Winter 2017
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FROM THE HEADMASTER
While a F e n n b o y ’ s e d uc a t i o n
across the years is neatly organized by grade and
division, the reality, mirroring the course of life, is comprised of countless moments and thousands of interactions with teachers, coaches, and schoolmates. These moments shape the clay of a boy’s character and form the foundation of his intellect and talents. It is a cumulative, sometimes indiscernible process that can often pass without notice yet have deep and lasting effect. And seemingly, a tentative boy once new to his school has suddenly become a Fenn young man. Some of those moments of passage are writ large in a boy’s life and in the life of Fenn: his taking to the stage for the first time and later winning a role in a premier production; addressing his classmates as he campaigns for student Senate and losing the vote only to run again; giving his all in soccer try-outs or an intra-squad championship; singing his heart out at choral concerts or in Treble performances here, at Fenway Park, or at the Boston Athenaeum; or delivering his chosen piece of poetry or prose before his English class and perhaps in front of the entire school in the W.W. Fenn Speaking Contest. But if the character and substance of a boy is shaped in part by these moments, surely they are shaped as well by those times in which he is truly tested. Often these do not occur on the public stage of Fenn but rather take place behind the scenes in those interior moments of a boy’s life: leaving his parents in the meeting hall for the first time in his Fenn career as he departs with his adviser group at New Boys’ Orientation; mourning the loss of the friendship of a cherished classmate; receiving a grade that is far below his hoped-for achievement and far less than his invested effort; playing poorly on the sports field and disappointing himself and his teammates; sitting in the office of the division head or headmaster, summoning up the courage to acknowledge his mistake; or being overlooked for a prize he thought he deserved and which his heart coveted. These, too, are the important moments of a boy’s Fenn life that while painful, shape the clay of his character. Like so much in life, a Fenn education for each boy involves joy and sadness, jubilation and disappointment, and in ordinary moments a solid and steady belief that Fenn is his school—the place that cares about him and supports him in good times and in bad. Those who stand behind him believe with all of their hearts that the weave of caring adults can make all of the difference in shaping a Fenn boy, moment to moment and year to year. All of us hope that you enjoy this edition of Fenn that includes among its features a window onto the defining moments, some dramatic and some more ordinary, of a Fenn boy’s education, even as looked back upon by former students, and onto the treasured moments in the classroom or studio, or on the field, that inspire and affirm the faculty and staff who work with them.
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Laurie O’Neill, former director of publications, stepped in to producce the winter issue when her successor, Courtney Mongell, left due to family circumstances. Photography Laurie O’Neill Tony Santos Joshua Touster Design Dan Beard Design Editorial Board Olivia Boger Derek Boonisar Anne Ames Boudreau Verónica Jorge-Curtis Courtney Mongell Bobby Nasson Jerry Ward Lorraine Ward
2017
F EATU R ES
DE P A R T M ENTS
4 The Moments that Make Fenn “Fenn”
22 Around Campus
10 Gates Dupont ’12 was “nurtured as
a naturalist” at Fenn
14 From Fenn Boy to Lower School
Head: Nat Carr ’97
40 Advancing Fenn 52 Alumni News and Class Notes 70 Former Faculty and Staff 72 In Memoriam
18 Tricia McCarthy Reflects on the
Middle School Journey
20 Student Senators Learn Leadership,
Help Others
FENN is published twice a year for alumni, parents, and friends of the School. Letters and comments are welcomed and can be sent to the attention of the FENN Editorial Board, The Fenn School, 516 Monument Street, Concord, MA 01742, alumni@fenn.org, 978-318-3534.
COVER PHOTO Joshua Touster
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What are the moments that make Fenn “Fenn”? For Fenn boys, alumni, and faculty, these moments might be dramatic, poignant, or inspiring, as they reveal in the following pages. Also, find out how one alumnus was “nurtured as a naturalist” at Fenn and has authored a paper at Cornell that he will present this spring at an international conference in Iceland and how another Fenn boy’s journey has led him to be appointed head of the Lower School this year. These stories and more are this issue’s Fenn Features.
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4 Fenn Moments 10 Naturalist Gates Dupont ’12 14 Nat Carr ’97 Heads Lower School 18 The Middle School Journey 20 Student Senators Help Others
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“It enriched my spirit and helped me find my voice.” Alumni, Boys, and Faculty Recall the Moments that Make Fenn “Fenn” co ntribu tors : c ou rt ney monge ll and gray hu ssey C hr is H a r d m a n ’ 7 9
’17
will never forget the day in science class when something
unexpected and unforgettable took place. “Bart Winchell was a highly engaging science teacher who, in my opinion, was spellbinding most of the time,” Chris recalls. “Though it is now considered a federal offense, he taught us how to make homemade black powder. One day he took a small group of us wide-eyed boys out to the soon-to-be new soccer field. The entire school had been participating in the arduous task of removing rocks from the newly graded soil prior to seeding.
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“To show us it could actually be fun, Bart took some of this compound, stuffed it under a basketball-sized rock and with a 100-foot lead hooked it up to a car battery. Moments later, BOOM! The rock disappeared! He and the rest of us laughed so hard we were all in tears. No one could wait to go to our next class with this guy! Most of Fenn’s teachers were just as engaging, but had other methods.”
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It seems that every Fenn alumnus has a story to tell of a special moment when he was a student, whether it was funny, poignant, or inspiring. Bart Calder ’57 remembers when he was a left end on the football team. Bart was nearsighted, and in the early ’50s there were no protective helmets that accommodated glasses, so “it was very hard to see the passes coming.” His coach told Bart that he would count on him to do the blocking, “and that is what worked.” “Perhaps my most vivid memory of my time at Fenn,” says Richard Connolly ’98 “was during the Fessy Baseball Tournament in 1997. We were undefeated and playing our last game of the season. I Buckner-ed a ground ball, letting it scoot between my legs, and then, when trying to throw out the
runner at home, I chucked the ball well up the fencing of the backstop, allowing the batter to advance to third base. Coaches Starensier and Birge could have easily substituted me, but instead they comforted me upon my return to the bench, making sure my head was right for my next at-bat. I’m now a teacher and coach, and I strive to show that kind of compassion for my student-athletes.” “I’ll never forget the sixth grade explorer project in Ms. Barclay’s (now Ms. Stiga’s) class,” says Luke Rogers ’06. “I was doing my project on Jane Goodall and her work with chimpanzees in Africa. I remember bounding around the classroom in a chimpanzee mask, pretending to be in the jungles of Africa. Little did I know that moments like that, fostering a deep love and understanding of other countries, cul-
tures, and wildlife, would lead me to where I am today—exploring the far corners of the world and helping other people experience that same thrill of adventure that Fenn helped me find so long ago.” Some alumni, such as Nick Elfner ’85, say that particular experiences actually informed the men they would become. “The arts and specifically music greatly enriched my spirit and helped me find my voice,” he says. Calling himself “a mediocre trumpet player,” Nick nevertheless remembers with delight “marching through Concord on Patriots’ Day with my classmates and with the venerable David Huston at the lead.” Few moments were as impactful in the Fenn career of Aaron Colby ’02, he says, as “the times I stepped onto the stage in Robb Hall during All School Meeting
“I’m helping other people experience that same thrill of adventure that Fenn helped me find so long ago.”
– Luke Rogers ’06
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“The opportunity to discover and develop public speaking skills has impacted my day-to-day life profoundly and in all aspects, from business to family. I will be forever grateful.” – Aaron Colby ’02
to deliver a speech in the annual W.W. Fenn Public Speaking Contest. Having rehearsed with Mr. Albright (Grade 8), Mr. Birge (Grade 9), and my family to fine tune the cadence, emphasis, and delivery, this was show time. Whether reciting the finale of Atticus Finch’s speech to the jury or the conclusion of Winston Churchill’s wartime exhortation to the British people, I was, by delving into their speeches, able to share more closely some shadow of the experience of those truly great men, both fictional and historical. “Over fifteen years later, I still remember passages of these speeches,” Aaron says, “and I can close my eyes
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and sense the sea of expectant faces waiting for me to begin. Simultaneously thrilling and terrifying, each speech ended almost before it had begun. I knew in those moments that I had discovered a new passion and skill set to be honed, enjoyed, and cultivated in future years. This opportunity to discover and develop public speaking skills has impacted my day-to-day life profoundly and in all aspects, from business to family. I will be forever grateful.” Such moments are what make Fenn “Fenn.” Today’s Fenn boys are gathering memories too, and these stories will be the stuff of laughter and reminiscence
when they return to campus years or even decades after graduation. To Sam Lyons, a sixth grader, “The New Boys’ Day ceremony was a big thing—receiving my Gold shirt and hearing my classmates cheer for me made me really happy. That experience changed me because, even though I’ve been here for a while, I now feel like I’m officially part of the community and I want to give back. I want to run in a student election and join more clubs as a leader.” Says Josh Brennan, a fourth grader, “I really enjoyed practicing for our band concert. Most of my classmates were learning new instruments. Some
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boys played low and others were high-pitched, but we practiced all our individual parts and it all came together well. The concert made me really happy that I joined the band.” “Last year,” says Ethan Mullen, an eighth grader, “we did a lot of fun projects, especially in science. In one class, we built solar car models in the makerspace and competed against one another. This project allowed me to be as creative as I wanted. It was really interesting to learn more about engineering because I don’t typically work on those types of projects.” Sixth grader Nahum Workalemahu says he played basketball last year “in order to meet other new boys and be more comfortable at Fenn. There was so much team spirit that I wasn’t afraid to risk taking an open shot or missing it. Knowing your friends will support you, in any way, is a pretty good feeling.” There are boys who say their favorite moments have to do with the teacher who
guided them early on. “In fifth grade,” says seventh grader Buck Lewis, “Mr. Byrd taught me so much. He helped me organize my thoughts and learn how to resolve things. He helped make me be a good person.” Some boys connect their memories to opportunities they have had. Joining the diversity committee in sixth grade changed how ninth grader Kyle Roshankish viewed his community and other communities in the United States and around the world, he says. “We talked a lot about identity and perception and this changed my perspective on everything, such as how we thought kids outside of Fenn perceived Fenn boys to be like. It challenged me to think about viewpoints that varied from my own. It made me realize that everyone is different.” And other boys say that their favorite moments were when they first arrived and felt unsure of themselves. When ninth grader Ian Moore entered Fenn as a new sixth grader, joining his older
brother, Nolan, he “wasn’t sure what to think” about the School. But when Ian heard Headmaster Ward and the school president and vice president “share their insights about what makes Fenn ‘Fenn,’” he says, “I realized that the core values— honesty, respect, empathy, and courage— they were talking about weren’t just words. They are ideals that you can live every day.” Ian is president of the School this year. Ask Fenn teachers to identify a favorite moment, and they do not have to think for long before vividly describing an experience that reminded them why the Fenn classroom or field or studio is exactly where they belong. “One year,” recalls English teacher Lynn Duval, “when we were discussing and writing about a book we read, one boy wrote about and was willing to share with the class his sadness over his parents’ divorce. As he read, the tears came. You could have heard a pin drop in the room. At the end, several boys
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went over to hug him. It was a beautiful moment. To watch the boys connect in such a heartfelt way is truly touching.” One night while English teacher and folksinger John Fitzsimmons was performing at the Colonial Inn, he noticed an alumnus talking to a fellow alumnus who was ten years his junior. “One of them turned to me and said, ‘I have a Fenn flag hanging in my living room!’ Fenn boys are a band of brothers,” John declares. At last fall’s Thanksgiving assembly, Spanish teacher and Co-Director of Secondary School Counseling Gisela Hernandez-Skayne read a poem by Pablo Neruda in Spanish while Lorraine Ward read it in English. “We asked the three boys in the Spanish Honors class to read along with us,” says Gisela, “and it was a magical moment. I felt incredible pride watching the boys speak with such confidence in Spanish.” Dave Irwin, co-director of secondary school counseling, once wrote a note to an
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advisee and left it in his locker. The boy “was disappointed with his end of term academic performance and I wanted to offer encouragement,” he explains. “We never spoke of the note, but several years later I received a heartfelt email from him, thanking me for taking the time to write that note. I was reminded that as middle school teachers, we spend our days watering seeds that we seldom get to see bloom. Receiving that letter of gratitude was an affirming and inspiring Fenn moment.” For social studies teacher Elise Mott, a special moment was taking sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students to the Parker Hotel last year for the Model UN. “I watched them engage with other students by making connections and trying to achieve consensus.” She was especially gratified to witness “boys becoming leaders, gaining confidence, and taking risks.” Some faculty link their moments to observing the behavior of boys when one of them stumbles a bit in public. Spanish teacher Jason Rude remembers working
with a boy who was about to present during the Extemporaneous Speaking Contest. “He struggled with his topic,” Jason recalls, “and when he took to the stage in Robb Hall to begin his delivery, he froze and walked off. There was a pause and then the entire hall applauded him for his attempt. No one laughed; everyone empathized with what he was going through and wanted to offer support, and the rest of the day they checked on him and gave him encouragement. Boys try things here that are at the edge of their comfort zone because they know they won’t be made to feel foolish.” Dave Sanborn, who teaches math, says he is renewed daily by his students’ eagerness to ask for help and know that they won’t be viewed negatively by their peers. “In the Middle School we work on helping boys learn to ask for help,” he says. “I frequently suggest to my students that we should review the concepts that are concerning to them. Together we can take a deep breath and look at what’s
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going on with this problem. What else can we try? They see that no one is laughing at them and no one is looking at them differently. They realize that they can ask for help and gain the support of teachers who are invested in their development.” Lower School teacher Winnie Smith says one of her favorite memories dates to last fall, when “we started using google docs with the fourth grade to do some personal narrative writing. I told them I would soon begin commenting online on their writing. The day after I entered a comment for one boy he came flying into the room and said, ‘Wow! That was so cool how you told me my words helped paint a picture in your mind. I never knew I was so good. I think I’m going to be a writer!’” Elizabeth Cobblah, an arts teacher, says that her moments are
when she observes students growing in self-confidence as they work in the studio. She has learned that “asking a student to increase the complexity of a clay creation or to step back from a painting to see what needs to ‘pop’ in it keeps him engaged when his selfconfidence wanes.” Special moments also take place on the fields and courts. This fall a forward on Bob Starensier’s varsity soccer team texted Bob to say that he thought a teammate would be better at his position. “He recommended trying another player in his place and offered to play at the midfield himself,” Bob says. “We tried it out and it was a success. The new forward scored seven goals in a major game and helped us win the tournament. The fact that one boy gave up his
position for the betterment of the team was a courageous act.” There are as many Fenn moments as there are alumni, current students, and faculty. Their stories are always heartfelt, sometimes surprising, and often moving. Middle School Head Tricia McCarthy says she once stood next to an alumnus who had returned to campus to watch a football game. At one point the young man said quietly, almost as if he were talking to himself, “They don’t know it yet, but it will never be like this again for them. I love where I am now, but it will never be the same as being at Fenn.” Tricia blinked back tears. “I’m not sure,” she says, “that he ever realized the power of that moment for me as a teacher at Fenn.”
“I love where I am now, but it will never be the same as being at Fenn.” – Alumnus
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With Thoreau as his Guide An Affinity for the Natural World Leads Gates Dupont ’12 to Cornell and Beyond b y l aur i e o ’ neill
DU RING HI S S IX YEA R S A T F EN N ,
“I was nurtured as a naturalist,” says
Gates Dupont ’12. “I was always so excited to go into class and tell Mr. Potsaid about my latest discovery.” Those discoveries were often about birds, a passion that Gates and his teacher shared. One day it was about the Blackburnian Warbler, a vividly colored bird that Gates found pictured in a book and chose to use as a model for a wood carving. “When Mr. Potsaid told me the warblers could be seen around Concord, I was amazed!” Gates says. Mike Potsaid, who taught science and woodshop at Fenn across twenty-five years, calls Gates a “kindred spirit.” He recalls the time he was teaching a unit about the life cycle of a mosquito and Gates asked if he could bring mosquito larvae into the classroom to watch them change into the pupa and then the adult stage. “I thought, ‘What a great idea!’” Mike says. “And this was just a small example of the hands-on approach that Gates demonstrated again and again.” Growing up with “an affinity for the natural world,” Gates says, was due in part to spending time outdoors at his home that borders a forest in Concord. His
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second grade teacher at Thoreau School, Mehrnoosh Watson, “instilled in me that we must all be stewards of our environment,” he says, and for each student’s birthday she gave them an excerpt from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Gates has taken his love of the natural world much farther since his Fenn years. While a student at Belmont Hill School (he later transferred to and graduated from Concord Academy), he worked with ornithologist, author, and illustrator David Sibley to complete an AP Biology project on the effects of weather on bird vocalization. “It was amazing to collaborate with someone I consider to be my idol,” says Gates.
