shape riding my bicycle about 100 miles a week and I also volunteer for our community. Our real love is traveling. We went around the world a few years ago and to Antarctica last year. This year we head for the Baltic.” David White writes, “Congratulations to all who made another fine FENN magazine (Winter 2013). Great photos and articles giving a positive update and impression of where Fenn is now and headed in its future evolution. The piece about Robb Hall is priceless, and I’m pleased that its history will be displayed in the new Library and Science Center.”

Class of 1958 Percy Preston’s book, A Place Apart—The House of the Redeemer in New York City, was published late last year. It is the story of an Episcopal retreat house, and a copy is in the Fenn library.

Class of 1959

Class of 1962

Ben Riggs writes, “My wife Lee and I just celebrated 24 years of marriage (the second for both of us) here in Newport, and are really glad we chose to transiBen Riggs ’59 tion to retirement here twelve years ago. My business is parttime now, and I sail my boat at least five times a week during the season, and still volunteer for sail training and race management activities at the Navy Yacht Club, where we teach everyone from Naval Academy Prep School students to Naval War College attendees. Over the winter months I have stayed busy as chair of the Curriculum Committee for the 500 student Circle of Scholars at Salve Regina University, where I also teach International Current Events both semesters and just finished teaching a course titled “What is Happening to our Global Environment, and Why.” (While a potentially depressing subject, I do manage to cover potentially real solutions.) Lee continues painting for a successful local art gallery (Sheldon Fine Art), while her son Scott Johnson is publishing his first book after his years in purgatory as Newsweek’s Bureau Chief in Baghdad (The Wolf and the Watchman, W.W. Norton & Company), while my daughter Lisa and her husband have a very successful fine arts business in, of all places, Lincoln, Nebraska. Since Nebraska is not on my favorite travel spot list, I try to see my grandchildren here in Newport in the summer and someplace warmer in the winter. Meanwhile, my daughter Sonia is looking for a job locally so she can relocate to Newport from Florida. My Brooks and Browne & Nichols 50th reunions are coming up this spring. It will be interesting to see how my old classmates have turned out after all this time.”

Jeff Cook received a lifetime achievement award from Partners for Livable Communities this past February in Washington, DC. Jeff was recognized for his leadership in developing and promoting the concept and practice of environmental internships through the energies and talents of young people working in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. During its 35-year history, Jeff ’s Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) recruited, placed, and supported over 11,000 interns across the U.S. In 1989, Jeff started ECO’s Diversity Initiative to aggressively increase the representation of people of color in the environmental professions. In the following years, ECO recruited, placed, and supported more than 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students of color with government, industry, and comJeff Cook ’62 munity groups.

Class of 1976 Doug Hendrie reports, “Currently I am working in Vietnam with a local organization called Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) that my wife, Quyen, founded in 2000. As an advisor to ENV’s Wildlife Crime and Investigation Unit I work closely with law enforcement agencies both inside and outside of Vietnam, combatting illegal hunting and trade of wildlife. The rapid pace of economic development in Vietnam over the past fifteen years has resulted in growing demand for exotic foods and traditional medicines made from wildlife. Last year, 688 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone, their horns cut from their bodies, and many of these smuggled into Vietnam where they are sold for as much as $5000/100 grams. Vietnam is also consuming the region’s tigers, also used in traditional medicine. Last year, we logged twenty tiger seizures in Vietnam, more than double that in the previous two years. Some may think that this job sounds a bit exciting, but in reality I do not get to kick down any doors, catch bad guys, or play with tiger or bear cubs too often. 37

Dr. Craig Surman ’87: Fenn Set the Stage for a Career in Helping Others

he most vivid images in Craig Surman’s imaginary photo album of his years at Fenn are these: toting his many binders with hole reinforcers on each page of filler paper; receiving his first organizer with his classmates (“I use one similar to it to this day.”); posting the weather conditions in the Stone Lobby for Mr. Hindle, who presented him with a weather radio at the end of the year; and sitting in All School Meeting one day when Mr. Miskell stood to address a transgression that had taken place and spoke to the boys about honor. “I blossomed at Fenn,” says Craig, who graduated in 1987 and went on to Concord Academy, Oberlin College, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. “I had major organizational challenges and not a lot of self-esteem,” he explains, but during those years he received the kind of attention that “helped me figure out my strengths and weaknesses.” Ninth grade was his “glory lap,” Craig notes, adding that he was honored at commencement with the writing award, the math award, and a citizenship award “that I will never forget because Mr. Birge called me a Superman,” a compliment that rose in part from Craig’s taking a classmate who was having problems with his vision to the nurse’s office. Craig is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the scientific coordinator of the Adult ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the largest research programs of its kind in the world. He has co-authored with Dr. Tim Bilkey and science writer Karen Weintraub Fast Minds: How to Thrive if You Have ADHD (Or Think You Might) (Berkeley, 2013), which offers strategies for people who struggle with ADHD traits or who simply want to tame their scattered, overwhelmed, and disorganized lives. The book was developed from clinical research and the success of both doctors’ patients. Dr. Surman is also the author of ADHD in Adults: A Practical Guide to Evaluation and Management, compiled with input from international collaborators, published last fall (Springer, 2012); this book provides advice for primary care

38 www.fenn.org

doctors and other health care providers on understanding what symptoms of ADHD might look like in adults and covers diagnosis and treatment. Craig lectures and consults internationally. People often ask Craig how they or their children can cope with ADHD issues such as attention span problems and difficulties with organization. “Pills won’t always teach these skills,” he points out, because doctors know that dealing with ADHD symptoms does not simply involve a test and a diagnosis that lead within minutes to a prescription. Instead, “It’s the way the individuals tell their story,” he says. And it’s about helping those with ADHD “find an environment that is engaging and appealing,” and that offers a personalized approach. “If you can find what helps people feel effective and you give them enough time to do so, they’ll thrive,” he declares. “Fenn is a model of that kind of structure, and one I strive to internalize.”