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“The great thing is that we can look to nature to refocus, as Thoreau did.” In 2010 he was selected for the Tufts Adventures in Veterinary Medicine program, which offers high school students the opportunity to spend two weeks learning more about the veterinary profession. Now a sophomore at Cornell majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology, with a focus on ornithology, Gates has written a paper titled “Seabirds to Starboard: Notes on Norse Navigational Technique” that illustrates how birds were used as navigational aids to the Norsemen. His project has been accepted as one of only a handful of presentations to be made at the International Conference on Time, Space, and Narrative in Medieval Icelandic Literature at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. He and his project advisor, Oren Falk, who had taught Gates in a Viking America writing seminar, will travel to the conference in March. “There was a piece missing in our knowledge of how these Vikings navigated with such precision, without keeping maps and before the creation of the compass,” Gates explains. “I was so intrigued by this mystery, and pairing it with my love of birds was a natural fit.” Gates has birded across the United States and in Canada, Iceland, and throughout Europe. Driving across the country last summer, he says, “opened my eyes to the different habitats across our nation and how much those differences affect species distribution.” In Iceland, he was drawn to the country’s “particularly cool species” of gulls and one day, standing on the shore of a bay while the wind was blowing at over fifty miles per
hour, he got a “great look at some of these birds in full breeding plumage”—a highlight of his birding career. “One of the great things about being a naturalist is that there are so many opportunities for exciting moments, and no two are exciting in the same way,” Gates says. The “best bird” he has found is a Neotropic Cormorant, native to the area from Texas to South America. He spotted the small, slender, long-tailed bird one evening while kayaking in rough waters on Lake Erie; it was only the third sighting of this species in the state of New York. Gates enjoys owling, which, “because it is done at night, possesses a certain mystique,” calling the birds and getting them to respond and come closer so that he can get a better look at them. Last fall he “conversed” with a barred owl in his Concord backyard “for a personal record of fifty minutes.” When at home in the winter, “I love calling in Northern Saw-whet Owls in an otherwise totally silent environment.” Also a botanist, Gates has been building a collection of rare orchids, some of which may be extinct in the wild. “When one of them blooms, it’s very special to me,” he says. “Even when a new leaf grows, it’s great to know I am directly helping to conserve a species; it’s a way of making up for the damage that humans have inflicted on so many of our environments that these extremely beautiful and intricate organisms call home.” An accomplished artist and photographer, Gates maintains a website displaying his photography. He served
as the graphic artist for the Belmont Hill School student newspaper, a position that prompted him to be dubbed by his peers G-DaVinc, after Leonardo da Vinci. He enjoys watching and producing documentaries and cites as an inspiration his Fenn teacher Tete Cobblah, for whose class he helped to create a film about the importance of identity on an individual. Not surprisingly, Gates’ primary inspiration “since second grade,” he says, has been Henry David Thoreau. He holds close to his heart particular lines penned by the Concord philosopher and naturalist, such as “It’s not what you look at that matters; it’s what you see.” Gates follows Thoreau’s example, cherishing any time he has alone to “think about and process” what he sees and to enjoy the simplicity and the peace of the natural world. “With all of our modern distractions, our attention is so ephemeral,” he says. “But the great thing is that we can look to nature to refocus, as Thoreau did. We should all pay closer attention to the world around us.” Gates devotes much of his free time to volunteering. He has worked during school breaks as an extern with a veterinary cardiologist at the Angell Animal Medical Center for the past three years. Gates says someday he might like to do government work involving the environment or to become a veterinarian or a doctor, or even work for National Geographic—a long-time dream. No matter what he does, he says, “I just want to use my brain, be a life-long learner, and help this planet earth.”
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Frisbees, Footballs, and Flag Raising A Former Fenn Boy, Nat Carr ’97 is New Lower School Head by lau rie o ’ neill Nat Carr ’97 is chu ckling
at his desk in Thompson Hall, looking out the
window at the flagpole on which, under the Stars and Stripes, the Fenn Gold flag is flying—upside down. “I love it,” he says, though he isn’t being ironic, which would be understandable since Nat is a Blue. Instead, scenes like this delight the new Lower School head, who himself was once a Fenn fourth grader. Nat appreciates how seriously the boys approach this task and says that it is “an example of how we give responsibility to even our youngest students.” Each day, a pair of fourth graders, according to tradition, raises the American flag and a Fenn alumni flag, which is displayed to honor the group of young graduates that has excelled at fundraising during that year. The boys lower and fold the flags at the end of the day, then race with them into Nat’s office, sometimes declaring with dismay, “Sorry, Mr. Carr…the American flag touched the ground for a second!” Nat took over the role of division head in September. Over his thirteen years at Fenn, he had taught science and math across all divisions, coached varsity foot-
ball and lacrosse, advised students, and served as assistant director and then director of Secondary School Placement (now called Secondary School Counseling). Nat was drawn back to Fenn after his graduation from Bates College in 2004,
Nat, first row, second from left, and his classmates in 1997
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even though he had considered and even interviewed for a job in insurance. The siren’s call of teaching was strong, so he began looking at independent school positions and learned that Fenn had an opening. Nat happily joined the faculty and staff members whom he had once addressed as Mr., Ms., or Mrs., though it took him a little while, as it does for all alumni who return to work at Fenn, to comfortably call them by their first names. During his time at Fenn, Nat took a year off to attend graduate school at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, in the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership, earning an M.A. in education leadership. His undergraduate degree is in psychology. Nat pursued the position of Head of the Lower School because he recalled the “close knit and supportive community” in
which he had spent time as a science and math teacher years earlier and because “I really wanted to get back to this age group.” Lower Schoolers “have so much energy and enthusiasm,” he says, adding with a smile, “I’ve never been so tired.” He teaches fourth grade science and has handed over his varsity football and lacrosse teams to Matt Ward ’00 so that he can coach Lower School sports. That responsibility consists of encouraging the boys “to play a lot of games like capture the flag, all with the purpose of getting everyone to participate.” With a goal of “wanting to be really visible and engaged,” Nat has also gotten involved with important curricular topics such as “how we view homework in the Lower School,” he says. Right now, Lower School boys receive manageable assignments in two of their
“The most important job we must do is to model being good people.” Nat at his Fenn graduation, shaking the hand of Fenn tutor Maryanne Geary
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classes and they are asked to do outside reading. Other issues he and his faculty are discussing include iPad use and technology in general. “Devices aren’t essential; they are wonderful tools but there is no replacement for interaction in the classroom, with teachers and with each other,” he says. The Lower School faculty spends “a lot of time together,” Nat says. Teachers “clamor to help each other,” covering someone’s classes if he or she is out sick. “They are all so supportive of each other,” he declares. Last summer fifth grade teachers participated in a Developmental Designs four-day workshop, which helped them think more about how they build routines and manage their classrooms. The Developmental Designs approach emphasizes that there is a critical need to create a just and equitable place for children to engage in learning, and the workshop presented strategies for teachers to help students master learning routines and develop essential cognitive and social-emotional skills in their students. Out of that experience grew an activity for which boys in each Fenn fifth grade class developed and signed a “social contract” that sets forth rules for their classroom. “They have really bought into this,” says Nat, adding that, “We are always talking about behavior and conduct in the Lower School, and constantly emphasizing the message that we want all of the boys to be really good people, to be resilient, to be engaged, and to be kind to each other.” This training begins in fourth grade, he points out, though it happens “more organically” at that level. New Fenn fourth graders “learn about our expectations and we introduce our four core values: honesty, respect, empathy,
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“When I was a Fenn boy, people took an interest and invested in me for what felt like the first time in my life as a student. It was such a gift.” and courage. It’s not long before the boys know them by heart and refer to them in their daily life.” Nat loves the exuberance of Lower School boys. He says they fight to hold the door open for visitors and he loves to watch them from his office windows in the afternoon when they are waiting for their rides, frolicking on the lawn no matter what the weather is like, full of energy despite the school day that is behind them. Some boys might perch on the granite steps below and around the bust of school founder Roger Fenn; others toss Frisbees and footballs or sit, reading, next to their backpacks. “If there are a few boys interested in something, whether it be Rubik’s Cubes, card tricks, or step ball”—a beloved Fenn tradition begun decades ago that has
been revived in recent years—“they will form a club,” Nat says. He enjoys sitting with fourth graders during All School Meeting and watching them “so raptly attentive” when an older student or visitor is speaking or performing and each day he has lunch with the Lower School, which is a noisy, happy affair. Nat appreciates that the boys are “very open and honest, and comfortable coming to me.” One day a few Lower Schoolers were spraying each other with the drinking water hoses that are used on the athletic fields, and Nat pulled them aside. One boy denied he was involved, but thirty seconds later he admitted to the mischief and sheepishly apologized, saying, “I am better off if I say I’m sorry.” Nat’s own experience as a Fenn boy informed the teacher, coach, and
administrator he became, he says. In fourth grade, he was a member of Kathy Starensier’s ILP (Intensive Literacy Program) class. “I didn’t have a lot of self-confidence and I got such a boost that year,” he recalls. “People took an interest and invested in me for what felt like the first time in my life as a student. I became more willing to try new things. It was such a gift.” Nat says the relationships that he built at Fenn with teachers and classmates during his six years as a student were “lasting ones.” Throughout his time as a Fenn student, Nat attended Star Camps, a summer sports camp for boys and girls ages five to fifteen, and he worked at the camp the summer before he became a student at Phillips Andover Academy and every summer since. In 2012, Nat became its new owner. “It had impacted me so much as a camper, I felt responsible for continuing it,” he says. Many members of the camp staff are Fenn teachers and alumni, and Nat says that working with the group during his college summers had a great deal to do with why he returned to Fenn to teach. Nat’s life has changed in other ways in the last several months. He and his wife, Katie, parents of a seventeen-monthold daughter, Adelaide, welcomed baby Walter Jude Carr in December. Having little ones of his own has given Nat “a far greater appreciation for how special every child is,” he says. “It’s also taught me that kids who grow up in a community do very well, and this knowledge has impacted what we will do as our children get older.” Helping to make sure that the Fenn “village” remains a close and caring one “is our job as teachers and coaches,” Nat declares. “We are constantly working to be better,” he adds, “and the most important job we must do is to model being good people.”
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“Who am I?” is on Their Minds Middle School Head Reflects on Guiding Boys Through Identity Building by tr icia mcc arth y When w e w e r e d i s c us s i n g
the formation of identity in my seventh grade Student
Life class one year, a boy asked, “So when will I be done with the job? When will I be me?” I told him that our identity is something we are never fully done defining. His response was classic: “Oh, no! That’s like having homework every night for the rest of my life!” The social, emotional, cognitive and physical changes that begin in the adolescent years are seismic in a boy’s life. It is during his tweens and teens that he will take on what
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The Nobel Prize exhibit opened
developmental psychologist Erik Erikson calls in Singapore in October. “the main job” of adolescence—developing identity. But the yeoman’s work of identity formation happens in the middle school years. Adolescents are perpetually in the conscious and subconscious process of asking “Who am I?” and “Who is it that I wish to become?”
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During this journey, some measure of both success and struggle is not only to be expected, but also to be desired if boys are to fully explore their own identity and place in the world. At Fenn, boys are encouraged to try out for a play, run for Student Senate, or seek a spot on a sports team with the understanding that they may succeed, or they may not, despite their best effort. Those teachable moments around the qualities of courage and resilience allow boys to define themselves. Providing the environment that enables and encourages them to take risks during their middle school years has to be the caring mission of family and school. Today, boys are facing challenges that did not exist twenty or even thirty years ago. Previous socially normed gender roles (for vocations, emotions, adult roles in the family, etc.) are shifting, conflating, and being redefined at a pace we have not encountered before. For example, boys and men are being asked to be “more sensitive” and to show more “feelings.” Asked to grow from boys to men in a world where their own fathers and adult male role models are still weathering the somewhat uncharted waters of gender role redefinition, boys can sometimes feel adrift as to what a “real man” is supposed to look like or act like. In addition, consider that boys are being bombarded with messaging and images—often conflicting and confusing —about masculinity. They see TV shows where the verbal give-and-take is clever, witty (often crude), and fast paced. They exist in a “social texting universe” whose currency is verbal facility—literally, words on a device screen with little
time for reflection or thought before a reply is expected or made. Boys are left trying to travel across the adolescent emotional landscape where the landmarks are not fixed in space, and the societal emotional “maps” available to them are limited. So who are boys in their middle school years? The answer is as nuanced as boys themselves. Boys can be utterly meticulous and joyfully messy. They are witty, and they can be wise. Boys see the humor in just about every niche where it hides. They love to laugh, but desperately do not like to be laughed at. Boys are in a game of constant catch-up, growing into bodies that are, at every moment, outgrowing them. Boys and young men are acquiring voices which sound like a clarinet whose reed has gone dry at one moment to one that sounds eerily like their father’s the next. They are exuberant as they “try on” new and challenging roles we put before them in their middle school years. Boys are active; they move. A lot. They laugh. And they cry. Boys are competitive (witness when one accidentally burps in class and invariably another boy tries to do so with more volume or panache). Boys are social beings. They want to feel connected to something larger than themselves such as a sports team, makerspace crew, cast of a play, or advisor group. They are loyal friends who will stick up and look out for each other. The seventh grade boys on the Washington D.C. trip guard each other’s well-being like soldiers in the trenches; it is wonderful to watch them
nudge a boy who is a little homesick and say, “Come on the flight simulator with us!” Or to approach a chaperone and say “I’m not sure, but I think [so and so] seems a little sad right now.” In these moments, boys rise to a level of compassion and tenderness (and courage) that would make the adults in their worlds very proud. Boys long to be helpful. One only need be in the dining hall when one of them accidentally drops a plate to witness several others jumping up to pick up broken dish pieces, and mop up the mess. Boys love to solve problems. We often discuss how, in a boys’ school, we can help boys become young men. We have to “catch them doing something right,” as a colleague once noted, as often as we can. Given the chance, boys have great capacity for compassion and young wisdom. They hold untapped promise if they are understood and encouraged to be their rich and flawed selves. If they trust us and know we love and care for them, and we in turn provide the right environment for them to do their “main job,” boys stand well supported as they strive to answer the questions, “Who am I? Who is it I wish to become?”
“Given the chance, boys have great capacity for compassion and young wisdom.” – Tricia McCarthy
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Associate Headmaster and Head of the Upper School Derek Boonisar advises the Senate.
It’s Hi-Chew Day! Student Senators Learn Leadership While Representing their Classes and Helping Others Bra c i n g f o r a t i d a l w a v e
of young bodies, the class Senators watched
the door to the Old Gym. “It can be a bit chaotic,” said Alex Rauktys, a fifth grade Senator, warning a visitor about Hi-Chew sales like this one, which the Senate holds a few times a year to raise funds for a number of causes that the group supports in Fenn’s name. But despite the excitement the events generate, there is a sense of order and the sales run smoothly. “You can see our core values, like honesty and respect, in action,” Alex added.
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“I love being a Senator because it makes me feel a part of something.” – Oliver, fifth grade Senator
Soon scores of boys, mostly Lower boys with opportunities to be leaders and and Middle Schoolers, swarmed into the to experience personal growth. Seeking Old Gym holding dollar bills aloft and office requires them to find a running crying out, “Strawberry!” or “Mango!” or mate, collaborate on a speech, deliver “Green apple!” as they rushed toward the their “platforms” in public in front of tables where colorfully wrapped bars of their classmates, and “allow themselves candy were displayed by flavor, in neat to be judged by their peers to determine piles. Shree Khanolkar, an eighth grade who is best positioned to serve the class,” Senator, waxed philosophical as he made he says. change, noting that “Hi-Chew sales get The boys promise to act as the voice kids really hyped up.” In fact, the fruity of their constituents and to generate chewy candy from Japan is “like currency “cohesion and comraderie” in their here,” offered Shree’s fellow eighth grade grade by organizing events such as Senator, Sammy Agrawal. “Kids trade things for it.” After the sale, Senate advisor and Associate Headmaster and Head of the Upper School Derek Boonisar congratulated the boys on a job well done and collected the proceeds, which will, along with other funds totaling thousands of dollars that the boys will raise this school year through a variety of events, benefit local, regional, and national charities such as Fifth graders campaign for Senate as teacher Liz Wei looks on. Concord’s Open Table Pantry, Minuteman Arc for Human movie nights. And they are expected to Services, the Susan G. Komen Fund for establish and maintain a positive tone a Cure, Heading Home, Project Bread’s in their class, Derek says. Senators, he Walk for Hunger, and the Juvenile adds, need to be good listeners and Diabetes Research Foundation. collaborative partners, must be willing to Leadership, Derek says, “comes follow through on details, and have to be in many forms at Fenn.” One of them unselfish and flexible. is the student Senate. Two boys from Senators learn how to be diplomatic, each grade are elected by their peers too. They are often approached by their in October and February for half-year peers, who might lobby them for events terms. Serving in the Senate provides or items that can range from dress-down
days to a Panini maker in the dining hall. Some of their classmates make requests that, “we know we can’t make happen,” conceded Oliver, a fifth grade Senator helping at the sale, “but we listen to them and tell them we will see what we can do.” The Senate meets each Thursday morning to discuss its business and plan events. Running for Senate has become an exercise in creativity and wit, and it is good, competitive fun. Shree and his running mate played on the former’s name, saying they would “Shreespect” their classmates. Nathan Lang and David Min, seventh grade Senators, resurrected ’70s surfer slang, using the word “tubular,” which means “awesome,” to describe their candidacy. The experience builds confidence and resilience, too. Sometimes candidates pursue a Senate position for a number of terms, showing just as much enthusiasm each time, even if they do not win. Riley Gustafson and Peter Nelson, the ninth grade Senators, ran several times, came very close to winning twice, and were elected last fall. Said Peter, “We take being Senators seriously. We really wanted to do this so we kept trying.” Boys “thrive on purposefulness and the feeling of being needed,” Derek notes, and Senate “offers the chance to capitalize on that.” Declared Oliver, as he kept an eye on the sale proceedings, “I love being a Senator because it makes me feel a part of something.”