“FENN HELPED ME FIGURE OUT MY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.” Craig believes that environment is an important element in the management of ADHD and that medical and nonmedical resources have vital roles in a treatment plan. He is working on the development of nutraceuticals—supplements and specific diets—and prescription drugs that cannot be abused, he says, referring to the high rate of college students without the disorder who procure ADHD meds to increase focus and productivity, a use that can prove dangerous. Craig’s wife, Weslie, is a former English teacher who studied to become a school psychologist, and the couple has two children, Lilah, who is six, and Evie, four. He was inspired to pursue psychiatry in part due to his father, Dr. Owen Surman, who has been affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital for nearly forty years. His dad would come home and talk about his work “and I thought, ‘What an awesome job!’ He gets to meet all kinds of people and help them,” Craig recalls. As a child who was “a nerd—terrible at sports—the kind who would score at the wrong end of the court,” but who would pen page upon page of description about a tree on campus for English and “over-research” every social studies paper he was assigned, Craig says, “I have always been interested in people who are different, facing some challenge, odd, strange, or brilliant. And I have always wanted to help them.”

Class Notes

Most days are spent pressuring our law enforcement partners to do their jobs more effectively, working to close loopholes in the law, and trying to put together pieces of a vast puzzle that represents the organized criminal networks that profit from the trade of illegal wildlife. However, I am not alone in this endeavor. Quyen shares in the frustrations and victories in our efforts to keep endangered wildlife out of the mouths of consumers in Vietnam. At present, we both split our time working in Hanoi and in Virginia just outside of Washington, DC, where our kids, Kylee (10) and Katherine (4), are in school. In February, we opened the ENV Wildlife Conservation Trust in Virginia, a non-profit to help support wildlife protection work in Vietnam. Kylee loves art, dance, and wildlife. Katherine loves wildlife, too, but I think she also loves kicking down doors as well. I might put her on the team when she is a bit older.”

Class of 1978 Bill Barron, president of Williamson Corporation, innovators of industrial infrared thermometers, was honored when his company was named the 2012 Small Business of the Year by the Family Business Association (FBA). Bill Lawrence did over 100 international press interviews in early 2013, mostly around the In Amenas hostage crisis in Algeria and degrading security situation in the Sahara-Sahel region from his well-protected perch in Rabat, Morocco, where he is North Africa director for the think tank International Crisis Group. His son Zachary (9) is enjoying Rabat American School, where he excels in writing, music, and performance and is trying out for the baseball team. Bill authored a widely discussed article on Libya and his good friend Ambassador Chris Stevens titled “Libya’s Volunteer Peacekeepers” (which can be found on the mideast.foreignpolicy.com website). It was widely tweeted, and was commented on approvingly by Andrew Sullivan in the Daily Beast. Bill played an active role in U.S. engagement with Libya for many years while at the State Department, and in May 2011 he received two medals from the Egyptian government for improving U.S.-Egyptian relations.

Class of 1981

Class of 1984

Tim Litle is living in Newburyport with his wife, Kim, and two sons—Tommy (12) and Nicholas (9). He reports, “Life is good.” Lorne Thomsen and his wife, Alexandra, have really enjoyed living in Barcelona, Spain, this year with their kids: Jack (12), Gavin (10), and Louisa (8). They return to the States in June, in time to be back at Camp Deerwood.

Joe Hackett and his wife, Heather, now have two children: Henry Emerson Hackett (5) and Sophia Kate Hackett (2). They all moved to Santa Monica for the school system. Joe continues to work in production of movies and television. In the past year he predominantly worked on an educational documentary as a photographer, editor, and producer for a movement called El Sistema in Venezuela. He also had the pleasure of working on the Blue Ray release of Mission Impossible 4 at JJ Abrams BAD ROBOT, doing the finishediting on all of the behind the scenes. Joe adds, “Being a parent of two small children with a full time working wife (who works at UCLA’s NICU) is the most demanding and rewarding job I’ve ever encountered. The kids are AMAZING and so is my wife but - holy smokes - is it tough! As a result I continue to work with my friends on a WEB SERIES about parents and teachers. You can find evidence of this on VIMEO under Joe Hackett. I miss Fenn and Concord dearly. Lastly, our family is blessed to have at least one family member, Billy Hackett ’87, living in Los Angeles and our kids love him a LOT.”

Class of 1982 When Jim Carter ’54 last checked in with Paul Bellantoni, Paul was headed to Los Angeles to work with an animation producer on some voiceover work. Paul writes, “I kind of love that I have gone from opera to cartoons. While I do plenty of corporate and commercial voiceover work (audiobooks, training videos, narration work, etc.) and it can be enjoyable, at least some of the time, the cartoon/video game work is just so damned fun! Plus I get to use my ‘opera-era’ talents for any characters that need accents or even strong characters. My wife and I are actually considering moving to L.A. so I can pursue more of that sort of work (about 85% of animation and video game work is based out there; here in NYC it is mostly only commercial and corporate work.) I am very lucky to have found such a supportive partner willing to make the move if it looks like the best course for my career.”

Class of 1985 Dan Thomsen and his wife, Sara, celebrated their daughter Ana’s first birthday on February 16, 2013.