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Every day at Fenn, you can find boys excited and engaged, whether they
are participating in a service learning activity, diversity committee discussion, art project, sports competition, design and engineering venture, or public speaking event—or even devising ways to survive on Mars, which one class did this winter in a unique interdisciplinary endeavor. And you can find teachers working to implement new approaches to their subjects and pursuing professional development opportunities. There’s never a dull moment at Fenn. Here, Peter, a sixth grader, shows off a rocket he made in the makerspace.
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26 Faculty and Staff News 31 Around Campus Highlights 36 Athletic Report
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Meet Our New Faculty and Staff
Fenn warmly welcomes several new members to our community It was her strong interest in “igniting in students a passion to learn” that led Shannon Banatt, a member of Fenn’s Upper School science team, to pursue a career in teaching. With a B.S. in civil and environmental engineering and a M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts, Shannon began her teaching career in Boston’s public school classrooms. While raising her two children, Sydney (grade 3) and Max (grade 2), she watched them learn through activities she designed such as “science club,” which she hosted in her home, complete with experiments and safety goggles. Shannon joined the Fenn community several years ago as a learning specialist and jumped at the chance to become part of the science faculty. As our drama coordinator, Rosalie Norris teaches across all grade levels, directs many of Fenn’s theater productions including this fall’s Middle School play Sideways Stories of Wayside School, and advises the Upper School improvisational acting group. With a B.A. from Emerson College and a M.Ed. from Harvard, Rosalie has taught theater in independent and public schools in Boston for ten years. She also designed a middle school interdisciplinary curriculum at Project Zero at Harvard University. Outside of Fenn, Rosalie contributes her musical talents to two street bands in which she plays the trumpet and bass drum, and she leads a dance troupe in Somerville. “I have really enjoyed my time at Fenn so far,” says Rosalie. “Everyone here has such a great sense of humor; I find myself
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laughing a lot with my students and that’s something I haven’t experienced at my previous schools.” Tina Gorski-Strong has joined the advancement office at Fenn in the newly created position of campaign manager. With a B.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Tina has an extensive background in leadership administrative positions at both colleges and independent schools. Tina most recently served as senior advancement officer and director of alumni relations at The Wheeler School in Providence, RI. She and her husband, Keith, have three children: Alex (22), Taylor (17), and Kaileigh (11), and a Beta fish, Winston. Tina describes a highlight of her Fenn experience to-date as “getting to meet so many dedicated volunteers.” Working in the advancement field “can be challenging,” she says, adding that “The reward is getting to know parents, alumni, and friends who are committed to helping Fenn reach its goals in being the best at educating young boys and preparing them to be good citizens and leaders as adults.” Virginia Morales, director of instrumental music, was inspired to study and teach music by many inspiring music teachers she had from elementary school through the graduate level. “My high school band director and my French horn professor at Boston University are still great mentors, not just for my music but for my life,” she says. Originally from El Paso, TX,
Shannon Banatt
Rosalie Norris
Tina Gorski-Strong
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Virginia earned a B.A. in music from The University of Texas at El Paso and continued to pursue her music education by enrolling at Boston University to complete master’s and doctoral degrees. She has performed with professional orchestras throughout the United States, Mexico, and Japan. Most recently, Virginia has shared her talent on the French horn during performances at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood and with the Tufts Symphony Orchestra. Virginia hopes to arrange more solo and small group student performances during All School Meeting. “I think it is so important for these boys to have as many opportunities to perform for their peers as possible.” Osa Osagie, originally from Georgia, is serving as Fenn’s diversity and teaching intern. Osa holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Georgia State University, where she was a graduate assistant in the political science department. Osa enjoys traveling and engaging in community service and social justice activities. At Fenn, she assists in teaching classes and administering various components of the School’s diversity program, including working with the Middle and Upper School diversity committees. “I find it invigorating to meet with young people every day,” Osa says. “This work gives me joy.” She adds that, “I hope I am inspiring students to become thoughtful, loving, and confident leaders in this complex world.” Tricia Writer, who is teaching in Fenn’s Intensive Literacy Program (ILP), was inspired to become a teacher after witnessing the 1992 Los Angeles riots. As an undergraduate at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Tricia directed an after-school program called Casa Kids
through the Southwest Museum and volunteered in a fourth grade classroom at an inner city school. Tricia saw how the social unrest sparked by the LA riots directly impacted children and realized she wanted to work directly with young people. Originally from Belmont, she returned to Massachusetts and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University. Tricia has spent more than a decade teaching writing to students with language-based learning disabilities at the Carroll School in Lincoln and she served as a homeroom teacher at Buckingham
Virginia Morales
Browne & Nichols in Cambridge and at Neskowin Valley School in Oregon. A mom of two boys, Quinn (15) and Sam (12), Tricia was excited to join Fenn’s faculty because, “I wanted to connect to a community that shared my philosophy of teaching boys and supporting them in a meaningful way.”
Osa Osagie
Tim Winters joined Fenn’s buildings and grounds staff this summer, bringing to Fenn his years of experience in building, maintenance, and grounds work. A graduate of Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School, Tim has extensive training in plumbing and maintenance project management. He enjoys being at Fenn in part due to the “charisma of the faculty and staff,” he says. Tim describes Fenn as a place where “people enjoy working and everyone seems
Tricia Writer
happy to help the students.” In his spare time, he enjoys making music by layering multiple instruments into a single composition, visiting museums, participating in outdoor activities including ice hockey and hiking, and taking his dog for walks.
Tim Winters
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Professional Development News…and More Headmaster Jerry Ward, Lower School teacher Brendon Bates, Intensive Literacy Program (ILP) teacher Tricia Writer, woodshop teacher Paul Heinze, and Library Director Samantha Kane attended the Teachers New to Boys’ Schools Conference offered by the International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC) and hosted by The Roxbury Latin School in October. They joined more than thirty educators from eight different schools for three days of speaker-led presentations and interactive discussions on topics including “Competition and Collaboration” and “The Role of Women in Boys’ Schools.” Jerry participated on a panel of headmasters including leaders from Roxbury Latin and Catholic Memorial. “The conference reinforced what my students taught me last year: boys are not always the most expressive creatures, but working together with them on a project or team (rather than teaching to them) is a very powerful and profound way to connect and engage with them,” says Paul. “I left the conference thinking what a service I could do for boys and their guardians (especially male guardians) by facilitating such a connection in the form of parent/son workshops during vacations or weekends or summer.”
ations. They are looking at all academic programs and athletics, and at areas ranging from “Mission and Philosophy” to “Administration: Facilities” and “Staffing: Supervision and Evaluation” and have been writing up their sections of the report for editing and review. The final report is due in April to the co-chairs and in the summer to AISNE, which will send an evaluation team to campus in November. “This experience allows you to see the whole Fenn picture,” says John. “It’s impossible not to sit back and learn from what other teachers are bringing to their classes.” Michelle says, “We don’t often have enough time to dissect what we’re doing and envision what we should be doing next.” Seeing evidence that “we do what we say we do,” is “really cool,” she adds. Co-Director of Secondary School Counseling and interim English Department Chair Dave Irwin co-led the session “Transformational Advising: From Simmer to Sizzle” at The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS)
Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Joining colleagues from Western Reserve Academy (OH) and Phillips Exeter Academy (NH) for this presentation, Dave and his co-presenters shared their expertise in “psychology, administration, and leadership” to help boarding school faculty and administrators retool their current advising practices. Lower School teachers Kristin FitzGerald, Liz Wei, Brendon Bates, and Jon Byrd participated in a Developmental Designs workshop this summer. The Developmental Designs approach emphasizes that there is a critical need to create a just and equitable place for children to engage in learning, and the workshop presented strategies for teachers to help students master learning routines and develop essential cognitive and social-emotional skills in their students. Out of that experience grew an activity for which boys in each Fenn fifth grade class developed and signed a “social contract” that sets forth rules for their classroom and includes
Fifth graders work on their “social contract” that sets forth classroom rules.
The School’s AISNE (Association of Independent Schools of New England) self-study is progressing well, led by co-chairs Michelle Heaton, science teacher and Service Learning coordinator, and John Fitzsimmons, who teaches English. Various committees comprised of faculty and staff members have been focusing on specific elements of Fenn’s program and oper-
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the signatures of the fifth graders and their advisors, and of Lower School Head Nat Carr ’97. “This experience helped us determine how we wanted to set up our classrooms as teachers,” says Liz. “Instead of designing a space or rules based on what we wanted, we engaged our students in a process to discuss their social and emotional needs with the educational and character development goals we set for them.” In December, five members of the Fenn community attended the 2016 National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference (POCC) focusing on “Advancing Human and Civil Rights—Fulfilling the Dream Together.” Director of Diversity Tete Cobblah, Assistant Director of Diversity Jenn Youk See, Kristin FitzGerald, Director of Instrumental Music Virginia Morales, and Osa Osagie participated in three days of collaborative and reflective discussions with colleagues from around the country about the seemingly intractable human and civil rights challenges that our society faces today. “I believe that attending POCC has given me a much deeper understanding of empathy and what it means to be a culturally competent educator and human being,” says Virginia. “I was able to gain so much per-
spective and I feel like I was able to grow as a person.” Osa says that she plans on “being more deliberate about the work that I do with students and faculty. I want to make sure that here at Fenn we are cultivating an environment that caters to the needs of every student, not just a particular type of student.” Jenn also participated in the Stanley H. King Counseling Institute for Independent Secondary Schools. “In many ways, the institute was a wonderful refresher on how to truly connect with students who might be struggling,” she says. Participants practiced how to approach difficult conversations with students and with others in other aspects of life. “This particular institute focused on the listening side of a conversation and it gave me some good options if I find myself trying to help someone who really has a lot weighing on them,” adds Jenn. Pauline MacLellan attended “Field Guide: A Design Thinking Experience” at Gould Academy in Bethel, ME, in June. This hands-on conference allowed Pauline, who teaches science and is Fenn’s makerspace and design thinking coordinator, to work with people from industry, non-profits, and education to learn more about how to use design thinking to solve real problems. Pauline said she “enjoyed thinking ‘outside the box’ about how design thinking techniques and strategies can be used in a variety of different arenas, including the classroom here at Fenn.” The physical beauty of the Maine woods reminded her of “the power of place to teach and learn.”
l to r: Kristin FitzGerald, Tete Cobblah, Caroline Blackwell (NAIS VP for Equity and Justice), Jenn Youk See, and Osa Osagie at the People of Color Conference
Pauline MacLellan works with boys in the makerspace
Director of Learning Support Services and English teacher Eden Dunckel and Liz Wei travelled to Maine to intern at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) this fall. The CTL is a kindergarten through grade eight independent demonstration school founded by Global Teacher Prize winner Nancie Atwell in 1990. Comprised of seventy-five students from more than twenty towns, the Center for Teaching and Learning is nationally renowned for its researchbased methods, outreach to teachers across the United States, relationships of trust between faculty and parents, and programs that engage and challenge students in preparation to contribute to their communities. As a school psychologist, Eden found this program to be “very rewarding,” she says. “For four days, I observed teachers using a new instructional model for reading and writing workshops. When I returned to Fenn, I introduced these models to my students and I saw more growth from certain boys in three months than I had expected.”
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Lower School teacher Winnie Smith traveled to Wasilla, AK, to participate in an Iditarod Summer Conference for Educators last June. Winnie engaged in a ten-day intensive experience with sixteen other educators. It was designed to help teachers integrate into their curriculum knowledge and lessons about the annual 1,049-mile dog sled race. “There are so many aspects of the Iditarod race itself, like competition, dog care, and outdoor survival skills, that resonate with our boys,” explains Winnie. “I wanted authentic learning to share in our literature studies, writing exercises, outdoor education, service learning, and
Winnie Smith with a musher in Alaska
science activities and to encourage my other fourth grade team members to incorporate different aspects into their curriculum.” As part of this experience, Winnie stayed at a working sled dog kennel for four days, met with veteran and rookie mushers, met the head Iditarod veterinarian to learn about care of the dogs, and visited the Native Alaskan Cultural Center in Anchorage. Winnie’s class will be following a rookie musher, Thomas Rosenbloom, in this year’s race in March. “Being there enabled me to understand how dog sled30
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ding honors Alaskan history and helped me view first-hand the commitment, passion, and care for these dogs of all involved in this exciting race,” she says. Director of Admission and Financial Aid Amy Jolly presented a session titled “Will Middle-Income Families Be Completely Squeezed out of Independent Schools?” at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Financial Aid Conference last fall. Amy and her co-presenter, the former chief financial officer of Gann Academy, discussed innovative ways for discussing education affordability challenges facing parents today. Fresh from finishing second at the Kevin White ’93 Memorial 5K at Homecoming last September, science teacher Derek Cribb completed the Baystate Marathon in October with a time of 3:38. It was his first marathon. Tory Hayes ’02, associate director of admissions, is currently training to run the 2017 Boston Marathon in support of the Boston Bulldogs Running Club, a non-profit that provides a safe community and wellness training for those in recovery from addiction as well as their friends and family. Tory has been volunteering with the Bulldogs since the fall of 2015, and he is looking forward to representing them from Hopkinton to Heartbreak Hill in April. Dave Irwin, who taught at Fenn between 2006 and 2011, has returned as co-director of secondary school counseling and interim English department chair. John Ward, son of Jerry and Lorraine Ward, has written a new novel titled The Citadel (Vine Leaves Press, March 3, 2017). Book 1 in the Amir Duran Series, the novel follows Detective Duran as he is dispatched to the torrid outskirts of
Derek Cribb races to a second place finish in the Kevin P. White ’93 5K at Homecoming.
Granada, an ancient city which, under Colonial Rule, has become a “smoldering caldron of corruption, poverty, and strife,” according to amazon.com. As he investigates the unusual death of an African migrant, he must foil a dark conspiracy. One reviewer calls The Citadel, “A delicious stew of intrigue, depravity, and humor.” Courtney Mongell, who joined Fenn as its communications director in August, moved on in January due to family circumstances. With years of communications, donor relations, and admissions experience at both the independent school and university level, Courtney brought both strategic vision and practical know-how to her position at Fenn. She worked hard to streamline parent communications; bring a consistent voice to the School’s messaging; develop written content for the web, magazine, and Report of Giving; and advise on and facilitate the announcement of Jerry Ward’s retirement and the headmaster search. At a farewell reception hosted by the advancement office, many faculty and staff members expressed their appreciation to Courtney. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors!
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Fenn Artists Explore “Identity and Stereotypes” Through a series of portraits and personal statements, Fenn faculty, staff, and student artists sought to raise awareness of timely issues, fight stigmas, and share personal stories and insights on bias, stereotypes, and acceptance in this fall’s “Identity and Stereotypes” art exhibition in the Kane Art Gallery. “The students designed this concept after contemplating how to use photographs to help share their understanding of identities and social justice with a larger audience,” said
that provided a unique avenue for
been held earlier in the fall. School-wide
self-expression.”
discussions that incorporated Fenn’s
The featured pieces built upon
core values of honesty, respect, empathy,
themes discussed throughout the School
and courage continued throughout the
Coordinator Tete Cobblah. “They
community in response to a previous
fall, with specific attention being paid to
decided to include, with their por-
Fenn exhibition titled “Identity” and to
the the impact stereotypes may have on
traits, thought-provoking statements
Respecting Differences Day, which had
learning and self-esteem.
Director of Diversity and Fine Arts
Grandparents’ Day is Every Day for Some Fenn Boys More than ten faculty and staff members have children currently enrolled in Fenn, and for the first time in Fenn history, two staff members, Jerry (and Lorraine) Ward and Athletic Director Bob Starensier (and his wife, Kathy, who retired from teaching at Fenn in 2015), have seen their sons and now their grandsons—both fourth graders—become Fenn boys. Bob and Kathy’s grandson, Spencer, says Bob, “is interested in everything and does everything, which is what all Fenn boys do. It’s been incredible to see Fenn through his eyes.” Lorraine says that she and Jerry watched JP “in his first drama production yesterday (heart be still!) and we were proud that he continued the tradition of his uncles [Matt ’00 and James ’97] by playing a female role in his first performance. Plus, it’s nice to get a hug from a beloved grandchild daily and see that no other boy thinks that is uncool.”