Class of 1983

Class of 1986

Sean Cleary writes that he has been working at World Wrestling Entertainment for a little over a year. He reports to Vince McMahon as the head of Human Resources and is “having a blast.” Sean still lives in White Plains, NY. He and his wife, Beth, have three children: Hannah (12), Colin (10), and Timmy (7). Tim Johnson’s landscape and tree business continues to thrive. Sean Cleary ’83

Elliott Donald is a commander in the US Navy with Mine Countermeasures Division 31. Their main mission is maritime homeland defense. If there were a mine threat in a US harbor, they would deploy to that harbor and take charge of MCM forces as they arrive, and direct their employment to “find, fix, and finish” any mines laid. Along the way to this place in the Navy, Elliott got married and had three children. They love living in Southern California. Roger Duncan is home from deployment in Afghanistan and working on restarting his photography business in Bath, ME. Mark Johnson and his wife took a month long bicycle trip through Tasmania to celebrate Beth’s 40th birthday. Mark is a freelance writer in Bend, Oregon.

Network with Alums on LinkedIn The Fenn School Alumni

REUNION 2013

Members of the class of ’88

(l to r) Jerry Ward, Joe Ellis, and Chuck Huggins

Members of the class of ’71

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Members of the class of ’68

Members of the class of ’83

Members of the class of ’03

Classmates celebrating their 50th reunion

Members of the class of ’02

Members of the class of ’93 41

Class Notes

Class of 1987

Class of 1988

Class of 1993

Brooke Coleman has a daughter, Marlowe, who will turn two late this summer. Jamie Seamans and his wife, Josee, live in New Brunswick, Canada, with their two children, Nicholas (8) and Eva (4).

Josh Hahn and his wife, Stephanie, are thrilled to announce the birth of Samuel Francis Hahn. He was born on February 15, 2013, and weighed in at 6 lbs. even. All are healthy and very happy. Josh lives in Lakeville, CT, where he is Assistant Head of School and Director of Environmental Initiatives at The Hotchkiss School. Ian Nurse, a chiropractor with Active Recovery Boston, was highlighted in the Boston Globe for providing his yellow and blue Boston Marathon shirt to a Boston College Law student who wished to wear an official 2013 shirt in the London Marathon on April 21st

Class of 1989

Josephine, Emerson, and Nathaniel Broyles, children of Chris Broyles ’87 and Jacky Woods

Chris Broyles still lives in Chicago and works in litigation graphics and technology with FTI Consulting and enjoys staying in touch with fellow alumni including fellow Chicagoan Mike Braden. Chris’ daughters, Josephine and Emerson, are now 9 and finishing the third grade, and son Nathaniel is 3 and enjoying preschool (sadly, unless Chris and his wife, Jacky Woods, plan a move back to Massachusetts from Chicago, Nathaniel won’t get to attend Fenn...but he has heard about Field Day and wants to come cheer on GOLD in the near future!). The kids are pleased that their uncles (Gregory ’89 and Timothy) as well as their grandparents Beverly and Gerald (“Bunny and Freddy Threadlington” in Fenn Fables ’84) all live in Chicago as well. It’s been their mission to bring Sua Sponte to Carl Sandburg’s “City of the Big Shoulders.” Billy Hackett earned an MBA at UCLA’s Anderson Business School and a fellowship in the fully employed Global Program in June 2012. In March, Tom Hudner was inducted into the Connecticut College Athletic Hall of Fame. He was captain and starting goalkeeper on the men’s lacrosse and soccer teams and still holds program records in lacrosse for saves in a career (671) and single season (260, in 1994). Jim Lichoulas is living in Greenfield, NH and working with his father and brother Tom ’90 in real estate development. Jim has two children, Mac (4) and Hannah (2).

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Benjamin Caras is a fine artist, architectural metal designer/detailer and a digital fabricator. He received his MFA in Fine Art from the University of Massachusetts. He has lived and worked in New York City, Boston, Morgantown, WV, and Kilkenny, Ireland. Currently he teaches design at Northeastern University and digital fabrication at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He also works for his family’s business consulting and designing for the architectural metals industry and the building trades. Ritchie Duncan is working for True TV in New York and thriving with his wife and four-year-old daughter. Jason Ryan lives in Arlington, MA, with his wife, Jennie, and his children James (5) and Hazel (2). Jason works for a company in Cambridge called Foundation Medicine, which helps oncologists identify the best therapies for their patients. He’s in close contact with Ben Fortmiller, Matt Marolda, and Stew Williamson, all from the class of ’89!

Class of 1992 In his seventh season at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Michael Caruso is performing in The Taming of The Shrew. He and his wife, Jessica, and their three children (ages 15, 9, and 5) live in Ashland, OR. Michael is also performing in the indie folk band Kites & Crows, which can be found online at www.kitesandcrows.net. Jonathan Fortmiller, who teaches at the Kent Denver School, received the 2012 Richard A. Drew Award for Outstanding Teaching. The citation reads, in part, “[ Jonathan’s] unwavering integrity and boundless commitment to the betterment of both the individual and the community have earned him the uncompromised respect of students and faculty alike.” Dave Johnson and his wife, Claire, had a baby boy named Boden on January 31. Dave is an instructor in the Outdoor Program at the Carroll School.

to show support for those back home. The shirt was carried to London by a Delta Air Lines flight attendant. Ian finished 44th in this year’s Marathon with a time of 2:25:35, besting his personal record of 2:26:21. Ian’s girlfriend had finished just before 1 p.m. so he was with her and her family at the Copley Marriott Bar and Grill a few blocks away when the explosions took place. No one in his group was harmed, but Ian said he was “deeply saddened” for classmate Kevin White and his parents, who were injured while watching the race at the finish line, and for all of the other victims. The Marathon will go on, Ian says, adding that “there is no race in the world that compares” with it. “It is the only sporting event in the world where a non-professional athlete is treated by the spectators like a superstar. To have the