Faculty and staff and their children and/or grandchildren who attend Fenn
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A ROU ND C A M P U S
Politics, People, and Police
Diversity Committees Meet with Concord Police Chief for Thought-Provoking Discussion Fenn’s student diversity committees— groups in the sixth, seventh, and combined eighth and ninth grades— work to raise awareness and sensitivity and to enrich the Fenn educational experience for every student. The committees meet weekly to discuss current events and matters of importance to their members regarding identity and social justice. This fall, Fenn diversity committee members welcomed their peer group at Nashoba Brooks School to campus for a session titled “Politics, People, and Police: How to have difficult conversations? How do we agree to disagree?” They invited Concord Police Chief Joe O’Connor, who has had significant experience working with diverse communities in his role as patrolman and later superintendent-in-chief of the MBTA transit police, as their guest speaker. After sharing some of his experiences as a police officer, Chief O’Connor fielded questions from students that touched on the presidential campaign and the Black Lives Matter movement. After a thought-provoking, interactive conversation, Fenn seventh grader AliJah Clark offered a reflection on the experience, excerpts from which follow: We talked about local and national issues and everybody had an opportunity to ask the chief of police a question and to understand his perspective. We also discussed the recent presidential debates. Students explained that we do understand what’s going on, that just because we are
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Middle School student AliJah asks Chief O’Connor a question.
kids doesn’t mean that we don’t know the details about the debates or the election. This was also an opportunity to ask the police chief some personal questions about what we might have experienced in our families. I told him about something that had happened the previous night. My mom pulled her car over on Route 9 to check something on her phone. While she was on the roadside, a police car drove up behind her. She remembered hearing about innocent people being shot because of the color of their skin. She didn’t feel safe getting out of the car, but she couldn’t get back on the road, either, in case the police officer was checking her record. So she just waited and waited. She had children waiting for her at home, but she was stuck, too terrified to do anything. Although the situation ended well, it was still a tense and scary situation for
my mother and it worried me. I asked the chief how he could assure the safety of my family. He was really honest and nice, and he said he understood why I would be scared. He explained to me that police districts around the country train their officers in different ways, so each officer would handle the situation differently. I learned a lot at this meeting. We had all of our questions answered, and we were extremely grateful to Chief O’Connor for giving us this opportunity and for taking time out of his day to come and talk to us.
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At Your Service!
Fenn Boys Roll Up Their Sleeves to Help Out
Fenn boys rolled up their sleeves this fall to work on projects including raising funds to support breast cancer research, collecting food items for the School’s annual can drive for Open Table Pantry, and cleaning up the yards of former faculty members. “While the broader community benefits from our engagement in service opportunities, the boys benefit by forging connections, developing a sense of place, and cultivating their sense of agency,” said Service Learning Coordinator Michelle Heaton. Members of the Student Senate successfully completed Fenn’s 16th annual breast cancer awareness fundraising drive in October. Fourteen student Senators set up a donation table during morning drop-off to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. “People came
up to us and said, ‘I’m so glad that you’re doing this,’” says Alex Rauktys, a fifth grade Senator. Thanks to the generosity of the Fenn community, the Senate raised more than $2,370 this year for breast cancer research and treatment assistance for local families in need. Fenn conducted its annual food drive in November for the Open Table Pantry, with students collecting thousands of nonperishable food items for the Concord-based organization. Boys also organized food collection tables outside of grocery stores in Concord and Sudbury, asked their friends and families for donations, and used their own money to purchase items. “Participating in this food drive is a great way to give back,” says Nico Bowden, a ninth grader and School Vice
The Dream Team doing a fall clean-up at a former faculty member’s home
President. Fenn remains the single largest contributor to the organization. Lower School students volunteered at Gaining Ground Farm in Concord, helping to prepare its gardens for the winter. Armed with shovels, pitchforks, and wheelbarrows, they worked on clearing the gardens and composting food waste and harvested carrots, chives, peppers, and beets before planting winter crops. Also in the fall, more than forty Fenn students participated in the Dream Team for Senior Citizens by raking leaves, picking up limbs, and stacking wood at the homes of former faculty members Bob Duncan and Read Albright, helping out their widows, Lucinda and Jo, respectively. “This is an amazing chance for us to reconnect with and show the spouses of beloved faculty members just how much they still mean to us” says Lower School teacher Ben Smith ’85, who helped coordinate the effort. Upper School student participation in programs such as Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) and the new Students in Action (SIA) teaches boys about the importance of civic responsibility and helps them develop as empathic, respectful leaders. “This is our first year working with SIA, but so far it has been a great vehicle for integrating service into the ninth grade curriculum,” says Michelle. “Most of the work is being done as part of the Global Studies and English curriculum, in addition to three off-site conferences,” she said. At the end of the year the boys will present their work in service at the spring conference as part of the regional SIA competition.
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The Dream Lives On MLK Honored in Words and Music
With a welcoming message delivered by eighth grader Sammy Agrawal, the 31st celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday in January went on to feature several memorized presentations by members of the Student Diversity Committee, a performance by the Trebles, stirring music from a visiting Nobles and Greenough vocal group, songs led by a faculty and staff chorus, and instrumental accompaniment by Fenn music instructors. A group of boys offered an interpretive dance routine. “Today we have gathered to tell an essential part of our country’s history,” said eighth grader Sam Remondi. “We hope that this tradition will continue even when all of us here in Ward Hall have departed this wonderful campus so that stories of brave men and women and places that represent courage and sacrifice will not be evoked just for today but for all time.”
“We have seen what can be, what should be, and what would be; the dream lives on,” declared eighth grader Alex Natalizo. Then, introducing the singing of the original version of “We Shall Overcome,” called “I’ll Be All Right,” seventh grader AliJah Clark noted that enslaved Africans would sing this song to help them endure their plight. In other readings boys exhorted the audience to be of service to others, with seventh
grader Nathan Lang quoting Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve…You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be that servant.” Closing the assembly, Sammy invited members of the audience to reflect on what they had just seen and to ask themselves, “What can I do in my own small way to bring peace and harmony to my little corner of the world?”
“Windows and Mirrors” a New Way of Looking at Literature in Lower School “Stories help us prepare for the uncertainties of life,” says Samantha (Sam) Kane, Fenn’s library director. “They are also a powerful way to help children understand the complexity of social interactions, reflect on their own experiences and identities, and cultivate empathy for others who may be different.” This fall, with help from Sam and librarian Lisa Francine, Lower School teachers Kristin FitzGerald and Liz Wei
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introduced a new approach to the fifth grade language arts curriculum based on The National SEED Project’s “windows and mirrors” concept. A “mirror” is a book, experience, movie, or product that reflects an aspect of one’s identity that then fosters self-awareness and self-esteem. A “window” is a book, experience, movie, or a product that provides insight into the identities, ways of life, or cultures different from one’s own.
Author Andrea Davis Pinkney visits Fenn’s Lower School Writers Fest.
In their advisor groups and language arts classes, fifth grade boys engage in classroom activities infused with this conceptual lens through which to view their reading. Carefully chosen books highlight themes and characters that may
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or may not reflect boys’ own identities or experiences (e.g., non-male protagonists, diverse cultures), participate in reading workshops in which they study implicit or explicit stereotypes in literature, and write reflections about the “windows” or “mirrors” that resonate with them. “We use the lens of windows/ mirrors every day in our work,” said Kristin. “Boys are finding validation in their experiences and feelings and developing a greater awareness for the world around them by seeing themselves or their friends reflected in the stories we are reading together.”
Class books such as Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again, a novel in verse inspired by the author’s fleeing from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon and seeking refuge in Alabama, “give us a chance to talk to boys about aspects of life with which they may not have direct experience,” says Liz. Lai’s book, for example, offers boys a “window” into the life of a female refugee and a “mirror” for ways in which kids may experience or address bullying. The concept inspired the Lower School, in collaboration with Fenn’s library and diversity department, to hold
its inaugural Writers Fest called “Write the World, Right Here at Fenn” in October. Featured writers included Mitali Perkins, author of Tiger Boy, who discussed aspects of life in the Sunderbans, a natural region of Bengal that is a reserve of the Bengal tiger; Debbie Miller, who wrote The Great Serum Race, in which she tells the story of the brave mushers who carried life-saving antitoxin serum to the people of Nome and inspired the Iditarod; and Andrea Davis Pinkney, author of Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America, who offered a celebration of the achievements of change makers.
Surviving Mars
Eighth Graders “Leave Earth” for Interdisciplinary Project While preparing to read The Martian by Andy Weir in his eighth grade English class, Rob Morrison was struck by the amount of science and math integrated throughout the novel. The Martian chronicles the experiences of a fictional astronaut named Mark Watney who was left for dead on Mars by his team as he struggles to find a way to survive and hopes that NASA can figure out a way to get him back home. Rob met with Dave Duane, who teaches science, Dave Sanborn, a math teacher, and Pauline MacLellan, Fenn’s makerspace coordinator, to discuss how they could develop an interdisciplinary experience for the class. Dave Duane and Dave Sanborn then joined a portion of Rob’s classes, usually during their free time, to teach the boys relevant lessons in the physical, life, and earth sciences, and in algebra. Each boy or team of boys chose a topic that excited and inspired them
An eighth grader explains his Mars project to visitors.
and created a final project that was displayed in the library for visitors this January. The projects included a 3D map of Mars’ surface; the rules for a hypothetical Martian soccer league that had to take into consideration the material necessary for a ball to withstand the Martian environment; a soil composition experiment that involved growing peas on Mars; and an animated video that recreated Watney’s efforts
to survive in the Hab (Mars Lander Habitat.) One boy researched ASCII (AS-kee), a character encoding standard for computers that Watney uses to communicate with Earth faster. Another used trigonometry to analyze an event from the novel in which Watney builds a ramp to drag a 200-kilogram probe from a lander left on Mars in a previous, unmanned mission and load it onto the roof of his rover so he can take it back to the Hab to salvage the communications equipment it holds. In Rob’s English class, the boys studied Watney as a fictional figure and hero who has a talent for problem solving, and students wrote reflections on their experiences during the project. One boy, serving as the project’s documentarian, created a video about the process. “This was a true interdisciplinary effort and I’m grateful that my colleagues were willing to collaborate with me,” says Rob.
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Fall Sports Representing Fenn on the soccer and football fields and on cross country courses, Fenn athletes forged new standards of tenacity, teamwork, and good sportsmanship. Always putting their team before themselves, they can count among their accomplishments a record season for the varsity soccer team that culminated in winning the Eaglebrook Tournament, cross country runners who recorded their personal best times, and football players who continually exhibited courage and grit. Cross Country The cross country team registered an impressive 16-4 record, highlighted by a third-place finish in the Northeast Conference Jim Munn Invitational, which is the country’s largest cross country race for this age group. Over 1,200 runners represented 36 schools at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester on a cold and windy October 27. Fenn medal winners included Aroon Sankoh (7th place), Tyler McGarry (9th place), and Nathan Soukup (23rd place). Additionally, Fenn captured a fourth-place finish out of fifteen teams in the Roxbury Latin Jamboree on November 9. McGarry and
Sankoh were just seven seconds apart, finishing in 8th and 9th place. The Munn Invitational and the Roxbury Latin Jamboree were both “exceptional achievements,” says coach David Duane, whose team finishes in those pinnacle meets were significant improvements over the previous year (2015 Munn: 8th place finish, 2015 RL Jamboree: 5th place). “It was an outstanding season. The boys improved and found success as individuals and as a team,” says Dave, who shared coaching duties with John Fitzsimmons. “They brought a sense of purpose to each training session and to each competition.”
Team co-captains were Tyler McGarry, Nathan Soukup, and Merlin Feist. Varsity Football Varsity football (2-4-1) had a hard fought season and earned its two victories against rival Fay School. “Particularly the first game of the year at Homecoming was a huge highlight,” says defensive coordinator Frank Crowley ’06, one of three Fenn alumni to coach the team. “We didn’t know how the boys would respond, as we had a very limited number of practices leading up to Homecoming.” But Fenn posted a 32-12 victory over Fay at Reynolds
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Field on September 24, an offensive explosion that pleased offensive coordinator Jeff Trotsky ’06 and the rest of the coaching staff. “The boys came out firing on all cylinders and dominated from start to finish,” Crowley says. “Seeing all the kids having a blast winning that game in front of friends, parents, and alumni was extremely gratifying.” Fenn also took the rematch at Fay, 14-12, on November 4. Losses to Nobles, Dexter, Fessenden, and Rivers followed, in addition to a 22-22 tie against Thayer Academy. “Our two senior captains, Henry Peters and Jackson Morgan, set the standard for hard work and tenacity from the first day of practice,” says head coach Matt Ward ’00. “With a roster of nearly thirty players, we were lucky to have contributions from students in seventh, eighth, and ninth grades,” he adds. “While undersized,
our boys played with courage, determination, and teamwork throughout the season.” The team was captained by seventh graders Eddie Jelin and Cam Fries. Varsity Soccer Varsity soccer (10-0-1) buckled in for an amazing ride this season, cruising to an impressive nine straight shutouts before giving up its first two goals of the season in a 2-2 tie on October 26 at Fessenden School. “This year’s team was outstanding. We really played a possession game, a lot of passing, a lot of patience,” says Jason Rude, who coached the team with Bob Starensier and Freemon Romero ’04. “We made it hard on other teams because we always had good possession time.” Fenn put an exclamation point at the end of the amazing season by claiming the championship of the
annual New England Junior Private School Tournament, held at Eaglebrook School in Deerfield on November 5. Fenn streaked through the tournament undefeated, outscoring opponents 10-0 on their way to defeating Fessenden School in the championship. “The team peaked at the right time, playing their best soccer of the season at the most important time,” notes Coach Bob Starensier, whose team has taken the title twice in the last five years.” It was amazing to see the boys come together and play the way they did. They truly wanted this more for their teammates than they did for themselves.” Netminders Riley Gustafson and Peter Nelson were stingy throughout the season, allowing a total of only three goals. Team captains were ninth graders Kyle Roshankish and Ben Carbeau. The team leaves Fenn a fine legacy and a season for the history books.
Varsity soccer players were the victors at the Eaglebrook Tournament.
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Junior Varsity Soccer Junior varsity soccer (8-4-1) opened its season with only one loss in the first ten games. “Our mid-season form was terrific, as lessons from the training grounds coalesced nicely in October,” says Coach Dave Sanborn, who shared the sidelines with Rob Morrison. Highlights included a pair of five-goal outbursts against Fay (September 30, 5-1 win and October 26, 5-0 win) and a 6-2 dismantling of Fessenden in West Newton on October 14. On an individual basis, seventh grader Harry Bertos epitomized the team’s commitment to possessionoriented soccer, according to Coach Sanborn. “He was exceptionally elusive with the ball at his feet and equally disposed to pass or shoot…He certainly will be one to watch in seasons to come.” Goalie Nico Martinez was a “sporting, competitive team player,” he adds. “He’s quick, fast, athletic, mobile, and alert…He was well-attuned to his responsibility for covering every square yard of the penalty area.” Izak Murphy was an imposing physical presence at center back. “He was never outrun,” says his coach, adding that Izak was “focused and
strong, with enough pace to track down any attacker.” Captain Ethan Mullen, a center midfielder, led by example and chose his moments to speak quietly to the team. “A consummate teammate to all,” says Coach Sanborn. “He played every match with great determination.” Thirds Soccer Blue Thirds soccer Blue (2-33) found its first win on October 26 against Fay. Fenn took command early and dominated in the 4-0 shutout, earning redemption from the season opening loss to Fay at home. Blue provided offensive fireworks in a 6-0 win over Carroll School at home on November 7 in the season finale. Fenn also recorded ties against Jewish Community Day School, Concord Academy, and Fessenden School. Overall, the Blue team outscored opponents, 15-10. Captains were Sam Remondi and Matty Shields, with Alex Gorbatov as assistant captain. His players “believed in their ability to form a strong team based on their faith in each
other,” says Coach Tete Cobblah. “They understood that positivity led to success and satisfaction.” In the feisty and fun Thirds soccer Blue versus Gold intramural scrimmage to end the season, the Blue team shut out the Gold team, 4-0. Thirds Soccer Gold Thirds soccer Gold (2-5-1) impressed Coach Derek Cribb with its fortitude. They understood that when your opponent is strong, you need to work as a team,” says Coach Cribb, who was assisted by Ryan Miklusak. Teamwork enabled Fenn to come back and defeat Shore 2-1 in the rematch, he adds. The win at Shore Country Day School on October 21 was Fenn’s second straight victory of the season after Fenn edged Carroll School on October 20. The game against Concord Academy on October 7, though a 3-0 loss for Fenn, was memorable, he says, because the team “didn’t get frustrated and played better in the second half,” despite being “outgunned from the very beginning” and subjected to some “thirty shots on goal.” Coach Cribb identifies three players whose performances stood out this season: Jake Sanders, goalie Ben Croteau, and Peter Bazos, who was a “wonderful” team captain. Co-Captains were ninth graders Jasper Chartener and Charlie Hutchinson.
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A D VANCIN G FENN
Serving the School has been an “endlessly rewarding and fulfilling”
endeavor for Head of School Jerry Ward, who announced his 2018 retirement earlier this year. The search is underway for a new head of school, but meanwhile, Fenn continues to live its vision and to focus on its future. In this section we also welcome our new trustees and report, in photos, on this year’s Homecoming celebration, which featured the first Kevin P. White ’93 5K run, a varsity football game vs. Fay (we won!), and fun and games for all ages.
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42 Jerry Ward Announces 2018 Retirement 48 Inaugural Kevin P. White ’93 Race 50 Homecoming 2016
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A DVANCING F E NN
“I have been among the most fortunate of school heads.” Jerry Ward Announces His June 2018 Retirement Jerr y Ward, f enn ’s hea d m a s ter
for the past 24 years, has announced that he will retire at the close of
the 2017-2018 academic year on June 30, 2018. Jerry has served as the fifth head of school in Fenn’s 87 years since its founding. Jerry came to Fenn in July 1993 after serving St. Sebastian’s School for twelve years in a progression of roles beginning as director of admissions and director of alumni affairs and subsequently as dean of studies and assistant headmaster. During his tenure at St. Sebastian’s, Jerry taught U.S. History and was social studies department chair. Before and throughout his time at Fenn, Jerry served on a number of school and education boards, including as chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Independent Schools in New England and as chair of the Board of Overseers at the Walnut Hill School. He has also served as a corporator at Emerson Hospital in Concord and as a trustee of the Concord Free Public Library. When he retires, Jerry will have led Fenn in collaboration with the faculty, staff, and trustees through a period of gradual change marked by the preservation of Fenn’s mission and culture, the evolution of Fenn’s educational program, the diversification of the student body, the steady enhancement of campus facilities, and the advancement of fundraising. Deeply committed to his continued leadership of Fenn for the present and next academic year, Jerry shared his
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plans for retirement with the School’s Board of Trustees during the annual fall strategic planning retreat. His completion of his Fenn tenure in June 2018 will allow Jerry to continue his daily engagement with Fenn boys, faculty, parents, and trustees and to continue to implement some key components of the School’s strategic plan while providing the Board ample time to conduct a search for Fenn’s next head of school. Announcing his retirement plans in an open letter to the Fenn community in early November, Jerry reflected on his nearly quarter century of headship at Fenn, noting, “Serving this school, filled with its vital and promising boys, its caring and talented teachers and staff, loving and committed parents, tireless and supportive trustees, and loyal and grateful alumni and their parents, is an endlessly rewarding and fulfilling privilege and endeavor.
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Because my work constantly engages me with all of these supportive members of our School community, who are united in common purpose, I consider myself to be among the most fortunate of heads of schools. And my greatest gift and good fortune in serving Fenn is the enduring support, love, courage, and dedication of my wife, Lorraine, to whom I am indebted beyond words and the love, loyalty, and support of our sons John, James, and Matthew.” In a letter to the Fenn community shortly after Jerry’s announcement, Jim Kitendaugh P’97, P’05, chair of the Board of Trustees, shared that the Fenn Board is implementing a plan for the leadership transition that will allow
Fenn to celebrate the accomplishments of Jerry and Lorraine Garnett Ward appropriately while looking ahead to the appointment of the next head of school. “Given the excellence, leadership, and huge commitment that Jerry has given to the School over the past twentyfour years,” Jim said, “this news was not welcome; but, given his long tenure, all of us knew this day would come. We have also benefitted hugely over the years from the warmth, intelligence, expertise, and commitment of Lorraine. Her departure, too, will take some getting used to,” he said. “Jerry and Lorraine— thankfully—will remain central figures at Fenn through the conclusion of the next academic year.”
The School’s Board of Trustees, with the help of independent school head search consultants, is proceeding in the important work required to appoint Fenn’s next head of school and will periodically update the school community as the search progresses. Updates on plans to honor Jerry and Lorraine Ward’s service to Fenn, as well as details related to the school’s head of school search, will be available on www.fenn.org.
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A DVANCING F E NN
Fenn Welcomes New Trustees We are grateful to an exceptional group of volunteers who give generously of their time and talents as members of the Board of Trustees. Our thanks go out to these newest members for their stalwart and selfless commitment to supporting the School. Jennifer C. Braceras is a columnist and political analyst. She is the former editor of the NewBostonPost.com and a former Boston Herald contributing columnist. Her political commentary has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and various other publications. Jennifer cut her political teeth as a staff assistant in the Office of Vice President Dan Quayle, shortly after graduating from UMass-Amherst. Jennifer later attended Harvard Law School, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated cum laude. Post law school, she clerked for two federal judges and practiced law at the Boston law firm Ropes & Gray. In 2001, President George W. Bush named Jennifer to a six-year term as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a position that she held until 2007. She has taught courses in civil rights and constitutional law at Boston College Law School and Suffolk University Law School. Jennifer lives in Concord with her husband and four children, including Marcos, a sixth grader at Fenn.
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Tara Burgess Edelman is an angel investor and business advisor who seeks to increase diversity among business leaders and to create employment opportunities that provide social mobility and empowerment. Tara serves on the boards of CareAcademy and ThinkGive and recently joined the Town Committee for the Concord Free Public Library. Previously, she worked in technology product management, marketing and tech transfer. In 2013, Tara returned to greater Boston after spending a decade in the United Kingdom, where she was a fulltime mom and an advisor to several non-profit social enterprises on topics ranging from strategic marketing and fundraising to achieving financial self-sufficiency. Tara earned a B.A. in English from the College of the Holy Cross and was a Sloan Fellow at London Business School, where she earned an M.B.A./M.Sc. in leadership and strategy. Tara and her husband, Michael, live in Concord with their four children, two of them current Fenn boys: Daniel (6th) and Jacob (4th). “I am involved with Fenn for a lot of reasons, but especially because I want to support Fenn’s commitment to attracting a diverse student body and honoring diversity of all kinds in its community.”
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Nicole Lippa is serving as the Parents Association president for the 2016-2017 school year. After earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Michigan, Nicole worked as a chemist at Roche Bioscience in Palo Alto, CA, where she helped develop select COX-e inhibitors used to treat inflammation and pain without the gastrointestinal side effects of other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). She later turned her expertise to managing web design projects for clients including Grapevine, Apple, and BuyandHold. com. She started her tenure as a full-time mom and community volunteer eighteen years ago. Nicole lives in Acton with her husband and fellow Fenn volunteer, Blaise, their three children—Kensie, a junior at Lawrence Academy, and two Fenn boys, Jackson, a ninth grader, and Noah, a seventh grader—and their bunny, Max. She has volunteered her time to a variety of Acton area organizations including the library, the McCarthy Towne School, and the Cooperative Theater. Over the past three years as a Fenn parent, Nicole has served as a grade parent, chair of the assembly committee, a parent producer for the Middle School play, and vice president of parent programs and events.
Jay Remington ’84 chairs the Board of Visitors and has several other affiliations with Fenn. He is a Fenn alumnus and parent, as well as a former assistant wrestling coach. “It is wonderful having my son at Fenn now,” says Jay. “Walking around campus, I am surprised by all the things that have changed and equally surprised by all the things that have not changed in thirty years.” Jay is a managing director and co-founder of Benning Associates, a boutique investment bank that provides mergers and acquisitions advisory services to middle-market clients across a variety of industries. Jay is an active volunteer committed to giving back to the schools and summer camp that helped shape
him. He currently serves as the finance chair on the board of trustees of the Porter Foundation, which runs Camp Kabeyun, a boys’ summer camp on Lake Winnipesaukee. He previously held leadership positions raising funds for the Wharton School of Business, the Kent School, and Brown University’s wrestling program. Jay lives in Winchester with his wife, Laura, and their sons, Peter, a Fenn fourth grader, and Patrick, a first grader.
Doug Sharpe is a professional systems engineer who has recently turned his focus to managing family business efforts and private consulting on systems engineering projects with non-profits. A graduate of Brown University, Doug worked in the software industry for twenty years at companies including Raytheon, IBM, and Lotus Development Corporation. His last corporate position was as a systems architect and engineer at Raytheon. Doug is currently the president of the Foundation for Free Flight, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of hang gliding and paragliding in the United States. He has also volunteered his time and expertise to the South Kent School in Connecticut and to the Sharpe Family Foundation. An active Fenn parent since 2011, Doug is interested in furthering the development of Fenn’s makerspace as well as of the School’s implementation of technology, design thinking, coding, and experiential learning programs across the curriculum. Doug and his wife, Anne, live in Concord with their daughter, Austen, a junior at Brown University, and Lucian, who graduated from Fenn last June and is a freshman at Concord Academy.
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Focusing on Fenn’s Future
Board of Visitors Meets to Discuss Vision, Priorities, and Plans. HEADMAST ER JER R Y WA R D
opened the 14th annual meeting of Fenn’s Board of Visitors in October by thanking
the nearly 100 volunteers—including parents (current and past), former faculty and staff, alumni, and former trustees—for their contributions to the vision, priorities, and plans for the future of the School. Board of Visitors Chair and current parent Jay Remington ’84 welcomed the Visitors, who would later participate in All School Meeting, learn about Fenn programmatic updates, discuss priorities of the Strategic Plan, and revel in stories shared by current students. Jay said that during this year’s New Boys’ Day, Jerry told Fenn’s class of 2022 that “We believe in you.” He offered this response to Jerry, on behalf of all of the guests: “We believe in Fenn, and that’s why we are here.” To update Visitors on the state of the School, staff members presented an overview of operations. Assistant Headmaster for Finance and Operations David Platt noted that the School was in a “strong fiscal position,” due in part to increased endowment support and Summer Fenn revenue. While this growth has allowed the School to provide more than fifteen percent of its students with financial aid, Admission and Financial Aid Director Amy Jolly pointed out the need to increase this budget over time due to the number of families requesting additional assistance. Gisela Hernandez-Skayne and Dave Irwin, co-directors of secondary school counseling,
discussed their roles as advisors and advocates for Upper School boys. In discussing the progress toward achieving strategic goals, Jerry explained that the Board of Trustees is poised to make recommendations—informed by the Visitors’ input—that will determine what Fenn must do in order to ensure that boys in grades four through nine continue to thrive. Board Chair Jim Kitendaugh P’97, P’05 offered an update on the strategic goals accomplished over the past year without the need for new funding. “The Strategic Plan also anticipated the need to raise additional funds in order to meet
other key programmatic priorities,” said Jim. These priorities, discussed broadly by attendees, included financial aid, professional development for faculty, design-thinking activities, and a renovated dining hall that meets the needs of the campus community. After attending All School Meeting, Visitors heard from a panel of students and teachers who are actively involved with the makerspace and with professional development related to design thinking. Seventh graders Noah Wells and Nick Raciti and eighth grader Will Skelly described the impact the makerspace has had on their Fenn
Members of the Board of Visitors take in an All School Meeting.
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experiences. Will described how he not only discovered 3D printing and robotics in the makerspace, but also that he found a community of boys who held similar interests. “This is my crowd; I’ve found my people!” he declared. Pauline MacLellan, Fenn’s makerspace and design thinking coordinator, explained that the lab is “a physical space that’s become a hub of enthusiasm.” The makerspace is open before school and during recess
for free play, and Pauline’s design courses typically have a waitlist three times the number of boys she can accommodate. Matt Ward ’00 said his attendance at a 2016 Deeper Learning conference led to a new idea for teaching a unit in his sixth grade World Cultures and Geography class that included the use of the makerspace, adding that the boys strongly embraced this interactive, interdisciplinary approach.
The Board of Visitors is comprised of volunteers who are committed to strengthening Fenn’s mission and its engagement with the greater community. Members are asked to serve as ambassadors for Fenn in their hometowns and to share their diverse expertise and insights on programmatic developments with the Board of Trustees and Fenn leaders.
Adams Way is New Entrance Drive Campus Road Named for Longtime Trustee When you next visit Fenn, you may notice a new street sign guiding you onto campus. The School’s entrance drive was renamed “Adams Way” in October to honor the leadership and vision of longtime Fenn trustee Jeffrey Adams. For more than twenty years, Jeff, president of J.W. Adams Construction and father of five Fenn alumni, invested significant time and energy into the development of the School’s campus plan. He “led Fenn through a quarter of a century of campus renewal projects,” says Headmaster Jerry Ward. “From classroom renovations and new construction projects like our meeting hall to strategic acquisitions that allowed us to increase our campus footprint, Jeff has served as a guiding hand through his tenure as the chair of the Fenn Board of Trustees Buildings and Grounds Committee,” says Jerry. Members of the Board of Trustees and the School frequently sought Jeff’s advice on matters related to the
operating budget and all constructionrelated costs and details. When presenting Jeff with a replica street sign during an All School Meeting, Jerry reflected, “Jeff has always had a vision of what the Fenn
campus could be; he has helped change Fenn in very positive ways. We thought it would be appropriate to name the School’s entry road in his honor since he so often helped us find the best way forward for Fenn.”
Headmaster Jerry Ward, left, with Jeff Adams
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Alumnus and Coach Honored Kevin P. White ’93 5K Benefits Financial Aid Program M or e tha n eig ht y r un n e r s
celebrated the life and legacy of Kevin P. White ’93 during
an inaugural race named for the Fenn graduate who passed away in 2015 at the age of 37. An active member of the Fenn community, Kevin had been coaching and mentoring boys on the varsity soccer team for three years. To honor his memory, the Alumni Council chose to rename Fenn’s annual Homecoming 5K race for Kevin.
“Fenn made all the difference to Kevin.” While standing near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, Kevin and his family were injured when the bombs went off. Establishing a fund was a way to pay tribute to Kevin’s experience and to his courage to run the 2014 marathon,” said Dave Kitendaugh ’97, a Council member. Proceeds from the race registrations and donations to the fund totaled $10,638 as of this January and will benefit Fenn boys from diverse socio-economic, racial, or ethnic backgrounds who are in need of tuition assistance. The first scholarship will be awarded during the 2017-18 academic year. The fund will continue to build each year through race registration fees and gifts from friends. Kevin’s parents, Bill and Mary Jo, and his brother, Andrew ’89, attended the race and during a dedication ceremony Bill said that Kevin “had a love affair” with the School. “Fenn made all the difference to Kevin,” said Andrew, who added that creating a scholarship in his brother’s memory “will help forever maintain the connection between him and this community.”
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– Andrew White ’89
Bill and Mary Jo White with runners, l to r, Derek Cribb (second place), Tyler McGarry (winner), and Matt Beagle (third place).
Also speaking at the dedication ceremony were Headmaster Jerry Ward, Athletic Director Bob Starensier, and ninth graders Ben Carbeau and Riley Gustafson, whose soccer team Kevin had coached. Winner of the first Kevin P. White ’93 5K at Homecoming was
seventh grader Tyler McGarry, with science teacher Derek Cribb finishing second and Fenn parent Matt Beagle placing third. For more information about the Kevin P. White ’93 Fund, please contact the Advancement Office at 978-318-3520.
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Young Alumni Gather
Thanksgiving Reunion Features Fun, Food, and Flag Raising
More than eighty alumni kickedoff their Thanksgiving break by returning to Fenn for games, food, and fun at the annual Young Alumni Thanksgiving Reunion on November 23. Alumni in the classes of 20122017 caught up with their classmates and former teachers, enjoyed a pizza lunch, and entered a raffle for Fenn gear. The event culminated with the raising of the Gold team’s flag in the front circle to celebrate its victory in total overall participation in the 20152016 Annual Fund.
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Homecoming 2016 On a bright and sunny early autumn day, more than 400 alumni, students, parents, faculty members, staff, and friends came “home” to Fenn to enjoy food and festivities at the School’s third annual Homecoming. More than eighty running enthusiasts began the day on September 24 by participating in the inaugural Kevin White ’93 Memorial 5K. (Read more on p. 48.) Children had their faces painted, decorated pumpkins, and frolicked in the Summer Fenn Kids Corner inflatable bounce house, while alumni and family cheered the Fenn varsity football team to a decisive 32-12 victory over Fay. The Trebles and marching band offered “The Star Spangled Banner” and a rousing “Anchors Aweigh.” Following the team’s victory, Fenn graduates took to Reynolds Fields to revive the Blue vs. Gold rivalry in a friendly game of soccer and then enjoyed an alumni and alumni parent tailgate catered by Wyeth Lynch ’92’s barbeque restaurant SoulFire, with entertainment provided by Chris Ruediger ’14.
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Alumni have endless stories to tell about their years at
Fenn. Perhaps one of them involves shoveling off Buttrick’s Pond so they could play hockey, which is what these Fenn boys were doing in 1931. In this section, read about Emmy Award winning writer and producer David W. Rintels ’51, who was named Fenn’s 2016 Distinguished Alumnus. David’s passion continues to be “portraying a compelling truth” in stories with themes of inequity and social justice. Three other alumni are profiled in the following pages; all are pursuing their passions, from preserving historic aircraft and automobiles to leading a top university hockey team to scaling mountains and exhorting others to “get outside and have an adventure.” Reunion years are indicated in the Class Notes; we hope you can join your classmates and former teachers for the celebration on September 22 and for Homecoming the next day.