Ian Nurse ’93 a few days after the 2013 Boston Marathon

It’s “Business” as Usual for Sisowath Kennedy Chea ’11

ew who knew Sisowath Kennedy Chea ’11 when he was an Upper School student at Fenn would believe that he was once a “mischievous” child, by his own account, and not all that focused on schoolwork. Kennedy, as he was called by most of his classmates and teachers here, finished out his Fenn career as an honors student who elicited such adjectives as “determined,” “serious,” “mature,” and “earnest” from his teachers. Kennedy’s success at Fenn is especially noteworthy because he lives in a bilingual home where English is not always spoken. His parents, Kong and Hov, fled to the U.S. from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia before he was born and eventually settled in Lowell, where Kennedy will begin his senior year at Lowell High School this fall. He has an older sister, Asia, and

that “If I’m going to be in school for eight hours, I might as well learn.” His grades began to soar soon after. This past year at LHS, Kennedy took all honors courses, including a science class for which students spoke with local urban planners about issues such as development involving wetlands. During the fall semester, he enrolled in a demanding online UMass chemistry course. His GPA was a 4.0 this spring. While maintaining stellar grades, Kennedy is active in extracurricular clubs including a Teen Block group that meets at the Lowell Community Health Center four times a week, even in summer. In various programs, teens discuss business ideas, drug awareness issues, and health and personal matters, and Kennedy is also part of a performing dance ensemble. He has made good friends and forged

“MY TEACHERS WERE SO CARING AND INTERESTED IN HELPING ME.” his brother, Sianvirath Kenneth “Kenny” ’09, is attending the University of Massachusetts Lowell. If Kennedy was mischievous in those early years, he was also motivated and obviously bright, learning how to write in cursive as a second grader; he was named Student of the Month at Nashoba Brooks more times than he can recall. It was as a seventh grader at Fenn that he decided, he said, to listen to the advice of his teachers, particularly Luke Thompson, and vow

Kennedy, left, before the Final Awards Ceremony at the State Leadership Conference, with two other LHS students.

relationships with advisors who remind him, he says, of his Fenn teachers, who were so “caring and interested in helping me.” Kennedy served this year as secretary of the LHS chapter of the Business Professionals of America, and a highlight of his involvement has been competing at state and national conferences. He has delivered presentations on how he would handle a specific workplace issue— after being given only a half hour to prepare. Kennedy placed tenth of about fifty competitors in one regional event this year, and third in another; the latter ranking qualified him to compete at the BPA’s national conference in May. College is on Kennedy’s mind these days, and he is interested in electrical engineering and business. He is in a program called Gear Up at LHS, which helps students navigate the admissions process, and is applying for scholarships. In typical Kennedy fashion, he created some 300 vocabulary flashcards this spring to study for the SAT’s. “I’m just thinking about the future and I want to make my parents proud,” he says quietly. “They’ve done so much for me.”

Class Notes

Class of 1995

What’s New? Back at school? Won an award? Changed jobs? Traveled somewhere exotic? Keep your classmates updated by sending us your news! Email: alumni@fenn.org Alumni Office The Fenn School, 516 Monument Street, Concord, MA 01742

Chris Sahl and his wife, Rebecca, welcomed a baby boy named Hank on November 16. Ben Wellenbach is in his sixth year of business just north of Chicago. BeWell Fitness (www.bewellfitness.com<http://www.bewellfitness.com>) is a performance gym training people in sport, tactical forces, and the "game of life." Ben, his wife, two girls (2 and 4) and dog (“can’t forget him”) are looking forward to their first spring and summer in their new house.

Class of 1996 Scan this QR Code with your smart phone to submit a class note instantly!

spectators of this event targeted in a random act of violence and hatred is sickening,” he declared. “While the Marathon will never be the same, I have no doubt in my mind that the people of Massachusetts and the running community will only make this an even more special event in years to come. I, for one, cannot wait to run next year.”

Debbie, Holtyn, and Garreth DeBiegun ’94 at Saddleback Mountain

Class of 1994 Garreth DeBiegun and his wife, Debbie, enjoyed winter in Maine this year. Their son, Holtyn, is two and also loves the snow. Garreth is now medical director of the ski

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patrol at Saddleback and also an attending physician in the Emergency Room at Maine Medical Center. He and Debbie are excited about welcoming their second child in May. Marc Hustvedt writes that he’s living out in Los Angeles, where he’s heading up original entertainment for a company called Chill (www.chill.com), producing everything from comedy specials to digital series and documentary films for release online. Marc had breakfast with Jerry Ward when he was out in Santa Monica last November and adds, “On the personal front, not too long ago I married a beautiful young lady named Carly Feingold who works in film.” Curtis Singmaster writes, “My wife Meg and I are finishing up our first year teaching at the Besart Hill School in Ojai, CA, where I am the chair of the Fine Arts department. We love it out here. My latest art project was a solo show at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts titled ‘Family Portrait.’ ” You can check out Curtis’s work at www.curtissingmaster.com. Cort Stratton lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters (2 years and 2 months, respectively). He’s been a software engineer at Sony for eight years and is currently responsible for much of the core graphics technology behind the PlayStation 4 game console. Cort also teaches evening classes in game programming at a local college.

Jeff Berko is engaged to Laura Fox, and the wedding will likely be held in California sometime this year.

Class of 1998 Eric Berger attended Harvard and MIT and now works for Bain Consulting. Richard Connolly moved back to the Boston area and is now teaching at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham. Conor Maguire has been appointed Head of the English Department at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School in Waltham, MA. His great love of literature comes directly from the inspirational classrooms of Read Albright and Walter Birge at Fenn and Laura Moore, Bill Mees, and Mark Haman at Lawrence Academy. Conor will finish his degree at The Breadloaf School of English at Middlebury College in 2014.