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54 Distinguished Alumnus 56 Class Notes and Alumni Profiles 64 Reunion 2016
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A Passion for Truth-Telling Award-winning writer and producer David W. Rintels ’51 Named Fenn’s 2016 Distinguished Alumnus “ AL L I KNO W A BOU T
how to become a writer can be described in one sentence: ‘I don’t know how,’” said David
Rintels with a smile while speaking to Fenn boys during a September All School Meeting. In light of David’s forty-year career as an acclaimed writer and producer for television, film, and theater, his statement took the Fenn community by surprise. Writing can be hard, he told the boys, “requiring you to give 100 percent” to portray a compelling truth or story to your readers. “This craft is also more than a profession,” he added. “It can be a lifetime pursuit if your passion is to discover and share truths.” David received the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award, given to
a graduate who has made outstanding contributions to his field and to those around him, during Fenn’s Reunion and Homecoming weekend in September. It was presented by Headmaster Jerry Ward, who said that David “serves as an inspiration to all Fenn boys for his creativity, industry, and achievement.” “Having had Fenn as his foundation as an aspiring writer when he was a boy,” Jerry continued, “David has made his way beyond Fenn into the world of playwriting and screenwriting, earn-
ing renown for his excellence in his art and craft. Fenn is most proud of David Rintels as an alumnus and is honored to have him return to our campus to receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award.” David later returned to campus with his wife, Victoria Riskin, a prominent screenwriter and producer in her own right. She is the former president of the Writers Guild of America and a founding member of Human Rights Watch/California. While at Fenn, David and Victoria met with eighth grade
David receiving his award from Jerry Ward and Alumni Council President Matt Boger ’89
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Day One: Before Hiroshima social studies students and After (1989), for which to discuss the landmark he won an Emmy for Supreme Court case Gideon Outstanding Drama Special; vs. Wainwright, which was Andersonville, a four-hour, the inspiration for one of two-part drama about the David’s TV movies. Civil War Confederate prison After Fenn, David camp in southwest Georgia; attended Phillips Exeter and Nuremberg (2000). Academy and Harvard In 2018, David’s latest University, where he purstage play, Sophie’s Choice, sued writing, graduated based on William Styron’s magna cum laude in 1959, novel, will open at the and served as an apprentice David is pictured with members of his A squad baseball team in the center, second row, behind the boy with the bat. Stratford Theater Festival in to the sports editor of the inspired him to tell stories about what Ontario. Boston Herald. With childmattered to him most: those with David says his life’s work was largehood aspirations of becoming a foreign themes of inequity and social justice. He ly informed by the way he grew up. “I correspondent, he remained in the news wrote a one-man Broadway play based was raised the right way, by caring peofield by working in newspapers, radio, on the life of American Civil Liberties ple,” he says. “I had relatives who valued and then in television public affairs and lawyer Clarence Darrow, which starred service and commitments to help other documentaries. “Then one night, on Henry Fonda. It has recently been people. I had teachers who believed a dare, I started to write a script for a revived by the actor Kevin Spacey. that as well. I was lucky enough to have wonderful television show called The David would return to the subject absorbed that as a kid and it’s stuck with Defenders,” he said. Passing his draft to of the U.S. legal system in acclaimed me to this day.” a contact who knew the show’s creator television dramas including Clarence In the ’50s, Fenn offered the caring yielded a big break: a phone call from Darrow (1973) and Fear on Trial (1975), and sense of security that made a differReginald Rose that resulted in the proboth of which earned him an Emmy ence in David’s life, particularly during duction of David’s first television script. Award, and Gideon’s Trumpet (CBS, the frightening period of the Cold War For several more years, David 1980), a production he wrote and proera. “Roger and Eleanor Fenn ran the wrote for The Defenders and for other duced. It was based on the real-life school like a family,” he says. “It was a television dramas to refine his craft, story of Clarence Earl Gideon (played lovely, nurturing atmosphere for young but he admits to writing for shows that by Henry Fonda), who was arrested in boys who were guided by kind teachers he didn’t necessarily believe in because 1961 for “breaking and entering”; the like David Aloian.” he didn’t think he could challenge the U.S. Supreme Court held that Gideon “I loved my time at Fenn,” David system. This changed with his elecwas entitled to an attorney in spite of his declares. “The community embraced tion to the Writers Guild of America’s inability to pay for one. me for who I was. It helped me through Board of Directors in 1970. In this role Remaining intrigued by stories of some challenging times as a young boy.” David was inspired to “fight for writers’ personal travails and political repression, Accepting his award from rights—against censorship, for freedom David wrote and produced projects Headmaster Jerry Ward during the of expression, in our work and in our including a 1984 HBO movie (Sakharov) Alumni Dinner last fall, David was collective bargaining agreements.” about the Soviet dissident scientist clearly proud to have been nominated His service to the Writers Guild Andrei Dmitrievic Sakharov; Day One by his classmates, many of whom joined as a board member and president of him for the celebration. (1989), based on the Peter Wyden’s book the Writers Guild of America, West,
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Class Notes 1937 REUNION Neal Cox wrote with praise for FENN magazine, “Keep up the good work on your publications; I’ve enjoyed them for years.”
1942 Reunion We’d love to hear from you! Please email news to alumni@fenn.org or enter it online at www.fenn.org/classnotes.
1947 Reunion We’d love to hear from you! Please email news to alumni@fenn.org or enter it online at www.fenn.org/classnotes.
deaf. Roger would have liked my new-found interest, I think. We have many goldfinches. The latest bluebird babies just fledged from one of our four boxes. There are several cardinal pairs, nuthatches, tufted titmice, various woodpeckers, including red-bellies and pileated, and ruby-throated humming birds. An indigo bunting spent a couple of weeks in our backyard last month (saw another one out there An indigo bunting who visited Michael Benfield ’54 yesterday). Occasionally, we have a nest of tree swallows in one of our it has been 64 years since I graduated Fenn. boxes. They get along with the bluebirds. Katherine and I have lived in mid-coast Of course, we have a number of hawks, Maine for 14 years now. We tend our own chasing the smaller birds, as well. It’s quite place. It helps us measure how ‘healthy’ we a zoo!” Bart Calder reflects, “Can’t believe are. Can I still push that lawn mower up the
1951 Russ Robb reports, “Seven members of the class of 1951 celebrated our 65th reunion along with Dave Rintels as the winner of the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Lovejoy, Piper, and Robb meet monthly for breakfast at the Colonial Inn in case any fellow classmates would like to join us.”
Video Pays Tribute to Robb Hall Fenn alumni Ben Stone ’12 and Andreas Sheikh ’12 recently produced a video that chronicles the history of Robb Hall from 1949 through 2012. “Robb Hall Remembered” features excerpts from a number of alumni including Russ Robb ’51, Tom Piper ’51, Jim Carter ’54, Steve Morss ’73, Peter Stone ’03, and Max Gomez ’12 among others. “This video pays tribute to some of the noteworthy members of our community and our traditions that make the Fenn experience so distinct,” notes Headmaster Jerry Ward. To relive your memories of Robb Hall, visit the “Robb Hall Remembered” photo exhibit in the lobby of the old hall and watch the video at fenn.org/robbhall.
1952 Reunion We’d love to hear from you! Please email news to alumni@fenn.org or enter it online at www.fenn.org/classnotes.
1954 Michael Benfield writes, “I am too deaf to hear anyone anymore, even with hearing aids, so I took myself off all the Town boards last year. I had been a tax assessor, a library corporator, board member of the Council on Aging and the Community Preservation Committee. I hated taking money as a tax assessor, but loved giving it back to the community as a member of the CPC. The birds in our backyard don’t mind me being
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hill? I can remember taking a last slug of water from that stone water fountain behind Thompson Hall after the end of recess bell rang, and Roger Fenn yelling at me to get to science class! ‘Drink from the fountain during recess,’ he admonished. I was a little scared of Mr. Fenn, which I rightly should have been.” Archie Cox reports, “In July I became head of the board of trustees of St. Paul’s School, where I went after graduating from Fenn. We’re presently living in Aspen, CO, but make very frequent trips back East for business as I find it impossible to retire— and have no interest in doing so. Best to all!” John Hall notes that his daughter, Naomi (22), is finally entering college after spending two years in the Israel Air Force, followed by “the almost mandatory world trip,” during which she traveled for four months in the Far East. She plans to study interior design. Naomi’s twin brother, Daniel, who has Down Syndrome, is doing his Israel Defense Force service and is busy with the Jerusalem Yachad program for special needs children. As John reflects, “The wild, wild East is turbulent around us, and we in Jerusalem are in the calm eye of the storm.” A 50th anniversary meeting at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, marking a discovery that led to understanding the age of the oceans’ crust and defined the movements of the continents, brought John to the U.S. in May. He visited Fenn but found the school in the midst of final exams. John notes that a lavish meeting in June in Monaco finally set a target date of 2030 for completing the mapping of the remaining 88% of the oceans. He suggests a good way to proceed might be to “scrap one trip to Mars, and the planet’s inhabitants will be far better off.” Tony Willcox reports, “My wife, Kathleen (aka Sam), and I are still here in Colorado. We are still getting in some hikes in the summer and ski days and snow shoeing in the winter. We did get back to New England a few times to visit friends, get to the ocean, and eat as much lobster as possible. My wife is still in the interior decorating business. I am taking courses at Hillsdale College and working on the house and in the yard. I keep my Class A building license for my consulting business.”
1957 Reunion David White writes, “Thanks to the wonders of Lifestream, I recently attended a wonderful concert by the Fenn Band. Such talent and dedication to the music and performance of it! David Huston really planted a precious seed when he first came to Fenn. He inspired me when I was in seventh grade to take up the clarinet, and it accompanied me well on my journey through Concord High School, High Mowing School, and Boston Conservatory. The apex came when I began work in 1964 at the Marlboro Music Festival (marlboromusic.org), and I have spent fifty productive years as part of their administrative and production team. Though semi-retired from the work, I am very much in touch with their continuing mission, since my summer home is only ten minutes away. During winters in Cambridge I have been helping several organizations of music for young people find venues for these kids to perform. Last June, a number of these young folks gave a concert at Concord’s Newbury Court to the delight of the residents. Another project is helping to plan the 150th anniversary of Boston Conservatory, including an evening at Boston’s Symphony Hall on May 9, 2017. Meanwhile, onward and upward to music at Fenn; boys full of potential and talent.”
1958 Percy Preston reports, “I am in the process of selling the townhouse in New York City where I have lived for 41 years with the goal of moving to an apartment in the city. I also continue to work part time for The Roothbert Fund, a foundation that awards grants to college students. In addition, among my volunteer activities is the chairmanship of the building committee at St. Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue, where the dome is being restored.
As an active member of the University Club in New York, I was deeply involved with writing a book commemorating the club’s 150th anniversary last year. A copy of the book has been sent to Fenn as a donation to the school’s library.”
1960 Jack Denny-Brown writes, “Hey, class of 1960. Been a while! After a lifetime of teaching, I have retired with my wife, Ann, to Central Massachusetts. Being located not so far from the old stomping grounds at Fenn, I decided to check back and see how things are going. Now I’m on the Alumni Council. I am happy to report that the school is recognizable and going strong. In fact, I think it’s stronger than it was when we were there. Of course they have their own things going on, but I have some very fond memories surrounding my two years at Fenn, from the fall of 1958 to June of 1960. I am hoping that some of you out there will join me this year at one or more of the alumni events. I would love to see you, one and all. We could walk around the campus and try to imagine where John Palmer’s hockey rink used to be, among other things. I can be reached on email at jdennybrown@bbns.org or by phone at (978) 582-7971. I would love to hear from any one of you. Got some catching up to do! I’m sending along a picture of me and my wife, Ann, taken last summer from Fenway Park, left field wall.” Peter Naylor has written a book titled Methods and Observations of a Practical Economist, which integrates business, finance, and economics and is available for free. Google the
Jack Denny-Brown and his wife, Ann, take in a game at Fenway Park
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book title in quotation marks, and Peter’s LinkedIn address will show up. Go there and under the Publications section you’ll find the book title in bold. Click the title and you can read or download the book free of
1971 Alumni Class Senator Jamie Jones – jbjones@seamanpaper.com
sbcc.edu/practical-economist/home
Tim Parson reports, “I am in my 17th year as the chief financial officer at Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill. I know from my brief time teaching at Fenn that the teachers here have a much harder job than mine. I live in Carlisle and drive by Fenn twice a day on my commute.” Tim was sorry to miss the class of 1971’s 45th reunion, but has every intention of being there for the 50th, if not sooner.
1962 Reunion
1972 Reunion
We’d love to hear from you! Please email
We’d love to hear from you! Please email news to alumni@fenn.org or enter it online at www.fenn.org/classnotes.
charge. Peter encourages people to print it, edit it for their own use, and forward this information to anyone who can benefit. The copyright only limits the reader’s use to no personal profit. You can also access the book by entering the following address in your browser: https://sites.google.com/a/pipeline.
news to alumni@fenn.org or enter it online at www.fenn.org/classnotes.
1967 Reunion We’d love to hear from you! Please email news to alumni@fenn.org or enter it online at www.fenn.org/classnotes.
1970 Alumni Class Senator Charlie Denault – cadenault@gmail.com
Seth Johnson is living in Falmouth, ME. After a 35-year career in intercollegiate coaching, he is working as executive director of Camps Newfound and Owatonna. Seth has been married to Libby Hoffman for
1977 Reunion Steve Carell generously donated his time to narrate a brief video about the Fenn arts program last summer. His narration took place in a Los Angeles studio following Steve’s recording session for Despicable Me 3, in which he plays Gru, the boss of the Minions. As Steve concluded the animated film recording and took up the narration of the Fenn arts script, he cleared his raspy voice and said, “I apologize for my crackly voice. I’ve been screaming for the last two hours. But I will give it my best shot because I love Fenn, and it made me the man I am today. Kind of not even a joke. It’s really true.” To watch the Fenn arts video, please visit www.fenn.org/arts.
30 years. Libby, whom he met at Williams College, is the founder of Catalyst for Peace, a Portland, ME, nonprofit. They have three children: Caleb (26), who graduated from Williams in 2013 and is now a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps; Gabe (24), who graduated from Dartmouth in 2015 and works in New York City; and Anna (16), who is a junior at Governors Academy and enjoys singing and theatre. Seth notes, “I am so grateful I went to Fenn.”
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1979 On November 14, Gus Bickford was elected chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. Gus, who has worked for John Kerry and Elizabeth Warren, was executive director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party in the 1990s. Jon Harris and Kim Bergner were married on October 10 at Shelburne Farm, VT, and are living in Weston. Mark Lagon is back at his alma mater, Georgetown Univer-
sity, having been appointed Centennial Fellow and Distinguished Senior Scholar at the Walsh School of Foreign Service. Mark is the inaugural fellow in this program, which will bring prominent thought leaders and practitioners in residence to Georgetown in honor of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the School of Foreign Service in 2019-2020. Mark received his Ph.D. from Georgetown in 1991. Tim Seston stills work at NOLS (the National Outdoor Leadership School), but not as much these days. He has been a field instructor for over 20 years, mainly teaching sea-kayaking, sailing, and backpacking courses.
1980 Alumni Class Senator Jon Cappetta – joncappetta215@comcast.net
1982 Reunion We’d love to hear from you! Please email news to alumni@fenn.org or enter it online at www.fenn.org/classnotes.
1983 Alumni Class Senators Andy Majewski – amajewsk@fas.harvard.edu Scott Van Houten – scott@vanhoutendesign.com
After 20 years of teaching middle school science in Haverhill and Duxbury, Tim Cipriani retired from teaching on December 31. While he doesn’t have firm plans for how to spend his new free time, Tim is thinking of working part time at the state level in either the Division of State Parks or the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. Chip Dean is living in Washington, DC, and is the director of Nordic and Baltic affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
1985 Alumni Class Senator Nick Elfner – nelfner@hotmail.com
Nick Elfner reports, “We had a terrific turnout from our class for the 30th reunion last year. A very belated thanks to Jim Mawn for hosting us at his home in Concord. I
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would also like to thank my classmates for their continuing support of Fenn.” Andy Krantz still lives in Denver, where he works for RBC Wealth Management as a vice president and financial advisor. He and his wife, Keli, have two children: Emma (15), who is a sophomore in high school, and Aidan (10), who is a fifth grader. For the past few years Andy has been coaching baseball at Kent Denver School, the school he attended after graduating from Fenn.
1987 Reunion We’d love to hear from you! Please email news to alumni@fenn.org or enter it online at www.fenn.org/classnotes.
about his role as CEO and chief pilot for the Collings Foundation, which organizes and supports “living history” events and the presentation of historical artifacts including aircraft from WWII and Vietnam eras. (See related article p. 60.) Adam Hyde and his wife, Kaye, live with their three children on a farm in Trout Lake, WA, where they develop and promote sustainable farming practices. Stew Williamson is living in Crozier, VA, with his wife, Christina, and son, Sam. Stew is teaching physics at the Collegiate School in Richmond, VA.
1990
1993
Alumni Class Senator
Josh Harnden and his wife, Ashlea, welcomed a second daughter, Hadlea, to their family on November 10. She joins big sister Emily. Damien Rodger is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute.
Alex Zavorski – zavorski@gmail.com
1988 Matt Blute has been living in Los Angeles for the past 15 years with his wife, Nicole, and his children: Patrick (8) and Eleanor (6). He is a cameraman who works on both movies and television. He is presently living in London for a few months.
1989 Rob Collings visited Fenn last October to talk to the eighth grade boys participating in this year’s Youth in Philanthropy group
1992 Reunion Alumni Class Senator James McNamara – jamers2000@gmail.com
Ben Bing and his wife, Catherine, have welcomed a second son, Eric William Bing, to their family. Ben writes, “Eric joined us on September 30, 2016, and Alex (born March 27, 2014) couldn’t be happier. Despite being born six weeks early, Eric has decided he doesn’t want to be a ‘small’ baby and currently weighs in at over 18 pounds. Some of my
Eric William Bing, son of Catherine and Ben Bing ’92, sports his Fenn baby gear.
classmates may remember me gloating about a prodigious amount of pizza I ate one day at Lower School lunch; Eric has apparently taken my challenge to heart.” Robert Latham visited Fenn this past fall and shared some of his favorite Fenn moments with students during All School Meeting. Robert is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Cornell University’s Baker Program in Real Estate. Carl Skipper and his wife, Alisia Jean, welcomed their second child, daughter Evangeline Lucia Skipper, on December 13 at 1:30 p.m. Evangeline weighed 9 lbs. 12 oz. and was 21 inches long. She joins her big sister, Viv.