Class of 1999 Alex Artinian reports that he is taking over the family business, Artinian Jewelry, and is now part owner. “I am now an experienced goldsmith, buyer, artist, and businessman as I oversee the company business matters, while also making my own custom pieces by hand myself. I purchased a rental property in Somerville, MA, a few years ago and it is doing very well. I have taken up painting also. Hope everyone is doing well!” Taylor Sahl will be celebrating his first anniversary with his wife, Sarah, in June. They were married last summer in Belize.

Class Notes

Aaron Colby ’02 and ballroom dance partner Jessica Lee

Class of 2000 Adam Bakow recently finished law school and moved out to Denver, where he is now working as a baseball agent at a boutique sports agency. Peter Leopold lives in Cambridge and works at the Woodward Academy for Girls in Quincy, teaching English at the high school level. Dan Meyer is a public defender in San Francisco, working with their mental health unit. Victor Sulkowski works for the New England Foundation for the Arts and helps run his family’s farm in Sudbury.

ballroom dances both socially and competitively. Aaron and his good friend Tudor Foote enjoyed the snow on the ski slopes of New Hampshire this past winter. Aaron has also been reconnecting with his teachers from Fenn, enjoying breakfast with Mr. Birge at the Colonial Inn earlier this spring. Tory Hayes is living in Boston with Jon Weigel, working as a mentor for first-generation college students, still recovering from the 2012 Boston Marathon, and keeping a close watch for Mark Berger ’03’s iHOP commercial on TV. Davis Rosborough moved to New York in May to help fill out Progress Partners’ Manhattan office. It is a promotion for Davis, who will be representing his own clients and be more active externally to source new business for the firm. He was hoping to settle somewhere downtown in the West Village, Chelsea, or SOHO areas and looking forward to seeing old friends from Bucknell, Deerfield, and Fenn even more often. Meng Tan graduated in 2009 from the California Institute of Technology, where he was a computer science major. He now works on sync entertainment systems for Ford automobiles in Beijing.

Class of 2003 Mark Berger attended the NYU Tisch School of Acting and his first role was in the national tour of The Laramie Project; he is, six years later, hustling to be an actor. Andrew Hantzis is working in Woburn for

Randstadt Technologies as a technology recruiter/account manager. He recently won a trip to Mexico for achieving a place in the President’s Club. Peter Stone is currently living in Boston’s Back Bay with Fenn classmates Chris Fay and Kevin Connolly and is enjoying working for Boston’s mobile payment startup, LevelUp. Tyler Godoff visited Fenn in February to talk to fourth graders in Kathy Starensier’s class and to ninth graders in John Sharon’s Global Studies class; Kathy was his teacher at Fenn. Tyler has been working for three years in Beijing for Sinotrans Limited as a director of International Business Development in the Energy Logistics division. While at Fenn he fielded questions about where he has traveled in China, what cultural differences he faced when moving there, and what his most memorable moment has been—it was meeting the U.S. ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman Jr., for an hour-long conversation at the U.S. Embassy. Tyler, who graduated from Vanderbilt University magna cum laude in 2010, intends to spend a couple more years in China, but hopes ultimately to return to the U.S.

Class of 2004 Eamon Hegarty graduated in May 2012 from Wisconsin University at Madison with distinctive honors and as a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He was deployed at Quantico, VA, this spring. Pat McGuire reports that since leaving Fenn, he

Class of 2002 Sam Berman graduated from Tulane University in May 2012 with a master’s degree in Sustainable Real Estate Development and continues to head a boutique real estate investment firm that seeks to match out-ofstate equity investors with in-state debt and equity partners to develop high quality and long lasting commercial and residential rental space in the Greater New Orleans market. Aaron Colby is still working on his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Boston University. In his spare time, he paints and

Tyler Godoff ‘03, third from right, with an Embassy aide, fellow members of the Global China Connection, and U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr., at center in blue shirt.

Class Notes

Michael Hoffman ‘09

graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury High School in 2007 and UMass Amherst in 2011, where he majored in history. After graduating from UMass, Patrick began working at Match Charter Public High School in Boston, where he has been a tutor, teaching assistant, and long-term substitute chemistry teacher. Patrick has also worked as an EMT on a part-time basis since graduating. This August, he begins medical school at UMass Medical School in Worcester. Eric Benvenuti was named to the Dean’s List at Hamilton College for the fall 2012 semester.

Class of 2007 Peter Quayle just finished up his freshman year at Colby. He did his January term in Morea on an ecological field study.

Class of 2008 Nick Mirin is a rising junior at Davidson College in North Carolina. He’ll be studying abroad for the fall semester in Chennai, India.

Class of 2009

admission to Dartmouth to play junior hockey in Vancouver. Michael Hoffman, who just graduated from St. Marks, was captain of the Varsity football team, where he played starting wide receiver and defensive back and captained the crew team this past spring. Adam Lamont just finished up his freshman year at Bowdoin, where he played on the football team. After captaining the Middlesex Varsity hockey team this past winter, AJ Lucchese continued on as captain of the Varsity lacrosse team. Tim Morrill is playing lacrosse for Connecticut College. Billy Olson received honors as an ISL All Star for hockey this winter and captained Middlesex’s Varsity golf team this spring. Nick Weigel was captain of the lacrosse team at Exeter this spring. He’ll be enrolled in the Foreign Service Program at Georgetown next year.

Class of 2010 College plans for the Class of 2010: Ben Balter Wake Forest Dylan Dove Berkeley Nick First Elon Chris Giles Emory Philip Skayne Middlebury Julian Baeza Hochmuth was recognized with a 2013 Scholastic Art Award, earning an Honorable Mention for design. He just completed his senior year at ConcordCarlisle High School and will attend Emerson College. Drew Coash was elected captain of the Middlesex football team for next fall. Tommy Crowley was honored as a Dual County League All Star for football. Will Golonka, a junior at Belmont Hill School, received 2013 Independent School League (ISL) All League honors in hockey

College plans for the Class of 2009: Thomas Cowan MIT Carl Hesler Dartmouth AJ Lucchese Brown Sven Lerner Berkeley Billy Olson Boston College Matt Thomas Providence College Nick Weigel Georgetown Carl Hesler was honored as an ISL All Star for hockey this past winter. He is deferring

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at Belmont Hill School’s Winter Athletic Awards Assembly. The Belmont Hill Varsity hockey team won the ISL Keller Division Championship Title to advance to the Elite 8 postseason tournament. Will is also the Varsity soccer goal keeper for Belmont Hill. Trent Green’s scores in the American Mathematics Contest qualified him to compete in the American Invitational Mathematics Examination in April. Charlie Painter was one of the captains of the Concord-Carlisle High School Varsity lacrosse team this spring. Wyatt Powell was recognized as a Dual County League All Star. Philip Skayne was recognized as a New England Private School Athletic Conference All Star for soccer. For the fourth year in a row, Arthur Whitehead was honored as an Eastern Independent League (EIL) All Scholastic athlete for cross country. He is also a three-time All New England runner and was this year’s EIL champion. Arthur was the captain of the Concord Academy cross country team last fall. He is going to take a gap year and hopes to attend the Colorado School of Mines in the fall of 2014. Hank Yoder, a senior at Concord-Carlisle High School, was named an All Star for Nordic skiing.

Class of 2011 Hunter Arnold finished strong in fall football and Acton-Boxborough won their Thanksgiving game by one point. He has been elected as one of the captains of the football team for his senior year. Hunter has kept in touch with many of his friends from Fenn and looks forward to seeing them all soon. Stevie Gleason will be the captain of Middlesex’s Varsity soccer team this coming fall. Alex Hreib was honored as an ISL All Star for hockey this past winter.

Class of 2012

Asher Dawson, Ben Stone, and Tim Joumas, all class of ’12, after competing at Nashoba Valley

Alex McNulty, who attends ConcordCarlisle High School, was named a Dual County All Star for wrestling. Tim Joumas and Ben Stone, who attend Lawrence Academy, competed against Asher Dawson, from Nobles, in alpine skiing each Wednesday during January and February at Nashoba Valley Ski Area this past winter.

Class Notes

Former Faculty News

for many of the great composers. Everett enjoys reading FENN, seeing the new buildings and “reliving for a while” his life here.

Everett M. Beale, who taught percussion from 1996 to 2003, when he retired from his position as timpanist with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra (a position he held for

Jeff Chaffee, who taught math at Fenn from 1994-1997, recalls coaching some of Fenn’s current faculty members and coaches, including Alan O’Neill, Nat Carr, and “Tate” Bevis. Jeff teaches math in Franklin, MA, at the Remington Middle School, where he is called a Mathematics Curriculum Enhancement teacher, aka “a math coach.” Jeff married in 1996 and he and his wife, Lisa, have two daughters: Laura (12) and Christina (10). “I miss Fenn and hope to make it back there soon. I love seeing how my students turned out and what the teachers are up to.”

Everett performing as a timpanist with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra

Kit Norris, who taught math for seventeen years beginning in 1981, serving as a department chair and later as director of the Academic Program, is a busy educational consultant when she is not “trying to keep up with four adorable grandchildren” on the East Coast and two others on the West Coast. She works with public and private schools, supporting teachers’ professional growth and development. Kit has developed products including Common Core Collaborative Cards, sets of cards that can be used to start a lesson or review previous content; the cards reinforce the math content from the Common Core Standards. She recalls advising ninth graders—“Oh, those trips to the North End!”—and says that she and her husband, Chip, who recently retired from St.

Mark’s School, hope to find time for travel. Former Fenn tutor for more than twenty-five years, Sally Wylie, whose son Seth Wylie ’97 was highlighted in the Winter 2013 issue of FENN for his work at a Cambridge startup, writes from Maine to say that she and her husband, David, spend much of the year in Rockland and in warm weather move to their home on the island of Vinalhaven, a ferry ride away. In the summer Sally works for a landscaper, creating beautiful cottage gardens. In the winter, she takes zumba and yoga classes. David continues to work part-time writing business cases for private clients and for Babson College. Sally says she misses her former students and colleagues, but that she feels fortunate to have been a part of Fenn for so many years. When cleaning out his attic recently, Robert M. McElwain, who lives with his wife, Mary Lou, in Portsmouth, NH, was reminded, he says, “of all those wonderful Fenn exchange trips,” including staying in youth hostels and taking excursions to the Normandy D-Day beaches, the Loire Valley, and Verdun. Bob taught French at Fenn from 1985-2002, and oversaw the transition to Spanish as department chair. He coached cross country for many years. Marjorie Gornall, former secretary, reports that all is well in Arizona, and says it was a pleasure for her to open the Fenn Field Day games last spring. It was fun to see Matt Lincoln, class of ’62, she said, as well as Mark and Jane Biscoe.

On a recent visit to the apartment in Heiligenstadt, a suburb of Vienna, where it is thought Beethoven worked on his 2nd symphony—he called his trip with his wife, Eva, “On the Trail of the Composers.”

forty-three years), continues to perform with various orchestras near his home in Pickens, SC, including the Charlotte Symphony, the Greenville Symphony, and the Augusta Symphony. Everett and his wife, Eva, have been traveling in Europe, most recently on a trip he dubbed “On the Trail of the Composers,” which included visiting Vienna’s museums, the apartment of Johann Strauss II, and the city’s Central Cemetery, where a section is reserved

Jeff Chaffee in back row, beige shirt; daughter Laura to his right; daughter Christina on the couch; wife Lisa in chair at right

Class Notes

Marjorie says she corresponds with Gerald Gefen, “from my favorite class of ’52,” and that Gerald is an optometrist in Florida.

tors, he says, were Don Frothingham, Dave Edgar, and Dave MacLane, “and of course, Roger himself.”