1994 Alumni Class Senator Breman Thuraisingham – breman_t@yahoo.com
Garreth Debiegun writes, “I continue to live in Yarmouth, ME, working at Maine Medical Center as an emergency physician. I also work as a counselor with the
Hadlea Harnden, daughter of Ashlea and Josh Harnden ’93
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Rob Collings ’89 A Passion for Preserving Historical Aircraft R OB C OL L IN G S ’ 8 9 loves his job, and why wouldn’t he? His roles as CEO and chief pilot at the Collings Foundation, which organizes and supports “living history” events and the presentation of historical artifacts that enable Americans to learn more about their heritage, includes flying vintage aircraft, some of which played significant roles during WWII and Vietnam. Rob visited Fenn’s Youth in Philanthropy class last October, and offered advice to the group, which researches and supports area nonprofits and works with the Foundation for MetroWest. He told the boys that philanthropy is vital and advised them to make sure they ask each organization they research what percentage of funds goes to the actual charity and what goes
to administration. Rob wanted to convey the message, he says, that “If you always pursue your passion and love what you do, you will be successful.” After Fenn, Rob attended Lawrence Academy and Babson College, and prior to becoming CEO of his foundation, he managed a race team that competed in the twenty-four hours of Daytona and the twelve hours of Sebring. When he visited the YIP group, he recalled his early efforts at fundraising at Fenn, selling tickets for the annual scholarship raffle that Read Albright used to organize for the boys each spring, which generated much excitement as the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools would compete against each other. When asked by the boys about his daily routine, Rob said that “Every day
“If you always pursue your passion and love what you do, you will be successful.” – Rob Collings ’89
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is different, and that’s what makes it fun. There’s always something new to try and it keeps me challenged.” His responsibilities range from flying and interacting with the public to dealing with the FAA and the U.S. Government. Rob fielded questions from the boys about how non-profits are administered and how his foundation acquires aircrafts and other artifacts. He told them about some of his more memorable experiences, including the time he flew the famous WWII Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress, the Memphis Belle. When the non-profit, educational foundation was established in 1979 and headquartered in Stow, Massachusetts, its emphasis was on autos, but it later broadened to include aircraft, which it restores and preserves. Over the past thirty years, the foundation has completed more restoration projects than many of the major aviation museums in the United States and can provide aircraft such as a Grumman TBM Avenger, which is a World War II torpedo bomber, and a Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk, a Vietnam fighter jet, for educational events. The foundation relies on volunteers including professional pilots, mechanics, educators, and “people from all walks of life,” according to its website. Since 1989, a major focus of the foundation has been its “Wings of Freedom Tour” of WWII aircraft, the purpose of which is to honor veterans for the sacrifices they made and to educate visitors about our national history and heritage. The tour, which travels to several sites across the country beginning this winter, features two fully restored bombers: a B-24 Liberator and a B-17 Flying Fortress and offers once-in-alifetime flight experiences.
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American College of Emergency Physicians. I am still married to Deb, and we celebrate our ten-year anniversary this year! We have two kids, Holtyn and Lydianna. Holtyn started kindergarten this year. My major plans for the year revolve around travel: I’ve been to Germany for a wedding (stopping over in Switzerland) and to Las Vegas for a conference, and looking ahead I’m going to Iceland for my anniversary, to British Columbia to ski, to St John with my mom, and to Utah to teach wilderness medicine.”
1995 Alumni Class Senators Nat Heald – nat.heald@am.jll.com
1996 Alumni Class Senators John Jenkinson – jfjenkinson@gmail.com Glenn Kasses – gkasses@yahoo.com
Michael Denault married Brooke Allen on September 10. Michael reports, “We are both currently working at Denault Studios in Maynard, MA, and are looking forward to returning to Summer Fenn for the glass and soap making camps this summer.” Drew Jameson is teaching reading at Nashoba Brooks School and living in his first house in Lunenburg, MA, with his wife, Minna Scholten, and his daughter, Alice Nuala Jameson, who will be two years old on February 14.
James Southern – jsouthern@halstead.com
Matt Bonoma and his wife, Maggie Korey, welcomed their third child on October 28. William Korey Bonoma joins his big brother, Oliver, and big sister, May. Steve Laverty is working at Jumbo Capital Management, a Boston-based commercial real estate investment and development firm. He notes, “With the recent addition of Ryan McDonald ’09 to the staff, Fenn is well represented.”
1997 Reunion Alumni Class Senator Nat Carr – ncarr@fenn.org
Nat Carr and his wife, Katie, welcomed their second child, son Walker Jude Carr, on December 14. Nat transitioned this fall from director of secondary school counseling to head of the Lower School at Fenn. Justin Newberg has moved from Houston
to Tampa, FL, to pursue his research at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center.
1998 Alumni Class Senators Richard Connolly – riconnolly@gmail.com Patrick Jones – patrick.jones.p@gmail.com
Nathan Adams married Claire Owen on September 9 at Turpin Meadow Ranch in Jackson, WY. Brad Desmond ’97 presided over the evening ceremony. The prewedding festivities included a trail ride, fly fishing, a visit to Granite Hot Springs, yoga, and a girls’ high tea. The celebrations continued for East Coast friends at a reception at Kennebunk Beach in Maine on September 24 and in Claire’s hometown of Florence, SC, on November 19. Brendon Davis and his wife, Katie, welcomed Tanner Joseph Davis to their family on September 8. Tanner was born at 4:46 p.m., weighed in at 7 lbs. 3 oz., and measured 20.5 inches. Matt Jameson is a clinical psychologist at the Salem Veterans Hospital in Salem, VA. He and his wife, Angela, live in their first house in Hardy, VA, with their dog, Scout, and two cats, Atticus and Boo.
Walker Jude Carr, son of Katie and Nat Carr ’97
Garreth Debiegun ’94 with son, Holtyn, and daughter, Lydianna
Michael Denault ’96 with his bride, Brooke Allen, and their daughter, Sara
William Korey Bonoma, son of Maggie Korey and Matt Bonoma ’95 w i n ter
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1999 Alumni Class Senators Ryan Connolly – reconnolly@gmail.com Sam Takvorian – stakvorian@gmail.com
Jason Antin enjoys living in Golden, CO, where he helps run a start-up—Gociety. com, the social network for the outdoors. He married Jenny Parkison on February 7, 2015, in Ouray, CO. On their honeymoon, they went on a climbing expedition to Greenland in search of new routes and peaks. (See related article p. 63.) This past summer saw the arrival of Jason and Jenny’s first child, a baby girl named Avery Nalu Antin, on August 20.
2000 Nathan Adams ’98 and family on his wedding day: (l to r) Evan ’02, Gordon ’07, parents Jeff and Andrea, Nathan and his canine sidekick Cody, bride Claire Owen, Cameron ’07, and Graham ’14
Alumni Class Senators George Carr – gcarr4@gmail.com Matt Ward – mward@fenn.org
Tanner Davis, son of Katie and Brendon Davis ’98
Lochlain Sayles with his new sister, Jade Alia Sayles, daughter of Brigette and Iain Sayles ’00
Pat Davis ’01 with son, Graham Ryan Davis
Brad Finson married Chelsea Boyd on September 18 in Parkdale, OR. In more wedding news, Matt Hedstrom tied the knot with Lea Connolly on October 15 in Darien, CT, while Ronnie Otero became engaged to Meredith Feely on September 24, capping off the celebration of his grandfather’s 90th birthday. Iain Sayles and his wife, Brigette, welcomed the newest addition to their family on September 10. Jade Alia Sayles arrived at 12:28 p.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 8.5 oz. and measuring 20 inches. Christian Skipper married Lindsay Cohen on September 9 at Rocky Mountain National Park.
2001 Alumni Class Senator Jimmy Hall – jkhall4@gmail.com
Jaime and Anoff Cobblah ’01 pose with their new son, Kofi, parents Tete and Elizabeth Cobblah, and brother Kwame ’03
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Anoff Cobblah and his wife, Jaime, welcomed a baby boy named Kofi Weston Scott Cobblah on September 23. Congratulations were received from the White House, after Jaime wrote to President Obama thanking him for his service and telling him that she hoped her son would become a man of equally high ideals and strong character.
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Jason Antin ’99: A Love of Adventuring Became His Profession “No matter which professional hat I am wearing,” declares Jason Antin ’99, “I am always working in one form or another to remind people to get outside for an adventure every single day.” Jason, who lives in Colorado, wears several of those hats. Among them is the work he has done as an Adventure Challenge Guide with Flying Kites Global, a non-profit that provides care, medical services, and education to homeless, orphaned, and abused children; the last trip he guided for the organization was a trek to the Mt. Everest base camp in 2013. Jason serves as a Global Athlete and Ambassador for Merrell Outdoors; as a coach at Boulder’s Alpine Training Center; as a gear tester for Gear Institute, LLC; as a climbing guide at Denver Mountain Guiding; and as the managing director of Alpenglow Experience Management LLC, which is geared towards helping start-ups/companies with business strategy and development as well as marketing and growth through uniquely branded experiences. Jason’s latest ventures include helping to found and produce Beat Monday, a “series of epic weekend adventures that could be accomplished in a sixty-four-hour period,” he says, adding that he and his business partner “are on a mission to reimagine the weekend.” Beat Monday has a deal with a production company that is working to capture these weekend adventures and turn them into a TV series. Jason is also the director of partnerships of a start-up called Gociety, a social network for people who love the outdoors to connect both online and offline. Its first non-founding employee, he was brought in a few years ago to quick start its business strategy. The company’s main focus this year is its Adventure Fest event series, which provides a day of immersive outdoor experiences and opportunities to connect with fellow outdoor enthusiasts in cities across the country.
Jason climbing in Boulder Canyon, Boulder, Colorado
Born in Boston, Jason spent his early childhood in Acton and later moved with his family to Pepperell, MA, Early in his career, after his graduation from St. Lawrence University, he took a job with a major financial institution in the Boston area and found it less fulfilling than he had hoped. That was when he realized he needed to build a lifestyle that allowed him to be outdoors, a penchant he had even when a boy at Fenn, where “the well-rounded curriculum, not limited to my fond memories of science classes with Mr. Byrd, undoubtedly contributed to my passion for exploration outdoors.” Sports played a significant role in his upbringing, Jason says. He put on his first shoulder pads at Fenn and has great memories of “athletics with Mr. Star and spending summers at Star Camps.” (He also recalls Lucia MacMahon’s class as “one of my favorites” and says he still has a shingle from the time he and other boys helped John Fitzsimmons build a shed.) Growing up in New England, Jason acquired most of his climbing experience on the Gunks in upstate New York, on New Hampshire’s granite cliffs, and on the alpine and ice routes throughout the White
Mountains. After moving to the Rockies, he has tackled rock, ice, snow, and alpine terrain all across the Front Range and beyond, including one adventure that he says stands out as a highlight: climbing the nose of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park—in one day. In May he will head to Alaska to climb Denali via a challenging route. Jason met his wife, Jenny Parkison, while climbing in New Hampshire. They were engaged while participating in the demanding Leadville Trail 100 Run (both of them finished), for which runners ascend and descend 15,600 feet. The couple spent part of their honeymoon climbing in Greenland, and now, Jason says, they need to figure out how to bring along their infant daughter, a girl named Avery Nalu Antin, “on these wild adventures.” In reflecting on his career path, which has taken him up and down mountains, rock faces, and frozen waterfalls, Jason says, “All of my life experiences led me to make decisions that have me doing what I am doing today. Learning from my mistakes and parleying past experiences into new ones helped me make the shift into a professional pursuit of the outdoors that I love.”
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Reunion 2016 Alumni whose class years ended in 1 or 6 celebrated their reunions on September 23. Attendees enjoyed a reception in and outside of the Kane Gallery on a balmy, early fall evening and dinner in the Connolly Dining Hall, catching up with their classmates and former teachers. Guests of honor were David W. Rintels ’51, and his wife, Victoria Riskin. David was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
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2002 Reunion Alumni Class Senators Will Howerton – will.howerton@gmail.com Graham Jenkins – grahamwjenkins@gmail.com Davis Rosborough – davis.rosborough@gmail.com
Crewe Brooklyn Bevis, son of Sarah and Topher Bevis ’02
Pat Davis and his wife, Emily, welcomed their first baby boy on June 1. Graham Ryan Davis is already preparing for Gold Team glory on Field Day. Pat also notes, “We are opening an incubator space/co-working space called WorkTable in Marlborough, MA.” Tim Wilson got engaged to Melanie Norian on December 25.
Rick Andrews joined Columbia University’s faculty as an adjunct professor in September and is teaching improvisation in their MFA acting program. Topher Bevis and his wife, Sarah Ryder, welcomed their son, Crewe Brooklyn Bevis, on August 14 at 1:30 a.m. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. Aaron Colby, with roommates Tudor Foote and Luke Colby ’96, made the move from Boston to Cambridge recently. Aaron is working and consulting with five biotech startup companies that he helped found from his Ph.D. research. For anyone interested, he is always on the lookout for partnering and funding opportunities (acolby86@ gmail.com)! Ned Levering married Alex Cooke Purdy in Wolfeboro, NH, on August 13. Fenn classmate Davis Rosborough was in attendance, as was Harry Houghton ’01 and Ned’s brother Beau, also class of 2001.
Jon Weigel ’02 and his colleague and fellow graduate student at Harvard, Sara Lowes, with members of the Royal Court of the Kuba Kingdom in the Kasaï-Central province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Jon Weigel reports that he spent most of 2016 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, working with the provincial government of Kasaï-Central on a tax program that will form the basis of his Ph.D. dissertation. He hopes to wrap up his graduate program in political economy and government at Harvard in the spring of 2018. Jon, who did his first marathon in Copenhagen in 2010, will be running in the 2017 Boston Marathon as part of the Boston Medical Center (BMC) team. He says, “Boston Medical Center has a unique commitment to social justice. Its practice is rooted in the belief that health care should be a human right, available to all regardless of ability to pay. While working for Partners In Health from 2010-2012, I came to believe strongly in this mission. With the future of health care reform uncertain, the work of BMC will only become more important in the years ahead.” If you’d like to support Jon’s fundraising goals for BMC, you can contribute at https://www.crowdrise.com/bostonmedicalcenterboston2017/fundraiser/ jonathanweigel.
Jon with his friend and co-worker Daniel Mpanya Mulenda. The two were experimenting with roasting their own locally grown coffee beans, in Kananga, DRC.
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2003 Alumni Class Senators Jack Carroll – je.carroll10@gmail.com Bronson Kussin – bronson.kussin@gmail.com Christian Manchester –christian.d.manchester@gmail.com
Mike Spiak – mspiak06@gmail.com
Kyle Hutton married Caroline Nassif on August 6 at St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, with Scott Runyon attending as the groomsman. Justin Wu and Dusty Rhodes celebrated with the newlyweds at a reception held on the East Coast. Stephen McCarthy is back at the Yale Divinity School, studying for his Master of Sacred Theology degree.
House, primarily writing for Valerie Jarrett, the President’s senior advisor and a policy advisor in the Office of Public Engagement working on labor and national security issues. Harrison Abry is working as a surfing coach in Costa Rica and traveled to Thailand for a few weeks in the fall before returning to Costa Rica to resume his teaching career. Krish Jaiman was home for the summer but returned to India in September to teach in a village in southern India. After six years together, Dave Oxnard married Andrea Kozak in Albany, OR, on January 14, 2017. Dave and Andrea met in Berlin, Germany, during their study abroad year in college and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area prior to moving to New York City.
2004 Alumni Class Senator
2006
BJ Moriarty – jmoriarty@jwcapitalpartners.com
Alumni Class Senators Tyler Davis – davist.boston@gmail.com
2005 Alumni Class Senators Spencer Lovejoy – slovejoy424@gmail.com Will Stone – william.l.stone12@gmail.com Pete Valhouli-Farb – pvalhoulifarb@gmail.com
David Abadian-Heifitz had been working as a speech writer in the Obama White
Luke Rogers – lucianjrog@gmail.com
trips to the country’s many beautiful locales. Sam Schuster has left the East Coast and moved to San Francisco.
2007 Reunion Alumni Class Senators Will Joumas – wbjoumas@gmail.com Joe Rinaldo – josepher715@gmail.com
Thomas Livingston recently became engaged to Natalie Bausback. They are planning a spring 2018 wedding in San Diego, CA. Thomas works at GLG Consulting in Boston and Natalie works at English First in Cambridge. Alastair Norton is living in London, studying law and training in Shotokan karate under a Japanese sensei at the Budokwai martial arts club.
2008 Alumni Class Senators
Luke Rogers has left the Trustees of Reservations for an exciting new opportunity with Audley Travel in Boston’s North End. He spent the whole month of October traveling in South Africa for the company as he honed his skills for his new role as South Africa specialist, helping travelers plan tailor-made
Dan Giovacchini – giodan25@gmail.com Chris Walker-Jacks – christopherwjacks@gmail.com
JC Winslow – jcwins16@g.holycross.edu
In August, Rob Costa finished Army Ranger School at Fort Benning in Georgia.