Walter Birge, former Fenn headmaster and English teacher, took a “wonderful trip” to China and Tibet last fall.

Donald A. Scraggs, head of maintenance at Fenn for many years, says it’s hard to believe he’s been retired for ten years, and that he “still thinks and dreams about Fenn.” One of Don’s favorite memories is the morning he was in the basement of the dining hall, checking the mechanical systems, when he heard a loud, high-pitched chirping noise. He thought it was a bearing in one of the motors, but could not find anything wrong. After searching for a while, he went outside and found the source of the noise: a boy was trying to play the saxophone for the very first time. Don and Judi live in Stow, MA.

Jo Anna Jameson, who served as coordinator of Special Academic Services and director of the Intensive Language Program for nineteen years, left Fenn last June to pursue a path as a licensed behavior analyst. She reports that Matt ’98 married Angela Weiss last June, and Drew ’96 is a special needs teacher in the Boston Public Schools. Check out Jo Anna’s Pinterest Board: Education for the 21st Century. Pamela Miller Ness says she loves reading FENN “to catch up with the lives of the boys, now young men, and the faculty whom I knew during my five very special years as librarian and teacher” from 1987 to 1992, and “to learn about the exciting changes on campus.” After many years of teaching middle school English and working with students who have learning differences at the Dalton School, she took early retirement and she and her husband, Paul, moved to Rochester, NY, his hometown. Heather Thomsen says life in Portsmouth, NH, is “wonderful” and that a close neighbor is Bob McElwain. Heather taught music, launched the Treble Choir, and accompanied musicals from 1973 into the 1990s. She and her husband, Len, recently celebrated their 50th anniversary in Spain with their three sons and their daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren. She is busy as proprietor of the Portsmouth Athenaeum and is a member of the Performance Committee. William W. Dunnell III, who taught English from 1957-1963, writes from New Hampshire to say that Roger Fenn would be “so pleased” with the vibrancy of the School. “The boys’ education is superb.” Thomas A. West, Jr., who taught English from 1953-1956, says he is “finally retired, but not at all tired,” after spending more than fifty years in the classroom. Fenn, he recalls, provided his very first teaching job in 1953, and he looks back on those years from his home in Colorado “with fondness” and on all of his years as a teacher “with gratitude.” His men-

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Todd R. Nelson reports that he has had “some lovely Fenn reconnections” recently, including with former student Derek Valliant ’80, who is now a University of Michigan professor, and with Headmaster Jerry Ward. Todd is head of the School in Rose Valley, just outside of Philadelphia. He loves reading about Fenn’s “news and growth,” and has “cited [Fenn] many times as inspiring,” he says. Patricia C. Murphy was Fenn’s nurse and secretary for twelve “very happy years,” from 1967 to 1979. Retired now, Pat is involved with volunteer work and cultural activities. She keeps in touch with “dear Fenn friends the Biscoes, Jo Albright, Diana Seamans, and Debbie Edgar.” Former teacher and Lower School head Bob Duncan could be seen marching around campus with the Fenn band as they practiced for the Patriots’ Day parade. The Marching Band “represents the School superbly,” he says. Bob says Lucinda and he had a “delightful time” helping with Lower School skating this winter; “it is a pleasure to be with the boys and faculty in a program with so much enthusiasm, fun, and skill building.” Frederic W.T. Rhinelander, who served as business manager and taught science in the early 1960s, recalls his experiences as a member of David Edgar’s faculty and as a coach. He was struck, he says, at the number of familiar names in the pages of the winter issue of FENN, including Mark Biscoe, John O’Keefe, Bill Travers, Vinnie Lynch, and Mark Biscoe. While Fred moved on into a “wonder-filled

and thoroughly rewarding life as the headmaster and/or trustee of several NAIS schools in Maryland, my Fenn years can certainly be given credit for many accomplishments during those that followed.” Fred lives half of each year in Gloucester, and is “now in the habit of driving through Concord and past Fenn at least once a year. I am truly impressed by what I have seen and applaud the ever-evolving campus,” he declares. Richard Anderson, who taught science from 1986 to 1990, and his wife Deedee spent ten months last year teaching at an American school in China. Nancy Hall, founder of the Intensive Language Program (ILP) program at Fenn, tutored and taught here from 1974 to 1988. She lives on Cape Cod and is involved in singing groups, takes courses at the local library, and volunteered for Elizabeth Warren. She spent Christmas with her son, Jeff ’74, in Colorado. Diana Seamans, a teacher and tutor who helped boys improve spelling and reading skills from 1954 to 1976, writes from New London, NH, that she is “more or less retired,” at 91, but participates in a writers’ group, attends the symphony in Boston by bus, and continues to take “interesting courses, thanks to my proximity to Colby Sawyer College and Dartmouth.” Diana always reads and enjoys the bulletin, she says, adding, “I treasure the many years I taught at Fenn and the faculty and students.”