2009 Alumni Class Senator Thacher Hoch – thachmo94@comcast.net
Luke Rogers ’06 takes in the scenery at Cape Point, South Africa.
Carl Hesler was elected captain of the Dartmouth ice hockey team as a junior. (See related article on p. 68.) Julian Huertas graduated from Bowdoin College in May 2016. He is currently living in the East Bay and working in downtown San Francisco doing landscape architecture with the National Park Service. His place has an open couch if any Fennsters ever want to visit. Ryan McDonald recently joined the team at Jumbo Capital Management, a Bostonbased commercial real estate investment and development firm, where he works with Steve Laverty ’95. Steve, who is clearly a talented linguist, is helping Ryan develop a proficiency in the Mongolian language.
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Carl Hesler ’09 The Making of a Dartmouth Hockey Captain O n a w al l o ut si d e of the varsity hockey locker room at Dartmouth College, a two-story-high graphic depicts two current players right after one of them scored the first goal in a game against their rivals, Princeton. The mural shows Carl Hesler ’09 the moment a jubilant linemate, who “set me up for a beautiful goal,” Carl says, jumps into his arms. He may only be a junior, but Carl, who was named the team’s 2016-2017 captain last spring, has already become a part of Dartmouth history. “I was really honored that my teammates and coaches picked me as captain,” Carl declares, adding that “I felt ready to take on the responsibilities and legacies that past captains in the program have left behind.” He is the 118th team captain in the program’s history. Carl received the Booma Award as the men’s hockey team’s Rookie of the Year in 2014-15 and the whistle blew and he slowed down, Carl Manser Award as its most improved felt a sharp pain in his shoulder that player the following season. In October could only mean a separation. 2016 he was “surprised and honored” to Instead of leaving the ice, Carl find out he was on the cover of the New skated into position to take the England Hockey Journal for a feature titled game’s final faceoff. “Making of a Captain.” He was “white as a Carl had thought he was ghost from the pain,” simply being interviewed for the article, which W ITH F ENN recalled one of his coaches, and was taken begins with the story of out of the game shortly him and his team trying Like us on Facebook after. Two months to close out an upset of later he was named Yale in their ECAC Hockey Network with Alums the team’s captain for quarterfinal series last on LinkedIn The Fenn School Alumni the upcoming season. March. In the final minute, This was “no small Carl took a hard hit from a Follow us on Twitter achievement,” writes Yale forward forechecking @FennSchool the article’s author, at full speed. When the
“I had an amazing hockey experience at Fenn.”
CONNECT
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Mike Zhe, “as only a fraction of Division 1 players earn the respect and trust of their teammates enough to have the C sewn onto their sweaters.” Carl was honored in part because of the way he has inspired his teammates; in his first two years with the Dartmouth team, he did not take a single drill or workout off. This kind of determination was obvious even at Fenn, where Carl played on the varsity team for three years and was elected a captain as a ninth grader. “He never took a shift off,” marvels Derek Boonisar, the team’s head coach, adding that Carl was “an outstanding player with a great scoring touch, vision, and incredible work ethic.” The team went undefeated that season, with Carl playing on a line with two classmates, AJ Lucchese and Charlie Peters, “and they put up big numbers,” Derek says. “I had an amazing hockey experience at Fenn,” says Carl, calling Derek “a terrific coach” with whom he has stayed in touch. Carl also played baseball and football while a student here. “Fenn is an extremely special place that I still miss dearly to this day,” Carl declares. “Aside from the amazing teachers and competitive sports, I miss most the special bond with the guys I met back then, and I still keep in touch with many of them.” Though he can play left wing, Carl plays center on the Dartmouth team, saying, “I love the freedom” the position offers “to go anywhere on the ice.” After Fenn, he played for two years at Middlesex and two more at Belmont Hill School. The road to Division 1 hockey was not without obstacles, Carl has
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2010 Alumni Class Senators Gabe Arnold – ggbbe3@gmail.com Drew Coash – dcoash@middlebury.edu Will Crowley – wcc2ab@virginia.edu
said. At Belmont Hill, he came down with appendicitis during prime recruiting time. Then he contracted mono, missing the entire fall. The Heslers had just moved to Boxborough from Texas, when four-yearold Carl enrolled in the “learn to skate” program at the local rink. His dad, Neal, “loves the game and still plays, so he had a big influence on me,” Carl says. In fact, Neal attended Dartmouth and Carl fell in love with the college when he was younger, attending his dad’s reunions and watching hockey games in Thompson Arena. “I always had my mind set on Dartmouth,” he says. As captain, Carl says he believes that the most important qualities for a team to have are “consistency and chemistry.” This year’s group is a young team, with eleven freshmen and ten upperclassmen, but its members are close, which is “my favorite part of playing hockey at Dartmouth,” he says. Another Hesler will soon join Carl at the college. His brother, Sam, who graduated in 2012, is currently a senior captain on the Belmont Hill team and has committed to Dartmouth for hockey. “He’s an amazing player with a bright future and I’m really excited for him,” Carl says. Hockey is clearly the Hesler boys’ passion. “I love everything about it,” Carl declares. “The level of skill, grit, and teamwork is unmatched by any other sport. When I step on the ice I’m able to live in the moment and set aside any stress outside the rink. It’s really a special experience.” Not surprisingly, Carl hopes to play pro-hockey after he graduates. “I will try to make the top level here and if not, to play in Europe. After that, I’m not sure,” says the government major. “But I’ll have a Dartmouth degree to help me out there.”
Philip Skayne, a senior at Middlebury College, started at midfield for all 17 men’s varsity soccer matches this fall, scoring one goal and two points for the team.
ranked UMass Lowell River Hawks while also holding a 3.01 GPA.” The River Hawks finished the year ranked as one of the top 20 best men’s soccer teams in the country. Cole Turissini, a sophomore at Colby College, played for the men’s varsity soccer team this past fall.
2013 Alumni Class Senators Jake Goorno – jbgoorno@gmail.com
2011 Alumni Class Senator Nathaniel Sintros – nathaniel1756@gmail.com
2012 REUNION Alumni Class Senators Will Baxter – will.baxter.1996@gmail.com Andreas Sheikh – andsheikh21@gmail.com
Gates Dupont will present a paper at the International Conference on Time, Space and Narrative in Medieval Icelandic Literature being held at the University of Iceland in March. His research explores how Norsemen used birds as navigational aids during the Viking Age and later Middle Ages. (See related article on page 10.) Carter Hochman reports that he’s “currently playing Division I soccer for the #3
Mitchell Groves – mitchmgroves@gmail.com Reid Shilling – rshilling97@gmail.com
Mike Demsher attends the University of Pennsylvania. Gordon Hargraves will attend Bates College and row for their crew team. Sam Hesler took the face-off for Belmont Hill School’s varsity hockey team in their Frozen Fenway match against Tabor Academy held at Fenway Park on January 11, 2017. Former Boston University hockey player Travis Roy, paralyzed in an accident during his first collegiate hockey game, presided over the ceremonial puck drop. Sam has committed to Dartmouth College for 2017-2018, after a gap year spent playing hockey in a competitive league. Gavin Tasker, a freshman at Tufts University, played in all 22 men’s varsity soccer games this fall and was part of the starting lineup during eight matches.
Sam Hesler ’13 takes the face off for Belmont Hill School against a Tabor Academy player as Travis Roy looks on.
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Matt Hart reports that he’s playing in a band. Spencer Royal played forward on the Concord-Carlisle High School varsity men’s soccer team this past fall. Willie Swift reports that he played varsity football at Exeter this fall and also plays in a jazz combo.
2016 Alumni Class Senators Owen Elton – owen.elton@me.com Sam Farley – samn8r14@gmail.com Fenn alumni now at Cambridge School of Weston pictured with Secondary School Counseling CoDirector Dave Irwin, l to r: Chad Valley ’14, Adam Jamal ’15, Anthony Duane ’15, Sam Hankaoui ’15, Dave, and Sam Farley ’16.
2014
Kevin Gao – 666666kevingao@gmail.com William Locke – wlocke2000@comcast.net Tad Scheibe – scheibetm@gmail.com
Kadin Ali has transferred from Acton-Boxborough High School to Concord Academy.
Alumni Class Senators
Peter Blau and Sam Farley were featured
Chad Arle – chad.w.arle@gmail.com
guests during the November Fenn Radio
Andrew Brown – abrown.17@pomfretschool.org
Show. (Archives of Fenn Radio shows can
Ryan Ewing –ryanewing99@gmail.com P.J. Lucchese – pjlucchese@gmail.com Christopher Ruediger – chris.ruediger3@gmail.com Cormac Zachar – cormacz98@gmail.com
Daniel Kramer has been accepted to Dartmouth College, where he will row on their crew. Duncan Umphrey reports that he placed 12th at the New England All-Star cross-country race on October 19.
be found at: http://www.fenn.org/page. cfm?p=578). Dan Pring played JV soccer this fall at Lowell High School and participates in their language club.
2017 Alumni Class Senators Charles Brookby – c.i.brookby@gmail.com
2015 Alumni Class Senators Walker Davey – daveybolts28@gmail.com Paul Michaud – paul.michaud13@gmail.com Sid Modur – sidharth.modur@gmail.com Nick Schoeller – nschoeller2@gmail.com
Ollie Cheever – oecheever@gmail.com
John Ferren made the soccer team at Concord-Carlisle High School this past fall. This past summer Cole Pascucci was named a 2016 Brine National All-Star and
Max Solomon – msolomon19@groton.org
was selected to represent the New England
Dylan Volman – dhvman@gmail.com
team at the 2016 Brine National Lacrosse
Ben Zide – benjaminzide@gmail.com
Academy and Brine National Lacrosse
Chewi Bruni was named second team all-ISL in soccer this past fall. Mickey Feeney is having a busy year at Lawrence Academy, where he serves as co-president of the debate club, plays in the band, sings in an a cappella group, participates in student government, and serves on the diversity committee.
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Classic which was held in Richmond, VA, from July 19-22. The Brine National Lacrosse Academy brings the top youth lacrosse players in the nation to one venue, where regional teams, coached by NCAA lacrosse coaches compete to become the 2016 National Champion.
Where Are They Now?
Former Faculty and Staff News Todd Nelson is leaving teaching and will become a full-time writer while still pursuing other, yet to be determined, pursuits. Win and Bea Sargent still run their Bed and Breakfast in Tobago. Business had been slow when they checked in with Fenn, “so there is lots of space for anyone who wants to spend a week in the Caribbean and get away from this New England winter.” Allegra Maletz is working as an academic tutor at Fessenden School. Sue Finney has been exhibiting her paintings around New London, NH, and selling cards in local stores. In February 2016 she and Roy went on a trip that included sailing through the Suez Canal. Justin McLean has been at Meadowbrook School for ten years and is now head of their middle school. He married Julianna Gonzalez back in March 2016 and the couple now lives in Brookline, MA. Arnold Klingenberg reports, “I retired a little early two summers ago from Middleburg Academy, Middleburg, VA, where I was the associate head of school since 2003 and for one year the interim head. It is a school of about 280 kids, coed, grades 9-12, with a Fenn-like community feel and middle-ground educational approach. I have since worked almost full-time building a service for students and families for tutoring academic subjects (mostly math, sciences, English, and writing); SAT/ACT, AP, and other test preparation; the college search process; and college applications and essays — the latter two areas were an enjoyable part of my former job. So the weeks are varied, personal, and very rewarding, although I mostly have to work from 4:30-10:00 pm weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, at least during the school year. I have been fortunate to have plenty of takers, and now I need to think about expanding the service with more help—or maybe just enjoying it myself!” Marjorie Gornall, for many years a secretary at Fenn when she was Marjorie Wiles,
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make a wooden gift plaque and paint it for me, and we still have it! Marjorie was officially a secretary at Fenn, but she was much more: greeter, nurse, photographer, counselor, cheerleader, and historian; she knew the answer to every question. We considered her to be indispensable.” Mark and Jane Biscoe’s children and their families gave the couple a joint 80th birthday party on January 14 this year at the River House Restaurant in Portsmouth, NH. Jane’s birthday was on New Year’s Eve and Mark’s was last August, but the families wanted to wait to celebrate until Mark and Jane’s son, Andrew ’79, was back from Kuwait to join them.
Marjorie Gornall
passed away October 22, 2016 in Sun City, AZ. Marjorie had attended Reunion and Homecoming in 2015, traveling from the Southwest so that she could see one of her favorite students, John “Jeff” Cook ’62, receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Learning of her passing, Jeff, who had said in his Distinguished Alumnus interview last year that Marjorie was “den mother to all of us boarders,” calls her “a special person who had a lasting impact on me, and I was glad to be able to tell her that as a follow-up to Homecoming.” Marjorie was “beloved by the boys and faculty for almost ten years,” Mark Biscoe writes. “She was a great sport and would come to dances and do the Twist better than anyone else. She was right there with good cheer—absolutely tireless—once helping the 1963 basketball team that I coached
Liza Jones is a course instructor for Shady Hill School’s teacher training program with Lesley University. Daughter Barron graduates from Shady Hill this year and son Sam is in sixth grade playing lots of hockey. Husband Walker has moved from Middlesex School to Cambridge School of Weston, where he is the leadership gifts officer. Laurie Byron coached Derryfield School’s middle school girls’ soccer team this fall; the team won the Tri County Soccer State title. Son Nick (Fenn ’18) was in the Derryfield Middle School production of Annie. Son Max (Fenn ’17) was the only freshman to make Derryfield’s boys’ varsity basketball team. Jim Stoddard is the principal of the John D. Runkle School in Brookline. He and his
A Day Camp for children ages 5 - 15
Base Camp Program
Specialty Camps
Day Tripper Camps
wife, Sinta, live in Harvard. Their daughter Julia is a sophomore at Northeastern and their younger daughter Claire is an 8th grader at the Bromfield School in Harvard. His wife is a Pampered Chef representative. Kit Norris’s recent book, Engage in the Mathematical Practices—Strategies to Build Numeracy and Literacy with K-5 Learners, was published in February 2016 by Solution-Tree. This resource supports elementary teachers by demonstrating the connections between best practices in numeracy and literacy. “Recently, I was pleased to hear that in several parts of the country, teachers are reading my resource in their book studies,” Kit says. Kim Zern Evelti is director of curriculum at Williston-Northampton School. She has two sons who attend a Chinese immersion school and speak fluent Mandarin.
Jane and Mark Biscoe
Dave Taylor writes to Jim Carter ’54 (who continues to volunteer in the School archives) that he is “still married to the beautiful Janet” and is teaching U.S. History at Citrus High School in Fontana, CA. Janet is teaching junior high at an independent school in San Gabriel, CA. They have two sons and two daughters, three of them married. David and Janet have one grandchild, a boy. Laurie O’Neill stepped down from her position as director of publications in July, but she returned in December to see the winter issue of FENN through to production. She has been working as a consultant to students writing college application essays and as a freelance writer; an essay she wrote appeared in The Boston Globe in November.
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in memoriam
We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the families of these Fenn graduates, parents, and friends. Fernando Alvarez de Toledo ’49 September 14, 2016 Henry A. Beyer November 8, 2016 Father of Daniel Beyer ’79 Elizabeth A. Britt June 3, 2016 Mother of Peter Britt ’80 Anne F. Brooke October 13, 2016 Mother of Sam ’72, Peter ’75, and John Brooke ’77 Susan L. Byrd January 8, 2017 Mother of Jon ’76, Steve ’77, and Chip Byrd ’79 Helen “Betsy” C. Connelly October 18, 2016 Mother of Scott Connelly ’74 Suzanne Hammond Corkin May 24, 2016 Mother of Zac Corkin ’87 and Damon Corkin ’92 Thomas G. Curtin December 27, 2016 Stepfather of Mike Spangler ’79
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Paul R. Dinsmore November 2016 Father of Chip Dinsmore ’84 Frederic Gooding, Jr. ’46 Fenn Faculty 1961-1964 September 8, 2016 Marjorie C. (Wiles) Gornall Fenn Staff 1961-1969 October 22, 2016 Bertha K. Kelner December 13, 2016 Mother of Stow Kelner ’71 Ann Blair Lyne June 11, 2016 Mother of Austin ’69, Blair ’75, and Michael Lyne ’79 Grandmother of Jack Lyne ’12 Michael L. Madden ’68 September 3, 2016 Peter H. Richardson ’38 March 12, 2016 Virginia Baldwin Taplin July 5, 2016 Niece of Roger and Eleanor Fenn Christopher D. Todd ’66 June 3, 2016
fe n n m a g a z i n e
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Save the Dates! Founder’s Night: April 5, 2017 The Alumni Council is pleased to invite alumni and past parents to a special reception on the evening of April 5, 2017, at the Harvard Club in Boston at 6:30 p.m. Register for Founder’s Night at www.fenn.org/alumnievents. We hope to see you there!
Homecoming and Reunion: September 22-23, 2017 Renew your Fenn spirit at the 3rd annual Reunion and Homecoming Weekend on September 22-23, 2017! Alumni classes ending in “2” and “7”, make plans to return and reconnect with your classmates.
Please visit www.fenn.org/homecoming for more information. 705609.indd 73
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The Fenn School 516 Monument Street Concord, Massachusetts 01742-1894
NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID N READING MA PERMIT NO. 121
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!
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