Milestones

Births

Marriages

To Alyssa and Kendall Brook ’88 a son, Carter Kendall Brook March 30, 2012

To Stephanie and Josh Hahn ‘93 a son, Samuel Francis Hahn February 15, 2013

Nathan Kraft ’93 to Jessica Gregg May 26, 2012

To Sarah and Ben Billings ‘92 a daughter, Ivy Wakefield Billings April 2, 2012

To Katy and David Mulvany ‘95 a son, Jack Meade Mulvany April 10, 2013

David Mulvany ’95 to Katy Meade June 30, 2012

To Claire and Dave Johnson ‘92 a son, Boden Johnson January 31, 2013

To Rebecca and Chris Sahl ‘95 a son, Hank Sahl November 16, 2012

Jack Michael Fitzgerald To Kirstin FitzGerald Lower School teacher a son, Jack Michael FitzGerald December 28, 2012

Matt Jameson ’98 to Angela Weiss June 2012

In Memoriam Oliver C. Carruthers ’48 February 27, 2011 Brother of William Carruthers ’43

Brooks Stevens III ’40 November 19, 2012 Brother of Derwin Stevens ’49

Betty F. Plimpton February 2, 2013 Mother of Scott Plimpton ’86

Hugh R. Price May 22, 2012 Father of Alan Price ’76

Marilyn Buckley January 1, 2013 Grandmother of Cormac ’14 and Conor Zachar ’15

Rodger P. Nordblom February 10, 2013 Father of Peter Nordblom ’71 Grandfather of Thomas Cote ’01

Barbara Doney Jenkinson January 4, 2013 Grandmother of John Jenkinson ’96

Joan W. Vanderpoel March 19, 2013 Mother of Eric Vanderpoel ’57

Elizabeth Johnson Peavy January 10, 2013 Mother of Dexter Peavy ’71

Daniel Bushnell March 26, 2013 Father of Davis Bushnell ’55

Paul E. Holteen ’74 January 20, 2013

Frances R. Brown March 28, 2013 Mother of David Brown ’78

Nelson B. Lee, Jr. ’47 Former Trustee 1961-1964 September 6, 2012 Brother of Elisha ’48 , John ’62, and Charles Lee ’63 Joseph C. Whitney ’42 October 31, 2012 Louisa “Babs” Browne November 18, 2012 Mother of Charles ’63, Mason ’64, and Ted Browne ’64

William O. Apthorp Fenn Trustee 1959-1962 January 24, 2013 Father of Bob Apthorp ’62

Reflections

Brad Bailey ’72 on “being a boy” at Fenn en years have slipped by since that June morning I stood amongst a fidgety assortment of blue blazers and white trousers, waiting to receive my diploma in a sweltering gymnasium. Yet, the subsequent seas of faces and experiences have not washed away my fond

memories of five years at Fenn. What was it about that school that was so dear to me? Maybe it was the comfortable feeling of order, security, permanence, and tranquility that accompanied my years amongst the friendly cluster of whitewashed buildings. Or maybe it was that important sense, now lost in the competitive shuffle of the outside world, that we all belonged; that we each had our own place and niche that others acknowledged and cared about; and that, yes, we each made up this community that was called Fenn. Or maybe it was that there on Monument Street, in that peaceful, uninterrupted world of rolling fields, stonewalled avenues, and country store candy, was a place where we were really boys. Or perhaps all of these feelings lie beneath my colorful collage that is none of this, yet, all of this that is to me simply Fenn. It is a collage that is the sound of the dining hall bell, heads bowed together in thanks for a meal; the gleeful hope that your neighbor will forget to place his napkin in his lap and have to wear a bib. It is a run beneath a golden canopy of leaves to Roddy Field (where there was a hole so small that only John Sweeney could slip into it, which he always did) for fourth grade soccer practice. It is the walk back. Fenn is the exciting anticipation over the arrival of the new cleats each year and needing to ask Mr. Carlisle just one more time, "Siiirr, when will they get here?"

It is hoping like crazy that they would make you a Blue, being chosen one, and then finding out that Buttrick, Brooke, and Stevens are all Blues, too. It is pretending to be hard at work on your Fenn shield in the old studio while “Miss Crinks” chortles, “hush puppies,” and her ancient beagle snores in the corner. Fenn is taking three months to make your box in shop and praying each new time you saunter up to that saw-dusty desk at the far end of the room that Mr. Davis will let “just-this-one-time-sir” the side that fits unevenly under the square go by unnoticed, but knowing that he never will. Fenn is haircuts, grass-stained pants, and shiny new loafers. Fenn is that stoic gold minuteman on a blue velvet field urging “SUA SPONTE.” Fenn was all of this, plus a Buttrick, Brooke, Peterson, Stevens, Mockler, Kelly, Reichenbach, Hockmeyer, Holland, and Baldwin, a Carlisle, Klingenberg, Albright, Hughes, Travers, Biscoe, and many, many others. Fenn is a feeling, an image, a blur of happiness. Fenn is my memory of being a boy.

This piece is taken from an essay by Brad Bailey that appears in Book III of Roger Remembers, published in the 1980s. A graduate of Exeter Academy, Harvard, and the University of Virginia School of Law, Brad is a nationally known criminal defense attorney and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who never lost a case in his five years in that role. He was also a state prosecutor for the state of New York and for Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Brad and his legal partner, Jeffrey Denner, father of Quinn ’10, have handled high-profile cases such as the Commonwealth vs. former Massachusetts State Treasurer Tim Cahill and California vs. Christian Gerhartsreiter (“Clark Rockefeller”). Brad and his wife, Susan, have four children: William, 27; Eliza, 25; Katherine, 24; and Charles, 22.

“Fenn is that stoic gold minuteman on a blue velvet field urging ‘SUA SPONTE’.”

50 www.fenn.org

THE FENN SCHOOL 516 MONUMENT STREET CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS 01742-1894

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Parents of Alumni If this publication is addressed to your son, and he no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Alumni Office of his new mailing address (978-318-3525 or aboudreau@fenn.org). Thank you!

Graduatio Gra duation n 2013

Thirty-six eighth graders and twenty-f ive ninth graders received diplomas on June 7th to the cheers of their families, teachers, classmates, and friends. All of the details of graduation week events, including prizes, awards, and photos, will be published on the Fenn website at www.fenn.org in July and will be included in the next issue of FENN. Congratulations to the graduates!